Portal Gave Us The 2 GREATEST Video Game Songs Of ALL TIME
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
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the cake is a lie
@charlescornellstudios 2008 called, they want their meme back
@@CharlesCornellStudiosNice
Is it safe to assume you played both games? Would love a game play video
You forgot to change accounts...
Lol dang not the self-roast 😂
"I know it's been 17 years since this game came out" -- I feel old
Every time I smell old fart...
...it's me.
@@matthewcox7985Damn, this is deep bro 🙏🙏🙏
That can't be right is my first reaction to hearing that, then I remember getting my Orange Box back in high school...
ITS BEEN WHAT?!!
I was one year old
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.
Want you Gone also does that.
The song was just so awesome. It took a great game and just made it the best ever.
q
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
I came here just to make sure someone had mentioned 'You wouldn't know'. I love that song, it is a little bit heartbreaking.
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."
@@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.
@@Mernom I do agree that it's a reach to think it was intended. On the other hand, intended or not, it did happen.
@@jijonbreaker Never underestimate artificial superintelligence.
"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.
But still, I think we can put our differences behind us. For Science... You monster.
Especially since Chell cannot speak
I quote that line to my brothers quite often
I'm quite partial to "how are you doing? Because I'm a potato."
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."
I believe the word you’re looking for to describe GLaDOS’ attitude is “sardonic,” which I consider intentionally rueful or dark sarcasm.
That is the word. And she DEFINITELY is
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.
@@TehFrenchy29 accurate
@@TehFrenchy29 “I used to want you dead, but/now I only want you gone” is such a mood
You are amazing. I've been searching for this word off and on for about a year (embarrassing, I know).
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)
Surprise Ninya
"Surprise Enya" will always haunt my dreams 😮
So... Glados ain't Caroline.
She's Enya, who got the AI treatment! It makes sense!!! 😱
Or am I maybe overthinking it?
Commenting because without jc we'll forget what lobsters really looked like.
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. ;-]
Well - "Turret Wife Serenade" and "Cara Mio Addio" are bangers as well!
I had Turret Wife Serenade as my ring-tone for a while. Was sad that nobody ever recognised it.
These two are my favorite by far.
Me too. Iconic.
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.
Robots FTW! (from portal 2)
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).
A triumvirate of perfection
@@bemasaberwyn55A triumvirate brought to us by a company which, ironically, seems incapable of counting to 3.
@@travcollier There's a song about that somewhere, I think. ;-]
@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
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
Most chambers*
@@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.
The stench from the feedlot permeated the car despite having the air conditioning on recycled air.
8:09 "i can see it in your eyes, i can see it in your smile"
i love how the artist for the second game's soundtrack is Aperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratories.
Jonathan Coulton is a hilarious songwriter. He's done several other comedic songs I highly recommend, like Code Monkey and Ikea.
betty 'n me, tom cruise crazy and chiron beta prime are pure genius as well.
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
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
There's actually a third song called You Wouldn't Know, which was in the game LEGO Dimensions, and it's just as fantastic
😂😂 perfect
he wouldn't know about that song, would he
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?
@@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.
I'm a huge fan of JoCo. Both the Portal and Portal 2 ending credits have a lot in common with a third song by JoCo -- the video to "All This Time" -- there are two sets of lyrics - the one in type on the video and also the one with the lyrics. He does some great manipulation of the texture from really simple to really complex. The piece really needs to be watched as a video because the music changes with the text in a brilliant way. If you like the Portal Songs and found the humor funny, you might really like All This Time.
His song 'Dissolve' has a great resolution in the same line as Want you Gone
I (poorly) covered these songs a long time ago, before I knew music theory.
As I was learning music theory, I started understanding why these songs worked so well, it was so fun. And watching you explain them is great!
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"
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.
The one that kills me every time is "I'm Your Moon".
With what you said about "Want You Gone" being like "Ugh, just go" I'd love to hear your reaction to the Neverhood soundtrack, specificallly Klaymen's theme. it just gives a comical feeling of "Ugh, I guess I have to" that I adore
This was one of the experiences from my youth that always stuck with me. The recurring theme of the cake being a lie is what taught me to question everything. 17 years later and though Ive largely forgotten about the game itself, that theme is still with me.
