Ben Shapiro Reacts to Clair Obscur Expedition 33 | Violinist Analysis

Summary

Podcast Summary: Ben Shapiro Reacts to Clair Obscur Expedition 33 | Violinist Analysis

Podcast: The Ben Shapiro Show
Host: The Daily Wire
Episode Date: December 29, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Ben Shapiro dives into a musical and cultural analysis of the video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, focusing especially on its award-winning soundtrack and the performance of its violinist. Ben offers a combination of skepticism, humor, and genuine musical insight as he breaks down several tracks from the game, drawing on classical music theory and personal taste to critique the compositions. The discussion expands to include broader points on modern game music, dissonance, and what makes for compelling musical storytelling in contemporary media.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (01:27–02:51)

• Ben admits no prior knowledge of the game, but highlights its indie origins and remarkable sweep at the awards circuit:
  • “Apparently it is the first video game made by a French indie studio called Sandfall Interactive… it won nine awards out of the 13 it was eligible to win…” (01:31)
  • Offers a sardonic take on online conspiracy theories about the game show results: “people thought that it was rigged. But the people are retarded, apparently.” (01:45)

Initial Impressions & The Setting (02:12–02:51)

• Ben listens to in-game narration and summarizes the premise: artists wield supernatural powers involving life and death, inspiring expeditions to stop them.
  • “Okay, so it’s the end of Avengers again.” – Ben’s tongue-in-cheek characteristic comparison (02:35)

Lyrical Analysis and French Language Commentary (02:51–03:47)

• Ben reads translated lyrics, humorously claims ignorance of French:
  • “I do not speak French because I am, of course, not a communist.” (02:51)
  • Jokes about historical ironies: “they should feel lucky that they speak French still and not German.” (02:56)
• Lyrics summary: Themes of guardianship and loss, referencing French painters and impressionistic imagery.

Musical Analysis: Structure, Melody, and Critique (03:47–04:55)

• Ben wears his “music hat” and offers direct, honest feedback:
  • Critiques a lack of dynamic structure: “I was waiting for the actual chorus and there was no chorus to that song…a main critique of many modern songs, including apparently ones for video games. The song has to go somewhere.” (04:30)
  • Enjoys the instrumentation: “I’m a sucker for like anything that shows me a slow mo picture of a Steinway viola. Okay, again, like, give me instruments.” (04:40)
  • Ultimately, he finds the piece repetitive and unsatisfying.

Track-by-Track Impressions: The Soundscape Approach (05:34–07:20)

• Ben reviews additional tracks:
  • On “Dicherie la Troile”: “I don’t pronounce any of the Ls in French…” (05:46)
  • Observes that many tracks function as ambient soundscapes rather than songs with pronounced crescendos or climaxes: “It’s kind of a soundscape. All right. Not terrible. Not terrible.” (06:10)
  • Collaborates with co-host/listener input: “Video game elevator music is an excellent take. Savvy. That is right. But dramatic elevator music. Slightly dramatic elevator music in a foreign language. It’s a creepy elevator. Slightly creepy elevator. And this is widely considered to be the best song in the game.” (06:20–06:35)

Emotional Impact and Fight Themes (07:20–08:15)

• Moves on to a track played during a major in-game boss fight:
  • Initially perplexed by the mood: “This does not sound like it's near a fight. What kind of fight is it? Is it a fight where you pose a lot?” (07:28)
  • Compliments a piece for building towards something: “Well, I like that the song actually built towards something, so that's good.” (07:48)
  • Notices most pieces don’t venture into new registers, but appreciates when some musical progression is present.

Violinist and Final Boss Theme Analysis (08:15–09:58)

• Focuses on the final boss theme, “The Paintress”:
  • Applauds appropriate use of dissonance for villainy: “They're using dissonance. Right? …which is what you should use for a villainous character.” (08:20)
  • Technical critique: “You had the violinist up top, but the violinist wasn't actually doing anything difficult there. The violinist is just playing very high notes repeatedly... This is not super demanding.” (08:35–08:55)
  • Recognizes the talent of the performers, but notes that the composition isn’t particularly virtuosic.

