Multi-player Mode, Episode 2: Final Fantasy VII - Opening - Bombing Mission

[@purpleschala]

TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Sephiroth and the stolen C naturals in Opening 6:52 - Addressing again the real vs synth harp in Prelude (spoiler: it's both) 11:14 - Fanfare usage and significance in Opening as pertains to the main character of FFVII 17:24 - First hint of the conflict to come given by extended Am section in Opening (if you hear us talking about pivot chords--NO YOU DIDN'T lmao sorry we went off on a huge tangent on common tone modulation and had to cut 45 min out) 20:49 - sneaky triplet figuration in Opening to ease transition to Bombing Mission 22:15 - Uematsu's level of involvement in the Remake OST (if anyone has insider info PLEASE TELL US) 28:37 - Bombing Mission - differences between Remake and OG 34:10 - Bombing Mission is a dance according to Andrew, Ruby disagrees despite his graduate thesis level mountain of academic justification 42:13 - Andrew brilliantly proves the melody of Bombing Mission is a Schenkerian construct despite his wholesale rejection of Schenkerian methods applied to vgm in an earlier argument that was cut out but yall should know that it happened and I thought it was hilarious and was also VERY IMPRESSED LOL 45:21 - Motivic fragmentation in Remake and Crisis Core versions of Bombing Mission and why it was done 53:40 - Descending chromatic fourths progression and frequent usage in vgm 55:24 - Preferring the Remake or OG OST, live players vs. synthesized sound 1:05:32 - How Distant Worlds and vgm performances have changed classical concert culture (Google "Tchaikovsky 5th Symphony LA Philharmonic" for context on why we were laughing so hard) 1:07:26 - Synthesized music and the aural imagination Once again huge thanks to ludomusiologists Richard Anatone, James Denis McGlynn, and William Cheng for their impressive scholarship on FF music--their publications listed in the description above were so invaluable in informing my research for this episode, and I encourage you all to check them out in the latest issue of the Journal of Sound and Music in Games (online.ucpress.edu/jsmg)

[@maccajunior]

As someone who doesnt know anything about music, just a lover of video game/orchestra music, i get hooked on just hearing the passion you guys have for these songs that have made such an impact on my life. Hearing the breakdowns/analyses guys have brings me such joy

[@IsrafelCello]

This comment means everything to me, this is exactly what I was hoping we could bring to the table for people with our discussions!! Thank you so much for listening, I'm so happy you're enjoying them!

[@purpleschala]

ALASDAIR!!!!! ❤ thank you THANK YOU so much for listening to us I was telling Andrew how much you've supported me over the years and how much it means to me!!! How's the family doing?? Hope all is well and happy holidays, always a joy to hear from you! ❤

[@maccajunior]

@purpleschala of course i would listen Ruby! Ur music and knowledge of said music are just fantastic. Always gonna be a fan ❤️ the family is going great, Vivi still loves hearing your cds in the car. Hope your family is doing great too!

[@cjt217]

Thank you AGAIN for sharing these wonderful insights with all of us!

[@andrewvelzen2913]

(1) I think we need merch that says "Sephiroth Stole The C Natural" (2) No idea that the "lifestream motif" existed, but that's so cool and makes so much sense. (3) It was awesome to hear Andrew give more context about what it's like working on VG soundtracks at the Nashville studio. It's a world I rarely get to hear anything about, and I'm so interested in. These details are great. (4) Bombing Mission as a dance? 🤯 Like, that really blew my mind. I'm not sure I totally agree, but I definitely see where Andrew is coming from. (5) I absolutely love when Andrew says something that he knows is somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Like, when he's making the comparison of the keys to the prelude, he almost can't contain his laughter, and when Ruby calls him on it? Just a perfect moment. (6) I hate the "Bach should only be played on harpsichord" argument. You think Bach himself would want to limit his music to only old technology? Of course not. While it's certainly cool to hear harpsichord from time to time, there's a reason we've moved on modernly to the piano, because it's timbre is just generally more pleasing, and to me, that applies to Bach as well. (7) While I too much prefer the remake versions, it was beautiful to hear Ruby talk about aural imagination with synth sounds. What a genuinely special thing. (8) If you do talk about remake-specific tracks, I would be so excited to hear your rendition / arrangement of Jessie's Theme. I love that song. Overall, just an excellent listen. Thank you again so much for doing this. Also, from my perspective, please never shy away from getting into the nitty gritty of the music theory. I live for that stuff, especially when described by two total experts like the two of you. P.S. With Mako Reactor coming up, thought you two might like this if you haven't watched it already - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqiQXn6ejZWrgqMsi=FKkSIwvaioeYU_D3

[@Postumeartist]

