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Diffstat (limited to 'album/homestuck-vol-9.yaml')
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1 files changed, 9 insertions, 9 deletions
diff --git a/album/homestuck-vol-9.yaml b/album/homestuck-vol-9.yaml index 5992a8f5..3e4f94ab 100644 --- a/album/homestuck-vol-9.yaml +++ b/album/homestuck-vol-9.yaml @@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ Commentary: |- Yeah, so I thought "Brobots" would've been a better name, especially because that became their canon name in the comic, but by then Hussie had used it in the comic under the name Anbroids, so it stuck :p I apended a 2.0 on it because the versions became fairly different. I also figured some people might want the original version 1.0 used in the comic after the album came out. Speaking of which... <b>VERSION ONE</b> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ICTFBDONdI">[LISTEN TO] IT HERE!</a> + [\[LISTEN TO] IT HERE!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ICTFBDONdI) This was an in progress version that Hussie nabbed early on before I'd made changes to create the newer version. I'll go into why it changed in a bit, but here's a good place to discuss the track at large: The main theme is there, but a bit... "Lazier" - It doesn't have a lot of the swing it'd later develop. It also opens with just a percussive riff, which is probably most influenced by the likes of Toejam 'n Earl. Overall I reckon this version lacked energy, so it needed a bit of a rework before I reckoned it was cool enough to be a Strider song... <b>VERSION TWO</b> @@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ Commentary: |- Aaah Pumpkin Party in Sea Hitler's Water Apocalypse. Or Pumpkin Party in Colony 413 or whatever I was calling it before I decided to go nuts. The original working title was just "Pumpkin Party", so at the very least we started somewhere sensible. So let's have a chat about where this one came from. <b>THE CONCEPT</b> - So around about <a href="https://www.homestuck.com/story/4852">THIS PANEL</a> during Dirk's history lesson of the future, we got a glimpse as to what Roxy was up to - Helping the locals out in the post apocalyptic hell-future. Some bizarre idea came about that herself and the Carapacians would get together and have a little underground party away from the watchful gaze of the Condensce and her drones and the like. Gotta find some way to keep your spirits up, right? So with that incredibly vague concept the idea was born to come up with some small light of goodness and happiness in, well, "Sea Hitler's Water Apocalypse". + So around about [THIS PANEL](https://www.homestuck.com/story/4852) during Dirk's history lesson of the future, we got a glimpse as to what Roxy was up to - Helping the locals out in the post apocalyptic hell-future. Some bizarre idea came about that herself and the Carapacians would get together and have a little underground party away from the watchful gaze of the Condensce and her drones and the like. Gotta find some way to keep your spirits up, right? So with that incredibly vague concept the idea was born to come up with some small light of goodness and happiness in, well, "Sea Hitler's Water Apocalypse". <b>THE NAME</b> As mentioned this changed a few times, but this line sums up pretty much everything you need to know about the future: <code style="color: #1f9400">GT: Like what is even your day to day business like in sea hitlers water apocalypse??</code> @@ -479,9 +479,9 @@ Commentary: |- - Clubs must be started in tree-houses and couch forts to keep boys out - Parents suck and will never understand - You can trust corporate America - The music was a hodge-podge of a lot of things - the production style of early 90's house music (Deee-Lite and Cathy Dennis were my main references) was coupled with the intentionally insipid rap vocals in a time in which many game commercials <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkWYP95WbbY">had</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m__j99flW9w">awful</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7FN5B02YEo">raps</a>. The lead vocals are performed by Tavia Morra, whose voice I discovered sounds scarily childlike when sped up slightly. We played the backup track at about 75% speed and had her rap over it to create the vocal comp before speeding it back up to create the cringe-worthy little girl voice. I did a digital process to lower my voice to create the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0LoHA_FPAs">Pokérap</a>-style breakdown towards the middle of the track and then asked Erik Scheele to play a painfully retro midi guitar solo. + The music was a hodge-podge of a lot of things - the production style of early 90's house music (Deee-Lite and Cathy Dennis were my main references) was coupled with the intentionally insipid rap vocals in a time in which many game commercials [had](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkWYP95WbbY) [awful](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m__j99flW9w) [raps](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7FN5B02YEo). The lead vocals are performed by Tavia Morra, whose voice I discovered sounds scarily childlike when sped up slightly. We played the backup track at about 75% speed and had her rap over