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Games that remind me of songs; songs that remind me of games

Some of these are just because I was into both at the same time, some are more thematically/stylistically-linked. Others, it's hard to tease apart. Game links are to wikipedia, music links are to youtube

Oni (2001)

Equal in vain - Guniw Tools (1999)

These are just literally the same to me. Something to do with grittiness. Oni was my favourite game for a time, and this was one of my favourite songs at the same time. I feel like Konoko would have listened to this on the radio, if she ever had free time...

This one is a little unusual compared to the others: I listened to those songs playing those games, but I never listened to music whilst playing Oni. Also, I got Oni on a cheap re-release (remember those?) and I got into j-rock when I was more into my teens, so I guess this was more like 2003 for both for me.

Creatures 2 (1998)

Black Coffee - All Saints (2000)

I can't see any link between these apart from I was still playing Creatures 2 when this came out. But they have a similar feeling... something about loneliness, even though it's a pretty sweet love song and Creatures 2 is full of, well, creatures.

Runescape (early 2000s version)

Placebo b-sides, such as:
2468 (1994)
Paycheck (1995)
Oxygen Thief (1996) Bonus: this song "sounds like the PS1" and idk exactly what I mean by that, but I stand by it! Something to do with demo discs?
Then The Clouds Will Open For Me (1997)
I Feel You (Depeche Mode cover) (1999) This one more than the others!! Aww... I'm trying to make chocolate cakes, saving up for a blue skirt with a shiny trim, staying away from the pvp wilderness like my *real life* depended on it... I stopped playing RS a long time ago, but I still love this song.
Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush cover) (2003)
Where Is My Mind (Pixies cover) (2003)

There's no link here - I just listened to these songs when I was playing!

I had no idea any of the covers were covers, apart from a David Bowie one introduced as such. So whenever I hear the originals of any of these - I think Running Up That Hill is the only one I really like - I think of them as Placebo covers!

Neopets (early 2000s)

One More Time - Daft Punk (2001)

I guess I listened to Daft Punk a lot when I was restocking, playing that snake game they had... Digital Love is my favourite Daft Punk song (both from Discovery and in general), but One More Time is the one that always makes me think "Neopets :)", even now!

I was so obsessed with the cover of Discovery. I used to just look at it all the time. I think maybe it still shows in my sense of web design you can see here...

I thought this list would be a lot longer when I started it. I will keep adding to it :) I could make a huge section about all the j-pop and j-rock I associate with The Sims 2 (because I replaced all its music, because I hated it compared to TS1) but that will take forever.

Musicians I got into because of games, and coincidences

I can start with the big two: I'm sure I like jazz because of The Sims: Hot Date, and early music because of both Microsoft Encarta's little trivia-adventure game and Final Fantasy IX :)

I've gotten into Shira Kammen's music lately (hmm, by which I mean... this decade), mainly because I paid for Magnatune and was able to download a bunch of her albums that are on there. The instrumental stuff seemed pretty familar, and one track in particular... Downstream was in Braid! (And I think he bought it from Magnatune...)

I loved (and still love) the Civilisation V soundtrack, especially the Middle East Africa folder because I normally play Dido and that's what I hear. A few years ago (prior to getting magnatune, so... late 2010s?) I was an amazon prime subscriber, so I had their music thing. It was a fun way to find new music (which I've since bought or downloaded), but it was also a fun way to stumble across familiar tunes, like Jalla man, by the Oni Wytars Ensemble (the singer is Belinda Sykes, and when I found this out this way, I've since become a big fan of her and her band Joglaresa... I went to see them twice just before the pandemic, and that makes them legally my favourite band I guess lmao)

I will find a better place for this on my site but seeing as this is where I mentioned Belinda Sykes and Joglaresa: she died on the 16th November 2021. She was only 55. Of course the pandemic has been awful for many many reasons but I think it's so sad that it robbed her of so many opportunities to perform after her diagnosis of terminal cancer. She was still a magnificent performer even with the problems it caused for her singing and generally. RIP