LOVELESS, a compendium

[MidgarFanatic]

Many people might not know this, but the LOVELESS play that we have heard so much about from the Final Fantasy VII storyline was actually based on a real band from Ireland and, in particular, one of their old albums. The band is called My Bloody Valentine and the 1991 album was called, you guessed it, Loveless.

Album cover for My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless

To prove this fact, the band even has a cameo in the game itself, the lead singer as well as the band’s name can be seen on a billboard poster in Midgar in one scene of the original game:

Although this does seem to have been confirmed I have not been able to find too much information about why exactly Kitase and Nojima slipped this piece into Final Fantasy VII, but, meh, there you have it. I was curious about this band, and so I decided to pick up the album and give it a listen and here are my thoughts about what I heard…

Let me just say right off the bat… it’s weird. LOL The music is very unique. It is a mix of synch-pop and metal which also has very ambient and chaotic sounds. Fans of bands like Hooverphonic, Stereolab, Orbital and to a lesser extent Aphex Twin will find some familiar sounding stuff here. And it appears that it is all about the music, as the vocals are almost completely inaudible (or at least incomprehensible) throughout most of the tracks. But I suppose this all does not matter much anyways, as the lyrics are a little vague, so I did not take too much from them anyways. The music is the star.

It is not really such a terrible thing… after all, I am a picky music listener, and this album is by no means unlistenable. However, this album will most likely sit within my music collection as more of a curio than anything else. I may listen to it again soon, and maybe even put one or two of the tracks on my iPod (the first track Only Shallow I think was my favorite). However, the album suffers a little bit from having all the tracks sounding a little too much alike. Some variety and some different experimentation in their music would of gone a long way.

So what does this all have to do with FFVII? Well it appears very little, especially since the album came out long before the game did. But you can take what you want from it and have fun finding references which could be connected to the game, such as one song with a lyric describing a lover as having “eyes as blue as blue jewels”… Mako infusion? Haha, perhaps not, but it is fun nonetheless.

There is some more information on Wiki if anyone is interested, as well as some interesting links there including an analysis of noise as music in Loveless:
http://www.musicandmeaning.net/issue...ID=2.4#sec_4_3
as well a look at Loveless’ mark within music history:
http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/availa...102006-103749/

[MidgarFanatic]

LOVELESS quotes

Final Fantasy VII

Cid:
“You ever see the play Loveless?”
Cloud:
“Yes”
Cid:
“Yeah? Really? Well, that's fine. They've been doin' that play every summer since I was a kid. An' I remember seein' it just once... That was when I was in Midgar interviewing to be a pilot. I had some free time and thought I'd catch the play. Now, I'm no big fan of the theater or anything. But this thing put me to sleep, just like I thought it would. Finally during the last scene, the guy next to me woke me up
tellin' me my snorin' was too loud. So about all I really remember of that play is the end... The sister of the lead asks her lover,"

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

It would seem that about half of everything that Genesis says in Crisis Core are quotes from LOVELESS, but I’m not gonna type them all out because, well, I just don’t want to, haha, but here are one or two of the important ones me think:

Genesis:
“Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess,
We seek it thus and take to the sky,
Ripples form on the water’s surface,
The wandering soul knows no rest.”

Epitaphs:

Prologue
When the war of the beasts brings about the world’s end
The goddess descends from the sky

Wings of light and dark spread afar
She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting

Act I
The gift of the goddess is what the three men seek
But their fates are scattered by war

One becomes a hero, one wanders the land
And the last is taken prisoner

But the three are still bound by a solemn oath
To seek the answer together, once again

Act II
Though the prisoner escapes, he is gravely wounded
His life is saved, however
By a woman of the opposing nation

He begins a life of seclusion with her
Which seems to hold the promise of eternal bliss

But as happiness grows, so does guilt
Of not fulfilling the oath to his friends

Act III
As the war sends the world hurtling towards destruction
The prisoner departs with his newfound love
And embarks on a new journey

He is guided by hope that the gift will bring bliss
And the oath that he swore to his friends

Though no oath is shared between the lovers
In their hearts they know they will meet again


If anyone else has or finds any other LOVELESS references and wants to add to the collection, by all means feel free.

[Miss Lockheart]

That's awesome, and a really good read! Thanks for the info, it's a question I've wanted an answer for a long time

How strange such an obscure (and EUROPEAN band) would make such a significant appearance in such a timeless game. Sadly I doubt it did very much for the band's popularity, as they seem to have remained in the musical "underground".

Nevertheless, I might see if I can get the music and have a listen myself (sounds like something I might listen to, being the musical chameleon I am ^^)