Boy, this is gonna be an unreasonable request. But if past Christmases have taught me
anything, it’s that I’m pretty good at making demands and expecting a big
payoff from, you know, normal people. No
wonder I only got clothes that one time.
Also, alternative post title: I Should Have
Thought of This While it Was Still Halloween, But I Guess This is Okay Too
Since I Did a
Super Mario Odyssey Post
Wait, would that fit into the Blogger dashboard’s
title page? I don’t know. I’ve never exactly pushed the limits on the
character count. For titles, at least…
All right.
If you’ve followed me and/or my wares for…I don’t know, the better part
of a half-decade…then you may know that I’ve been giving the “Become a
legitimate, full-fledged novelist!” thing a shot. I’m making progress on that front, and I’ll
go into that at a later date once I’ve crossed a certain goalpost. Hopefully I’ll be able to pull the trigger
soon and shoot for my dreams. Or
something like that.
In any case, I should talk a bit about my process
-- such as it is. I guess the key
elements can be pared down to three points: hunker down in front of my PC, hope
that my dogs stay asleep while I write, and -- crucially -- have the right
music and/or soundtrack on tap. I'm
pretty sure that that last part doesn’t make me unique from anyone, writer or
otherwise, but you can probably guess why it matters to me. You’ve got to get into the right mood
somehow. You’ve got to feel it.
You’ve got to be in the zone. What better way to make that happen than with
music, in the absence of any reality-breaching technologies that build your
fantasies around you?
I have files stocked up with various links to
YouTube videos -- or rather, tracks on YouTube.
It’s pretty handy to have a variable playlist on tap, as you can
imagine. The problem is that as a writer
(sure, let’s go with that), I can be pretty persnickety about what music I need
to have going in my ears. For obvious
reasons, it can’t have any lyrics. Beyond that?
Sometimes I need soft, subtle tracks, and sometimes I need louder, more
potent tracks. Small difference on the
surface, I know, but it matters. It’s
harder to get into the mood if the song playing on loop isn’t juuuuuuuuuuuust riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Lately, though?
Like an expectant mother rooted in front of the fridge, I’ve had
cravings for something specific. See,
some of the characters I’ve got in mind -- for this thing and well beyond it -- aren’t exactly peachy-keen. Not only are they villains; they’re wrong villains. Like, you can tell immediately that there’s
something off-kilter about them -- and whether those differences are minor or
major, their mere existence tells you two things. One: you
shouldn’t exist. And two: run.
That’s kind of an awkward way to put it, least of
all because theory and execution are two very different aspects of the creative
process. So let me rephrase this whole
point of discussion. I’m starting to
develop a taste for creepy, spooky, unsettling, downright wrong music -- tracks that sound like the subject matter is a sin
against nature. Be it loud and
bone-rattling or muted and soul-shearing, I’m now on a hunt to find music that
could, in the right circumstances, give someone nightmares.
So that’s where you guys come in, if you’re up to
the challenge. I don’t expect anyone to
offer up a cornucopia of chilling cacophonies (and in anticipation of that, I
have an alternative I’ll explain in a bit), but hey. I might as well put out an APB while it’s
fresh on my mind, eh? Your mission,
should you choose to accept it, is to point me in the direction of any songs
that can scare me, unsettle me, break me, or anything in between. Let me hear the depths of horror and madness,
even if it’s plucked straight from the mixtape of the Deep Ones.
Here are some examples to get you started.
Duelist’s
Secret Feelings (Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V)
Okay, first of all I just love the juxtaposition
of a cheery, colorful adventure on the CD cover and the menace of this
track. (Then again, that’s ARC-V for you -- but that’s a topic for
another day.)
Also, I love this track in general. I’ve had this one going for minutes, and
possibly hours, on end while the hero and the main baddie first meet face to
face. I needed a track that’s unsettling
and capable of casting a villain in a psychotic light -- and naturally, this
song provides. Maybe that’s partly
because I have the proper context for
when this song shows up in the show, but my story’s circumstances are a bit
different. Still, it’s a good song to
help visualize the sanity leaking out of someone’s ear.
Side note, though: Crunchyroll, y u no upload rest
of ARC-V? Guts Yuya can’t
stay on the boat forever.
Speed
Daemon (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid)
You didn’t think that I’d let this post end
without a mention of Kamen Rider, did
you?
