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Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

As jazz bands have standards, the types of songs many musicians rearrange and make their own, the video game inspired music world also has their standard video games which everyone covers.  It seems one of the most often rearranged, remixed and recreated soundtrack is the NES classic Mega Man 2. That is surely not to say that the game is overdone. There is one band though, who has not only taken Mega Man and created something new, but just as much, have given something back to the game. Musically they have infused the game with a new background, depth, and mentality that should have never existed in the minimalist colors and dimensions of a humble platformer from 1989.

The Megas (themegas.com) are that band. A combination of rock aesthetics mixed with nerdery, storytelling, and a sometimes tongue in cheek attitude create a stand out band in and out of video game music circles. Forming in 200X (or 2004 for non robotic readers) things started slow as a side project, but things have heated up significantly since the release of their debut album Get Equipped.

The debut album focuses on the story of Mega Man II in both song and lyrics. The concept doesn’t stop there though. On closer inspection you learn that each robot master’s theme is accompanied by lyrics from that robot masters perspective. So each song has a distinct mindset and feeling, from the loneliness turned anger of Airman in his song The Annihilation of Monsteropolis (which is also available at OCReMix) to the earnest struggle within Bubbleman in Promise of Redemption.

There are also the requisite epic battle songs like the searing Man on Fire, which looks at Heatman’s perspective of his showdown with Megaman, and the western style duel between Megaman and Quickman in the song The Quick and the Blue, which sees Quickman’s final demise at Megaman’s hands (or hand and cannon, if you want to be literal about it). There are even some unexpected twists to the supposed villians in Megaman II like anti-hero Crashman in his song Programmed to Fight. In which we see his struggle between what he is programmed to do, and what he knows is right, even if it means his own death. We also get a glimpse into the disturbingly obsessed Flashman in the track Blue Like You.

Metal Dance is of course the track for Metalman (which was also used as a remix by Mega Man influenced rapper, Random). This song gives Metalman a pompous and fight obsessed nature. How the fight turns out though, the music never seems to let on. This leads right into the near opposite of Metalman. Megaman is up against the all natural Woodman. In Carved from Mighty Oak we learn about why Woodman will defeat Megaman and “avenge the death of his robot brothers.” These are all bookended with the songs from Megaman himself. The opening track I Want to be The One introduces us to who Megaman is, and why he is fighting. The final track, Lamentations of a War Machine, is a reprise. Megaman is now reflecting on the war he fought and the decisions he has made. After fighting first hand, it seems like Megaman’s determination has begun to waver.

Will this new side of Megaman be explored in the upcoming Mega Man 3 project which is supposedly in the works from The Megas? I am as in the dark about you as that one I am afraid. For MM2 completionists, The Megas also released another single from the game after the release of their debut album, and from an unheard perspective. This is The Message From Dr. Light and in it we hear from Megaman’s very creator in an epic preamble to everything before the robot war. The song appeared on the Game Music 4 All album Welcome to World 2.

After all this hubbub about the classic Megaman 2, The Megas started to hear shouts of “But what the heck about the first Megaman!?” Those shouting loudest were East coast VG rockers, Entertainment System (myspace.com/entertainmentsystem), whom The Megas had toured with briefly around 32 Bit Genocide. Unlike most shouting on the internet though, this actually helped something. Specifically the Megatainment EP. This was a four track EP wherein Entertainment System brings in their own brand of hard rocking to team up with The Megas vocal proficiency to create a prequel to the acclaimed Get Equipped. That album, which is just as amazing, and with it’s own rougher but just as catchy style will be the focus of another article though.

The debut album from The Megas also create a great introductory album to VG Rock, as well as Mega Man in general, with it’s catchy, genre fusing style and pop sensibilities. That isn’t to say that the songs do not rock though, as anyone who has been to a Megas show can attest to. Be sure to check out their music at themegas.com. Any fan of rock music will not be disappointed with the musical abilities they bring to the table. And with a brand new acoustic album on the horizon, as well as the previously mentioned Megaman 3 project, it is certainly a good time to be a Megas fan.

Quickman and Dr Light Artwork by Rocco D. Commisso

Stores have begun their Halloween sales, kids are back in school, and the end of summer has truly passed. Chiptunes mourn the passing season with a nostalgia driven compilation known as Summertunes.

