the cake is a lie

@CharlesCornellStudios

6 күн бұрын

@charlescornellstudios 2008 called, they want their meme back

@jonathanstacey5779

6 күн бұрын

​@@CharlesCornellStudiosNice

@_Darkaeluz

6 күн бұрын

Is it safe to assume you played both games? Would love a game play video

@snowstorm4845

6 күн бұрын

You forgot to change accounts...

@SlamboHamburg

6 күн бұрын

Lol dang not the self-roast 😂

Favorite memory from Portal 2 "Well this is the part where he kills us" "Hello, this is the part where I kill you" CHAPTER 9 THE PART WHERE HE KILLS YOU *Achievement Unlocked* The Part Where He Kills You

@elfabrip

6 күн бұрын

don't forget the song name

@Mystery-pd6jc

6 күн бұрын

it's like that moment from DOOM Eternal too where Dr Samuel Hayden goes, "You CAN'T just shoot a hole into the surface of Mars." NEW OBJECTIVE: Shoot a hole into the surface of Mars. Achievement Unlocked Shoot a Hole into the the surface of Mars.

@maaki50

6 күн бұрын

”The Part Where He Kills You” starts playing

@andrewjuby6339

5 күн бұрын

​@@elfabrip Everyone misses the song title. It totally kicks the joke up to another level.

@migwuzhere

5 күн бұрын

*doesn't kill you*

The consistency of GLaDOS being proud, sarcastic, and making fun of Chell is what makes GLaDOS such a good antagonist, especially during the credits. Portal is such an amazing series. Edit: My Operating System Brian got the best of me

@bemasaberwyn55

6 күн бұрын

Character continuity *ding)*

@lastnamefirstname8655

6 күн бұрын

i agree. portal great games.

@Querez8504

6 күн бұрын

Her name only has a lowercase 'a', as in, GLaDOS

@ZTimeGamingYT

6 күн бұрын

@@Querez8504 My brain thought OS because Operating System, like for computers. That's right, but there's more. Man.

@jenthefoxgirl1170

6 күн бұрын

​@@ZTimeGamingYT The full acronym is Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System.

I've always felt that Still Alive is musically, melodically written as if an AI program wrote it, as if it was trying to imitate cheerful pop songs. In other words, it sounds a bit artificial, like those AI generated pictures nowadays. And the best thing is that an actual human composer wrote it like that for the game.

@kyrauniversal

6 күн бұрын

But it has a hidden effect of being made by a person, which is technically correct. Especially when realizing about Caroline in Portal 2.

@gipadonimus

6 күн бұрын

Suno and Udio are both AI music generators that can imitate cheerful pop songs lol. I can't know if you're aware of either one's existence, but it's a better example currently than AI image generators, since it's actually audio. Not that I didn't get your point still with the image example lol, I'm js.

@Chokestomp

6 күн бұрын

genuine thank you for a brilliant insight I hadn't considered! - salute to Coulton for compositionally predicting and pre-empting a technology/vibe that didn't really exist at the time.

@gwillis637

6 күн бұрын

That observation makes a ton of sense, especially considering Coulton was a software programmer. I’m sure all the JoCo fans already knew that but the math definitely works out. Who better to write two great FU songs from an AI to their test subject? P.S. A lot of his stuff is just this good.

@Captain.Mystic

6 күн бұрын

its always so funny to see artists and composers try to poke fun and satirize pop music and then end up being far more interesting and enjoyable to a general populace than actual pop music.

"I know it's been 17 years since this game came out" -- I feel old

@matthewcox7985

5 күн бұрын

Every time I smell old fart... ...it's me.

@JamesBD05

3 күн бұрын

​@@matthewcox7985Damn, this is deep bro 🙏🙏🙏

@DVL_Main

2 күн бұрын

That can't be right is my first reaction to hearing that, then I remember getting my Orange Box back in high school...

@ahmed4363

2 күн бұрын

ITS BEEN WHAT?!!

