I-5: FreddeGredde

Warning: Video Overload!!



Probably the first time I've ever opened an entry with a video. If you frequent the internet, then there is a good chance that you have run into the video above ^^. Watch out for some inappropriate content though.

The artist responsible is one man from Sweden who goes under the moniker of FreddeGredde and has me hooked with his versatile guitar playing and unique voice. Every time I visit youtube, I eagerly await the newest video and the eventual free download that is usually included. The videos are well put together and often very entertaining. Most of the videos are medleys like the one above but they change topics per video. For instance, a medley of all sorts of TV Theme songs...



Or a medley of Cartoon Themes... (Including some in foreign languages!)



And a couple for video games including a multiple game medley, one specifically for Mega Man 9, and one for Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. They are all great but I chose the Zelda one for the sheer awesomeness and the use of so many instruments perfectly...



The medleys are a lot of fun (especially to try to get friends to guess the appropriate songs) but there is more. Fredde is working on a full length album currently and there are a couple of original tracks on his page as well. The Wayfarer is a short acoustic track, Vampire Bride is great (but laden with Twilight references...), and Beside Me is a truly unique rock song. These tracks do not have free mp3s but can be found on iTunes and are easily worth the 99 cents.



As I said above, most of the tracks are available for free in links in the details for the videos. Normally sites like these should be avoided but he posted them himself so no problem. There might be errors for some people but the files are there and correct, just keep trying. I-5 week has finally come to a close. What should I do next?

Parry Gripp

Midterms make updates infrequent... Anyway, for those of you wondering, I am done with punk for a good long while. I still have plenty more but even I feel a little burnt out and need some variety. I do admit that I love the use of themes and will return with a new smaller one next week with more to come in the future but it feels good to just get something random out for a change. I thought for a good long while what would be an effective counterpoint to the punk of the past month, and I couldn't think of anything quite as opposite as Parry Gripp.

If that name means nothing to you, I suggest you try a video to get an idea...

Cutest bunny ever... ^^^

This man has made a living off of seemingly random songs composed heavily with auto-tune of literally anything imaginable but mostly involving small animals, internet memes, and Apple products. It would be easy to believe that there is no talent behind a effort like this but it turns out that he is actually a real musician and was part of a relatively successful band. The tunes easily get repetitious from track to track (with many being blatant copies of past tunes) but likely there is something that will appeal to the juvenile inner child that hopefully still dwells within you. His site is packed with free music each with its own amusing image and many have linked videos as well. And for those really obsessed, he's made three songs available as multi-tracks that you could mix yourself.

Yes, the music is immensely childish but can be a lot of fun. One song in particular tones back some of the goofiness (just some) and becomes a real rock song. A song dedicated to every crush on girls who work at video game stores... The song premiered on the 1000th episode of G4's Attack of the Show and features the two hosts (Olivia Munn as the girl and Kevin Pereira as the drummer.) It is also available for download in Rock Band along with "Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom" and "Last Train to Awesometown." Nothing makes an awesome Rock Band party like these songs...



Other personal suggestions include "Ipad," "Hamster on a Piano (Eating Popcorn)," "I Got No IPhone," and "Discount Birthday Song Medley." Seriously, give him a try starting with the two videos. Enjoy!!

Game Related Music (In Honor of E3)

Another apology for lack of updates. Anyways... I thought I'd unload quite a few different game related bits of music today in honor of E3 (biggest gaming expo of the year) this month. I've already done some like Jonathan Coulton's songs, 8 Bit Weapon, and the video game theme website but I also wanted to give some more.

First up is another fun 8-Bit renditioning of a classic. The entire Pink Floyd album "Dark Side of the Moon" has been redone very faithfully in an 8-Bit style and is a really good listen especially for those that appreciate the original album. The author's website contains several different zip files of the album so pick your favorite and download!

Next up is a great compilation album in tribute to the Sega Genesis from a bunch of different artists. Simply entitled "Loser," it contains music related to nearly every good game from the console with many of them being really good. There are a couple bad nerdcore raps but the majority is very entertaining. It even contains a cover of "Billie Jean" in accordance with MJ's Moonwalker...

And lastly this site contains many more game related albums but they can be really hit or miss so venture at your own risk. Oh wait, one more. A fun and hilarious rap to an old mario game BUT IT IS HIGHLY VULGAR!! WATCH AT OWN RISK!!! Enjoy!!!

