How to Beat the Valkyrie Queen

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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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

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