Special Topic: Music

The following is a graded final for a music in literature class.

Damien and Tait lived in a house all to themselves in the confines of the Cul De Sac. They resembled the children they once were back when they died and transmigrated into their new yet identical bodies, but they knew how to run and clean it with ease by now. As such, every Friday evening, they would host a little get-together with the rest of their species and have a good old time, offering respite from their daily activities, including training, traveling, and studying. Truly, it was always a welcome respite for the eleven of them, even if not all could attend every week.

They were all there that day, arriving as the sun began to set. There was Primus Odhinkar, the first of their species to exist and the one who could be considered the founder of this group. He was a Norseman, though he had no facial hair like the other Norseman in the group, Brynjar Wilder, whose beard was magnificent and stereotypical for the viking he once was. Gunnar arrived shortly after Primus and Brynjar, donning his usual Marine Corps boots and utes and his iconic radiation scar that covered the left side of his face. He brought some whiskey and scotch from his travels for the adults to partake in, too.

Cain Husher came next, his bulky, tall figure dressed in camo as he hid behind a mysterious mask that he'd never been able to take off since he was mortal. It was bound to him, his face long forgotten even by himself. He was holding a baby, Owen, who was more like a kindred spirit than anything else. Owen was easy to care for and never cried, but over the years, he developed the ability to speak and walk, with the brain developed like that of a 12 year old. Aging was still something Mr. B was working on for him, for he had a unique circumstance not worth getting into right now.

Amitayus, Mr. B, and Stian came as a group, and sat down where they usually did. Amitayus was a violet wisp with vague human traits, like a head and torso and floating hands. He was more of a singularity than anything else, an embodiment of the universe they created and currently resided within. Stian, the psychedelic skeleton, was more or less an odd yet lovable sack of bones. He was as creative as he was dillusional, though over the recent years hes been much more doen to earth. Mr. B was the genius of the group, an inventor and engineer to name a couple professions of his.

Lastly came in Primal, who followed Gunnar at a lazy pace. He could shrink to the size of a large dog in order to fit inside and not take up too much space, and laid down at the feet of Gunnar and Brynjar. Drinks were poured, the game was booted up, people were seated. Damien and Tait were standing before the group, backs to them, as they began to choose a song to dance to.

"Which song do you want to start with, Damien?" Asked Tait, as the murmurs and casual conversations took place behind them.

"Oh, you know, look up 'That House' by Dance with The Dead. I always love to start with that one."

Tait went to the search option and looked up the song, and a sample of it began to play before he selected it. The menu chimed and offered a difficulty option. He chose the hard difficulty, as they were quite adept at playing this game by now, and it chimed in conformation before the music stopped and began loading the game.

The virtual crowd cheered as numbers counted down from 3, and the song began. In perfect sync, the twins began tapping their feet as the beat began to get them in rhythm. When the guitar began to riff, they began sliding to the left, moving their feet, and moving back to the right. A spectacle of turns and tapping, the boys began to get into the groove of the music as vividly as they could.

From behind them, Gunnar leaned forward to take a sip from his glass of whiskey before he spoke over the music so the group could hear him.

"Y'know, this is a good song to dance or even just vibe to. It's like rave music."

"Yeah, it's alright," said Damien, as he danced, "songs like this one are perfect to get into the rhythm of this game."

"Eh," stated Brynjar, "it's not really my style."

"Oh please," retorted Gunnar, as he watched the boys turn 90 degrees with each tap until they were once again facing the screen. "Just because you're out of touch with today's music doesn't mean it's not good."

"There ain't any lyrics," said Brynjar, as he looked over at Gunnar with crossed arms, "good songs have a story to tell. A message, anything besides just noise."

"Aha, you know, there ain't a song that doesn't have a point to it." Said Primus, "This song is all about the sake of playing a tune that motivates, that inspires you to groove. Short, but sweet, I'd say."

The final part of the song played and the boys concluded their first little dance. The score was close, though Tiat managed to score an additional 500 points by nailing the arm movements exactly like the avatar dancer on screen did.

