I have a lot of fond memories of the apartment Jerry and Skabla both shared. On days where my roommate of three years ago would bring his strange girlfriend home to talk about things like how she masturbated while doing her homework, or how she was bleeding from the ass (ew), I would be safely ensconced in the Center City apartment we called 711 North. There Skabla would weave delicious yarns of his experiences on the streets of Philadelphia while Jerry and I would filet and sautee and puree to our heart's content in the kitchen. Oh we'd laugh and laugh. They were great times.

And I'll tell you another thing that remained a constant. Each week someone would have a new video game remix to share with the group, a tradition we've long since forgotten. But a special event this past week opened my eyes to a whole world I had forgotten. Saturday night, I had just come off a six day binge that I can only refer to as absolute debauchery, so I decided to stay in and give the wallet (and liver) a break. When Joel called me out and picked up his Mega Man Anniversary Collection we all knew what would happen. Everyone who plays these games always makes a specific beeline towards Mega Man II and Joel was no exception to the rule. Skabs and I shouted belabored hints from the couch, I would bite my lip and let out a peculiar hiss whenever Joel approached some fantastical jump or unthinkable trick of acrobatics. For a moment I was back as an eight year old and I knew, we all knew, there was one thing we were waiting for.

Wily's Castle.

Gecko Yamori, a man I remember from my times at 711 North, has brought us back a brief bit of that pleasure. In three minutes and eleven seconds he shows us the whole world. The song has this freaky-creepy bass line that I'm sure, cranked to the right decibels, could force me to evacuate a load into my pants the likes of which the world has never known. 0'40 to 1'13 is a section to die for when the melody breaks out and in 1'13 the bass line comes out of nowhere with the full intent to rock your ass off for no reason at all. At 1'20, though, it quiets down and you're all like "Nooooo!" until 2'13 when the sound becomes so excellent that the only way it could get better is if it were from outer space. My only qualm with the song is that it feels like it's over before it's really started and it fades out just when the going gets good.

I don't know if Gecko Yamori's mix can do the original justice, but it's good enough that the words "Cranium Castle", in our vernacular, now refer to any rendition of Dr. Wily's stage music. Cranium Castle has become the new Band-Aid or Kleenex, the brand has supplanted the product. If that's not good enough for you, Joel would probably say heck of a lot better than listening to me and Skabs whistle/hum/percuss along to the television for an hour and a half while he's trying to navigate pits of spikes.

But Could I Drive To This?: If you're not a little blue robot riding a red rocket to escape a giant robot dragon then you better GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THE CAR RIGHT NOW.