@AsuTale

Күн бұрын

I was one year old

I love the Jonathan Coulton appreciation around here. His non-Portal stuff is just as good and just as quirky. It’s awesome.

@kyrauniversal

6 күн бұрын

Code Monkey like you!

@adamschwartzberg5238

6 күн бұрын

RIP Ask Me Another - was such a blast getting to hear him on NPR weekly.

@TravisSeitler

6 күн бұрын

Chiron Beta Prime has a permanent place in my family’s Christmas music playlist 😂

@digitaljanus

6 күн бұрын

I still sing "IKEA" every time we go to IKEA.

@TheOriginalMaudlin

6 күн бұрын

I hit up First of May, well, every first of May.

Well - "Turret Wife Serenade" and "Cara Mio Addio" are bangers as well!

@KieronTaylor

6 күн бұрын

I had Turret Wife Serenade as my ring-tone for a while. Was sad that nobody ever recognised it.

@punkinholler

4 күн бұрын

These two are my favorite by far.

@waynemarshall1476

3 күн бұрын

Me too. Iconic.

@TheKazragore

Күн бұрын

Cara Mia Addio is my favourite song from the franchise. It's so beautiful and sad, and when you understand the lyrics, it ties together Chell's implied backstory.

The fun thing is that there's a secret third Portal song called You Wouldn't Know (courtesy of Lego Dimensions), where GLaDOS is trying to make Chell jealous by claiming to be friends with Batman

@coreysquire3521

5 күн бұрын

I came here just to make sure someone had mentioned 'You wouldn't know'. I love that song, it is a little bit heartbreaking.

@jijonbreaker

5 күн бұрын

There's also an unused song by the title of "Don't say goodbye" If you line up the first words of all 4 songs, in chronological order, they say "Still Don't Want You."

@Mernom

Күн бұрын

​@@jijonbreakerOn the one hand, it's a bit of a reach to think that they planned it since day 1. On the other hand, this is kinda on brand for the portal games marketing, IIRC.

@jijonbreaker

Күн бұрын

@@Mernom I do agree that it's a reach to think it was intended. On the other hand, intended or not, it did happen.

The 8-bit big band cover of all 3 Portal songs are also amazing if you have not heard them I recommend giving them a listen.

@GLAD0s_cake

6 күн бұрын

They really are!!

@vergelanime9145

6 күн бұрын

Charles should look at them

@cooldebt

6 күн бұрын

Yes - and The Consouls also did a great cover - one of their relatively rare tunes with vocals. It's a classic fan favourite.

@C_A_I_GAME

6 күн бұрын

This Person speaks the truth! 🎷

@xavierbromius

6 күн бұрын

Agreed

I believe the word you’re looking for to describe GLaDOS’ attitude is “sardonic,” which I consider intentionally rueful or dark sarcasm.

@bemasaberwyn55

6 күн бұрын

That is the word. And she DEFINITELY is

@TehFrenchy29

6 күн бұрын

She also goes from exuberant in "Still Alive" which is an incredibly happy positive emotion but coming from the villain of the game we theoretically just destroyed, thus the unsettling emotion it provokes in the player as Charles mentions, to exasperated in "Now I Just Want You Gone" because after all that you've been through together and against one another it's just too much. Stop, go, I'll leave you alone as long as you _leave_ now. You manage to wear GLaDOS down from maniacal puppemaster to tired and irritated babysitter glad the evening is over and they can go have a nap.

@bemasaberwyn55

6 күн бұрын

@@TehFrenchy29 accurate

@andyghkfilm2287

6 күн бұрын

@@TehFrenchy29 “I used to want you dead, but/now I only want you gone” is such a mood

@dbrooke3629

5 күн бұрын

You are amazing. I've been searching for this word off and on for about a year (embarrassing, I know).

GLaD to see some love for the sequel song. It gets forgotten a lot, and I think it's amazing.

@jonnyboi2967

6 күн бұрын

forgotten? There are plenty of games that get forgotten; this isn’t one of them.

