FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Renowned chiptune composer Joel Grady revealed that all of his award winning soundtracks were directly inspired by his debilitating tinnitus, which causes him to hear a constant, high-pitched ringing in his ears.
“I don’t know how much longer I can live like this,” said Grady. “I never wanted to make music. I wasn’t a gamer growing up. Hell, I didn’t even know ‘chiptune’ was a thing until I turned thirty and the ringing started. I was complaining about it to my buddy who happened to be working on an indie game, and he said the unbearable sounds I was hearing were exactly what they were looking for. I honestly don’t know why anyone would choose to listen to this. I’ve got a stable job now, I guess, but I’d rather have peace.”
Grady’s wife, Melissa, said that his condition and resultant career were ruining their relationship.
“He’s just not the man I married anymore,” said Melissa. “We used to talk and laugh all day. Now he can barely hold a conversation. Not only can he not hear what I’m saying, but half the time, ‘inspiration’ will strike him halfway through a sentence. He’ll just run off to write a new song. I felt bad for him when the tinnitus started, because he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep. Now it affects both of us, because he wakes me up when he springs out of bed in the middle of the night to compose. It doesn’t help that he is audibly crying through all of this.”
Birdfeeder, an indie studio that specializes in roguelikes and 2D platformers, related a meeting they had with the renowned composer.
“We almost landed him for a project we’re working on,” said Neil McMillan, a lead developer at Birdfeeder. “He actually met with us at our office, which seemed really cool at the time. We couldn’t believe that we had a shot at hiring him, but it fell apart pretty quickly. Once we told him that the game’s protagonist was a regular guy who falls under a terrible curse that is also the source of his powers, he just started to weep uncontrollably. We happened to have a mic in the room and got some decent samples out of that, but he didn’t stick around and won’t return our calls anymore. It’s such a shame.”
At press time, Grady was reportedly speaking at a gaming convention, begging his fans to explain how they found his music appealing.
