INFLUENCES

Of course, in any body of work in the arts, nothing is made in a vacuum. Any meaningful art by a creator has been inspired by something else. Painters imitate a landscape, musicians write ballads for their lovers, and Memories by Maroon 5 was a poorly made interpolation of Pachelbel’s Canon in D. Artists are nothing if not for the media that they consume.

It is great for artists to be familiar with the things they take inspiration from to have a sense of their identity, which is one of the things that I think artists chase throughout their whole lives. Yet I also think that it would be interesting to consumers of art where their favorite creators get their inspirations from. Hence why I’d decided for my devlog entry this month to be a list of the musical inspirations I’ve had in the creation of Meteor Shower. (Thanks for the idea, Skai). Welcome to watch mojo, I guess.

TOTALLY AWESOME INSPIRATION LIST

1. Pre-1989 Taylor Swift

Even though I listened to and am familiar with a couple of her songs, I wouldn’t say I am a Taylor Swift fan. That being said, listening to her earlier albums, particularly Speak Now and Red, were essentially very integral to the entirety of Meteor Shower.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous devlog, Lori is known to be quite a fan of Taylor Swift, so it makes sense that we take quite a lot of her stardom sound in the late 00s/early 10s as an inspiration for the music in the visual novel. The way I see, or hear, Taylor Swift’s sound is of course, the heavy use of acoustic guitar and the soft electric guitars that you hear in her pop-country songs.

I would say that the ones that inspired me the most are Ours, Enchanted, and State of Grace. The Main theme of Meteor Shower is probably the most Swift-inspired track out of all. For good reason. Stay tuned.

2. Mayday Parade - Mayday Parade

Ah, yes, Mayday Parade. One of the many bands that Skai is obsessed with. Just, these full-grown men who are writing and singing about sappy shit about love in the 2000s is, I would say, fitting to most of the emotional, nostalgic scenes of Meteor Shower.

I’ve already mentioned Taylor Rose’s fondness for Mayday Parade before and its connection to the soundtrack. Their emo sound is characterized by their usage of guitar riffs, the typical rock drum pattern, and the incidental use of pianos and strings. These elements give a certain nostalgic feel, particularly in the more romantic scenes.

Listening to their self-titled album helped in making the guitar riffs and the tracks with minimal drums. Even though catchy riffs can be found in any form of music, sometimes listening to these songs helps you choose which emotions need to be evoked. Personally, my way of creating melodies is me forming a song concept in my head instead of following a music theory rule or hack or whatever.

3. five seconds flat – Lizzie Mcalpine

I discovered Lizie Mcalpine earlier this year through her song Erase Me with Jacob Collier. Impressed, I then checked out the album it came from. Was pretty blown way, really.

Taylor Swift and Mayday Parade feel like inspirations that are glimpses of the past, but Five Seconds Flat, being in 2022, then feels more like the window. I needed a modern take of the acoustic and the electric guitar, and I think it was fortunate that I came across her music, just a few weeks before the release of the demo.

With songs like Reckless Driving, An Ego Thing, and Ceilings, what really impressed me about Lizzy’s album is how movie-like it feels. It feels like I’m drawn into a scene in her life in a song, with each of it having its own unique taste, but still feels cohesive as a whole project. This exact sentiment is ultimately what I want the Meteor Shower soundtrack to be as well.

What can I say? I am a big fan of the cinematic.

4. Euphoria

You may be asking, “Pyr, this is a 2010’s era high school story, why is something so provocative and shocking like Euphoria listed as an inspiration? And the music isn’t even something alike to Meteor Shower!”

Ah, but here is where I think things get interesting. I watched Euphoria a few months ago with some friends mostly because of its internet popularity at the time and all the memes that showed up on Twitter. It was a fun watch because of the drama. Albeit not directly, I think there is a lot to be drawn from this show.

Labrinth makes incredible work as the lead composer for the show. There is something quite interesting in the way he molds his unique vocal arrangements into the tense, orchestral, somewhat experimental instrumentations. I come across this aspect particularly in the surreal, dream scenes in the show, or whenever Rue narrates a character’s backstory, or that carnival scene, I love that carnival scene. The effect brings about something that is crazy, tense, youthful, and magical all at the same time. Kinda like your teenage years in a sense. I wanted to emulate that mishmash of sound in Meteor Shower myself, but in a way that is nostalgic and innocent. Granted, I didn’t feel like I made something totally novel, but it didn’t have to be.

How the soundtrack works in Euphoria also feels like it’s a single, consistent, somewhat droning sound that can feel monotonous at times, but it works because it’s like a hammering, in your face kind of a deal. This works perfectly for the VN medium – scenes that are ultimately based on a reader’s reading speed may require something memorable, blatant, but consistent enough that works with the text medium, rather than against it.

Euphoria is a difficult, but a very elegant watch. And I only talked about the music part.

5. Dear Evan Hansen

JUST BECAUSE I LISTENED TO DEAR EVAN HANSEN DOESN’T MEAN IM BASIC! MY FAVORITE MUSICAL IS SPRING AWAKENING SO DON’T COME FOR ME!!!

Pasek and Paul are a songwriting duo for a couple of famous works, like La La Land, The Greatest Showman, and Dear Evan Hansen. Although they get flak for their work for being too pop, I think that their work being more accessible to a younger and mainstream audience has its merits.

The sonic qualities of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen stand out to me. I love how the recurring keystrokes and synth beeps stay consistent in the song while the ensemble strings and vocals fly over this simple but driving wave of sound. This arrangement, I think, is pretty blatant in the Meteor Shower soundtrack – a style that fits in achieving an interconnected sound.

6. Raptor Boyfriend

So I’ve never actually played this game, Skai mentioned it to me while she was playing it, so I listened to a few of the soundtracks. I’d say it’s a pretty riveting sound with all the amped-up guitars that cry “youth”.

While it exudes an older nostalgia feel compared to Meteor Shower, I’d say that it is a great example of music in a visual novel that captures the emotions associated with its time period and does it effectively. I find myself remembering the guitars each time I write a melody of my own.

7. Perfect – Simple Plan

I did not have a full emo phase when I was a kid, okay? Maybe I did, but I just forgot about it because of me being too young. My childhood music consists of the top radio hits of the early 2000s, something that I do not have a fondness for, but a familiarity? Sure, why not.

So, forgive me when I say that whenever I try to make something that is emo or soft rock, I always think of Perfect by Simple Plan. Of course, my familiarity with the song sometimes overshadows my listening hours with Mayday Parade.

I’d say this is where my brain instantly goes whenever I think of anything that has to do with emo nostalgia. It’s an old song that is embedded in my head, which is not inherently bad, but is definitely worth mentioning.

CONCLUSION

In closing (and totally not because I ran out of things to elaborate on), a lot of things can arise from just consuming media that may inspire your next project. Listing these influences also gives some kind of a retrospection. I would say that it would help in deciding your next move whenever you come to a stump in your own projects!

Speaking of stumps, the God’s Radio development team is sadly pushing back the Falling Stars update from December to January. Simply put, we’ve been juggling the production with our school and work responsibilities. I, personally, have been set back with my laptop conveniently breaking down just as I started to have free time to work on the music. If all goes smoothly, we will be able to release the update next month!

And as a personal treat, I’ve taken it upon myself to share a SPOTIFY PLAYLIST of the inspirations I’ve had in making the Meteor Shower soundtrack. There are a lot of songs I deliberately left out of this devlog that are in this playlist, particularly because I would just repeat my words a lot if I didn’t.