I’ve been peripherally watching a #ResidentEvil 4 Remake playthrough while working on song 125, and it is hands down the most visually entertaining game I’ve ever watched. Horrific and bonkers epic.
This song rotates between 3 distinct styles: #techno (starts at 0:14), #metalcore (starts at 0:42), and #duelingguitars (starts at 1:09).
The intro does what many intros do: set the key and tempo. That way the listener isn’t scrambling to figure out what they’re hearing when the meat of the song begins.
About the techno segment at 0:14 - the synth melody was taken from the bridge in “Partycore (song 18).” Once in a while I’ll reuse old melodies if I don’t think they were utilized well enough the first time around (i.e. reusing the verse melody of “Sex Song” for the verse melody of “Guess How Much I Care”). The rhythm synth underneath the melody was inspired by Darude’s “Sandstorm”.
About the metalcore segment at 0:42 - needless to say this segment was inspired by the metalcore genre (which consumed much of my life in high school), with the aggressive double kick drumming and bass / rhythm synth landing on each kick. I was part of a metalcore band during my teen years and had some experience songwriting in that genre. The “and here we go bitch” and “suck my dick” vocals are mine with a plugin that drops the pitch and formant.
About the dueling guitar segment at 1:09 - the dueling guitars were inspired by DragonForce and Avenged Sevenfold, two of the best dueling guitar bands out there (August Burns Red is also amazing at it). Surprise surprise, this song doesn’t use guitars. Instead, a synthesizer was tweaked until it sounded like a guitar. The results were so pleasing that the same synth has been used in numerous songs since then, the most recent being “Wayne Henley.”
"Justin Timberbaked" or "Dank Sinatra.” The title was a toss up between the two, both of which combine a celebrity name with cannabis lingo. Typical late teen / young adult humor of the early 2010s.
“Dank Sinatra” has consistently been the 3rd most popular song on GoBoy 2, with "Zombies vs. Aliens" in 2nd place and "We Came For Blood" in 1st.
At the time of making ”Dank Sinatra,” the #metalcore genre was an enormous passion of mine. That said, the politics of forming and maintaining a metalcore band was something that I had experienced in the past, and I didn’t want to experience it again, especially after the fallout from the N3RD live band (explained in post 15). Rather than recruiting a drummer and guitarist for the metalcore inspired breakdowns in “Dank Sinatra,” the manipulation of an electronic beat and dubstep wobble bass seemed like a more optimal route, as it would only require computer / DJ equipment for live shows, thus allowing me to maintain independence and creative freedom. This idea of using wobble bass instead of guitars for metalcore-esque breakdowns would be utilized for “Dank Sinatra,” along with other songs on GoBoy 1 and 2 (excerpts from post 18).
The wobble bass was created by automating rapid changes in the formant of a techno synth.
Regarding the change from pop music to mostly instrumental music in GoBoy 2: “Throwback (Song 23)” (and it’s music video) enraged my relatives, whom I grew up in a neighborhood with, and who had tremendous influence over my life at the time (explained in post 23). A frenzy of angry emails, metaphorical pitchforks, torches, hulk rage. Being a young, neurotic kid, the backlash from them was too much for me to handle at the time, and to exit their spotlight, I halted further production of pop songs and ultimately pulled the music video and songs 1-23 (GoBoy 1) from the internet (excerpts from post 23).
To the creative kids who find themselves surrounded by people who want to halt or control their creative endeavors, best of luck. I want to say “find a way out,” but that might result in further deterioration of your creative output. If you were born into an environment where you’re free to explore your creativity without constraints, you’ll never know how lucky you are (excerpts from post 23).
After the “Throwback” debacle, focus would be shifted towards creating instrumental songs that would fly under the radar (GoBoy 2, songs 24-35). Fly under the radar they did. Following GoBoy 2, I quit music for seven years. Songs 1-23 wouldn't be reuploaded until 2020. Why does this matter? It doesn't (excerpts from post 23).
