Reformat the Plant - a documentary on chiptunes

[Forbin]

Chiptunes were mentioned briefly in the Scott Pilgrim thread, and a few way back about the Blip festival. The guys that shot the first season of the Penny-Arcade reality show have a documentary out about them now.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/reformat-the-planet/

I'm of two minds about the whole thing because the music is fine in small doses or certain contexts, but it's all very embarrassing as well.

[twmac]

The festival in Part 7, I was actually at that one.

Not sure it is embarrassing, although I would certainly say some of the sound recording quality in that particular episode wasn't great and as a result doesn't do the music justice.

Coova is amazing. Her stuff and Bubblyfish, who was also at that gig, have a really interesting ambient style.

What I like is that they really conveyed how the chiptune scene doesn't have a specific style. There were Jazz artists, Folk groups along side the more conventional electronic acts you would expect. That episode is really cheekily shot too. Apart from at the height of Friday and Saturday there was never more than 40 people at the show they did. Still, hell of a lot of fun.

[Forbin]

That guy that played guitar looked like he was on some serious drugs when he was cheering for Random.

I found it a bit strange that it tried to create a narrative of this scene developing in New York, when it's very clearly an online community. They didn't even mention a single site like 8bc, just that these guys discovered international chip tune artists while doing a world tour.

The douchebag levels go a little off the chart later in the show with the bald guy that did the visuals. People talking about how they're "outsiders" and if it ever went mainstream they'd having nothing to do with it. Given that this was filmed in 2006, I bet a bunch of those people already have moved on to hating this scene and thinking it's "sold out".

And though they showed a lot of diversity in the music, it seems 2PS wanted to focus on the "pure" music made with LSDJ. I don't even recall seeing Deprecation Guild until the end credits.

I'd like to see what a performer who mixed with headphones instead of just raw would be capable of. There would be less fuckups and they'd be able to take bigger risks.

[Roderick]

God I hate elitist subcultures and their bullshit. Will give the documentary a go, but it's tiring, isn't it?

[twmac]

Wow meeting these people in person was a very different experience.

Sure there were a few coked up arseholes amongst the 40 strong artists that attended that 2006 festival and there were certainly a few that took the procedures very seriously but you could say that of any music scene or movement.

[Jake]

God I hate elitist subcultures and their bullshit.

Same here!

[Lu]

[toblix]

[toblix]

I am sorry.

[Armchair General]

Accepted. GLHF.

[syntheticgerbil]

CHIP TUNES?! I CAN'T WAIT TO BOMB SOME DODONGOS!

sj8_7OFK0oc

[Nachimir]

In theory I really want to know more about this. I get intensely annoyed at how earnest they all are though; also watching people dance to chiptunes in clubs. It's one thing to like something a lot, but the way they pump their fists and writhe reminds me of evangelical Jebus freaks.

The things they're playing with were a humongous part of my childhood, and unlike most nostalgia trigger happiness in me, but they don't even compete with the music I'd go to see live or dance to. I like chiptunes but can't like the chiptune scene the way it presents itself to me; words like fervent and desperate come to mind when I try to describe it.

Edited August 24, 2010 by Nachimir

[Forbin]

The chips are notoriously bad at bass, so the only stuff I would consider dancing too is augmented by other instruments or samples.

[Nachimir]

That makes a lot of sense. It's probably something that simple that really puts me off rather than just the culture around it. The clip they had in part 4 of Aonami is the only bit that really got me going so far.