Deep Dive: Classical vs. Modern Harmony and the Use of Dissonance (09:58–11:12)

• Ben pivots to music theory, offering educational insights:
  • “A lot of music is about creating intensity and then dissipating the intensity. So this was one of the things about classical, original classical [music]. Like if you listen to baroque music, there's almost no dissonance. It was supposed to be pleasant.” (09:59)
  • Outlines intervals and their emotive impact—for example, the “devil’s harmony” of the seventh interval, and how classical pieces resolve dissonance into harmony.
  • Uses Bartók as a case study for effective modern dissonance: “If you listen to Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra… The first movement is enormously dissonant. And then it resolves into this thundering horn section... It really is stirring because you went from dissonance into harmony.” (10:50)
  • Stresses the importance of knowing compositional rules before breaking them.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Modern Music Structure:
  “The song has to go somewhere. If the song goes nowhere and you just get me. Bum bum bum But a bum bum bum But a bum bum bum like over and over and over. That's not a full song. That is the intro to a song.” – Ben Shapiro, (04:25)

• On French Language and Humor:
  “I do not speak French because I am, of course, not a communist.” – Ben Shapiro, (02:51)
  “They should feel lucky that they speak French still and not German.” – Ben Shapiro, (02:56)

• On the Soundtrack’s Style:
  “Video game elevator music is an excellent take. Savvy. That is right... Slightly dramatic elevator music in a foreign language. It's a creepy elevator.” – Ben Shapiro, (06:20–06:35)

• On Classical Dissonance:
  “If you play a seventh, that was called the devil's harmony… because [it] sounds like it needs to resolve to the octave. It wants to go somewhere dissonant. Harmonies want to move to harmonies that are pleasant to the ear.” – Ben Shapiro, (10:10)

• Closing Reaction:
  “That was the thing that happened in my life just now.” – Ben Shapiro, (11:12)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:27] – Introduction to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and its indie origins
• [02:12] – Game premise and narrative setup
• [02:51] – Lyrical analysis; French language jokes
• [03:47] – First musical critique: song structure and repetition
• [05:34] – Analysis of “Dicherie la Troile,” elevator music analogy
• [07:20] – Assessment of a boss fight track, praise for musical build
• [08:15] – Discussion of violin technique in the main boss theme
• [09:58] – Music theory breakdown: dissonance, classical vs. modern harmony
• [10:50] – Bartók’s orchestration as an example
• [11:12] – Episode’s dryly humorous conclusion

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Conclusion

Ben Shapiro’s foray into analyzing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s music is an engaging blend of sharp critique, music theory education, and playful sarcasm. He’s ultimately left unimpressed by the soundtrack’s repetitive, atmospheric style, craving more melodic and structural development—but still finds value in the discussion of musical techniques, especially around dissonance and artistry. The episode is equal parts review, lesson, and entertainment, with plenty for both music fans and Shapiro’s regular followers.

Transcript

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[Music Reviewer]

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[Music Reviewer]

Folks, today we are apparently reviewing music from the video game Clair Obscur. I have no idea what this is, as you can imagine. Apparently it is the first video game made by a French indie studio called Sandfall Interactive. And it was made with a core team of about 30 people who randomly found each other online to create the game. Which is pretty cool, actually. I like that you have sort of the team coming together. And apparently it won nine awards out of the 13 was eligible to win at a game show awards show earlier this year and people thought that it was rigged. But the people are retarded, apparently. There's a trailer for the game I'm going to now review the music particularly. Wow, that's pretty amazing graphics. That's cool.

[Narrator]

Soon she'll wake and paint again. Paint a new number ticking down every year. One stroke and everyone of that age vanishes into nothingness.

[Music Reviewer]

Okay, so it's the end of Avengers again.

[Narrator]

And every year an expedition departs for the continent with one hopeless mission. Destroy the paintress so she can Never paint death again.

[Music Reviewer]