You should have a look at Jonathan Coulton's other songs. Great concepts, funny lyrics and solid songwriting!
I only discovered the Portal games last year and those songs were so wonderful. Thank you for this breakdown of why I enjoyed them so much.
Portal 2 will forever be my favourite soundtrack of all time. Nothing even comes close. When I saw you'd made a video about Portal I couldn't click it fast enough. This soundtrack has some of the most awesome harmonic structures and sound design of anything I've ever heard
Homeboy doin' pivot chords like mad.
We do what we must because we can.
I always felt still alive was "happier" while want you gone feels almost melancholic
If you go back through his "Thing A Week" period, he wrote so many great songs. I think putting yourself in a situation like that really forces you to look for different ways to accomplish things. plus coming to it from a programmer's perspective, his brain is already wired for solving mathematical puzzles
One thing I've heard is that flattening things give something a darker sound and sharpening things gives it a brighter sound (mainly to do with the different modes and how bright/dark they are relative to major), and I think that applies to these key changes. I think D to F sounds darker because we're flattening three notes (F#, C# and B go to F, C and Bb), and A to F# sounds brighter because we're sharpening three notes (A, D and E go to A#, D# and E#). I wouldn't say that F major itself has a darker sound, but relative to D it has that feel because we're flattening three notes
never played portal 2. Heard the Nate wants to battle version and have been hooked for 10 years. This song popped into my head two days ago… exactly when you uploaded!!
What an absolute joy Portal was. I went in with no expectations and it just delivered a fascinating experience. The song at the end was such a wonderful surprise, one of my favourite moments in gaming.
Jonathan Coulton is such an amazing songwriter! One of my favorites!
I freaked out when i saw this. Portal was THE childhood game for me. Cant wait to watch!!
I can't believe you didn't at least touch on the turret opera! Great breakdown of some amazing music though. Portal 1's ending music will still always be my favorite of the two.
I remember learning that F major was used as a pastoral key. Specially before modern piano tuning. Anyone else?
Not sure it counts. before equal temperament different keys absolutely did have different characteristics and they are well documented.
Siri became confused when we reused to follow her directions.
The radios and the “still alive” reprise weren’t originally in the game, they were added in an update that ended up being the announcement that portal 2 was coming😊
Jonathan Coulton and Code Monkeys theme song... that's another good one of his.
I would love to see a video like this about the Turret Opera song. I believe it's called "Cara Mia Addio"
It's the song that plays while you're on your way up the elevator at the end of the game. The full version can be found on TH-cam as the version in game is cut short.
As a non music theory knower I barely understand the words you’re saying but absolutely love watching you get excited about music.
Seeing you break down the more progression, I now understand why I never hit the right notes every time she says "still alive" when I try to sing along
I love your enthusiasm for music! I am struggling to learn the accordion at the moment and I feel like I could definitely use some theory from someone with your energy!
It's so cool to see this minor looking song having such a major fanboy! What a wonderful video. I have no clue what you're talking about but I'm here for the enthusiasm and I'm inspired either way.
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.
The brightness/darkness of the keys on piano is a side effect of equal tempered tuning compared to just intonation.
Brass instruments - mostly built on Bb - sound super bright and open in keys like Bb and F - the harmonies don’t need as much manipulation from the home key of the horn.
Likewise, Strings naturally resonate in G and D because you get more open strings (less damping).
Okay, but the segment from 12:12 is unreal! It's so beautiful! So similar and yet SO different at the same time. Holy shet.
There is one little 90s game that isn't that popular and tends to get overlooked but has some of the best music of the 16-bit era, and I really think you should check it out. It is "Decap Attack" for the SEGA Genesis.
I love seeing someone geek out over "Still Alive" this much. To me, that one simple song elevates what was already a great game to a legendary game, and a great game studio to a legendary one. It's beautiful yet menacing, funny yet sinister, self-referential (referring back to the game you just played) yet revelatory (hinting at what's to come), and only makes sense to those invested in the Valve shared universe.
