The Year In Music At Kotaku

Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life would be a mistake.” Imaginary philosopher Richard Riemenschneider once said, “People who begin articles with Nietzsche quotes are the worst.”(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); Let’s agree to meet somewhere in the middle. And with that, let’s look back at the best of Kotaku Melodic this year. The idea of doing discrete Kotaku “Programming Blocks” was an interesting one: By focusing on specific areas of expertise, individual writers could build up blocks of content that stood apart from the general flow of stories on our site. It worked for some beats more than others, but on the whole I’ve been really happy with how Kotaku Melodic came together. From critical essays to retrospectives to features to interviews to Carly Rae Jepson fan-mail, we shared all sorts of writing about the worlds of music, video games, and beyond. I hope you had as much fun as we did. Here now, the best of Kotaku Melodic, 2012. The Best Video Game Music of 2012 https://kotaku.com/the-best-video-game-music-of-2012-5968289 Let’s start with our look back at the best video game music of 2012. There was a lot. It was great. Give it all a listen. More » Gameplay and Story Are Exactly Like Music and Lyrics https://kotaku.com/gameplay-and-story-are-exactly-like-music-and-lyrics-5885432 The first and last thing I’ve had to say about the gameplay vs. story debate. This is an idea I’d been chewing on for a long time, and one I was very happy to finally articulate. More » The Silly Bulls*** of Censored Soundtracks in Sports Video Games https://kotaku.com/the-silly-bulls-of-censored-soundtracks-in-sports-vi-452564827 Owen looks at the silly practice of censoring sports-game soundtracks. More » This Amazing Credits Anthem Mostly Plays at Night. Mostly. https://kotaku.com/this-amazing-credits-anthem-mostly-plays-at-night-most-5889370 Up close and personal with one of H25 the most amazing credits anthems of all time. More » Some Video Games Are Better Without Music https://kotaku.com/some-video-games-are-better-without-music-5899519 Sure, we write about music. But some games are better without it. More » Mass Effect 3‘s Musical Secret https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-3s-musical-secret-5895616 Hidden in the background of Mass Effect 3 lay a small, wonderful love-letter to series fans. More » I Don’t Usually Like ‘Guy With Instruments Playing Video Game Music’ Videos, But This Shit Is Amazing https://kotaku.com/i-dont-usually-like-guy-with-instruments-playing-video-5902897 Of all of the “check out this video” posts we ran this year, this one might be my favorite. Sick. More » Let This Street Fighter II Song be Your Gateway to Shirtless Keyboard Fun https://kotaku.com/let-this-street-fighter-ii-song-be-your-gateway-to-shir-5887896 Of course, not all ‘guy in his room with instruments’ videos need to demonstrate chops like that last one. They can be wonderful in other ways. Luke shows us how. More » I Can Predict The Entire Halo 4 Plot, Using Only The Halo 4 Soundtrack https://kotaku.com/i-can-predict-the-entire-halo-4-plot-using-only-the-ha-5937029 An attempt at discerning the entire plot of Halo 4 using only the track-listing from the soundtrack. Not entirely accurate, but surprisingly so. More » The Case for Video Games as Music https://kotaku.com/the-case-for-video-games-as-music-5920350 Sure, video games have music. But in a lot of ways, they are music. What the heck am I talking about? Let’s explore. More » Good Lord, Computer Gaming World Had Some Hip Menu Music https://kotaku.com/good-lord-computer-gaming-world-had-some-hip-menu-musi-5893323 Believe it or not, the bundled CDs that came with CGW had some fabulous original music. More » An Open Letter To The Creators Of Rock Band https://kotaku.com/an-open-letter-to-the-creators-of-rock-band-5899207 Jason has an important message for the makers of Rock Band. More » A Game Design Legend, Still Chasing The Video Game Musical Of His Dreams https://kotaku.com/a-game-design-legend-still-chasing-the-video-game-musi-5941200 The legendary designer Warren Spector dreams of making a video game musical. Hopefully, one day he will. More » Turns Out Max Payne is a Decent Piano Player. Who Knew? https://kotaku.com/turns-out-max-payne-is-a-decent-piano-player-who-knew-5914660 A look at a hilarious musical easter egg that turned up in an unlikely