zircon Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I'm not sure if anyone has pointed out this before, but the song "Point of No Return" by 80s band "Expose" sounds an awful lot like the music from the Sonic series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_VpZVDjitQ The percussion groove of course is very much similar to the style of Sonic. But listen to the bass, the synth stabs and the arpeggio pattern at the very beginning. If I told you these things were from a Sonic track you would never question it. Compare to Lava Reef Zone Act 1 from Sonic 3: Right off the bat, the bass sound is basically identical. The arpeggios are extremely similar. The key is the same. The tempo is within 10bpm. The lead bell synth sounds quite similar to a bell synth in the Expose track. Even the chord progression is pretty similar, albeit slower. I'm not saying the Sonic composers ripped off Expose - at all - but much like house music was a known inspiration for Yuzo Koshiro and Streets of Rage, I think this specific song HAS to have had a big influence on, at the very least, Lava Reef. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Whoah! The resemblance is quite striking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Whoah! The resemblance is quite striking! Quite so, old boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhsu Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Forget MJ, Point of No Return are the real people behind the Sonic 3 soundtrack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpretzel Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Hmmm. Well, isn't this just a pretty generic 80's groove, though? Like, I'm fairly sure I've heard a similar accompaniment in songs by a dozen or so 80's bands; the melody is what sets things apart, and in this case I feel like Lava Reef had it going on, and Expose... not so much. Sonic soundtracks *definitely* had an 80's vibe, no doubt about it, but I'm not sure the accompaniment here is distinct enough to indicate a direct influence... I think it's more of a general stylistic osmosis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverCoat Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I thought this was going to be the Nu Shooz song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCtm82j8W6A sounds the same anyway I actually have this record it's pretty good synth pop. Think about this though: You have Expose, a pop group from 1987, and you have Michael Jackson somewhat collaborating on the Sonic 3 soundtrack. Now, who almost singlehandedly shaped the entire sound of pop music for the '80s? :3 So maybe it's Expose who sounds like michael jackson who influenced the Sonic 3 soundtrack, so maybe Expose made a song that sounds like Sonic 3 in a very roundabout way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazygecko Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 More striking resemblances between game music and 80's pop: McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure - Magical Moon http://www.mediafire.com/?y2gtjkzktiz Scritti Politti - Boom! There She Was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteo Xavier Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 I thought it was generally established you don't get more 80's pop-rock than Sega Genesis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avaris Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Think about this though: You have Expose, a pop group from 1987, and you have Michael Jackson somewhat collaborating on the Sonic 3 soundtrack. Now, who almost singlehandedly shaped the entire sound of pop music for the '80s? :3 So maybe it's Expose who sounds like michael jackson who influenced the Sonic 3 soundtrack, so maybe Expose made a song that sounds like Sonic 3 in a very roundabout way? CLEVER!!! It's a very good melody to put on top of the chords. With the amount of recorded music our society now possesses every song prob has some distant cousin who shares similar traits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 I thought this was going to be the Nu Shooz songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCtm82j8W6A sounds the same anyway I actually have this record it's pretty good synth pop. Think about this though: You have Expose, a pop group from 1987, and you have Michael Jackson somewhat collaborating on the Sonic 3 soundtrack. Now, who almost singlehandedly shaped the entire sound of pop music for the '80s? :3 So maybe it's Expose who sounds like michael jackson who influenced the Sonic 3 soundtrack, so maybe Expose made a song that sounds like Sonic 3 in a very roundabout way? Except Expose doesn't sound anything like MJ... at all. Dave: I agree that it resembles other 80s songs, but the particular choice of synth timbres is extremely similar to Lava Reef, as is the chord progression and especially the arpeggios. I've heard a lot of 80s music but this song in particular sounds a LOT like Sonic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverCoat Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 There's also the fact that the genesis uses the YM2612 FM chip which is strikingly similar to the DX7, so the sounds in most new wave/synth pop can be recreated on the Genesis platform as well. Food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkmaster987 Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Incidentally, Michael Jackson is apprently now pretty much confirmed as being one of the composers for Sonic 3: http://www.originalsoundversion.com/?p=6082 But without a doubt there's plenty of similarities between some VGM and other music. A few more examples: Donkey Kong Country 2 - Haunted / Mussorgsky - Night on the bald mountain Diddy Kong Racing - Everfrost Peak / The chicken dance (no joke) Banjo-Kazooie - Gruntilda's Lair / Teddy bear's picnic FFVI - Dancing Mad part 2 / Bach - Toccata and Fugue FFVII - those who fight further / Metallica - for whom the bell tolls There's over a dozen more too. Rare seem to be particularly bad offenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCvgluvr Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Wow, take away Expose's singer, and the song would be a perfect fit for any Sonic game on the Genesis! That's kind of funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
