Video Games. Music. Communities. <3

I believe we're in a day and age where it's not really acceptable to say that video game music isn't good because it's just 'beeps and blips'. You don't have to like it, of course, but I'd like to see a more valid and true excuse than that.

Certainly, back in the 80s and early 90s music might have been classified as such (I still loved it~) but nowadays you have composers like Hitoshi Sakimoto known for the awesomeness they do that certainly cannot be classified as beep nor blip. Minuet by Masayoshi Yamazaki is also a far cry from a beep... I could probably go on for pages about the awesomeness of various composers, but... that likely wouldn't make for a good read. XD

Anyways, not too many years ago I was pleased to find various communities dedicated to the glorification of game music. Talented musicians pay tribute to their favorite composers by remixing and arranging their work - I think of it like the equivalent of fan art.

There's a bit more to it than that, with musicians and composers helping each other out, and sharing their own original works too. I remember people from a couple years back when they were just 'noobies' and I remember their music. And... I remember cringing at that music. And it's amazing to me, that I listen to something they did recently, and I really enjoy it because they've improved so much! Because they practice, and work hard, and other people in the same field offer their insight and advice. (Some people on these sites make music professionally) Positive communities can really make a positive difference in someone.

My main fix for music and socializing in this 'scene' used to be VGMix, but alas, it was taken down and currently still in the process of revivification. OverClocked Remix, however, is still up and running stronger than ever. I admit I haven't dived that deep into it, but with VGMix still in a limbo of sorts, I do hang around OCR more often these days.

I'm sure OCR has its sour grapes, as any community does, but I have to say that I believe the main contributers to the site are nothing short of awesome. Not necessarily for their music (which is awesome) but I believe this community is a fine example of what many (most?) online communities should aspire to be. One of the members became ill not long ago, so a lot of people got together to arrange music from one of their favorite games as a 'get well album' and showed an outpouring of support to him and his then-fiancee. (He's better now and they're married so happy endings yay!)

I pondered over other communities I've been a part of and wondered if they were capable of something similar to the above. And I... am uncertain. Human behavior is hard to predict.

I'm pretty sure I started this post to talk about video game music and totally deviated in about fifty different directions. Hurrah! Likely a result of me not really being deeply involved in any community right now, and mostly 'drifting'. I always enjoyed being a part of a community of some kind, so it's a bit strange to not be deeply involved anywhere anymore.

But yes. Game music. Awesome. <3
(One day I'll learn to make a blog post and keep to a single topic)