Hindsight

From: Joel Hardy (xxxx@xxxxxxx)
Subject: Request: humret.xm
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: alt.binaries.sounds.mods
Date: 1997/12/15

A long time ago (I think back when I was on AOL),
I found a mod, and to the best of my memory, it was
called "The Humble Return", HUMRET.XM, by J. Wong.
If anybody has it and would post it or email it to me,
I'd be very grateful :)

--
Joel Hardy (xxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx)
--

I found this message through GoogleGroups today after my friend e-mailed me old music I used to “create” on my old Windows computer in the early 90′s. I had a 486DX/33mhz processor at the time. I think I had 16MB of RAM.

A very long time ago I used to mess with a music tracking software program caled “FastTracker II” It looked very cool and it was such a blast to work with. And I don’t even know how to write music.

Today a high school buddy e-mailed me three tracks I made. I found my final composition online at someone’s web page, which is quite the surprise. Someone found my file? I think I uploaded it to a music newsgroup once but it was so long ago.

As far as I know, these files are playable in the latest version of Winamp. They are .XM files. Consider them MIDI files of sorts, except that the samples are built into the file so it sounds the same across sound cards.

I made these files sometime between 1993 and 1995.
Download file: old_xm_comps.zip

myung.xm
This is the Myung Theme for the animation Macross Plus by Kanno. I listened to the CD I had and tried to filter out each melody/harmony (is that even the right word?). By doing this I was able to mimic the original song – only with a ambient -styled instrument.

cybercor.xm
Generic techno track I created just to see if I could arrange something. The main notes sound like Rob Dougan’s stuff for The Matrix. Except I did this what, in 1993? I consider it a “generic” theme – it’s easy to create a mood.

cfodder.xm
Another test. This song belongs to a shareware game that was released a long time ago, I just made my own arrangement. Yet another test.

humret.zip
The Humble Return. This was probably my first serious composition. Near the end it borrows from some electronica at the time, but the other stuff tries to be original. I didn’t really have any reference. I just tried to make it sound richer by adding more instruments. I worked with 12 channels supposedly on this one.

Realize that I don’t know how to make music. I started with empty tracks, ripped out samples from other .XM files and made the arrangements myself. Thinking about how I pulled it off back then, perhaps I should start doing it again soon. It was so much fun creating sound like that.

I’ve been listening to all the albums I never paid attention to all that much. Some Mogwai, a full listen of the FF X-2 Original Soundtrack (which is actually quite good) and Do As Infinity for Japanese measure. Of course, a little bit of Boards of Canada for comfort.

Last week brought in the ultimate in humidity. With tsuyu (rainy season) in effect, the mornings and afternoons are gloomy. Right now the air is off (my apartment AC is weak and has been on almost all day) and my hands feel a warmth that is only present because of the outside air. Summer isn’t even in Japan yet. Scary.

What did I do this weekend…. I woke up earlier than usual Saturday morning because dad had called just to update me on things back home. I got my boarding pass to Bangkok mid-week. The end is starting to show form. I’m getting worried, but as I always say: nothing out of the ordinary.

Viva helped me at noon to carry some boxes to the post office. It was horribly expensive to ship things home, but it had to be done. All that remains are two boxes – my Drummania set (packaged, wrapped and ready to go) and that box in the picture. That’s it.

My Gamecube, Midnight Blue PlayStation 2…. everything got scanned at “Foreign Acceptance” in Akita, Japan today and is on probably on a plane to California. What remains are a spattering of devices: my Game Boy Advance SP, iPod, this laptop and my digital camera (of course).

I’ve become quite the gadget freak living in Japan, and I have no regrets about shelling out the cash for it. So far the iPod and my Powershot are the best purchases I’ve made – they get used a heck of a lot.

I’ll stop talking about techno lust.

I didn’t go out Saturday night to a high school ALTs birthday party – I hit reclusive mode, tired from the days packing and shipping. I just wanted to be alone.

My apartment is starting to look like I’ve never been here. Or it looks as if I’ve first arrived here – the kotatsu table sits in the middle of the TV room. No consoles. Empty spaces.

Apartment 206 is just about ready for its successor to move his things in. This time it’s Jon, who will start moving his things from his half-sized apartment next Sunday.

I’m up late – part of me doesn’t want any sleep. I guess I’m starting to worry about what awaits me (or rather, what won’t) back home. I feel like when I return I’ll be slightly askew. Maybe I won’t be the same to friends back home. Maybe I’ll spring back to what I once was. I’m actually afraid of that.

There was no sign of Independence Day at Chiyo JHS. I almost forgot that it was *the* July 4th.

Morning – I spent the entire ride on the highway bus memorizing my school staff farewell speech. It went well considering I stood in front of everyone without the piece of paper in my hand. I was a nervous wreck, but the speech went well – people seemed impressed with my words. I have to thank Uchikawa sensei, the school’s social studies teacher. A few days earlier while going over my speech she said “…the nuance is chigau”. I am grateful to her and to Viva and Yoshida-sensei as well for going through “drafts”.

The kids were running about redeeming their “James dollars” earned from earlier English games. I had postcards, stickers (or “seals” as they are better known here) and some other goodies they could buy if they had the bucks.

Sixth period was the “surprise” fire drill. Because of the rain, everyone was directed to the gym (as opposed to outdoors, as usual). After the drill, I was asked to speak to the students. I had a speech ready and, although I had to read it, I managed to not shake too much.

Shigetomi (pictured closest to me) has been so sweet the past few weeks. When I told her I was leaving a few weeks ago she would respond “Iyada! James. Dame.” She’d come by my desk like I was one of the other tenured staffers, which really made me feel at home.

I said my many goodbyes, some obviously more meaningful than others. I shook the hands of students after my speech in the gym. I shook more hands in the staff room.

During all of these moments I didn’t shed a tear. However….

Takeuchi sensei presented me with a booklet with all of the 1-nensei students’ goodbye messages, a mix of Japanese and their recently-studied English. Yoshida sensei’s 2-nensei classes gave me booklets too. Each of her classes gave me a booklet, stood up and said “Thank you for your interesting English class!”

What really got to me were the messages written to me. The questions.

“Can we teach English with you again?”

“Can we meet with you again? I hope to see you again. What are you going to do?”

June pictures are online.

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