The songs that will never come out

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head for a few days in a row? That can be very frustrating, or, if you love the song, it can act as a happy little life soundtrack. I have had a number of tunes stuck in the back of my head for about 20 years now, and I’m not sure they’ll ever come out.

It’s probably not surprising that those tunes are video game songs, I have been an avid gamer since I could grip a controller after all. When I say these songs have been stuck in my head, I’m not talking about buried deep in some mental cave, accessible only through dreams or hypnosis. No, these are tunes that I still hum when driving in the car, illustrating (I love to listen and sing along to music while I draw), writing, or just walking about town. They’ve become a part of my consciousness; it’s really kind of strange.

The other night I decided to seek some of these tunes out. The first place I found was the incredible video game music collection over at vgmusic, where classic 8-bit music is faithfully recreated. From there, I hit up YouTube to kick up some visual nostalgia. I found the screens I was looking for, but what was more interesting were the real instrument performances of some of my favorite songs. I thought I’d share one of my favorites with you.

They just don’t make video game music like that anymore. This rendition not only gives the original new life, it gives it a soul.

Other great tunes include the Super Mario 2 theme, Super Mario 3 theme, Mega Man 2 theme, the overworld music in The Legend of Zelda (that rendition is by famed composer John Williams), and the overworld music for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I have great memories tied to every one of those, perhaps that’s why they’ve stayed in my brain for so long. I was kid when these tunes first penetrated my mind; I had no worries, no bills, none of the stresses of adult life. It was just me, the game, and the music. Something tells me I’ll go on humming these tunes for another 20 years.

Got any favorites of your own? Please share them, I could listen to this stuff all day.

Interview with a Scribblenaut

Last week I did an interview with Nathan Hernandez, lead animator for Scribblenauts, a fun and innovative game for the Nintendo DS. Nathan and I went to high school together, and when I found out that he was at 5th Cell, and that I reviewed their last game, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to speak with him. Since game interviews don’t really fall under the job description of freelance reviewer for GameSpot, I did the interview for TC Magazine, where I was once the senior editor.

Instead of reposting the interview here, as I did on my GameSpot blog, I’ll just refer you TC Magazine’s website. I had a great time interviewing Nathan and it was fun to get a peek at game development. I’ve been following the game industry my whole life, and even though I get to review games for one of the top game news outlets, it’s still exciting to see how things work on the other side of the industry.

You can find the interview by clicking here.

Also, in case you didn’t notice it in my blogroll, The Mecklenburg Times now has a wordpress blog! This is very exciting for us because we can finally share our stories online with our readers. Corporate is working on the real deal site, but until then, I think the blog is great. Check it out!