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Posted By ClanoftheGrayWolf about 2 years ago
Did you ever get a feeling of deja vu when playing a video game – a feeling that perhaps that music was just a bit too familiar? Whether by accident or design, some VG soundtracks sound a lot like pop music that preceded them. Expanding on a subject he touched on in his EarthBound review, Roo explores several more 16-Bit games that have very similar music to copyrighted songs of the past. Do you agree? Disagree? Any that he missed?
WARNING: Considering these games came out in the early 90′s, there is a lot of 80′s influence here. Leggings and Members Only jackets are recommended.
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LTTP but one that I personally spotted and almost never see mentioned is the city stage from Biker Mice From Mars. First listen to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCjCHW547Z4
Then this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQSBSkYx8-0
That’s right, Judas Priest. Biker Mice from Mars is fucking metal.
Here’s two samples from http://www.youtube.com/user/DJYuzoboy
http://www.youtube.com/user/DJYuzoboy#p/u/145/063ZG62Qb98
http://www.youtube.com/user/DJYuzoboy#p/u/180/WsFadmUQbm0
What’s really funny is when the when the one that wrote the pop song also writes the music for the game…
Lets take Michael Jackson for instance… if you haven’t heard about his involvement with Sonic 3, go check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Qjimbo#p/u/14/JbVM-l2Oku4
Now for an 8-bit one…how about Double Dragon and Phil Collins.
http://easylovin.ytmnd.com/
But there’s also music where it seems like the lyrics just fit with the game music. If anyone watched Paw’s top 9 composers, you know what I’m talking about. Here’s another.
http://funkyheroes.ytmnd.com/
Great video !
You can also quote “Bury my shell at wounded knee” from TMNT IV : Turtles in Time and the main theme from “For a few dollars more”
I hope you plan on making a part 2 because there are many better examples out there. Off the top of my head Castlevania 2′s castle theme/Yngwie Malmsteen’s Far Beyond the Sun, Wild Arms/Good Bad Ugly, the entire Doom soundtrack… The list goes on.
Oh, I’m pretty sure I’ll have to make a sequel to this. Back when I first made it, I mostly just grabbed examples I came up with myself along with a few others that friends recommended. I’ll happily take more suggestions…
street fighter was awesome what you said where it came from was crap soooooooooooooooo no
What? No mention of DKC2′s Swamp Music baring resemblance to In The Air Tonight? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEjoz9egJDs&feature=feedf
Okay that mix someone made isn’t the best example but listen to both tracks separately and tell me you don’t notice some similarities.
I don’t get how stuff like this can cause legal issues. The Actraiser one, maybe, because that is REALLY damn close to the Fox fanfare, but other than that, although you can hear some possible influence or inspiration from another source, it is clearly not the same song.
It’s not like someone can say, “I made a song with a 1 4 5 1 chord progression in 4/4 time, now nobody else can,” or, “I used a synthesizer arpeggios and electric guitar in this song, nobody else can make a song with synthesizer arpeggios and electric guitar.”
I can see EarthBound having issues, because it actually uses samples recorded from various sources, like Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Little Rascals, Ric Ocasek, and The Beach Boys, and I’m quite certain they weren’t credited, and possibly weren’t asked permission to use those samples. Things like the hippy battle music, though, I don’t see why they would be an issue. Yes, it has a similar intro to Johnny B. Goode. Yes, it follows a blues chord progression, as does Johnny B. Goode. No, it is not Johnny B. Goode.
Actually, I very much agree with you. If this video had any point, it was just to show how Nintendo’s being a little silly about not releasing EarthBound on VC if it’s the soundtrack that’s holding it back. A lot of games are “influenced” by pop music – or at least it seems that way. However, none truly samples the pop music itself (even EarthBound, in my opinion). At least not in an “Ice Ice Baby”, “Under Pressure” kind of way.
Interestingly, as an addendum to this video, I actually searched to see if a video game company was ever sued for its soundtrack similarities to “real world” songs. I couldn’t find a one (take note, Nintendo). The only “kinda sorta, but not really” lawsuit I found was the composer of Utah’s (I think) fight song suing EA for using it without permission in an NCAA football game. But that’s really a separate issue than what I’m talking about here.
That was an unbelievably cool video…I would really like to see more o these…
Actually, it’s not just the Fox Fanfare in that Actraiser ending. If you let it continue, you’ll hear it’s also the same ending credits as the original Clash of the Titans – and ALSO, the final battle with Tanzra and the flute part after you defeat him is also from the final battle in Clash of the Titans!!!
I couldn’t believe it when i discovered it, i was like, “Why do i remember the music to this scene? I’ve only seen this once or twice when i was a kid…”
ACTRAISER! One of the first times i realized video game music can be absolutely brilliant – same for EDF…
Another one would be Final Fantasy 3(6)’s Cave theme – i can’t remember which specifically, but it’s the same as the mystical forest around when you get on or off the Ghost Train. It sounds a lot like the music to Bjork’s “Possibly Maybe”. And also the slow, low drum part to that Super Metroid level with the plant sounds like Bjork’s “Headphones” … listen to those, you’ll see(hear) what i mean!
