Many of you have asked where the music is coming from which is heard over my live stream on a daily basis. A couple of our community members – Jeff and Lumpy – have graciously put together a special section of their IndieNation station just for your listening pleasure. Our stream is called 8bitwonder, and runs 24 hours per day – even if I’m not listening. The music is completely random. However, many of the tracks come to you courtesy of 8-Bit Peoples.

8-bit is NOT the only type of music you’ll hear coming from your speakers when you tune in. There are a few DJs throughout the day, and each of them brings something different to the mix:

• iscifit.tv (Jeff) – The network/tech director, also DJ’s, bringing sci-fi, tech and 80s music to the masses.
• Lumpy (John) – The programming director that bring indie/podsafe music to the masses
• Meshelly (Chell) – Programming director, started as a fan and now kicks butt on the air herself.
• The Guys Podcast – TGP brings their show each Wednesday at 9pm Eastern time (-5 GMT).
• Zack “The Mothman” Daggy – Brings you the very best indie music every Wednesday at 11AM EST.

Many people are confused as to the true meaning of “8-Bit music.” Back in the early 1980s, computers for the home became cheaper and more accessible. This led to a proliferation of PCs and gaming consoles which were abandoned as people upgraded to new generations of software and hardware. Despite this, small groups of artists and musicians continued to use those old machines to produce their audio. This type of music is commonly known as chiptune.

The gaming technologies used in chip music production are those which were produced in the early 1980s through the mid-1990s. These systems include the old Commodore 64, the Nintendo Game Boy and the NES itself. They were unique back then in that they marked a period in the tech development of gaming audio in which sound chips were used.

The term Chip Music is now applied to compositions which try to recreate the original sound, even though they are made using more complex technology. Composers use modern computers to help them compose, record and execute their craft. These same modern machines are needed to help the composers network with others throughout the scene.

The popularity of Creative Commons over Copyright in this scene has helped many musicians learn and develop their craft through the open-source environment. Emulating the original sound chips has become quite prevalent due to the increasing rarity of those old original gaming systems that were used “back in the day.”

I have to thank Jeff and Lumpy for all of their hard work, dedication and many free hours of service to keep this stream running. Be sure to tune in – either via my stream or their direct link – to listen whenever you have a chance.

8-Bit Music on the Live Stream

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What kind of music do you listen to? Well, that’s what was asked of the stormtrooper, so… here’s the answer, as recorded live – with questions being taken from Twitter.

This is a great question. Like all people, Stormtroopers have eclectic taste. I happen to love my Pandora stream and 8-bit music. It’s difficult to get a signal when you have to deal with another Empire in terms of your data plan. You want to talk about evil Empires… AT&T is the best of the best at that.

Every Stormtrooper has something different that they like to listen to, just as you humans do. We’re really not that different, after all.

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Do Stormtroopers Listen to Music?

One More Production has done it again. Patrick Jean and his team’s latest short film, PIXELS, was shot on location in New York City.

The level of creativity in these video clips are nothing short of fantastic. This has to be one of my favorites, though. What Geek doesn’t love both 8-bit AND video games? I’m glad that @GapingVoid brought this to my attention.

8-Bit Creatures Have Invaded New York!

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Our friends over at ThinkGeek have done it again. As if my Tenori-On wasn’t cool enough, now I have two Bliptronic 5000 LED Synthesizers!! They are exclusive to ThinkGeek, and I’m more than happy that they sent these babies to me for review. You can connect as many of them together as you like, and watch them create beautiful music! Change the tone, volume, style and settings with a touch of a button, or a turn of a knob. They are simple to use, and addictive to play with!

Creating your song centers around a 4-beat pattern, which evolves as you push buttons. Each row of vertical buttons stands for the notes found in one octave. Push a button to turn a note on, and then push it again to turn it off. Pushing more than one button in a vertical row will make a chord!

There are knobs down the side of the Bliptronic, as I mentioned. These allow you to change the tempo, choose your instrument from 8 different sounds, adjust the volume, and turn looping on or off. There’s also, of course, a ‘Play’ button.

You can get a Bliptronic of your own for around fifty dollars. That’s not much money when you think of how many hours, days and even months of fun you’re going to get out of this thing. Wow your friends, and dazzle your family. Put your imagination to work! You know you can’t wait to get your hands on this thing!

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How to Make Electronic Music

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There were 50 different games loaded on this controller, and it only cost me $13.00! I guarantee you’ve never seen these particular games before, but they are very reminiscent of games I used to play on the Nintendo growing up! The DreamGear Plug ‘n’ Play Controller is quite inexpensive, and filled with so many hours of fun!

This little game controller requires no video game system. Simply hook it up to your television using an AV cable… and you’re good to go! There are several fun little games, including ones with penguins! Kids of all ages will love this, I promise you.

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Are You an 8-Bit Video Game Fan?