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In 1992, Nintendo released a program for its Super Nintendo system entitled Mario Paint, a cartridge bundled with a PC-style mouse that was probably ground zero for my interest in, um, digital art. But in addition to letting those without home computers sketch 16-bit masterpieces, Mario Paint also included a simple MIDI program that allowed players bleep and blorp your way through tunelets like this Mario-ified version of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” And because the Internet refuses to let anything recede into pop cultural history, there are not only multiple programs that recreate the Mario Paint sequencer for the ProTools age, there’s a thriving YouTube underground dedicated to reviving the sounds of musical mushrooms and fire flowers. Now, after spending a few hours trawling through multiple shakily captured takes on “In Da Club” and “Chocolate Rain,” we present five of our favorite Mario Paint musical moments, pop recreated through meowing kitties and bouncing Mario heads.
<em>Mario Paint</em> Brings English Comedians, Avant-Garde Composers, And Brian Wilson Together At Last
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I probably could have predicted approximately how much the melody of “Take On Me” as told in fire flowers would elevate my mood, but I would have been under.
I fucking loved this game. I probably made my first real attempts at composing original music on Mario Paint.
Are you sure Kate didn’t write this article? I mean, I see the name Jess over there on the right, but somehow I don’t quite buy it.
@futurehorse: “Yakety Sax” is the clue.
That “Land of Confusion” is wicked.
I need this program in my life.
The Commodore 64 had a sound chip that, and you programmed it via Microsoft Commodore Basic. That SNES version, with an actual scoring graphic (musical staff and notes you can place), would have been a LOT easier!
John Cage via Super NES is one of the surefire ways to warm my cold, dead heart.
@futurehorse: You know I didn’t write it because it’s not about
a) Tribute videos
b) Fanfiction
c) Rilo Kiley
d) Jimmy Buffett
e) Dolly Parton
f) Blink 182
I could see where the YouTube element would throw you off, though…
I’ve heard a cool Mario Paint version of Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” several years ago. There are also some folks who compose music with the Gameboy Camera. Anybody remember Alec Empire’s Nintendo Teenage Robots album?
I just… No words can describe how I feel about this.