"World 1-1" from Super Mario Bros.
Strong Songs
The Bass and the Drums in a Tight Synchrony
The drums are actually changing the groove so that the drums are a little bit more in line with the bass. So here's what the bass is playing during this section. It's almost a legit timbao which is a pretty cool kind of a baseline that plays over the bar line. Like most things about this piece of music it is very tidy and very pleasing once you look at how all the pieces fit together.
Classic video game consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System didn't just play games; they also played music. Their onboard synthesizers put strict limits on what kinds of music game composers could write, but from those limits came a cornucopia of musical themes that remain iconic even today.
On this episode, Kirk peels back the layers of Koji Kondo's "World 1-1" music from the first Super Mario Bros., revealing a perfectly polished musical gem.
Level: World 1-1
Game: Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Written by: Koji Kondo
ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED:
- The Legend of Zelda theme and various other tracks from Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3, all by Koji Kondo
- "Nascence" from Journey by Austin Wintory feat. Tina Guo, 2012
- "El Cayuco" by Tito Puente from Dance Mania, 1958
- Audio from the Basileous Productions playthrough of World 1-1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avspZlbOWU
OUTRO SOLOIST: Steve Pardo
This episode's outro soloist is the one and only Steve Pardo. Steve is a Nashville, TN based producer, composer, and saxophonist, and also does work in the world of video games, having spent several years at Harmonix, where he helped make music games like Rock Band and Dance Central. You can find out more at his website: https://www.stevepardo.com/
TRIPLE CLICK
If you want to listen to Kirk talk about video games every week, check out his new video game podcast Triple Click, which he co-hosts with Polygon's Maddy Myers and Bloomberg News's Jason Schreier. It's on all major podcast services, and also at http://tripleclickpodcast.com.
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