Dude I absolutely love the idea of putting everything in context and sharing the “why” behind the music before actually covering it. Super engaging and fun to watch, Sam. Totally love this video.

The story telling made the arrangement even more moving 😇

Man, I literally cried. I played Stardew Valley in 2016 (the year it was released), and I played it again during quarantine. I've always loved "The Wind Can Be Still" and hearing its cover took me back 7 years ago when things were simple in my life. Thank you.

"Let's rip some Stardew" is an incredible phrase

That walking down minor chord progression near the end of the song chokes me up every single time. Even when I'm playing the game, when I feel that section come up I stop whatever I'm doing and listen. Thanks for covering such a beautiful song.

I’m back home because a family death, and today it started snowing. I was lying in my bed watching this and when you started playing, tears just ran down my face. Thank you so much for this beautiful rendition, really hit me in the heart.

The Wind Can Be Still is an absolute all timer. As some dude on KZfaq pointed out, though, it's the little major flip just for a moment at the end that makes it absolutely magical. That person was the most right any human has ever been,

This is indeed the best song on the soundtrack and the chords at 10:11 are the best MOMENT on the entire soundtrack. Great arrangement

What an amazing cover. Stardew is one my favorite game of all time. No stress, only just living and take pleasure to live as fast as season goes. Amazing

Hearing musicians talk about WHY they play something and what they feel when playing is. Thanks for sharing this, beautiful video and concept. Especially when it's the SV OST. I listen to it while working my mum's horse meadows, now I love working there.

Saw the title and immediately knew it was going to be The Wind Can Be Still ❤

The addition of your story and feelings from the music is a nice primer. Great choice from the soundtrack, and beautifully done.

Stardew is a mood. Also from Michigan I agree each of these season songs relate so well with the seasons here.

6:28 this part made me tear up, so much nostalgia.. ❤

Definitely my favorite song in winter. The best song imo is Penny's Theme hands down

It feels good to hear that someone else felt like me about this music.

I live in Wisconsin and I totally agree with you, Sam. That first warm sunny day when the snow starts to melt and you just see water glistening everywhere :) Its one of the best smells ever too!

Really liked the format of this video. Part analysis. Part performance. Part silly. It had good flow while you told your story. This is a beautiful arrangement of a beautiful song. I’ve never actually played Stardew Valley, but I’ve listened to its soundtrack for many many hours because a friend recommended it. Thanks for this video Sam.

This is probably my favorite song of the whole soundtrack so when you announced it was so fricking hype

I remember when i first heard The Wind Can Be Still too. Absolutely blew my mind... honestly that track and the first one in spring made me fall in love with the game even more. I guess im not the only one who was mesmerized by it too! Incredible cover!

Stardew Valley was an absolutely amazing experience. The only thing that I'd add to the game is a song for each of the NPCs. Each one of the bachelors and bachelorettes having their own leitmotiv would give them a lot of personality... But I mean, the entire game was made by ONE guy, which seems impossible and it's honestly hard to believe.

Thank you for showing the world the wonderful music of Stardew Valley. It truly is a life changing experience

I wrote my final college paper about Stardew Valley and how important to gaming I found it to be and how much I feel like anyone can truly enjoy the game no matter your experience level in gaming. I also got to glam about it. ❤️ great work as always, Sam!

This slightly longer format outlining the overall music of the game and your attachment to it is really good.

I started playing Stardew Valley on November 30th, 2023. I almost didn't want to buy it, because it cost $16.99 and I only had about $17.50 left. I decided "Screw it, there's nothing else I can afford that's worth it anyway" and bought it. Let me tell you, that was the best $17 I've ever spent. Within 2 days, it had already climbed into my top 5 games of all time, and within 4, my top 3. Now, It's sitting at a comfortable 2nd place, only topped by old Minecraft. One of the best games I've ever played, for less than $20

This video was a treat. I love these kinds of music analysis / essay videos. And wonderful performance at the end. Thank you Sam.

Stardew Valley means so much to me, and this song encapsulates so much of what I adore about it. Thank you for this cover. 🙏🏿

Thank you for telling us your journey of Stardew Valley. Everyone i know who played this game has a different perspective on events, music, characters, how filling the day. This game is by far one of my most played one and storys like yours keep warming the enthusiastic to play it again.

You have made me have a new perpective of the music of this game , I knew it was really good but I didnt thought about the meaning of the songs in the seasons. Thank you, great video and keep making videos like this.

Your cover was so full of emotion and feeling, as soon as it started I stopped what I was doing and it was almost like I was put in a trance for the entire length of the song. So beautiful! Thank you for this wonderful cover.

This video format clearly takes a lot more effort but it's EXACTLY the kind of stuff I'd love to hear from you! Looking forward to more of the same!