@chrisjacobsen7265

6 күн бұрын

@@jonnyboi2967 I think the word might be "overshadowed" by Still Alive

@jonnyboi2967

6 күн бұрын

@@chrisjacobsen7265 yeah I agree. I love “want you gone” more than “still alive”

@digitaljanus

6 күн бұрын

"Still Alive" was written not knowing the capabilities of who would be singing it. With "Want You Gone" Coulton knew Ellen MacLaine would be singing it and wrote something that better played to her strengths as an opera-trained vocalist. Same thing happened with the Frozen movies: "Let It Go" is a fairly typical Broadway anthem; "Into the Unknown" and "Show Yourself" are clearly written for Idina Menzel, but the former still gets most of the recognition.

@jonnyboi2967

6 күн бұрын

@@digitaljanus that’s interesting; I didn’t know that

I like "Still Alive" because the lyrics can be taken both literally (in game) and also metaphorically (as the best breakup song ever). The line "Even though you broke my heart and killed me..." and then leaning into all the ways Chell tore GLaDOS apart is such a funny way to quickly make boring lyrics memorable. You would expect the next line to be something like "Even though you broke my heart, I knew it from the start" (dies of cringe), but the level of anger that is on display is really something else.

@andrew_ray

6 күн бұрын

I actually first heard Still Alive before I played Portal, I think at college karaoke or something, and I remember thinking, man, they're really hammering on that metaphor!

@HomerNarr

6 күн бұрын

@mrtoast244 Indeed this song vibes hard on GladOS and the player had some kind of "intimacy" and closeness. Its also very dark which contradicts the happy sound the song has.

@theworm7156

5 күн бұрын

@@andrew_rayimagine portal had a rom com

@galfisk

Күн бұрын

I like "Still Alive" because it's the funniest thing I've ever experienced in a video game. I was completely unprepared for it.

8:04 Surprise Enya! Jonathan Coulton also did the amazing folk cover of Baby Got Back that was later used without permission or attribution on Glee (including the line "Jonny C's in trouble" which only makes sense when Jonny C's the one singing it)

It's the combination of Jonathan Coulton's comedic writing and Ellen McClain's (GLaDOS) deadpan delivery that really bring home these songs. And that doesn't even touch on the melodies and harmonies (which are great).

@bemasaberwyn55

6 күн бұрын

A triumvirate of perfection

@travcollier

Күн бұрын

​@@bemasaberwyn55A triumvirate brought to us by a company which, ironically, seems incapable of counting to 3.

I'm happy you gave Jonathan Coulton due credit here. It's not like he's unknown now, but he composed this song for someone else's voice, and I doubt many people have had heard him sing it in his own voice (though, it should be available on KZread and Spotify for anyone who'd like to hear it). I had the pleasure of hearing him sing it live with just a ukulele right after Portal 1 came out. ❤️ By the way, knowing his prior songs, I believe Coulton wrote all the lyrics to Still Alive himself. He was a perfect fit for Portal because his sense of humor matches Portal *perfectly* - cheerfully humorous with a dark twist. If you like Still Alive, I'd recommend also listening to Re: Your Brains, Skullcrusher Mountain, and -my favorite - Creepy Doll. All of those have similar humor and are musically brilliant.

Finally JoCo getting the love and praise he deserves. Back in 2005 and 2006 he made a bunch of goofy songs and i still listen to to this day. Lyrically this man is a freaking genius as well.

@MarceldeJong

6 күн бұрын

Code Monkey is living rent free in my head.

@twothirdsanexplosive

5 күн бұрын

His newer work with Aimee Mann is awesome too. Check them out live if you can because he opens but she comes out for songs and he joins her for songs during her set.

@JRSiebz

5 күн бұрын

Re: Your Brains

@gehrehmee

3 күн бұрын

Solid State is a brilliant album, and Artificial Heart has a great hint of TMBG feel (unsurprisingly, produced by Flansburgh!)

