Anyway, what I’m really asking is, are those old game soundtracks actually any good, or do I just have no taste?
The third option is that you like them because you played the game in question. There’s two sub-explanations here: the nice one is that you have a strong emotional attachment to the music due to having played the game, and the cynical one is that you just heard the tracks over and over when you played and got used to them.
I also like music from the video games I played as a kid, and also think that more recent video game music isn’t as good. But listening to the tracks you linked to did nothing for me. On the other hand, my brother (10 years younger than me) thinks that the soundtrack to Skyrim is the best thing ever. So I’m inclined to be skeptical of our music tastes here.
Potential hybrid explanation: Explanation #3 is true in that better sound capabilities have allowed video game composers to focus less on melody, but we only care so much about melody (as opposed to other aspects of the music) in the first place because we grew up playing games with soundtracks that put such emphasis on it. :)
It’s the melody that we associate most with a piece of music. It’s the aspect that is the easiest to remember. Pop-music is quite melody centric, I think. Older video game music is like pop-music. It’s very memorable and we become attached to it, which is why we like to hear it outside of the game.
Newer video game music is more like film music. It’s less noticeable, but still improves the experience a lot. The function of the music is to support the overall experience, not distract from it, or to be likeable on its own.
I picked those particular tracks because they’re from the original Game Boy, which has a far more limited sound capability than the SNES. If I wanted to link to my absolute favorites, I’d have picked something from the Final Fantasy VI soundtrack. This, for example.
A counterexample: I noticed and liked the music from Lufia: The Ruins of Lore despite not having played it in childhood, although I don’t rank it as being among my favorite soundtracks.
On the other hand, I’m pretty sure that at least some of my fondness for the Final Fantasy VI soundtrack is the result of playing the game in childhood; the music, in context, is a lot more moving than merely the music alone, and some of that spills over when I listen to the soundtrack. (As far as I’m concerned, Final Fantasy VI is the definitive example of how to use music to enhance a story.)
Although that Skyrim soundtrack does seem pretty good, now that I’ve tried listening to some of it on Youtube… (I’ve never played the game.)
I grew up listening to classical music because of the influence of my parents, and I was heavily involved in the classical music subculture because I shared a house with a music student.
I gradually stopped listening to classic music as I realized I didn’t really enjoy it and I merely associated it with high status. Now I almost exclusively listen to chiptunes and 90s electronic dance music. This music is much simpler than music I previously listened to (I also listened to metal and jazz), but I’ve made a conscious decision to listen to music purely for enjoyment. I now spend far less effort on thinking about music, but I’m equally happy with it, so I think it’s a win.
Were you listening to classical music of all periods, or just to “modern” classical music? I personally believe that the latter doesn’t cause much pleasure in most people who listen to it, and its (limited) appeal is instead explained largely in terms of self- and public signaling. At the same time, I find that certain works of a few classical composers of earlier periods (such as Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Debussy and Vaughan Williams [click for examples]) induce in me intensely pleasant experiences.
IIRC, J.S. Bach wrote his keyboard pieces for the harpsichord, which, unlike the modern piano, can’t change it’s volume based on how the performer presses the keys. MIDI is usually played with a similar constant volume, so the MIDI version may actually be closer to how it was intended to sound than the same piece being played by a concert pianist.
If you are fond of synthesized versions of Bach, you should check out Wendy Carlos’s “Switched-On Bach” albums. (Wendy Carlos was formerly Walter Carlos and you might possibly find old copies under that name.)
To what extend are you aware of the wonderful world of chiptune music and video game music rearrangements? By video game music rearrangements I mean thinks like symphonic concerts (my favorite is “Symphonic Fantasies”, which you can listen to on youtube and is much better than some others, like “Video Games Live” ), the Final Fantasy piano collections, ocremix.org, and the works fans put on youtube.
Anyway, what I’m really asking is, are those old game soundtracks actually any good, or do I just have no taste?