I think the greatest thing about this song isn't the lyrics or the melody, but the way it makes the listener feel special, part of an elite group of insiders who "get" it, and part of what makes us feel special is how completely unnecessary it was. The game was over, and it was great, and they could have left it at that but instead gave us one last gift that was completely over-the-top and perfect. I've always thought that the line "we do what we must, because we can" describes classic Valve Game Studio perfectly.
I just played these games again after like ten years... I didn't even know how much i needed this video! Thank you very much
man you made me love my fav 2 songs even more and i have no idea how is that possible!! big love man!!
Definitely gotta do an analysis of the 8-bit Big Band versions and how they mix Sinatra era songs into the melody. Absolutely masterful renditions!
It occurs to me that the whole point of the radio song in portal is to make the key shift in still alive more jarring
That F to D-flat at 05:51 was beautiful!
Reminded me of Licence to Kill by Gladys Knight or maybe Don't Let Go by En-Vogue
The whole OST of both Portal games are absolute masterpieces and deserve all praise. The franchise was so thought out in terms of music.
Wow, his use of flat 6ths is SO nice. Most composers land on it so much heavier and make it the star of the show, but he just uses it as a little pepper or pivot note, and its so tasteful!
You will have the whole rythm game community raving if u do a vid on Camellia. His music can get VERY complex in the harmony department
Portal is one of those rare pieces of art that's impossible to forget. One of my top 5 first person video games, easily: because it's uniquely fun like no other video game possible save for its sequel.
Charles unintentionally playing the start of the Goldfinger theme at 5:47 which ironically is a good example of how some keys are used because they sound dark 😂
That would be great if you analyzed the song "You wouldn't know" from the spin-off "Lego Dimensions Portal". Of course that was also written by Jonathan Coulton, and I suspect that it contains other nice tricks based on 3rds.
Would love to see you break down the Portal 2 soundtrack as a whole. Up there with Star Trek Motion Picture soundtrack as one of the all time greats for preternaturally nailing the atmosphere while still maintaining a strong motivic continuity. A lot of the chord progressions are really inventive, primarily in the sense that it uses a V chord that isn’t a V chord to give a good sense of unease but familiarity and grandiosity. The instrumentation is completely on point. Another brilliant thing is the use of a Bach prelude as part of a joke, but the mechanized additions to it convey the darker meaning of Wheatley progressively losing his marbles too. This soundtrack is definitely a large part of what makes portal 2 so amazing
Thank you for exploring these two iconic (and way too catchy!) songs.
I was re-watching your video on The Transformers theme song and it reminded me how the composers (Kinder & Bryant) were responsible for a lot of theme songs for cartoons in the mid-80s, including "Jem" - a series for which they wrote over 150 minute-long (incredibly hooky) pop songs that, TBH, still stand up today. I would love it if you took a dive into these songs and perhaps contrast the songs & instrumentation of the protagonists (Jem & the Holograms) and the antagonists (The Misfits).
The way you speak about these songs literally gave me goose bumps to the same level of when I first experienced them. Thank you
There's a lot of inversion going on thematically in these songs. In Still Alive, the cadence is turned upside down in the key change. Since the ii7 is effectively a sub dominant in the progression, then if you look at the two reductively, the verses are I-IV-V-I and the choruses are I-V-IV-I.
Similarly, he uses the same b3 rotation in Want You Gone, going down to the chorus and back up to the next verse, whereas in Still Alive he had gone up to the chorus and back down to the verses.
I don't think it is necessarily a function of the key being darker or brighter, but probably more where it sits in the register predominantly, what harmonics we hear, etc.I think it could be different for different instruments, ensembles, and mixes.
+1 JoCo love. "I'm Your Moon" is the best love song between an orbiting satellite and it's recently downgraded dwarf planet I have ever heard!
Omg thank you for reminding me this song, i totally forgot what a banger it was, it brightened my day.
