Let the beat drop: The music and me + favourite gaming OST tag

I was recently tagged by asic at officiallyhaven and Mallow at Secluded Observations to do The Music and Me and Favorite Movie OST tag, which I changed to Favorite Gaming OST tag. Since the tags are both related to music, I thought I could combine them to do the longest post ever on this blog.

Thank you both for tagging me in these fun posts. 🙂

I’ll put nominees at the bottom of the post; they can choose whether to do one tag or both.

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The Music and Me Tag

asic at officiallyhaven tagged me in this. She’s not a niche blogger, and blogs about all of her interests. Relatable. Anyway, go check her out!

Rules

(1) Link back to the original (Sophie @ Me and Ink) so she can see your answers and listen to the tunes.
(2) For every prompt you choose to do, name 1-5 songs (you can use Sophie’s graphics).
(3) Have fun and play your music LOUD!

Home Town Glory

• Songs that remind you of home

No song actually reminds me of home. Instead, I’ll choose a song that reminds me of my childhood, since that’s the closest I can think of.

LIFE – YUI

Younha, YUI, Utada Hikaru, and BoA were the queens who introduced me to Asian artists. I remember listening to LIFE on repeat with my MP3 player. Back then, I was super into anime soundtracks. Inuyasha soundtracks dominated my playlists. Even though I never watched Bleach, the soundtracks from that anime also took up a good portion.

It’s a Love Story

• Songs about love

First Love – Utada Hikaru

Sticking with the childhood theme, I’ll choose Utada Hikaru’s First Love. This song aged so well. Tons of covers came out when this song was huge. The song is over a decade old, and people are still doing covers of it. It’s also a song that all generations can relate to at one point.

Shut Up and Dance

• Songs that make you want to dance

There are way too many, haha. I might as well keep sticking with my childhood theme for this tag post.

Password 486 – Younha

This song is so addictive. Younha came out with a lot of hits back in the day. And I’m glad she’s still active in the industry. When she did a collaboration with RM of BTS, my heart screamed. Anyway, this song has a funky, swing vibe that’s reminiscent of good ol’ Kpop days. You’re a true OG if you know this song.

If this was a movie

• Songs from movies/tv/broadway

I haven’t watched a movie in so long. To change this up a bit, I’m going to go with a Western song that I adored back in the day. This song is from Friends, the TV show.

I’ll Be There For You – The Rembrandts

If you don’t know this song, I’m judging you hard. I was too young to really understand Friends when it aired on TV. But when I came back to it when I was older, I loved it. The theme song will never get old, and it aged really well.

Comfort crowd

• Songs that make you feel calm

Every Heart – BoA

Remember when I said I had so many Inuyasha soundtracks on my playlist back in the day? This was one of them. I remember that this song was everywhere. It would be cool if BoA would sing the soundtrack for the sequel to Inuyasha.

Always remember us this way

• Songs that remind you of your childhood.

…All of the songs I mentioned above. I didn’t know this was a prompt, and now I’m here. So, let’s see…

The Love Bug – m-flo feat. BoA

I adore this song. BoA had the best collaborations with Japanese artists and rappers back then. Hit after hit. This song is incredibly catchy, and it aged so well too. This just makes me miss all the quality songs we had back in the day. This song was also what made me like rap music. I was never a fan of rap, but after listening to this, my teenage self was like Okay, I think I can get on board with this.

Let’s Get Down To Business

• Songs that motivate you

There are a lot more prompts than I thought. I can’t think of a childhood song that motivated me. But one song always lifted my mood.

No. 1 – BoA

This song was the anthem. If doesn’t matter if you’re a old or new BoA fan, you must know this song.

Old Town Road

• Songs from the past (like really old ones) that you love

All of the songs I mentioned are old. I feel old right now. But, let’s see… let’s go back to the Western world…

Crush – David Archuleta

Don’t lie. I know that at one point every teenage girl said this was her favourite song. It’s so pure and cute.

Cry with you

• Songs to make you cry and cry

I don’t remember crying to a song. I probably did but I don’t remember what song it was.

Come Back to Me – Utada Hikaru

I chose this song because of the lyrics. It’s pining for an old flame after a mistake. Utada Hikaru has such good vocals here.

I think I’m in love

• Songs that are your latest musical obsessions

For this prompt, it seems like I can’t continue my nostalgia train. Lately, I’ve been really into SEVENTEEN’s music.

Kidult – SEVENTEEN

I love the melody of this. It’s so soothing. Even without understanding the lyrics, it puts a smile on your face. After learning the lyrics, the song becomes so meaningful. I’ll let you guess from the title.

Left & Right – SEVENTEEN

I would find myself randomly singing this. It’s so catchy, and the vibe is totally my style. Let me fangirl for a bit and say I love Dino and Vernon’s parts in this.

