Musical Mario Medley

I've already commented that video games don't get nearly enough love. That goes double for video game music. Working with nothing but beeps and boops, the musicians of old-school gaming blasted our systems with some of the catchiest music around. And if it sounds good being spat out of a clunky sound chip, imagine what these songs would sound like coming out of actual instruments.

Enter OverClocked ReMix (OC ReMix), the standard for re imagined video game tunes. These guys are professional, talented, and maybe a little OCD (you can't spell OCD without OC), and it shows. For the next few updates, I'll be sharing my favorite songs and why they should be your favorites too. I think I'll be able to include enough variety so that you're bound to like something.

With all of these music samples, I will first provide the original song being remixed. I highly recommend listening to the original tracks before taking in the remixes. Anyone can throw some notes together, but the real genius is when someone can take a song and completely redefine it while keeping it recognizable.

Most of my updates will tackle one game series at a time. Some games just have too much good music to be sharing a post! Let's start this out the right way, with Super Mario Bros. (and continue my streak of unintentionally mentioning Mario in every single post I have written to date)!

With any major release comes the hype; fueled by previews, promises, and pinheads. It's well known that Mario delivers, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 is no exception.

An exception.

But of all the rampant speculation before release day, what really had me excited was the music. What follows is not from OC ReMix (the rest will be), but from the halls of Nintendo itself. Again, I recommend first listening to the original Super Mario 64 version, and then the product of multiplication by awesome.





Aw geez, why didn't anyone think of this sooner? The truth is, the secrets of Mario plus big band music have been known for quite some time.





Maybe I've shown my hand too soon, because it's going to be hard to top that. How about some more then?





I can just picture these pieces wailing away at some fancy social function. You know, the kind of places where people would shrivel up and die if they knew they were listening to music from (gasp) a video game?

Here's a tune from a source that needs no introduction (and yet I'm providing one anyways). I would love to sneak this next track amidst Mozart and Bach at a summer wedding reception on a green lawn.





Is it getting stuffy in here? Let's loosen up a bit. The Underworld theme for Super Mario Bros. 2 is infamous for being repetitive and is synonymous with nail-biting frustration.

Mostly because of this guy.

This remix stretches the limited material into something else altogether.





And finally we have Bros with Dix (clean out your head, that's short for Dixie). A lot of songs are combined here, and transition quite well. There's a chance you won't recognize the first tune. But don't worry! I've included this most obscure example with the remix. It's nice to see that even the Game Boy gets some attention.





If you want more Mario remixed goodness, there's even more to be had at OC Remix. The next installment will be sooner than usual, and we'll focus on another iconic game series. I'm always listening for the next catchy tune, so let me know if there's a remix I just gotta hear.