Homestuck Vol. 4 - Commentary
3.5k words across 22 entries.
Homestuck Vol. 4 Homestuck Vol. 4 (album commentary) Listen on: YouTube (playlist)
Homestuck: (whatpumpkin.com side blurb)
The fourth official Homestuck album, which includes the music of mid Act 3 though mid Act 4.
Andrew Hussie: (MSPA news post, excerpt)
Volume 4!
Ok a whole mess of announcements here so let's see if I can keep it short and sweet!
Homestuck Volume 4 is here. 13 songs. $4.13. Comes with a cool wallpaper! Check it:
There are a few very nice remixes in this album, done on pretty short notice. Everybody pulled this one together really fast! Nice job guys. And nice job as always to Miss McMittens for rallying the troops and piecing it all together.
Cindy Dominguez: (McMittens blog, excerpt)
This 4/13 thing looks like fun
More swell news from the MSPA camp: Homestuck Vol. 4 is now yours to own, if you so choose, which I hope you do because these musicians (them's my boys and gals, et cetera) do some stellar work and you would most certainly enjoy having some of it for your very own! Also they deserve to have some of your money so please just give it to them already. I'll love you forever if you do.
Homestuck: (Bandcamp download blurb)
Immediate download of not only 13-track album, BUT ALSO: bonus content! Alternate album covers and a Homestuck wallpaper are yours to cherish forever and ever when you buy this album!
Homestuck: (Bandcamp credits blurb)
By these fine gents:
Malcolm Brown
Mark Hadley
Bill Bolin
Andrew Huo
Toby "Radiation" Fox
Michael Guy Bowman
Clark "Plazmataz" Powell
Robert J! Lake
George Buzinkai
Michael Vallejo
Revelawesome Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Malcolm Brown: (via early commentary collection)
Another "Andrew asks for music for situation X" - In this, he wanted a dramatic reveal that was basically too epic and obviously a piss-take. The two main ones that were used for this and Hardlyquin (Both were used in the comic for more or less the same joke). The goal was to basically make something so dramatically epic and life-changing that it would just be incredibly silly. (I believe Hardlyquin ended audibly on a joke sound, while I wanted Revelawesome to be played as straight as possible).
And it was.
The music was based on some earlier work I did on an old Sonic Fangame (Completely forget which one - Think it was a boss theme) that I re-tuned for orchestra and gave it more of a buildup. The name was a play on Andrew's penchant for Portmentaeeu that-word-meaning-combining-two-words-together.
Hardlyquin Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Mark J. Hadley: (via early commentary collection)
When Andrew asked us to do something for a shock and surprise for the upcoming reveal of John's Dad's room, this is what I came up with. I slipped some Harlequin in there for good measure. The original version was exactly as it appears in the comic (complete with the record scratch at the end), and I lengthened it for the soundtrack since it was so very, very short. Somehow it came out creepier in that version.
Carefree Victory Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Andrew Huo: (via early commentary collection)
Carefree Victory is really Hadley's baby, and I would feel like I'm plagiarizing to really call it my own. I really just dictated his piece, called Carefree Action, put it into PXTone, added some lines, changed the tempo, and added a coda (which wasn't even used in the comic, I think?).
One of the lines I added, for the intro, was roughly inspired by Cave Story music. I'm pretty Cave Story-influenced, especially with Homestuck stuff.
Ballad of Awakening Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Malcolm Brown: (via early commentary collection)
Jade. I think, at least if not Jade then certainly something about Dreams (Which a lot of the story was turning into via the Prospit/Derse stuff). It was prevalent that a lot of Jade's character was coming from vague aloofness, yet a degree of precognition via dreaming that would prove central to the character and the concept of Sburb.
Thus, it's a playful kind of dream-like melody. A little scatterbrained a quite unusual (Namely due to the time signature which is something like 6/4). I came up with the melody years ago, and it's mostly just playing about on the sharp/flat keys on a keyboard. I generally don't like incorporating it too much because the chord progression sounds a bit too close to Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" (Which was released way after I originally came up with the melody for BoA, but is infinitely more popular)
Despite being used in 'The Flash Where Nothing Happens' and also being quite long, it's still one of my closet favourite tracks. So much so I did a remake that never made it to any album because it wasn't really anything new. In any case, it's here.
I then took an enormous break from HS (shortly after doing a Squiddles track that I don't particularly like) and wouldn't be back 'till around about the time of AlternaBound had started being a discussed thing.