Or just scenes from Clash of the Titans – i could be wrong which ones, but the music is there!
I thought I was crazy when I sang that song to the tune of Marble Zone back in the 90s.
Interesting list thou a lot of these could be disputed as people have said. For instance the metroid theme played was clearly in 6/8 or 3/4 with the beat on every 3 notes while the twilight zone theme is in 4/4 with the beat being every four notes. And the melody with the twilight theme is more dissonant. Then again I am a music major so those things are easier to notice.
That huge coldplay hit uses a melody from Joe Satriani btw, heard of a lawsuit a while back but not sure if anything ever happened.
Yasunori Mitsuda claims never to have even heard of Rick Astley, and many of these are pure speculation. Interesting topic, but an influences video done by a real musician with legitimate research would have been much more interesting. That Shinobi and Twilight Zone comparison is the biggest stretch. Not to mention that harmonies and melodies are stolen and reused all the time! You’re acting as if all these themes are obvious rip-offs when you have no basis for fact on the subject!
maybe you should stop reading too much into videos? just relax and enjoy man, it’s not like you have to take his opions as fact even if he may have used the wrong wordings and made it seem like he was saying it was fact
Actually, the purpose of the video was just to point out how many VG songs seem to be influenced by pop music. I don’t believe most of these were ripped off or that the original owners should (or could) pursue legal action, and didn’t mean to insinuate such a thing.
You are perfectly correct, though, in stating that no one truly knows the intention of the music producers except the producers themselves. This video is a lot more “fun diversion” than “damning indictment”.
Oh, and though I’m not sure why should matter here, I did also spend several years studying music in college. I know that doesn’t make me a “musician” by profession, but I can figure out how to rub two notes together.
Glad you said that Roo, I was about to say the same thing. If musicians were never influenced by those who came before, or certain sequences of notes or beats were never ever reused we’d have nothing but the most bland… music to listen to… Ok, maybe that’s not the /best/ example, but, um, it’d be worse… yeah.
weird and cool.
you know 1up did a storie on this as well but it was from like a year ago.
http://www.1up.com/features/game-music-sounds-familiar
Pretty interesting. I knew about some of these, but not others. It happens in multiple eras of video games. For example, here is one during the NES era and one during the N64 era:
Mega Man I – Elec Man’s Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns0NSzqnjvA) Journey – Faithfully (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMD8hBsA-RI)
LoZ: Ocarina of Time – Kokiri Forest ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bf7sHjoKNM) The Drifters – On Broadway (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WFgPtxsRa8)
Mega Man and Guns N Roses isn’t anything new, to be honest. After all, look at all of the Mavericks in X5 and all band members, past and present, in Guns N Roses:
Grizzly Slash – Slash
Duff McWhalen – Duff McKagan
Squid Adler – Steven Adler
Izzy Glow – Izzy Stradlin
Dark Dizzy – Dizzy Reed
The Skiver – Michael “High in the Sky” Monroe
Mattrex – Matt Sorum
Axle the Red – Axl Rose
Would you believe that was done to please the girl working at Capcom’s then current boyfriend?
An interesting list of 16 bit titles containing “reenvisioned” versions of pop music. But the use of pop songs within a game (presumably without a license) was relatively common in the 8-bit era as well.
I remember an older game called “Lazy Jones” for the Commodore 64, which had the following in use: Nena – 99 Red Balloons, John Williams – Wild Signals (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Visage – Fade to Grey and a few more that I don’t really remember.
Interesting observations. Though it’s not 16-bit, I would like to point out another. In the NES version of Willow, the music that plays during villages http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgPLtX8AhPk&t=178s sounds very much like a particular song I hear all over the place. The problem is I’ve never learned the name of this song. It’s just an instrumental tune you might hear in department stores or elevators. Most recently it’s been playing in a commercial on TV, but for the life of me I can’t remember what the commercial is for and of course it won’t play while I’m paying attention. lol
The name of your tune is “Theme From A Summer Place.” “A Summer Place” being a movie released in 1959 with Sandra Dee. Here’s the Wikipedia article for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_From_A_Summer_Place
The most popular version was recorded by Percy Faith in 1960 and has been happily played on your local elevator or in your dentist’s office ever since. Don’t feel bad that you didn’t recognize the song. I strained myself to figure out which tunes were playing in these games on the video and got it wrong with an almost 100% inaccuracy on my part. Wish I knew which commercial you were thinking of. Well, there’s always YouTube! Hope that helped.
Oh wow! Thank you! One of life’s great mysteries has been solved! lol
A quick YouTube search and I still didn’t find the commercial. If I spot it on TV I’ll give an update on this later.
I found it! It’s used in a few different Subway Fresh Fit commercials dating back from 2010 to present. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOBksmeXwFA
I’m also pretty sure it’s used by another recent commercial not related to Subway, but I can’t find that one.
Now only if someone would replace RickRoll with RoboRoll.
Someone already has, (I made the video but the remix was done by someone else)…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-_XvOAF8zk
I was kind of semi-impressed with the video, but the GNR one made me smile.
I’m a new viewer and will be checking more out in the future.
Rick Rolled by Chrono Trigger.
