At another unusually long jukebox gathering, Josh and Emily contemplate the relationship between artists and audiences, explore some particularly tender testimonials, and try to remember the ridiculous video game rumors they used to hear about in elementary school. At one point Emily can't help it and overflows with feels for the patrons who've been sharing their feels. Go ahead. Get mushy too.
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Share your VGM feels with us! You know you want to!
| This episode was made possible by: | ||
| Game | Track Title | Composer(s) |
| Final Fantasy Tactics | Antidote | Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu Iwata |
| Fester's Quest | Outside | Naoki, Kodaka, Nobuyuki Hara |
| Animal Crossing: New Leaf | K. K. Groove (Live) | Manaka Kataoka, Atsuko Asahi |
| Wrath of the Black Manta | Title Track | Unknown |
| Final Fantasy XI | Heaven's Tower | Naoshi Mizuta, Nobuo Uematsu, Kumi Tanioka |
| Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time |
Song of Storms | Koji Kondo |
...and listeners like YOU.
It's weird you guys mentioned replaying LMH tracks, because I'm watching the Diggin' in the Carts series you guys were recently talking about and so many of the hits they play I recognize from choices Rob and Brent made on LMH. A good track is a good track, so you gotta just share them for those who don't know them yet - OR - share them as a sweet surprise for people who already dig them. When you guys played the Mean Bean Machine track last episode, I was like, "Oh heck yes," like a song I like just came on the radio.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I absolutely gloss over 2000-2010. I always confuse when I graduated high school and college, and think that things I did in 2006-8, I did about three years ago. Can't explain it.
Another thing: Mortal Kombat was huge at my elementary school, and one kid named Steve, who was just the worst, said there was a Fatality variation that was hyper sexual (in as far as a little kid could make something sexual). Literally every kid but me believed him because I had the Super Book, which had every possible thing to do in Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 for all platforms. If I saw that guy today, I would confront him about it. I take Mortal Kombat VERY seriously.
DeleteI think he got it from the "Ooh Nasty" option you had to enable to get the Fergality, and took it into a weird place knowing only that this thing was called "Ooh Nasty."
My brother told me about Diggin' in the Carts right when it came out. I was so amazed with it I immediately emailed Brent from LMH to tell him about it. He nonchalantly replied something like, "Yeah, I know about it. The guy who made it asked me for suggestions about who to cover".
DeleteI was a bit taken aback; I told him he should have been letting us know about it. I mean, it's not every day somebody sets out to do a documentary on VGM.
Thank you keyglyph for playing my first track choice from fester's quest. I realized that its best to not worry if a track was already played on LMH. You were spot on with saying that that's the first song that came to my mind from that game and that's why you played it. Love the show!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome mixixmaster! I'm glad you weren't aggravated that we ignored your direct orders. I also hope you're not annoyed that we insist on mispronouncing your name. It's just so fun to say this way!
DeleteNot done with the episode yet but I had to comment on.....well, first, awesome episode. Nostalgia and memories and the communal sharing thereof are the biggest reasons why I love you both and I love this show.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, so glad you've decided to play stuff that's been on LMH. I can understand if you two want to keep from playing those tracks on the dungeon eps, but I feel the Patrons' past experiences are worth sharing regardless of how much a song has been heard before. Plus, your show is its own identity. I'm glad it doesn't have to rely on another show's existence to determine that identity.
Oh, and what a song to break the rule! I love that Fester's Quest track so much; it's really one of the best examples of great NES music. OOOHH that Sunsoft bass!
As far as rumors go, I heard a bunch of them as a kid. The only one I can remember is just after Super Mario Bros. 3 came out, kids at school said that in Japan they had a whole bunch of them that never came out here, like 5 or 6. Obviously this was based on the fact that the Japanese Super Mario 2 didn’t come out until much later.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comments on time being compressed, I feel the same way, but I can’t say what the cause is. My own theory is that once we pass high school and college(or not), we lose those periodic, universal markers of passing time and marking progress. I would guess this happened to our parents and their parents, although I’m only speculating. But yes, I stopped paying attention to time shortly after high school.
I liked the fact that you guys didn’t have a Facebook or Twitter page. I have been antisocial media since Friendster(although I temporarily started a Facebook account solely for my 20-year high school reunion, and deleted it as soon as it was over—yes, I am that old).
Well, I guess that’s all for now. Keep up the good work, folks!
I hear about some crazy game rumors myself, but the one about the Mario games that never released here was probably the most widely repeated.
DeleteHey Nathan! I agree with you on what you call the "universal markers of passing time." It's why I remember everything in context of what grade or apartment I was in, not by my age or calendar year.