"Bullshit!" Exclaimed Damien, before he turned to face them, "Old man, what song would you prefer we play next then?"

Brynjar shrugged as a song came to mind. "Mary Mac is a good, simple song. There's a whole bunch of covers that many different artists have done, see if you can find one."

Tait typed it in and a couple different variants came up. He selected the one from the band Great Big Sea, which played a snippet of the middle of the song as he hovered over it.

'Mari Mac's mothers making Mari Mac marry me (my mother's making me marry Mari Mac)

well I'm gonna Marry Mari for when Mari's taking care of me

we'll all be feeling merry when I marry Mari Mac!'

"Mm, not the original, of course," groaned Brynjar, "but it sounds fast paced and better than the last one."

"So, you like folk music?" Asked Stian, as he looked over at him from the other side of the couch.

"You could say that, yeah. Another good one is The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. Can't really dance to it, but it tells a good, somber story that reminds me of my sailing days back home."

Tait and Damien exchanged glances then both looked back at Brynjar to see if he was paying attention. He wasn't, so they changed the song to one of Taits favorites, My Best Life by KSHMR (feat. Mike Waters). He liked this song because of its optimistic outlook on life, to enjoy life as much as possible. A true song that embodies Tait's optimistic outlook, he selected it and the game began to load once more.

"So sentimental you are, old man." Stated Mr. B bluntly.

"Oh, as though it is a bad thing, you say that," responded Brynjar, as he shook his head, "you probably just listen to podcasts."

"Yeah, honestly." Jumped in Cain, "You're so damn illusive, how could we even begin to guess as to what music you're into?"

"Well, at least it isn't the depressing, edgy shit you always listen to, serial murderer." Scoffed Mr. B, "It ain't no Bullet for My Valentine that I listen to. Or Ice Nine Kills. That one song they got, The American Nightmare? Yeah, that one might as well be your fucking anthem."

"Why so hostile, B?" Asked Amitayus, as glances from others were basically implying the same question.

"Yeah, just tell us one song you like and we'll get off your case." Said Primus, "You owe us that much."

Mr. B shook his head before he mumbled one of his favorite songs. "I am Machine by Three Days Grace sort of encapsulates my current situation, or at least, when I first transmigrated into this mechanical body."

"Predictable!" Laughed Damein as he jammed out.

"Hey now," said Primus, "we all listen to what connects to us down to our cores. It's why you love that song from Falling in Reverse. What was it called Damien? Popular Monster?"

"*huff* Yeah. That shit hits close to home. *puff* Don't distract me."

"I, for one," continued Primus, "love Leave it All Behind by Cult to Follow. It reminds me of our situations, having to leave our home worlds to avoid The Ragnarok Effect."

"Oh, alright, alright. I see that." Said Stian, "We uh, yeah. Transmigration causes an imbalance, sort of like cancer. Once we were removed from our home universes, equilibrium was restored. For most of us, anyhow. Uh, sorry Amitayus."

"Don't remind me, Mr. Exposition." Said Amitayus, "I'll be honest though, getting back to our favorite songs, I like ones that let me feel. Like, Aether and Light by Varien. It reminds me of the sensations I felt when I first became this... apparition. Quite mystical, yet wordless. I couldn't think of any words that would best be able to summarize the experience even to this day."

"Ah, so we're back to proving how lyricless music is justified?" Said Gunnar with a chuckle, as he bent down to pat Primal on the snout, which resulted in the crocodilian bellowing gently and nudging into his hand for more attention.

"I wonder what music Primal likes?" Asked Tait, as the song finished in Damien's favor. He exclaimed with a head bob and an exaggerated victory pose.

"Good question." Said Brynjar, who was also leaning forward to pat the sprawled out reptile at his feet. "I'd imagine if he did have taste in music, that he'd like The Animal by Disturbed, or All Animal by Through Fire. Both are pretty symbolic in a literal sense about being animals, or turning into them."