Wild Horseradish Jam is one of my favorite songs of all time.

loved the discussion beforehand! hopefully we'll get to see more of these in future vids

Man, i just loved this video so much. I think exactly as you! The winter song have such a beautiful feeling. It's between a melancholic, lonely feeling, with a powerful freshness. You can feel the cold breeze passing through your face. The timbre and soundscape are so magical. Feels icy and makes me feel lonely a bit :(

I've been absolutely slapped by this game, great job both of you Sam & Mr Barone :)

Ok.... this... is a really appreciated approach. I've been following you for a few years, bar youtube failing to serve me new Vids, but I've never seen you do one like this before. The Zelda spread did it in spirit by its choice of songs... but I can only imagine if you introduced us to your Zelda choices like this!

I love this tune, it brings a cozy vibe that a winter season asks for, but personally the submarine theme and the night market are my absolute favorites.

That is so clean and rad and beautiful bro, loving the in depth commentary

Watching a video of a song cover can be awesome. Watching a song cover while knowing the reason why the song was chosen is even better. Thank you for this experience.

The wind can be still makes me so emotional

Like a lot of other people here said, I really liked this idea of talking about the game, the soundtrack, and the track you want to cover. I know that it's gonna be more difficult for other games that you have less of a connection with, or that you have less interesting things to say about the track and the game, but it would be great if you could do more of this. I don't know if that last sentence made sense grammatically and I'm too tired to proofread so figure it out babe xoxo

Beautiful! I wish more people talked about Stardew Valley's music. As you say, the music is perfect for the game and what it represents. And when you perform your rendition, one can really feel the emotion.

Everything in this is just so well stated. I agree that all the music is fantastic, and the season tracks all nail exactly what they set out to accomplish, but something about the winter theme just tugs at my emotional core. It combines the feeling of winter sadness and darkness, with the idea that this is not a planting season, and not a growing season. It's a season to spend time with friends, and maybe do some reorienting of your life, but the plants are all gone and your worries are few. It's a season of maintenance and just getting by, and the music captures that so clearly, it's amazing.

Great rendition! I also really enjoyed this format of a mix of video essay with some small guitar interjections as your supporting evidence, ending with a full cover. Very rad

Stardew has a special place in my life. Playing it for a few years now and since I'm really music-sensitive, the music is part of the experience and makes it special to me. P.S: Beautifully played by you.

I quite enjoyed this thoughtful, analytical format. I hope you can do these kinds of videos more often!

If you release this as a song on Spotify my wife will add it to her playlist she uses as a massage therapist and she alone will give the song thousands of listens.

I agree this is absolutely one of if not the best song in the game. The Fall and Winter themes in general are the ones that immediately immerse me into the world of the game. Loved the entire video discussing the seasons and how effectively the soundtrack reflects them!

i couldn't agree more with your choice, the wind can be still is, to me, THE seasonal song of the game. your rendition of it was incredible!

You wouldn't believe it, when I came to listen I saw that a whole year had passed. What a cover!

I do love that winter song, but what I love 100x more is watching _you_ love it. Thank you so much for sharing your delight in a world where it's stylish to look disinterested. ❤

Bro as soon as you hit that first harmonic I started crying, you inspire me so much

Love those harmonics

You really made me feel like if I was listening to it for the first time

i love your music and the sarcastic memeness that is in your typical videos, but i think your sincere breakdown of the music from the game was enjoyable on an entirely different level. Please make more music breakdown videos like this

The way you play is so enchanting ❤ you can really tell when someone connects with a piece, and plays with their whole soul. Thank you 🤗

This song introduces the delicate beauty of winter, and then moves into a more serious tone, as if to remind us that winter is also a dangerous time. Very cool. Minecraft also has good music, imo. Not in your face, just for vibe. I like it.

i really enjoyed this style of video! your tasteful arrangement and immaculate playing were beautiful as always :)

Nice harmonics and great job I need to visit Pelican Town again

Never played this game, but hearing you talk about it, the change of seasons, then playing your favorite tune, really moved me. thank you for sharing 🙏🏼

This game sounds uncannily like Harvest Moon: Back to Nature for the PS1 (specifically this game, even down to what you can do and the tone and vibe of the game), it was an amazing game. The soundtrack was amazing too.

Petition for you to always start videos with this kind of contextualization. Contextualization is rad af bro.

I was thinking about the seasonal song changes when you were talking in the intro. I absolutely agree. Summer is my favorite!

My absolute favorite is The Dance of the Moonlight Jellies. It gets me Everytime, seeing everyone together and the family I put together.

Your content is so good. Entertaining and the talent is mind blowing. If you posted more regularly your channel would blow up.

