This one’s a biggie – Marty O’Donnell, composer for games like Halo, Destiny, Riven, and current audio director for Highwire Games, is on CrossFade to talk about one of the albums that convinced him to stop just playing music and start composing instead!

Gentle Giant’s “Octopus” is one of Marty’s favorite records and “hugely influential” to his path as a musician and composer. If not for this album and the friends he made over it, he may have stuck to performing piano – and some of your favorite video games would sound a whole lot different.

Matt’s pick, the equally English “The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society,” was a critical underdog that’s achieved new life as a cult classic in the 50+ years since its release. Matt thinks it’s better than The Beatles in some ways. Don’t tell him I wrote that here. I wanna make him explain that take on a future episode.

We also talk about Marty’s stint as a commercial jingle writer, the importance of having a hook, 16th century counterpoint, Marty’s weirdest influences, and much more, including a great series of questions from the MinnMax community!

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Listen to the CrossFade Community Playlist of our community’s favorite music: 

To jump to a particular discussion, check out the timestamps below…

0:00 - The Kinks vs. Gentle Giant (feat. Marty O’Donnell)

1:32 - Marty’s path to composing

4:23 - The appeal of classical music in rock

7:26 - Formal training and finding Gentle Giant

11:48 - Learning the importance of a hook from commercials

17:49 - How technology influences Marty’s composition

20:58 - Gentle Giant’s “Octopus” (Steven Wilson Mix)

22:56 - The Advent of Panurge

30:38 - The time Marty met Gentle Giant in an elevator

33:20 - Raconteur Troubadour

37:51 - A Cry for Everyone

42:26 - River

45:47 - The Boys in the Band

50:08 - Think of Me with Kindness

57:01 - Knots

1:00:36 - The Kinks’ “The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society”

1:02:15 - The Village Green Preservation Society

1:05:12 - Do You Remember Walter?

1:07:54 - Animal Farm

1:14:51 - Picture Book

1:18:47 - Phenomenal Cat

1:22:12 - Village Green

1:25:06 - All of My Friends Were There

1:29:55 - Community Questions (weirdest influences, Music of the Spheres, British music, Marty wants to make Zelda music & more)

1:55:32 - M.I.A. - “Pull Up the People” (suggested by MinnMax supporter Jonnythan 12)