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Thread: "8-bit" music

  1. #1

    "8-bit" music

    Or "chiptune", as its sometimes called. Anyone else here notice this catching on on their radars? This is music from newer & old school video/computer games. Seems as of the last year or so, its evolved into a whole musical genre. Looks especially popular among the more geeky teens.



    I actually liked some of what I heard from the music of the game Minecraft.

  2. #2
    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    The music from Riven was good. Much more than 8-bit though.

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    OK, someone was bound to post these...
    Genesis

    Yes

    ELP

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Crim


    Camel

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Floyd


    Tull

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    The Fuck Buttons are a duo that pretty much plays very low res instruments and have a rabid cult following. Excellent live band - and great to see a younger crowd embracing some older sounds/tech.

  9. #9
    Member zravkapt's Avatar
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    I like when 8-bit music is performed on real instruments in real time...


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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Re: those 8-bit versions of classic prog trax -- WHYYYY? (Some kids have too much spare time...)

  11. #11
    The free jazz/drum solo break in 8-bit TaaB is quite possibly the most awesome thing I've ever heard in my entire life.

  12. #12
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by trurl View Post
    The free jazz/drum solo break in 8-bit TaaB is quite possibly the most awesome thing I've ever heard in my entire life.
    "Ta8b" you mean.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    "Ta8b" you mean.
    Well played

  14. #14
    Saw the CTTE thingy, found this thread, and had to throw in my two cents.

    "Chiptunes" or "chip music" has been around for a while, probably since the hardware it's based on was new (e.g., the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the Commodore 64). It's become much more popular over the last 5 years or so, with lots of newer pop/dance music incorporating "8-bit" sounds into their sound palettes. But yeah, there are tons of people out there making chip music. Sometimes written and played on native hardware, sometimes through emulators. Sometimes covers, sometimes originals. Sometimes incorporating "real instruments," sometimes not. Some of my favorites:

    Disasterpeace: Already mentioned/linked to. 8-bit sounds in epic proggy soundscapes.
    Virt: Very technically proficient and wanky in a Dream Theater kinda way. But there's some good tunes to be heard in the midst of all the technical wizardry.
    Wizwars: Mostly Game Boy stuff. Sometimes poppy/melodic, sometimes glitchy/thrashy. Fun stuff.

    The reverse has also been rising in popularity: "live bands" playing video game music. One of the first popular[-ish] bands was The Minibosses, who've been playing NES music since around 2000. MAGfest is a convention/fest dedicated to video games and music, and features several concerts every day (both live bands and chiptune/DJ sets). There are a ton of bands out there that do video game music. A good chunk of them start sounding same-y after a while, but there's a lot of variety, too. Some of my favorites:

    Minibosses: One of the originals. Straight-forward rock 4-piece (guitar/guitar/bass/drums) transliterations of NES tunes done in medleys.
    One-Ups: First album or two are smooth jazz. Latest stuff is space/jazz/funk.
    Bit Brigade: They play entire soundtracks of games. For their live shows, they have a guy who actually plays the game live (projected behind the band), and the band plays the actual soundtrack in real time. Very cool.

    I started an NES cover of Camel's Moonmadness album a few years ago, and got about 90% of the way done. I got as far as the guitar solo in "Lunar Sea", gave up, and haven't gotten around to finishing it since.
    flute juice

  15. #15
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by arise_shine View Post
    lots of newer pop/dance music incorporating "8-bit" sounds into their sound palettes.
    To be released on 8-tracks and cassette no doubt.

    Everything old is new again.

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