I see the appeal. All right, so apparently the lyrics to the song I've been told spoil the game is what I've been told. If you speak French. I do not speak French because I am, of course, not a communist. I mean, listen, they should feel lucky that they speak French still and not German. Anyway, apparently the lyrics are. And Gustav guards the dome, the rooftops like a Renoir painting will leave scratch marks. Guarded painting. It will be lost without her. Okay, so I'm putting on my music hat. Okay, let's see. Okay, I'm waiting for her to get to the theme. Is there? Is there? I'm waiting for her to get to the theme. This should be the intro to the theme. Yes. Okay, so keep going. And that's just a repeat, but with some harmony. I mean, you know, I like the string arrangement. That's nice. But I'm waiting for the song to go somewhere. This better not be a repeat. The song never went anywhere. That's unfortunate. Yeah, I mean, listen, I'm a sucker for like anything that shows me a slow mo picture of a Steinway viola. Okay, again, like, give me instruments. But that song didn't go anywhere. That song didn't go anywhere. I was waiting for the actual chorus and there was no chorus to that song. One of my main critiques of many modern songs, including apparently ones for video games. The song has to go somewhere. If the song goes nowhere and you just get me. Bum bum bum But a bum bum bum But a bum bum bum like over and over and over. That's not a full song. That is the intro to a song. We'll get to more on this in a moment. First, this episode is sponsored by our friends at Pure Talk. As a consumer, you carry the success or failure of businesses in the palm of your hand. Their success depends on your decision to spend money with them or their competitor. Well, my friends at Pure Talk would like to say thank you from the bottom of their hearts for choosing PureTalk for your wireless needs. 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Go check them out right now [e-mail]. okay, so apparently this is a song called Dicherie la Troile. I don't know. I just don't pronounce any of the Ls in French, except unless they begin a word, because French is a bunch of extraneous. It has a bunch of extraneous letters for no reason. Anyway. Okay. I'm waiting for it to go somewhere. It's starting to. It's building to something, I hope. I guess the idea. I guess the idea for some of these songs is that they're not supposed to go anywhere, I guess because you just play them on repeat. Yes. So I guess that it's not supposed to, like, build to anything. And so it kind of is repetitive. Yeah, it's kind of a soundscape. All right. Not terrible. Not terrible. Yes, Correct. I think that's right. Video game elevator music is an excellent take. Savvy. That is right. But dramatic elevator music. Slightly dramatic elevator music in a foreign language. It's a creepy elevator. Slightly creepy elevator. And this is widely considered to be the best song in the game. Okay, here comes the French accent. You ready? Here we go. Une vie at mer. This is another song that's gonna go nowhere. Okay. I mean. I mean, this is supposed to be, I guess, near the end of the game during some of the pivotal. This is during a fight. This does not sound like it's near a fight. What kind of fight is it? Is it a fight where you pose a lot? Okay, this part's okay. This is. This is better. This is better. Okay. Well, I. I like that the song actually built towards something, so that's good. This, per. Most of the songs that you've played me so far sort of stay in the same register, and then they don't rise into an upper register. So it goes. It goes somewhere. I. I don't. I'm not sure that it builds someplace so dramatic that I'm, you know, riveted by it, but at least it builds somewhere, so that's good. This one is called the Paintress. Okay. And apparently this is the song for the main boss of the game, the final boss. Okay. So they're using, they're using dissonance. Right? Okay. That's. Which is what you should use for, for a villainous character. Dissonance is where the harmonies aren't that don't sound pleasant to. You had the violinist up top, but the violinist wasn't actually doing anything difficult there. The violinist is just playing very high notes repeatedly. There are difficult violin parts that is not a difficult violin part. And then playing kind of the long held notes, the legato notes, you know. The violinist I'm sure is very good whenever, whenever they have people play for these sorts of games. You are a good violinist. So I'm sure the people they had were playing here were very talented. But this is not super demanding what's happening here. A lot of music is about creating intensity and then dissipating the intensity. So this was one of the things about classical, original classical. Like if you listen to baroque music, there's almost no dissonance. It was supposed to be pleasant. So if you listen to Bach, for example, there are some areas of dissonance in Bach, but. But mostly it is, it is quite non dissonant, in fact, the, the seventh. So an octave is where you're playing the same note but it's, it's higher. Right? That's what an octave is. So you play an A in one register and then an A in a higher register. And that's an octave and it sounds like the same note, but it's not the same note. It's an octave higher. If you play a seventh, that was called the devil's harmony in original kind of classical music, because 7th sounds like it needs to resolve to the octave. It wants to go somewhere dissonant. Harmonies want to move to harmonies that are pleasant to the ear. So the ones that are pleasant to the ear typically are like thirds, sixths, octaves. Those are the ones that are pleasant. A fourth is not dissonant. An open fifth is certainly not dissonant. That'd be like the strings of a violin. Eadg. Those are all fifths. There's something called the circle of fifths where if you keep going with that, you'll end up back where you started. But fifth sound open and you can actually tell the kind of music and the period of music that's being played by the amount of dissonance. So in sort of the postmodern era, in the post Schoenberg era, you get a ton of dissonance in music and it can be really, really powerful. So for example, if you listen to Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, which is one of my favorite pieces. Bartok is writing very, very dissonant music. And then in the first movement of Concerto for Orchestra, which listen to the Fritz Reiner recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which is the best recording, the first movement is enormously dissonant. And then it resolves. It resolves into this thundering horn section. And the horn section is quite non dissonant. And it really is stirring because you went from dissonance into harmony. So it's very cool. You can use dissonance in really interesting ways. But this is why you need to know the rules of the thing you're doing before you break them. All right? That was the thing that happened in my life just now.