This song has been stuck in my head for almost 24 hours now...
The majority of this post is under a cut, since it contains spoilers for the computer game Portal (which is part of Valve's The Orange Box set). Basically, it gives away the ending of the game. So, if you are currently playing Portal, or if you anticipate playing it in the future, you might not want to read this post. Of course, I'm told that this song is one of the most popular things on the Internet right now (who knew? I lead such a sheltered life...), so you may have already heard it regardless.
What I will say, though, in the "not under the cut" part of this post, is that I believe that my new mantra in life has to be, "But there's no sense crying over every mistake, you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake..." :-)
I warn you, if you view/listen to this, it'll be stuck in your head too, and you'll have no one but yourself to blame... :-)
OK, so the video embedded below is the ending scene and credits of Portal. In order to "get it", you need some background about the game - there's plenty of that here, but briefly (and coming from someone who's never actually played it - though now I think I have to...), the story takes place in a "nearly post-apocalyptic" time period (from what I can tell, something very, very bad begins happening in the "outside world" during the timeframe of the game), and follows the main character named Chell. She finds herself in the abandoned research facility of Aperture Science Laboratories, in the facility's "Enrichment Center" where she's apparently being subjected to some kind of "testing", and where she discovers a device called the "Portal Gun" which seems to be able to open wormholes to other places. While the facility appears to be abandoned, it seems to be still operational, and the only other entity in the facility seems to be an omnipresent, artificially intelligent computer called "GLaDOS" (for "Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System"), which is ostensibly trying to help her. The computer has some quirks. For starters, it's obsessed with cake (i.e., the pastry), and it promises a reward of "cake and grief counseling" upon successful completion of the testing. The computer's obsession with cake turns out to be the least of Chell's annoyances. As we discover as the game progresses, GLaDOS is actually quite psychotic (shades of HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey"), has in the past killed the entire staff of the research facility, is trying to kill Chell, and obviously has no intenton of ever letting her leave. As the game reaches it's climax, and it appears that Chell might actually escape, GLaDOS becomes more unhinged, and begins trying to convince Chell to abandon her escape plan, promising that cake will be served if she does. In the end, Chell finds a way to destroy GLaDOS, and make good her escape. Which leads to this end-game scene, and the voice of GLaDOS singing this song over the closing credits, and some other stuff (I suggest that you view this full-screen, as there's stuff going on in the scene that you need to see well to fully appreciate, and it's blurry to begin with)...
Very, very creepy... :-)
The song "Still Alive" was written by Jonathan Coulton, and performed by Ellen McLain, an opera soprano and voice actress who also provides the voice of GLaDOS within the game, and has worked on a number of other Valve games (including all of the games in The Orange Box set).
Since it's so difficult to read the lyrics from the video, I shall reproduce them here. Partly to make it easier to sing along (its weird, but it's very difficult to resist the temptation to sing along with this...), and partly since maybe writing them down will stop them from looping in my head continually, as they have been since last night...
This was a triumph
I'm making a note here:
HUGE SUCCESS
It's hard to overstate
my satisfaction.
Aperture Science
We do what we must
Because we can
For the good of all of us
Except the ones who are dead.
But there's no sense crying
over every mistake
You just keep on trying
till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done
And you make a neat gun
For the people who are still alive.
I'm not even angry.
I'm being *so* sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because
I was so happy for you!
Now these points of data
make a beautiful line
And we're out of beta
We're releasing on time.
So I'm GLaD I got burned
Think of all the things we learned
for the people who are
still alive.
Go ahead and leave me.
I think I prefer to stay inside.
Maybe you'll find someone else
to help you.
Maybe Black Mesa...
THAT WAS A JOKE - HA HA! - FAT CHANCE
Anyway, this cake is great
It's so delicious and moist.
Look at me still talking
when there's Science to do
When I look out there
it makes me GLaD I'm not you.
I've experiments to run.
There is research to be done.
On the people who are still alive.
And believe me, I am
still alive...
I'm doing Science and I'm
still alive...
I feel FANTASTIC and I'm
still alive...
