8/16/32 bit chip tune game
April 3, 2010 8:28 PM Subscribe
Music.Filter: Which chip tune video game soundtrack does Ke$ha's Tik Tok song most remind you of?
The first time I heard this song I couldn't quite figure out which 8/16/32 bit song the instrumental reminded me of from playing as a kid? Anyone have any good guesses?
Instrumental Actual Song
8 Bit Version 1 , 2
The first time I heard this song I couldn't quite figure out which 8/16/32 bit song the instrumental reminded me of from playing as a kid? Anyone have any good guesses?
Instrumental Actual Song
8 Bit Version 1 , 2
Amen to that about the instrumental version. My grandma could sing the vocal better than Ke$ha. I think it's just the electronic sounds that are reminiscent of old games in general -- probably not a specific game at all.
posted by thorny at 8:45 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by thorny at 8:45 PM on April 3, 2010
Response by poster: I quite agree with the instrumental being the strong point behind the song.
wikipedia quotes :
The song utilizes a minimalist "video-game beat" interspersed with handclaps and synths
posted by MechEng at 8:53 PM on April 3, 2010
wikipedia quotes :
The song utilizes a minimalist "video-game beat" interspersed with handclaps and synths
posted by MechEng at 8:53 PM on April 3, 2010
Best answer: Good lord I couldn't make it more than 10 seconds into the vocal version. Kids these days and there durned rock n roll.
The instrumental version is, if anything, loosely inspired by the chiptune/8-bit console sound –– but those sounds would never have come out of an NES or its peers. The portamento is too smooth, the noise channel has too high a resolution, and there are too many stacked and detuned waveforms. Even a C64's SID chip wouldn't have sounded like that. Really, old consoles had an extremely limited sound palette that forced the composers to come up with clever hacks and tricks to make unique voices.
What is often referred to as the chiptune sound is the result of hard work within real limitations, taking what technology is available and pushing it to its limits. I think it's kind of funny when contemporary producers use flexible and advanced tools to recreate the sound of comparatively limited old devices. The artificial constraints don't really enhance the result. To me, this track sounds like Korg RADIAS presets over some slightly distorted generic handclap samples sequenced to a simple beat with a simple melody.
But thanks for the instrumental link. Now if I'm ever forced to hear the full version of this song again I can pretend I'm hearing it without those godawful vocals.
If you want more chiptunes than you could listen to in a lifetime, check out the High Voltage SID Collection for some C64 SID chip tunes,2A03 for some NES music (website gone?), or just tune in to Kohina radio.
posted by bigtex at 4:24 AM on April 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
The instrumental version is, if anything, loosely inspired by the chiptune/8-bit console sound –– but those sounds would never have come out of an NES or its peers. The portamento is too smooth, the noise channel has too high a resolution, and there are too many stacked and detuned waveforms. Even a C64's SID chip wouldn't have sounded like that. Really, old consoles had an extremely limited sound palette that forced the composers to come up with clever hacks and tricks to make unique voices.
What is often referred to as the chiptune sound is the result of hard work within real limitations, taking what technology is available and pushing it to its limits. I think it's kind of funny when contemporary producers use flexible and advanced tools to recreate the sound of comparatively limited old devices. The artificial constraints don't really enhance the result. To me, this track sounds like Korg RADIAS presets over some slightly distorted generic handclap samples sequenced to a simple beat with a simple melody.
But thanks for the instrumental link. Now if I'm ever forced to hear the full version of this song again I can pretend I'm hearing it without those godawful vocals.
If you want more chiptunes than you could listen to in a lifetime, check out the High Voltage SID Collection for some C64 SID chip tunes,
posted by bigtex at 4:24 AM on April 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
I had this question, too. It definitely borrows from the video game genre. After much thought, I am very satisfied with my conclusion: the song most resembles Robo's Theme from Chrono Trigger.
Despite that, Tik Tok still sucks.
posted by spamguy at 7:30 AM on April 4, 2010
Despite that, Tik Tok still sucks.
posted by spamguy at 7:30 AM on April 4, 2010
I find the tones used in the intro are very similar to the classic theme from Super Mario Bros.
posted by teedee2000 at 7:51 AM on April 4, 2010
posted by teedee2000 at 7:51 AM on April 4, 2010
Are you sure the familiarity is from a video game? It reminds me of L'Trimm's Cars that Go Boom.
posted by peep at 10:53 AM on April 4, 2010
posted by peep at 10:53 AM on April 4, 2010
The vocal versions are damn near unbearable.
This doesn't sound like any NES song I've ever heard, and I've listened to a lot of NSFs. It's not a very complicated melody, so you've probably heard it in songs by other popular artists and the square wave is just throwing you off (as peep suggested). I Googled ["tik tok" "rip off"], and got a few sites making different accusations, none of which refer to any video game soundtracks.
posted by Dreamcast at 11:14 AM on April 4, 2010
This doesn't sound like any NES song I've ever heard, and I've listened to a lot of NSFs. It's not a very complicated melody, so you've probably heard it in songs by other popular artists and the square wave is just throwing you off (as peep suggested). I Googled ["tik tok" "rip off"], and got a few sites making different accusations, none of which refer to any video game soundtracks.
posted by Dreamcast at 11:14 AM on April 4, 2010
Response by poster: Tik Tok in FL Studios
Sounds Fantastic. Almost better that the original. Missing the Hollow sound of the intro keyboard.
In the video, this is Dan88v personal remake of Tik Tok in FL Studio 7.
Plugins:
- Sylenth (with a custom sound for all the synths)
- Sytrus (with a custom sound for the main saw synth, and pads)
- Hypersonic (for the orchestra hits)
- Samples for the percussions, sweeps and the reverb kick
There are no automations, reverbs, delays or other fx on the mixer. Only one compressor 30:1 on the master as a limiter.
That's all!! Please rate!
posted by MechEng at 11:25 AM on April 5, 2010
Sounds Fantastic. Almost better that the original. Missing the Hollow sound of the intro keyboard.
In the video, this is Dan88v personal remake of Tik Tok in FL Studio 7.
Plugins:
- Sylenth (with a custom sound for all the synths)
- Sytrus (with a custom sound for the main saw synth, and pads)
- Hypersonic (for the orchestra hits)
- Samples for the percussions, sweeps and the reverb kick
There are no automations, reverbs, delays or other fx on the mixer. Only one compressor 30:1 on the master as a limiter.
That's all!! Please rate!
posted by MechEng at 11:25 AM on April 5, 2010
My chiptune genius brother strongly weighs in with Bigtex on this.
posted by thelastenglishmajor at 1:50 PM on April 5, 2010
posted by thelastenglishmajor at 1:50 PM on April 5, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
It seems so familiar, but I can't place it. I immediately thought of Castlevania for some reason, then maybe Mega Man, but that doesn't seem right either.
Also, that instrumental version you have is 1000 times better without the vocals, thanks.
posted by sanka at 8:41 PM on April 3, 2010