"I mean, what if he likes chill vibes?" Asked Primus, pondering further, "He'd probably love My Love by Blackmill, or something like that. Chill music keeps stress low and animals in mental equilibrium."

"What song should we play next, Damien?" Asked Tait.

"Hm? Oh uh, fucking, what's it called? Actually, I know a song that Owen would love to hear. He's been so quiet. It's sort of new wave, but like, literally only kids listen to it."

"Oh God, really?" Groaned Cain, for he knew exactly what 'kind' of music he was referring to. "Its genre is literally called 'Video Game.'"

"Oh, stop it." Lectured Primus, "We're open minded here, no?"

Damien smiled. "Accelerant by Philiplol. We can REALLY dance to this fast paced shit!"

"Oh, OH! I remember playing that game with Owen! Friday Night Funkin is what it's called." Said Tait, as he was typing it into the search bar.

"Music from a video game?" Inquired Brynjar with true uncertainty, "I don't think I'll ever come to call that actual music."

"Hey!" Owen scolded suddenly, "Those composers do so much work to make the music sound really good! Just because they're from a rhythm game doesn't mean it's bad."

"Wait, wait.." Said Gunnar, "That game where they just sing with beeps and boops? No actual singing, even though it's made out to be like, rap battling?"

"I can't find it." Said Tait with disappointment. "We can look it up on Spotify later, don't worry Owen."

"The person you play as raps with all sorts of characters from Newgrounds and the internet in general!" Exclaimed Owen, "it's really a community game that tributes lots of artists and stuff."

"Newgrounds huh?" Asked Gunnar.

"I don't use the internet so I wouldn't know." Said Brynjar.

"Even talented guitarists and AL Capella people do covers of the songs and they're sick."

"We get it, Owen." Said Gunnar, "The next generation is gonna be listening to shit that's barely music."

"Oh, be nice." Said Primus, "I've heard some of it, there is a definite difference between talented music engineers and novice ones. Owen, don't let them make you feel bad about your music. You're younger and these guys are all old, stubborn farts."

"What song should I play, Damien?" Asked Tait.

"Hmm.. Oh uh, The Wildcard by KSHMR and Sidnie Tipton. That one is too fun to dance to."

"Okay!"

"Brynjar," said Owen, "you're so traditional in your tastes. But I respect it because I'm not a meanie."

"Oh, baby Owen," Responded a patient, tired Brynjar, "we've all got different tastes here. Can't love it all, can't listen to it all in a mortal lifetime."

"Well, good thing we're all immortal." Said Stian with a chuckle.

"Listen-"

"After this dance, we should just play some music." Interrupted Mr. B, "As entertaining as it is to watch you two boys dance like maniacs, you're main songs are all EDM and frankly, as ironic as it may sound, I'd prefer something different."

"Oh, let the boys play." Said Primus, "We can just talk about the music we like and why we like it."

Mr. B took out a metallic flask of sorts and poured it down his face filter, a robotic drink of sorts that affected his Bionic brain to a degree. "Whatever. Gunnar, Brynjar. Let's drink. Anyone else feel free to join us."

"Sounds like a plan." Said Brynjar, as he took a swig of his whiskey.

"I beat you to it, let's see how much further I can outdrink you." Challenged Gunnar, doing the same thing.

The song began and the boys began to dance like actual idols. Every movement was at peak performance, conditioned discipline matching musical passion and resulted in a performance which entertained the group, who were becoming more rowdy and invested. The song ended in about 4 minutes, resulting in Damien winning by 100 points. He jumped up and down after the scores compared themselves and declared him the winner, pointing and screaming with excitement as he took Tait by the shoulders and shook him violently.

"YES! I finally won!!! Tait, how does it FEEL?! After all these YEARS I FINALLY BEAT YOU!!!"

Tait was smiling sincerely, even when shaken back and forth vigorously. He collapsed into Damein and gave him a full hug as the others roared and cheered at Damien's success, and the performance the both put on.