it to create the vocal comp before speeding it back up to create the cringe-worthy little girl voice. I did a digital process to lower my voice to create the [Pokérap](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0LoHA_FPAs)-style breakdown towards the middle of the track and then asked Erik Scheele to play a painfully retro midi guitar solo. For the track art (lovingly created and posed for by Tavia) among our many references were Alex Mack and The Olson Twins. The big deal-breaker for us was getting a pair of overalls, a garment seemingly synonymous with the 90's. We spent nearly three hours hunting for a pair in Austin coming up short at Wal-Mart, Academy, Sheplers, Cavender's Boot City, Goodwill, a costume store, a paint store, and a plumbing store before finally finding a wearable piece 17 miles out of town at a farm supply store. Apparently humanity had the good sense to wipe that fucking hideous fashion travesty off the face of the earth at the end of the decade (I knew the y2k bug must have done something!) and now only people who actually need them wear them. - We took our pictures at the Japanese-style game center Arcade UFO. Outtakes can be found <a href="https://seeyoutmorra.tumblr.com/post/24983253249/some-of-the-other-photos-from-the-gamegrl">here</a>. + We took our pictures at the Japanese-style game center Arcade UFO. Outtakes can be found [here](https://seeyoutmorra.tumblr.com/post/24983253249/some-of-the-other-photos-from-the-gamegrl). <i>Tavia Morra:</i> I don't even know where to start. One day Bowman and I discovered that if we pitched my voice up a little higher than where it normally is, then I sounded like a 12 year old girl. The idea for GameGrl came up later and he proceeded to write lyrics that would make any 90's kiddo cringe at the nostalgia of their childhood and want to do it again. @@ -613,7 +613,7 @@ Commentary: |- <i>Erik Scheele:</i> Started as a sequel to Upward Movement, before Hussie skipped over that entire sequence, which made me try to build it into a general Dirk theme. Sort of like a rise to power, from princehood to kinghood, or sommat. Maybe even a character theme, though I can't really make those calls. <i>Tavia Morra:</i> - This picture started with an innocent suggestion from RJ who imagined Dirk riding a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Hang-On">super hang on motorcycle</a> to this song. I took the idea over to Jit who then helped me develop the picture to what it became, suggesting the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUUbp-4kKMA">FF7 motorcycle chase</a> as inspiration and to turn the motorcycle in to Sawtooth. + This picture started with an innocent suggestion from RJ who imagined Dirk riding a [super hang on motorcycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Hang-On) to this song. I took the idea over to Jit who then helped me develop the picture to what it became, suggesting the [FF7 motorcycle chase](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUUbp-4kKMA) as inspiration and to turn the motorcycle in to Sawtooth. --- Track: Stress Artists: @@ -633,7 +633,7 @@ Referenced Tracks: - Five-Four Stress Commentary: |- <i>Toby Fox:</i> - art by P-RO at <a href="https://nomorepros.tumblr.com">nomorepros.tumblr.com</a>. P-RO always does a maximally amazing job so why I asked her to draw the art is a non-question. + art by P-RO at [nomorepros.tumblr.com](https://nomorepros.tumblr.com). P-RO always does a maximally amazing job so why I asked her to draw the art is a non-question. Stress is actually a pretty faithful arrangement of an original track by Buzinkai. Buzinkai has been responsible for several HS-important melodies like [[Doctor]], [[Endless Climb]], and [[Explore]] and [her] work, for me, has always established a certain "essence" of what Homestuck is. My goal for this piece was actually to create a classic strife theme for Dirk with the core feeling of earlier pieces like [[Showtime (Original Mix)|Showtime]] or [[Doctor]], so basing the piece off of something with that "essence" was important.* I can't say why Buzinkai wrote this piece the way she did, so I'll instead highlight the differences between the original and my arrangement. - <p>Updated the instrumentation. Buzinkai's usage of PXTONE is indeed charming and nostalgic-sounding, but I wanted to push things bit further. One major difference is the arrangement of the strings - Buzinkai's PXTONE strings have an sharp attack to them, while mine come on a bit softer but are thicker. My strings then sound more "lush" but less "urgent."</p> @@ -641,7 +641,7 @@ Commentary: |- - <p>Added an introduction and a true ending to make it more of a proper start-to-finish song.</p> About the similarity to [[Teal Hunter]] and a fun syncopation lesson: - <p>This was unintentional - I not only started my arrangement of this song before the contest was conceived, Buzinkai made the original song back in 2010. THOUGH as soon as I heard Teal Hunter I KNEW people would call out the similarities because, surprise, there are plenty of them! Here's the big one: - - <p>Both pieces are in 5/4 (5 beats per measure, try counting to 5 over and over on the beat) and use the SAME syncopation (syncopation = the division of notes into smaller off-beat rhythms within the measure) throughout the track. Actually, many many many pieces in 5/4 use this syncopation. See: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nlCNVewMjA">Hollow Bastion</a>. Why do composers keep doing this? Two reasons: One, because it sounds awesome. Second, because the main way to compose in odd time signatures like 5/4 or 13/4** is actually to cut things into smaller units of 3, 2, or 4. Though each measure is comprised of 5 total beats, each measure in these songs is cut into 10 notes of half the length going 123-123-12-12. 