MIDI or Die: Why Our Websites Sang Without Consent

Because you didn’t ask to hear My Heart Will Go On, but your dial-up connection played it anyway.

The First Sound of Chaos

You’d click a link on a friend’s AIM away message. A new tab would open. The screen would load sloooowly.

And then, suddenly: DUN-dun-dun-DUN-dun…

The Titanic theme. On loop. In MIDI. Forever.

No warning. No pause button. No escape. Just 47kb of pure emotional ambush.

Why We Did It Anyway

Because we could. Because silence was boring.

Because nothing said “this is my deeply personal Dragonball Z fan page” quite like a MIDI rendition of Bring Me to Life.

What Exactly Is a MIDI File?

A MIDI file isn’t an actual audio recording. It’s a digital sheet music file — like a robot whistling your favorite tune through a dial-up modem.

They were small. Fast-loading. And they made your site feel “professional.”

In the way that having a fog machine at a garage band show feels professional.

Loud. Questionable. Iconic.

Popular Offenses Included

• Titanic theme (Celine Dion MIDI supremacy)
• Evanescence – Bring Me to Life
• LOTR orchestral scores
• FF7 victory theme
• Linkin Park, Green Day, or In the End (played badly)

And if you had a fantasy, anime, or vampire site? You had to have a MIDI. It was in the code of the nerds.

The Problem With Autoplay

• No volume control
• No pause button
• Played on every page load
• Louder than your soul

If your speakers were on, your dignity was off.

Add One To Your Site (Responsibly… Ish)

Want to relive the chaos? You know you do.

Safe-for-2025 MIDI Embed:

<!-- MIDI Autoplay: For Brave Souls Only -->

<audio autoplay loop>

  <source src="https://files.khinsider.com/midifiles/movies/titanic-my-heart-will-go-on.mid" type="audio/midi">

  Your browser does not support MIDI files.

</audio>

Modern browsers may block this by default. And that’s probably for the best.

If you want to be extra dramatic, convert it to MP3 and try this instead:

<!-- Cringe Warning: MIDI Madness Reimagined -->

<audio autoplay loop>

  <source src="your-audio.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">

  Your browser does not support audio playback.

</audio>

Why It Still Matters

Early sites weren’t optimized. They weren’t quiet. They were vulnerable.

Autoplay music was cringe, yes. But it was also earnest.

It said: “This is my space. This is how I feel. This is my vibe — in audio.”

And honestly? That’s kind of beautiful.