You could do an entire series on Jonathan Coulton's music and I would be here for every single episode.

fun fact: glados makes a cameo in cyberpunk 2077 as one of delamain's rogue personalites

@SupersuMC

6 күн бұрын

NICE.

I love Jonathan Coulton I’m being so sincere right now

The 8-bit big band has some great jazz renditions of the Portal songs. Very well done

@AyeshaShaSha

5 күн бұрын

This is the comment I was looking for!!!

@iamthekwan

5 күн бұрын

Very noice, thanks - Still Alive - Frank Sinatra Big Band Swing Version (The 8-Bit Big Band) kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZGaqxMqNmZTPlaw.html

There's actually a third song called You Wouldn't Know, which was in the game LEGO Dimensions, and it's just as fantastic

@bemasaberwyn55

6 күн бұрын

😂😂 perfect

@ataraxianAscendant

5 күн бұрын

he wouldn't know about that song, would he

Jonathan Coulton is fantastic. It's not just his video game music! Shout-out to "Skullcrusher Mountain" & "Merry Christmas from Chiron Beta Prime."

@SupersuMC

6 күн бұрын

WAIT. You're telling me the guy who wrote that Christmas song wrote these?! My life is complete. XD

@Beanzoboy

3 күн бұрын

Re: Your Brains

@aswallace88

3 күн бұрын

Don’t forget RE: Your Brains. That song is hilarious.

@Over_It

2 күн бұрын

@@aswallace88 we're not unreasonable. I mean, no one's gonna eat your eyes. 🤣

I literally could not love this more. Portal and Portal 2 defined my entire approach to gaming and the theme songs were a big part of that. I still remember staying up until 02:00 on a Wednesday night in the middle of summer to complete Portal 2, listening to "Want You Gone" and just weeping with joy at the experience.

Jonathan Coulton is a hilarious songwriter. He's done several other comedic songs I highly recommend, like Code Monkey and Ikea.

@jordivanos8181

6 күн бұрын

betty 'n me, tom cruise crazy and chiron beta prime are pure genius as well.

@the_piano_nerd4960

4 күн бұрын

Mandelbrot set is how I found him all those years ago. And now over a decade later I’m about to get my masters in math. What a boss

I think when we hear the song "Self Esteem Fund" in the first Portal, that's when you really start to feel something is not right. Really cool piece of music.

You Wouldn't Know, which is actually the credits song for Lego Dimensions of all things is another Glados song that calls back to these songs, and it's really good! You should also give that one a listen of you haven't!

Glad to see the love from Charles for JoCo. I've been a JoCo fan for a long time, before i played Portal. Fantastic lyricist, and this analysis shows some incredible composition as well.

Only two? No, no, my friend. Portal (2) is full of bangers.

@internetic2496

6 күн бұрын

Even some portal mods as well!

@lunalangton5776

6 күн бұрын

​@@internetic2496 Haha yeah, the production quality of fan maps / mods is fantastic, even whole games like Portal Stories: Mel and Portal: Revolution... But like the music in 2... I was gonna mention what a banger the track known in the OST as The Friendly Faith Plate is but then I remembered how good everything else is too.

@typryor2227

6 күн бұрын

They turned an industrial buzzer into absolute fire for crying out loud!

@yesthatkarim9601

6 күн бұрын

“Caroline Deleted” and “Reconstructing More Science” are two personal favorites. If you have headphones with really good bass, they are a joy.

@StarkRG

5 күн бұрын

@@yesthatkarim9601 Turret Wife Serenade is mine.

I feel like the amount of iconic video game music hasn't scaled with the amount of games being made so I particularly love when a modern (17 years old opposed to 30-40) game nails an iconic song. I wonder if it's the lack of constraints in the way that constraints can lead to creativity. You can just play audio files in games now. You don't need to figure out how to make a coherent song with only 4 channels for sound.

