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
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ALSO FEATURED:
- 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.
KEEP IT SOCIAL
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And you can find Kirk on Twitter @Kirkhamilton and on Instagram at @kirk_Hamilton: https://www.instagram.com/kirk_hamilton/
NEWSLETTER/MAILING LIST
Sign up for Kirk's mailing list to start getting monthly-ish newsletters with music recommendations, links, news, and extra thoughts on new Strong Songs episodes: https://kirkhamilton.substack.com/subscribe
STRONG MERCH!
Visit the Strong Songs merch store for some very cool t-shirts, mugs, totes, and more: store.strongsongspodcast.com
STRONG PLAYLISTS
Kirk has condensed his Strong Songs picks into a single new list, which you can find on Spotify, Apple Music, and thanks to listener L.B., it's now on Google Play.
SUPPORT STRONG SONGS ON PATREON!
Thank you to all of Strong Songs's Patreon backers - you all make all this possible. For more information on how to support the show, go here: https://Patreon.com/StrongSongs
JULY 2020 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONS
AccessViolation Aidan Coughlan Andre Bremer Anne Britt Bill Rosinger CALEB ROTACH Chad Barnard Christer Lindqvist Craig J Covell Dan Apczynski Dave Florey David Zahm Doug Paton Erin Glenn Guinevere Boostrom Jeanneret Manning Family Four Jill Smith-Moore Kyle Starr Mark Schechter Matt Butler Merlin Mann Mickey Clark Narelle Horn Nathaniel Bauernfeind R Watson Rachel Rakov Robert Paul Ryan Torvik Viki Dun
JULY 2020 HALF-NOTE PATRONS
AJ Schuster Adam Conway Albukitty Alexander Geddes Alexander Polson Amanda Furlotti Andrew Baker Andrew Lee Aparajit Raghavan Arjun Sharma Benedict Pennington Bill Fuller Bill Thornton Brendon Oliver-Ewen Brett Douville Brian Amoebas Briony Leo Brooke Wilford Caro Field Chas Lednicky Chris Brown Clare HOLBERTON Cyrus N. White Darryl Stewart Dave King David Stroud David Zucker Dhu Wik Diane Turner Duncan Earl Lozada Eero Wahlstedt Elliot Jay O'Neill Emily Williams Eric Helm Forrest Chang Gavin Doig Geoff Golden Georgia Livesay Gerry Nelson Jack Sjogren Jake Tinsley James Johnson Jarrod Schindler Jeffrey Olson Jenifer Carr Jennifer Bush Jeremy Dawson Joe C John and Sharon Stenglein Jon O’Keefe Jonathan Daniels Juan Carlos Montemayor Elosua Judith Stansfield Judy Chapple Jules Bailey Justin Liew Justin McElroy Kate Albury Kendra Reid Kevin Morrell Kevin Pennyfeather Latifah Makuyi Leigh Sales MH Malory Mark Haberlen Mark Perry Mark Steen Markus Koester Matt Betzel Matt Gaskell Melanie Stivers Michael Blackwell Michael Flaherty Miriam Juskowicz Mueller Nate from Kalamazoo Nicholas Schechter Pascal Rueger Randy Souza Richard Toller Robbie Ferrero Robyn Fraser SP SUELLEN MOORE Sam Fenn Shane DeLeon Sheilah Steven Maron Stuart Terry Tanner Morton Tom Clewer Tom Coleman Tom Lauer Toni Isaacson Wayne Marsh Wen Zoe Little brant brantphillip michael bochner
