WhyGamesMatter

A few years ago, Kenny Chesney wrote a song a song called I Go Back.  Even if you don’t listen to (or care for the machinations of) country music, give it a listen.  Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

That song so perfectly describes my outlook on music.  I tend to pick a group of songs/tunes and play them into the ground.  They don’t have to be new songs; a few months ago my10 song playlist included Peter Schillings Major Tom.  Usually, after a few months, I find a few new songs and repeat the process.

The benefit of this approach is that it time-stamps the music to certain points in my life.  When I listen to anything from Pearl Jam’s 10 or VS albums, every emotion of the grunge poser that I was in 1993 returns to me.  When I hear the Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion soundtrack, I’m transported back to 1999, driving around the streets of Seattle at night.

The same thing happens with video game music.  When I hear the music from The Great Giana Sisters or Rambo First Blood Part II, I’m transported back to 1990 with my Commodore 64, playing on a small 12-inch tube-type TV.  When I hear the intro to Vandal Hearts or Easthaven in Peace from Icewind Dale, I return to the house in Silverdale, Washington, where I played those games.  And I am sure that the soundtrack for Braid will have the same effect later in life, after I have moved on from here.

As the years go by, I my appreciation for this mental time stamp grows.  I want to remember these times in my life, and everything that went with them.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Within Temptation lately.  They’re a  symphonic metal band similar to Nightwish or Evanescence, hailing from the Netherlands.  Though I am just learning about them now, they have actually been around almost as long as Evanescence.

Though I didn’t care much for their cover of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (Placebo’s version was much better), I can listen to Memories over and over again.  Here’s the link to the video.  I’m sure this song is going to be part of the time stamp for this time in my life, and that knowledge makes me really happy.

They were the inspiration for today’s image.