Portal Gave Us The 2 GREATEST Video Game Songs Of ALL TIME

[@CharlesCornellStudios]

the cake is a lie

[@CharlesCornellStudios]

@charlescornellstudios 2008 called, they want their meme back

[@jonathanstacey5779]

​@@CharlesCornellStudiosNice

[@_Darkaeluz]

Is it safe to assume you played both games? Would love a game play video

[@snowstorm4845]

You forgot to change accounts...

[@SlamboHamburg]

Lol dang not the self-roast 😂

[@S1rD4niel]

"Under the circumstances I've been shockingly nice" is such a bar

[@Halberds8122]

I'm assuming the line is in a different key?

[@Halberds8122]

I knew it, it was hard to sing

[@clsisman]

@@Halberds8122 the line takes place during the transition from A minor to F# Major so so it's Amin, C#min, F#

[@__Math__]

"I know it's been 17 years since this game came out" -- I feel old

[@matthewcox7985]

Every time I smell old fart... ...it's me.

[@JamesBD05]

​@@matthewcox7985Damn, this is deep bro 🙏🙏🙏

[@DVL_Main]

That can't be right is my first reaction to hearing that, then I remember getting my Orange Box back in high school...

[@ahmed4363]

ITS BEEN WHAT?!!

[@AsuTale]

I was one year old

[@Plondysaurus]

"We've both said things you're going to regret" GlaDOS best line...so subtle you can almost miss it but it gets me every time. What a great series.

[@msolec2000]

But still, I think we can put our differences behind us. For Science... You monster.

[@loolermeister8578]

Especially since Chell cannot speak

[@natewilson111]

I quote that line to my brothers quite often

[@Bergreen88]

I'm quite partial to "how are you doing? Because I'm a potato."

[@SLowridertruck]

GlaDOS has many unforgettable lines, but I also loved Cave Johnson's line: "They say great science is built on the shoulders of giants. Not here. At Aperture, we do all our science from scratch. No hand holding."

[@Gebenki]

The voice actor for GLaDOS was actually an opera singer. She talked about how challenging it was for her to make her voice so small and diminutive for the song. Also "sardonic" is the adjective you're looking for. GLaDOS is such a great character.

[@Dasilton]

I once sang "Still Alive" for a vocal tech project in high school. My teacher played it on piano, and I sang it at a slightly slower tempo. It was honestly beautiful how he played it. But I'll tell you it's not as easy to sing as you'd think. You can tell that Ellen McLain is an opera singer throughout half of it. The amount of legato and the tightness of where is most convenient to breathe is difficult to learn. The whole song is an exercise of where it is best to take a breath in a song, and in this song, the answer is whenever you have the chance because you will need it. There are sustained notes in places you wouldn't expect them, and the lyrics are so long that you almost always run out of air by the end if you're not careful. But if you manage it, as a reward, you are gifted this beautiful song that has an almost lullaby quality to it with the right phrasing and instrumentation.

[@Maccaroney]

Well? You gonna share or what? Let's hear it!

[@Dasilton]

@Maccaroney omg, it was such a long time ago, and I never got a recording of him playing, so I can't recreate it till I can find someone to play it.

[@Killerpaxmanisgoofy]

You singing “except the ones who are dead” Teacher 😊 Class 😧

[@runningchief]

Favorite memory from Portal 2 "Well this is the part where he kills us" "Hello, this is the part where I kill you" CHAPTER 9 THE PART WHERE HE KILLS YOU *Achievement Unlocked* The Part Where He Kills You

[@elfabrip]

don't forget the song name

[@Mystery-pd6jc]

it's like that moment from DOOM Eternal too where Dr Samuel Hayden goes, "You CAN'T just shoot a hole into the surface of Mars." NEW OBJECTIVE: Shoot a hole into the surface of Mars. Achievement Unlocked Shoot a Hole into the the surface of Mars.

[@maaki50]

”The Part Where He Kills You” starts playing

[@andrewjuby6339]

​@@elfabrip Everyone misses the song title. It totally kicks the joke up to another level.

[@migwuzhere]

*doesn't kill you*

[@mildlycornfield]

The fun thing is that there's a secret third Portal song called You Wouldn't Know (courtesy of Lego Dimensions), where GLaDOS is trying to make Chell jealous by claiming to be friends with Batman

[@coreysquire3521]

I came here just to make sure someone had mentioned 'You wouldn't know'. I love that song, it is a little bit heartbreaking.

[@jijonbreaker]

There's also an unused song by the title of "Don't say goodbye" If you line up the first words of all 4 songs, in chronological order, they say "Still Don't Want You."

[@Mernom]

​@@jijonbreakerOn the one hand, it's a bit of a reach to think that they planned it since day 1. On the other hand, this is kinda on brand for the portal games marketing, IIRC.

[@jijonbreaker]

@@Mernom I do agree that it's a reach to think it was intended. On the other hand, intended or not, it did happen.

[@procedupixel213]

@@jijonbreaker Never underestimate artificial superintelligence.

[@ZTimeGamingYT]

The consistency of GLaDOS being proud, sarcastic, and making fun of Chell is what makes GLaDOS such a good antagonist, especially during the credits. Portal is such an amazing series. Edit: My Operating System Brian got the best of me

[@bemasaberwyn55]

Character continuity *ding)*

[@lastnamefirstname8655]

i agree. portal great games.

