Though I regrettably missed Tuesday’s class, I found little difficulty in thinking of ways that music associated with my favorite game has impacted me and my tastes.  For those of you who don’t know, I love Starcraft.  I especially love professional Starcraft, which has a vibrant and lucrative circuit in South Korea.  It’s often hard for Americans to visualize a screaming crowd of thousands of people who have gathered to watch nerds play an RTS made in 1998, but trust me, it happens.  Not only does it happen, but it is televised, and as a television production professional Starcraft has its own high-budget intros and segues.  The musical accompaniments to these bits are often adoloscent pop rock with the occasional scream (Saosin, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, etc.) or various other pop songs, such as “My Life Would Suck Without You.”  Even Nightwish (God forbid) isn’t completely unheard of.  Either way they are almost always American pop songs, and always remixed to some degree.  The end result is that I inevitably develop sentimental attachments to music that ranges from “not my taste” to “straight awful.”  You know you love a game when it makes you get goosebumps every time you hear the right Kelly Clarkson song.  I dare you to watch these clips and not feel pumped for Starcraft afterward.

First, a tasteful clip of a bunch of nerds underwater set to Kelly Clarkson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hEsuyHgtzI

Second, a rather creative comic-book-style intro set to some lovely Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.  After the intro you’ll get a great shot of the crowds I mentioned.  If you’re REALLY bold you’ll watch the whole game in all its amazingness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlEtGZFuuBk

Once again my embeds don’t seem to work, so the links will have to suffice. On an ironic note, most professional Starcraft players turn the actual game music off while playing, as many feel it hurts their concentration (though there are a few notable exceptions).