Written by George Buzinkai. Produced by Clark “Plazmataz” Powell and Michael Vallejo
For the record (a snarky web-blog counts as ‘the record’, right?), I don’t hate this track. And I know many people are a fan of it, being the inspiration for many songs on follow-up albums. I think that’s why I can’t get into it on its own: the melody is much more effective as an accent for something bigger.
When combined with other songs, the two become much greater than the sum of their parts. I’ll explain more about what I mean later on, when we start hitting some of the songs that incorporate Doctor as a part of their structure.
By Mark Hadley. Original (Homestuck Anthem) by Clark “Plazmataz” Powell
Absolutely superb. As I’ve mentioned previously, this is my favorite single track in the Homestuck catalog (to date, in any case).
An ethereal, mellow xylophone provides the main melody, backed by a reserved string section. A subtle harp counter-melody adds just the right amount of complexity: it’s a simple track, and is all the better for it. The second half of the song is more powerful, but this is accomplished austerely by adding deeper strings and doubling up on the main melody. The song evokes feelings of discovery, of new beginnings, of simple, childlike wonder.
In the flash animation (which kicks off Act 5 Act 2), certainly these themes make sense. As the viewers, we’re seeing John’s life in fast motion: his relationship with Dad, the first time he meets Jade, all kinds of poignant moments. Moments in a protagonist’s life, one whom we care about as a character.
Within the story, ironically, Karkat’s mind is racing in completely the opposite direction. His initial curiosity begins turning to anger, then to hate. In his own words, “IT IS A HATE SO PURE AND HOT IT WOULD CONSUME YOUR SAD UNDERDEVELOPED HUMAN THINK PAN TO EVEN CONTEMPLATE.” Watching Karkat get madder and madder forms a hilarious contrast to the viewer’s experience. It’s like seeing Sonny Corleone get shot… while Dream Weaver plays in the background. Well, that’s how Karkat would describe it, anyways.
By Clark “Plazmataz” Powell
Fantastic. Usually I’m put off by the sort of choppy audio effects that this song features, but here’s is subtle: it’s there to establish atmosphere, not drive the song forward. This track is way up there on my list of favorites (probably top ten), and this isn’t even my favorite version of this song.
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.
By Toby “Radiation” Fox. Partial remix of “Unbreakable Union” by Kalibration, “Courser” by Alexander Rosetti and Seth “Beatfox” Peelle, “Carefree Action” by Mark J. Hadley, and “Homestuck Anthem” by Clark “Plazmataz” Powell
Source: Homestuck
It wanders from calm traditional introduction to frenzied tribal rhythm, and hits every point in between. My favorite part of the song, by far, is the piano interlude in the middle. It’s ominous and terribly foreboding: the most reserved part of the song serves as an accompaniment to the biggest reveal in the webcomic, up to that point.
By Clark ‘Plazmataz’ Powell. Original “Upward Movement” by Kalibration
The weird synth intro resembles sonar, as if it’s searching for something or someone (quite fitting for the void player featured in the Flash). The main riff has a sort of Eastern flair. It’s well done and makes for a great song, even as it treads back into more familiar territory in the second half.
By Clark “Plazmataz” Powell
Excellent. Just excellent. At its core it’s another simple piano tune. Starts off with a simple arpeggio – it’s a technique that’s quite common in the Homestuck library, and it’s almost always effective.
But the piano part – though superb – isn’t my favorite part of the song. It’s the percussion line that gets me. It reminds me a little of another song in that it’s very simple and static, but powerful in its own right.
This version of the song’s even better than the one featured in Cascade, in my opinion. It’s not forced to build up near the end (as required by the Flash animation), so it stands a little better as its own composition.