[@Querez8504]

Her name only has a lowercase 'a', as in, GLaDOS

[@ZTimeGamingYT]

@@Querez8504 My brain thought OS because Operating System, like for computers. That's right, but there's more. Man.

[@jenthefoxgirl1170]

​@@ZTimeGamingYT The full acronym is Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System.

[@HanSime]

I love the bit where it says “Except the ones who are dead”, as a quick dark disclaimer, with just enough pauze to realize it with one side going “wait, what” and then the other going quickly into a positive sounding note that basically says “let’s not dwell on those little negatives, look here, a shiny object to distract you, be happy you’re dumb enough to not notice that right?”.

[@ChrisMajors]

In "Still Alive," the first key change (to the "darker" F key), the word the key change happens on is "dead." The key stays in F until the lyric is "alive", and only then does it change back to D. In closing, Jonathan Coulton is a genius. Thank you for listening to my TED talk.

[@mikosoft]

Still alive is also great because it uses a lyrical device that is not that often used in popular music - every chorus is different apart from the last line which is the same, APART from the last chorus which subverts the expectations and goes "on the people who are still alive". And then it also changes one more time in the outro when Glados finally sings that SHE is still alive. Lyrically this song is such a blast I cried of laughter when I first finished the game and this started playing. It was the only time I ever sat during the whole credits of a game.

[@diceLibrarian]

Want you Gone also does that.

[@michaelallen1432]

The song was just so awesome. It took a great game and just made it the best ever.

[@zeddy2284]

q

[@switch158]

Joco does some real cool stuff with lyrics. "sticking it to myself" uses another cool strat

[@The0Stroy]

Well - "Turret Wife Serenade" and "Cara Mio Addio" are bangers as well!

[@KieronTaylor]

I had Turret Wife Serenade as my ring-tone for a while. Was sad that nobody ever recognised it.

[@punkinholler]

These two are my favorite by far.

[@waynemarshall1476]

Me too. Iconic.

[@TheKazragore]

Cara Mia Addio is my favourite song from the franchise. It's so beautiful and sad, and when you understand the lyrics, it ties together Chell's implied backstory.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Robots FTW! (from portal 2)

[@mrtoast244]

I like "Still Alive" because the lyrics can be taken both literally (in game) and also metaphorically (as the best breakup song ever). The line "Even though you broke my heart and killed me..." and then leaning into all the ways Chell tore GLaDOS apart is such a funny way to quickly make boring lyrics memorable. You would expect the next line to be something like "Even though you broke my heart, I knew it from the start" (dies of cringe), but the level of anger that is on display is really something else.

[@andrew_ray]

I actually first heard Still Alive before I played Portal, I think at college karaoke or something, and I remember thinking, man, they're really hammering on that metaphor!

[@HomerNarr]

@mrtoast244 Indeed this song vibes hard on GladOS and the player had some kind of "intimacy" and closeness. Its also very dark which contradicts the happy sound the song has.

[@theworm7156]

@@andrew_rayimagine portal had a rom com

[@galfisk]

I like "Still Alive" because it's the funniest thing I've ever experienced in a video game. I was completely unprepared for it.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

And tore me to pieces. And threw every piece Into A fire

[@frederikmathisen7357]

The reason you hear the "elevator music version" at different places throughout the game is because it is played through the radios, there is one radio in every test chamber

[@fily-jpg]

Most chambers*

[@jasonjohns9907]

​@@fily-jpg Actually I believe if you replay the game with an already completed save file on the account, it spawns in new radios to find for the Achievement. Should be 17 working radios if I remember correctly, one in each test chamber and then a few scattered in the maintenance tunnels.

[@diamond_creeper2224]

and sometimes more than 1

[@kittysunlover]

I didn't follow the vast majority of the actual theory you were trying to explain, but you do it with such infectiously exuberant joy, I had to keep watching anyway.

[@spacepterodactyl]

I love the Jonathan Coulton appreciation around here. His non-Portal stuff is just as good and just as quirky. It’s awesome.

[@kyrauniversal]

Code Monkey like you!

[@adamschwartzberg5238]

RIP Ask Me Another - was such a blast getting to hear him on NPR weekly.

[@TravisSeitler]

Chiron Beta Prime has a permanent place in my family’s Christmas music playlist 😂

[@digitaljanus]

I still sing "IKEA" every time we go to IKEA.

[@TheOriginalMaudlin]

I hit up First of May, well, every first of May.

[@KyleRDent]

GLaD to see some love for the sequel song. It gets forgotten a lot, and I think it's amazing.

[@jonnyboi2967]

forgotten? There are plenty of games that get forgotten; this isn’t one of them.

[@chrisjacobsen7265]

@@jonnyboi2967 I think the word might be "overshadowed" by Still Alive

[@jonnyboi2967]

@@chrisjacobsen7265 yeah I agree. I love “want you gone” more than “still alive”

[@digitaljanus]

"Still Alive" was written not knowing the capabilities of who would be singing it. With "Want You Gone" Coulton knew Ellen MacLaine would be singing it and wrote something that better played to her strengths as an opera-trained vocalist. Same thing happened with the Frozen movies: "Let It Go" is a fairly typical Broadway anthem; "Into the Unknown" and "Show Yourself" are clearly written for Idina Menzel, but the former still gets most of the recognition.