If you have no taste, you are not alone. Nabuo Uematsu is quite popular. Personally I found those exact videos quite annoying, though that might have to do with sound quality and some filters might improve them. I do, however, like the piano arrangements this one guy made to pieces from the same series: Burning Blood and a Legend 1 medley. I also love the Link’s Awakening OST and this album, which has a similar (Game Boy) sound.
I think I have fairly poor taste in music.
What do you think is a good taste in music?
My first answer would be that the concept is quite silly. (That also seems politically correct to me)
My second answer would be that it’s not about what music you like but about how varied your taste is. It seems to me that one gets more total amounts of enjoyment and different kinds of experiences from liking different kinds of music, and different qualities in music.
If you are interested in developing your taste, I’d suggest you listen to this Final Fantasy medley (I’m assuming you are familiar with the Final Fantasy music. For me the Chrono medley from the same concert was the first time I really appreciated symphonic music). Try to recognize the themes. That should be fun (at least it’s for me) and you might like the piece better after having concentrated on it. You could then pay attention to different aspects like the variation in loudness (sometimes the music whispers, sometimes it’s loud and impressive), which is something pop-music or chiptune don’t really have. If you take a liking to this type of music you can then listen to something like Beethoven’s 5th and notice that it’s really the same type of music.
To what extend are you aware of the wonderful world of chiptune music
I’ve heard of it, and I’ve listened to a little bit (it seemed good) but I’m not that familiar with it.
and video game music rearrangements?
These tend to be hit or miss with me. I sometimes like the original version better than the arrangement played on actual instruments.
What do you think is a good taste in music?
I dunno. The kind of music that doesn’t get made fun of by music snobs, I guess. Yeah, my concept of “poor taste in music” is pretty much about social status, but I haven’t invested enough time or effort to go beyond the uninformed “I don’t know music, but I know what I like” stage.
I really don’t understand music. I apparently have some talent for performing music, but I can’t explain what it is I do that makes the pieces sound good, and I never learned much in the way of music theory. I can talk endlessly about why I like the video games or literature that I do, but I can’t do the same for music. If I could actually present arguments for why the music I like actually is good, I’d have an answer to what good taste in music is.
I suppose I’m not really all that interested in learning more about it, though. (Does this mean I’m failing at curiosity?)
the piano arrangements this one guy made to pieces from the same series: Burning Blood
I found this way more awesome than the original linked to by CronoDAS. I was surprised that my subjective judgement for two different arrangements of the same melody could be that different.
I think a lot of other people have good points. I DO still think video game music is often excellent, but not universally. I think modern video game music is higher variance—games where someone obviously cared about the music have both good melodies AND good instrumentation. But there’s a lot of games where nobody cared at all.
The best video-game music I’ve heard recently was from Braid and Bastion. In both cases, the music is clearly a central “character” of the game, obviously cared deeply about by the creator. Braid falls into the “silent protagonist” category. Bastion oddly enough has a lot of dialog, but the narration is intertwined with the audio in a pretty deliberate fashion.
Anyway, what I’m really asking is, are those old game soundtracks actually any good, or do I just have no taste?
I didn’t enjoy the first two, but I kind-of liked the third one (especially the beginning). More generally, I like the music that makes me instinctively want to move at its rhythm (or to sing along, but that’s not applicable to instrumentals).
I don’t count as someone who knows anything about music, but I agree with your assessment. Though I find the bit about MIDI files surprising, seeing as MIDI files and chiptunes don’t have the same sound (to the extent that MIDI files have a consistent sound). I’m not sure how much this says anything seeing as going by the linked articles there seem to be a number of people who would agree with this.
Explanation number two is interesting. I had considered #3 to be the obvious explanation and hadn’t really considered any others. Thanks for pointing that out. It seems easier to test than explanation #3.
[veering off topic]
So, since you guys know something about music...