Chiptune netlabel ubiktune (ubiktune.org) celebrates both their tenth release as well as the end of summer with their new compilation Summertunes (download free at ubiktune.org/release/010/). The album is a collection of amazing chiptune artists paying tribute to lost summers with some incredible renditions of upbeat and nostalgia infused songs. We have the somber opening of Marine, which leads into a jazzy upbeat look back on summers past. The fast paced Malmen in Space by Xaimus, which creates a lot of child like fun and action. Shnabubala also brings a more intimidating feel with Pastorale Scenes, a track that straddles back and forth between simple nostalgia and uncomfortable memories. Quite possibly my favorite track on the album though, is Coda’s Beach in the Sky which is equal parts relaxing beach town and bright sidescrolling adventure. Of course this is just a small sample of the variety of music on here. There plenty of other amazing tracks all with their own tones, qualities, and summery feel to them.

For those who enjoyed spending summer vacations outside playing in the sun and water just as much as spending entire summer days inside trying to reach the end of Chrono Trigger or Sonic the Hedgehog, this album is definitely for you.

Full tracklisting is as follows.
01. C-jeff & Random – Marine (5:17)
02. Vincenzo – Summer Thing (2:43)
03. Xaimus – Malmen in Space (2:52)
04. Temp Sound Solutions – Ocean City Arcades (3:15)
05. Coda – Beach in The Sky (2:32)
06. Shnabubula – Pastorale Scenes (2:10)
07. Yerzmyey – AY is Not A Doorbell (2:48)
08. Blitz Lunar – Super Soaker (2:07)
09. Malmen – Unbelievable Lips (2:30)
10. MmcM – Summer is Always With Me (4:17)
11. Rico Zerone – Empty Beach (1:57)

Fine readers of The Start Screen might recall that I wrote about Pause a bit back. Well I bring them up once again because the Pause Netlabel (iimusic.net) has given me my first introduction to the amazing C-Jeff (c-jeff.untergrund.net), a chiptune artist from Russia. He has just released a three song EP that spans a globe trotting 30 minutes entitled Electric (which you can download free at iimusic.net/catalog/2009/08/c-jeff-electric). In only three songs this album seems to span an endlessly changing sea of genres, styles, emotions, and ideas. From soaring jazz compositions to cavernous crunching riffs, all the tunes have so much emphasis as if pain staking thought went into each note written in every track. This might be because of the inspiration of this album, which may just put the music into a little more perspective. This is C-jeff’s own small explanation about what the album is about.

The plot of Electric is the life of one man – from his naïve childhood, through happiness and darkness to the final light of heaven. This album is dedicated to memory of my father, Oleg Zhemkov, the great rock-musician whom I lost in spring of 2008. I miss you.

With that in mind, it’s very easy to see this album as a sort of biography for a lost loved one. Each piece of work can conjure up a specific mood, and even specific feelings and memories.

The EP is broken down into three parts by track. Electric Part 1 is a jazzy opening number. It kicks off with an ominous low key feel, but the pace picks up and spirals out into the atmosphere, finally landing with a lot of  crunch This leads right into Part 2, which has a faster pace. The song wears itself down into an industrious and upbeat vibe until it gets caught in a wave of tense deep tones.  The air is tense and quick in the final build up of the song. This leads to a dark siren like ending to the track.

Finally we end up at the final piece of this amazing album, the epic rock composition Part 3. The track starts off dark, as if in a dank sewer, but quickly shifts gear once the guitar work comes in. This sets up the track to create incredible mountains and valleys in the arrangement.  The album closes with a simple fade out, which leaves the final riff repeating in your head even after the track ends.

Brilliant chiptunes meld with incredible guitar work to create an aural treat over these three tracks, and will definitely leave no one disappointed. The album creates upbeat catchy highs as well as depressing somber lows in the arrangements. This album, along with the recently released Kind of Bloop (which you should check out, but I will write about soon hopefully) continue to forge a path that shows that chiptunes are far from simple blips and chirps, but instead are diverse, emotional, and versatile. Be sure to download this album from Pause and experience the incredible compositions that this album has in store!