Doctor

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.

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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!

emil: (Tumblr)

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)

blunttheking: (Tumblr)

i know i already reblogged this but here's Doctor so you can remind yourself what a great song it is

[Bandcamp embed]

Clark Powell: (Tumblr)

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.

Homestuck Vol. 4

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Doctor