NintendoAge http://nintendoage.com/forum/ -Sqooner What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-29T02:06:14 -05.00 superNESman 19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wok0fV4Fp7w ]]> What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-15T18:47:09 -05.00 superNESman 19 Originally posted by: superNESman
 
Originally posted by: Ferris Bueller

It's weird we'd be talking about this, as I ran across a song that made me do a double take. Right time frame, I think, 1979. Around 2:55 is when I really think I sat up and was like, "What is this?"
 

Up until that point it definitely sounded like something familiar that I couldn't put my finger on...but like you said it becomes almost eerily similar after a certain point. Great share!

Sounded a lot like Yasunori Mitsuda, like a song out of Chrono Cross! 

Unsurprisingly Mitsuda's main inspiration is jazz music.

BTW excellent topic, I always wondered how Koji Kondo came up with all those crazy arrangements   ]]>
What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-15T18:25:50 -05.00 superNESman 19 Originally posted by: ToxieRules
 
Originally posted by: Ichinisan

There was another thread like this recently. Had the inspiration for underworld theme too.
  
 
That's interesting, I have listened to this song countless times but never put two and two together...definitely a similarity there!

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What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-15T18:24:17 -05.00 superNESman 19 Originally posted by: Majin Majora

Here's another one!
 

Wow...if that doesn't confirm that Mort Garson was an influence I don't know what else would!
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What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-15T18:22:02 -05.00 superNESman 19 Originally posted by: Ichinisan

There was another thread like this recently. Had the inspiration for underworld theme too.
Ahh seems I missed it, do you have a link to the thread? ]]>
What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-15T18:21:33 -05.00 superNESman 19 Originally posted by: Ferris Bueller

It's weird we'd be talking about this, as I ran across a song that made me do a double take. Right time frame, I think, 1979. Around 2:55 is when I really think I sat up and was like, "What is this?"
 

Up until that point it definitely sounded like something familiar that I couldn't put my finger on...but like you said it becomes almost eerily similar after a certain point. Great share! ]]>
What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-15T18:18:24 -05.00 superNESman 19 Originally posted by: Majin Majora

This is amazing! Tell your buddy thanks! Awesome unveiling!




We all know this one!
Wow...call me ignorant but I never knew about that. Insane!! Thanks for sharing that   ]]>
What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-15T17:02:01 -05.00 superNESman 19 Originally posted by: cma2032
 
Originally posted by: ToxieRules


After listening and reading a lot of interviews with some of them they reference Classical, Progressive Rock and Jazz as their main influence and there is a reason that they are drawn to this type of music because it is incredibly musical.

Surely what you mean is that these genres are more melodic, which makes sense given the technology video game composers had to work with. The NES for example has so few sound channels, there's little room for complex instrumentation (particularly percussion). 

Once you get to the Sega Genesis era, it's far more common to hear soundtracks influenced by 80s metal or contemporary dance music than it is to hear anything jazz or prog-influenced. I think Koji Kondo just happens to have an interest in these types of music. Even on the NES there are many soundtracks that sound like hair metal in terms of composition; Contra for instance. There's nothing inherently more musical about the genres you mention.

Honestly, and I don't mean this as a slight because I love video game music and have a great respect for many of the composers, but most of them didn't write wholly original music but rather adapted something existing to the format of the console. Nearly everything Yuzo Koshiro, for instance, wrote has a near 1:1 example existing somewhere; most of the famous tracks of Streets of Rage and his other memorable compositions have sections lifted wholesale from existing music. Now, merely getting this to even work at all at a sonic level on the hardware they worked with is quite a feat in itself. Also, like Picasso said, "good artists copy. Great artists steal." 
 
Originally posted by: ToxieRules

The reason why a lot of the good video game music is remembered because it really is on the same scale as some of these groups/musicians.

Again, I love video game music, but I think the reason many people remember these songs so vividly is because they are short and repetitive and we listened to them for hours and hours while playing the games. Based on studies, it takes around 10 times of a person hearing a musical phrase or pattern for it to embed into your subconscious. 
Yup that is what I meant.

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What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-15T16:58:52 -05.00 superNESman 19 Originally posted by: ToxieRules


After listening and reading a lot of interviews with some of them they reference Classical, Progressive Rock and Jazz as their main influence and there is a reason that they are drawn to this type of music because it is incredibly musical.
Surely what you mean is that these genres are more melodic, which makes sense given the technology video game composers had to work with. The NES for example has so few sound channels, there's little room for complex instrumentation (particularly percussion). 

Once you get to the Sega Genesis era, it's far more common to hear soundtracks influenced by 80s metal or contemporary dance music than it is to hear anything jazz or prog-influenced. I think Koji Kondo just happens to have an interest in these types of music. Even on the NES there are many soundtracks that sound like hair metal in terms of composition; Contra for instance. There's nothing inherently more musical about the genres you mention.

Honestly, and I don't mean this as a slight because I love video game music and have a great respect for many of the composers, but most of them didn't write wholly original music but rather adapted something existing to the format of the console. Nearly everything Yuzo Koshiro, for instance, is credited for has a near 1:1 example existing somewhere; most of the famous tracks of Streets of Rage and his other memorable compositions have sections lifted wholesale from existing music. Now, merely getting this to even work at all at a sonic level on the hardware they worked with is quite a feat in itself. Also, like Picasso said, "good artists copy. Great artists steal." 
 
Originally posted by: ToxieRules

The reason why a lot of the good video game music is remembered because it really is on the same scale as some of these groups/musicians.

Again, I love video game music, but I think the reason many people remember these songs so vividly is because they are short and repetitive and we listened to them for hours and hours while playing the games. Based on studies, it takes around 10 times of a person hearing a musical phrase or pattern for it to embed into their subconscious.  ]]>
What influenced Koji Kondo? Surely this song at the very least http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=169447 2016-12-14T23:28:14 -05.00 superNESman 19 Originally posted by: Trj22487
 
Originally posted by: Quazonk
 
Originally posted by: ToxieRules

I honestly think (Well it is pretty well fact, listen to how unique the music in Mario Zelda is) a lot of the video game COMPOSERS have more musical sense than a lot of the "big" bands of our day like Metallica or whoever the hell else people listen to these days post 1990s (They are so fucking over-rated it makes me sick)
 
Shudder to think that the guy who wrote Oops I Did It Again probably has more musical knowledge in his left nut than every member of Metallica combined ever will, but it's almost certainly true lol.
 

That's 100% fact. Max Martin has the 3rd most #1 hit songs of all time behind only Paul McCartney and John Lennon. He is a genius.
 
Yea, nobody thinks about the guys behind the soundboard in the studio, but most of the time they're the real genius behind all the pop hits out there.  It's amazing to me that there are so many truly talented people working in the music industry that nobody knows about.

OP's first video blew my mind.  Now I dare you to find where the inspiration for Yoshi's Island music comes from  
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