@bemasaberwyn55

6 күн бұрын

I often wonder If the notion of incredible modern video game music is because there are so many composers kind of forged in the fire of those early generations (such as Tim and Geoff Follin, Koji Kondo, Nobu Uamatseau, Yasunori Mitsuda) Now having to compete with the likes of film composers Steve Jablonsky and Ramin Djawadi (Gears of War) composing these days

Big Bad World One is probably my favorite Jonathan Coulton song composition-wise, but Ikea is objectively the most fun to sing. So much fun to be had in that discography.

@TAP7a

6 күн бұрын

For me, it's either Nemeses, Don't Feed The Trolls or The World Belongs To You to sing, and either Artificial Heart, Creepy Doll or I Feel Fantastic for overall composition He makes it very difficult to pick just one!

@ChillyRelleno

5 күн бұрын

@@TAP7a For some reason, I always read the lyrics of "The World Belongs To You" as being about Doctor Who.

Other than his Portal songs, I love Coulton's "I crush everything" (which actually reminds me of Glados too), "Artificial Heart", "Sticking it to myself" and "Creepy doll". What a truly fantastic musician.

@ELouiseZBear

3 күн бұрын

My favorite animal is a giant squid because of that song. Love JoCo!

The lyrics of "Want you Gone" is probably the most consise summary of GLaDOS' character possible. The [Redacted] part is so weirdly sweet. "When I delete you maybe I'll stop feeling so bad" is probably the most vulnerable we ever see GLaDOS, which makes sense since this song talks about her entire existence, from being human to being murdered twice to deleting her old self. Caroline wasn't a major part of the game but she was important in the lore. You don't need to know who she was to *appreciate* GLaDOS' decisions in the game (ie saving you and letting you go free), however, it does explain why she does these things and it even humanises her. It was the perfect way to end GLaDOS' arc as a villain, it's both memorable and impactful no matter how much you've picked up from the dialog. That's why I loved the Portal games, they don't waste your time or make things more complicated than they need to be, it's like they know what the Player cares about in a story and they put extra effort in making sure the whole story comes through.

I don't think they could've picked a more perfect fit than Jonathan Coulton for the game, too. The nerdy, dry sense of humor in many of his other songs just perfectly embody the feel Portal is going for. And of course, Ellen McLain gives a stunning performance, as usual. Singing in a character voice and having it sound natural is hard enough, let alone a robot with a bunch of effects and filters over it.

I bring these games out of archive every once in a while, partially because the game play is really fun and the banter in Portal 2 is hilarious, but I absolutely love the songs in the closing credits. If you turn on "developer's notes" which makes the "i" icon appear in various places throughout the game space, among other insights into the game mechanics, these give a background to Ellen McClain, an American opera performer who is the voice of GlaDos and how she contributed to the creation of these end credit songs, at least in P1. It's been a while since I read these notes but I'm pretty sure it tells that Ms McClain was allowed to improvise the melody in certain parts of "Still Alive".

@cooldebt

6 күн бұрын

Actually crazy to have an opera calibre singer in vgm! I never used to take vgm seriously until I heard the jazz covers by The Consouls and realised that the foundations of those 'little tunes' are actually very good music. Many composers went all out and I'm glad there is now some appreciation of their work.

@JonathanUss

5 күн бұрын

@@cooldebt Totally agree! I also remember seeing an interview with Ellen McClain about "Still Alive" and she was remembering how different it was for her to sing so quietly at the beginning of the song, exactly opposite of what she was used to from her opera career.

I absolutely love the extreme excitement that you get from all the harmonic and melodic relations in everything you review. Getting to listen to others get excited over the same things I do makes my day

When I finished Portal the first time and the magic of the song ended, I immediately grabbed my guitar, loaded the KZread video, and transcribed it. Over the years I've toyed with several arrangements of it, including a baroque style piano accompaniment. The sequel's song had the same transfixing effect on me and I experimented with variations. Using deceptively simple ingredients to create something that fits so perfectly with the tone of the games, keeping things fresh and interesting with clever tonal twists and turns, and of course the glorious lyrics dripping with sarcasm... no doubt, Jonathan is a ridiculously great songwriter.

