A general thread for anything related to music and Sonic The Hedgehog that doesn't also belong in a dedicated game thread. Discuss favorite soundtracks, quirks you've noticed, compositions, conposers or even discoveries such as beta tracks you've found and want to share.
I'm not sure that creating yet another topic on this subject when there already are half a dozen of them is the way to go. As I said in the other one, I'd personally merge them all into one (and pin it if needed).
I figured if nothing else, since a few of them were for very different or specific topics, if nothing else they could be merged into something like this which is more general
there really is an xkcd for everything But yeah I figure the intent was to have them all merged into this thread, of course a mod would have to get involved for that to happen however.
That's not really how it works, though, because posts are sorted chronologically. When and if the topics are merged, the OP of the oldest one will be displayed at the top.
This is just my personal feeling off the cuff, but I think continuing to make specific threads for specific discussion points or questions will be for the best. The topic about the flute section in Sonic R, for example, has a chance of more eyes seeing it that can answer the question and explore reasoning behind the missing instrument. Whereas in a music megathread, such a question may get glossed over or not seen at all since the average user may not want to keep up with moment-to-moment general music discussion of the series. (As a counter, perhaps having a place specifically for stuff like that would encourage people to look anyway.) I also worry that a music megathread eventually becomes just "post a link to a song you like" and encourages less interesting discussion overall. At that point, we do have that thread already in the Member's Lounge: What song are you listening to now? | Sonic and Sega Retro Forums (sonicretro.org) I think where I'm going to leave it at the moment is this: after this post we'll give it a trial run and let the thread run. Let its original intent come through and see if it produces worthwhile discussion. At some point we had a pinned thread advising against "list" threads, and in that spirit, I was worried when the Unpopular Sonic Opinions thread started up. Over time that's housed actual conversation instead of just bullet point lists of complaints like I feared it may become, which has been nice to see. So, I want to give this thread a chance and see if something similar can happen.
For what it's worth, I completely agree with you! In fact, I only suggested to merge all the countless "what's your favourite song" topics we've had over the years, since they're all one and the same, and possibly pin it to make it easy to find, since I foresee that question being asked again in a few months. However, I never suggestes to make a gigantic "everything about music should go here" topic, hence my skeptical reaction to this one. But again, I'm not a moderator here anymore, so I only offered my opinion and I'll just follow your judgement.
I'd go further and ban all the "I like Sonic things" topics. Of course you do. You registered an account.
I like this song and I ain't the only one, this upload has almost 1 million views and most of the comments are just outpouring of emotions and nostalgia. The franchise has evolved to the point where people are even having nostalgia for compilations. I think out of all the music from various compilations this one will be the most remembered for just how inexplicably melancholic it is (compare to how peppy Sonic Origins sounds, it's not bad but sounds more traditionally "Sonic"). It feels like you're looking back on something that isn't there anymore, which likely describes at least some Sega employees back when this was composed in 2002. The corpse of the Dreamcast (and Sega's home console business) was still fresh and Sonic was finding his footing on Nintendo consoles. It hits even harder now because this played in the comics gallery, and the Archie comics have suffered a fate worse than the games: stuck in legal issue hell Anyhow, what genre would you pick to even describe this kind of music? The word that comes to mind is "ethereal" but that's not really considered a genre.
Maybe it's avantgarde lol. I once made a point, like in real life, about how it's not necessarily about the quality, but who you are with when you listen to music. Sonic meshes a lot of different genres, but always seems to hit the right spot among fans. How's that? I sometimes find myself doing better in a video game with some custom music playing in the background. Like for example Excite Truck on the Wii. Excite Truck let you play custom music through a SD card, and it was fucking awesome! Could there be a connection between personal preferences and what's in the zeitgeist? Sonic Generations let you choose among different tracks, and I loved it for that. Not to say that the original soundtrack was bad, but it's a feature that enhanced my experience with it and I wouldn't want to miss it. I think Sega is aware of stuff like that, and that's why they became such pros in this field. Sega has proven to have good taste in music, and we get to hear the results of their endeavours every time a new game comes out. That alone is enough for me to justify a Megathread like this. Does it always have to be a "banger" to get you in the mood to play some Sonic games? Where does the magic really happen? Let's explore by talking about our experience with Sonic music for a bit. Hell, why not?
