Sometimes when I was 9, I would just open build mode in The Sims 1 and just listen to the melancholy tones of “Under Construction”. When listing to this song, my brain becomes a hyperactive sponge.
#Sims 1 iso iso
Something about the way the marimba riffs of the jazz piano really gets those brain juices flowing, especially in iso when there very little mental stimulation. But “Neighbourhood” is the one exception to that rule. I can’t read and listen to music at the same time. Whether you’re vacuuming your bedroom for the third time in a day, or staring pensively out the window waiting for the the mail to arrive, “Now Entering” is that upbeat-neutral soundtrack we all need to make passing the time feel less pathetic. Now this is elevator music you can bop your bussy to. Let’s dissect the sound of Bella Goth’s prime years song-by-song. It’s escapism, reminiscing, and hope all in one.
Perhaps it’s because this soundtrack evokes memories of social interaction, the freedom to move around your neighbourhood, and a nostalgia for the pre-pandemic days of our childhoods, that it has stuck such a chord for me during iso. If The Sims sets out to encapsulate what it means to be human, then this is the soundtrack to our humanity. The Sims (Original Soundtrack) is a genre-transcendent album which has a huge title to live up to.
Just the original, the the one-and-only, the classic, which I will henceforth refer to as: The Sims 1. None of the occasionally-batshit expansion packs either. Not The Sims 2, and most definitely not The Sims 3 or 4. The only thing keeping me sane, productive and upbeat during isolation is the soundtrack of my childhood.