Tag: nostalgia

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GIF GJ is a Frankenstein’s monster of millennial internet culture

I think it’s time we accept that the GIF has become our symbol for this moment in the digital age. Fleeting, repetitive, ephemeral and yet always the same, the GIF captures the essence of a generation built on the internet: a never-ending loop of recycled information spreading on and on and on, ad infinitum. Giphy’s GIF GJ feels like the chaotic logical conclusion to millennial remix culture. Deriving from the cult of the mashup, GIF GJ combines digital DJing with GIFs by replacing a musical playlist with a soundboard of animated graphics. According to Giphy, the software is a call…
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Fight monsters or kiss them? Undertale will let you decide when it arrives next week

Kickstarter darling Undertale came into our lives in 2013 with the scent of butterscotch-cinnamon pie. It cradled us in its furry arms, gave us comforting and encouraging glances, before leaving us to rot—cold and alone—for two long years. Now, it’s finally returning next Tuesday the 15th, and I can already feel my heart swelling for the conflict resolution haven that is Undertale‘s world. talking through your feelings with violent enemies  Playing as a naive human child, you find yourself trapped in the Ruins, an underworld where the humans banished all manner of monsters long ago. Luckily, early on in your…
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Has Gears of War aged better than the song that marketed it?

Unlike movies, videogames rarely have memorable trailers. Most of the commercials created to show them off are either brief sizzle reels or prolonged, hacky punchlines. The TV spot for the original Gears of War was an exception, however. Undercutting the promise of apocalyptic alien carnage with the solemn baying of Gary Jules in his cover of “Mad World” led to a stop, turn, and watch moment. Somehow, the juxtaposition of a lone, bandana-clad bro running through a deserted metropolis with the melancholy musings of a piano and folksy singer-songwriter compelled a second look. Thus did it become, at least in…
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The Last of Us soundtrack is getting the beautiful vinyl LP it always needed

“Whoa. Look at this place!” Ellie says as you walk through the doorway, into an old record store. You’re on your way to Bill’s hideout and this abandoned town is the first place that lets you truly grasp Ellie’s alienation from our own world. It’s not that she just doesn’t listen to records. She’s not some teenager who doesn’t care or understand obsolete pieces of art work. To Ellie, a record is a foreign artifact—like a moon rock or ancient Egyptian scroll. It’s a difference in the age gap that no one from the world before the outbreak would’ve had…