Archive for the ‘ Music ’ Category

Call Me a “Fanboy” – A Nod to Nobuo Uematsu

Odds are you’ve never heard of the guy. Odds are even if you’re addicted to role-playing games such as Final Fantasy – you’ve still never heard of him. Truth is, I hadn’t known who he was for many years even after I fell in love with his music.

It was the summer of 1998 and I had just received my first copy of Final Fantasy VII – the Playstation RPG that would raise the bar and set the standard for games across all genres. This game was big for many reasons. It was the first to use 3D models, rendered environments, and cinematics on a platform system. Not only that but, it hosted a memorable and believable cast, world, plot, and story. When the opening video played, I was hooked. The scene, the music… the immersion was complete. A love was born. If you’ve ever read a book or watched a movie and wanted to be there; to experience it… that is how it was.

What makes Mr. Uematsu so special is the originality, the fullness, the soul-piercing quality of his compositions. He creates sweeping melodies and symphonies that perfectly encapsulate the mood, setting, characters, and so on. It’s really something that is quite hard to put into words. When you’re in a battle and the line is drawn in the sand, he allows you to fully feel the tempo and the tension of the scene. When someone dies, he helps your heart to break. When dreams are born or die, you can feel your heart swell in your chest. He creates a memorable immersive experience that goes beyond the games and a music that moves through you and in you. It is truly a stand-alone experience.

If you’ve ever enjoyed Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, or any of the other classical composers; if you’ve ever been moved by the soundtracks of Lord of the Rings or Avatar, then Nobuo Uematsu is somebody I highly recommend to expand your love for music.

400 words aren’t enough to describe the influence, the memories, the tears, the smiles, the adventures, the losses, and the triumphs that Mr. Uematsu has bestowed on millions of fans and though, it’s taken me 14 years to write this very brief review somehow I still can’t find the words to say it as it should be…

Nobuo-san, thank you… and for all of you, I hope you meet him one day.

—
Works: Final Fantasy I-X; XIV, Chrono Trigger, Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Concerts: Distant Worlds, The Black Mages, Tour de Japon
Recommendations: To Zanarkand (FFX), You’re Not Alone (FFIX), Liberi Fatali (FFVIII), Prelude, The Man with the Machine Gun (FFVIII), The Landing (FFVIII), Terra’s Theme (FFVI), Aerith’s Theme (FFVII), JENOVA (FFVII), One-Winged Angel (FFVII), Vamo’alla Flamenco (FFIX), Opera Maria & Draco (FFVI), Dancing Mad (FFVIII), Love Grows… Just to name a few. :P
Note – If you do look up his music – be sure to look up the orchestrated versions. Distant Worlds is a good place to start.
Images courtesy of Square-Enix, The Anime Informant, & The Orpheum at Vancouver

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2011
07/24
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CATEGORY
Culture
Music
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Complexities of Life Discovered through Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1

As I yearn for sleep, desperate to identify with the back of my eyelids, my mind races with the sounds of deep and boisterous earthen tones of Bach’s Cello Suite 1. To hear the joy yet sorrow, the suffering yet happiness this piece protrudes through the elegant dancing on the seemingly endless fretboard I feel the complete stir of Bach’s heart, envisioning him as he precariously places each note with diligent forethought. It seems as if he is in a complete bustle of emotions hoping for peace amidst the greatest chaos, just as I find myself searching for what could possibly put my mind to ease for a moments rest. It is as if this endless searching for God and trying to find out who he is even with the knowledge I never truly can, comes out as the notes swirl in this sweeping piece. As the piece begins, the idea of complete strength and unyielding searching hardens my courage to seek and to find what has unequivocally vexed theologian and philosopher alike in their attempts to find out who God is in the most intimate way. And yet soon as hearts are dismayed with the knowledge one can never fully understand the complexities of God, the piece begins to find its way in a downward spiral. Suffering and pain begins to sway the mind that holds onto the question that has made men aggravate for ages, yet no this could not be it, this could not be the end. Knowledge begins to produce the clarification that full truth can not be understood by such limited and fragile minds, yet faith and hope can produce the drive with which our bodies purpose on. Soon, as if being lifted from the ashes of our own despair the lightest and most aerial sound begins to lift the spirit in a way as to portray the idea of never giving up, never giving in. In the end there is a reason, there is a purpose. Chaos, pain, suffering produce an innocent beauty to which the liking of these earthen tones could not recreate in any greater sense. Hardships and perplexities must be endured, must be held on to fast with the idea that there is a greater idea beneath it all. There is no sanctuary without pain, no peace without fear. So when time has come and suffering fails beneath the ever growing love and sanctity, heads can be held so ever high in the greatest respect to hear the words ever person yearns to hear, “well done.”

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2010
06/16
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CATEGORY
Music
Religion
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