[@jonnyboi2967]

@@digitaljanus that’s interesting; I didn’t know that

[@EAS76]

I believe the word you’re looking for to describe GLaDOS’ attitude is “sardonic,” which I consider intentionally rueful or dark sarcasm.

[@bemasaberwyn55]

That is the word. And she DEFINITELY is

[@TehFrenchy29]

She also goes from exuberant in "Still Alive" which is an incredibly happy positive emotion but coming from the villain of the game we theoretically just destroyed, thus the unsettling emotion it provokes in the player as Charles mentions, to exasperated in "Now I Just Want You Gone" because after all that you've been through together and against one another it's just too much. Stop, go, I'll leave you alone as long as you _leave_ now. You manage to wear GLaDOS down from maniacal puppemaster to tired and irritated babysitter glad the evening is over and they can go have a nap.

[@bemasaberwyn55]

@@TehFrenchy29 accurate

[@andyghkfilm2287]

@@TehFrenchy29 “I used to want you dead, but/now I only want you gone” is such a mood

[@tticusFinch]

You are amazing. I've been searching for this word off and on for about a year (embarrassing, I know).

[@xINVISIGOTHx]

8:09 "i can see it in your eyes, i can see it in your smile"

[@jd_music23]

Also the line of "so here we are again" is almost an inversion of the opening line "aperture science"

[@StarkRG]

8:04 Surprise Enya! Jonathan Coulton also did the amazing folk cover of Baby Got Back that was later used without permission or attribution on Glee (including the line "Jonny C's in trouble" which only makes sense when Jonny C's the one singing it)

[@MDelorean]

Surprise Ninya

[@natewilson111]

"Surprise Enya" will always haunt my dreams 😮

[@Lars_E_Mou]

So... Glados ain't Caroline. She's Enya, who got the AI treatment! It makes sense!!! 😱 Or am I maybe overthinking it?

[@bbbwizard]

Commenting because without jc we'll forget what lobsters really looked like.

[@llearch]

The best part is he played his version of Baby Got Back for the original artist, who was very impressed, as I understand it. One of my favourite JoCo tunes, honestly, even though it's one of the least JoCo JoCo tunes. ;-]

[@Radien]

I'm happy you gave Jonathan Coulton due credit here. It's not like he's unknown now, but he composed this song for someone else's voice, and I doubt many people have had heard him sing it in his own voice (though, it should be available on KZbin and Spotify for anyone who'd like to hear it). I had the pleasure of hearing him sing it live with just a ukulele right after Portal 1 came out. ❤️ By the way, knowing his prior songs, I believe Coulton wrote all the lyrics to Still Alive himself. He was a perfect fit for Portal because his sense of humor matches Portal *perfectly* - cheerfully humorous with a dark twist. If you like Still Alive, I'd recommend also listening to Re: Your Brains, Skullcrusher Mountain, and -my favorite - Creepy Doll. All of those have similar humor and are musically brilliant.

[@phischphood]

[@steveskeletonneii6336]

there's actually a couple videos of him singing it on youtube!!

[@AlexMorrise]

I feel like the entire Solid State album is a must listen for fans of Portal, these songs, or honestly just music in general.

[@deepbluefyre777]

Jonathan Coulton is an underappreciated genius.

[@15two]

he also wrote a lot of his songs while employed as a computer programmer! thats part of the reason why so much of his music makes fun of corporate office culture and tech stuff

[@Normaltype_]

@CharlesCornellStudios I don't know if it's been made apparent to you, but Jonathan Coulton released a *third* Portal song, in the Lego Dimensions Portal DLC, and it's honestly every bit as good as the first two. It's called "You wouldn't know", absolutely recommend it

[@Chaosghoul]

10:11 *slaps table* THANK YOU! SO many people miss this! It's such a shift (and so incredibly dark) for such a "cheery" song.

[@deanospimoniful]

It's the combination of Jonathan Coulton's comedic writing and Ellen McClain's (GLaDOS) deadpan delivery that really bring home these songs. And that doesn't even touch on the melodies and harmonies (which are great).

[@bemasaberwyn55]

A triumvirate of perfection

[@travcollier]

​@@bemasaberwyn55A triumvirate brought to us by a company which, ironically, seems incapable of counting to 3.

[@llearch]

@@travcollier There's a song about that somewhere, I think. ;-]

[@mrtoast244]

The lyrics of "Want you Gone" is probably the most consise summary of GLaDOS' character possible. The [Redacted] part is so weirdly sweet. "When I delete you maybe I'll stop feeling so bad" is probably the most vulnerable we ever see GLaDOS, which makes sense since this song talks about her entire existence, from being human to being murdered twice to deleting her old self. Caroline wasn't a major part of the game but she was important in the lore. You don't need to know who she was to *appreciate* GLaDOS' decisions in the game (ie saving you and letting you go free), however, it does explain why she does these things and it even humanises her. It was the perfect way to end GLaDOS' arc as a villain, it's both memorable and impactful no matter how much you've picked up from the dialog. That's why I loved the Portal games, they don't waste your time or make things more complicated than they need to be, it's like they know what the Player cares about in a story and they put extra effort in making sure the whole story comes through.

