It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these.  Here are a few things I’m currently in love with:

1. Writing soundtrack: Hotline Miami OST.  I’ve found that videogame soundtracks are perfect for writing.  I’ve written several short stories to the atmospheric (and award-winning) soundtrack to Homeworld (even though I’ve never played the game), and I revised a lot of my first novel while listening to the Shadow of the Colossus soundtrack.  I’m not sure why this  worked so well, especially since that novel has nothing to do with magic, horses, or swords.  Maybe it’s because I’ve actually played SOTC: if memory serves, the game is twelve boss battles in a row where you fight mountain-sized stone golems with a sword, bow and arrow, and horse.  There must have been some magic combination between memories of that epic, gorgeous game, plus those lush orchestral swells in the soundtrack, with the (relatively) epic push to close the distance at the end of a six-year writing slog.

But at any rate, if you like dark, new-wave music (think the soundtracks to the movies Drive and It Follows), then I’d recommend the HM soundtrack.

2. The song “Pushing Daisies” by the Pittsburgh band Big Hurry.  Yes, I know this song is from 2011 and the band is probably defunct.  And I don’t care.

3. This song by Jessie Ware.  It’s a contender for my favorite JW song, although my favorite JW music video is still the one for Wildest Moments.  My God, what a voice.

4. The Swapper.  I wish I had more time for videogames.  I’d probably use that time for something else, but it would be nice to have it.  Anyway, I’ve carved out a few hours for this short videogame-with-an-awful-title.  The game is kind of like Portal, except it’s 2D and you have to escape from a doomed space station using a gun that creates clones and swaps your soul between them.  Someone once said that the beauty of mathematics lies in the idea that there is a solution for every problem.  And (unlike in Portal), there’s typically only one solution per puzzle, which creates an odd sort of satisfaction in finding it.  This might seem limiting somehow, but it’s probably necessary, since the puzzles become excruciatingly complex near the end.  But the graphics, atmosphere, and unique gameplay make for a lovely diversion.

SOTC photo from Tarstarkas.net.  Swapper photo from Facepalm games.