September 12th, Milo Vieira ‘26 contributed to the featured playlists for the 2024-25 school year, the third playlist being made up of rock, metal, and music from soundtracks . The following Friday, Natalia Villafan ‘25 had a conversation with Vieria to learn more about his taste.
FRIDAY 8:45 AM SEPTEMBER 13, 2024
NATALIA VILLAFAN: Milo, looking at your playlist—first off, I noticed that you included songs off of video game and movie soundtracks!
MILO VIEIRA: Yes.
VILLAFAN: I thought that was really interesting, this is only the third playlist and I was really excited, I didn’t think this would come up so early. It also wasn’t until I looked at your playlist that I realized video games and movies songs tend to lean towards metal and rock genres. Have you noticed that, too?
VIEIRA: I’m an idiot, I didn’t notice that too either.
VILLAFAN: Yeah, I thought it was really interesting! And besides the songs included in film and in video games, you just generally have a lot of rock and metal on your playlist. You’ve got Metallica, Gorillaz, Weezer—do you listen to a lot of those genres or is your taste more versatile?
VIEIRA: I listen to those genres.
VILLAFAN: I did notice you have a bit of [Lady] Gaga on here, a little bit of pop!
VIEIRA: I’m just saying, if the playlist wasn’t limited to 12 songs, I would’ve added way more. I would’ve added like Weird Al Yankovic or something.
VILLAFAN: [Laughs] Yeah! Lots of your songs are from the 70s to the 90s, do you tend to listen to music from those decades or do you also listen to current music? I ask because you also had PinkPantheress on there which is fairly recent.
VIEIRA: My limit is the early to late 2010s… actually no. Scratch that—I don’t have a limit is what I’m trying to say.
VILLAFAN: A good half of your songs are from—
VIEIRA: The past?
VILLAFAN: Mhm! And a little bit of early—
VIEIRA: Of modern times.
VILLAFAN: Yeah, early 2000s like [Lady] Gaga and—
VIEIRA: PinkPantheress.
VILLAFAN: Sure, yea. Speaking of genres, besides metal and rock, you do have a bit of funk on here with Earth, Wind & Fire. Do you listen to funk?
VIEIRA: [Shrugs] It’s an occasion.
VILLAFAN: How do you discover your music, besides the video game and movie soundtracks you have on here?
VIEIRA: It’s hard to explain it, actually. A lot of these soundtracks I’ve known since I was 10.
VILLAFAN: Do you get nostalgic with your music? Personally, when I saw Crush 40 on your playlist, that threw me back!
VIEIRA: I’m just saying, Sonic the Hedgehog was at its peak in the early 2000s, when they were still working with Crush 40! Like, if you listen to the modern soundtrack, it’s—it’s alright… I kinda wish they went back to Crush 40.
VILLAFAN: What elements of that do you miss?
VIEIRA: Just the rock & roll. I’m not really much of a ‘techno’ person.
VILLAFAN: Okay! In that same vein—I was really glad to see this on here—
VIEIRA: What?
VILLAFAN: You have The Living Tombstone on here, “Five Nights At Freddy’s”.
VIEIRA: [Laughs] Oh yeah!
VILLAFAN: And—
VIERIA: You did not expect that!
VILLAFAN: —I have listened to that so many times, but I didn’t really know what genre to classify that as. So while I was dissecting your playlist, I took a look at all the genres, so I googled it and it is technically classified as an electronic rock song. So I wanted to ask how the music that video games and movies utilize impacts you. Do you often notice the music in video games?
VIERIA: Yeah I do.
VILLAFAN: How important do you think music is to an overall body of work?
VIERIA: Like 75% important.
VILLAFAN: Why is that?
VIERIA: I just like music a lot… like if I’m fighting a giant robot I want it to sound cool.
VILLAFAN: You want the atmosphere to sound cool.
VIERIA: Yeah the atmosphere, that’s how I should say it.
VILLAFAN: Along with the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” song on here, did you watch the movie?
VIERIA: I did watch the movie, I loved it. I liked how MatPat (a now retired gaming YouTuber) was in the movie.
VILLAFAN: Yeah that was one of my favorite parts!
VIERIA: I saw him and I was like “Oh my god! It’s MatPat!”
VILLAFAN: More on the importance of music in film and video games, in my personal opinion I don’t think Five Nights at Freddy’s would’ve gotten as far had it not been for–
VIERIA: for The Living Tombstone.
VILLAFAN: The Living Tombstone! And not just that–
VIEIRA: But also Markiplier, MatPat–
VILLAFAN: Markiplier, MatPat, CoryxKenshin, it’s all of these creators that have made the game so popular and introducing young people to it, which does make up most of the fanbase.
VIEIRA: Fun fact, I used to think Five Nights at Freddy’s was real when I was in middle school.
VILLAFAN: How did you feel when that song played at the end of the movie during the credits? Because I was ecstatic!
VIEIRA: I was like “Oh my god! Oh my god!”
VILLAFAN: I was so excited, I remember trying to explain the lore to my cousin on the way there, but I don’t think she could fully understand my excitement when MatPat showed up or when that song played at the end.
VIEIRA: Oh yeah!
VILLAFAN: I was so…proud when I heard that song at the end of the movie.
VIEIRA: I felt a wave of nostalgia come across me. I really hope they add “Live & Learn” to the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 soundtrack.
VILLAFAN: That would be [squeal]. Speaking of soundtracks, do you think movies adaptations should make entirely new compositions or should they make references and pay homage to the original soundtracks?
VIEIRA: You mean like new and original songs versus referencing the old ones?
VILLAFAN: Yeah!