Sburban Jungle Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music
Michael Guy Bowman: (composer, from Music and Stuff)
"Sburban Jungle" finally comes into its own with its full reveal after being on the shelf for months. That we didn't delay the thing further amazes me considering the scale of the story, although I'm still indebted to Andrew for making the animated sequence which the song accompanied especially iconic. Who doesn't love the picture of Rose making her incredibly stylized jump to catch the bottle during the piano break?
Michael Guy Bowman: (Bowmantown Discord, excerpt)
wow guys, i mean i know sburban jungle kind of wedged itself into the lore of homestuck but it's cool to hear how much it means to you guys
it was probably the first "full" song written for the project, andrew told us to do loops at the beginning thinking all the flashes would be loops. the short version was written as a loop, but then the loading screen ended. i wrote out a "full" version to give it a tag and andrew loved it so much he decided to sit on it, so the full version was ready to go as early as August 2009 but didn't end up in the comic until 2010
Michael Guy Bowman: (Michael Guy Bowman Talks About His Homestuck Music, adapted to text)
So, the first major piece I worked on that ended up being used in the comic was Sburban Jungle. Andrew had wanted something that sounded like music from SimCity 4. He had linked us to this piece called Epicenter, and said, "I want something that sounds a bit like this," and he specifically focused on the marimba breakdown in the middle of it. And, it had kind of a pulsing beat, and sort of this evolving, atmospheric thing going on.
I was at my computer, at the time he posted it, seeing the speed at which people were working, where they were like, seeing these little requests on this forum, where we'd just kind of talk with him. I was like, oh yeah, I gotta sit down and immediately make something, 'cause like, Andrew's style of working is to pick the first good thing, really. You know, he doesn't want to dwaddle. He could only really make that comic as quickly as he did because he had a philosophy that's sort of, like, I think kind of an improv philosophy of like - go with the first idea that isn't so bad you go eugh, you know, and sometimes even go with a bad idea and see if by decorating it, you can make it a good one. I knew that the gauntlet was thrown and that if I didn't make something, like, right away, it might not happen.
And I sat down in FL Studio, on my terrible Dell laptop that I had had to uninstall Windows Vista from and put Windows XP on because it was so buggy and bad, and immediately got around to composing a piece that involved looping... xylophone. I think I was drawing a bit from the kinds of music I'd studied in percussion, actually. Anyway, what I ended up writing was about a minute of material - it was like, the first thing that got posted that night. I think it might have taken, like, an hour or two of, you know, feverish "let's just get something in there and figure out", and he immediately liked it, and was like, "This is what I'm going to use," and within days, it was in the loading screen for SBURB, with the spirograph and the graphics and I was just like, pleased as a peach. It was, like, one of those moments where it transitioned from comedy to an epic.
Sburban Jungle was so clearly necessary to expand upon, and I went ahead and just wrote the full thing out, you know, with the big bridge, with the piano breakdown and all that stuff, just to see what would happen. Because, actually, the main emphasis was going to be on loops, originally - we thought that everything that appeared in the comic was just going to be a piece of looping media, the idea that he was going to do full animations, with a beginning, middle and end, that wasn't in the scope of the project yet. Finishing out Sburban Jungle and saying, like, "now here's something that could progress from start to finish, and stand on its own," motivated him to later bring it back at the end of Act 3 as this big moment. And that's what ended up happening, with a lot of the project, is [that] people said, you know, "let's move away from just doing loops, and let's also focus on full-length pieces." Everybody just started working that much harder, as we saw that Andrew was willing to do that kind of thing.
Michael Guy Bowman: (YouTube description, excerpt)
The theme song of #Homestuck, first appearing as an excerpt on page 137 and then later in full on page 1149 ([S] Enter). The full song was originally released by What Pumpkin on Homestuck Vol. 4 on April 13, 2010.
Big thank you to Michael Guy Bowman for featuring my art on this new official upload of Sburban Jungle!
If you pay attention to the video, you'll notice it moves!!
Homestuck: (original track art)
Doctor Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Clark Powell: (via early commentary collection)
Doctor was originally by Buzinkai and then a now non-active member Michael Vallejo added a few bits of percussion to it. I then put together a larger mix of the tune with shinier production and a glockenspiel tag, and this was the version Andrew used in the end.
Buzinkai: (via early commentary collection)
Doctor was written before Homestuck, actually. The only thing I can really remember was that Super Smash Bros Brawl came out right before I finished it. The original loop (which is not the one specifically heard in the comic, but was included in the album release) was directly inspired by music from Cave Story, and I was trying to at the time musically embody how I felt at the time, I think. Though it never seems to come out exactly as I plan it, I enjoyed the results. I will say that I cannot truly believe how many people have remixed it.
