Shenmue: Memories of Iwao

Memories. Reflection. That’s what this song is about. I am sailing a daunting voyage across a vast ocean with no land around in me in sight, awaiting the appearance of a speck of land which will indicate that I am close to Destiny. But now the air grows chilly, the tides turbulent, and the night darker and foggier. I detach the sail from my ship, and my vessel gently glides to a stop, giving me a chance to look around.

Where to go from here? I can hear from a distance the sweet notes of past times and happy memories, smiling people and faces, magical places and circumstances. A sorrowful weight of lead sits at the bottom of my heart as I remember, as everything comes back to me. The lessons. The laughs. The difficult times. The absurdities. Even the challenges and unbearable things of the past…they too seem like distant friends to me now, friends who have bid me farewell and stood at the shore looking after me as I set sail for a far away land. And not until that moment did I see in their eyes a sort of familiarity – the culmination of all the days we spent together, happy and painful – never before was it so transparent. Their eyes also displayed the sadness of parting, but also a strong resolution on my behalf, that I was to go forth and make conquests elsewhere.

But every now and then, when the wind changes direction and picks up speed, and the clouds briefly obscure the moon, I wonder about the twisted route that Destiny has mapped for me. The subtle but vital clues that have been scattered throughout several different continents. The hints and leads that I must piece together to ultimately figure out where I am going. Why do I see the wrecks of so many other ships that sailed here before me? Was it nothing more than their loss of direction that destroyed them? Or was it their obsession with landing at Destiny’s shore that made them forget to steer properly, leading to their demise?

A sobering reflection. But as I feel the ocean breeze across my face and I glance at the twinkling stars, the power of faith is renewed within me, and I allow the winds at my back to set the ship in motion once more. I stand at the bow, resuming my cautious look out for friend or foe on the horizon. But in a strange way, I appreciate this moment of silence and solitude for the time being.

El Condor Pasa

There are those of us who have always looked towards  the skies for inspiration. The vast expanse of deep blue holds promises of wild and magical adventures to those seeking to escape earthly sorrows. The fluffy white clouds drift carelessly above, continuously being molded into new shapes by the hand of a profoundly sloppy and unpredictable sculptor hovering over the earth’s surface. Are they ever lonely? Are the “heavens” above really a separate and forbidden zone, a sphere of isolation and dark, murky mystery to us ordinary humans? Or are they a place for delightful encounters, ultimate freedom and extraordinary passion, and fantastic adventures for those who brave the risk? A thousand tales of love, hope, and inspiration are waiting to be told.

A profound moment of friendship in the skies.

Age of Empires II Soundtrack

Why do I always provide links to video game music in my blog? Am I that much of a geek? Well, there’s the short answer (yes) and the long answer to that. You see, when you’re playing a video game like The Legend of Zelda or Age of Empires II, you’re focused on the mission or task at hand, whether it be saving the princess and slaying three-headed dragons, or launching a ground offensive against the enemy. Sometimes you just can’t consciously focus on the music. But it’s there, and your subconscious mind is totally digging it while you’re owning Agahnim with his own evil magic energy by reflecting it with your master sword.

What am I getting at? Sometimes video game music speaks straight to the heart, because of its simplicity. There’s immense profundity…in its simplicity. This particular song is called, “Smells like Crickets, Tastes Like Chicken.” Why is it called that? I have no idea! But who really cares? When I listen to this, my heart lightens as I recall the many hours I spent building my civilization (I usually played as the Japanese), raising an army, and setting out on major conquests. I don’t think words – I think feelings, and nostalgia. That’s the point, words aren’t important with this type of music. I have appropriated the music as something special connected with my past; hence it’s a part of me, and no one else will hear the same thing I do when I listen to it.

But music is not just about the past. This song not only makes me nostalgic and remember my virtual conquests on the PC, but it lights a spark, and sells a bigger inspiration. An inspiration to conquer my dreams with the same determination and courage as the brave general who conquered his enemy in an epic battle. And forever behold and absorb this beautiful process of growth and learning known as life.

