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Nintendo A Capella

Posted by Zonk on from the everything-good-comes-from-wisconsin dept.

Andrew writes "If you're a fan of the NES and `80s video games like me then this is too cool for words: A video of University of Wisconsin a capella ensemble Redefined performing Nintendo a capella. The file is a little large (about 47 megs) but definately worth the download."

65 comments

  1. It's ok... by ALeavitt · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They're ok, but the arrangements aren't that great. I like the performance art piece of it, though... especially the Tetris blocks. If you want some quality video game a capella music, though, you should check out http://www.myspace.com/buttonmashers/. It's a lot more true to the original music; the arrangements pretty much just substitute voices for the original instruments.

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    1. Re:It's ok... by ALeavitt · · Score: 2, Informative

      Hmm... the link doesn't seem to work with that slash at the end. Try this one: http://www.myspace.com/buttonmashers

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      This sig has been stolen. Return it to its original user for a reward.
    2. Re:It's ok... by WoodenBoy · · Score: 2, Informative

      virt did a few a capella game tunes a while back (bottom of the page).

    3. Re:It's ok... by Dr.+Mortimer · · Score: 1

      It may be more true to the music, but the (lack of, IMHO) singing talent left me a little disappointed. The effort is impressive, though!

    4. Re:It's ok... by dbretton · · Score: 2, Insightful


      You guys must be joking. I just listened to both, and there is no comparison: "Redefined"'s rendition is far superior. The arrangement is on target, musical, and quite complex. Moreover, they harmonize extremely well. Buttonmashers are decent, but they certainly don't harmonize very well.

      If you want a good example of a tune which is funny yet well harmonized, search around for Blink 182's "Shit Piss Fuck Cunt Cocksucker motherfucker tits fart turd 'n twat". It's about 15 seconds long, funny and musical!

    5. Re:It's ok... by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 1

      The Bubble Bobble one is hilarious. :D

    6. Re:It's ok... by Donoho · · Score: 1

      Something that stirred up a lot of nostalgia in regards to classic RPG music can be found here http://www.hcn.zaq.ne.jp/cabic508/rsf/

      It's a remake of Final Fantasy 3 using consoles instead of characters, and although it had me laughing out loud, it wouldn't have been the same without the music.

      --
      Michalangelo Progr
  2. If only... by jweric · · Score: 1, Funny

    I was out of work I could be playing nintendo now... This only wants me to play it more! Awesome

  3. Coral Cache of video by Frac · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.raspberryheaven.net.nyud.net:8090/~shut /Redefined%20-%20Nintendo%20(Video).mpg

    1. Re:Coral Cache of video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not working genius. It can't work unless someone accesses it through Coral while it's still accessible.

  4. In A.D. 2101 War was beginning. by Jicksta · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think I like the classic musical flash movie of "All your base are belong to us" much better...

  5. Next week! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slashdot FLASH OF THE WEEK!!!

  6. live mario piano by OmniVector · · Score: 4, Interesting

    someone at my college recorded his friend playing mario on a piano. it's pretty cool, check it out (only 8mb, should be fine from a slashdotting in the gaming section): Ben Plays Mario

    feel free to mirror it if you like

    --
    - tristan
    1. Re:live mario piano by chrisbtoo · · Score: 1

      That rules :-)

      --
      Registering accounts later than some other chrisb since 1997
    2. Re:live mario piano by shawb · · Score: 2, Informative

      We all know that this is the blindfolded pianist. And he has done far more impressive.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    3. Re:live mario piano by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      And that his name is Martin Leung.

    4. Re:live mario piano by chrisbtoo · · Score: 1

      and that I'm gullible :|

      --
      Registering accounts later than some other chrisb since 1997
    5. Re:live mario piano by OmniVector · · Score: 1

      cool! well my friend lied then :) pretty neat either way.

      --
      - tristan
    6. Re:live mario piano by shawb · · Score: 1

      That's cool. I remember some random video taken off of a webcam of some scantilly clad girl dancing in her dormroom for her boyfriend. I knew people from three different schools that swore up and down that she was from their school. And none of the dorms from those schools really looked like hers.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    7. Re:live mario piano by Doomstalk · · Score: 1

      How bout a piano, cello and violin arrangement. It's really well done.

    8. Re:live mario piano by Doomstalk · · Score: 1

      Oh and another great live music Mario arrangement: SuperBuck Jazz by Estradasphere. Great jazz arrangement of the Mario 2 theme. The bassist is especially impressive.

    9. Re:live mario piano by Steel_viper · · Score: 1

      Libby Hoeler, I think. That was quite a phenomenon.

  7. mirror by dutchct · · Score: 2, Informative

    here is a mirror

  8. wow.... by generalleoff · · Score: 0, Troll

    I hope somone beat the crap out of these people after the show...

    1. Re:wow.... by oskillator · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Insightful? Jeez, can we moderate a moderation "troll"?

