I saw a pretty interesting tweet today by Dave Harris (@retrorewind):

RetroRewind Dave Harris 

The difference between the 80s and today: Today Milli Vanilli would have been auto tuned & no one would care.

Let that sink in for a minute. I'll go grab a sandwich.

Chiptune Masterpiece Theatre

There's one game that I've been wanting to buy for a while: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It's a River City Ransom-esque game where, as Scott Pilgrim, you work your way through the evil exes of your love interest, Ramona Flowers. It's gotten great reviews, and it's got online multiplayer, which is always a big plus for games like this. But what caught my eye most on IGN was this part of the review, where they discussed the music:

"All of this goes down while listening to a brand-spanking new soundtrack from chiptune band Anamanaguchi. The music alone is worth the price -- seriously, this has got to be one of the best game soundtracks I've ever heard. It fits so perfectly, but stands strong on its own. You'll love it. And if you don't, frankly, you don't deserve this game."

Now I'm a BIG fan of chiptune music. I'm also a big fan of quality video game music. Apparently the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but a well placed chiptune mixtape will suffice in my case. I love the music from the Megaman series and just about any soundtrack from the Super NES catalog (Pilotwings, anyone?). Anyways, what this means is that I had to check out the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack, even if I didn't buy the game.

Anamanaguchi, by the way, is a chiptune band. You hear normal rock band instruments in their arrangements, but the lead is almost always in 8 bit. To say the least, I wasn't disappointed at all.

The music sounds like it comes straight out of some NES/Super NES hybrid, which is a great thing. Boss themes are hard and driving, and most stage music is peppy and theme-appropriate. After a few listens, it became my favorite soundtrack in my music library. Because there's no lyrics, I use it as a study and workout aide- there's always a song in there to keep me going. By the way, if you haven't checked out the Anamanaguchi catalog, I suggest you do. They have a lot of great stuff.

Top 5 Songs on the Album:
2.   Another Winter
8.   Cheap Shop
11. Bollywood
19. Party Stronger
23. Just Like In The Movies

The Coolest Kids In Town

I woke up this morning checking my personalized news feed on Flipboard, as I do every morning. But today was different. I woke up to find two music videos waiting on me. I normally don't watch music videos, but I was blown away and pretty damn amused with both. The kicker? The combined age of the two artists is 16 YEARS OLD.

Enough with the jabbering, let's roll the clips!

Willow Smith, Whip My Hair

If there ever was a time where children took full advantage of nepotism and made something of themselves, it's the Smith kids. Jaden was in the Karate Kid remake last year, and Willow comes on to the scene with a catchy, energetic number that's bound to inspire a few new dances and get some serious airplay in clubs she's waaaaay too young to even get into!

She's got the "it" factor, and she's only 9. Jay Z signed her to his label, and after talking to her, believes she has the drive and creativity of a young Michael Jackson. It may be a little early to make such a bold prediction, but if this is just the beginning, more people will be making that comparison before we know it.


Lil P-Nut, You Might Be The One

This one doesn't have the "OMG this blew me away" factor that a lot of people will have when they see the Willow Smith video, but it's got an "awww, that's cute" factor to it. He's only 7, so there's only so many things he can rap about- bubble gum, dating an "older" girl (she's in the 3rd grade, he's in the 2nd), and reminds us of a time when relationships were simple and thrived on the promise of candy and a couple pushes on the playground swingset. But then again, I'd rather have him rap about this than the rhymes of a rapper three or four times his age. Still it's cute, and you can't believe he raps like this at seven.