If you just twitched involuntarily, you might enjoy Family Music
My biggest question about YMCK, who I found through a post on Clap Clap, is whether or not you had to waste a significant number of hours playing NES during childhood to really appreciate it. When I first watched this video, I had a strange unconscious response -- there's something about the timbre of 8-bit videogame cartridge sound files that compels me to sit slack-jawed for hours.
I guess if YMCK were just about camp value or some kind of hardcore Nintendo nostalgia fetishization it might not totally work. The songs are painstakingly constructed, right down to the beep bop boop boo doot solos (which are AWESOME), transcribed straight from jazz improv. The vocals are crucial, too -- hushed Japanese girlpop with a tendency toward lounge.
But setting aside the non-tendo elements, NO ONE that I've played this for 1) particularly enjoyed it or 2) has spent any considerable amount of time in front of a big fat TV watching Megaman stand and blink (a friend just proved in his film that this tiny gesture has a weirdly profound impact in the proper context...hard to explain). How much of my enjoyment of Family Music basically boils down to conditioning, how much of it is appreciation for craft or carefully-executed novelty?
If you feel you might relate to any of these existential quandaries, you might want to consider checking it out. "Magical 8-bit Tour" is one of my favorites, but here's a less blogged-about track I've been listening to a lot. I don't think any YouTube video for this one has surfaced yet, but check out the available ones.
And hey, did anyone watch the Super Mario thing at the EMP conference? EDIT: Thar she blows...Matt Corwine's Super Mario Bros Jams
YMCK - SOCOPOGOGO
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