I like how those key shifts back and forth in the first half of the song also match with the slightly manic and unhinged character of GLA-DOS and the expressed disappointment followed by "well, you still didn't win so..." It goes cheerful to dark to cheerful-but-untrustworthy very subtly in a way that is really fun.

Charles, I was impressed by your Mega Man music breakdown, but this in-depth into Portal and Jonathan Coulton is just *chef's kiss*. The end music of Portal was likely my first exposure to a long-held love of Jonathan Coulton. I listened to all his albums, saw him in a concert recently - and hearing you break down his technique in your usual enthusiastic, appreciative, and excited way was the bright spot to my day today. I especially appreciated you counting out the changes. For example, the change from I to V, when you played the scale from I to V so we could hear the major scale and then understand the changes between I, IV, and V. It was very anchoring and very informative. I don't have formal music training, but I have an informal love of it from a young age, and I really appreciate your approach to exploring this in actual music. Keep up the excellent work, and thank you, thank you, thank you for your passion.

Johnathan Coulton has so many great songs... some bangers for me I don't see mentioned quite as often in my browsing of comments... "Better", "Skull Crusher Mountain", "Shop Vac", "Todd the T1000", "De-Evolving", the song my wife never wants to hear again because it's too sad, "Betty and Me" and he song my kid never wants to hear again because it's too scary, "Creepy Doll"

@twothirdsanexplosive

5 күн бұрын

Creepy Doll isn't creepy, it's just a doll trying to look out for your health making sure you don't stay out too late and eat your sugar in moderation.

"Gladys"... 🤣

@_tking

6 күн бұрын

I kept wanting to yell "ITS A PUN! SAY IT RIGHT!!" at my screen

@TheRealBatabii

6 күн бұрын

​@@_tkingI'm not even sure if people these days know how to pronounce DOS

I have absolutely no idea what any of these things you are showing us means, but you're absolute immense passion makes it all so addicting to listen to. Love what you do and others will love with you.

Still alive is also great because it uses a lyrical device that is not that often used in popular music - every chorus is different apart from the last line which is the same, APART from the last chorus which subverts the expectations and goes "on the people who are still alive". And then it also changes one more time in the outro when Glados finally sings that SHE is still alive. Lyrically this song is such a blast I cried of laughter when I first finished the game and this started playing. It was the only time I ever sat during the whole credits of a game.

Homeboy doin' pivot chords like mad.

@Oznej

5 күн бұрын

We do what we must because we can.

You should have a look at Jonathan Coulton's other songs. Great concepts, funny lyrics and solid songwriting!

My favorite part of these songs is that they set up a resolution to the relative minor, but instead resolve to that(the relative minor) key’s parallel major, completely diverting expectations, unlike most other songs that change up or down a minor third.

Check out the moon theme from DuckTales on NES

@cooldebt

6 күн бұрын

An iconic tune! There's a cover of that tune by The Consouls which I call 'Everybody Wants to Rule the Moon' (you'll know what I mean if you hear it)

Two beautiful songs, and I love you workshopping them.

The chorus of Want You Gone is like pure 90s pop rock / pop alternative. It lands somewhere between Alanis Morissette and Sixpence None the Richer in my head.

I would love to see some Final Fantasy VII OG/Remake/Rebirth analysis. I highly recommend the soundtrack. Pieces like "One-Winged Angel," the theme of Sector Seven Slums, the battle theme which very cleverly builds in the first section of the game to the theme old fans recognize, Aerith's Theme, JENOVA, Hollow, Descendant of Shinobi, and so many more are amazing pieces. I know you did some Final Fantasy music, but VII is the most famous, and also my favorite. I love the way they remade the music (Apart from Sephiroth's Theme) in such a fantastic way.

I'm obsessed with the song "Self Esteem Fund" from the Portal 1 OST

man you made me love my fav 2 songs even more and i have no idea how is that possible!! big love man!!

