Crystal Castles: An 8-Bit Dance Party

Have you head about Crystal Castles? They just released their debut self-titled, which you can get on iTunes, and the little that I've heard, I've enjoyed immensely. It's rare to find a group who can utilize music from video game's past so well.

This song is right up there with the recent fabulous work of Johan Abebjörn or Black Kids.

I know that I talk about music an awful lot for a video game blog, but again, I'll pull the "video game culture" card.

Is there any other artist that utilizes 8-bit sounds that I should know about? Because I'd love to hear about it.

This song is called "Vanished," and it's off their recently released self-titled album. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Wyclef and Paul Simon Make a Commercial...er...Music Video for Sony

So it's a music video that brings together Wyclef Jean, Paul Simon, the PSP, the PS3, and Burnout Paradise. It looks like somebody wants some free swag from Sony. At least the song isn't all that bad.

It seems, though, like the song is full of social consciousness, and to utilize this song as an outlet for video game publicity is somewhat cheap. Agreement? Disagreement?

Music for Video Games

If you aren't familiar with Audiosurf, the PC sensation, inform yourself. It's a game that combines your love of music and your love of games. It's probably easier just to watch the video.

I love that song all too much.

Anyhow, Asthmatic Kitty Records compiled some music by artists (the only one you may have heard of is Sufjan Stevens) to utilize the game. Music for Video Games v.1 is the latest in video game music, although I still have mad props for Mega Man.

More Awesome Game Music

The rest of the video game industry is probably starting to get intimidated by the success of the Rock Band and Guitar Hero soundtracks. It's hard to get attention for your game's soundtrack when you're up against the heavyweights. However, the folks at 2K Sports are keeping their heads up.

Getting help from Matador Records, Sub Pop Records, and Pitchforkmedia.com (my favorite music news site), 2K Sports has drafted a pretty heavy-hitting soundtrack for MLB 2K8. It features some of my favorite artists, so here's the track list (I got it from Pitchfork - the * indicates tracks that they picked).

Battles: "Atlas" *

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: "Need Some Air"

Blitzen Trapper: "Wild Mountain Nation" *

Dinosaur Jr.: "Almost Ready" *

Jay Reatard: "My Shadow" *

Kasabian: "Reason Is Treason"

LCD Soundsystem: "Watch the Tapes" *

Modest Mouse: "Dashboard"

Peter Bjorn and John: "The Chills"

The Cars: "Moving in Stereo"

The Cool Kids: "88" *

The Cure: "Never Enough"

The Flaming Lips: "The Wand (No MF Edit)"

The Hold Steady: "Stuck Between Stations" *

The Presidents of the United States of America: "Cleveland Rocks"

The Revolution Fox Experiment: "Hyper Charlie"

The Strokes: "Someday"

And with the curveball, the theme to "The Drew Carey Show." Man, this game's soundtrack rules.

Hey reader, do I talk about music too much on my blog or should I keep it rolling?