place. More » Chiptunes, Schmiptunes: Embracing The Human Side of Video Game Audio https://kotaku.com/chiptunes-schmiptunes-embracing-the-human-side-of-vid-5907460 Chiptunes are great, but some amazing video game sounds have been made using only the human voice. More » Olympic Gymnast Uses Zelda Medley During Performance https://kotaku.com/olympic-gymnast-uses-zelda-medley-during-performance-5930983 The Zelda medley heard ’round the world, literally. More » The Rise of the New Music Games https://kotaku.com/the-rise-of-the-new-music-games-5895659 As our coverage this year has borne out, we’re at an exciting time for musical games. Here’s a rundown of the latest trends. More » Guitar Hero 7 Was Going To Have Six-String Guitars, No Drums, No Singing. Was Cancelled In 2011. https://kotaku.com/guitar-hero-7-was-going-to-have-six-string-guitars-no-5965684 Sources gave us all sorts of info on the now-cancelled Guitar Hero 7, which sounds like it was a real h25 com สล็อต​ disaster. More » The Mind-Numbing Music of the PlayStation Vita https://kotaku.com/the-mind-numbing-music-of-the-playstation-vita-5885430 The first of our “menu music” features took a look (and listen) at/to the boring-ass music that played in the Vita’s menus. More » The Many Melodies of the Nintendo 3DS https://kotaku.com/the-many-melodies-of-the-nintendo-3ds-5887751 As a follow-up, we also took a look at the (much better!) music that plays in the 3DS’ menus. More » Morrowind Really Did Have The Best Elder Scrolls Music, Didn’t It https://kotaku.com/morrowind-really-did-have-the-best-elder-scrolls-music-5905585 Suddenly it hit me. Morrowind really had the best soundtrack. More » May The Incredible Music of Final Fantasy Live On Forever https://kotaku.com/may-the-incredible-music-of-final-fantasy-live-on-forev-5920112 Jason looks back at the amazing music of the Final Fantasy games. More » From Uematsu to Lucasarts: A Kotaku Melodic Mix-Tape Roundup https://kotaku.com/from-uematsu-to-lucasarts-a-kotaku-melodic-mix-tape-ro-5907533 Chris Person put together an incredible collection of a/v mixtapes for us, and this post rounds up most of them. More » This Game Will Make Your Epic Sax Guy Dreams Come True https://kotaku.com/this-game-will-make-your-epic-sax-guy-dreams-come-true-5897506 We all want to be Epic Sax Guy. Pippin Barr’s game let us understand what that would be like. More » Geeks and Gamers are Taking Over Hip-Hop https://kotaku.com/geeks-and-gamers-are-taking-over-hip-hop-5908939 Patricia took a look at backpack rap, and the various ways gaming and hip-hop are and have collided. More » Geek Rap Star Kicks Fan Out Of Concert Over Tweet https://kotaku.com/geek-rap-star-kicks-fan-out-of-concert-over-tweet-upda-5927150 Drama! Hurt Feelings! Twitter! More » Choosing The Perfect Victory Music For Life’s Little Triumphs https://kotaku.com/real-life-should-have-jrpg-victory-music-5905529 It’s important to choose JRPG victory music for the triumphant moments in your life. So, we did. More » Jonathan Blow’s The Witness is an Exercise in Symphonic Game Design https://kotaku.com/jonathan-blows-the-witness-is-an-exercise-in-symphonic-5893336 A game can work like a symphony, and Jonathan Blow’s upcoming The Witness feels more symphonic than most. More » Why the Chrono Cross Soundtrack is My Favorite https://kotaku.com/why-the-chrono-cross-soundtrack-is-my-favorite-5885428 We ran a lot of short pieces about various writers’ favorite video game music, but this one by Leigh Alexander is still my favorite. More » I Can’t Stop Listening To This Portal 2 Dance Remix https://kotaku.com/i-cant-stop-listening-to-this-portal-2-dance-remix-5909420 Another favorite among the “Here, listen to this” posts. I still listen to this track. More » Somehow The Video For The Song From Robot Unicorn Attack Is Even Weirder Than Robot Unicorn Attack https://kotaku.com/somehow-the-video-for-the-song-from-robot-unicorn-attac-5913179 Worth keeping in mind. More » The Many Samples and Sound-Alikes of Earthbound https://kotaku.com/the-many-samples-and-sound-alikes-of-earthbound-5887789 Chris put together a fantastic video assembling the many musical echoes in the Earthbound soundtrack. More » Video Games are the New Best Way to Make a Living Composing Music https://kotaku.com/video-games-are-the-new-best-way-to-make-a-living-compo-5887745 A look at how video games offer a fantastic new way to make a living composing music. More » Non