Arrested Development: Come Clean With You

So Arrested Development has made it to the top of my favorite TV shows list, becoming the first show to surpass South Park, ever. Mind you, it’s a pretty short list, considering how little TV I watch. In fact, it’s really only 3 items long:

1. Arrested Development

2. South Park

3. The Office

And considering that I don’t even like The Office that much, this says something about what I think of the majority of shows on TV today. My brain is like a separate nation with a very authoritarian government that issues immigration laws severely restricting the type of media that enters it. In order for a TV show or movie to be allowed entrance into my mind, it has to have a Visitor’s Visa, which can only be obtained by numerous recommendations from friends whose opinions I value. If I do let the media into my brain, and it turns out to be acceptable, that TV show or movie is granted a Permanent Resident visa. This is a highly influential status, as this means that the said medium has the potential to influence my thoughts, beliefs, and actions (and ultimately my life). So wouldn’t you also be careful about what you let into your brain?

With that said, Arrested Development has definitely impacted how I view society and my perceived place in society. Of course I love the comedy, the ridicule, and the satire. But what also inspires me is the genuine message or driving force behind each of the characters. Michael is portrayed as someone successful and hard working who is spending every ounce of his effort to keep his family together – but he is also shown to be light-hearted and fun-loving, as well as an imperfect human being and protagonist who is on his own learning adventure in life.  The others, including Tobias and Gob, are all looking for something or striving for what they believe is their purpose, although their flawed logic, immaturity, and frivolity cause more than a few misadventures and keep them from their goals. But everyone seems to be having fun more often than not, whether or not it is fun at the expense of others.

It has truly made me reflect on how life is never fully satisfying, and the need to put aside our continuous wanting and desiring and accept life’s imperfections, and just share some laughs and silly moments with the people who matter. It has helped to dispel the dark childhood image I’ve had of success as a solitary and merciless pursuit, where the object is to surpass everyone else with a vengeance and never look back. Now I realize, more than ever, that success is only worthwhile if I can share it with the people I care about, and let those people be the inspiration for my success.

Zelda Windwaker Theme

I recall once telling my friends Rendell and Phi that if I were in another time and place far away in the past, and I had the opportunity, I would live in a small town and become the flute-boy, the pied piper, and happily spend the rest of my days in this way. I would be seen and heard by the locals as they pass by me on the way to the village market square. I would play in the same spot everyday, surrounded by a group of eager animals and children (foxes, dogs, cats, frogs, birds, rabbits, maybe even an occasional bear) who would sit entranced and wide-eyed as they listened to my narration of a heart-rending  or uplifting story in the form of a beautiful, passionate melody.

This is a fantasy that sits deep within my soul, that practically brings tears to my eyes as I relate it to you. I believe the image of a young boy in a green hat sitting on a tree stump in the middle of a forest, playing to the animals of the wild comes from my days of playing The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past when I was little. Who would think that an image from a video game would come to bear such symbolic signifance in my life? For nowadays, as I find myself rushing to and fro, hardly stopping to think where I am or what I’m doing, caught up in the pressures of the real world, the pitfalls and mazes within society, as well as the confusion and complications of my relationships with others – it’s incredibly reassuring to look within myself and see the young pied piper there. He truly knows what he is and what he’s doing, and he enjoys every moment of it. His music is his message, the ultimate expression of his soul. It’s nice to stop for a moment and remember what makes me special and gives me a unique identity in this world. A feeling, if nothing else.

Radiohead – High and Dry

Memories are formed in a very peculiar way. I’ve noticed that memories with a strong emotional core can be most easily and thoroughly recalled, thus causing the same emotions from a past time to flood through the mind and body, providing a temporary rush. No surprise there. But I’ve also realized that the cues that act as pointers to these memories are  most often 1) a particular scent, aroma, or odor that serves to remind one of a powerful memory, or 2) music, something one may have listened to or associated with that time period in his/her life to which the memory is bound.

