September 2013

By Seth “Beatfox” Peelle, original (Sunsetter) by Toby “Radiation” Fox

Source: Homestuck

Beatfox takes an original song by Radiation and moves it into a whole new genre. Sunsetter (the original) is fast-paced and electronic, with a fantastic hook. Yet this version is even better. The pace is slowed down a bit and the saxophone / xylophone lead is replaced with a simple, well-executed electric guitar.

The main melody is something you could have pulled out of an album written in the middle of the stadium-rock 80’s (and I mean that as a compliment). This song is has ridiculous replay value (I swear, I could loop it for an hour and not grow tired of it). It’s a great example of the music team building upon earlier works and producing something even greater, and it’s one of my favorite tracks in the whole Homestuck catalog.

By Toby “Radiation” Fox. Original (Doctor) by George Buzinkai

Source: Homestuck

I mentioned in an earlier review that I preferred Doctor as part of a greater composition, rather than as a stand-alone piece. This is the song I had in mind when I mentioned that. Doctor is a big part of this song, and it’s even better for it.

The song begins on a low note, like a music box desperately trying to squeeze out a few more notes before it reaches the end of its winding. From there, it builds progressively, in steps, before cooling off again near the end.

There’s another original song that’s part of Savior of the Waking World: Penumbra Phantasm by Radiation. That’s the flute melody that begins around halfway through the song. In fact, I didn’t mention it earlier, but Descend ends with a fragment from this same song. There’s a few Flash animations where Penumbra Phantasm has been used as a sort of coda, and it can’t help but be memorable. Yet the song has not been released on its own, and it may never be. It’s the white whale of the Homestuck catalog: many other tracks are made better by featuring it.

By Robert J! Lake

A cool, mellow chiptune song. It’s at its best around the minute mark. All it takes is a deceptively simple drum beat and a shimmering electronic chorus to really make the tune shine. Great, easy listening.

By Alexander Rosetti

Source: Homestuck

Shut up and jam. It’s a short fragment of a song, but its pseudo-Eastern rhythm is terribly catchy. It has the potential to be even cooler if it could have been explored longer, made into a more complete and stand-alone song.

By Erik “Jit” Scheele. Original (Crystalanthemums) by Alexander Rosetti. Original (Mannequin) by Perry Sullivan

Music to watch trolls be blown up, blinded, and beaten to death by. It’s a different take on the original Crystalanthemums (also featured on this album), and a better one, I think. The intro’s a little abrupt, and the siren’s a little jarring near the end of the track, but that doesn’t stop this from being a rockin’, hard-driving song.

By Mark Hadley

The plucked strings that counter the main melody after the first verse are a nice touch. It’s my favorite variation on the Aggrieve root.

By Michael Guy Bowman. Guitar solo by Nick Smalley. Original (How Do I Live) by Trisha Yearwood. Written by Dianne Warren

Take a generic, trite country song that features at the end of a mediocre action film…

… make it somehow even more bombastic and faux-inspirational…

… while being totally up front about the parody nature of it….

… and somehow you end up with a hilarious track that has actual replay value. This is the ultimate Cage pick. Take us there, Casey.

(all images, source: Homestuck)

By Alexander Rosetti and Toby “Radiation” Fox. Meows supplied by Michael Guy Bowman. Original (Chorale for Jaspers) by Michael Guy Bowman

It’s sort of a novelty song, fair enough. But I can’t get past the mad, distorted cat noises.

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.

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 Steve Everson

Starts with a military, marching-band percussion beat, and a ping-y, staccato lead melody carries most of the song. Can’t put my finger on exactly what I like about it.

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 Steve Everson. Original (Doctor) by George Buzinkai

My favorite stand-alone version of Doctor. Planet Healer comes close, but I like the instrumentation a little better on Plague Doctor.

By Erik “Jit” Scheele

This one’s interesting in that it features chiptune, but as the backing harmony rather than the main melody (which is mostly piano and flute). There’s a nice call back to Showtime in the middle, too. It’s a great listen.

By Erik “Jit” Scheele and Michael Guy Bowman

Starts out simple, with yet another strong piano melody. Starting in the second half, a backing string section starts building up the atmosphere, and the track soars after that. Soars in a moody, mournful way. Somehow. Like Tom Cruise in Top Gun after he got Goose killed.

By Erik “Jit” Scheele

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a sucker for simple piano refrains. This one fits that description to a letter. The track plays out gradually and thoughtfully. It’s an interesting choice at the end, too, letting the last couple of notes go unplayed.

By Toby “Radiation” Fox

I mentioned that Black was almost a little too electro-thrash for me: this song took a rocket-sled past the ‘too electro-thrash’ line. It’s a strange combination of 60’s science fiction computer sounds, electric guitar, and Snoop Dogg.