VIEIRA: It would be nice to hear “The Touch” being played during Transformers One. I’d say a little bit of both, it’s like if they remade Sonic Adventure 2 but they didn’t add “Live & Learn.” Or remaking Shadow the Hedgehog and not adding “I Am… All of Me.”
VILLAFAN: You mentioned how you just love music–
VIEIRA: Yes.
VILLAFAN: I also love music and I’m the kind of person to listen to movie soundtracks and scores even if I have no interest in watching the movie. For example, Oppenheimer–I’ve never watched it but I’ve listened to the score.
VIEIRA: The score was beautiful!
VILLAFAN: The score was amazing! Are you the kind of person to also do that?
VIEIRA: Listen, I never saw Oppenheimer but I listened to the score–beautiful. It’s beautiful.
VILLAFAN: What do you think about it winning the Academy Award?
VIEIRA: I think it deserved it!
VILLAFAN: The Grammys recently added the Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media in 2023–
VIEIRA: Oh I saw that! It was Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.
VILLAFAN: Yes!
VIEIRA: I didn’t listen to Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla so I can’t really add my opinion on that.
VILLAFAN: Yea, in 2023 Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla won and in 2024 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor won.
VIEIRA: Oh, Jedi: Survivor?
VILLAFAN: Mhm! In 2023 I watched the Grammys Pre Show Ceremony. Now, there’s the ‘actual’ Grammys that everyone talks about, with all the big performances and most of the Pop Awards and the Big Four. And then there’s the Pre Show Ceremony before that, which goes by really fast and includes lots of the alternative music genres, so metal, rock, some country.
VIEIRA: A lot of awards that people don’t really care about then.
VILLAFAN: Yeah, basically. And I believe one of the first awards of the night was the Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games. You seem to understand how important music in video games is, how do you feel knowing that the award was only just added?
VIEIRA: I’m just saying, if the award existed 20 years ago, “Live & Learn” would have won. But this award is still new, I’ll have to wait and see.
VILLAFAN: Do you have to enjoy a videogame before listening to its soundtrack, or do you listen to them anyway?
VIEIRA: It depends if the game is good or not. Like I played Sonic Frontiers and I loved the soundtrack–the game… it was alright.
VILLAFAN: And along with that, fan songs. Fan songs are so beneficial to a fandom’s development and a video game’s success and popularity.
VIEIRA: Some fan songs nowadays are kinda… meh.
VILLAFAN: Do you think they’ve lost their touch? I mean, The Living Tombstone is iconic!
VIEIRA: Yeah! They did numbers in 2014!
VILLAFAN: I can’t think of anything that’s had an impact like theirs, nothing recent.
VIEIRA: No, neither can I.
VILLAFAN: You’ve got “Turn it up” by PinkPantheress on here.
VIEIRA: Yeah!
VILLAFAN: That’s more of an R&B song, and PinkPantheress is based in the UK.
VIEIRA: Thank you the UK for PinkPantheress.
VILLAFAN: What made that song stand out to you?
VIEIRA: To be completely honest, I was rushing to make the playlist. But I do love PinkPantheress, I think she’s a great artist. I should’ve added “Pain” in there.
VILLAFAN: Are you the type of person to do a deep dive on artists and listen to their whole discography, or do you just listen to the songs that stick out to you?
VIEIRA: What sticks out to me.
VILLAFAN: You also have a couple Billy Joel songs on here, do you listen to a lot of Billy Joel?
VIEIRA: I like Billy Joel. Ever since I watched The Boys, I’ve started to like Billy Joel.
VILLAFAN: What are your top three songs you included on your playlist?
VIEIRA: I would say “Live & Learn,” “The Touch,” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” That was the first Billy Joel song I listened to!
VILLAFAN: And it made you like him? What about the song?
VIEIRA: I just like the rhythm.
VILLAFAN: What are three words you’d use to describe your overall taste in music?
VIEIRA: That’s good–that’s a good question… ‘Dora the Explorer.’
VILLAFAN: [Laugh] Wait, are you serious?
VIEIRA: I tend to expand my horizons.
VILLAFAN: [In Shock] Wait… that’s actually good, I thought you were messing with me. That’s kinda amazing, wow. Since you listen to a lot of soundtracks, do you think lyrics are important to a song?
VIEIRA:
If you’re trying to convey a story or some form of message, then yes I think it’s important. But if you’re making a song just for it to be catchy, lyrics don’t matter that much.
VILLAFAN: Alright, for my last question… Do you want to finish the lyric?
VIEIRA: Sure!
VILLAFAN: Okay! I won’t tell you the song but it’s from your playlist! We’re forced to be still and play / The same songs we’ve known since that day.
VIEIRA: “Five Nights at Freddy’s” by The Living Tombstone! Uhh An imposter took our life away / Now we’re stuck here to decay.
VILLAFAN: Yay! That’s it! Thank you!
The Songs Milo Vieira included in his playlist are;
- Stan Bush’s “The Touch” from Transformers The Movie, 1986.
- PinkPantheress’ “Turn it up,” 2024.
- Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” with Colby O’Donis off The Fame, 2008.
- Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland” off I Am, 1979.
- Crush 40’s “I Am… All of Me” off the Shadow the Hedgehog Official Soundtrack, 2006.
- Gorillaz’s “Feel Good Inc.” off Demon Days, 2005.
- Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” off Storm Front, 1989.
- Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” off Ride The Lightning, 1984.
- The Living Tombstone’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” 2014.
- Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” off Weezer, 1994.
- Crush 40’s “Live & Learn” off the Sonic Adventure 2 Soundtrack, 2001.
- Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” off An Innocent Man, 1983.
