Comment from Hacker News - "I am not a gamer, so I encountered Christopher Tin's Civ IV soundtrack in an audio Humble Bundle, of all things. It's seriously among my all-time favorite albums. Tin followed that project with the phenomenal "The Drop that Contained the Sea", another song cycle that's every bit as incredible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVwIvlc5eOY "
I agree wholeheartedly, this music should be widely known and embraced:
Regarding Sogno di Volare, I am unashamed to say that this song made my cry, but not for the beauty of the song per se. Rather, my emotions stem from the origin of the lyrics: they are adapted from the writings of Leonardo Da Vinci. "Okay," you might say, "why did that make you cry?" He wrote these lyrics, about the unparalleled joy that one would experience after the dream of manned flight had been achieved, just before attempting such a flight on the slopes of Mount Ceceri near Florence. The test was of course a failure, and Da Vinci died long before man achieved that vision, and in his time he perhaps thought himself a failure in that domain. My emotions come from the tragic bittersweetness of that irony, his striving, his failure, his not knowing that he would be canonized as one of the most brilliant minds of all time and his words put to music played by orchestras around the world.
Listening to this music while working has paradoxical outcomes - one the one hand it inspires me to work hard on inspiring projects, but on the other it's so good I get distracted listening to the music and I can't focus on work
Yes I share that with you. I pause sometimes and just take in the beauty, no visuals just sheer joy... Other times watching the musicians is as much a lift as listening to the music.
"It wasn’t just a song, it was a call to reflect on what it means to be human." A critical question: the more powerful technology becomes, the more resolutely we have to define what it means to be (a) human. Thank you for the run-down on Sid Meier - I've never been a gamer so it's new to me.
Humanity evolves, but people such as Harari and many tech power brokers seem to think we will merge with the machine. I dislike this idea so much! We need to be quite clear on this and, yes, you are right, define what it means to be human... Sid Meier's games are very educational - see the comment by Justin below. And the symphonies so deep and meaningful - hope that you enjoy them.
I have a visceral reaction against the whole ocncept of humans merging with the machine. Though with cars and gadgets and internet, etc, we seem to have already merged at one level, (communication).
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. Aside from the music, Sid Meier’s games managed to inspire me to learn - his Gettysburg made me such a Civil War nerd that I could name individual regiment commanders.
These games were truly unique in their combination of addictiveness, fun, and inspiration.
This is a great take on his influence - "Sid Meier’s games managed to inspire me to learn." Superb example with Gettysburg, and such a strong case that shows young minds are not wasted on gaming!
Funnily enough, the soundtracks to Civilization are some of the only music I can listen to when concentrating, normally I need total silence, to write, read or prepare work related content... but these symphonies somehow strengthen my thinking, rather than disrupt.
Comment from Hacker News - "I am not a gamer, so I encountered Christopher Tin's Civ IV soundtrack in an audio Humble Bundle, of all things. It's seriously among my all-time favorite albums. Tin followed that project with the phenomenal "The Drop that Contained the Sea", another song cycle that's every bit as incredible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVwIvlc5eOY "
I agree wholeheartedly, this music should be widely known and embraced:
https://www.christophertin.com/music.html
Have just been watching & listening to those two links - great, thank you.
Link for the Beyond Earth tracks directs to Civ VI music.
Think it should probably go here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXH-VPrUjBs)
Also, I don't think Zimmer worked on Beyond Earth? He isn't listed in the wikipedia page.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_Civilization_series#Civilization:_Beyond_Earth)
Good catch with 6 thank you. That is a beautiful rendition.
I had originally connected Zimmer with Winter's Tale, you are right not Beyond Earth. Thank you, I modified the link
I am very partial to the theme from Civ V Gods and Kings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGgDCFa6hpM
Regarding Sogno di Volare, I am unashamed to say that this song made my cry, but not for the beauty of the song per se. Rather, my emotions stem from the origin of the lyrics: they are adapted from the writings of Leonardo Da Vinci. "Okay," you might say, "why did that make you cry?" He wrote these lyrics, about the unparalleled joy that one would experience after the dream of manned flight had been achieved, just before attempting such a flight on the slopes of Mount Ceceri near Florence. The test was of course a failure, and Da Vinci died long before man achieved that vision, and in his time he perhaps thought himself a failure in that domain. My emotions come from the tragic bittersweetness of that irony, his striving, his failure, his not knowing that he would be canonized as one of the most brilliant minds of all time and his words put to music played by orchestras around the world.
That's profound and beautiful Scott. The theme from Civilization V: Gods & Kings is rich with meaning, beautiful lyrics again with such history.
I understand you with Da Vinci and the poignancy of his lyrics and dream of flight. You enrich the history with your description. Thank you.
Listening to this music while working has paradoxical outcomes - one the one hand it inspires me to work hard on inspiring projects, but on the other it's so good I get distracted listening to the music and I can't focus on work
Yes I share that with you. I pause sometimes and just take in the beauty, no visuals just sheer joy... Other times watching the musicians is as much a lift as listening to the music.
"It wasn’t just a song, it was a call to reflect on what it means to be human." A critical question: the more powerful technology becomes, the more resolutely we have to define what it means to be (a) human. Thank you for the run-down on Sid Meier - I've never been a gamer so it's new to me.
Humanity evolves, but people such as Harari and many tech power brokers seem to think we will merge with the machine. I dislike this idea so much! We need to be quite clear on this and, yes, you are right, define what it means to be human... Sid Meier's games are very educational - see the comment by Justin below. And the symphonies so deep and meaningful - hope that you enjoy them.
I have a visceral reaction against the whole ocncept of humans merging with the machine. Though with cars and gadgets and internet, etc, we seem to have already merged at one level, (communication).
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. Aside from the music, Sid Meier’s games managed to inspire me to learn - his Gettysburg made me such a Civil War nerd that I could name individual regiment commanders.
These games were truly unique in their combination of addictiveness, fun, and inspiration.
This is a great take on his influence - "Sid Meier’s games managed to inspire me to learn." Superb example with Gettysburg, and such a strong case that shows young minds are not wasted on gaming!
Funnily enough, the soundtracks to Civilization are some of the only music I can listen to when concentrating, normally I need total silence, to write, read or prepare work related content... but these symphonies somehow strengthen my thinking, rather than disrupt.