I think I have fairly poor taste in music. Perhaps as a result of growing up listening to NES and SNES-era video game music all the time, I have an inordinate fondness for the sound of MIDI files, which are supposed to be one of those things everyone hates. As a matter of fact, I tend to feel that video game music has gotten notably worse as the technical capabilities of game consoles has gotten better. (I have three hypotheses that could explain this. One is that the music has improved but my taste in music sucks. The second is that voice acting competes with music for players’ attention, and that it’s no coincidence that the music stopped being as interesting at the same time voice acting became more common. The third is that improvements in technology “freed” composers from having to rely on melodic complexity alone to hold gamers’ attention, so melodies have gotten less interesting.)
Anyway, what I’m really asking is, are those old game soundtracks actually any good, or do I just have no taste?
The third option is that you like them because you played the game in question. There’s two sub-explanations here: the nice one is that you have a strong emotional attachment to the music due to having played the game, and the cynical one is that you just heard the tracks over and over when you played and got used to them.
I also like music from the video games I played as a kid, and also think that more recent video game music isn’t as good. But listening to the tracks you linked to did nothing for me. On the other hand, my brother (10 years younger than me) thinks that the soundtrack to Skyrim is the best thing ever. So I’m inclined to be skeptical of our music tastes here.
Potential hybrid explanation: Explanation #3 is true in that better sound capabilities have allowed video game composers to focus less on melody, but we only care so much about melody (as opposed to other aspects of the music) in the first place because we grew up playing games with soundtracks that put such emphasis on it. :)
Oh! Let me try!
It’s the melody that we associate most with a piece of music. It’s the aspect that is the easiest to remember. Pop-music is quite melody centric, I think. Older video game music is like pop-music. It’s very memorable and we become attached to it, which is why we like to hear it outside of the game.
Newer video game music is more like film music. It’s less noticeable, but still improves the experience a lot. The function of the music is to support the overall experience, not distract from it, or to be likeable on its own.
Well, unless the piece of music is “We Will Rock You”! :-)
The Firebird. Take Five. Bolero. Mars from The Planets.
I picked those particular tracks because they’re from the original Game Boy, which has a far more limited sound capability than the SNES. If I wanted to link to my absolute favorites, I’d have picked something from the Final Fantasy VI soundtrack. This, for example.
Also, here’s the orchestral version and in Italian in case the midi puts anyone off.
A counterexample: I noticed and liked the music from Lufia: The Ruins of Lore despite not having played it in childhood, although I don’t rank it as being among my favorite soundtracks.
On the other hand, I’m pretty sure that at least some of my fondness for the Final Fantasy VI soundtrack is the result of playing the game in childhood; the music, in context, is a lot more moving than merely the music alone, and some of that spills over when I listen to the soundtrack. (As far as I’m concerned, Final Fantasy VI is the definitive example of how to use music to enhance a story.)
Although that Skyrim soundtrack does seem pretty good, now that I’ve tried listening to some of it on Youtube… (I’ve never played the game.)
I grew up listening to classical music because of the influence of my parents, and I was heavily involved in the classical music subculture because I shared a house with a music student.
I gradually stopped listening to classic music as I realized I didn’t really enjoy it and I merely associated it with high status. Now I almost exclusively listen to chiptunes and 90s electronic dance music. This music is much simpler than music I previously listened to (I also listened to metal and jazz), but I’ve made a conscious decision to listen to music purely for enjoyment. I now spend far less effort on thinking about music, but I’m equally happy with it, so I think it’s a win.
Were you listening to classical music of all periods, or just to “modern” classical music? I personally believe that the latter doesn’t cause much pleasure in most people who listen to it, and its (limited) appeal is instead explained largely in terms of self- and public signaling. At the same time, I find that certain works of a few classical composers of earlier periods (such as Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Debussy and Vaughan Williams [click for examples]) induce in me intensely pleasant experiences.
All periods.
I still like some of J. S. Bach’s keyboard works (especially as MIDI played with FM synthesis), and some minimalist compositions (Steve Reich etc.).
IIRC, J.S. Bach wrote his keyboard pieces for the harpsichord, which, unlike the modern piano, can’t change it’s volume based on how the performer presses the keys. MIDI is usually played with a similar constant volume, so the MIDI version may actually be closer to how it was intended to sound than the same piece being played by a concert pianist.
