Prior to the start of their tour, they released a cover of “Hopes & Dreams” from indie developer and composer Toby Fox’s classic Undertale, one of the most beloved soundtracks of the present century (which itself not too long ago received a much deserved, far grander live debut). Speaking of Anamanaguchi, the band earns another spot on this list for dipping back into a different well of the recent game music canon. So it was only right that Anamanaguchi blended these parallel universes with a cover of Metric’s “Black Sheep,” the single from the movie’s fictional band the Clash At Demonhead – a crossover that served as the cherry on top of a night that had already fulfilled everything fans could have wanted and then some. Relative to that of the similarly cult-beloved movie, the game tie-in’s soundtrack is no less effective at coloring in the space between the IP’s inane meta-humor and its sincere introspective beats. There was no need to be skeptical as to whether stringing these 90-second loops into a setlist would make for a coherent concert experience, because the moment the band revved into the incendiary intro “Scott Pilgrim Anthem,” it was a nonstop rush set to gameplay footage that incited gawky and delirious dancing. Anamanaguchi’s score was a riot - frenetic bursts of pedaled-beyond-recognition guitars and ricocheting drums that fashioned 8-bit tones into punk-rock performance.
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The World: The Game, a side-scrolling beat-’em-up that reimagined the surrealist Toronto of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel series for the arcade generation. At Coachella this year, the Japanese American pop star Hikaru Utada made an appearance during 88Rising’s showcase on the mainstage and earned probably the biggest sing-along of the set with her Kingdom Hearts anthem “Simple & Clean.” On a much more intimate scale, I recently saw the rising Chicago rockers OK Cool open for Oso Oso, and they immediately endeared themselves to the crowd by playing a handful of level themes from Super Mario 64 as their between-song transition music.īack in January, celebrated chiptune rockers Anamanaguchi embarked on their first tour in support of their decade-old soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim Vs. I am finding video game music popping up in all sorts of places outside of consoles.
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And as millennials who grew up during the rise of Nintendo and Sony’s industry reign have done with pop-punk and nu-metal in the mainstream, their nostalgic interests are being fashioned into a full force commercial consideration. Those who haven’t tapped in since the “Super Mario Theme” might be surprised at how rich the canon has grown in the years since Koji Kondo redefined what computer chips could make us feel. Public appreciation for video game music has blossomed in recent years, at least in fan-defined spaces like TikTok and YouTube, where classic tunes from GoldenEye and Donkey Kong that have never been given commercial releases receive their due recognition in rip uploads, memes, and remixes. There is arguably a higher bar to clear for musicians in the medium the tunes embedded in games must not only sound pleasant on repeat during your second, third, or thirtieth attempt through a level, but interact dynamically with a players’ inputs, factoring in the imagery, pace, and tone of play to keep you in sync with the simulation. Studios have relied on the talents of composers – from working legends like Nobuo Uematsu to contemporary stars like Lena Raine – to flesh these worlds out with richly detailed loops, evoking the vast expanses of their overworlds to the eerie confines of their dungeons. Increasingly this past decade, the most renowned games have centered on more intimate tales of personal growth, abstract inquiries into the human experience, or simply effective simulations of everyday life. Modern video games no longer derive their impact solely by offering grand quests with enterprising heroes. Far from the discipline of “geeks” and “nerds” portrayed by nostalgia TV, in 2022 gaming is more widely accessible and uniquely beloved than ever before. I would argue, however, that the melodies most universally known – and associated with the most immersive emotions of our collective cultural life – are from video games, a media form that is commercially bigger than sports or the music and film industries combined. When you think about the biggest earworms of the past century, you might immediately turn to the top of the charts – immortal tracks in the pop pantheon like “Yesterday” or “Billie Jean” – or you may consider themes from historic blockbusters such as Star Wars or Ghostbusters.
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