Bitmob Community Jukebox No. 21 -- Halcyon Days of Yore Edition

The aural destruction of last week's special edition is over! Thanks so much -- or not so much --  to everyone who submitted.

This week, only one of my selections comes from the current console generation. Oh, those long dead days of great video game music....

But wait a second! The community swooped in to disprove my misdirected, nostalgic reverence with some great tunes pumped out of sound chips minted after 2002.

Ryan Conway once again illustrates that the bombast of Henry Hatsworth knows no bounds. Bitmob funnyman Travis McReynolds shows how inspired Media Molecule's indie-infused LittleBigPlanet soundtrack truly is. And make sure to check out Jasmine Maleficent Rea's lazy, smokey jazz tune. It's definitely a class act -- great from the first needle-drop record crackle to the last whisk of drum brush.

For any newcomers, hit the jump to find out more about submission guidelines.

I've got two ways to get you hummin' along:


Method 1: Pick and Choose


My Selections

1) Jurassic Park -- Mountains Theme*

2) The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker -- Title

3) Street Fighter 2 -- Guile's Stage*

4) Chrono Cross -- Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World

5) Everyday Shooter -- Porco in the Sky

6) Fear Effect -- Main Menu*

7) Croc: Legend of the Gobbos -- And So the Adventure Begins

8) Mega Man 3 -- Proto Man's Theme (Whistle Concert)

Community Selections

9) Jet Grind Radio -- Everybody Jump Around (by Richard Jacques) suggested by J. Cosmo Cohen

10) Maken X -- Theme of Love suggested by Jasmine Maleficent Rea

11) Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure -- Heavy Metal suggested by Ryan Conway

12) Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee -- Intro Theme* suggested by Toby Davis

13) LittleBigPlanet -- My Patch (by Jim Noir) suggested by Travis McReynolds

14) Final Fantasy Tactics -- Battle on the Bridge suggested by Aaron Rivers

15) Shatter -- Kinetic Harvest suggested by Brian Shirk (++good)


Method 2: Let It Ride


(Click here to listen in a separate window.)


For all you newcomers, here's how it works. There are few simple rules/guidelines for submitting songs:

1) Every week I will post 15 well-known -- and not-so-well-known -- songs.

2) For each post, I will choose as many as 14 community suggestions to put toward the 15. I will make up any shortfall.

3) Songs from music games with original music and licensed songs from game soundtracks like Grand Theft Auto are OK. Submissions from games like Guitar Hero or Rock Band will not be accepted. Otherwise, this post may turn into a competition between people's favorite bands.

4) Each week, I will select one song as the Double-Plus Good Pick of the Week. The winner will receive exactly nothing save that their song will be featured last and will have a "++good" marker next to it.

5) Only one submission response per person, per week.

Finally, if you'd like to win the Double-Plus Good Song of the Week, try to think of an obscure song or a song you think I have overlooked in previous posts.


P.S. Thanks to everyone who submitted last week -- and to everyone else for suffering through some of the worst songs in video game history.

Comments (8)

Brian Shirk's song is part Commodore 64 chiptune, part muscly guitar lick, and part chunky techno romp. I can dig it.

If the game is as good as its music, I'm definitely going to be picking up Shatter sometime soon.
James DeRosa , January 04, 2010
Nice! Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy Tactics this week and a certain other pick
Brian Shirk , January 04, 2010
Inclusion of My Patch from LittleBigPlanet is a nice touch, but I have to put forth for suggestion probably the best song from LittleBigPlanet (which was also featured in my favorite LBP campaign, "The Wedding"!)

LittleBigPlanet: (song - artist)
Volver a Comenzar - Cafè Tacuba

Even if you don't understand the language the vocals will still have your fingers tapping and yourself hummin' along, no doubt.
Stephano Nevarez , January 04, 2010
Very enjoyable mix here.

Is a lot of time spent choosing the order of the songs?
Spencer Gregory , January 05, 2010
@Spencer I'm glad someone finally asked that question. There's a long answer there, but I'll give you the abridged version.

The simple answer is yes. The way I choose to order the songs is mostly based on how depressing/upbeat the song or two before it is.

When I started the Jukebox I did it almost the opposite way. I would try to find the most clever segues that I could. This generally led to long sequences of atmospheric songs or sad songs or happy songs.

Eventually, I came to stop liking doing it this way. I don't like stringing together too many that sound similar in a row. It makes them all run together and smoosh into one indistinguishable mess. Also, running together the community selections this way can be very difficult, as the variety of music submitted can sometimes be quite disparate.

Now what I do is try to have three crescendos throughout (one of which is always the Double-Plus Good Pick of the Week). If you pay close attention, I'll either start right off with something fun and bombastic...or it'll be song three or four. In this case it's song three, Guile's theme. The second one is the Jet Grind Radio, with Brian Shirk's selection rounding out the three. I've made tons of these sorts of changes to the Jukebox since I started it.

NB: This formula isn't a hard and fast rule, but it's the template that I start with.

Guess that was the long version after all.
James DeRosa , January 05, 2010
Get your gruff chick singing on with the Shattered Memories soundtrack...I am so happy with this.

Acceptance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGfSHuMMAuY

Jasmine Maleficent Rea , January 06, 2010
THIS SONG WILL NOT WIN, but at least it's the exact opposite of Jasmine's choice.

Brütal Legend - "Girlfriend" by Kabbage Boy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzXJKOhpxME
Evan Killham , January 06, 2010
For once I'm choosing a song that isn't from an RPG.

Uncharted 2 theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOnbsYIWCQA
Brian Shirk , January 10, 2010

Write comment

You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.