Instrumental: The News

The News
Mix 8
August 27, 2005
[1:16]


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Influences: Super Smash Bros. Melee, Wing Commander: Privateer, Nine Inch Nails.
Instruments: MIDI Strings, MIDI Xylophone, MIDI Tubular Bell, MeanBeat Percussion Samples, Kramer Focus 111S.

After deciding to go onto WCWM as a DJ for my senior year (2005-2006) at William and Mary, I had every intention of making bogus news reports for the beginning of every weekly show. Indeed, so inspired by my friend Andrew, I had prepared a number of full-length newspaper-style articles by plugging real news articles into MegaHAL or cutting them up physically or digitally and scrambling them. However, laziness got the best of me and I never delivered any reports on my show, but I did create this nice backing track for that very purpose.

When conceptualizing this music, I had two elements in mind: First, the newsy music, for which I had a basic model in my head, which was influenced by the menu screen music from Super Smash Bros. Melee, with the weird pitch-changing tubular bell as a small touch influenced by ambient music from Wing Commander: Privateer. Then, after some guitar-feedback build-up, there is the climax, for which I considered the drum solo in Nine Inch Nails's "The Perfect Drug" to be an influence, even though it doesn't really sound that much like it. Since I'm not really an electric guitar virtuoso by any stretch, I had to play the lead guitar more slowly, five semitones lower in pitch than the backing track, and then I pitched it up in the mix.

Below, for your enjoyment, are the aforementioned news articles (seven total).