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I reviewed The Sims 3 and bated the gods to answer. Did you hear it? Whatever the case, here's the whole story about the song that drew back the curtain on the games life plays with us.
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Here I am in my new studio, enjoying the south facing window and sunlight streaming in. But lets talk about my Sims 3 song. It offered me the biggest range of ideas I could draw on, so I really appreciated that. I liked the idea of the game getting into the hands of aliens who think this is what humanity is really like. But in the end that was too difficult and decided to go with the song being a Sims character complaining to god about his life.
The inspiration for the song this time came as much from my various instruments as any particular artists. I used my favoured Zither quite a lot, it's just so great for making loads of little tunes to get a riff going. Very different inspiration to the guitar. The according also made an appearance this time.
I wanted the song to convey anger and powerlessness at our "lot" in life. Moments where we all feel that life is unfair. In the game its fun to see you characters going through hard times and this got me thinking, maybe that's what's going on in real life too. That someone "up there" is orchestrating our dramas for their entertainment.
Then, or course, there was the muffin controversy, which I hadn't really thought about beforehand. I just liked eating chocolate muffins while I was playing it, so they got included in the lyrics.
It is a song I like, although I can't listen to it that often because it is a little shrill. I hope you enjoy my slightly lower acoustic reworking and see you next time for Madworld, Charlie Brooker and BBC madness.
'Dear God are you there? My name is Hank Bodaire. You created me yesterday, to live in sunset valley. Dear God is it fair, that you can tint the ends of my hair And expand my waist inch by inch, until it’s really quite distinctive? You made me a miserable sod so that you could watch me screw it up You made me a miserable sod so that you could watch me, so you could watch me I see you, I see you, I see you sitting in your chair You're doing nothing, you're doing nothing, you're eating muffins And laughing at Hank Bodaire We see you, there’s a camera here too I'll haunt you if you kill me off Oh where is your love? Dear God what kind of God are you, you can't even change the weather Or give me a pet, or cure my need for sleep Dear God I must admit, I love this city, and the chance to roam free And move so gracefully You made my lifetime’s wish to become a master thief You made my lifetime’s wish so that you could be mean, so you could be mean I see you, I see you, I see you sitting in your chair Always complaining, it’s too expensive to buy expansion packs for Hank Bodaire We see you, there’s a camera here too I'll haunt you if you kill me off Oh where is your love? One day, one day we'll meet, dear God'
Rebecca Mayes writes the Rebecca Mayes Live column.
"I'm going to take you on a trip down memory lane, into the cartoon rabbit hole I fell into writing little songs about videogames."
Here are the games I've been playing recently:
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