  9. It may be worth noting... by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 2, Informative

    That while they claimed they were performing original Japanese music, the Tetris theme is based on a Russian Folk song (although I can't recall the name). -Diomedes

    1. Re:It may be worth noting... by amarc · · Score: 1

      Tchaikovsky, "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy". "You know you've played too much Tetris when..." :-P

    2. Re:It may be worth noting... by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 1

      I'll try looking it up at home, but I don't think that's it. "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is from The Nutcracker, this song is a an actual piece of folk music IIRC.

      -Diomedes

    3. Re:It may be worth noting... by mopslik · · Score: 1

      "Dance" is one of the 3 original NES tunes, but I think the parent is referring to the fast-paced tune instead. I always wanted to know what that one was.

      "DA DA DA da da, DA DA DA da da, DA DA DA da da, DA DA DA da da..."

      (ok, I'm pathetic)

    4. Re:It may be worth noting... by amRadioHed · · Score: 1

      Korobeiniki is the name you are looking for. It was also covered by the band Ozma.

      --
      We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
    5. Re:It may be worth noting... by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 1

      Yep, that's the one. Thanks.

      -Diomedes

    6. Re:It may be worth noting... by mopslik · · Score: 1

      Excellent. Google gave me a toss-up between that and "Troika". Thanks.

    7. Re:It may be worth noting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Korobushka" is the Russian folksong.

    8. Re:It may be worth noting... by amarc · · Score: 1

      No, it was :-)

    9. Re:It may be worth noting... by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 1

      Alright, maybe in the version of tetris that you played, they used that song, but it is neither the "traditional" tetris song, nor is it the one that the A Capella group performs. To make this clear and avoid argument, I have links below to amazon.com's page selling these CDs, you can then click on the "preview track" button and listen to the 30 second audio clip of each song.

      Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker

      Here's the Ozma cover of Korobeiniki

      Take what you will from this, but the correct answer is clear to me.

      -Diomedes

    10. Re:It may be worth noting... by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 1

      Nevermind, I'm an idiot. You were agreeing with me, weren't you. Terribly sorry.

      -Diomedes

    11. Re:It may be worth noting... by amarc · · Score: 1

      Well, we got there in the end! I wonder if the Sugar Plum Fair is in Tetris somewhere even if it wasn't the main theme tune, I remember it being in the game at least... *shrug*

  10. Found a mirror by MoonFacedAssassin · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~coates/video/Redefined%20- %20Nintendo%20(Video).mpg

    --
    I am a meat popsicle.
  11. Compfused.com has a copy too. by antdude · · Score: 2, Informative

    See here where I saw it.

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  12. As long as we're sharing... by funny-jack · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...here is a recording of the lyrics I wrote to the original Super Mario Brothers main theme. Enjoy.

    --
    You probably shouldn't click this.
    1. Re:As long as we're sharing... by jamnew · · Score: 1

      That's very cool.

    2. Re:As long as we're sharing... by sethadam1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I couldn't help but think of how bad that was, and how embarassed I'd be to have it on the internet. Paradoxically, at the same time, it sounds EXACTLY like something my friends and I would have done and I got a real kick out of it. Then I send the link to about 5 people.

      Thanks for sharing.

  13. Side note: by Headcase88 · · Score: 2, Informative

    The original Super Mario Bros theme was remixed into a capella in Super Mario Sunshine.

    But you know, Super Mario Sunshine didn't have music videos, and that one was... beyond compare :)

    --
    "When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
  14. American music, too! by Headcase88 · · Score: 1

    "The Tetris theme is based on a Russian Folk Song"

    Not to mention Mortal Kombat. That was made by Midway in the United States, right?

    (d-dun d-dun d-dun d-dun d-d-dun d-dun d-dun d-dun d-dun d-d-dun d-dun d-dun d-dun d-dun d-d-dun MMOORRTTAALL CCOOMMBBAATT!)

    --
    "When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
    1. Re:American music, too! by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 1

      It's at least performed by The Immortals and the name of the song is "Techno Syndrome". I have no idea if it was written by them or if they are from the US/Japan/other country. Someone else might know.

      -Diomedes

    2. Re:American music, too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Close. Actually there are about a dozen "official" recordings of this. The original theme was written by a composer for the studio, who then contacted a bunch of techno groups, got them to write their variations on it in exchange for a slot on the album they pressed -- which was a dozen variations on the Mortal Kombat theme. Created a lot of hype both for techno artists, the game, and the movie. Brilliant marketing.

  15. Cool, thank you by RM6f9 · · Score: 1

    for posting this - took me back with a smile.