If you are fond of synthesized versions of Bach, you should check out Wendy Carlos’s “Switched-On Bach” albums. (Wendy Carlos was formerly Walter Carlos and you might possibly find old copies under that name.)
To what extend are you aware of the wonderful world of chiptune music and video game music rearrangements? By video game music rearrangements I mean thinks like symphonic concerts (my favorite is “Symphonic Fantasies”, which you can listen to on youtube and is much better than some others, like “Video Games Live” ), the Final Fantasy piano collections, ocremix.org, and the works fans put on youtube.
If you have no taste, you are not alone. Nabuo Uematsu is quite popular. Personally I found those exact videos quite annoying, though that might have to do with sound quality and some filters might improve them. I do, however, like the piano arrangements this one guy made to pieces from the same series: Burning Blood and a Legend 1 medley. I also love the Link’s Awakening OST and this album, which has a similar (Game Boy) sound.
What do you think is a good taste in music?
My first answer would be that the concept is quite silly. (That also seems politically correct to me)
My second answer would be that it’s not about what music you like but about how varied your taste is. It seems to me that one gets more total amounts of enjoyment and different kinds of experiences from liking different kinds of music, and different qualities in music.
If you are interested in developing your taste, I’d suggest you listen to this Final Fantasy medley (I’m assuming you are familiar with the Final Fantasy music. For me the Chrono medley from the same concert was the first time I really appreciated symphonic music). Try to recognize the themes. That should be fun (at least it’s for me) and you might like the piece better after having concentrated on it. You could then pay attention to different aspects like the variation in loudness (sometimes the music whispers, sometimes it’s loud and impressive), which is something pop-music or chiptune don’t really have. If you take a liking to this type of music you can then listen to something like Beethoven’s 5th and notice that it’s really the same type of music.
I’ve heard of it, and I’ve listened to a little bit (it seemed good) but I’m not that familiar with it.
These tend to be hit or miss with me. I sometimes like the original version better than the arrangement played on actual instruments.
I dunno. The kind of music that doesn’t get made fun of by music snobs, I guess. Yeah, my concept of “poor taste in music” is pretty much about social status, but I haven’t invested enough time or effort to go beyond the uninformed “I don’t know music, but I know what I like” stage.
I really don’t understand music. I apparently have some talent for performing music, but I can’t explain what it is I do that makes the pieces sound good, and I never learned much in the way of music theory. I can talk endlessly about why I like the video games or literature that I do, but I can’t do the same for music. If I could actually present arguments for why the music I like actually is good, I’d have an answer to what good taste in music is.
I suppose I’m not really all that interested in learning more about it, though. (Does this mean I’m failing at curiosity?)
I found this way more awesome than the original linked to by CronoDAS. I was surprised that my subjective judgement for two different arrangements of the same melody could be that different.
I think a lot of other people have good points. I DO still think video game music is often excellent, but not universally. I think modern video game music is higher variance—games where someone obviously cared about the music have both good melodies AND good instrumentation. But there’s a lot of games where nobody cared at all.
The best video-game music I’ve heard recently was from Braid and Bastion. In both cases, the music is clearly a central “character” of the game, obviously cared deeply about by the creator. Braid falls into the “silent protagonist” category. Bastion oddly enough has a lot of dialog, but the narration is intertwined with the audio in a pretty deliberate fashion.
If you have no taste then neither do I.
I didn’t enjoy the first two, but I kind-of liked the third one (especially the beginning). More generally, I like the music that makes me instinctively want to move at its rhythm (or to sing along, but that’s not applicable to instrumentals).
I don’t count as someone who knows anything about music, but I agree with your assessment. Though I find the bit about MIDI files surprising, seeing as MIDI files and chiptunes don’t have the same sound (to the extent that MIDI files have a consistent sound). I’m not sure how much this says anything seeing as going by the linked articles there seem to be a number of people who would agree with this.
Explanation number two is interesting. I had considered #3 to be the obvious explanation and hadn’t really considered any others. Thanks for pointing that out. It seems easier to test than explanation #3.