Game-Related Stuff In addition to video game music, we also covered a fair bit of non-game-related music. When there was something that needed to be said, sometimes it got said here. And when there were harp-playing blonde twins that needed to be recognized, that happened too. Blonde Twins Playing A Metallica Cover On Harps While Standing In The Desert https://kotaku.com/blonde-twins-playing-a-metallica-cover-on-harps-while-s-5929354 Sometimes the headline says it all. More » Blonde Twins Playing The Elder Scrolls Theme On Harps While Standing In A Forest https://kotaku.com/blonde-twins-playing-the-elder-scrolls-theme-on-harps-w-5935833 Other times, the headline still says it all. More » Blonde Twins Playing Final Fantasy Music On Harps While Standing Next To A Lighthouse https://kotaku.com/blonde-twins-playing-final-fantasy-music-on-harps-while-5951395 Yet other times, the headline continues to say it all. More » Avishai Cohen, One of the Great Composers of our Time https://kotaku.com/avishai-cohen-one-of-the-great-composers-of-our-time-5885436 I was happy to share the wonderful music of bassist Avishai Cohen with a few new listeners. More » Antônio Carlos Jobim, The Great Romantic Melodist https://kotaku.com/antonio-carlos-jobim-the-great-romantic-melodist-5903568 Ditto A.C. Jobim, a composer everyone should know. More » The Best (And Worst) TV Show Opening-Credit Anthems https://kotaku.com/the-best-and-worst-tv-show-opening-credit-anthems-5918560 I love TV, and this was a good excuse to write about opening credits themes, reminisce about Veronica Mars, and piss off West Wing fans. More » The Band That Made the Scott Pilgrim Movie Like 300% Better https://kotaku.com/the-band-that-made-the-scott-pilgrim-movie-like-300-be-5920377 I continue to be in lesbians with Metric. More » Miles Davis Hated Everything https://kotaku.com/miles-davis-hated-everything-5927583 Everybody loves Miles, but Miles hardly loves anything. More » Amanda Palmer Asks Musicians To Play For Free, Pisses Off Musicians https://kotaku.com/amanda-palmer-asks-musicians-to-play-for-free-pisses-o-5943112 An interesting look at the many challenges plaguing professional instrumentalists today, and how an innocuous request can go off the rails. More » This Gloriously Cheesy MIDI File Was Windows’ Greatest Hit https://kotaku.com/this-gloriously-cheesy-midi-file-was-windows-greatest-h-5949071 h25 com เข้าสู่ระบบ​ Canyon.mid! Canyon.mid! More » Forget Gotye, Kimbra Is The Most Exciting Singer I’ve Heard in Ages https://kotaku.com/forget-gotye-kimbra-is-the-most-exciting-singer-ive-he-5918581 Another of the standout “Here’s a thing” posts, this was just too good not to re-share. More » A Hidden Gem on the Greatest Jazz Album of All Time https://kotaku.com/a-hidden-gem-on-the-greatest-jazz-album-of-all-time-5897511 Sometimes you just have to geek out about “Flamenco Sketches” and modal jazz. More » Growing the Jazz Audience ‘Can’t Be Done.’ Maybe That’s Okay? https://kotaku.com/growing-the-jazz-audience-cant-be-done-maybe-thats-oka-5913112 Jazz is in trouble. What’s to be done? More » The 12 Greatest Drum Solos On The Internet https://kotaku.com/the-12-greatest-drum-solos-on-the-internet-5931058 A worthy list, if ever there was one. Incomplete, of course, but there is some great stuff on here. More » And at last, we come to the end, where I’d like to recognize what I’ve come to think of as, just for me personally, the Coolest Musical Thing That Happened All Year: the TV series Kids on the Slope Here are two articles; one about the show, and one about the music. From The Creators of Cowboy Bebop, a Dreamlike Ode to Youth, Love and Jazz https://kotaku.com/from-the-creators-of-cowboy-bebop-a-dreamlike-ode-to-y-5914624 I loved this show so much. More » A Listener’s Guide to the Music of Kids on the Slope https://kotaku.com/a-listeners-guide-to-the-music-of-kids-on-the-slope-30786490 I loved the music on this show even more. More » And that’s that. Thanks for reading, and for bearing with us as we explored the wild and wonderful world of music. I hope you’ll stick around next year, and if there’s some musical something or other you’d like to see us talk about more, shoot me an email with “Melodic” in the subject or let me know in the comments. I’ll leave you with a final thought from Mr. Albus Dumbledore: “Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic far beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!”