[@aurograce2983]

It seems in the second song Glados is more robotic sounding than the first song, possibly because she got rid of any humanity in her program

[@EthanGeye]

The 8-bit big band cover of all 3 Portal songs are also amazing if you have not heard them I recommend giving them a listen.

[@GLAD0s_cake]

They really are!!

[@vergelanime9145]

Charles should look at them

[@cooldebt]

Yes - and The Consouls also did a great cover - one of their relatively rare tunes with vocals. It's a classic fan favourite.

[@C_A_I_GAME]

This Person speaks the truth! 🎷

[@xavierbromius]

Agreed

[@robot_spider]

Portal 1/2 are a tonic for the soul. I play them all the way through every few years. GLaDOS's passive-aggressive commentary is delightful. And the songs are in my regular playlist--not the "video games themes" or "funny" lists. Just the songs I usually listen to.

[@floundericiouswa5694]

Find someone who loves you as much as Charles loves chord progression and transitions 😂❤❤❤

[@ncsupi]

The chorus of Want You Gone is like pure 90s pop rock / pop alternative. It lands somewhere between Alanis Morissette and Sixpence None the Richer in my head.

[@leyakhramiankova7240]

I've always felt that Still Alive is musically, melodically written as if an AI program wrote it, as if it was trying to imitate cheerful pop songs. In other words, it sounds a bit artificial, like those AI generated pictures nowadays. And the best thing is that an actual human composer wrote it like that for the game.

[@kyrauniversal]

But it has a hidden effect of being made by a person, which is technically correct. Especially when realizing about Caroline in Portal 2.

[@gipadonimus]

Suno and Udio are both AI music generators that can imitate cheerful pop songs lol. I can't know if you're aware of either one's existence, but it's a better example currently than AI image generators, since it's actually audio. Not that I didn't get your point still with the image example lol, I'm js.

[@Chokestomp]

genuine thank you for a brilliant insight I hadn't considered! - salute to Coulton for compositionally predicting and pre-empting a technology/vibe that didn't really exist at the time.

[@gwillis637]

That observation makes a ton of sense, especially considering Coulton was a software programmer. I’m sure all the JoCo fans already knew that but the math definitely works out. Who better to write two great FU songs from an AI to their test subject? P.S. A lot of his stuff is just this good.

[@Captain.Mystic]

its always so funny to see artists and composers try to poke fun and satirize pop music and then end up being far more interesting and enjoyable to a general populace than actual pop music.

[@nefdsnet]

When I finished Portal the first time and the magic of the song ended, I immediately grabbed my guitar, loaded the KZbin video, and transcribed it. Over the years I've toyed with several arrangements of it, including a baroque style piano accompaniment. The sequel's song had the same transfixing effect on me and I experimented with variations. Using deceptively simple ingredients to create something that fits so perfectly with the tone of the games, keeping things fresh and interesting with clever tonal twists and turns, and of course the glorious lyrics dripping with sarcasm... no doubt, Jonathan is a ridiculously great songwriter.

[@ranid0072]

1:01 wait... W H A T ?? 17 YEEARS ?! Oh my god... It is a WHOLE new generation of people. And they, probably, doesnt even know about portal and some older games. I am feel ancient at my 25

[@warwolf715]

I'm also 25.. I grew up watching these come put mang

[@lynxcat4life]

I’m 23, that line threw me off so badly I had to stop and process it myself

[@axeinrose]

You called? Hello, I’m now 16! I just missed the release date of portal, but I always consider this game and I to be growing up alongside each other. It literitly was my childhood- I remember my dad playing portal 2 on some Christmas Eve. I remember always hearing the portal fire sound and knowing- hell, my little red tricycle- whose favorite snack was my play jewelry- I named portal. It feels long ago for you? Man, you have no idea.

[@xomvoid_akaluchiru_987]

Hey hey, I played both portal games, and I grew up watching my brother play plenty of games from that era. I'm only a little older than Portal 1

[@netherhobbit]

I love these games

[@siarnne]

Thanks!

[@jordivanos8181]

Finally JoCo getting the love and praise he deserves. Back in 2005 and 2006 he made a bunch of goofy songs and i still listen to to this day. Lyrically this man is a freaking genius as well.

[@MarceldeJong]

Code Monkey is living rent free in my head.

[@twothirdsanexplosive]

His newer work with Aimee Mann is awesome too. Check them out live if you can because he opens but she comes out for songs and he joins her for songs during her set.

[@JRSiebz]

Re: Your Brains

[@gehrehmee]

Solid State is a brilliant album, and Artificial Heart has a great hint of TMBG feel (unsurprisingly, produced by Flansburgh!)

[@augustjohnson3295]

I love Jonathan Coulton I’m being so sincere right now

[@EclecticFruit]

Musical science. We do what we must because we can.

[@mr_pigman1013]

he's so nerd

[@Crematir]

Even though he broke your heart and killed you?

