*This is a post carried-over from the blog archives on philnelson.name, my previous site.*
Video games have a long and storied history of borrowing heavily from popular music. This post will be updated with samples as I get them suggested to me, which you can do using the information above this post. In each case I have used less than 20 seconds of the songs in question, which I believe to be covered under fair use. If you want to hear the whole song, buy it. I will not provide you with any of them, so don’t ask.
### Mega Man X2’s Neon Tiger Stage Music .vs. Guns n’ Roses’ “My Michelle”
[Here is the audio file for comparison][gnrfile]. First you will hear a snippet from Neon Tiger’s theme, then a small pause, then a snippet from My Michelle. You can, of course, purchase the Guns n’ Roses album [Appetite for Destruction][appe] from Amazon.com. This, and the following two suggestions, come from [this blog post][post1].
[post1]: http://www.capcom-unity.com/thesnake383/blog/2008/10/13/megaman_and_80s_music “Megaman and 80s music”
[gnrfile]: http://philname.s3.amazonaws.com/neon_tiger_vs_my_michelle.mp3 “GNR .vs. Mega Man”
[appe]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V6583C?ie=UTF8&tag=philnelson-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000V6583C “Appetite for Destruction on amazon mp3”
### Mega Man 1’s ElecMan Theme .vs. Journey’s “Faithfully”
[Here is the audio file for comparison][jour]. Again, you will hear ElecMan’s music first, then a pause, then Journey. You can (and I encourage you to) purchase [Journey’s Greatest Hits album][jouralbum] from Amazon.
[jour]: http://philname.s3.amazonaws.com/ElecMan_vs_Faithfully.mp3 “ElecMan .vs. Faithfully”
[jouralbum]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00138H45W?ie=UTF8&tag=philnelson-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00138H45W “Journey’s Greatest Hits on Amazon mp3”
### Mega Man 2’s Flash Man Theme .vs. Chicago’s “I’m A Man”
[Here is the audio file for comparison.][chicago] You can purchase [Chicago’s Greatest Hits][chihits] on Amazon. It’s a good investment.
[chicago]: http://philname.s3.amazonaws.com/Flashman_vs_Chicago.mp3 “Flash Man .vs. Chicago”
[chihits]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00124BQ6K?ie=UTF8&tag=philnelson-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00124BQ6K “Chicago’s Greatest Hits on Amazon mp3”
### Robo’s Theme (Chrono Trigger) .vs. Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”
[Here is the audio file for comparison][roboast]. Yes, it was only a matter of time before this descended into a Rick Roll. This one is a bit more tenuous, but it’s definitely noticeable. I would say it’s more of a case of borrowing than the previous tracks, which are a bit more blatant. I heartily suggest you [purchase Chrono Trigger][ct] if you have never played it. It’s my favorite RPG of all time. The composer of the piece, Yasunori Mitsuda, also did [the soundtrack for Chrono Cross][ccost], which is one of the most lush and beautiful game sound tracks ever.
[roboast]: http://philname.s3.amazonaws.com/wpfiles/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/robo_vs_rick_astley.mp3 “Robo’s Theme .vs. Rick Astley”
[ct]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E27DLM?ie=UTF8&tag=philnelson-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001E27DLM “Chrono Trigger of Nintendo DS on Amazon.com”
[ccost]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009J8HB6?ie=UTF8&tag=philnelson-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0009J8HB6 “Chrono Cross soundtrack”
### Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) Stage 5 Overworld .vs. The Beatles’ “Come Together”
[Here is the audio file for comparison][tmntbeat]. This is another fairly blatant one, though it’s got some nice touches, and is part of one of the great Konami NES soundtracks.
[tmntbeat]: http://philname.s3.amazonaws.com/wpfiles/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/ninja_turtles_vs_the_beatles.mp3 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles .vs. The Beatles”
### DOOM (1 & 2) .vs. Various Metal Bands
[Here’s a youtube video][doom] comparing various songs from the smash-hit first person shooter DOOM to various songs from the likes of Metallica, Pantera, et. al.
[doom]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H3BB2gKKeY “DOOM .vs. Metal”
### Wild ARMs Overworld Theme .vs. Ennio Morricone’s “The Ecstasy of Gold”
[Here is the audio file for comparison][wildarms]. This one is maybe the most blatant thus far, especially considering the desert context. Morricone wrote the scores for many great westerns, most famously [The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly][gbu].
[wildarms]: http://philname.s3.amazonaws.com/wpfiles/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/wild_arms_vs_morricone.mp3 “Wild ARMs .vs. Ennio Morricone”
[gbu]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6301971272?ie=UTF8&tag=philnelson-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=6301971272 “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”
### California Games (NES) Title Theme .vs. Louie, Louie
[Here is the audio file for comparison][louie]. I have a feeling that the basic structure of Louie, Louie is subject of a lot of game homage. [Louie, Louie is a most infamous song][louiewik], with the version done by The Kingsmen making them the subject of an FBI investigation.
[louie]: http://philname.s3.amazonaws.com/wpfiles/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/california_games_vs_louie_louie.mp3 “California Games .vs. Louie, Louie”
[louiewik]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louie_Louie “Louie, Louie on Wikipedia”
