Oh it's so atmospheric! What so we can breath in it? .... No.

Greetings everyone! 'Tis 'Tuesday of Trepidation' and I am here to for the firs time talk about something I like on this god forsaken rock we call home.


Atmospheric music is something that has been used ever since we discovered the stuff. It dates back far beyond records and has forever been praised and loved by anyone who likes music.


It really took off when the harpsichord was born and used for many events. Someone would sit in the corner and play while upper class folk would explore the room and converse with other snooty types. Or it would be played and people would dance there stranger step by step dance.


From there it progressed through time and eventually was used in films.


In films it helps set the overall mood of the scene. It will cause you to empathize with the main character. Stood in the rain, abandoned by the one he loves, saying nothing, just looked after her, willing her to return. It will make you smile as the owner is finally reunited with his dog.


Without atmospheric music, horror films would not be nearly as scary. They would merely be flashing images of a half eaten man or a deranged ghost child. The music is what makes you clench tightly onto the arm of your company. It's what makes you grab the nearby cushion and hold it up just under your eyes. 


All your most cherished film watching moments will be the moments where the correctly chosen music has been chosen to accentuate the scene and make it memorable. 


Also the new trend is using it in video games. Why do I say new? Because it was done very rarely in the early days of the playstation 2. I say rarely, it was not completely lacking in it. As years have gone by and many game companies have decided their video games should be 'cinematic'  they have scoured the earth for wonderful music to put in their video games.


As you slowly walked down the corridor, the violins start of quiet and begin to build. The corridor suddenly begins to feel just that little bit smaller. The lack of movement in front of you turns you around to check your back. Still nothing. You were sure that shadow wasn't there before. You reach the end of the corridor and reach a door. You take in a long breath before pressing the 'A' button to open it.


Now without the music, that fictional scene from a video game would not have occurred. You would have merely jauntily trotted down the corridor with no fear of a slow hobbling creature of the night that may or may not even be there. Think back to when it was most intense in a video game. Be it a multi-player FPS or a single player horror. The intensity was created by the music. It is what makes your heart pound and yearn for more.


Now its not only the video games after you have bought them that they play a wonderful tune for you to loose your mind in. Oh no, marketers are very clever. They choose just the right song to make you want to buy the game and find out what happens after the trailer.


A perfect example is not only one but two of the gears of war games' trailers.


Gears of War 2's trailer featured 'The Sound of Silence' By Simon and Garfunkle and it fit with the theme of the game and was made sense for people that had played the first one. The trailer features Marcus running through a destroyed and rainy city. It ends with him staring into the darkness as locust (Not the insect.) begin to surround him.


Gears of War 3's trailer which was released today features 'Heron Blue' By Sun Kil Moon. A heart retching song that makes you almost weep just by listening to it. The song not only made sense if you had played both games. But fit to the mood of the trailer. It begins with the sight of what seem to be the remains of human bodies. Pure ash still shaped like the bodies of those that are no more. We see Dom run through these bodies and around some. He eventually falls and looks upon the remains of a woman holding her child in her arms. The song already seems to make sense. But as the ash is destroyed by a locust trooper and he lays his head down giving up. The song truly is the only song that could have been in this trailer.


The trailer ends with Delta squad -with a few new members- fighting off not only the locust but a brand new terrifying enemy. Now I am a great fan of the story of gears of war. The games are great, but I would rather it all just be a series of novels. But this trailer makes me want to buy the game whenever it comes out this month. Sadly I have no Xbox 360 and will not be playing it any time soon.


- Matt
I may love this.
But I still hate life that is stupid.