Music Monday: A Very Chiptune Christmas
Posted by JMatula
It’s wintertime in the northern hemisphere, and that means two things: many places have gotten quite chilly and the holidays are near! We usually feature a particular game’s soundtrack, but seeing as how it’s the day before Christmas, we thought it would be nice to get into the holiday spirit and feature some Christmas music, done video game style! Check out this very cool compilation of bleeps and bloops to the tune of traditional Christmas favorites. It’s ‘A Very Chiptune Christmas’ by Sly Fawkes.
For those that are unfamiliar with “chiptunes,” Wikipedia details it as this: “A chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers, video game consoles, and arcade machines, as well as with other methods such as emulation.” There you go. Couldn’t have said it better myself. So we have these old machines creating familiar tunes on limited technology and for many of us, it sweeps the listener away to a simpler time where these strange twinkling tunes were the cutting edge of game soundtracks and formed strong associations in our minds between the games and this sweet and catchy music. This particular album doesn’t detail what equipment has been used to create the music, but rest assured that it’s plenty vintage sounding. Particular highlights include “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Happy Christmas (War Is Over),” and an epic 6-minute version of “Oh Holy Night” that wouldn’t sound too out of place in a Final Fantasy game on the NES.
Want even more chiptune Christmas goodness? Check out ‘The 8bits of Christmas,” a fantastic compilation of holiday tunes from 8bitpeoples. They even detail what hardware was used to create the song, including an Atari 2600, Commodore 64 and a GameBoy! The best part of all? It’s a completely FREE download. Trust me, you haven’t heard “Let It Snow” Until you’ve heard the version on this album.
What’s your favorite Christmas songs? Which Christmas classic translate best to chiptunes? Let us know in the comments.
Happy Holidays from GameAgent to gamers everywhere!