[@SawGerrera7]

The 8-bit big band has some great jazz renditions of the Portal songs. Very well done

[@AyeshaShaSha]

This is the comment I was looking for!!!

[@iamthekwan]

Very noice, thanks - Still Alive - Frank Sinatra Big Band Swing Version (The 8-Bit Big Band) kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGPZk5uKnpacm6s

[@lololumilumi]

he should definitely react to those, they change the songs so much it's amazing

[@Alegriacaptions]

the part you're playing at 6:50 makes me want to, if I ever get married, have that at the wedding without telling people it's Still Alive and see if they notice

[@chriscarner8492]

Jonathan Coulton is an absolute genius songwriter. His entire Thing a Week series of albums is great if you want to laugh, Solid State is just a fantastic album all around. Highly recommend all of his stuff

[@kapitaine4104]

I literally could not love this more. Portal and Portal 2 defined my entire approach to gaming and the theme songs were a big part of that. I still remember staying up until 02:00 on a Wednesday night in the middle of summer to complete Portal 2, listening to "Want You Gone" and just weeping with joy at the experience.

[@cawareyoudoin7379]

Other than his Portal songs, I love Coulton's "I crush everything" (which actually reminds me of Glados too), "Artificial Heart", "Sticking it to myself" and "Creepy doll". What a truly fantastic musician.

[@ELouiseZBear]

My favorite animal is a giant squid because of that song. Love JoCo!

[@myksmith]

I couldn't agree more - he's an excellent composer, AND his wiki contains all the tabs online! Generous, talented, funny and sweet music. I Crush Everything, I'm Your Moon and Future Soon are some of my fave songs for guitar.

[@cawareyoudoin7379]

@@myksmith Future Soon is great too, yeah!

[@Duvstep910]

fun fact: glados makes a cameo in cyberpunk 2077 as one of delamain's rogue personalites

[@SupersuMC]

NICE.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

And have you seen Pacific Rim?

[@TheOneWhoMightBe]

@@MostlyPennyCat Pacific Rim or the fan-made non-canon 'sequel'?

[@draco84oz]

@@MostlyPennyCat After nearly blowing up the shatterdome: "Would you like to...try again...?"

[@elplaceholder]

But we dont speak about that game

[@WhodatIzz]

I only understood half of what he said... but the enthusiasm and joy was so much fun to go with vicariously.

[@cadesanderson6896]

I always interpreted glados’ lines in still alive as in denial rather than actually still alive, I never even thought about taking it literally but now the tone of the song makes so much more sense to me

[@legoboy-ox2kx]

You Wouldn't Know, which is actually the credits song for Lego Dimensions of all things is another Glados song that calls back to these songs, and it's really good! You should also give that one a listen of you haven't!

[@ryanlutes9833]

I don't think they could've picked a more perfect fit than Jonathan Coulton for the game, too. The nerdy, dry sense of humor in many of his other songs just perfectly embody the feel Portal is going for. And of course, Ellen McLain gives a stunning performance, as usual. Singing in a character voice and having it sound natural is hard enough, let alone a robot with a bunch of effects and filters over it.

[@jovetj]

Props to Ellen McLain, too! ❤

[@Zelmel]

I like how those key shifts back and forth in the first half of the song also match with the slightly manic and unhinged character of GLA-DOS and the expressed disappointment followed by "well, you still didn't win so..." It goes cheerful to dark to cheerful-but-untrustworthy very subtly in a way that is really fun.

[@WilliamCoon]

A star is born!! You've got chops, kid. Keep on spreading the music love

[@imlxh7126]

fun fact: the drums in "want you gone" were provided by john flansburgh of tmbg

[@thepoynt]

Jonathan Coulton is a hilarious songwriter. He's done several other comedic songs I highly recommend, like Code Monkey and Ikea.

[@jordivanos8181]

betty 'n me, tom cruise crazy and chiron beta prime are pure genius as well.

[@the_piano_nerd4960]

Mandelbrot set is how I found him all those years ago. And now over a decade later I’m about to get my masters in math. What a boss

[@3DPDK]

I bring these games out of archive every once in a while, partially because the game play is really fun and the banter in Portal 2 is hilarious, but I absolutely love the songs in the closing credits. If you turn on "developer's notes" which makes the "i" icon appear in various places throughout the game space, among other insights into the game mechanics, these give a background to Ellen McClain, an American opera performer who is the voice of GlaDos and how she contributed to the creation of these end credit songs, at least in P1. It's been a while since I read these notes but I'm pretty sure it tells that Ms McClain was allowed to improvise the melody in certain parts of "Still Alive".

[@cooldebt]

Actually crazy to have an opera calibre singer in vgm! I never used to take vgm seriously until I heard the jazz covers by The Consouls and realised that the foundations of those 'little tunes' are actually very good music. Many composers went all out and I'm glad there is now some appreciation of their work.

[@JonathanUss]

@@cooldebt Totally agree! I also remember seeing an interview with Ellen McClain about "Still Alive" and she was remembering how different it was for her to sing so quietly at the beginning of the song, exactly opposite of what she was used to from her opera career.

