Here's where I go off on a rant. If you don't like
it, you can either click on the back button or close the browser window
you jerk. No one is going to stop you. But the rest of us will sit here
and stare at you awkwardly while you do so.....
All good now? Have all the negative Nancys left? Good, then on with the rant....
There
are a few things in life that are important to me, amongst them are
video games, and music. I love music, always have. My parents taught me
the importance of a good song, and I remember listening to various
artists over the years while my family traveled around the far reaches
of my home state of Utah. Years later I learned that there was more to a
good song than just a catchy tune. As I got older and understood more
of the world, I learned to also appreciate the lyrics that often go in
hand with a memorable tune. Although sometimes the tune itself is enough
to sell a mood/feeling, or otherwise invoke an emotional connection to
something. John Williams is a modern composer who has time and time
again proven that songs do not need lyrics to provide that emotional
response. But I digress.
In addition to the traditional real world music, there is also a plethora of musical scores
associated with the world of video games. It's really no surprise
though. There is nothing quite like blasting your way through waves of
enemies or cruising through a racing circuit while listening to a
well-written musical score. I know that over the years there are plenty
of classic game soundtracks that have been converted in to ringtones.
They are simply superb!
So what am I getting
at? "How the hell is this a rant?" I hear you all asking. Well, if you
shut your trap for a second I will indulge you. There are some games
that just can't quite cut the mustard, as the old saying goes, when it
comes to providing a compelling soundtrack. And when I found myself
facing one of those rare times where I was in the mood to play an
abortion of a game like RoboCop on the NES, but didn't want to rely on
the game's built in soundtrack, I had the option of putting something in
to my home stereo system and providing my own soundtrack. For the
record RoboCop on the NES didn't have the worst soundtrack ever made. It
was just kind of boring and left little to desire.
Let's
now flash-forward to today. In today's modern digital universe, music
is everywhere. You can find it online, and usually it's completely free.
This is a thing that wasn't even in the realm of possibility when I was
a child. I remember a time in the not too distant past where sharing
music digitally was the thing to do. Remember Napster? Remember how easy
it was to find new music online? Remember the record companies all
shitting their pants about how all of it was wrong, immoral, and how it
would lead to birth defects and some great plague that would be even
worse than AIDS? Remember that paranoia? Yeah? Well what now? What's
changed? Oh there were new laws drafted that brought about this whole
thing about digital copyright protection and on and on. But in this
writer's opinion, it's worse now than it was in the days of Napster.
MUSIC IS LITERALLY EVERYWHERE! There are millions of videos online where
you can find and listen to music, even an entire album if you are so
inclined. People still share music in the digital realm. Have the
musicians/artists/record labels suffered great financial loss? Well if
they are, they sure as hell hide it from public very well.
I will pause here to acknowledge some things that need to be clarified at this juncture.
In
general, I am in favor of copyright protection. I understand that it
takes a lot of effort and time for these artists to write, compose and
other wise create these songs that we all love. I have artists in my own
family, so I understand the need to preserve intellectual property. I
DO NOT WISH TO TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THE ARTISTS THEMSELVES.
The
problem I have is when it comes to something as simple as using an
already published and plentiful song as the backdrop for a larger
project. I love music. I love video games. If I want to make a video
about a video game experience, and drop in a snippet of a song as either
bumper music, or even add it faintly in to the background while I
narrate to help set the mood, is that really something to get all bent
out of shape over? I will gladly acknowledge the 3rd party requirements
that always pop up on certain online video channels, but should that
really prohibit me from sharing an experience of my own with the rest of
the world, just because I added an already abundant piece of music to
it? I think not. The truth is, that the artist and record company
associated with the particular piece of music has already MADE MORE
MONEY THAN MOST PEOPLE WILL EVER EARN IN AN ENTIRE FUCKING LIFETIME from
record and ticket sales, along with other merchandising profits. They
are not hurting for income. Yet they stand on that cornerstone all the
god damn time. So my choosing to incorporate this song or musical score
in to a silly video online is really a neutral act in my opinion. I
should be able to construct and share something like that with out fear
of having some giant hand come down and thump me on the skull for
copyright infringement. FUCKING RIDICULOUS....at least in my opinion.
RANT MODE: OFF
