12/11/07 Issue #9 Music to My Ears Video Games as Musical Inspiration Video Game Graffiti Retro Vandalism at Its Best To All Die-Hard Toggle Readers, Having been to Celebration IV and seen my fair share of Star Wars memorabilia, tattoos, costumes, real-life X-Wings, etc., by far the coolest thing this year is the Star Wars villain wallpaper lining the interior of San Francisco's very own Super7 toy store, located at 1628 Post Street. You can browse their selection of limited-edition toys and artwork with the likes of Stormtroopers, Imperial Guards and Vader himself neatly scattered as a backdrop. We hope you enjoy this heavily "artsy" issue of Toggle. Thanks, Clayton Lee Currently Playing: Super Mario Galaxy (Game of the Year) Music to My Ears   Peanut butter and chocolate. Milk and cereal. Batman and Robin. Video games and music. Although not the most popular, this last duo reigns as a longstanding combination, although its popularity is forever in flux. As video games continue to gain entertainment market share, they may begin to play a larger role in video-game communication and advertising. Let's take a look at some of the most recent pop-culture highlights of this variety. As the retro video-game trend has long been popular, it is ever gaining momentum in many forms. Particularly in music—both contemporary and classical. Blip Festival, a four-day celebration of music made with vintage game systems, returned to New York City on Thursday, Nov. 29th with 40 artists and musicians from the U.S., Japan, Europe and South America. On the other end of the spectrum, the National Symphony Orchestra presents Video Games Live!, complete with a full playlist of classic video-game hits and audience participation in the form of costume contests and more. Blip Festival Blog Posting Video Games Live! Events Page Using System of a Down's "The Legend of Zelda" rendition, user-generated content has flooded YouTube with several music videos. Similar to the National Symphony Orchestra, the Cal Berkeley marching band performed a football halftime show with a montage of theme music from Super Mario Brothers, Pokemon, Zelda, Tetris and others. Lastly Group X, an Arab parody band, pays tribute to one of the best games of all time in a song called "Mario Twins". Although these creative jewels come in different forms, video-game music is the shared inspiration that helps perpetuate the nostalgia and allure of past-gen music and video games. Aside from Guitar Hero and Rock Band, what's the next step for next-gen gaming and music? Video Games Live! Trailer System of a Down — "The Legend of Zelda" Cal's Halftime Show Group X — "Mario Twins" Music Video Return to top Video Game Graffiti   In continuing this theme of retro video games as artistic inspiration, Flickr user TheFunkyHorror has compiled several albums highlighting video-game street art. In several European cities, TheFunkyHorror has documented an array of street art delicately placed throughout urban environments. The pieces mainly feature colorful (as colorful as 8- or 16-bit games get) 2D iconic Nintendo game characters juxtaposed in our 3D concrete jungle of a world. Although the origin of the artists is unknown, the street art speaks to the popularity of retro games as a cultural movement in the form of graffiti art. An artist from Rock and Royal Custom Chandeliers and Mosaics, Arno Coenen brought to life video-game characters using ceramic mosaics. The likes of Lara Croft, Donkey Kong and Pacman can be found in various locations in Amsterdam. Given his extensive background in 3D animation as an instructor and programmer, his 2D masterpieces seem to be bringing him more publicity. These examples of public street art make a case for the popularity of retro video games in artwork. However, this may have implications for guerilla marketing and using the traditional medium of OOH while executing it in a refreshing way. Video-Game Street Art Slide Show Blog Posting Return to top Having trouble viewing? Click here. Want to be removed from the list? Click here. bssp • gargantua • sfi • influx 415.331.6049 (m) • 415.331.3524 (f) • 20 liberty ship way, sausalito, ca 94965 • www.bssp.com