[@dowfreak7]

@@cooldebt Given her husband's in voicework, I could see it being a "hey, Valve, my wife does opera, can we put her in some stuff, too?". The whole thing feels like there's this couple that does voice stuff and they're just "part of Valve" somehow and throw their voices in here and there to fantastic effect. As an example, this wondrous opera singer and evil robot...also voices a spider in Dota 2. Same game her husband voices some characters in and "announced" during some events. It truly feels like they're just an old gamer couple.

[@jaycollier28]

I absolutely love the extreme excitement that you get from all the harmonic and melodic relations in everything you review. Getting to listen to others get excited over the same things I do makes my day

[@SamusSelf-Destruct]

That description of the key change via a single note in the chord brilliantly explains something that I’ve always felt from an old practice technique a piano teacher taught me years ago (basically just playing up and down the keyboard by moving one finger up or down one key at a time) that I’ve never been able to quite put into words or figure out how to use. Thanks for this video covering two of my favorite video game songs of all time. Also, on a side note, the end of Portal 2 and the lyrics to the song are why I’ve always felt a Portal 3 wouldn’t work. At the end, Chell is done, she’s out, she’s free, and GLaDOS is happy to be rid of her.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

I also love Love _LOVE_ "Robots FTW" from the portal 2 soundtrack...

[@jonashormann5700]

I think when we hear the song "Self Esteem Fund" in the first Portal, that's when you really start to feel something is not right. Really cool piece of music.

[@jakubhusi258]

I have absolutely no idea what any of these things you are showing us means, but you're absolute immense passion makes it all so addicting to listen to. Love what you do and others will love with you.

[@cameronhodgetts920]

There's actually a third song called You Wouldn't Know, which was in the game LEGO Dimensions, and it's just as fantastic

[@bemasaberwyn55]

😂😂 perfect

[@ataraxianAscendant]

he wouldn't know about that song, would he

[@dirtyketchup]

Oh my gosh, how did I not know about this?! Just listened to it, and it totally fits within the GLaDOS character arc perfectly. Song 1 - I’m still alive and I don’t even care that you broke my heart. I won’t miss you. Song 2 - I don’t even care about you anymore. I don’t need you or anyone! Just leave me alone! I'm totally going to forget you, by the way. Fatty. Song 3 - Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I totally forgot about you and I’m like, so over you. No really. And now I’m over here having so much fun with people way cooler than you… who I definitely forgot and don't miss at all. Look over here at us! We're all, like, testing and having fun without you, doing all sorts of fun fun stuff… the sort of stuff that might have made you stay. […] I made you a cake…a real one this time… I miss what we had… Do you ever miss me?

[@O-bearer-mine]

​@@dirtyketchup This nailed the whole breakup narrative that Glados really emphasises throughout the 2.5 games. It's art. Her personality makes the entire journey really heartbreaking.

[@cuestaluis]

I love JoCo, and it's awesome to see these songs broken down. It would be awesome to get more of his songs explained like these!

[@skittstuff]

it's genuinely such a pleasure to see someone so passionate about both the Portal series AND music theory, this is legit just such a happy video

[@Kirian42S]

Glad to see the love from Charles for JoCo. I've been a JoCo fan for a long time, before i played Portal. Fantastic lyricist, and this analysis shows some incredible composition as well.

[@lunalangton5776]

Only two? No, no, my friend. Portal (2) is full of bangers.

[@internetic2496]

Even some portal mods as well!

[@lunalangton5776]

​@@internetic2496 Haha yeah, the production quality of fan maps / mods is fantastic, even whole games like Portal Stories: Mel and Portal: Revolution... But like the music in 2... I was gonna mention what a banger the track known in the OST as The Friendly Faith Plate is but then I remembered how good everything else is too.

[@typryor2227]

They turned an industrial buzzer into absolute fire for crying out loud!

[@yesthatkarim9601]

“Caroline Deleted” and “Reconstructing More Science” are two personal favorites. If you have headphones with really good bass, they are a joy.

[@StarkRG]

@@yesthatkarim9601 Turret Wife Serenade is mine.

[@lasagnahog7695]

I feel like the amount of iconic video game music hasn't scaled with the amount of games being made so I particularly love when a modern (17 years old opposed to 30-40) game nails an iconic song. I wonder if it's the lack of constraints in the way that constraints can lead to creativity. You can just play audio files in games now. You don't need to figure out how to make a coherent song with only 4 channels for sound.

[@bemasaberwyn55]

I often wonder If the notion of incredible modern video game music is because there are so many composers kind of forged in the fire of those early generations (such as Tim and Geoff Follin, Koji Kondo, Nobu Uamatseau, Yasunori Mitsuda) Now having to compete with the likes of film composers Steve Jablonsky and Ramin Djawadi (Gears of War) composing these days

[@Kitsuneko111]

Yknow that’s a really good point because games like undertale, Celeste and Minecraft all have some of the most memorable soundtracks and they all try and stay either 8-bit or to a very specific style/theme (even Lena Raines newer mc stuff)

[@Dsetulac1136]

0:25 how many people have this same reaction? (me included)

[@SpysSapper]

HUGE SUCC

[@sheltongolden4394]

10:53 "banger!" What a great edit moment Also, love your videos!

[@Oldney]

Big Bad World One is probably my favorite Jonathan Coulton song composition-wise, but Ikea is objectively the most fun to sing. So much fun to be had in that discography.

