Indelible album/movie/game associations

 One of the emails in this week's Bombcast caught my attention. I don't remember the exact wording, but the gist of it was something like: 

"What other experiences (music, movies, etc) are inextricably linked in your mind to the playing of a certain game?" 

I'm sure the real email was less awkwardly worded ... but regardless, here's my list. These items aren't just incidental associations - they're permanently bonded in my memory, like the smell of my parent's house or the lead-in from the FOX fanfare to the Star Wars theme.

List items

• 

  1. Myst

  I never owned Myst, but as a kid I did play it for multiple afternoons at an extended family gathering, as my sisters watched

  <br /><br />

  Muppet Treasure Island

  <br /><br />

  across the room. I believe they watched Muppet Treasure Island multiple times during that trip, and I was probably playing Myst throughout all of the viewings. So there you have it. Myst & Muppet Treasure Island.

• 

  2. Final Fantasy

  I never finished the first Final Fantasy, but I did play an ... obtained ... copy for a pile of hours one summer, while listening to

  <br /><br />

  Starflyer 59 - Leave Here A Stranger

  <br /><br />

  It was my first Starflyer album, and I listened to it on repeat for the duration of my time in FF. I now own all the Starflyer albums and still don't own (and haven't played) any other FF games. Go figure.

• 

  3. Unreal Tournament

  Not my proudest era of music, but I found that

  <br /><br />

  Crystal Method

  <br /><br />

  was by far the most effective soundtrack for fragging bots in UT. I am not sure I could listen to the random collection of Crystal Method mp3s anymore without feeling like I was in a car commercial, but at the time, they fit the mood perfectly. I'd turn on my 5.1 speakers, crank the industrial pop techno whatever, and proceed to annoy everyone within a 3 room radius.

• 

  4. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

  Morrowind will always and forever be linked to

  <br /><br />

  Norah Jones - Come Away With Me

  <br /><br />

  in my mind. To escape the psychologically crushing Ohio winters in college, I'd put on headphones, turn on Come Away With Me, and wander the Morrowind countryside. A remarkably effective way to ease the stress of engineering classes & 40-degree wind chills.