Videogames
By horatiuromantic on June 16, 2024 12:27 pm
Hey folks! I’m happy to share a guitar + vocal composition this week. I’m very happy with the composition and just ok with the recording. However, my guitar chops are limited and so is my time, so I tried to do a take with good emotion rather than technical perfection. I recorded in the park on iPhone 13 and you can hear birds and the occasional vehicle in the distance. Uploading from the phone, no fx except the built in compression.
I wrote it today but the guitar part was composed over the week, and finally came together approx yesterday/this morning. I think the guitar part is strong even as a solo piece, because of cool melody+bass+progression, but I also really wanted to sing about this feeling I’ve had lately - I feel like I’m fighting some kind of righteous fight in real life, even tho on a small scale and not always in the best way, and I’m feeling like I’m not necessarily winning… and then when I’m back home I play some Diablo 2 which is really taking me back to the good old youth days, and I thought why the hell is this so compelling? It is after all just an immersive slot machine which I even play with cheats so I kinda ruin the immersion for myself and make it even more about the slot machine part - but then it hit me. D2 is about fighting demons, you’re literally saving the world from the devil and you just can’t lose as long as you keep pushing forward. You know exactly who are the bad guys, everyone thanks you for how great you are for saving their town wherever you go… and then it goes right back to zero and you start again, nothing having changed. A true sysiphean story, much like real life but far less ambiguous. And how I am attracted to that ideal hero life because real life is not satisfying enough because everything is so nuanced and tricky to navigate, and even when you try to do the best you can for everyone, some people will still consider you the bad guy and potentially want to kill you like one of those demons in the game. It’s an inescapable situation but at least I’m very far from those people so I’m not really worried about myself as much as I am worried about other people.
So yea I hope this song resonates with you, and I hope it’s interesting to read the story behind it. I’ll fill in the lyrics here when I have a chance.
Lyrics
I just wanna play my videogames
Close the door, turn off the lights
And fight for my life
Into the night
And be a hero
I just wanna know which team am I
Where are the demons I have to fight
And come back to life
Whenever I die
And be a hero
But in the morning
I wake up
(To the) same old world
Tomorrow
I put on my face
And I go out
Still playing
The hero
But life is no videogame
And I’m just a guy
I don’t wanna fight
A bunch of demons
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but, yeah, the back story is relatable, just my games were different. I enjoy the relaxed and gentle vibe and agree the guitar could work on its own. But I like how the song adds its own layer, and shares the story.