Background Music Then and Now

[phitter]

Here is the basic format for this thread (with my examples):

 

Three-five bands you associate with playing Atari as a youth and three-five bands you associate with playing Atari currently:

 

For me:

Back in the day it was: Def Leppard (Pyromania), The Police, and Eddy Grant (of Electric Avenue fame), Van Halen and Ozzy.

 

Nowadays it is: System of a Down, Hatebreed, Korn, Mudvayne and Wolfmother (as long as my kids aren't playing. If so, we use the tuner for family friendly classic rock on "The Drive" (97.1 in Chicago)).

 

-phitter

Edited October 4, 2006 by phitter

[super_dos_man]

back then they were black sabbath, led zeppelin, and deep purple

 

now they are

 

metallica, slayer, and pantera

[Gregory DG]

Def Leppard (best rock band ever), The Outfield, and "Abracadabra" by the Steve Miller band. I always seemed to be playing 2600 Defender when that song came on.

 

I dunno what they listen to today. I don't listen to music much anymore...

[+atari2600land]

Call me weird, but I don't really listen all that much to the radio when I play Atari. I usually let the Atari play the music for me. But if I had to pick a record, I'd say Turn of a Friendly Card by the Alan Parsons Project. And I can't really say anything about back in the day because the 2600 is about 6 years older than I am!

[thomasholzer]

Then:

J S BACH

(Of course, Gyruss played BACH for me :-)

 

Now:

J S BACH

Edited October 1, 2006 by thomasholzer

[jboypacman]

Back then:Journey,Styy,Foreigner.

 

And now:Journey,Styy,Foreigner.

[Gregory DG]

Remember what it was like in video arcades back in the 80s? A dark basement-like environment with neon on the walls, flashing video screens, and rock music in the background.

 

Heaven!

[Vic George 2K3]

THEN: Mostly 80's era pop/rock music, recorded from TV broadcasts of Friday Night Videos

NOW: Mostly modern-day contemporary Christian music, either downloaded from freebie sites, ripped from CDs, or recorded from Internet radio stations

Edited October 1, 2006 by Vic George 2K3

[+johnnywc]

THEN:

 

REO Speedwagon - Hi Infidelity

Foreigner - 4

Journey - Escape

Asia - Asia

 

NOW: (see THEN)

[Starhopper]

Then:

J S BACH

(Of course, Gyruss played BACH for me :-)

 

Now:

J S BACH

Ahhh, Gyruss. . . I mean, Bach!

Ride of the Valkyries was also a good one for frenetic games like Pitfall and H.E.R.O. and River Raid

[Inky]

Ahh.. MOre Styx / Foreigner / Journey fans!

 

I thought everyone on AA hated them but me.

[jboypacman]

Dont forget Night Ranger and Asia.

[frogstar_robot]

Ahh.. MOre Styx / Foreigner / Journey fans!

 

I thought everyone on AA hated them but me.

 

 

It isn't so much I hate them. If you were a teenager in the early eighties that stuff was kinda cool. Even if it wasn't cool, it was on the radio and became the background soundtrack to our arcade outings. But then the arcades were replaced by wretched "Family Fun Centers" with the Claw game (but you still went 'cause they had a T-Mek and a Hard Drivin'). And then the Family Fun Centers were replaced by hideously priced games at Dave n Buster's.

 

These days most of that arena rock sounds quaint at best to me. Okay, okay, It does remind me of a time when they had these really cool places called "video arcades" but I just don't listen to it anymore.

[jboypacman]

Man,i miss thoses dark,barely neon-lit,mirror on the walls,arcades.Great times.Great music in the background.

[+atari2600land]

Up until last year, there was an arcade at one of our malls. I remember their "going out of business sale" in which they were actually selling the arcade machines (but by now were mostly stuff like Street Fighter 2, etc). I wonder how many people bought that stuff. As far as I know, our Chuck E. Cheese's is still open, though I haven't been in there since I was a kid. And an arcade called Wunderland here in Salem is still in business, as far as I know.

[+FujiSkunk]

It ain't fair making me pick only three, but here goes:

 

Then: Toto, Journey, The J. Geils Band

 

Now: Pink Floyd, The Alan Parsons Project, The Electric Light Orchestra

Edited October 1, 2006 by skunkworx

[jboypacman]

E.L.O!Love thoses guys too.Toto get but as well.

[Cassidy Nolen]

I wonder how many people bought that stuff.

 

I ended up buying an entire stock from an Aladdin's Castle that closed in 83 Needless to say I was VERY pleased with the condition of the games. Each was broken but had been for 20+ years. They were all the simple fixes and the condition was outstanding since they had been in storage for all that time Kept a few and sold off the rest after all were running. Good money that year.

 

As for music then:

Culture Club

Michael Jackson

Quiet Riot

 

Today:

Sound of the arcades in the backgroun on attract mode.

 

Cassidy

[Recycled]

Then...

 

1980's New Wave, Saga, Missing Persons, the Clash.

 

 

today.....

 

I don't listen listen to music while playing video games. I want to hear every beep, boop, and blip clearly.

[vdub_bobby]

Then: nothing.

 

Now: nothing either, really.

 

But in between, in the 1990s:

Soulfood 76

Alice in Chains

And nothing. I've always liked to listen to the noises that the game makes at me.

[Cybergoth]

Then: No clue. Probably nothing or radio.

Now: I bought me the "Project:Galway" CDs earlier this year and they didn't leave the CD Player since. It's over 150 minutes of SID music sampled straight from Martin Galways own C128. Perfect soundtrack for any kind of gaming

[Video]

Back then, I blazed up Weird Al Yankovic (yeah, crazy huh?)

 

Today, the music has changed, and the format has changed at least 4 times, but I still listen to Weird Al Yankovic

[phitter]

Update - how about 3 to 5 bands for each? Is a top five easier than a top three?

 

I have changed my initial post accordingly.

 

-phitter

[ewomack]

Music wasn't as convenient then as now. Consequently, I rarely listened to it while playing as a kid. Not to mention that, when the 2600 was the hot thing, I was below the "music is cool" age. Plus, as you all know, we only had LPs and cassettes in those days. So you only had about 30 minutes of music at one time. And since 2600 games didn't have a pause feature, that meant you'd have to wait for the game to end and get up to change the tunes. Annoying! Only later did auto flip cassettes arrive. And those record droppers were also around, but I never had good luck with them. So I usually listened to the bleeps and blops seeping from the tiny analog television speaker.

 

But here's what I probably would have listened to (and might have once in a while):

 

The Who

Beatles

Beethoven

Mozart

The Police

 

But NOW! Now is a different story. We can put in six CDs and listen almost infinitely with no hassles. So here's my NOW list:

 

Tsuji Ayano

Stan Ridgway

Captain Beefheart

Bob Dylan

Beatles

 

Subject to constant change, of course.

Edited October 7, 2006 by ewomack

[+HatNJ]

back then they were black sabbath, led zeppelin, and deep purple

 

now they are

 

metallica, slayer, and pantera

 

 

Same here for the groups back in the day Sabbath is still # 1 to me finally have all albums on CD

Today tho anything thats on radio/internet streams