The Sound of 'Progress': Jazz and Gentrified Urban Aesthetics in Video Games
Location
PANEL: Music Analysis, Culture, & Community
Mudd 113
Moderator: Christina Neilson
Document Type
Presentation - Oberlin Community Only
Start Date
5-1-2026 11:00 AM
End Date
5-1-2026 12:00 PM
Abstract
Video games are no stranger to musical innovation. A vast library of differing musical inspirations and aesthetics can be found across ludomusicology, though some schools of composition are more obvious with their associated game genre / style categorization — symphonic sound for LucasFilm games, heavy metal for Doom-inspired shooters, liturgical choirs for Soulsborne bosses, etcetera, etcetera. Jazz, by contrast, is used across a wide variety of game genres and styles ranging from space opera to steampunk to eldritch noir; often, though, it is used to flesh out ideas of urbanity and fill in the gaps via a generalized sonic aesthetic. Those fleshed out ideas and filled in gaps often rely on narratives revolving around the idea / process of an ‘idealized’ city, which can quickly fall into accidental stories glorifying gentrification. My presentation will analyze the relationship between jazz, urban aesthetics, and narratives of gentrification in video games.
Keywords:
Urbanism, Musicology, Media studies
Recommended Citation
Jensen, Marcus, "The Sound of 'Progress': Jazz and Gentrified Urban Aesthetics in Video Games" (2026). Research Symposium. 52.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2026/presentations/52
Major
Musical Studies; Gender, Feminist, and Sexuality Studies
Project Mentor(s)
Lena Leson, Musicology
2026
The Sound of 'Progress': Jazz and Gentrified Urban Aesthetics in Video Games
PANEL: Music Analysis, Culture, & Community
Mudd 113
Moderator: Christina Neilson
Video games are no stranger to musical innovation. A vast library of differing musical inspirations and aesthetics can be found across ludomusicology, though some schools of composition are more obvious with their associated game genre / style categorization — symphonic sound for LucasFilm games, heavy metal for Doom-inspired shooters, liturgical choirs for Soulsborne bosses, etcetera, etcetera. Jazz, by contrast, is used across a wide variety of game genres and styles ranging from space opera to steampunk to eldritch noir; often, though, it is used to flesh out ideas of urbanity and fill in the gaps via a generalized sonic aesthetic. Those fleshed out ideas and filled in gaps often rely on narratives revolving around the idea / process of an ‘idealized’ city, which can quickly fall into accidental stories glorifying gentrification. My presentation will analyze the relationship between jazz, urban aesthetics, and narratives of gentrification in video games.
Notes
Access to the presentation slides is available to Oberlin College users only.