BRO-NOTES: TOP TRACK x50 COMBO
I started this blog because for the first time in years, I’d discovered a whole new class of music that excited me. So much so that I wanted to talk about it. Thanks for putting up with all of that, by the way!
So, anyways, the music. It ranges from introspective to bombastic. From placid to chaotic. There’s songs that millions of people have heard merely by reading the comic. On the other hand, there’s entire albums that fly under the radar, yet carry immense meaning and significance to their fans (heh, I’m looking at you here liza).
It’s been a lot of fun so far, and it looks like there will be even more music coming up in the future. Fan-music continues to be produced, and Homestuck Vol 10 looks very likely. But that’s still a ways away, so it’ll be mostly quiet here for a while.
Well, soon it will be. I’ll leave off with my 50 favorite tracks from the catalog (i.e. the TOP TRACK x50 COMBO).
There’s no methodology to this list, no special criteria or anything like that. It’s the 50 songs I like the best, in rough order. One a day, starting with #50, coming up soon.
beat-bro:
By David DeCou
Fanart source: tinikah. Seriously, go check her work out, it’s fantastic!
Wonderfully dark and brooding. The cello opening sets the tone, and this track features some of the best ambient effects (the rain, the heartbeat, and the clock) I’ve ever heard in a song like this. Effects such as these (including the pipe organ in the background) could easily be gimmicky, but they’re used sparingly, and they work great to accent the main melody.
All of this falls away for the harp interlude in the middle, though. And that little section is the best part of the composition.
TOP TRACK x50 COMBO: #47
beat-bro:
By Joren “Tensei” de Bruin. Original ‘Homestuck Anthem’ by Clark “Plazmataz” Powell
OK, it’s elevator music. Let’s just put that on the table where everyone can see it. Now that that’s on the table, we can talk about it as a song. Before the advent of Muzak, bossa nova used to be pretty popular in a real, non faux way (and it still is in some real, totally non-fake circles that I wouldn’t know anything about).
This song takes a basic existing melody (one of my favorites, as it happens), and executes it in this new style very, very well. I dare you not to like this song. Go ahead, try it.
TOP TRACK x50 COMBO: #45
beat-bro:
By Toby “Radiation” Fox
Featured in the end of Act 4 flash animation. In a very crude way, you could describe Descend as a ‘greatest hits’ for Homestuck music up until now. It’s composed of bits and pieces of many different songs. The electronic drumbeat from Upward Movement (Dave Owns) ties the whole thing together, and little bits of songs like Liquid Negrocity, Explore, Atomyk Ebonpyre, and many others make appearances.
It’s a great, fun puzzle, in a way: some of the familiar songs are executed so differently, they can be difficult to recognize. Only upon repeated listening did I realize that the funky bass part at 0:47 (when Mom and Dad are shown on the ship) is the main melody from Aggrieve. Or that the staccato chiptune melody at 2:24 (when Jack start’s tearing shit up on Prospit) is a modified version of Doctor.
The editing job is fantastic. Except where the effect is intentional, the flow of the track is great. This song rightfully serves as the anchor, the featured track, for this album. It speaks to the album’s quality that I rank a few songs even higher.
TOP TRACK x50 COMBO: #39
beat-bro:
By PhemieC
Image source: Homestuck.
Fantastic.
At first I only thought it was ‘just’ clever. That was a mistake. After a few more listen-throughs, I realized I was doing this track an injustice.
Musically, the entire composition feels terribly authentic. The little guitar string squeaks add to the song’s character, rather than distracting from it. The simple acoustic-plus-vocals arrangement gives it a better perspective than a busier composition might: it’s all one character’s thoughts.
And what a poetic set of lyrics. It’s stream-of-consciousness, all from Eridan’s perspective, as his attitude slowly deteroriates and he falls deeper into isolation and nihilism. The vocals are rapid-fire, and it’s a really impressive combination of content and rhyming meter (it’s tough to nail both without making sacrifices in one or the other).
This one’s not just my top track for the album: it’s one of my favorites throughout the Homestuck library.
TOP TRACK x50 COMBO: #34
Fanart. Source: 