DeleteAnd I too am generally off the grid when it comes to social media, so I know where you're coming from, but since our podcast is so community-driven it seemed the right thing to do to create some extra ways for patrons to connect. We still see the blog as the primary spot for conversation and commiseration, though, so if you're afraid this place will be less happening because of our Twitter or Facebook accounts... don't be! We keep a steady eye on the comments, and I even go back to older episodes and respond to conversations after-the-fact.
If you have any suggestions or concerns for us, though, don't hesitate to e-mail us about them. Above all we are trying to make this the most comfortable space possible for our patrons. Feedback is always, always appreciated!
Wow. Best episode yet. So mushy... in a good way!
ReplyDeleteMy childhood rumor: At a friend's house, his older brother claimed to know a secret spot in the original NES Metroid where he could regenerate all his missiles and energy tanks. Players of this game will know how awesome this would be, especially later in the game. He vividly described a blue pool into which you would walk Samus to initiate the regeneration. I begged him to show me. He refused, claiming that if he told me, then the secret would be out and then everyone would know. Even though I was young, this reasoning didn't check out with me, but I couldn't be completely sure. It took years before I could confirm his lie. Part of me still wishes it was real. I can just see that 8-bit blue pool.
As someone who died several times at Mother Brain before finally completing the game... I would have LOVED this mythical blue pool.
DeleteThe anonymous testimonial is not from me, but I do feel compelled to comment on it:
ReplyDeleteHi everyone. My name is Nick, and I have asperger's syndrome.
In regards to "don't worry, I'm working hard on being a normal person now", I know exactly what that means (Well, to me anyway).
When you live on the spectrum, "normal" is an ever changing concept. An elusive hunt to obtain that which is always just beyond your grasp. You figure out one concept related to "normal" behavior, and it just reveals 100 more that you don't understand. although you may grasp a social concept academically, it may be an exercise in pure frustration to put the concept into practice yourself. It may seem pointless, or stupid, so why do you need it?
I've spent many hours contemplating weather my most recent interaction was "normal", or "appropriate" enough, or not. This microscopic self study was often accompanied by tears ("Why can't I just be NORMAL like everyone else? Why can't I make new friends? Why do others make fun of the way I act/talk?")
I'm 35, and I'm am firmly convinced at this point that "normal" doesn't even exist for me anymore. The harder I try to just be "normal", the more I fail at it. I talk too much, so people either assume that I am a blabbermounth with nothing to say, or a know-it-all. I have been told that my humor is "odd", or "strange". I have also been labeled "lazy" because I would so easily gaze out the window, when I should have been doing my schoolwork. By the same token, I was called "a remarkably patient, and well behaved child" when I had to sit in waiting rooms, stand in line, or ride in a care for extended periods.
The reality to this, is that I was neither patient, or or lazy (well, not in the capacity that I was labeled, anyway). It was simply a desire to "stop the noise of the world", and be alone with my true thoughts. I had some deep woods around my childhood home, and I would often climb a tree, sit on a large branch, and just "be" for hours. That was my escape. Video games were, and still are another.
In the 80's, and 90's, diagnosis was extremely rare, so my problems were my own to deal with. I had to figure things out myself, one step at a time. I had to "work hard at being normal".
These days it's much more difficult for others to tell that I am on the spectrum. As an adult, discovering that I had aspergers in the first place was HUGE. I didn't really start feeling better about it until then. It's a lifelong project.
Sorry for the rambling. I'm not trying to bum anyone out with this stuff, and I'm not looking for sympathy. I just wanted to share, and to also say this to our mystery patron:
Keep doing your thing. Try not to worry so much about "normal". Instead, work on being an honest, genuine, and decent person. It DOES get better with time.
I know.
Oh, and play "To The Moon".
No, really: Everyone shoud play "To The Moon". It's such a beautiful game.
Retro Nick, you are not being a bummer. You are doing exactly what we hoped our podcast would inspire -- sharing stories and making connections through those stories -- and you are also in the unique position of being able to help many of us understand something we might not have much personal experience with. We loved having you at our jukebox gatherings anyway, but now we have the chance to learn from you, too.
DeleteThanks for opening up like this. I hope that your moments of tears are less frequent than they used to be, but if you do ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed by it all, come back to the bar and sit around with us for a while. We like you just the way you are.
Thanks Keyglyph. The tears don't happen so much anymore. That was mostly from childhood/young adulthood. I still feel overwhelmed at times, but I'm able to manage much better now. Reading your reply though, it made me a little misty eyed, but for the GOOD reasons :)
DeleteOh, and have you played "To The Moon"? You really should be play it.
Great episode as usual guys! I'll drop in more song requests soon!
ReplyDeleteTactics is such a great game. It's one of the few games my older brother ever got into. He could drive at the time and I was still taking the bus, so he would always make sure he raced home to get on before I did. What a turd.
ReplyDelete