The arpeggio part at the end goes between the left, both, and right speakers sequentially. I was too lazy to set the channel settings manually, so I did each note on a different instrument, which is set to each speaker channel. Not many people know that, and I think it actually made it a living hell for remixers who got a hold of the original file.
(On March 17, 2013, Buzinkai ran an AMA - "Ask Me Anything" - on the r/Homestuck subreddit. Select responses are listed below; you can visit the full AMA on the Wayback Machine as well. Banner art below is from a fundraiser ran for their first album in 2016.)
Hi, I'm George Buzinkai, writer of The Doctor and other such songs. AMA?
Howdy. I'm bored as hell, because my house recently burnt down and I lost sort of everything. How are you?
defenestratedplane: "AtrusRand" - Msyt fan? :) I love Doctor, it's one of my favorite songs in Homestuck, and I will never get sick of remixes of it. Do you like the remixes? Will you be doing anymore music for Homestuck? I'm very sorry to hear about your house. I hope you're doing okay.
Actually, for a little while, after I submitted it, I was unaware of where Doctor was going to go. It was one of those moments where I went, "Whoa, someone remixed my song?" And then things got crazy. I get the feeling when you hear yourself played back on audio sometimes when I hear the remixes.
And yes, I am an adamant MSYT fan.
BufferUnderpants: Could we please be nicer? More empathetic, less snarky? He's a very important contributor to the community and he got dealt a rough deal recently.
It's a bit easy to say, "I have nothing."
But my house, which I lived in for 27 years, was burnt to the ground, and I was literally without anything of my past. Keyboards, instruments, all were taken in an inferno which haunts my damned memories night after night.
BufferUnderpants: That's... horrible. How long ago was this? Did you live with your family there? I've never been very much keen to holding attachment to things, maybe now I have been acquiring the habit, but even so, the shock of everything suddenly turning to smoke must be huge. It must have felt unreal. What have you been doing in the meantime?
I saved my family, and we're currently in a temporary home. I find that I attach to things and people a lot more now. Because I'm so afraid of losing memories, things, and people.
I'm actually trying to draw. I went to college for a little while for Traditional Animation, but the college turned out to be a scam, so I was screwed.
Stillhopefull: My condolences for your lost everything. Thanks for making music for Homestuck, I appreciate the act of fleshing out a world in music, and I appreciate you for doing this for us. Thank you. As for a question, what's it like working with Andrew Hussie? Is he easy to talk to? Hard to work with? Do your personalities go well together? What's your favorite Homestuck song? Do you have any writing rituals to get you in the mood for writing? Like, do you listen to any special music, or read certain parts of stuff? If you had to choose between dying tomorrow or dying in 1000 years, which would choose and why?
I've never personally spoke to him. Except through E-mail. Other than that, I've never really been too involved with the project. He's enigmatic, but I imagine if we got together, we could do some cool stuff.
My favorite homestuck song is obviously Showtime (Original Mix), which inspired me to write a remix and get involved.
I listen to Tchaikovsky and Nobuo Uematsu, I attempt to push emotion through the music to the listener. When I find things which I feel the composer was trying to push into me, I get overwhelmed.
I would say dying in 1000 years. Because my lifetime is nowhere near how long I think it will take me to really understand who I am.
Crono30067: Did you know things about homestuck before we did?
Nothing was ever told to us, except when sometimes Andrew would say, "Something is coming up."
Niklink: Buzinkai would know the difference from 'The Doctor' and 'Doctor', due to where the title of that song comes from.
I wrote Doctor at an interesting time. One where I wanted to convey my emotions through music. I was inspired by Moonsong from Cave Story, and I still use PXTone, which is a music software developed by Pixel.
The Doctor was my name, a reference to Doctor Who, and The Doctor from cave story.
(deleted user) I KNEW that song was familiar somehow! Moonsong was probably my favorite tune in that soundtrack :-D It also fits in very well with the Earthbound aesthetic that Homestuck's inspired by.
Earthbound and Cave Story are both my favorite OSTs. As well as a little bit of Nobuo.
Niklink: Yeah dude's legit. Or a really weird George Buzinkai fan. So, last we heard your life was too busy to really get back into music. Other than Firefly on Vol. 9, there isn't really any activity form you. Are you planning to get back into the whole Homestuck music thing? Are you even keeping up with Homestuck?
I do watch here and there. It's quite the thing to really keep track of. I'm trying to do more personal pursuits lately. I'm trying to actually come out with a comic some time in the future.
