Kind of Bloop
August 20, 2009 1:05 PM Subscribe
Thank you Miles, but your apotheosis is in another castle.
MetaFilter's own waxpancake commissioned an 8-bit homage to the greatest album ever made. [previously]
MetaFilter's own waxpancake commissioned an 8-bit homage to the greatest album ever made. [previously]
this must be what music sounds like to Leisure Suit Larry.
posted by shmegegge at 3:33 PM on August 20, 2009
posted by shmegegge at 3:33 PM on August 20, 2009
it took me an hour to post that.
posted by shmegegge at 3:33 PM on August 20, 2009 [5 favorites]
posted by shmegegge at 3:33 PM on August 20, 2009 [5 favorites]
the greatest album ever made
no, it isn't.
posted by philip-random at 3:40 PM on August 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
no, it isn't.
posted by philip-random at 3:40 PM on August 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
Well, the samples made me chuckle. Very cute. I can easily imagine myself having an "OMG" moment if I heard any of these playiing in the background of an old game.
OTOH, that 8-bit harshness really does strangle every last drop of subtlety, nuance and intimacy out of the originals. But, I suppose that's unavoidable. Interesting project.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:41 PM on August 20, 2009
OTOH, that 8-bit harshness really does strangle every last drop of subtlety, nuance and intimacy out of the originals. But, I suppose that's unavoidable. Interesting project.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:41 PM on August 20, 2009
I tried to comment five times here. Let's go for six, the condensed version:
I had Seven Nation Army stuck in my head for five hours straight. Thanks for helping scrub that out.
posted by middleclasstool at 3:44 PM on August 20, 2009
I had Seven Nation Army stuck in my head for five hours straight. Thanks for helping scrub that out.
posted by middleclasstool at 3:44 PM on August 20, 2009
Are there any 8-bit graphic videos of these songs? I think it'd be awesome if someone made hypothetical videos to go with the bloop album.
posted by mathowie at 3:48 PM on August 20, 2009
posted by mathowie at 3:48 PM on August 20, 2009
Also, Metafilter's own Jake covers "Freddie Freeloader" on the album.
mathowie: Someone paired it with Mario gameplay, and Said the Gramophone posted some Mario noir fanfic, but that's the extent.
Thorzdad: The samples really don't represent the tracks well. They really pushed the boundaries of the form, with very creative improvisation and expressive runs.
posted by waxpancake at 4:16 PM on August 20, 2009 [2 favorites]
mathowie: Someone paired it with Mario gameplay, and Said the Gramophone posted some Mario noir fanfic, but that's the extent.
Thorzdad: The samples really don't represent the tracks well. They really pushed the boundaries of the form, with very creative improvisation and expressive runs.
posted by waxpancake at 4:16 PM on August 20, 2009 [2 favorites]
I'll be a jerk for asking, but how is this different from the [previous]? The only news I see is that it's actually released, instead of being a potential release (they did make their $2,000 in 4 hours, so the funding wasn't in question).
posted by filthy light thief at 4:27 PM on August 20, 2009
posted by filthy light thief at 4:27 PM on August 20, 2009
It's definitely firmly in doublepost territory, though I guess now that it's released, people can argue about how it turned out.
posted by waxpancake at 4:50 PM on August 20, 2009
posted by waxpancake at 4:50 PM on August 20, 2009
I was going to post my thought earlier, but I couldn't comment. I'm excited to hear the music, but a dupe's a dupe.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:55 PM on August 20, 2009
posted by filthy light thief at 4:55 PM on August 20, 2009
There is one week a year ... when everything is a repeat, even the news
Not snarking, just getting ready to loot your house.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:57 PM on August 20, 2009 [2 favorites]
Not snarking, just getting ready to loot your house.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:57 PM on August 20, 2009 [2 favorites]
Oh, the humanity....
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 5:14 PM on August 20, 2009
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 5:14 PM on August 20, 2009
I was surprised how much I liked the version of 'So What'.
posted by mattholomew at 5:40 PM on August 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by mattholomew at 5:40 PM on August 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
While the music is good it smacks a bit of hype and hyperbole. If you ignore all the comments (which dwarf the music) it sounds surprisingly trivial.
posted by uni verse at 6:20 PM on August 20, 2009
posted by uni verse at 6:20 PM on August 20, 2009
Did you guys have to play every note into a keyboard through a midi-controller? If so, man... transcribing those solos... Miles' solo on "So What" took me a while to figure out - on trumpet - without writing things down... Nice work either way.
posted by Kimothy at 7:10 PM on August 20, 2009
posted by Kimothy at 7:10 PM on August 20, 2009
The music dwarfs the comments. If you are not familiar with the twentieth century trajectory of jazz, well, I can understand how the music might sound trivial.
