Guitar & Video Games

One of my favorite of all time songs is "Guitar & Video Games" by Sunny Day Real Estate. It discusses the nature of men to go out looking for adventure, comparing the ambitions and character flaws of a sailor to that of a young man finding escape in guitar and video games. I've always felt that it's an incredibly profound connection. Herman Melville begins his Moby Dick with, "Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me." Sunny Day Real Estate equates this sentiment, the need to escape to another world with Guitar and Video Games, which have always been mine escapes. So, this lens is about my favorite escapes over the years. Most of them are video games that I used to play, but it's also about songs that I used to play on guitar and the indie bands I would listen to unceasingly.