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In the early days of the Sega Genesis, Sonic the Hedgehog was a character unlike anything the video game industry had ever seen. In an era before Grand Theft Auto, Resident Evil, and even Mortal Kombat, Sonic was daring. He was fast, he was impatient, and he had a very different attitude from Nintendo’s mustachioed plumber. In many ways, Sonic the Hedgehog was the Bart Simpson of the gaming industry: a character that may now seem tame, but was once considered quite edgy.
When Sega released the Sonic Adventure titles on Dreamcast (and later Nintendo GameCube), the company tried to recapture that feeling of speed and edginess, and the soundtrack was a clear reflection of that. Gone were the chip-tune sounds of the Genesis-era Sonic titles, now replaced by a soundtrack influenced by more traditional radio-fare. Singers, a rarity in most video game tracks, made their presence well felt in these titles, particularly in this week’s track.
“Live and Learn” is a campy, yet endearing song. It clearly draws some influence from 1980s hair-metal, while still maintaining the feel of a song from the dawn of the new millenium. And the song also manages to feel appropriate. It fits in with Sonic’s sense of speed, and it felt like the perfect match for Sonic Adventure 2: Battle‘s final boss fight. The song even proved popular enough to follow Sega’s Blue Blur across gaming platforms. Not only was it used in the debut video announcing Sonic’s presence in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it also appeared as a track in the Wii title.
While “Live and Learn” may not be an orchestral masterpiece, sometimes there’s a charm to be found in things outside the norm. Just like Sonic the Hedgehog once was. Here’s hoping the track finds its way back when Super Smash Bros. releases on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS later this year.
I had a suggestion for a TotW that might be timely. Here’s my pitch:
For many universities and colleges, next week is spring break. This is a time of celebration for many young people. No matter what kind of party you’re participating in, you’re going to need some tunes.
My thought is to go full trance/electronica with it and use the F-Zero GX theme of Dr. Stewart. Obviously, no worries if you don’t use it. But I think the character profiles section of GX was an often overlooked feature. There are many music tracks found within.
Oh, I definitely remember the character profile themes from F-Zero GX! I’m not at all ashamed to admit that I still rock out to the James McCloud theme every now and then.
We already had a Yoshi track in mind for next week in honor of Yoshi’s New Island, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see an F-Zero theme highlighted the week after that… ;)
Live and Learn?! STOP THAT. NO. That song… so many childhood memories… of mocking that song with my sister, lololol.