An hour passed as the group decided to chill out and put on Spotify, as Damien and Tait were already exhausted after their multiple dance battles. Cain was sipping a gin and tonic through the mouth holes in his mask, Gunnar and Brynjar were both on their second glass of Highland Park, Primus had about two pilsners and a lager, and Mr. B has had several flask fills of his strange concoction, which has indeed been making him a tad tipsy. The rest of them, Primal, Owen, Tait, Damien, Stian, and Amitayus couldn't or didn't want to drink, but still read the room as a passionate, soul driven conversation occurring about music.

"Damien," Gunnar said with gusto, "favorite song. Go."

"Hm? Oh uh, now that you ask, Kingslayer by Bring Me The Horizon. That shit slaps hard."

"Why?"

"Dude, the song is loud, badass, it's fucking metalcore, one of my favorite genres. Want me to list off more reasons?"

"Yeah."

Damien cleared his throat. "Its not all about the lyrics for me. To me, the sound is badass, and when I train or work out, I think of the song and it motivates me to push further, punch faster. It uh, I also like the Japanese chick who sings in it too. Her voice is cute."

"Couldn't agree more, my demented little friend." Scarface said, as he stood up to grab a bottle of water. "Brynjar, if I say the name of a song, will you recite the first quadrant for me? I know how much you love your sea shanties."

"Are you getting at the fact that I love My Mother Told Me by Perly I Lotry? Because I absolutely do, but I'm not drunk enough to sing it recklessly."

"What do you like about shanties?" Asked Primus, who sort of already knew the answer but asked anyway.

"Well," Brynjar said, "they were the songs we sang as we sailed our longships. We told stories, sagas, through shanties or traditional oral tradition. Odin, I miss the old life much some days."

Tait patted him supportively on the shoulder, sitting right behind him on the couch. "Don't we all, brother. Don't we all."

"What're you talking about, Tait?" Asked Cain and Damien simultaneously, before they exchanged glances and shivered from their historic memories of darkness and anxiety.

"As much as I miss butchering," continued Cain, "I won't lie when I say that spending time here, with you all, has been quite therapeutic. You don't judge me, you don't hate me anymore. And I haven't done it in over 15 years."

"Like I said before," Mr. B said, "American Nightmare is the song that best describes your past. But that's just it, your past, it ain't you no more. You're who you are in the moment, you're not your past."

"That's refreshing to hear from the mad doctor," said Stian, as he rubbed his skull with his floating hand. "We should listen to Overthinker by INZO. That song always puts me in a trance grander than getting drunk ever could."

Tait changed the song and played the requested one, which caused Stian to lean back in his seat and vibe while the rest continued to converse.

"Tait, you like positive music right?" Damien asked, "Optimistic shit?"

Tait shrugged. "I'm not really picky, y'know? But uh, one of my favorite songs is probably Fallout Boys' Immortals. I uh, it's from a movie, but whenever I hear it, it just reminds me of myself I guess."

"Makes sense to me."

Owen was reluctant to speak. As the youngest amongst the group, let alone being in the body of a toddler, he felt like his musical palette wasn't up to par with the rest of them.

Cain, who was holding him, looked down and offered his gin and tonic, to which he declined immediately.

"Owen, you've been quiet since earlier." Said Tait, "Everything okay?"

"I just feel like you guys listen to more sophisticated music than I do."

"I mean, you are a fucking baby." Said Gunnar, though Primus punched him in the arm in response.

"Your music taste is unique," said Tait, "It's the music of the future, whether these guys like it or not."

Damien supported the argument. "Dude honestly, when you don't look at it like a stubborn old man, it's a genre all its own that's new and interesting. Personally, I listen to a select few songs from that game."

Immortals by Warriyo came on.

"Yeah man, it's like the evolution of a culture or something." Said Stian, "You're in a league to call your own, be proud of yourself."

Owen hadn't thought of it that way before. He smiled, as Mr. B added further.

"That's a really good point. As new waves of kids come into the world, they develop their own cultural identities that are specific to kids of that generation. With technology these days, they can make their own music, their own genres, their own content that only makes sense to them. You could call it rebellion, you could call it seeking an identity during development, which is crazy enough on its own."

