“Mixtape for the Milky Way – Video Games” by Jeremy Messersmith, is a poignant song about growing up during a specific point in time. Messersmith partnered with artist Eric Power to create an accompanying video that captures that very same poignancy. The collaborative result is a brilliant animation that features the video games that both Messersmith and Power played at the time.
I’ve always loved video games- platformers, RPG’s, puzzlers. Genre doesn’t matter. I play them all. There’s a saying that when you look at a painting you’re really looking at every painting you’ve ever seen. I’ve never “outgrown” video games- they’ve grown with me and have remained a real source of joy and beauty in my life.
The song is available on Messersmith’s album Mixtape for the Milky Way.
Power stated that he and Messersmith grew up playing the same games in the 1980s.
I’ve been playing video games since the mid 80’s when I first got a hold of an Atari. Since then, they have been a part of many cherished memories with friends as well as solo adventures. When we were talking about the making of this video, I asked Jeremy if we should make up our own games or straight up feature the ones we grew up with. We decided to just go for it and each made lists of some of our favorites. This proved to be a very difficult curation, as my intention was not just to show a random selection of games, but to also choose moments within those games that had a particular significance to us while also going hand in hand with the song