This particular song and its video, besides being a music video I enjoy watching, reminds me of a distinct time period in my life, specifically the first half of the year 2007 – without doubt, one of most memorable, exciting, and enjoyable times in my life. Therefore, what this song most clearly evokes in me is nostalgia. The details particular to my case are not important. But it seems that through the power of music, I find myself transported into the past, and I find that the person I was back then in the spring of 2007 (and I have transformed several times since then) is still alive within me, influencing my thoughts and actions today, probably even guiding me toward my destiny to a certain extent.

I’m aware that this is not a happy song; rather, it’s a song that conveys cynicism and  alienation. However, this is exactly what binds my memory of listening to this song with that particular time period – Thom Yorke’s words symbolized my feelings of scorn towards
certain aspects of society during that time. Therefore, I’ve found that even through channels of unwholesome or angry emotions, music can transport me back to happy memories of the past, and that same feeling of warmth and sweetness can return for a moment. In conclusion to this unfocused account of what goes on in my brain, I can only say that I’m baffled by the divine workings of music, and even more so by the question of who (or what) I am.

Bowser’s Road

Here’s to the power that permeates the matter of this universe, infinite and indomitable. Here’s to the force that can move mountains, conquer the skies, and control the direction of the winds. It is a power “greater than all of our fears and superstitions combined,” in the words of Napoleon Hill. When I hear the music that is the product of this power, when I see the people who have against all odds triumphed and harnessed the intangible forces of the ether, I smile, and in that moment, I am unafraid. I am unafraid of the tallest heights and the steepest trails. My soul is a vessel, and I do not fear the darkest, deepest waters I must traverse. I am unmoved by the snapping jaws and the sharp teeth that others may call “dangerous.” I shall follow the light in my heart ’till the end, and give no thought to the limitations existing in the mind of the common man.

Sugar – Ladytron

I’ve learned from past experiences that happiness really is around the corner. That’s because happy times are the product of chemical rushes and neurotransmitter level patterns in our brain, and these patterns result from the perception of specific conditions surrounding us that are hard-coded into our minds to make us happy. Sometimes being in one place, with one or more persons, during one time in your life can result in joy and ecstasy, while a different situation and setting can leave serious negative and even traumatic imprints on your mind. But the really funny thing is that the intensity of the emotions we felt during a particular time become most clear and apparent once our circumstances have changed, as they always do.

 And so this is life: continually entering new periods associated with new places, things, people – and most importantly, new memories coupled with strong emotional cores that will go on to either bring us sadness, happiness, or nostalgia in the future. It’s both a beautiful and horrifying thing that the world, to each of us, is our own mind’s creation. But as there is no possibility of reviving or chasing down and replicating a former state of emotion, I conclude that we ought to pay attention to the budding emotional “trap” that is likely forming in each of our lives right now, the trap that may consume us in the future. If it’s a pit of desolation, then take heart and have no doubt that happiness is waiting to arise and stage its grand comeback. And if it’s happiness, then squeeze every drop out of it and savor every moment of it, because it’s sure to change shape again very soon.

Bob Marley – Jammin’

A good friend of mine had a t-shirt that read, “Music is a force of nature.” I think about this beautiful metaphor every time I listen to an uplifting song, a passionate melody, or an emotional piece of music. If I was ever a pure rationalist, my life and views have been drastically altered by the power of music. To create music, to share and inspire with it – such is a gift of humankind whose full and mysterious nature penetrates beyond the physical world into the realm of the spiritual.

Seriously. To think that a song sung from one’s soul and heart could come to epitomize another’s message or purpose in life. But I hear it in Bob Marley’s voice – life is worth much more than gold. And one of my deepest desires in life is to be surrounded by those who recognize this, and who are not afraid to part with the purely rational, mechanical, robotic, sensible half of the world every now and then and dance around a bonfire and sing their hearts out in tribute to the vast, the unknown, the holiness of the Infinite. In this sense, music has been empowering for me, even a defining force in my life. Because to listen to such a song, and feel in my gut, “this song is about me, my place in the world, and my role in humanity” really is an experience not to be taken lightly. If you stick to your rationalist notions and find this silly, we will always be strangers at heart. But understand this, and you will not find understanding me much harder.

To think that jamming was a thing of the past!