Episode 5 | Elephant 6 Recording Company
Signal Cannon
Hear how kids in a sleepy college town created their own music scene and formed a collective identity rooted in avant-garde home recording. It's the Elephant 6 Recording Company.
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Episode 04 | Weird Al's UHF
Signal Cannon
A budding comedian looking to make the leap to film. A studio on the ropes. This movie needed to be a hit.
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Episode 03 | The Forgotten Verses Of The Star-Spangled Banner
Signal Cannon
We all know "The Star-Spangled Banner." But what do you really know about Francis Scott Key? And what about the song's next verse? That’s today, on Signal Cannon.
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Episode 02|The History Of Video Game Music
Signal Cannon
The history of video game music offers a look into the history of computers themselves. In the early days computing power was very limited and playing graphics and sound together was an expensive engineering and programming challenge. The Apple II in the late 70's could cost you over 10 grand in today’s dollars. Today we play games with sophisticated audio created by talented musicians and sound designers. How’d we get from dingy arcades to a 100 billion-dollar global entertainment industry?
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Episode 01 | The Golden Record
Signal Cannon
In 1977 NASA sent the Voyager spacecraft to take pictures of the outer Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. But it also carried a very special piece of cargo: a phonograph record containing the sights and sounds of Earth in the hopes that an alien civilization might one day find it and learn about humanity. Speeding away at 38,600 mph, The Golden Record is the most distant man-made object in the galaxy. It's a mixtape...in interstellar space.
info_outlineThe history of video game music offers a look into the history of computers themselves. In the early days computing power was very limited and playing graphics and sound together was an expensive engineering and programming challenge. The Apple II in the late 70's could cost you over 10 grand in today’s dollars. Today we play games with sophisticated audio created by talented musicians and sound designers. How’d we get from dingy arcades to a 100 billion-dollar global entertainment industry?
While I’m not much of a video game player myself, the games I have played always had me thinking about the complicated mixing and composition involved. The tempo rises and falls according to the action onscreen. The soundtrack shifts with day and night. The music often gets more complex as progress is made. Sounds have to be designed and recorded. All that innovation had to come from somewhere. Who did it first?
From beeps and boops to strings and plastic guitars. The History of Video Game Music, on Signal Cannon.
CREDITS
Signal Cannon is produced b, Billy Donahoe and distributed by PlayTooMuch. For more Signal Cannon and other great podcasts, visit PlayTooMuch.com.
Our theme music was written by Eric Donahoe. Show art by Julianne Waber.
Super Mario Galaxy was released in 2007 by Nintendo. Theme composed by Mahito Yakoda and Koji Kondo.
Fallout 4 was released in 2015 by Bethesda Game Studios. Theme composed by Inon Zur.
Space Invaders was released in 1978 by Taito Corporation.
Super Mario Bros. was released in 1985 by Nintendo. Theme composed by Koji Kondo.
Super Mario Bros. 3 was released by Nintendo in Japan in 1988 and North America in 1990. Koji Kondo composed the theme.
Super Mario 64 was released in 1994 by Nintendo. Composer, Koji Kondo.
Banjo-Kazooie was released in 1998 by Rare. Theme by Grant Kirkhope.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released by Nintendo in 1998. Composition by Koji Kondo.
“Superman,” was written by Goldfinger, first released on the 1997 album Hang-Ups by Mojo Records, then again as part of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Soundtrack in 1999.
You can follow me on Twitter @BillyDonahoe and learn more about this episode at PlayTooMuch.com
This is Signal Cannon.