NiGHTs - i first played NiGHTs journey of dreams on the wii in elementary school. i was obsessed with it and NiGHTs was my imaginary friend for a while. in 2021, my girlfriend gifted me a sega saturn with a 3d multi controller, NiGHTs into dreams, and christmas NiGHTs. i still need to fully play both! into dreams definitely looks better imo, but i think i might like playing journey just cuz im more familiar with it. i wish i could visit the dream gate irl every night. i also love the music in both games. the music helps the environments feel so much more dream-like, i love it. NiGHTs' character designs is also just one of my favorites of all time. theyre so cool!

splatoon - i started getting into them right at the end of 2017 before gumboot soup came out. that's probably why those five 2017 albums are still the best imo. not to forget nonagon infinity, which was the first one i heard and is still probably my favorite. ive been to their shows twice and they were awesome both times. very different shows though, one was in philly in 2018 and was just perfect setlist wise. the other was in 2019 in asheville right after infest the rats nest came out and the crowd was definitely a lot rougher but it was still so much fun. they used some of my video clips in this vid too :) i got a bit burnt out on them as theyve released so much stuff, but i still go back to their albums from 2014-2017 albums quite a bit.

psychonauts - in 2019(?) i was in college and two friends invited me to go to a small show machine girl was playing at but i had to stay in a study for an exam. i always wish i had gone, but i believe the show was cut short by the cops anyways. ive listened to them a lot ever since then. gemini and reporpoised phantasies will probably always be my favorites, but u-void synthesizer got me thru some bad times in 2020. ive seen them live three times, but my fave was seeing them for halloween in 2022 in brooklyn. i will take any opportunity to see them live, its so much fun. in 2020 i submitted some vids that got into their global fandemic set and in 2022 i was a winner of their art competition where my art was used on some machine girl mtg cards (which i cant find the picture of..)

sonic adventure - sometime in 2015/16 my friend showed me two fan made videos for retrovertigo and pink cigarette. later that year i think i saw some video that used stubb - a dub and was like ohhh i love this band. california is my favorite album by them, closely followed by the self titled. i found promotional cd copies of those two albums and disco volante at a thrift store one time. that's probably my best haul other than the time i found ssb melee for $1. the record store near my college campus had a mr bungle tape, california vinyl, and the cd/calendar book suspended animation by fantomas (super group including 2 bungle members) which has art by Yoshitomo Nara (all of which i copped and treasure dearly).

the legend of zelda: majora's mask - i first started listening to the aquabats in 2014 when i was really into mega64, who would talk about them a lot. they were actually the first big show i ever went to and i got to meet all of them. my dad took me and my friend and actually ended up really liking some of their stuff and he still listens to the legend is true and sequence erase to this day. their music and aesthetic is just so fun. the tv show is really cool as well, i love all the villains they fight. my favorite album is either the aquabats vs the floating eye of death or myths legends and other amazing adventures vol 2. i hope i get to see them again soon.

earthbound - my first memory of a talking heads song is listening to burning down the house in the car on the way to the beach with a friend in elementary school. a good friend of mine gave me a burned cd of sand in the vaseline in high school that i would listen to in my car. i listed to pull up the rootson repeat for a long car ride in college. i listened to this must be the place a ton during quarantine when i would just drive around. i guess most of the times ive listened to them have been in the car. its good traveling music. i saw stop making sense twice last year in the theater and i think its just one of my favorite movies. their music just makes me so happy.

rhythm heaven - my first memory of a talking heads song is listening to burning down the house in the car on the way to the beach with a friend in elementary school. a good friend of mine gave me a burned cd of sand in the vaseline in high school that i would listen to in my car. i listed to pull up the rootson repeat for a long car ride in college. i listened to this must be the place a ton during quarantine when i would just drive around. i guess most of the times ive listened to them have been in the car. its good traveling music. i saw stop making sense twice last year in the theater and i think its just one of my favorite movies. their music just makes me so happy.