So, I originally posted this one because it felt really apropos given that I was initiating the process of starting a business. I’ve got a business pitch tonight — admittedly, it’s more “school assignment” than “high-stakes business deal on the line.” But, honestly, “let’s make lost of money” is still the end goal…
As I recall, the announcement they were going to be making a Tetris movie led to a lot of jokes —
Futurama: The Curiosity Company and Hulu.
— because how do you make a Tetris move?
Now, as it happened, Apple decided to make the very sensible choice of not adapting the Tetris gameplay, but the story of how Tetris itself made it out of the Soviet Union and onto the Game Boy.
Incidentally, even without any of the movie’s artistic flourishes — like the the car chase or the KGB double agents — the history of Tetris is fascinating.
And the movie itself is actually pretty enjoyable, though not entirely accurate to what actually happened — as is admittedly the case with pretty much every single movie based on historical events. Though, for what it’s worth, Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov himself isn’t too torn up about it and points out that the artistic licence in the movie at least captures the emotional experience of the actual events.
Now, since the Tetris movie is set in the 80s, the soundtrack leans heavily into 80s music. Which brings us to Pet Shop Boys‘ 1986 single Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money).
The song is undeniably catchy. And it makes a pretty decent abridged version of the events surrounding Tetris‘ arrival in North America. Short version, in both the movie and real life, Tetris made it out of Russian thanks to the combined efforts of Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers, who had basically made a career out of licensing video games for international markets and was working for Nintendo to acquire the handheld rights for Tetris so they could publish it on a little system known as the Game Boy — which would go on to prove both a colossal hit and virtually indestructible.
As you might infer from the title, the song is about making, well, a lot of money in cooperation with somebody else:
“I’ve got the brains
You’ve got the looks
Let’s make lots of money
You’ve got the brawn
I’ve got the brains
Let’s make lots of money.”Lyrics via Musixmatch.
Incidentally, Pajitnov, Rogers, and Nintendo did makes lots of money. Tetris is one of the best-selling video games of all time and has been consistently popular since the 80s.
Though, taking a look at the lyrics, I think the song might actually be about somebody trying to recruit a literal partner in crime. Also, it’s apparently supposed to be ironic and the people the song’s about are actually idiots and destined to failure.
But I choose to ignore that part…
Like I said, it is a catchy song that I did enjoy just listening to, but lately, the prospect of working to make lots of money. The short version is that I’ve enrolled in an entrepreneurial run by a Canadian organisation that helps people start small business.
Obviously, the dream is to make lots of money. But the part of the song that really resonates with me is the whole “looking for a partner/advocate thing.”
Though I’m not sure how it works out when I’m the brains and the looks…
Again, apparently, the song’s supposed to be making fun of the people in the song, but I’m a point of my life where the phrase “Let’s make lots of money” is nevertheless pretty relatable.
Listen to the song here:
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