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  16. Re:live mario piano - Mirror by chrisbtoo · · Score: 1

    A friend of mine had trouble downloading it from your site, so I've put it up at http://www.duo-games.com/benplaysmario.mpg

    --
    Registering accounts later than some other chrisb since 1997
  17. Mousture on carts aren't good. by Ailure · · Score: 1

    Seriously, he starts by blowing into the cartdrigde and inserts it into his GB. And well, it's been said that while it get's rid of *some* dirt, it does... create uneccessery moisture that deteriorate the cart over time. There is more safe ways to clean a cart than by blowing into it. And oh, the mentioning about the music being Japanse gave me a chuckle. And the SMB theme is probably one of the most known Video games themes ever.

    1. Re:Mousture on carts aren't good. by defy+god · · Score: 1

      blowing into the carts doesn't even accomplish what people think it does. what's actually taking place is you taking the cartridge in and out of the system. when u do this, you're realigning the connectors and achieving a connection that lets the system recognize the cart. the whole "blowing-into-cart" myth is false.

      --
      hackers of the world unite!
    2. Re:Mousture on carts aren't good. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On the old NES carts there was a huuuuuge fucking gap between the connector and the casing where dust and lint collected. Really the whole NES casing design, the carts, the console itself, were to blame for this clusterfuck. But the fact was that the dust did become a major factor; cleaning did help the connection significantly.

      Thus the "blowing" myth. Blowing did visibly remove some of the dust, but Q-tips would pick up far more. Whenever I dragged out the NES again(before it died) I gave the carts I wanted to play a good swabbing.

  18. already done by moosesocks · · Score: 4, Interesting

    a bunch of JHU students did the same thing a while back.

    And it's a lot more palatable since it's audio-only.

    --
    -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
    1. Re:already done by Qeyser · · Score: 1


      Yep, they did. I was at the concert where they first sang it about a year ago. They also did some performance-y stuff too: IIRC they had large cardboard cut-outs featuring the various 8-bit heros and villains that corresponded to the songs.
      Oh, and they also did the "blow on the cart" gag = )


      I think they also did the Mario "underwater" theme, which was pretty cool.

      -q

  19. Cool by Eunuch · · Score: 1

    Now record transhumanistic lyrics for "Beds are Burning".

    --
    Transcend Humanity. Please.
  20. List by Mooga · · Score: 4, Interesting
    In order for those a little too young:
    - Mario Brothers
    - Doctor Mario
    - Something from mario for just a sec. (Unsure of exactly what)
    - Tetris
    - Mortal Combate
    - Mario Dungeon Theam
    - Zelda

    It's so bad, yet soo good

    --
    ~ Mooga
    1. Re:List by Dysan2k · · Score: 1

      Many thanks! I couldn't figure out the Dr. Mario one. The one right after it is the music from SMB when you get the invincibility star.

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      -What have you contributed lately?
    2. Re:List by BobRainGod · · Score: 2, Informative

      After Dr. Mario is the Hammer Brothers theme from Super Mario Bros 3, which leads right into the the Mario "Star" theme.

    3. Re:List by Mooga · · Score: 1

      It's funny BC I just played Dr Mario again the day before I saw the video. It made me have no choice but play it somemore.

      --
      ~ Mooga
  21. Torrent by _iris · · Score: 1

    Torrent at Demonoid (warning: membership required).

  22. All Japanese? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Quote from TFV:
    "...it's all original work from Japan."

    If memory serves me, as I'm sure it does, Mortal Kombat is not a Japanese game.

  23. Piano game music by magetoo · · Score: 1
    The fact that you can play it on the piano and it still sounds so good probably says something about the nature of Nintendo game music. Like, that it probably was composed "off-line" to begin with.

    You could try Linus Akesson's * Parallax for Piano (12MB MP3) version of Parallax (7KB SID) as a comparison. I doubt this 11-or-so-minute piece was ever intended to be heard coming from anything but a C64. It sounds very "un-pianolike" to my untrained ears, anyway.

    * That's how he spells it, on his webpage anyway.

  24. minibosses? by PaxTech · · Score: 1
    Haven't seen anyone on this thread mention the minibosses yet.

    They get heavy rotation on my iPod, especially their covers of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! and Contra. It's great when it comes on during my weekly poker game and everyone at the table feels like they've heard it before but they have no idea what it is.. :)

    --
    All movements for social change begin as missions, evolve into businesses, and end up as rackets.
  25. CDs! by Nintendo+Redefined · · Score: 1

    Redefined wants to thank everyone for all the recent attention! We have a great time performing this tune, but we never even dreamed that people would get this into it! We are proud to annouce that you can now find an official copy of our debut self titled album, which has the original Nintendo video, on eBay! We only have a couple left and we will be auctioning them all in the next few weeks. This album not only has the Redefined Nintendo video, but it also has another video as well as nineteen audio tracks. Only here can you get an official copy of this album. Redefined Nintendo Album: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item =4721111527 this is a 3 day auction, it will end at approximately 8:30pm Central Time on Thursday! a reprint is not in the cards, so we figure anyone who wants one of the remaining copies gets a fair shot!