honbae

formerly known as

BaeBoy, NekomataOkayu

My favorite maps consist only of the songs that are actually mapped that
I've had the absolute most fun
using as creative fuel.

I obviously have many more songs I
cannot list here as they do not have
maps made for them.

I was very picky with these. In a sense, the sum
of these tell the story of my growth and acquired taste in music.
They also give some insight as to how I think about music and
media/stories that can stem from it.
Additionally, they provide context as to just who I am as a person.

These songs are carefully compiled (in no particular order, however)
from when I started playing osu! in 2018
to today, 09/09/2024

I won't edit the song list after today, to keep it
authentic to my time with this game


My all-time favorite activity by far is to listen to music,
and imagine scenes in my head that would perfectly
reflect the song contextually in vibe, subtext of lyrics,
and the contents of the media itself.

For instance, close your eyes and imagine Lamp's "Autumn in City "A""
as a cinematic collage of wide and close angle shots, following our given character conducting their
daily activities in a sparkling, beautifully brilliant nostalgic Fall-season atmosphere,
as the rising, then setting sun illuminates the whole world in a glow of orange, the autumn leaves flying with the breeze.

Or Shaun Martin's "Madiba", as the ultimate climax of a jazz-drama,
instruments played by a cast of characters you just want so badly to see win in their national jazz competition,
knowing their highest and lowest moments in their lives to end up at this one moment, a heart pounding,
awe-inspiring, all or nothing magnum opus to end a series of relatable and lovable characters.

Of course the lyrics of a song matter too, TUYU exists to prove
that a song's vibe can be widely disproportionate to the meaning of its accompanied lyrics,
thus, upon learning the meaning of those lyrics,
changes the interpretation of that song. This also makes for a fun exercise,
using the lyrics and personal interpretations of a song as the subtext
for a given scene.

Take The End Of Breaking Bad (Major Spoilers) as an example of usage of
a song's lyrics to transform the show's resolution into something much greater.
It allows for people on a surface level to appreciate the vibe of the song as the resolution to the
show itself, but upon hearing the lyrics, changes their perspective and gives a much richer depth to the meaning
of the scene.

I don't imagine all of the songs to be super intense, laid back, or super dramatic.
With songs like Brown Eyed Girls' "Brave New World" or Louis Cole's "I'm Tight",
I like to imagine the very silly choreography of a goofy cast like Bocchi The Rock's
or similar casts with that same energy, doing goofy ass dance moves that
perfectly reflect each character's personality.

On the note of BTR, I like to imagine that
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets' "Hymn For A Droid"
has to be one of the best imaginative song choices to use
as what a high-school era Kikuri Hiroi might have
listened to on a vintage Walkman, sharing an earbud on
the bench after school with Eliza Shimizu, with it being her
first ever exposure to music that sounded the way it
did, ultimately shifting her whole life, picking up
the guitar, creating Sick Hack, and becoming
the Kikuri we know and love in BTR.

I just think that's a cool imaginative lore concept, and it goes to show
that all it takes is some good thinking to connect many imaginative dots together, and
create stories that can seem very accurate and rich within even existing fictional worlds,
that seem like they can't be expanded on as it would feel out of place in the world.

Sometimes it's not all about the main characters, I could use the same song to describe two
different stories for two different characters, almost like a double entendre,
which is why thinking about tying music to stories and characters is so interesting to think about.
At least to me.

In any case, I wanted to share with you through my favorites the songs I found to be the most
creatively-inspirational in my head. I highly recommend giving the songs a listen,
being open to interpretation and new ideas, or expanding on existing ones if you
decide to conduct the creative exercise.

Once you start to think about the possibilities of how the music you listen to
can be used in media to tell stories, make people laugh,
cry, wonder, stress, and sit in awe and aspiration for characters through the stories you make up in your head,
you may not ever listen to music the same way.

I hope more people become aware of the curious-joy that comes
with using different types of music as creative fuel
to express themselves in the world of artistic media.

Some time in the future, I'd like to use at least one of these songs in my own stories,
and use it to impact watchers the same way it did to me.

I may edit this text in the future when I update my bio with more things, including Corsace Closed: The Manga's second iteration upon release. Part of the reason I'm trying very hard to stay away from the game this time, is to practice hard
and deliver the best second iteration to the manga I can.
Stay tuned for that!