It’s been fresh on my mind -- well, more than
usual -- since I just finished up Ex-Aid. There is much
to discuss about it, but for now I’ll say that some of the music, while
video game-themed as per the season’s aesthetic, definitely does its job. Case in point: this is the theme song of one
of the villains once he gains the ability to henshin. In-context, it’s plenty fitting; said villain
is a computer virus given life and flesh with an earnest desire to wipe out
humanity…with a smile, no less. Out of
context? It sounds like the gates of
Hell have opened up via a Pac-Man cabinet. It’s a wrong-sounding track in a soundtrack
that’s not exactly wanting for them -- but for sure, this is a standout.
KILL A (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle)
So here’s the thing about me and JoJo: I got most of my early exposure to
the franchise via All-Star Battle, so
I knew about the character this theme belonged to years before the anime popped up.
Time will tell if I made a huge mistake here -- I get the feeling I
shouldn’t know about Tusk and what it can do -- but for now I’m glad I took the
plunge, if only to hear this incredible theme.
Remember how I mentioned the villains I had in
mind? And how wrong they are (or should
be)? If they ever come to fruition and
in an ideal form, it’ll be because of this song. This song is
wrong -- but it’s overflowing with power, and a willingness to assert its
perversion of reality. An uncanny,
unstoppable menace is coming your way, and no matter what you throw at it, you
can’t stop it. But don’t worry. It just wants to give you a nice little hug.
Freedom and
Security (Persona 5)
Remember, kids: it’s not a spoiler if you don’t
have the proper context.
To be fair, there’s always the possibility that
I’m associating this song with horror and nightmares because of the dungeon it
appears in (and to be sure, it’s a doozy).
On the other hand? Even if it
doesn’t have the gleeful bombast of “KILL A”, it compensates by being just
shifted enough in a bad direction to leave you off-balance. Uneasy.
Even if the instruments used to comprise it are -- or have the potential
to be -- light and smooth, “Freedom and Security” has an oppressive air about
it. Sorrowful, as well, but by the time
you pick up on that your soul will already be broken.
Majora’s
Theme (The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask)
Those eyes are gonna creep me out until I’m in the
grave. Maybe past that.
One YouTube commenter described this song as
“sinister as fuck”, and I’m inclined to agree.
Even though this game is almost 20 years old, there are still mysteries
surrounding the mask and its origin -- along with the full extent of its
capabilities. We’re probably better off
not knowing so we can preserve the potency; this song helps capture the
unearthly threat of the unknown, with a chaotic element to boot. The Nintendo crew knew it too, which would
explain why there are alternate versions for each section of Termina. The only way this song could get any creepier
is if there was an orchestral remix.
Wait…wait…wait…shit.
Now, if you’ve been following along, you may have
noticed a gap here. There are other
songs I could name and imbed, but you probably get the idea by now. The issue is that my areas of expertise are
starkly limited. I know that there are
some amazing, terrifying tracks from movies, but the cinematic world is well
out of my wheelhouse. Same goes for TV
shows. Same goes for…well, a lot of
things, really. There are many stories
and many media entries I’ve never even touched, so I’m assuming -- rightly --
that others can fill in the gaps for me.
So, the mission is clear, then. If you’ve got what it takes, then let me
(literally) hear it: point me in the direction of the spookiest, scariest, unnerving,
unnatural, courage-reducing, nightmare-inducing songs you can think of. And/or the spoopiest. I don’t care what the source is. I don’t care what the origin is. I don’t care what the genre is. All I ask is -- if possible -- give me songs
that don’t have lyrics. After that, everything is fair game.
And by everything, I mean everything. That’s
because there’s a corollary to this request: recommend some (or any) of the best tracks or soundtracks you can think
of.
Once more, songs without lyrics are
much-preferred; it’s hard to focus on writing my words when the words of others
are interfering. But again, after that
requirement you can toss up anything that either sets your heart aflutter (or
ablaze), or anything that you think will help me. In that sense, I don’t just want creepy
tracks. So for example, if you want to
say “Yo, Voltech! Stop being an idiot
and just use the Chrono Trigger OST!”
you can. I wouldn’t mind that at all.
I mean granted I’ve already used the Chrono Trigger OST a fair bit, but you
get the idea. Blow my mind with whatever
you’ve got. Not in the literal sense, of
course.
God, I love that movie.
Thanks for reading -- and thanks in advance to
anyone who comments with music to share.
You’re the real heroes today.
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