3! 3! 2! 2!</p> <p>Wow, that was a very poor explanation. But please go to that Hollow Bastion video I linked and count "one-two-three-one-two-three-one-two-one-two" very quickly along with each note the harp plays. You'll get it. (And I'm just making things more confusing, but isn't it awesome how the syncopation switches at the end of the 4-measure phrase to "1234 12 12 12?" The little bit of contrast makes it feel complete.)</p> <p>So, why don't people just cut things up differently? like 3 2 2 3? it's definitely possible! Here's my theory about why people favor the syncopation they do: It seems like ending a measure with a shorter note ON the beat leads into the next measure more naturally. It even sounds like a leadin: dun-DUN! This is supported by the fact that one of the most popular syncopations in existence is the one in 4/4 that goes 3 3 2. This is probably the same principle.</p> <p>3 3 2: ON OFF ON<br>3 3 2 2: ON OFF ON ON</p> + - <p>Both pieces are in 5/4 (5 beats per measure, try counting to 5 over and over on the beat) and use the SAME syncopation (syncopation = the division of notes into smaller off-beat rhythms within the measure) throughout the track. Actually, many many many pieces in 5/4 use this syncopation. See: [Hollow Bastion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nlCNVewMjA). Why do composers keep doing this? Two reasons: One, because it sounds awesome. Second, because the main way to compose in odd time signatures like 5/4 or 13/4** is actually to cut things into smaller units of 3, 2, or 4. Though each measure is comprised of 5 total beats, each measure in these songs is cut into 10 notes of half the length going 123-123-12-12. 3! 3! 2! 2!</p> <p>Wow, that was a very poor explanation. But please go to that Hollow Bastion video I linked and count "one-two-three-one-two-three-one-two-one-two" very quickly along with each note the harp plays. You'll get it. (And I'm just making things more confusing, but isn't it awesome how the syncopation switches at the end of the 4-measure phrase to "1234 12 12 12?" The little bit of contrast makes it feel complete.)</p> <p>So, why don't people just cut things up differently? like 3 2 2 3? it's definitely possible! Here's my theory about why people favor the syncopation they do: It seems like ending a measure with a shorter note ON the beat leads into the next measure more naturally. It even sounds like a leadin: dun-DUN! This is supported by the fact that one of the most popular syncopations in existence is the one in 4/4 that goes 3 3 2. This is probably the same principle.</p> <p>3 3 2: ON OFF ON<br>3 3 2 2: ON OFF ON ON</p> - <p>Besides the fact that the syncopation is identical, the chords and melody are similar and the way the strings are used are basically the same. I have no explanation for this other than... great minds think alike???</p> <p>RANDOM FUN FACT: Awakening is also in 5/4, go to 1:40 and sing the melody to Stress. Hell, [[media:misc/stresscombo.mp3|I'll do it for you.]] It fits!!! The main melody of awakening also starts with a similar rhythm as Stress. it's the curse of the 123 123 12 12's.</p> Wow, I really got off track here. But I hope you learned something today. * Yes, Bill Bolin also started an arrangement of this piece before he left the team. I think we were both attracted to the same "essence" present in Buzinkai's piece. @@ -818,7 +818,7 @@ Referenced Tracks: Sampled Tracks: - Life in Technicolor Commentary: |- - <i>Clark Powell:</i> (<a href="https://plazmataz.tumblr.com/post/25536699941/jane-dargason-it-may-be-a-little-late-by-now-but">Tumblr</a>) + <i>Clark Powell:</i> ([Tumblr](https://plazmataz.tumblr.com/post/25536699941/jane-dargason-it-may-be-a-little-late-by-now-but)) It may be a little late by now, but I wanted to give one more of my songs from Volume 9 a post of its own. @@ -937,7 +937,7 @@ Art Tags: - Earth Commentary: |- <i>Tavia Morra:</i> - This is another one that RJ let me do whatever I wanted on. After thinking about the title of the track, I remembered the moment in Homestuck when we all finally found out the answer to the infamous question <a href="https://www.homestuck.com/story/4853">"What Pumpkin?"</a> And what a heartwarming answer it was! To me, this was one of the most gentle tear-jerking moments in the comic to date. It just made sense to draw. + This is another one that RJ let me do whatever I wanted on. After thinking about the title of the track, I remembered the moment in Homestuck when we all finally found out the answer to the infamous question ["What Pumpkin?"](https://www.homestuck.com/story/4853) And what a heartwarming answer it was! To me, this was one of the most gentle tear-jerking moments in the comic to date. It just made sense to draw. --- Track: iRRRRRRRRECONCILA8LE Directory: iRRRRRRRRECONCILA8LE |