u/XLightningStormL

I'm struggling to find good Hotline-styled Ambient Music; especially made by artists that weren't featured already (El Huervo, Light Club, etc) and want to expand my horizons.

I'm aware of artists like HOME, but the thing is much of Hotline's ambient music isn't synthwave/chillwave-based (though there are still inclusions) rather being relaxed instrumental hip-hop (Light Club), psychedelic rock (Sun Araw), dark ambient rock (Coconut) etc. Of course Synthwave and Chillwave are still fine.

Basically I'm just looking for similar style ambient music from artists not already featured in the games.

Oh boy... this totally won't be controversial for the shipping community.

I'll try to keep this short:

WHAT WE KNOW:

Jacket had a girlfriend pre-April 1986, they later broke up, which Jacket discusses with Beard in their final phone call. Additionally of what we see of Jacket's apartment in 1989 there is an extra empty bed separate from his, his apartment is also a mess and very sparse suggesting a break-up occurred at some point; likely back in 1986.

THE THEORY:

Corey is Jacket's ex-girlfriend. Likely after the events of Casualties they got together on the flight back to Miami after getting discharged. At some point in April '86 she broke up with Jacket. When Jacket became infamous due to partaking in the '89 Massacres; Corey became one of his "biggest fans".

EVIDENCE (in order from most to least credible):

• In the Hotline Miami artbook, Corey is referenced as being both Hotline Miami 2's Don Juan, AND Jacket. Additionally said Artbook mentions that had Jonatan not fought for Jacket being yellow they likely would've given Jacket the Miami Dolphins jacket instead.
• If Richard is Jacket's real name (as implied by the Richard masking being the first available), and Corey was in a relationship with him; it could be a reference to the 1897 Poem "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson. Said Poem was about the idolization of the eponymous gentleman in a town where he was beloved by all, but one summer night went home and committed suicide. This poem has a lot of synergy with Jacket and his "relationship" with the Fans, people who idolize him, and attempt to copy his 1989 Summer Rampages which he commited for self-destructive purposes. The poem is also notable for it's Simon and Garfunkel cover which mentions that Richard Cory had "political connections" which synergizes with Jacket's massacres being the result of 50 Blessings manipulating him. Additionally judging by the Fan's awareness of the 50 Blessings symbol (it being spraypainted everywhere in their bar) and them driving a tagged (and stolen) Phonehom van they are aware of 50 Blessings being the political connection a-la the song - however much like the town misinterpreting Richard Cory's happiness, and their misguided idolization of a broken man the Fans are heavily implied to have misguided ideas of why Jacket did his rampages (Alex and Ash thinking he's a hero that wanted to stop Russians) Finally a lot of poems and literature from the 19th century heavily influenced Hotline Miami; whether it be Nietzsche for The Abyss, or "Dear Old Flag I Die" poem in the Hard mode credits.
• Building off of the Don Juan connection; the Don Juan mask entity in Hotline 1 whilst the "human part" of the entity is clearly the Girlfriend that Jacket saves in Decadence, the Mask itself bears mangy black hair, and dark eye holes which strongly resemble Corey's face sprite. Therefore it is likely Jacket is still somewhat attached to Corey despite having moved on, and is sub-consciously masking his Girlfriend with that of Corey in his Coma Dream; as with Beard, the isolation and lingering feelings of Corey breaking up with Jacket may have influenced his decision to join 50 Blessings and go on his massacres.
• Corey's one newspaper, present in Moving Up makes direct reference to the 4 year anniversary of the San Fransisco Nuking. If Corey was indeed Jacket's ex-girlfriend, and Beard was keeping in touch with Jacket before their final phone call - it is very likely that Corey knew of Beard, and would suspect that his death inspired Jacket's rampages. Dennaton have notably stated that the Fans all have differing reasons for why they go around killing - Alex wanting drugs and because jacket is a hero, Ash doing so for the latter, Tony for the thrills (and implied to protect his friends), and Mark because of his friends and wanting fame. Corey is implied to do so because of reasons of wanting justice, but...
• It's not rare to read or hear about murderers, serial killers, or criminals becoming famous and having their ex-partners and relatives show up for their "5 minutes of fame" to "reveal to all". Being that the desire for fame is already implied with the rest of the Fans it's very likely that Corey if she was Jacket's ex-girlfriend is partaking in the Fans out of some kind of misguided guilt for breaking up with him, or returning obsession now that he's infamous and "important".
• In Moving Up; Ash says that the apartment is filled with "lowlives and junkies" which Mark retorts "kinda like this place"; such a comparison would be important since when we first see Jacket's 89 girlfriend she is strapped to the bed, and having used drugs such as Heroin, and often she has been called "The Hooker" for a long time; hence both Corey and the 89' Girlfriend would be similar reflections of "lowlife women" - however it should be noted we don't canonically know if Corey is a junkie or partakes in drugs at all.
• A particularly "infamous" piece of evidence when I originally mentioned this theory; Corey and Jacket are similar in character (after all she was written to be his female version) both heavily associated with pizza, are relaxed, are secretly violent, messy and are both relatively quiet and introverted. It's not uncommon to find people who were in relationships for a time to start acting alike in character.
• Corey's nature as an introvert would naturally lead her to become limerated with romanto-sexual targets instead of just being attracted, or normal infatuation. It's possible that Corey's limerance dwindled out in April 86 resulting in her breaking up with Jacket, but with his '89 massacres and infamy it returned hence her coming back as one of his "biggest fan-girls". Limerance doesn't always goes away either, it can come back due to re-contact. I should note this piece of evidence is based on my experiences as an introverted man who has gone through Limerance multiple times, and I will say that I have no idea if the female equivalent of Limerance is the same or not (do correct me if this section is baloneyium and does not to apply to women)

FINAL POINTS

However at the end of the day; with much of the game's lore being implications, and the fact that Jacket is just a player stand-in/surrogate/vehicle - this is theory is UP TO YOU to decide whether or not it's plausible or not. The identity of Jacket's ex/s is entirely up to the observer to decide whether she even appears in the games at all. Additionally just because they were in relationship wouldn't have any bearing on Corey/Alex or Corey/Tony being a thing in 91. Additionally if they were a thing it's quite clear due to their similarities that they probably were not a good couple and were better off apart (though it is plausible that they both had a good thing and became incredibly hurt in the aftermath? we may never know)

Finally it has also been theorized that Alex and Jacket had a fling (according to interpretations of Ambush's Tiki Bar intro) and that Rachael Ward may have been Jacket's ex. Not commenting on either, just worth mentioning.

And yes I am well aware that the End Times' series of workshop campaigns had Corey and Jacket get together, but my theory of Corey being Jacket's ex is something I've sat on for years independently of that campaign.