I feel like an important lyrical aspect of those two songs is how the first one is happy on the surface, but ominous underneath, and the second one is the opposite. The fact that GLaDos, in a bit redacted in the written out lyrics, states how proud she is about Chell, is such a cool touch.
Despite being a fan, I somehow didn’t know that JoCo wrote the portal ending songs!! It makes so much sense, like just how listening to the melodies I can’t NOT hear something like Chiron Beta Prime or Good Morning Tuscon
12:41 really makes me want a full piano version like that
The reason I always thought going from D to F felt like it was getting darker is because F is the relative major of d minor. So it kind of feels like going from a major key to the parallel minor key.
For the longest time, Still Alive, was my favorite song. As a kid who was just starting to learn the guitar, I remember begging my guitar teacher to teach me the song and he would grump, not aware of what song I was on about.
I don’t know a single thing about music theory and have no idea why this was recommended to me, but this enthusiasm perfectly lines up with how awesome these songs are
I like to headcanon that GLaDOS wrote the lyrics to Still Alive because she was listening to the song from the radio endlessly on loop while relicing the events of the final confrontation and she needed something to reduce the mundanity.
That's why I love Valve. After distressing ending
The credit song is ultra memorable and they do gave strong feeling about the whole game
Still Alive is one of my favorite video game song of all time and honestly it could easily enter into my top 100 songs of all time. The story they weave within the harmonies of the song is truly a masterclass.
I would love to watch you interview jonathan coulton about these songs.
Still Alive was totally unspoiled for me before I finished Portal, and it was possibly my favourite moment in all of gaming. What a brilliant finish to a brilliant game.
Makes me want to go back and play these again.
you're making me want to drop another 15 hours replaying these XD
If I recall, (most/all?) of the radios in the first Portal were not in the game until the Portal 2 promotional alternate reality game.
I get goosebumps every time I hear Still Alive. I love it so much. I used it on my gym workout playlist as my post-workout win song.
Still Alive's key changes have a Birdhouse in your Soul vibe.
You should DEFINITELY check the 8-bit big band versions of those songs, also brilliant.
Good work, but I wish you spoke about the turret opera from portal 2. Footage was shown but no mention!
Always takes me back to a simpler time when everyone and their mom carried ukuleles around.
In equal temperament, there absolutely is difference between the different keys because the intonation isn't quite the same in each key.
i don’t think i’ve EVER made the connection that the Portal Radio song and Still Alive were the same. i’ve played that game at LEAST 50 times and i’m still learning new things about it, holy crap
I have no idea what he's talking about because i'm too dumb to understand any music theory. But I just like seeing him being so excited and happy when talking about two songs I always loved.
Small correction / disagreement: The sheet music for the chord change at 5:00 says Bb, then F, but there is no F chord at that point. The guitar/ukulele/whatever only plays an A there, ending the arpeggio and turning it into a Bbmaj7. This is confirmed later when the electric guitar comes in, which just stays on a Bb power chord for the entire transition. The F only comes in at the start of the next measure
You should talk about lyrics more often. I always thought a good musical interpretation is taking music theory and applying it to the meaning of the song - how would you do that without the lyrics? So thanks for doing a great job in combining the two dimensions of meaning into a wonderful analysis!
YES everyone keeps telling me I’m crazy coz I see the notes in different colours or shapes or whatever I finally feel validated
Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.
Please release a full piano cover of the first one 🙏
10:23 I always heard that line as "FOR the people who are still alive"...
OH NO...
There is nothing happens to any person but what was in his power to go through with.
The first feels like Gladdos's sarcasm
The second fills you with determination
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.
I don't see it the same way in "Still Alive" with the song getting "darker". I get the whole "darker key" and all. And when you played it on the keyboard, it did sound darker. But for me, it was the way you played the chords. And in the song, the xylophone (not sure, if it's really a xylophone. Could also be some sort of chimes or whatnot) that comes in on that part has a very "uplifting" feel for me and makes the part "happier" in a strange sense.
It has something ironically childish and sheltering, as if GLaDOS tries to lullaby you.
Jonathan Coulton is one of this generation’s greatest songwriters.