Retro game music gives me the warm fuzzies.
So Sonic’s music was about as original as Lady Gaga.
We can has an encore?
magnetman (megaman III) sounds like a cindy lauper song, which one i’m not sure…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h92upxAitdk#t=0m20s
ok the one of act raiser I think was quiet obvious the rest i did know o0 is seen that alot of 16 bit game use to do that
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Michael Jackson music from Sonic 3, though everyone already knows that so it doesn’t really bear mentioning.
No Phantasy Star?
Chrono Trigger Rick Rolled us!
Sweet..never seen the video for “Planet Earth” ..off to youtube!
everything I knew about game music is wrong
The Yoshi Story music box song is also compared to the Soviet Anthem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuxBwelptag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaAS4xHPiR0&feature=related
Food for thought
hmm, i know the songs the music is copying from is copyrighted, but doesn’t the act of changing it to whatever bit count it as remix/parody? take the most well-known example, Weird Al Yankovik, whos career is to copy pop music, but since its known as parody, he doesn’t even need to ask permission before making one (but he does anyway, to be nice). so why is pop music to pop music ok, but pop (or any genre) music to video game music = legal issues?
and kinda the same towards Dali’s melting clock in earthbound, isn’t the point of art being able to draw anything you want, regardless of what it is (through saying that yours is the original or someone else’s is still illegal)
(on a completely separate side note, have you noticed you’ve probably seen over 100 Mona Lisas throughout all the cartoons and movies from the past 30-40 years)
Kinda surprised you didn’t go into the whole sonic 3/Michael Jackson thing, but then again I guess it’s not that unknown anymore.
I’m not surprised to see Megaman on this list. A bunch of the tracks from the old nes games are “borrowed” from actual metal songs. No big deal, just makes the game more enjoyable to listen to while I play the game lol.
I never realized before today that I was getting Rick Rolled when playing my beloved Chrono Trigger. Wow. Robo-rolled FTW.
Totally saw the similarities to Pink Floyd’s “The Trial” though. And I always though how appropriate it was.
Not having played much of the SF series, didn’t know about that one.
I thought that Mega Man X3 track sounded like something I’ve heard before, but I could never place it.
The MegaMan X track is a a very good imitation of Peter Gunn.
That Final Fantasy Mystical Quest track on the other hand, is practically a criminal act in swiping the original. I thought to myself when I first played that game “how did they get the rights to Johnny B. Goode?” and was confused when there was no mention of the song in the credits….
Never thought of the the track from DK Country 3 had any similarities to pop music, but after listening to the too, I’d have to agree that they are very similar.
Don’t really see the similarities between Shinobi III and Halloween though. I think that’s a bit of a stretch.
Mystical Ninja and Mambo No. 5 do share a pretty close beat.
Didn’t really see the Lemmings/Ennio Morricone connection.
I can see the Twilight Zone/Super Metroid connection. I always thought the same.
The ending of ActRaiser was pretty much SCREAMING the “20th Century Fox Fanfare.”
The Yoshi Story track I would have never guessed. I’ve never heard of “Waltzing Matilda” but it is an interesting resemblance.
And WOW. I have always had suspicions of Sonic the Hedgehog’s soundtrack, (I listen to it all the time) But I had no idea how blatant the ripoffs were!
I never knew that Marble Zone was such a ripoff of another song, but I guess that’s because I’ve never heard “Music to Watch the Girls Go By” before now. You can pretty much interject the lyrics right into Marble Zone perfectly. Woah.
Spring Yard Zone always bugged my that I’ve heard it somewhere else before, and now I know why.
Final Zone really just ripped that Duran Duran riff off big time.
Scrap Brain Zone has always eluded me on where I’ve heard it before, but yup. That’s definitely it. I had that track on a scifi movie collection cassette tape years ago, but lost it before realizing that I’ve heard Scrap Brain Zone before.
Great video, and nice work on tracking down all the similarities. Even though I disagree on a few, the rest were pretty spot on, and a few were dead ringers of a total ripoff of the original works without crediting the sources.
Video games could never get away with that these days.
Keep up the great work!
Wow–having grown up playing many of these games, I’m surprised that I never caught a few (or perhaps any) of these… Quite the informative video indeed. I’m loving 16-Bit Gems more and more these days.
most people wouldnt know the similarities between a kids game and music from the 60s-80s but this is a good comparison.
Oh my! NOOO!!! by this rate I’ll never escape the 80s music T_T (Thanks Sonic)
Anyway, that’s cool to see the songs that was used that made some of the music in the games memorable even though they’re copyrighted.
Awesome video! I actually did not know a few of these.
Something that suprised me was the music from Doom II, it’s all 16bit remixes of trash/death metal songs! Even less known bands like Atheist!
Yeah, there’s a pretty good vid on the way Doom rips off metal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y3RWlDz_AA
Makes me want a hack of the original Doom with loops from the actual songs added in.
This is possible through source ports like ZDoom, Skulltag, or GZDoom.
Awesome. I really wanted to see you expand on this after you brought it up in your Earthbound retrospective. Amazing how many songs the Sonic sound team “took inspiration’ from.