The Great Game Boy Swindle

Malcolm McLaren (remember him?) has discovered chip music, a semi-legal genre created by "reverse engineering an electronic interface -- whether it's a Game Boy or a computer's sound chip -- and subverting its original design."

If you're curious what it sounds like, you can listen to some on this site. I'd describe it as existing somewhere on the continuum between Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music and some kid fucking with a Casio. If that's your thing, dig in.

Comments

[Lek]

If any of you are into the lowtech sound check out http://www.micromusic.net

[brian]

anyone familiar with alec empire? (perhaps best known for atari teenage riot, or possibly for his forays into intelligent techno in the early to mid 90s)
i believe he has a project called Nintendo Teenage Robots, which was, as legend would have it, created entirely with a modified GameBoy.
just TRY to not be annoyed after 30 seconds. honestly, just try it.
Atari Teenage Riot. now thats good music.

[Bryan Alexander]

Think of the movie due out in about 7 years, The Great Chip Music Swindle.

[Brad R]

I'm not some old dude that never cusses, on the contrary, I cuss alot. But there is something about seeing the "f-word" used on this site makes it seem juvenile and base.

[NoStar]

I've got Mark Denardo's "Anamotopoea" stuck in my brain.

AND I CAN'T STOP SINGING ALONG!

My co-workers are beginning to look at me like I'm strange.

[Dan]

http://www.bitshifter.cc/

[Douglas Fletcher]

"...in small doses, like bluegrass"

Well, bud, that's your problem.

[dude]

I love this stuff! (well, in small doses, like bluegrass)

This is something cool along the same lines. A guy turned an Atari 2600 into a synthesizer and makes music with it.

[AWJ]

One thing I don't understand from the article is what's "semi-legal" about this genre of music.

I could see copyright/licensing issues if these musicians were using music from actual Game Boy games as samples, but according to the article they're just using the hardware as a primitive synthesizer, using homemade software. What law is being violated here?

[nm156]

Who cares? This sounds like something a casino might install to help generate the requisite "fun noise" to distract the marks.