I struggle to find a genre for this type of music myself, but i would certainly say the tone is melancholic or just reflective (fitting given where it plays) but i do agree, I love this track and have a lot of memories associated with it thanks to just idling in the menus for the comics as a kid. Something about the song is just very resonant, especially now. Ive always been fond of modding games to add custom music personally. I did it a lot with the smash bros games, adding in more music that would make the mood better for me when just playing. I remember I would change a lot of the more quiet tracks like on the pikmin or animal crossing stages to play songs i thought were more exciting for a fighting game. I know generations included its music select likely just because the game was a biig celebration of the series history, but I think it would be cool if they added it to another game, even if self contained. Imagine if in frontiers you could choose which tracks play during cyberspace
Just a heads up, I'm running on fumes from lack of sleep, doped up on Monster Energy and still have to go to work in about 45 minutes so my wording may be all over the place and...off. Bear with me. lol As someone who was surrounded by Soul, Funk, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Rhythm & Blues etc. throughout my upbringing, I've always adored and appreciated how, during a time where so much media was employing Grunge or House music (the latter of which I also love), Sonic soundtracks (especially the OG games) have not only employed so many elements from previously mentioned genres but employed them well. Sonic was literally the first video game I actually liked; as a youngster I could take or leave the 8-bit stuff that was so popular in the late 80's and early 90's, especially when it came to the music. You'd never know it when listening to the stuff I produce/compose today, but there was a time when I was literally weirded [the FUCK] out by chip-tunes, especially if they were based on actual songs I'd heard elsewhere with vocals and "instruments" (I'm looking at you Ducktales NES theme...), and then came Sonic, which was different from every video game I'd seen thus far, visually and musically. The melodies were easier to ..."relate" to because they weren't so bogged down by all that beepity-boop stuff and sounded more like real instruments (to my untrained 5-year old ear), and they actually sounded very close to the tunes I'd hear blaring from my mom's car stereo or my older cousins boombox at the time. There were New Jack Swing elements (SYZ, CNZ 2P, MCZ 1P etc.), Reggae elements (EHZ 2P), Jazz or even Big Band elements (CNZ 1P, MHZ). I would listen to tracks like Spring Yard or CNZ 2P and could imagine Heavy D rapping over them, or imagine Aaron Hall (Teddy Riley's bandmate and lead singer from the group Guy) singing and riffing over them. The music just felt so relatable and...listenable. I'd oftentimes forego playing the game to just sit and listen to the soundtest —to the bewilderment of my mom and pop— because these tunes were just so FUNKY! I'd been hearing "You've Got the Best of My Love" by the Emotions all over the radio for quite some time and when I heard that bridge part from Labyrinth Zone for the first time — my goodness! My toddler mind was absolutely floored! "I HEARD THAT ON THE RADIO!" I remember gushing. Obviously I hadn't...technically, but that's the thing I've always found so magical about those Sonic soundtracks and why I still remain a fan of them and the franchise as a whole to this day. Sure lots of games of that era and today borrow heavily from the music that pours over the airwaves but I felt like the Sonic tunes really went the distance and the composers did their homework. My dad is a Funk music JUNKIE, so I heard "Work That Sucker to Death" many times prior to discovering the JP/UK Sonic CD soundtrack. Imagine how tickled I was to hear that boss music for the first time. On top of such a heavily NJS/Hip-Hop inspired beat (I remember damn near expecting Ice Cube to appear on it and drop a verse lol). My parents were always so perplexed at my love for video game music, but even they had to give the soundtracks their props once I played them a few selections the JP Sonic CD soundtrack. I'll never forget how the boss music stopped my pops in his tracks when he sat down to play the game with me one afternoon back in '02 him: "Wait a minute...did they sample —" Me: "Yes. They sure did!" him: "Ok, THAT's pretty funky for Sonic!" And don't even get me started on my mom's reaction to a few of the tunes from the Saturn version of Sonic 3D, or when she heard the options tune from Sonic R. Her: "Sonic has JAZZ?!?!" Oh mom. LOL Anyway yeah. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. I've got to head out the door now. Good gravy, I need to sleep. LOL
Aw yeah, customization for the win! You see, I sometimes prefer the more quiet tracks since they let me focus more on my gameplay. It's a weird balance the developers need to strike. ^^ There are some exceptions though. Switch Escape from the City for something more laid-back, and I make the silliest mistakes.
Yknow, more quiet tracks in Sonic games can really somehow fit just as well as something bombastic. Frontiers for example, there something just so right about hearing somber piano music with violins while pulling off all these high speed tricks.. It's something you'd normally expect some high energy tunes to go along with, but having something more laid-back can really give everything such a chill out vibe in a way. While I love the loud, high energy tunes of Sonic games, sometimes it's just the most satisfying thing in the world to turn off the in game music, put on some chill music from Spotify.. Nailing a Sonic level while listening to lo-fi or something similar is an ethereal experience. The simple change of music can make something as high energy and exciting as performing well in a boost level go from "Aw yeah, I'm awesome!" to just chilling, completely in the zone, thinking "I've got this." That kinda feeling. Music really can change your entire perception of what a video game level makes you feel in the moment, and even when reminiscing. To go back to your City Escape example @Gestalt, I don't think the level would be nearly as fondly remembered if you weren't "Rollin' around at the speed of sound!" I genuinely do not think it would've made as much of an impression had the music simply been different. Sure it would've been fondly remembered like most Sonic levels but I don't think it would be iconic like it is now. I'm rambling aha, but this is something I've actually thought about a bit lately.
So true. Pick your least favourite Sonic game and mess a bit with custom BGMs. You might end up liking it. Don't treat VGM like a marketing tool. I'm looking at you, Sonic 4.
As if being turned into a snowball wasn't enough, you also have to maneuver through a Christmas themed maze with ice physics. But hey, at least the music is good! The level grew on me for exactly this reason.
