Yes, music, culture and video games changed our perception of the world (for the better). Here's why
Can there be a better description of the world, as of the 1980's, than the one I have used in the title of this post. For me, no, but I will explain why shortly.... In fact, I have no doubt that all those who read these humble lines will not only agree with the content they find, but will also inevitably feel identified in some way. The importance of these three elements is crucial to explain abstract concepts such as: childhood, tastes and social ability. And yes, music, like video games, has created (in many ways) our appreciation of culture.
No matter where you are on the planet, or just what year you were born, if you hear the music of Pacman, you will recognize it.... As well as all the classic games of the first generations of video games. Yes, Mario Bros, Bomberman, Donkey Kong, Tetris, or Contra... All these deliveries have their own sound created to entertain and accompany the story that develops each delivery. What perhaps no one foresaw, is the importance it would have for our concept of culture and how it merged with music to create the amalgam that describes well our existences.
Now, what do I mean? Quite simply, the generation that promoted and made it so normal to play video games, could not witness one of the best generations of music in history. That is, the 70's and 80's. Let's not forget that from 1990 to the present day the exponential growth of the entire video game industry has increased so much, that it could easily compete with the economies of entire countries... But we'll get to that. Now, the people who brought the concept there were not around during the disco era, the birth of hip hop or the third golden age of rock and roll.
Michael Jackson, The Police, Tina Turner, Wings, Prince, Run DMC, 2Pac, are some of the exponents that our eyes, those of my generation, were not able to see or witness their musical successes. Artists, both those mentioned, as well as any you have in mind from that time, that made a notorious change "before and after" their works. And why is this fact relevant? Because it was the videogames that brought back (and in a fair and legal way with the artists) their work to each and every generation that wanted to listen to them.
This explains the success of releases such as "Guitar Hero", "Rock Band", the entire GTA (Grand Theft Auto) franchise, "Just Dance", "Tony Hawk Pro Skater", and any that I am leaving behind for reasons of space but, surely, would fall into this section. Interestingly, the track "Billie Jean" by the gigantic Michael Jackson is currently used in the viral videos we've all been able to see on social networks like Tik Tok or Instagram. Not to mention songs of the time like "A man with no horse" by the American folk band "America". Which I can assure you, no one had in our repertoire if not for Breaking Bad and GTA....
Countless examples of harmonious cohesion between video games, music and culture abound in such a way that I could approach this topic from almost any angle I wish, but it would be pointless. My goal is to do a little justice, and frankly, pay a heartfelt tribute to the best fusion I have ever witnessed and experienced in my life between three things I love: music, playing video games and the concept behind something as human as culture. You can't fully understand one without immediately mentioning the other. And for me, that's enough to inspire me to give you this post. I hope you like it as much as I do.
And I won't lie to you... Watching the GTA VI trailer made me smile a lot. And it also awakened in me, through the music, memories of extremely happy (for me) times spent playing video games, something so special that once I started writing, I couldn't stop myself from doing it. That's the wonderful thing about doing things with passion, dear friends, you can always feel the love and dedication. I know I am not alone in this appreciation of music and culture. Now it's your turn, what do you think, what do you think?
For mentioning Eddie Van Halen, you have my absolute love and respect 🔥😊.
This is a true and compelling article you have scripted.
Personally, I'm simply blown away by music in movies coz I watch movies a lot. I also hope to someday write musical scores for movies.
Thanks for your post.