StrmSrfr: I was just thinking this morning (before I saw this; weird coincidence) that I'd love to try my hand at doing a remix or derivative composition of "Doctor", and maybe put it up for people to critique. How would you feel about me (or anyone else for that matter) doing a thing like that?
I love creativity. If you're inspired. Feel free!
Newtonyd: How'd your house burn down?
An electrical short. I discovered it and tried to do what I could in such a situation. I tried to put it out with my coat, then I tried a bucket of water, but it's winter here, so they didn't work.
Honestly, there are tons of things I wish I could do differently.
CatnipMatespriteship: im broke but what i can do is this... hugs~<3
Means more than money to me.
FridgeLogic42: Have you listened to any of the Homestuck albums? What's your favorite?
I've listened to a few, they are quite good, though my favorite is the songs they made for the midnight crew. Very interesting stuff.
HyperShadic9189: Do you just make the music whenever, and Andrew uses it, or does he tell you to make music fitting for an event?
I generally throw up a few songs when I get the chance to actually write them, which has not exactly been for a little while. Sometimes the music influences the work, perhaps, but the work infuenced the music... it's sort of oddly complicated.
thetacriterion: Doctor is still my favorite track in all of Homestuck, despite some pretty steep competition. Still gives me chills. (And yeah, I'm referring to the original, not the remix.) As for your house... while I'm getting major sympathy pains just thinking about everything you lost, I'm mainly glad to hear that you and your family are safe. I'm hoping for the best for you. :c
Thank you for everything. I hope to write more wonders in the future.
[deleted user] my one question is why "rabbit-mouse"
It's a long story, but generally, I'm trying to get into the field of traditional animation. My two favorite movies are Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Secret of NIMH.
gburnaman: Im absolutely lousy at AMAs and can never think of any decent questions but I will say: Doctor is one of my favorite motifs... ever. It stands up on its own in a way not a lot of HS other songs do, and I never tire of hearing remixes. I heard Doctor right about the time I decided to stick with Homestuck instead of backing away slowly and calling the police. statue_junction: Hey, I don't really have any questions but I just wanted to tell you that Doctor is, without exception, my favorite song in Homestuck. Which is saying quite a lot. It encapsulates the atmosphere of the comic better than anything else, and in my mind represents my favorite character (John). I think I've listened to it more times than anything I have on Spotify or iTunes, 'cause I'll play it on loop as I write or read or fuck around on the internet. It just really puts me in the right kind of mindset to be creative. So... thanks for making such a kick-ass song!
I originally meant the song to encompass my own emotions at the time, according to Andrew Hussie, it "sat on his desktop for a while" before he decided where to place it.
My music has taken me places I've never thought possible.
(MrCheeze: It should be mentioned that statue_junction and Niklink are like the two impossible to please guys, praise from both = very good job.)
I want to personally thank everyone who visited my site and donated. I will be sending out personal responses to the donators, letting them know how their money will be used to help get the music production back in full gear.
I can't thank you all enough for this!
i feel like people forget that homestuck had a lot of talented musicians working on it, not just toby
this bothers me mostly because one of the most iconic songs, Doctor, was composed by a trans person (she/her, her name was [Usagi] Buzinkai, im not sure how she identified beyond her pronouns) who passed away in 2018. for all of homestuck’s many flaws i think it’s okay and good to celebrate art like this that came from it
(edited to include her correct name)
i know i already reblogged this but here's Doctor so you can remind yourself what a great song it is
[Bandcamp embed]
the song Doctor was a collaboration piece between me and Buzinkai. They made the super lush chiptune that’s the backbone of the song, and I arranged it with other instruments to try and really bring it to life. As one of the first songs either of us finished for the comic in those early days, we were both so proud of it ☺️
Rest easy, George. Your music still plays.
Endless Climb Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Buzinkai: (via early commentary collection)
The inspiration for this was from a not-very-well-known indie game called Tower of Heaven, which has phenomenal music. Believe it or not, the arpeggios were written first, and the main melody was written last. I tend to write songs backwards sometimes.
Black Listen on: Bandcamp, YouTube
Andrew Hussie: (MSPA news post, excerpt)
Additional trivia: if you're wondering where the old-timey clip at the beginning of "Black" comes from, check it out. (1:29) It's from a song recorded exactly 100 years prior to Homestuck. Toby slapped it on the beginning of his remix and I thought "cool" and rolled with it, but it wasn't until now I found out where it was from. Maybe he mentioned it to me once and I was like pfffff, not remembering THAT fact, nice try. This is a good example of how the music strongly influences how I put together the animations.
Homestuck Vol. 4
Track list (1–13)