While you're dying I'll be
still alive.
And when you're dead I will be
still alive.
STILL ALIVE
Still alive.
I also found some GLaDOS quotes from the game here, which makes me want to play this game even more...
What I will say, though, in the "not under the cut" part of this post, is that I believe that my new mantra in life has to be, "But there's no sense crying over every mistake, you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake..." :-)
I warn you, if you view/listen to this, it'll be stuck in your head too, and you'll have no one but yourself to blame... :-)
OK, so the video embedded below is the ending scene and credits of Portal. In order to "get it", you need some background about the game - there's plenty of that here, but briefly (and coming from someone who's never actually played it - though now I think I have to...), the story takes place in a "nearly post-apocalyptic" time period (from what I can tell, something very, very bad begins happening in the "outside world" during the timeframe of the game), and follows the main character named Chell. She finds herself in the abandoned research facility of Aperture Science Laboratories, in the facility's "Enrichment Center" where she's apparently being subjected to some kind of "testing", and where she discovers a device called the "Portal Gun" which seems to be able to open wormholes to other places. While the facility appears to be abandoned, it seems to be still operational, and the only other entity in the facility seems to be an omnipresent, artificially intelligent computer called "GLaDOS" (for "Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System"), which is ostensibly trying to help her. The computer has some quirks. For starters, it's obsessed with cake (i.e., the pastry), and it promises a reward of "cake and grief counseling" upon successful completion of the testing. The computer's obsession with cake turns out to be the least of Chell's annoyances. As we discover as the game progresses, GLaDOS is actually quite psychotic (shades of HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey"), has in the past killed the entire staff of the research facility, is trying to kill Chell, and obviously has no intenton of ever letting her leave. As the game reaches it's climax, and it appears that Chell might actually escape, GLaDOS becomes more unhinged, and begins trying to convince Chell to abandon her escape plan, promising that cake will be served if she does. In the end, Chell finds a way to destroy GLaDOS, and make good her escape. Which leads to this end-game scene, and the voice of GLaDOS singing this song over the closing credits, and some other stuff (I suggest that you view this full-screen, as there's stuff going on in the scene that you need to see well to fully appreciate, and it's blurry to begin with)...
Click to viewVery, very creepy... :-)
The song "Still Alive" was written by Jonathan Coulton, and performed by Ellen McLain, an opera soprano and voice actress who also provides the voice of GLaDOS within the game, and has worked on a number of other Valve games (including all of the games in The Orange Box set).
Since it's so difficult to read the lyrics from the video, I shall reproduce them here. Partly to make it easier to sing along (its weird, but it's very difficult to resist the temptation to sing along with this...), and partly since maybe writing them down will stop them from looping in my head continually, as they have been since last night...
This was a triumph
I'm making a note here:
HUGE SUCCESS
It's hard to overstate
my satisfaction.
Aperture Science
We do what we must
Because we can
For the good of all of us
Except the ones who are dead.
But there's no sense crying
over every mistake
You just keep on trying
till you run out of cake.
And the Science gets done
And you make a neat gun
For the people who are still alive.
I'm not even angry.
I'm being *so* sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart.
And killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because
I was so happy for you!
Now these points of data
make a beautiful line
And we're out of beta
We're releasing on time.
So I'm GLaD I got burned
Think of all the things we learned
for the people who are
still alive.
Go ahead and leave me.
I think I prefer to stay inside.
Maybe you'll find someone else
to help you.
Maybe Black Mesa...
THAT WAS A JOKE - HA HA! - FAT CHANCE
Anyway, this cake is great
It's so delicious and moist.
Look at me still talking
when there's Science to do
When I look out there
it makes me GLaD I'm not you.
I've experiments to run.
There is research to be done.
On the people who are still alive.
And believe me, I am
still alive...
I'm doing Science and I'm
still alive...
I feel FANTASTIC and I'm
still alive...
While you're dying I'll be
still alive.
And when you're dead I will be
still alive.
STILL ALIVE
Still alive.
I also found some GLaDOS quotes from the game here, which makes me want to play this game even more...