What A Thrill
October 22, 2020 8:50 AM Subscribe
Kotaku writer Ash Parrish capped off an article discussing the sublime theme to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater with a request for the singer, Cynthia Harrell, to contact her to discuss the song further.
Then, she managed to track Ms Harrell down, using her photo from the cover of the single of "I Am The Wind" from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
Parrish's interview with Harrell goes over her long career in music, singing backup both with her family and solo, and her friendship with Konami music director Rika Muranaka, leading to her two video game credits for "I Am The Wind" and "Snake Eater".
Parrish's interview with Harrell goes over her long career in music, singing backup both with her family and solo, and her friendship with Konami music director Rika Muranaka, leading to her two video game credits for "I Am The Wind" and "Snake Eater".
I’m not a gamer so I have little understanding what they’re talking about, but what a lovely heartwarming story! I loved it.
posted by brambleboy at 9:28 AM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by brambleboy at 9:28 AM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
I believe Ashley Parrish goes by she, as a correction.
posted by CrystalDave at 9:28 AM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by CrystalDave at 9:28 AM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've never played that game, knew nothing about the song, and yet this post just warmed my heart, this drizzly Iowa day. Thank you.
posted by Caxton1476 at 9:29 AM on October 22, 2020
posted by Caxton1476 at 9:29 AM on October 22, 2020
The best song to climb a massive ladder to.
posted by Philipschall at 9:32 AM on October 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Philipschall at 9:32 AM on October 22, 2020 [5 favorites]
That ladder climb was so amazing, thanks to this song.
Honestly, when I played it, I expected the singer - big boss perhaps? - to be waiting for me at the top of the ladder. Nothing. Gave me shivers.
I think it's time to replay this game, if I can find it on HD for the pc
posted by rebent at 11:59 AM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
Honestly, when I played it, I expected the singer - big boss perhaps? - to be waiting for me at the top of the ladder. Nothing. Gave me shivers.
I think it's time to replay this game, if I can find it on HD for the pc
posted by rebent at 11:59 AM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]
🎵Somedays you walk in the rain
Somedays you feed on a tree frog 🎶
posted by dismas at 12:15 PM on October 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
Somedays you feed on a tree frog 🎶
posted by dismas at 12:15 PM on October 22, 2020 [3 favorites]
I'm embarrassed to admit that I once had assumed the singer in the VGO Snake Eater video was the original singer.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 3:27 PM on October 22, 2020
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 3:27 PM on October 22, 2020
Great song and wonderful story! Metal Gear gamers, do you have any idea who the "speaker" is, game-characterwise, in the song? I even spent some time poring over the Metal Gear Wiki to see if I could figure it out, but I couldn't. It doesn't seem to be the "Boss," who is in eternal love with "The Sorrow."
posted by taz at 8:02 AM on October 24, 2020
posted by taz at 8:02 AM on October 24, 2020
While The Boss is romantically attached to The Sorrow, she shows parental love to Snake, who is her protégé. So in that sense, it being a song from her to him makes sense, especially given her ultimate sacrifice to him at the end. (This also adds a layer of meaning to the final fight of MGS 4 - you have The Boss' biological son (Ocelot) fighting her grandson by training (Snake) to see who will be the one to truly inherit the mantle.)
posted by NoxAeternum at 5:21 PM on October 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by NoxAeternum at 5:21 PM on October 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
I always assumed that, since MGS3 has an underlying theme of deconstructing and satirizing the structure of Cold War spy thrillers (especially in the direction of James Bond) that the song's perspective belonged to EVA.
Bond movie themes, when they were sung by women, usually took the perspective of the romantic lead. And by the end of the game EVA had become so fascinated Snake and his mentor/romantic entanglement with Snake that she wound up volunteering to be the foster mother for Solid and Liquid in the Les Enfants Terrible project.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 12:23 PM on October 25, 2020
Bond movie themes, when they were sung by women, usually took the perspective of the romantic lead. And by the end of the game EVA had become so fascinated Snake and his mentor/romantic entanglement with Snake that she wound up volunteering to be the foster mother for Solid and Liquid in the Les Enfants Terrible project.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 12:23 PM on October 25, 2020
The Women of Metal Gear Solid (Part 3) [archived] on the Hathor Legacy really captured why The Boss is such a legendary character, and ultimately the one whose actions determined the entire arc of the series.
Behind Every Great Man – Metal Gear Solid’s “the Boss” May Be the Greatest (and Most Overlooked) Female Game Character in Existence
posted by Apocryphon at 10:59 PM on October 25, 2020
Behind Every Great Man – Metal Gear Solid’s “the Boss” May Be the Greatest (and Most Overlooked) Female Game Character in Existence
posted by Apocryphon at 10:59 PM on October 25, 2020
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posted by hanov3r at 9:20 AM on October 22, 2020