Gunnar nodded slowly in understanding. "You know, I see what you're saying, B. Generations are sort of like exclusive clubs, that each play their own tunes and use their own slang."

Close Eyes by DVRST came on.

Brynjar was getting the gist of this conversation. "You know, we come from different worlds, different eras. Hel, Primus is the only one I can relate to culturally; we come from The Viking Age, as you call it, a more traditional setting without the same technologies you had in your time."

Primus smiled. "There was no internet, no. Without the context or knowledge of such technology, we saw oral traditions as greatly important, and our songs were, how you say, unfiltered. Talent was raw, music was different. But, with what we know as a collective now, well, all we can do is be tolerant and polite, as we have been for most other situations."

"It really is interesting, this concept of music being an expression of different generations." Said Amitayus, "It is like a cultural representation of the people from when they were kids, and it sticks with them for the rest of their lives."

"Heh, you know," said Damien, "I wonder how poor Primal feels. He's the outcast amongst us cultured folk. He's a good boy for the most part, though."

"He tests me from time to time," said Gunnar, "but we've trained him well so far. Killer's a good boy."

Primal was just laying there, half awake, half sleeping due to his full stomach from his earlier hunt.

"But yeah, Owen," said Primus, "we can listen to one of your songs now if you want. It was called Accelerant, right?"

"Yeah, the guy you play as is rap battling against Hank from Madness Combat, a flash cartoon on Newgrounds."

"Oh shit, really?" Asked Cain, "I watched that series when I was growing up. That just put me back in the year 2002. Now you've got my attention."

"Oh, big shocker there." Stated Mr. B bluntly, shaking his head as Accelerant by Philiplol began to play. The group would take a moment of silence to listen to the music play.

It was fast paced, two distinct voices could be made out, one sort of robotic, the other high pitched, though there were no lyrics beyond the sounds each character made. There were also gun shots that matched pretty neatly with the rhythm between the sounds of each character.

Then a more staticy voice came in, jumping in with his own little 'lines' before he was seemingly shot, and the rap battle continued between the two main voices.

A few of them were bobbing their heads to the beat, others were meditating over the sounds they were taking in with a diverse range of facial expressions. Before they all knew it, the short song was over, and Krieg ft. FOOL by DiceUploads replaced it.

"So, you said this was from a rhythm game?" Asked Gunnar.

"Yeah, it's like, you use four keys on a keyboard to hit the arrows in time. Some people use the arrow keys, others use cvbn, whatever is easiest for you." Owen said with enthusiasm.

"Ok, so I can dig that. It sounds like a lot of work to make something sound dope like that." Said Gunnar with a sense of understanding.

"Yeah," continued Owen, "people have to draw the characters, animations, cutscenes, background, compose the music, all sorts of stuff. Plus it allows people to make their own mods, which are like community driven projects like Accelerant was. Anyone can make their own levels and music, and that's what makes it better than most other games, that inclusion and community."

Cain nodded slowly. "Yeah. Hank sounded pretty badass."

"I can only imagine trying to hit all of those notes," said Damien with a sense of disbelief, "I mean, heh, I could eventually, but I'm not really good at rhythm games."

Brynjar finally leaned forward before he cleared his throat to offer his side of all this.

"Well, while I don't understand much of the context, I can sort of see why it means so much to you, as you may see why my traditional values matter so much to me. From the psychological perspective that Mr. B offered earlier, that much I can come to respect. It simply isn't from my generation, so will I end up looking it up later on my own? Probably not. But, I don't think any lower of you for your taste, young Owen."

"Thanks Brynjar, the feeling is mutual."

From there, conversations evolved beyond the scope of music, and turned into the retelling of old stories from their mortal lives before they had become this support group of strange entities. For several more hours into the night, music played, stories were told, and drinks were consumed.

Owen felt a little less embarrassed around the others that day. Being in his situation, well, it did him wonders over the course of his developing years.