If you’re a carat, let us fangirl together. I adore SEVENTEEN so much, and I can’t wait for Going Seventeen to come back in March. *-*

Writer in the dark

• Song that have great lyrics

The original prompt was your favorite lyrics from songs. So I changed it slightly to include songs that just have great lyrics. Let me break away from the childhood train and give a special shoutout to this collaboration song.

Winter Flower – Younha feat. RM

Winter Flower is a newer song by Younha. The lyrics talk about mental health and where to find a source of comfort. Younha’s vocals are also so powerful. You can hear the improvement from her old songs.

My favorite verse is by RM:

Listen carefully, winter
You made me bloom
Now I will send forth my blue aroma with my branches
I’ll show you that there’s another sky
I’ll call forth the autumn that was once like you

RM

Sign of the times

• Song in the charts that you love

What songs are in the charts right now? Dynamite is still really popular. I’m not surprised. It’s a great, upbeat track. So I’ll leave that here.

Dynamite – BTS

I’m rooting for BTS for the GRAMMYs. I can only imagine the wrath of ARMY if BTS didn’t win. They truly deserve it, though, and I hope they can continue breaking records and show the power of Asian artists. Proud ARMY.

More than a memory

• Songs you have specific memories attached to

Yo, this is like never-ending. But okay. A lot of the songs I mentioned above have memories attached to them. But I’ll specifically mention this one to go back to my weeb days.

Yura Yura – Hearts Grow

This song was when I was super obsessed with Naruto. Think fanfictions, daydreams, and just talking about Naruto to friends. Those were the good ol’ days. This is my favorite Naruto opening, and I still like it today.

Sing to me instead

• Songs you have to sing to

All of the songs I already mentioned. No, really. But another one would be…

Replay – SHINee

This was the song and group that really got me into Kpop. I love Replay, and it’s so catchy. It also has a 90s vibe, which shouldn’t be surprising since the song is pretty old. SHINee will always have a special place in my heart. My first bias ever was Taemin, but Key really grew on me. SHINee OT5, always.

I wasn’t expecting that

• Songs you didn’t expect to love, but you do

I see the end. It’s almost over. Let’s go back to the OG Kpop days.

War of Hormone – BTS

I got into BTS pretty late. I remember an old co-worker showed me this song, and I wasn’t expecting to like it. Back then, I was a devoted EXO-L. But this song really grew on me. V deserves a special shoutout because… whoa he looks fine af.

Favourite record

• Albums you can’t live without

BE – BTS

I really enjoyed BTS’s latest album, BE. It’s rare for me to like every song on the album but BE blew me away. It’s the first album I ever considered buying. I love the minimalistic design. I also watched an unboxing video, and the stuff you get is pretty good. I. need. those. photo. cards.

Video Games

• Name your favourite music videos

I wonder why this category is called ‘Video Games’ when it’s talking about music videos. I’m going to throw a curveball at you and introduce a throwback Chinese music video.

In Your Eyes – Rainie Yang feat. Show Luo

Around the time this was released, Rainie Yang and Show Luo did a drama together. It’s cute how they also incorporated their drama moments in the music video. I’ve always loved their chemistry, and the song is super cute.

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We’ve finally reached the end of The Music and Me tag. All this tag did was make me feel old. But it’s nice to revisit some great tracks back in the day.

Anyway, let’s move on to Favorite Movie OST tag, which I modified slightly to gaming OSTs because I haven’t watched a movie in a hot minute.

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Favorite 4 Gaming OSTs

Shoutout to Mallow for tagging me in this and for not including any rules for me to copy and paste. Mallow blogs about anime and gaming. He’s also a great supporter of newer blogs, so go check him out!

Blues in the Velvet Room – Persona 3

I love this jazzy rendition of the original soundtrack. It gives it more life and personality. I am a huge fan of the Persona series and their soundtracks. When you don’t think it can’t get any better, they do. I’m anticipating what Persona 6 has to offer and another set of unique soundtracks to add to my playlists.

The Fragrance of Dark Coffee (Godot’s Theme) – Phoenix Wright

I live for the jazz. This soundtrack sounds mysterious and sexy; it’s very similar to Godot’s character. It’s a soundtrack when you want to feel like you’re in a spy movie or feel important while drinking coffee.

Maya Fey – Phoenix Wright

This sounds happy and innocent, which perfectly represents Maya’s personality. The Phoenix Wright series has such great soundtracks, you could study or do chores to it. This series will always have a special place in my heart.

Lacunosa Town – Pokemon

The Pokemon soundtracks are so refreshing. This song brought me joy when I was working tirelessly on my thesis for graduate school. It’s a soundtrack for taking a walk on a sunny day with a cool autumn breeze.

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Nominees

Feel free to do one tag, both tags, or none at all.

Shoujo @ Shoujo’s Ramblings

Rise @ Phoenix Talks Pop Culture

Saniya @ Sunny Side Reviews

Edy @ Convulted Situation

Ethan_07 @ Anime as a Cup of Tea

Kirito Narukami @ KiritoNarukami

Matt @ Matt Doyle Media

Enjoy, peeps.