[@TAP7a]

For me, it's either Nemeses, Don't Feed The Trolls or The World Belongs To You to sing, and either Artificial Heart, Creepy Doll or I Feel Fantastic for overall composition He makes it very difficult to pick just one!

[@ChillyRelleno]

@@TAP7a For some reason, I always read the lyrics of "The World Belongs To You" as being about Doctor Who.

[@PlutoniumBoss]

You could do an entire series on Jonathan Coulton's music and I would be here for every single episode.

[@Efreeti]

Coulton is simply a genius songwriter. From the funny nerdy stuff to songs like You Ruined Everything and I Crush Everything, which legit make me cry sometimes.

[@BunnLilah]

"Under the circumstances I've been shockingly nice" I know it's played for comedy how Glados is so cruel, but I can understand her feelings at least in Portal 2. I dunno if people remember but this is what Glados says after you wake her up: "Do you know the biggest lesson I learned from what you did? I discovered I have a sort of black-box quick-save feature. In the event of a catastrophic failure, the last two minutes of my life are preserved for analysis. I was able - well, forced really - to relive you killing me. Again and again. Forever." Like yeah Glados is mean but that's basically hell...and there's a cut voice line where she claims it's been 50,000 years. If we take that as true, taking the total minutes in a year times 50,000 and then divided by two means Glados had to experience her death *13,140,000,000 times.*

[@MyShalora]

Thank you for doing these! These songs are absolutely brilliant, and it's fabulous hearing how even more brilliant they are than I knew! Plus, it's amazing watching you get *so* excited and just nerd out about it! I *love* these songs (and these games!) and it's nice seeing someone else get just as excited about them!

[@Over_It]

Jonathan Coulton is fantastic. It's not just his video game music! Shout-out to "Skullcrusher Mountain" & "Merry Christmas from Chiron Beta Prime."

[@SupersuMC]

WAIT. You're telling me the guy who wrote that Christmas song wrote these?! My life is complete. XD

[@Beanzoboy]

Re: Your Brains

[@aswallace88]

Don’t forget RE: Your Brains. That song is hilarious.

[@Over_It]

@@aswallace88 we're not unreasonable. I mean, no one's gonna eat your eyes. 🤣

[@TimeGodDioBrando]

I would love to see some Final Fantasy VII OG/Remake/Rebirth analysis. I highly recommend the soundtrack. Pieces like "One-Winged Angel," the theme of Sector Seven Slums, the battle theme which very cleverly builds in the first section of the game to the theme old fans recognize, Aerith's Theme, JENOVA, Hollow, Descendant of Shinobi, and so many more are amazing pieces. I know you did some Final Fantasy music, but VII is the most famous, and also my favorite. I love the way they remade the music (Apart from Sephiroth's Theme) in such a fantastic way.

[@BingoClamshell]

Johnathan Coulton has so many great songs... some bangers for me I don't see mentioned quite as often in my browsing of comments... "Better", "Skull Crusher Mountain", "Shop Vac", "Todd the T1000", "De-Evolving", the song my wife never wants to hear again because it's too sad, "Betty and Me" and he song my kid never wants to hear again because it's too scary, "Creepy Doll"

[@twothirdsanexplosive]

Creepy Doll isn't creepy, it's just a doll trying to look out for your health making sure you don't stay out too late and eat your sugar in moderation.

[@SordidEuphemism]

The one that kills me every time is "I'm Your Moon".

[@c64cosmin]

5:55 some keys do have different qualities to them just because of how we are tuning keyboards in general, the harmonies are close but not perfect, and that will influence the texture and brightness of that chord, if anyone is reading this, I highly suggest getting a bit into other microtonal tunings that are available to be used.

[@Patmax17]

Hearing you play these melodies on the piano makes me so emotional, you're a real master, wow. I'm incredibly fascinated by people who know music as a language so well, I wish I had that knowledge too to really appreciate the music I love. Also, the Enya jumpscare got me laughing out loud xD

[@pivotguydc1149]

moving from D major to F major feeling "dark" isn't a pseudoscientific or pseudo-theoretical thing - you're going 3 steps forward on the circle of fourths (or backward on the circle of fifths). I know you know Jacob Collier talked about this one lol D or F in isolation isn't inherently bright or dark, but relative to each other is where the feeling comes from. All pitch is relative :)

[@jjir4089]

F major uses the same scale than D minor, and going from D major to D minor (scale) feels darker. Even staying in a major key F major.

[@tedtooley9636]

i do think he's still talking about the specific "character" of the choice of key itself, not the movement between them which would explain why he said pseudoscience

[@jonnelson4986]

@CharlesCornellStudios Tldr:Elementary music teacher thinks your work is incredible. Thank you!! As an elementary school music teacher I just want to say thank you. Your videos were a connection point for many students and I this year (you would be surprised how many K-6 students watch you). I completely agree with your active "hear/experience before learning musical vocabulary" approach to learning music and use it as my foundation to teach all music things. Thank you for stating it in your happy birthday video in such a concise way and I have it in my back pocket if admin ever asks about our approach. By far my favorite thing about your videos is you never "dumb it down". There have been things discussed that my students haven't quite understood. The unexpected/ I wish I had this ability thing is you make your videos so entertaining that the small things left unsaid are thought of as "Curiosities I want to learn about" instead of "This is too hard" to them. I am thankful for you and I hope you know you are doing a great job. Have a great rest of your week! Edit: I completely forgot to say thank you to your team... This isn't just a thank you to you, but also your team that makes sure the graphics are on point, the editing is amazing, etc. You all do amazing work too and it should definitely be acknowledge. Top notch.

