This news is from a little over a week ago and it’s not much more than a short announcement, but screw it, it’s noteworthy.
The National are writing a song to be featured in Portal 2.
I’m still a bit skeptical because though, yes, The National are a “buzzworthy” indie band these days, The original Portal’s signature song, “Still Alive, was great because it was written from the perspective of a whimsically evil yet fun ode from a sardonic computer AI. The only imagery The National conjures up for me is a mid-tempo soundtrack to moping.
I hope I’m proven wrong, but this news doesn’t exactly excite from the point of view of a Portal fan. The good thing is that Jonathan Coulton has already been confirmed to be writing another song for Portal 2. It would have been a shame if Valve dumped him in favor of a “bigger” indie rock artist.
“The inclusion of the original song, Still Alive, in the first Portal game was part of what made the game special,” explained Valve writer Chet Faliszek.
“For Portal 2, we wanted to extend the use of music. When Bug Music mentioned to us that The National might be interested, we jumped at the opportunity to work with them.”
via The National write song for Portal 2 News – Page 1 | Eurogamer.net.