I only discovered the Portal games last year and those songs were so wonderful. Thank you for this breakdown of why I enjoyed them so much.

Coulton is simply a genius songwriter. From the funny nerdy stuff to songs like You Ruined Everything and I Crush Everything, which legit make me cry sometimes.

moving from D major to F major feeling "dark" isn't a pseudoscientific or pseudo-theoretical thing - you're going 3 steps forward on the circle of fourths (or backward on the circle of fifths). I know you know Jacob Collier talked about this one lol D or F in isolation isn't inherently bright or dark, but relative to each other is where the feeling comes from. All pitch is relative :)

@jjir4089

6 күн бұрын

F major uses the same scale than D minor, and going from D major to D minor (scale) feels darker. Even staying in a major key F major.

I’ve a weighted companion cube tattoo on my arm, and seeing this pop in my recommendations made me unreasonably happy

I've been working on an indie rock cover of Still Alive and watching your channel a ton this week. To see both of them combine is almost eerie and I love it! Keep it up!!

JoCo is so extremely good at what he does. If you enjoy his songs from Portal you should definitely check out his other non-game songs

But what about "You Wouldn't Know" from Lego Deminsons' Portal?

@RainyBison

6 күн бұрын

And Cara Mia Addio

Love Jonathan Coulton! Thanks for this video.

I love it when you explain things this way, giving us the chord numbers etc. Helps with understanding the underlying theory

I freaked out when i saw this. Portal was THE childhood game for me. Cant wait to watch!!

@CharlesCornellStudios Tldr:Elementary music teacher thinks your work is incredible. Thank you!! As an elementary school music teacher I just want to say thank you. Your videos were a connection point for many students and I this year (you would be surprised how many K-6 students watch you). I completely agree with your active "hear/experience before learning musical vocabulary" approach to learning music and use it as my foundation to teach all music things. Thank you for stating it in your happy birthday video in such a concise way and I have it in my back pocket if admin ever asks about our approach. By far my favorite thing about your videos is you never "dumb it down". There have been things discussed that my students haven't quite understood. The unexpected/ I wish I had this ability thing is you make your videos so entertaining that the small things left unsaid are thought of as "Curiosities I want to learn about" instead of "This is too hard" to them. I am thankful for you and I hope you know you are doing a great job. Have a great rest of your week! Edit: I completely forgot to say thank you to your team... This isn't just a thank you to you, but also your team that makes sure the graphics are on point, the editing is amazing, etc. You all do amazing work too and it should definitely be acknowledge. Top notch.

Really loving these game choices you’ve being picking

I'm so glad you're talking about this. When I first started music theory, Still Alive was one of the first songs that completely stumped me with its complexity for what I thought would be a simple song. Want You Gone blew me away afterward with how it builds off the same idea in a new and even cleaner way.

I remember learning that F major was used as a pastoral key. Specially before modern piano tuning. Anyone else?

@sacredgeometry

6 күн бұрын

Not sure it counts. before equal temperament different keys absolutely did have different characteristics and they are well documented.

Jonathan Coulton and Code Monkeys theme song... that's another good one of his.

absolutely lovely analysis, adore these songs and hearing your analysis rlly speaks volumes to how much you love these songs as well

I'm happy to see this video. I recently became acquainted with Jonathan Coulton's music when he did a concert in my city. Both his lyrics and music seem so clever. I don't know why he hasn't made a bigger splash.

Who knew that the cake was a complicated lie.

The major 3rd chord in Still Alive ( 7:49 ) reminds me of Idol by YOASOBI weirdly, they use that same technique a lot in anime music. Though I might be mistaken as it's just switching to the next chord by using the V chord of one being transitioned to.

I love finding new appreciation videos for this epic series, especially after all these years!

This was a mini masterclass, I'll be using this so much! Thank you!