8 Bit Weapon (ComputeHer)

Before I dive into my choice for today, I want to recommend my brother's blog site that he just started for highlighting indie or smaller artists that deserve your attention. We'll both be trying to cross promote and link to each other with my site hopefully offering free music to many of the bands he recommends. Check it out!

Every now and then I run into some really good 8-bit styled music and most of the time it happens to be from the same band. For those who don't know 8-bit music is basically what you would hear from a old-school video game system (Nintendo, Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Gameboy.) Some bands even go as far as only using the original consoles to make the music such as 8-bit Weapon (also known as ComputeHer). Their site has plenty of free music worth listening to including two full EPs. The first was created as a soundtrack to a retro-styled cellphone game (that has since been released for free for PC) called "Reset Generation." The whole album is available as a zip file directly from here. Good stuff with a fun techie remix of "American Pie" ironically called "2D Died." The second album is an 8-bit re-imagining of the movie "Tron." It includes several pieces from the original soundtrack redone in bleeps and bloops and is available here. Several other of the singles are specifically worth your attention including "Gameboy Rocker", "Crazy Comets", and "Mario 2 (Drum Mix)." Other tracks have been available on the site from time to time including a remix of a Freezepop song and a christmas themed EP but have currently been removed. The christmas EP will probably be up again by next christmas though. A couple other singles can be found on Last.fm if you're interested. Enjoy!!

Jonathan Coulton

If that name doesn't ring any bells, then you either don't know what he's responsible for or you're not a nerd. Kidding... Described as "If Bob Dylan and the internet had a baby", he's a great folky rock artist that isn't afraid to get silly but remain partially serious through it all. Some of his best known songs include "Still Alive" (the credit song to the game "Portal"), "Re: Your Brains" (zombie invasion in the office), "Code Monkey" (an overworked but simple man love ballad), and a slow acoustic cover of "Baby Got Back." If that alone doesn't get you interested, then wait for the offer.

Jonathan Coulton's site has free mp3s of 2-6 songs from every album that he has released. These aren't B-sides either, most of them are some of the best songs each respective album. Awesome right! Let's make it better!! iTunes has a podcast (made by him) containing 4 full albums of great songs. They are the "Thing a Week" albums where he literally recorded a new song every week for a whole year. Hopefully the link above will open the iTunes page for you; if not then just search for "Jonathan Coulton" or "Thing A Week" in iTunes and look for the podcast. As I've mentioned before it is an easy conversion from an iTunes podcast to an mp3 but either way you will have plenty of free music from a great artist.

I could get into full detail about all the songs that are worth your particular attention but I'll list a few that you shouldn't pass: Big Bad World One, Chiron Beta Prime, Creepy Doll, Dance Soterios Johnson Dance, Flickr, Furry Old Lobster, Ikea, Mandelbrot Set, Podsafe Christmas Song, The Presidents, Shop Vac, Skullcrusher Mountain, Stroller Town, When You Go, and the four mentioned in the opening paragraph. But ALL of his music is worth it!! Below is Flickr (song made entirely based on randomly selected photos from the site flickr.) Enjoy!!

UPDATE: Don't worry none of the music has gone missing but I would like to mention that I have gained a new appreciation for many Coulton tracks that had once been overlooked. A lot of the music is very intelligent and relationship story-based with songs like So Far So Good, Make You Cry, I'm Your Moon,  You Could Be Her, Summer's Over, Pizza Day, Pull the String, and others above like Shop Vac, When You Go, and Big Bad World One. These songs have made a great creative chill playlist for me that I would highly recommend to anyone!! 

TV, Commercial, and Game Music

To make up for only having one song in my last update, I'm going BIG! I know a lot of people spend a lot of time and money looking for songs from TV shows or videogames (myself included) and often end up disappointed with the results. Thanks to TelevisionTunes.com you may never have to go anywhere else!! The site contains just about every theme song you can think of and a ton of movie themes and songs within shows as well. Most of the music is ripped so the quality can be spotty but most are well up to par. None of the content is professional so if you want the best quality, track down a real cd that has what you are looking for.

And to sweeten the deal, several sister sites have been made including Video Game music (http://gamethemesongs.com/), Commercials (http://tvadsongs.com/), Sport Themes (http://footballfightmusic.com/), and every ridiculous quote ever said by Robin in the old 1960s Batman TV Show (http://holysmokesbatman.com/.) Do note that these are all rips and not the originals!!! Enjoy!