I'm Still Alive, and I Want You Gone.

[Zen Toombs]

Ladies and Gents, I present to you

Spoiler: Still Alive

and

Spoiler: Want You Gone

So there are these two songs at the end of Portal and Portal 2.

When Portal 2 first came out, it was said that Want You Gone wasn't anywhere near as good as Still Alive, and I agreed with the caveat that Want You Gone was worse partly because Portal 2 was expected to have an ending song, unlike Portal.

Now, a year after Portal 2 has been out, I've come to the conclusion that Still Alive is a better song in general and for expressing lore about Aperture Science than Want You Gone, but Want You Gone fit Portal 2 better than Still Alive fit the first Portal.

But that's just me. What are your thoughts?

Spoiler: By the by, why I'm asking this:

So I was wrapping up a bit of research in my lab, wearing this t-shirt,

while listening to this

and​

on loop when I remembered having this basic discussion with a friend of mine just after Portal 2 came out.

 

[scorptatious]

I like both. But I feel "Want You Gone" was better due to it showing how much GLADOS has changed over the course of Portal 2. Not to mention it was pretty catchy.

 

[Popeman]

That's mean I didn't do anything to you. Fine then I will go. Ok bad joke aside I still like "Want you gone."

 

[DementedSheep]

I like both. I think Still Alive is funnier and has better lyrics but Want You Gone is the nicer sounding song. If I had to pick I'd go with Still Alive.

 

[Bostur]

They are both good songs. The thing is "Still Alive" is one of those rare songs that hit the mark perfectly. I think most composers would be happy if they manage to make a few songs like that in their lifetime.

So from that perspective "Want you gone" is in a very difficult position, trying to compete with the perfect. It needs to be similar but still different enough to be distinct. I think it manages to do it decent, but it does strike me as a somewhat generic credit song in comparison. But compared to most other game soundtracks it is a very good song. I think the most interesting bit about "Want you gone" is the arrangement. "Still Alive" will work as a tune in many other contexts and thats a rare quality in a song.

 

[ChupathingyX]

The first couple verses of Still Alive are very good but after that I found it "meh".

Want You Gone was alright but nothing special, however, it did seem better "structured" than Still Alive.

 

[skywolfblue]

"still alive" is a little bit more "ha ha" funny, while "want you gone" is a little more joyful tears kinda happy.

I think they're equally good in their own right. If I was forced to pick I'd probably say "Want you Gone" partially just because it's sounds smoother/sweeter.

 

[Vault101]

really?

why do I get the feeling "still alive" is considered better because...well its "stil alive" from fucking portal 1

NOTHING was EVER going to be as friggen amazing in some peoples eyes...nothing

I like both eaqually they have different purposes (and want you gone is quite catchy)

IMO in regards to portal....Portal 1 reached heights of awsomeness, Portal 2 used those heights to launch itself to the moon

like the that first rocket that falls away

 

[Rack]

Want you Gone grew on me. I'd say it's a better song but a worse ending song. Still Alive is punchy and fun and immmediately appealing. That's what you want at the end of the game rather than something weird and subtle.

 

[evilneko]

"Want You Gone" is kinda... grating. Not easy on the ears at all... I couldn't listen to it all the way through.

 

[Zhukov]

Nah, I like 'Want You Gone', but somehow it doesn't quite hit that perfect note that 'Still Alive' managed.

 

[Monkeyman O'Brien]

Want You Gone is a nice song but it really does lack the charm of Still Alive. Its more musical but Still Alive is just amusing and so damn charming its impossible to not love.

 

[PlowmanMk]

This certainly makes me want an 'Aperture Science' T-shirt. *rushes to Valve Store*. Tis a pitty the shipping costs to Australia are so expensive


OT: I preferred Still Alive, but probably because it was a surprise. That said, Want You Gone was still a catchy song.

 

[The Funslinger]

I like both. But I feel "Want You Gone" was better due to it showing how much GLADOS has changed over the course of Portal 2. Not to mention it was pretty catchy.

I agree. It was the more catchy of the two, and I liked the emotional implications for GLADOS.

Edit: That said, until lore proves otherwise (Valve >_>} I have decided Chell died shortly after leaving because her immune system was so separated from the outside world, having been in a sterile environment for so long.

 

[Vidiot]

When I first heard "Still Alive" I had no context for it. Having not yet played Portal, the song seemed like a nonsensical mishmash of science themed techno-babble. After Portal, the song made perfect sense, and what annoyed me 3 days prior, instantly engraved itself in the nostalgia center of my memory.

"Want You Gone" is a better song without context from the game, but without those same alienating references to specific in-game events, the song didn't have the same connection to what I had just experienced. I found it lacking because unlike "Still Alive", it didn't double as a surprise epilogue, it was just a pretty good song.

To be honest, I was more impressed with the co-op credits, where it went through that neat little test subject roster with the devs names on all the name plates.

 

[Fitzcaraldo]

I have to say, I prefer Want You Gone. They're quite similar songs, and I still enjoy Still Alive, but there's just something about the second that makes me like it better.

 

[Guffe]

I tought this was about a revenge plan when I saw the topic...
You know someone tried to kill you and you're still alive and now you want him gone...
I use my imagination too much...
and also dots...

 

[Valanthe]

I don't know, I'm partial to Want You Gone only because of the bittersweet ending that Portal 2 has.

Both songs are equally good for their material, as both games, despite being continuations of a single story, are vastly different.

Spoilers ahead for Portal 1 and 2, you've been warned:

Spoiler

In the first, you are the hero, and your quest is to defeat GlaDoS and escape the lab, that is the beginning middle and end of the story, and the slightly comical, tongue in cheek, "I'm Still Alive" sets the stage for the inevitable sequel because it shows you that your 'quest' isn't over.

However, the ending to Portal 2 is the definitive ending to the series. Through Wheatley and your discoveries in the sub basement of Aperture Labs, GlaDoS has grown beyond the mere psychotic AI trying to kill you, archetype and become something more, and "Want you Gone" is the final, definite close to the story, it's the summary of how much GlaDoS, as a character, not a villain, has grown over the course of the game. When you first reactivate her, she is very much the same narrow archetype she was in the first game. but after Wheatley's Betrayal forces you to work together against a common enemy, she begins to grow, and through the discovery of Aperture's, and by proxy her own, past, and her experience dealing with Wheatley from your perspective, she evolves, and while her motivations remain the same, she has very clearly become much more human, which is evidenced by her saving your life when it would have been simpler to let you die, and then releasing you.

Eh, I went off on a tangent there... but the short version is, I repsect both pieces equally, but I like "Want You Gone" more.

 

[DanielBrown]

First time I've heard Want You Gone. Can't say I like it. Not a huge fan of I'm Still Alive either, but at least it sounds like a song. Not sure what Want You Gone is.