I love your introduction to the video with you talking about SDV and why you got into it, why it pulled you in the way it did. I also loved you talking about the different pieces and what you thought of them and why they fit their moments. I completely agree on your choice of song at the end, it is the best song in the game. I think it's the one that sticks with players the most. There are many good covers of the song, I think yours is the best one I've heard so far because it is simple and not overly busy. Sometimes covers of SDV songs can get out of hand because the person doing it adds too much texture or frills and it can distract from the core melody of the piece (which in turn makes it harder to appreciate the little nuances ConcernedApe put in.) Yours is nice because its not trying to imitate the original piece, you're just taking it and keeping everything important. SDV is beautiful because it is simple without being utilitarian and you captured that. I will link another cover of the song here, I'll break the link so no one gets spoiled for the end of the video by accident: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=g7PvNC5fnyg I hope you enjoy it! I am subbing to your channel now, this was a wonderful video, thank you for making it.

I really enjoy these kinds of music analysis videos with a beautiful performance in the end

HOLY SMOKES that was an incredible performance, completely captures the finer details like the subtle chromatic note at 9.32

My favourite song is Dance of the moonlight jellies you hear at the end of summer.

The song was beautiful and it was cool hearing about your experiences with the game.

dude, the first time i heard the tune on winter it does hits me too! it is beautiful! winter is probably my favorite season based on the background music alone such as this, nocturne of ice, and ancient. love it!

Love this video, you should do more videos reacting to soundtracks and playing some of the pieces, just hearing the part of the Spring song on the classical guitar gave me that comfy feeling of playing Stardew for the first time again

Up until now, I hadn't given the winter themes the attention they deserved somehow despite playing through several in-game years on multiple files. This gave me a whole new appreciation for that track. Thank you.

I appreciate all the extra work this style of video took, the result is very much worth it! Thanks Sam!

This was an amazing video! Adding context and meaning to the song before you play it is REALLY engaging. Thanks for this!

You should play through Golden Sun. The soundtrack on that series, to this day, still makes me feel emotionally.

The song and the arrangement are gorgeous, and the new format with you explaning why you decided to arrange the song is actually really nice. I love it.

Incredible stuff. This made me feel totally nostalgic. I had a couple of sessions of "nothing but Stardew" months a few years back. That game is like a warm, cozy blanket.

Excellent! I’m so pleased I came across your video. You play beautifully x

Sam, I've been watching your videos for a few years now it seems and I've gotta say this is one of my favorites so far. I really enjoy the exposition in the beginning. Thanks for keeping up the good work!

Love the rendition and all of the lead up to it. Shows a love of gaming, and I am still blown away by how much your playing continues to progress. Glad I stumbled on this page 5 years ago, and always nice to listen to the pieces you share.

Sam, what an amazing artist you are. I agree with you about this fantastic, mind-blowing soundtrack. The game itself can seem quite simple but you can see when there's something more behind all of this. You can feel the love and the spirit that has been put into this game and is absolutely lovely, especially the music. At the end of this video, when you started to play Winter (The Wind Can Be Still) I had a tear of Joy because you have the ability to take pieces of music like this to another level with your guitar, getting right into the emotions and suddenly becomes a religious experience or something like that.

I love this video format! So genuine. Great cover

My dude!! I LOVE this format. A mini review with a music focus, that then transitions into you playing your favorite tunes from the game. I got chills when you played the songs! Keep it up, Sam

I've watched this video about 5 times now and yet every time I almost cry when I listen to it :)

This is a great video! Love the spoken introduction before the performance. I live in New Hampshire, and your description of that first warm day of the year just got me so excited for spring 😭

One of my favourites too Sam! Well done! Todays the day I sign up to your patreon… enough procrastination. Thanks again for another awesome cover.😊

Ah I can relate to this! I fell into Harvest Moon back on the 64 in the same way, for weeks on end! Great playing as always Sam

For me, I loved the simplicity of Night Market. I stayed there too long every night, even if I was running low on energy. Raven's Decent is a close second.

ive never played stardew valley so explaining it beforehand made me enjoy it better

Excellent video. I’ve always felt the music in Stardew was so well done and you managed to put it into words in a very captivating way.

Thank you so much Sam for this beautiful rendition. Loved hearing your thoughts and hope you'll be sharing more in the future as well.

Oh my goodness! I'm so excited you picked the Wind May Be Still! I thought it was so breathtaking when I first heard it. That, along with the Night Market Theme are my favorites in the whole game.

Been following you for many years, this was a great video. I wouldn't expect it from you every time, because I'm sure its a lot more work, but I loved hearing why you loved the song so much. Thanks for everything Sam!

Loving this concept, good shit Sam

Absolutely love it. Even after all this time this song constantly plays in my head during my day to day. Truly is mesmerizing and hearing you transpose it to guitar is incredible

this is a really great video. i know its not something you'll do every time, but once in a while this is so so good

More of this format please

I love the approach to this so much man, when I arrange certain songs it’ll be for reasons like these where it makes me decide to do so

I have alot of fond memories playing this game I didn't know how special this particular song was until you played it at 6:25, I teared up a little definitely need to learn this absolutely gorgeous arrangement. Please continue doing the story telling in your future arrangements.