Daily Prompt: Polymathic Playlist

Hey, folks. Today’s Daily Prompt is all about music. Specifically, the kind of mix tape/playlist you’d make to introduce yourself to someone new. This one took a while to make, mainly because I was raised with a really eclectic music selection. I’ll just let the playlist do the talking. Happy listening! EDIT: For the sake of simplicity, I made a playlist on YouTube.

• The Seatbelts – Tank!
• Shoji Meguro – Reach Out To The Truth/Yu Narukami Theme (Persona 4 Arena Mix)
• Daft Punk – Around The World/Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007 Remix)
• Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box OST – Pandora’s Box Theme (Live)
• Katamari Damacy OST – Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
• Malcos – Street Fighter II: Ryu Interpretation (OC Remix)
• Sixto Sounds – Electric Spark: Mega Man X: Spark Mandrill Theme (OC Remix)
• Capcom VS SNK 2 OST – This Is True Love Makin’ (London Theme)
• Miracle of Sound – Messing With The Best (Bayonetta 2 Theme)
• Hirata Shihoko & Lotus Juice – Break Out Of…(Persona 4 Ultimax Main Theme)
• Foo Fighters – Learn To Fly
• Bliss n Eso – Pale Blue Dot
• We Love Katamari OST – Heaven’s Rain
• Passenger 10 – The Mage
• Passenger 10 – Lembrancas
• Lack of Afro – The Outsider
• STP ft. Cellfunktion – Karma
• Tekken 5: DR OST – Snow Castle
• Cecile Bredie – The Autumn Leaves
• Luis Hermandez – To The Beach
• Donkey Kong Country OST – Aquatic Ambiance
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – This Velvet Glove
• Prefab Sprout – Moving The River (Acoustic)
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night OST – Crystal Teardrop
• James Taylor – Fire And Rain
• Andy Duguid fr. Leah – Don’t Belong (RaFa’s Out Of Key Reprise)
• Fastball – Out Of My Head
• Seal – Crazy
• The Eagles – Desperado
• Persona 4 Golden OST – Never More: I’ll Face Myself (Reincarnation Remix)
• Barenaked Ladies – Falling For The First Time
• Gundam Wing OST – Rhythm Emotion (Theme 2)
• Takeharu Ishimoto ft. Leah – Calling (1960’s Remix)
• Daughtry – September
• Yellowcard – Way Away
• Vanessa Carlton – A Thousand Miles (Acoustic)
• Feint – One Thousand Dreams
• Bond – Explosive
• Escala – Palladio
• Charlie Haden – Easy On The Heart
• DiDuLa – Arabica
• MFSB ft. The Three Degrees – T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)
• Moby – Bodyrock
• The Trammps – Disco Inferno
• Nina Simone – Sinnerman
• Boz Scaggs – Lowdown
• Little River Band – Reminiscing
• Carole King – So Far Away
• Matchbox 20 – How Far We’ve Come
• R. Master ft. Shiroku – God Knows (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Remix)
• Santana – Into The Night
• Eagle Eye Cherry – Save Tonight
• Donna Summer – MacArthur Park (Suite)
• Cynthia Harrell – I Am The Wind (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night OST)
• Mel Torme – Stardust
• Yu Yu Hakusho OST – The Homework Never Ends (Ending 1)
• Noel Gallagher – Wonderwall (The Dreams We Have As Children)
• Queen – Under Pressure (Wembley ’86)
• Yoko Kanno/The Seatbelts – Gotta Knock A Little Harder

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Soundtrack Saturdays: Tekken 6 – Yodeling In Meadow Hill (Hidden Retreat)

Continuing my Tekken fix from the last two weeks, I delved deeper into Tekken 6’s OST and found this gem buried deep in the playlist. This is a song exclusive to to the Bloodline Rebellion, which was a re-release of the previous game, but with more characters and rebalanced combat mechanics. “Yodeling In Meadow Hill” continues in the series’ tradition of trying out different genres and blending them together. It’s hard to say if it’s a parody – yodeling, sheep, and the Matterhorn don’t really work with the game’s dark and demonic theming – but it’s undeniably catchy. And if you think it’s silly, you should check out this hilariously cheesy High School Musical parody track in the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Not so bad now, huh?

If you want more Bloodline Rebellion, you can find the full OST here.

Good gaming, good music.

Soundtrack Saturdays: Tekken 6 – Edge of Spring (Mystical Forest)

Last week, I posted one of my favorite tracks from Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection. In doing so, I realized there were several more awesome songs spread throughout the Tekken series. I decided to check out Tekken 6 first; I’d played it a few years ago, but had mostly forgotten about it. Its soundtrack is an eclectic blend of heavy metal, techno, and instrumentals. Some songs, like the “High Rollers Club,” fit their stage’s tone perfectly. Others, like the “Anger of the Earth,” go for something a little more epic. “Edge Of Spring’s” guitars and piano won me over, though. In a game about demons and martial arts, you need a track like this to mellow things out.

If you want more Tekken 6, you can find the full OST here.

Good gaming, good music.

Soundtrack Saturdays: Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection – Snow Castle

At first glance, it’s easy to overlook Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection. It was an update of the Tekken 5, arguably one of the finest 3D fighters ever made and an impossibly tough act to follow. Rather than giving players a wholly new experience, DR retold the story of the previous game and added two more competitors to the already 30+ character roster. Despite its shortcomings, however, the game was one of the biggest successes in 2006, thanks in part to its release on the PSP. Gamers with the handheld console were clamoring for a high-quality exclusive title, and DR pulled it off spectacularly. Years later, it’s still regarded by some as the pinnacle of the Tekken series.

This is thanks in part to the game’s superb soundtrack. Most of the music features remixes of Tekken 5’s playlist, though “Snow Castle” is entirely new track. The combination of chanting, instrumentals, and rock blend perfectly, giving the fights a decidedly epic tone. It was so popular, it received an orchestrated remix in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. The jury is still out on which one is better, though…

If you want more Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, you can find the full OST here or here.

Good gaming, good music.

Soundtrack Saturdays: Tekken 5 – Moonlit Wilderness

I love fighting games. Always have, always will. However, I’ve been more of a Street Fighter and King of Fighters kind of gamer. It’s more to do with pacing and character design than anything else. However, that doesn’t mean I dismiss 3D fighters. Take Tekken for example; as of 2014, it’s got one of the biggest and most diverse playable casts in gaming history. The sheer amount of detail and variety put into each game is staggering, and it’s still going strong.

The series reached new heights in 2005 with Tekken 5, which boasted 32 fighters, robust gameplay modes (including the first three games!), and the continuation of what had become a character-driven story. Corporate espionage, assassinations, ninjas, robots, boxers, kangaroos, pandas, demonic possession, high schoolers, sibling rivalries, daddy issues…Tekken 5 went over the top and just kept going. The same goes with its soundtrack, which took full advantage of the PS2’s audio quality and gave fans some of the best tracks in the series. Nearly a decade later, it’s still superb.

If you want more Tekken 5, you can find the full OST on YouTube and iTunes.

Good gaming, good music.