091711

What's It Called?

disasterPEACE - Jump Error

What's The Story?

disasterPEACE is the musical pseu-diddly-eudonym of Rich Vreeland, one of the better known artists in the chiptune scene. Much of his music can be found on his site. It's from an e-release album entitled Rise of The Obsidian Interstellar.

Who's To Blame?

A chill guy who instructed me in the ways of the day burn.

Why ♥ It?

Not having the advantage of a built in novelty from being from a previously played game, the track has to do something to catch the ear. Maybe it's the album title, and maybe it's a general tendency of chiptune; but this song really sounds like a blastoff into space from your favorite 8-bit game. It's an interesting soundscape, and the song is definitely built around this theme.

The main line (which also acts as an intro) is perfectly catchy. There are a number of cool and different movements which may not last more than a dozen seconds at a time, but they're united and made relevant by having that one riff run as a thread throughout much of the tune. In this way, Jump Error listens like a catchy overture, making it a nice stepping stone into chiptune.

090811

What's It Called?

Ailsean - Uematsu-San Just Wanna Have Fun (From his website)

What's The Story?

Sean Stone (AKA Ailsean) is a guitarist who lays out some neat remixes & covers of old video game music tracks. Somewhere between most and all of his music is available for free on his site.

Who's To Blame?

Ever hear of Lubos Motl, the physicist/blogger?

Not him. But close.

Why ♥ It?

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

The prelude from the Final Fantasy series.

These gel incredibly, and are neatly put together, with bubblegum synth and swanky guitar doing Cyndi justice while delay and distortion effected guitar bring Uematsu into the picture.

Really, this one is worth a listen on title & concept alone, but don't be surprised if it sneaks into your library. Did I mention it's free?

082611

What's It Called?

DJ Hero OST - Feel Good Inc vs Hollaback Girl

What's The Story?

DJ Hero was approximately where the ____ Hero series jumped the shark for most gamers, myself included. However, some of the mixes that came from the OST are gems.

Who's To Blame?

If our high school yearbook had a "most likely to become Indiana Jones", the guy would have been a shoo-in.

Why ♥ It?

If you asked fans of newer music to make you a list of catchiest bass lines, Feel Good Inc would almost assuredly be a common thread. And, if you could convince those same people to make a list of catchy guilty pleasure songs and actually share it, Hollaback Girl would be likely to make an appearance. Take Activision's pocketbook, assemble a team of all star DJs and producers, get them to collide those two songs, and this mix emerges. And, unlike many of the DJ Hero mixes, the scratching doesn't feel like a cheating way to blend two songs, it's used tastefully with great timing.

If you like either original track, chances are that you'll like this mix just as much or more.

081311

What's It Called?

virt - Get On The Bus

What's The Story?

virt is an online moniker for Jake Kaufman, a sound engineer and music enthusiast based in Los Angeles and best known for his takes on video game music. Get On The Bus is from Bound Together, a collection of rearranged tunes from Nintendo's classic RPG, Earthbound.

Who's To Blame?

A friend who worked on and/or with that black hole device they have in Switzerland.

Why ♥ It?

In Earthbound's storyline, there's a group called the Runaway Five, a jazzy group with a funky big band sound and a Blues Brothers personality. This track runs though many of the game's main themes reimagined as if they'd been played by a real life Runaway Five, and as such, comes out sounding like an overture.

The piano is jazzy, the organ and horns are swingin', and the bass is funky. These are all amicable traits in any jazz band-style sound, and hearing familiar midis explode into this soundscape is great. My choice favorite of this is when the tune blows into the title theme at about 2:05 in a grand, seamless fashion. Then, at around 2:50, they play the Runaway Five's theme, and it really does feel like a Blues Brothers sorta thing. This runs to a neat organ solo around 4:15, and transitions to an almost-random guitar solo that still fits the mood. The meat is definitely at the center of the tune, but the intro and outro, like any good overture, still hold interest.

I usually have a hard time telling if a remix of music from an old video game is great because it's great, or if it's great because I loved the old music when I was 10. This is one case where I have no doubt that the first of those is true, and this song is worth checking it out whether you know what's coming or not.

101110

What's It Called?

Anamanaguchi - Helix Nebula

What's The Story?

Anamanaguchi are a band with a very fun-to-say name from New York City. Their webpage says it best, they're a "chiptune punk band that makes loud, fast music with a hacked NES from 1985". This tune is from their 2006 Power Supply EP.

Who's To Blame?

Song a day blogs are where it's at, I tells ya.

Why ♥ It?

These guys sort of fit in the same genre as Holy Fuck, but are less for spacy stoners and more for busy bodies. The electronic drums are totally fun and totally fast. Add some deadly harmony (example at 0:55) and the perfect key change (2:24). This song will cause feeling awesome with a side of wishing you were 8 years old again.

081410

What's It Called?

The Black Mages - Battle With The Four Fiends

What's The Story?

The Black Mages are a sort of progressive metal group from Japan dedicated entirely to covering tracks from the Final Fantasy series of video games. Added spice: the composer of the music, Nobuo Uematsu, plays keyboards. Battle With The Four Fiends is from their second compilation album, and originally appeared in Final Fantasy IV.

Who's To Blame?

Certainly not a white mage.

Why ♥ It?

I promise, I have an answer that isn't just campy nostalgia.

I feel context will help though; this music plays during the game when fighting major villains at plot apexes. Knowing that, consider the song sort of like a story.

The organ riff that plays 0:13-0:30 feels like an oppressive tyranny. The section that answers post transition (0:35-1:09) feels like a new hope; a heroic tale of saving the day. The next slow transition (1:11-1:20) feels like the calm before the storm, and the organ riff following conveys a sinister plot of Snidely Whiplash (1:23-1:52). THEN the transition there with the quick chords and energetic drums (1:53-2:04) feels like a back-and-forth battle between these heroic and sinister movements that bridge the gap and tell both sides of the story. Once the process is started, every section expands upon these themes somehow; I could detail the whole song like this, but I'll hold it here. Just know that this track is wonderful mood music and conjures a battle of good and evil without any visual required.

And hey, if that doesn't work for you, go for the campy nostalgia, that probably works better anyways.