Chiptune Favourites

Apartment Therapy is a blog about making a small home prettier and more livable. Why one of the blog's writers, Chris Perez, decided to make a post about "8-bit video game music" baffled me. (Their post on Zelda fireplace art makes more sense.) Maybe chiptunes make my life more enjoyable, but they are certainly not a way for me to improve the design of the World War II Cape Cod house I live in.

My house before chiptunes.

My house after chiptunes.

Perez included themes from Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Brothers, Final Fantasy, Ninja Gaidan, etc. I am curious to know if the author knew anything about the current community surrounding chiptunes, and if he did, why did he not post about it? Of course this old music is great, but there are so many talented people who have remixed, rapped over, and mashed up old game music or made their own original tracks. Chiptunes are just a one genre of game music. There's VG rock, metal and nerdcore, but for now, I'm just going to show you some of my favourite chiptune artists.

For the most part, this artist does not create his own chiptunes, but he does a fantastic job of remixing old ones. He is the quintessential video game DJ, and he has the perfect name, DJ Cutman. I met him once at Katsucon 2011 and he was a super nice guy too. I recommend his Gamechops Vol. 1, as well as Gamechops Vol. 2. The one below is the one I've been listening to repeatedly for the past few days.



From the Smashing Pumpkins to Buddy Guy, some of the best acts in the world come from Chicago. I find most chiptune artists come from the East Coast, but there is one I know of from Chicago, and they are great. They remind me of Weezer and they are the only chiptune artist I know of signed to a record label. This summer, you can find them on the Warped Tour. They are I Fight Dragons. Check out this fantastic video of theirs, which was recently featured Nintendo Video (in 3D too).



You would think someone would be served a cease and desist letter somewhere. Well, it has definitely happened to Team Teamwork, and it hasn't stopped him. His mashed up mixtapes include Ocarina of Rhyme, Vinyl Fantasy VII, and Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis. He is the master of the video game mashup.

Chiptune covers are also easy to find. My latest discovery is Quinton Sung's Radiohead covers. Considering OK Computer is one of my favourite albums of all time, it was great to experience the album again in a new light.



These are just a few examples from the big world of game music, and this definitely will not be my only post about it either. Video games and music are two passions of mine, and when you put them together, some kind of inexplicable magic happens.

Photo Post - MLP: LA is Magic

Just over a week ago, I was lucky enough to catch the My Little Pony Project in LA. Unfortunately, they clumped a bunch of pieces right in front of the window making it difficult to see some of them. Though, I was able to get photos of a few good ponies. It didn't take too long for us to get through the show, but we spent a while just browsing the store. Observing other bronies was also enjoyable. There was a mother who brought her two daughters, a man (dressed very LA) explained to his female friend who all the characters were, and two more-typical looking bronies sifted through the Mighty Fine t-shirts. I was pleasantly surprised by Toy Art Gallery's location on Melrose, which has fantastic shopping. If you ever visit, there are several other great toy-carrying places like: Puzzle Zoo, Munky King, Japan LA, and Kidrobot.

There was this cute photo op stand with the Canterlot castle in the background. They had props you could wear like tiaras, fairy wings, and curly ribbon headbands. (That's me on the left and my cousin, Sheryl on the right.)

The pony I wanted to take home was the only monochromatic piece. It had a stone-like finish and looked as if it could have come from a different century. If it was not a part of the My Little Pony exhibit, I don't think anyone would have ever known it was based off a little girl's toy. It's something that might have been sold in Rick Harrison's pawn shop or a statue that should have gone in my parents' foyer in the house I grew up in.

The My Little Pony project closed this past Saturday. If you weren't able to make it, you can at least check out the rest of my photos below.

   

  

 

Introduction

I was only a tiny cyborg back then.

I have always been proud of my Asian heritage, which has been a big influence on me. As a kid, my brother’s frequent NES usage and my father’s avid consumption of science fiction also had a big influence on me. When I grew a bit older, I became aware of the lack of Asian representation around me. On TV, I realized the most of faces were not people who looked like me. In school, we only read American and British literature. On the radio, the rock stations I listened to were made up of white artists.

We were the only Asian American family in my neighbourhood, and the only other Asian girl in my grade-school was adopted by a white family. It was easy for me to become so absorbed in Japanese video games, Asian cinema, anime, manga, Asian pop stars, and Jubilee of the X-men. Though, the more my interests absorbed me, the more I realized how connected the East was with the West. 

Here are just a few examples off the top of my head:

• During the 1970s, the first role-playing video games were American. Japan redefined RPGs with games like Dragon warrior and Final Fantasy.
• Osamu Tezuka invented the big-eyed style of anime and is considered the father of manga. His art was inspired by Disney cartoons.
• Cartoon Network cartoons like Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter’s Lab have anime influences, and in turn have influenced the style of Panty and Stocking.
• Because J-hip-hop acts have collaborated with American hip-hop artists, I was introduced to a whole world of great American hip-hop I never knew.
• Shows like Futurama and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic have homages to anime.
• Madhouse, a well-known Japanese animation studio, was hired to do the fight scenes in Boondocks.
• Baseball is American as apple pie, but it’s just as popular in Japan. There are currently 15 Japanese-born players in the MLB.
  

Cultural connections make it easy to broaden my interests, and within each interest come many genres. They are my life. I live, eat and breathe games, cosplay, conventions, anime, music, TV, and movies. In the last 10 years,  I have attended over 50 fan conventions. Nowadays, most of my time at cons is spent promoting my company and selling my work. Though, with events like Comic-Con and Penny Arcade Expo, I will show up as an attendee only.

My most recent cosplay, Pinkie Pie. Photo by Vinh Vu.

At each event, a game developer or artist would explain their product or work to me at length. At the end of their spiel, they will then ask me, “Who are you with?” Meaning, “Who do you work for?” I’ve been asked, “Do you work for a game site?” and “Are you a community manager?” My answer is always, “I’m just an attendee.”  I found it a little puzzling as to why people think I am some kind of reporter, but after a while, I realized I can use this to my advantage and start my own site.  Although Asian Americans are common as gamers or otaku, I haven’t really heard their voices in these communities. So, here I am. This is my first post for Little Cyborg.