4. When you think about influences in Asian media as coming from a different place, his comment makes even more sense. Sure american cinema used to have choreographed fight scenes, but not the way the Asian kung fu movies did. Their fight scenes were very much like a dance. So, it’s not surprising that music and the feeling of movement is even more present in combat than in western media. 7. This. I’ve maintained for awhile that a lot of the old ffs staying power is because of the abstractions. That’s why people still read even though movies exist. Abstractions let your brain fill in what isn’t there. Horror movies lose their greatest sense of tension once they completely show you the monster. When you don’t know exactly what it is, your mind just makes it into the worst thing it could be. A beat for beat, word for word remake of ff6 would never work. I’ve always thought about how abstraction has given the older ffs their staying power graphically, and from a story telling perspective, but for some reason I never applied that to the sound-fonts. But it’s equally true there. I will still listen to the original one winged angel specifically for the extra deep low end jarring “0 release/sustain “piano” when the chorus comes to a crescendo at the end. It does NOT sound like a piano. But it’s fantastic that way. Maybe some of it has to do with the approximation letting me fill in the blanks in my head just the way the story and graphics do. The orchestrated/remake versions are also amazing and I can listen to them just as much as the ost version, but it doesn’t negate the original at all. I will absolutely watch that video link!

[@IsrafelCello]

Thank you so much for listening!! I love these comments, and thanks for the 8-bit link, I will definitely be checking it out. Re: Jessie's Theme - I would absolutely love to do that one. You've actually reminded me of a project that we've discussed on occasion, doing a remaster/expansion of our first album, Women of the Crystal. I'm proud of what we do, but there are so many more tracks that we didn't have time to do the first time around. Plus, I think both of us have grown a great deal as musical and recording artists since we did that one. Hopefully someday!!

[@mechachoi]

Now there are 100% more MULTI-PLAYER mode episodes than there were a week ago!!! HUZZAH FOR US

[@purpleschala]

LMAO MIKE

[@IsrafelCello]

Next time we will aim for 50%, no need to overachieve, lol!

[@JenLRichard]

This was a nice Wednesday surprise. I enjoyed it, especially the debate on the usage of 12/8 time and the preferences for synth score vs orchestral score. I’m not a big fan of the synth, but you guys gave me a different perspective on it.

[@IsrafelCello]

Thanks so much for listening!! Those were really interesting topics to get into, and I’m so happy you enjoyed the back and forth (of course, I’m with you on the synth, though I respect other opinions!)

[@zzzzzzz774]

I was waiting for this episode immediately the second you guys said you were gonna focus on the ff7 soundtrack! I’m so glad you are doing this!

[@IsrafelCello]

Ahh I’m so glad you are enjoying our crazy conversations!! This was a big episode, for sure, opening - bombing mission is such a huge iconic track.

[@Postumeartist]

This comment will probably edited a billion times as I listen: Purpleschala: KZbin told me I was in your top 1% of regular listeners :) love your piano adaptations Israfel… 3.5 min just to line up a dad joke haha This is exactly what I was hoping it was gonna be when you were asking what should be the focus of this series. It’s helping me pick up on patterns in later tracks that I didn’t see. Most people intuitively know the music works, but why is what really gets me. The way bombing missions 3-2 timing is going to lead to some of that timing repetition in the mako reactor theme just dawned on me for the first time. All this time later and I can still appreciate the genius of Nobuo’s work and find new musical connections within tracks is wild. I watched an interesting by video on why the souls games are actually dance games. lol. Yes it’s exaggeration, but he was postulating that the reason people have trouble with the “dancer of the boreal valley” in dark souls 3 is because her track and movements are more in 3rds rather than the 4s that most bosses move in. The music is also way harder to track, which actually makes fighting her harder. Video game combat and dancing do have a lot in common. Looking and feeling cool is more important than the utility of what your character is doing. First thing I do when I start a game is lower every sound that isn’t music. I also can’t wait to point out Jaws theme references which was such an easy thing to throw in and I’m sooooo glad that did it in remake really really explicitly. I can’t wait to hear more from you both!

[@IsrafelCello]

First off, I feel like you and I need to chat more, because I like the way you think!! I'm going to have to check out that video about the souls games, because that sound incredibly interesting. I just recently picked God of War Ragnarok up after a long break from it, and that's also a game where the combat can feel wonderfully dancelike at its best! Thanks so much for your comments!! I'm so glad you're finding our talks interesting! :D

[@Postumeartist]

Would love to! I look forward to this whole series. I’m thinking I’ll probably be listening to each track with you guys as you go through them before each episode to see what interesting bit I can pick up on. I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time listening to ff6,8 and 9’s soundtracks and connecting motifs and themes there, but I’ve spent way less time exploring 7. This is gonna be awesome!