It’s been several weeks since my last Burnes’ Turns entry, and in that time I’ve been exposed to a number of great tracks in the multitude of video games I’ve been revisiting and experiencing for the first time. I don’t own any of them, but count pretty much every track that appears in a Bethesda-helmed Halo title in addition to the tracks listed below.

1. “Little Sister” – Nico
   The Velvet Underground and Nico was a mixed bag of an album ranging from screechingly horrific to stunningly beautiful, but from “Heroin” to “Venus in Furs” to “Femme Fatale,” nothing on the album tops what Nico and Lou Reed accomplished with “Little Sister,” a hauntingly beautiful, tear-jerking love letter to a younger sibling from an older one running away with her lover. Nico often falls off a cliff of weirdness with her recordings, but every once in a while, she was capable of creating a masterpiece. This was one of those times.
2. “Drive” – The Cars
   Ever since I was first exposed to The Cars’ comeback single “Sad Song” in 2011, I was a fan. But in their ’80s prime, they never cut anything better than this dreamy heart-wrencher that can provide a sense of nostalgia and simultaneous regret about a lost flame regardless of which decade we’re in.
3. “Nuvema Town” – Shota Kageyama
   The Pokemon series is known for its addicting gameplay much more often than its stirring melodies, but Black and White (which I recently reviewed here at The Soundtrack Online) has some truly fantastic music composed by the great Shota Kageyama. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but “Nuvema Town” is pulling on my heartstrings the most as of this writing.
4. “Sky Above, Voice Within” – Jeremy Soule
   As I post this, there are probably thousands of people across the country listening to this, perhaps the most stirring track from Jeremy Soule’s Skyrim masterworks, as they play through the newly released remastered version of the classic 2011 game. You probably can’t hear it here, but search it up on YouTube and prepare to be blown away
5. “California Grrls” – Shark?
   Recently, Sean and I have been revisiting Grand Theft Auto V in our free time. It’s no secret that that game has one of the greatest licensed soundtracks of all time. On my last playthrough I was introduced to a number of great early-’00s Rap classics from Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. This time, I was struck by the bitter swagger displayed in this track where the vocalist groans about how much he hates California Girls. I can understand that.

For more playlists, including my master Burnes’ Turns playlist that contains over 2,000 songs, search for Andrew Burnes or Burnes’ Turns on Spotify.