It's like "your favorite band sucks." Someone above posted Queen's album as the best ever. Were they being sarcastic? I hope so, but if not, fine. We are all free to love Queen or Spinal Tap or ELO more than Trane, Bird or Miles.
posted by kozad at 7:42 PM on August 20, 2009
It's like "your favorite band sucks." Someone above posted Queen's album as the best ever. Were they being sarcastic? I hope so, but if not, fine. We are all free to love Queen or Spinal Tap or ELO more than Trane, Bird or Miles.
posted by kozad at 7:42 PM on August 20, 2009
Kimothy.. even crazier:
Programmed into a spreadsheet-like mod tracker program, as seen in this image.
Not just note by note but every nuance of each note, every bend and trail-off. Chris and I have been writing in trackers for 13 years and never come across a challenge requiring so much precision. It was much easier to go into our own solos later on, with our own styles.
Guys, Andy's not kidding: the samples are really not representative. It goes from "nice video game transcription, whatever" in the samples to "jazz, full stop" later on in each song. If you can listen to Sam's "All Blues" all the way through without any interest at all, I will eat my snow hat.
Thanks for the (double) mention, though. Totally incredible project to have worked on.
posted by jake at 8:13 PM on August 20, 2009 [3 favorites]
Programmed into a spreadsheet-like mod tracker program, as seen in this image.
Not just note by note but every nuance of each note, every bend and trail-off. Chris and I have been writing in trackers for 13 years and never come across a challenge requiring so much precision. It was much easier to go into our own solos later on, with our own styles.
Guys, Andy's not kidding: the samples are really not representative. It goes from "nice video game transcription, whatever" in the samples to "jazz, full stop" later on in each song. If you can listen to Sam's "All Blues" all the way through without any interest at all, I will eat my snow hat.
Thanks for the (double) mention, though. Totally incredible project to have worked on.
posted by jake at 8:13 PM on August 20, 2009 [3 favorites]
I kicked in after reading the old post. The finished result is definitely worth five bucks.
Pace Thorzdad, the tracks are still full of "subtlety, nuance and intimacy." It obviously isn't expressed in anything like the same way as the original, but is there if you're willing to hear it, just like the best exponents of any genre. The best parts are when the music transcends imitation of guys blowing through brass tubes and embraces what is characteristic of chiptune music instead. "All Blues" is indeed incredible in this regard.
posted by No-sword at 9:10 PM on August 20, 2009
Pace Thorzdad, the tracks are still full of "subtlety, nuance and intimacy." It obviously isn't expressed in anything like the same way as the original, but is there if you're willing to hear it, just like the best exponents of any genre. The best parts are when the music transcends imitation of guys blowing through brass tubes and embraces what is characteristic of chiptune music instead. "All Blues" is indeed incredible in this regard.
posted by No-sword at 9:10 PM on August 20, 2009
Someone above posted Queen's album as the best ever. Were they being sarcastic?
Not sarcastic so much as pointing out how ridiculous it is to call anything "the best ever" ... even though I do it all the time. Queen II came up because for some strange reason I stumbled upon it during a sloppy google search on "best album ever" ... and, if you've never actually taken the time, Queen II is worth a serious listen. THERE IS NO OTHER ALBUM LIKE IT. Where Led Zeppelin and the Beach Boys crash hard into each other and ricochet into a Gilbert + Sullivan opera by way of a Beatles convention ... and it works.
Best Album Ever. No way. That would have to be Sandinista by the Clash, or Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth, or Future Days by Can, or Close To The Edge by Yes, or Exile On Mainstreet by the Stones, or Bitches Brew by Miles Davis ... but what do I know?
posted by philip-random at 10:12 PM on August 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
Not sarcastic so much as pointing out how ridiculous it is to call anything "the best ever" ... even though I do it all the time. Queen II came up because for some strange reason I stumbled upon it during a sloppy google search on "best album ever" ... and, if you've never actually taken the time, Queen II is worth a serious listen. THERE IS NO OTHER ALBUM LIKE IT. Where Led Zeppelin and the Beach Boys crash hard into each other and ricochet into a Gilbert + Sullivan opera by way of a Beatles convention ... and it works.
Best Album Ever. No way. That would have to be Sandinista by the Clash, or Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth, or Future Days by Can, or Close To The Edge by Yes, or Exile On Mainstreet by the Stones, or Bitches Brew by Miles Davis ... but what do I know?
posted by philip-random at 10:12 PM on August 20, 2009 [1 favorite]
I think Gruber sums it up perfectly when he suggests it inpsires a fake nostalgia for a game you have never played. I signed up via waxy's homepage (not equating him with waxpancake here) at random a while back.
'So What' is stand out.
If you like this seek out Da Chip - chiptune interpretation of Daft Punk.
[I tried posting several times last night GMT and mefi was refusing me]
posted by artaxerxes at 3:03 AM on August 21, 2009
'So What' is stand out.
If you like this seek out Da Chip - chiptune interpretation of Daft Punk.
[I tried posting several times last night GMT and mefi was refusing me]
posted by artaxerxes at 3:03 AM on August 21, 2009
Derail: The Moog Cookbook. Not chiptune, not jazz, but Moog versions of popular hits. Their version of Hotel California is unspeakably funny.
posted by ostranenie at 6:39 PM on August 22, 2009
posted by ostranenie at 6:39 PM on August 22, 2009
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