That little tune, a converted version of Mawaru Penguindrum‘s ending theme, got me looking around the interwebs for more chiptuned music as of late. I’ve been fond of Anamanaguchi’s work for quite some time (I think it was their track Helix Nebula off their Power Supply EP that got me interested), but now I was looking for more, and the Internet has been extravagant in its generosity.

Before finding this multi-part documentary on 8bit culture, I stumbled upon quite a few top 10 lists, many of which referenced Bit Shifter and Nullsleep, and I wholeheartedly endorse their work. Then I stumbled upon Starscream, which is an 8bit Rock Opera about the future and our exploration of space, and my mind was blown — an epiphany akin to first hearing the Protomen’s “Breaking Out”.

I could have probably saved myself a lot of time if I’d managed to find /mu/’s essential 8bit music recommendations; an image that I’ll pass along to you below.

I must say that I’m more partial to Western expressions of 8bit music than the stuff I find coming out of Japan; though I confess that’s largely as it seems more experimental and jazzy than what I’m looking for. This may be related to the fact that most of the chiptune-y stuff that resembles the Western efforts tends to be game or anime related; witness the reflexive awesomeness that is Chiptuned Rockman… a chiptune remix of classic Megaman music.

I’ll leave you now with the weirdest and coolest video I found on this research run — an 8bit version of the Doctor Horrible musical (music and simulated gameplay!)

I’ve been watching Doctor Who in its various incarnations — from grainy black-and-white TV reruns and rented betamax tapes in the depths of my childhood, to the last few years of the current set of series — and time and time again it strikes me how absolutely terrifying this show can be.

I mean, take the Daleks; nowadays, not as scary as they used to be, but as a child, seeing a robotic, murderous pepper-shaker with a ray gun and a synthesized voice that could make your heartstrings vibrate with fright, they’re absolutely the most ghastly thing imaginable. And the series is filled with blank-faced policemen, monstrous daffodils, hideous crawling shadows, homicidal statuary, and now, well…. spoilers.

I’d still recommend this show to kids. My niece loves it, though I warn her it’s best to watch it in the daytime — mostly because I’d rather not field angry calls from my cousins about her inability to sleep. But hey, it’s character building, and it’s good preparation in case some mad man in a blue box comes and offers them the adventure of a lifetime.

with apologies to you Johnny Cash lovers.

I am kinda bummed that I missed the Video Games Live concert in Vancouver, as I really like hearing orchestral versions of game music (as the multi-gigabytes of OGC tracks on my iPhone seem to indicate). Though my disappointment is soothed somewhat by knowing that at least, I didn’t miss a Black Mages concert. Seriously, PAX-folks, what would it take for you guys to get Nobuo Uematsu to come down and jam out in Seattle? How you can you deny people this:

Seriously, though, as an aging alumnus (who, for unfathomable reasons, still finds himself on the campus far too often) this makes my blackened heart swell with misplaced pride. It’s nice to see even a fraction of the undergraduate student body come out and do something fun together.

Check out UBC Okanagan’s lipdub as well — hell, go through the whole University LipDub project and feel a pang for your own misplaced youth.

Every time I’m in the mood for something just so completely off-the-ball weird in a short video format, this Muse video always hits the spot. I mean, how can you not like a kung-fu spaceploitation spaghetti western? Also, keep an eye out at the 3:13 mark — and not for the sex scene, pervs! — but for the shot of the camera crew in the mirror.

While still something of a bit of product-placement for Adidas, seeing this video makes me think of Rez (in good ways), what with its procedurally generated accompaniment, minus, of course, the “on-rails shooter” aspect. It’s nice to see weird stuff like this creep out of labs and marketing think-tanks, but, as always, the real fun and excitement won’t come until the price-point drops low enough that anyone can afford these shoe/music units.

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First up, a little number from none other than James Urbaniak.

Next, a whole schwackload of christmas tunes from the Venture Brothers!

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Doctor Girlfriend and the Monarch perform “The little drummer boy”

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Henchmen 21 & 24 and The Monarch perform “Hard Candy Christmas”

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The Venture Brothers cast performs “Venture Aid, 2006″ (in the spirit of Live Aid)

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Doctor Girlfriend and The Monarch perform the Pogues classic, “Fairytale of New York”

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The Murderous Moppets and Henchman 21 perform “The Chipmunk Song”

and finally…

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Henchmen 21 & 24 perform “Wonderful Christmastime”