[@BlakeMartin-topg]

My favorite part of these songs is that they set up a resolution to the relative minor, but instead resolve to that(the relative minor) key’s parallel major, completely diverting expectations, unlike most other songs that change up or down a minor third.

[@t0nito]

I don't think I've seen anyone so excited about a key change!

[@tomaskronvall7535]

About how going up sounds darker, think of it like this: a key change is two things - changing the tonal centre, and changing some of the notes you use. Say you're in A major and want to end up in C major. This can be split into A minor to get the new notes (a distinct darkening of the sound), and the changing the designated root among those notes from A to C (a modal reinterpretation from minor to major, from aeolian to ionian, if you will). Put differently, C major is the relative major of the parallel minor of A major.

[@JesseNorellMusic]

I've been working on an indie rock cover of Still Alive and watching your channel a ton this week. To see both of them combine is almost eerie and I love it! Keep it up!!

[@BeastOfSoda]

To me Want you gone always felt like a song that knew it couldn't top the original, and went for an atmosphere that avoided the confrontation altogether instead. Especially since it came right after a little piece of music known as The Turret Opera. It was just like, "fuck this, I quit".

[@rickwoods5274]

one million percent. When the computer screen popped up I went "excellent another ending song, how will they outdo Still Alive, it was so good". Then the first six synth notes played and immediately I knew "oh they are not trying, they are going in a totally different direction"

[@SimonBoyes]

...which fits the subject of the song perfectly!

[@BeastOfSoda]

@@SimonBoyes Didn't think about it. That's meta.

[@TheWobbinator1]

Homeboy doin' pivot chords like mad.

[@Oznej]

We do what we must because we can.

[@katieourmatie8250]

Never been recommended your channel before and damn, your joy in what you do is such a delight!! I don’t have an ear for music at all so none of this makes any sense to me, but that doesn’t matter at all because I loved hearing what you had to say 😊

[@alexandercarrasco7190]

What a great video. The passion, the talent, the enthusiasm, the charisma, the game knowledge, it's all there. Truly awesome. Well done. You've earned a sub.

[@MysterE_06]

I freaked out when i saw this. Portal was THE childhood game for me. Cant wait to watch!!

[@Thadiwyn]

You should have a look at Jonathan Coulton's other songs. Great concepts, funny lyrics and solid songwriting!

[@NijahPlays]

I'm obsessed with the song "Self Esteem Fund" from the Portal 1 OST

[@BleachWizz]

5:55 the moment she goes with the punchline there's a sort of jumpscare in the melody, it halts for you to realize that it's NOT fine, but then glados starts to HAVE FUN! and you're there like; scared. this parts sounds playful and tense, she's having fun and you're in danger.

[@SolidUber]

These two songs are amazing! I basically had to go through the same chord analysis because i loved the transitions in both songs so much. Still love playing and singing them from time to time. ❤

[@EthanEo-ed6jf]

Who knew that the cake was a complicated lie.

[@vap1dw817]

Jonathan Coulton is secretly my favorite. And it’s only a secret because no one else understands. The niche is incredible. These songs were my introduction. But 2017’s “Solid State” was my favorite album for years.

[@modlich_303]

as someone who's not musical, I have a feel that i can give better names to the sounds than "brighter" "darker", that more tell what they sound like emotion-wise

[@dylp999]

watching these videos without knowing music theory is like watching a french movie to be more fluent in french. I still don't know music theory, but now if you ask me what a plagal cadence is I might remember.

[@The_Wosh]

I always felt still alive was "happier" while want you gone feels almost melancholic

[@ErebosGR]

"Gladys"... 🤣

[@_tking]

I kept wanting to yell "ITS A PUN! SAY IT RIGHT!!" at my screen

[@TheRealBatabii]

​@@_tkingI'm not even sure if people these days know how to pronounce DOS

[@DontYouDareToCallMePolisz]

Ah yes, regular linguistic processes ruining jokes

[@captaindanger13]

1:11 i've got that marcomeatball brainrot so every time i hear that song, i get pulled back in time to the april fools day purgatory.

[@DZ-1987]

You watched the whole thing, you foolish fool. Me too.

[@gamefreak2016]

1:25 HOW THE HELL DID I NOT NOTICE THIS?!?!?! Portal 1 and 2 are my favorite games of all time and ive replayed them both dozens and dozens of times

[@SpikyEaredPichu96]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who's missed this until now. I brought it up to a friend and now I'm being made fun of for not noticing. 😭

[@RMLLcrazy]

I was so surprised and so happy when I realized "I Feel Fantastic" is also from the same composer. It's been one of my favourite songs to sing forever.

[@forrestozbolt1107]

Your reactions to chord progressions/changes is so honest and wholesome.