José the Bronx Rican Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 I'm with Dave. First time I heard "Lava Reef" in - was it '94? - it became a fast favorite because it sounded just like many - and there are MANY - of your typical Latin Freestyle joints, only without the typical tone-deaf Latin Freestyle singer. Exposé is in my library for being one of few exceptions in the genre. I'd believe that genre influenced "Reef" more than the one tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkmaster987 Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Pendulum actually seems to invert this and use VGM an an influence. The intro to "Granite" is a (blatantly) remixed version of the start of SMW's castle theme, and "Showdown" is practically a remix of Flash Man's theme from Megaman 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Yeah there are like, a million 80s songs that sound like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted December 7, 2009 Author Share Posted December 7, 2009 Pendulum actually seems to invert this and use VGM an an influence. The intro to "Granite" is a (blatantly) remixed version of the start of SMW's castle theme, and "Showdown" is practically a remix of Flash Man's theme from Megaman 2. Yeah, I noticed those things too. In fact, my "Nuclear Flash" remix was basically created when I was trying to mock up Showdown for fun and noticed it had the same chords as Flashman. Anyway, hey, I know a lot of 80s songs sound like this but find me one that matches so closely with Lava Reef. I listen to an 80s station almost every day on the radio and this one really jumped out at me for being particularly Sonic-esque. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkmaster987 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 This one might be pushing it a little, but listen to the first 15 or so seconds of "Dreamer" by Europe. Anyone else find it sounds a little familiar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendlyHunter Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I was going to make a thread about this at the time, but didn't for whatever reason: When my brother and I saw Rodrigo y Gabriela on Conan a few months back, we both noticed the song they played (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ZxozEsdgQ&fmt=18) sounded like Megaman music. I looked them up, and sure enough their other songs sound like Megaman too! Specifically Megaman 2, 3, 4, and 9. Awesome awesome songs and performances: (intro reminiscent of Flash Man's intro, also reminds me of Needle Man in parts) (actually they all remind me of Needle Man) (I know it's Metallica, but don't tell me it doesn't remind you of at least four different megaman songs by the end of the song. Bubbleman and a Wily stage at the very least.) (Now this one was a pleasant surprise!! I mean, even more pleasant. There's even a bit of Megaman X 1 in there!) (Does the entire first half sound like Megaman 2 to anyone else?) (I haven't found one that doesn't sound like megaman to me yet, so I'll just stop posting them)Are these guys Megaman fans, or do I just think every mindblowing and intense melodic song played on two guitars sounds like it's made by Bun Bun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Less Ashamed Of Self Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Whenever I hear that Sonic song I always here: 'I spent an hour in your action shot album pics' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphis Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Comin Home Baby always reminded me of Flash Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazygecko Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Here's a fun one: Mr. Write's house in Zelda: Link's Awakening has music straight from the first Sim City, and the character Mr. Write is a reference to Will Wright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 Comin Home Baby always reminded me of Flash Man Wow, that is actually pretty similar. The chords of course are the same, but the movement and rhythm of the melody is definitely similar. Same with the arpeggio patterns! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkmaster987 Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Another one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjNn6LWu3QA Do the chords and general structure of the first 60 seconds remind you of anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhsu Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Took me a while, but I'm guessing you're implying it sounds like Memories of Green? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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