Can you take a look a Calypso from Jean-Micheal-Jarre

I would really love a review of the Mother Brain theme of Super Metroid 😬😬😬

I've been saying for years that 'Still Alive' is simply one of the most iconic songs ever made exactly because of that brilliant D major to F major and back to D major modulation. The best part is that non-musicians may never be able to tell because it's so seamless, they're just like "what the hell, this sounds so good!" without exactly knowing why. That's a very hard thing for musicians to achieve. Jonathan Coulton is an absolute genius.

This was such a great analysis. I would love to see what you think of Cara Mio Addio, but your videos never disappoint. You understand and appreciate the context surrounding these songs and thus, makes your videos all the more interesting to watch! Thank you for covering these two songs!

1:11 i've got that marcomeatball brainrot so every time i hear that song, i get pulled back in time to the april fools day purgatory.

@DZ-1987

5 күн бұрын

You watched the whole thing, you foolish fool. Me too.

I couldn’t click this fast enough! Charles Cornell and Portal in the same video?! 🤩🤩🤩

Such an amazing breakdown. Well done man. Love those games!

This video came in such a good time because I had watched a few gameplays of it a week or so ago, and was with both Still Alive and Want You Gone playing in my head over and over again until today

HE FINALLY DID ITTTTTT

These songs are so great! But wait! Theres more! The lesser known You Wouldn’t Know from Lego Dimensions Portal which is also a phenomenal song! (Also 8 Bit Big Bands cover of these three songs is outstanding!)

never played portal 2. Heard the Nate wants to battle version and have been hooked for 10 years. This song popped into my head two days ago… exactly when you uploaded!!

This video made me so happy. As a music theory geek myself, I have always loved the portal series, and these two song especially. I love seeing someone get as excited as I always have about them!

Except the ones who are dead 😂

You will have the whole rythm game community raving if u do a vid on Camellia. His music can get VERY complex in the harmony department

Very cool analysis!

The sheer enthusiasm and joy this man brings in each and every video always keeps me coming back and trying to relearn piano despite my depression always trying to stop me. An absolute gem of a human being.

Formally requesting you cover the music of NieR Gestalt! I think youll be SUPER pleased!

To me Want you gone always felt like a song that knew it couldn't top the original, and went for an atmosphere that avoided the confrontation altogether instead. Especially since it came right after a little piece of music known as The Turret Opera. It was just like, "fuck this, I quit".

@rickwoods5274

6 күн бұрын

one million percent. When the computer screen popped up I went "excellent another ending song, how will they outdo Still Alive, it was so good". Then the first six synth notes played and immediately I knew "oh they are not trying, they are going in a totally different direction"

@SimonBoyes

6 күн бұрын

...which fits the subject of the song perfectly!

@BeastOfSoda

6 күн бұрын

@@SimonBoyes Didn't think about it. That's meta.

I've been watching your videos for so so long, and as much as I don't understand any of the music theory behind your videos... it blows my mind how you can just hear something, know what it is, and play it. Truly Amazing Charles.

Now we need a turret opera analysis :^)

CAKE

Cake

That description of the key change via a single note in the chord brilliantly explains something that I’ve always felt from an old practice technique a piano teacher taught me years ago (basically just playing up and down the keyboard by moving one finger up or down one key at a time) that I’ve never been able to quite put into words or figure out how to use. Thanks for this video covering two of my favorite video game songs of all time. Also, on a side note, the end of Portal 2 and the lyrics to the song are why I’ve always felt a Portal 3 wouldn’t work. At the end, Chell is done, she’s out, she’s free, and GLaDOS is happy to be rid of her.

Love your passion

Jonathan Colton is such a great fun composer. Glad you're giving him props 👍

Appreciating all the video game love recently! Been a subscriber for years, but you are really speaking my language now, lolol.

it's been awesome to revisit these songs and really hear what's going on with the song structure. Didn't think I'd ever learn 'want you gone' but here we are. Thanks a bunch!

Coulton has actually written three Portal songs. Still Alive (Portal), Want You Gone (Portal 2), & You Wouldn't Know (Lego: Dimensions - Portal)