11/21/2007
Living in the Shade of a Video Arcade: The Beepers Vs. Ronnie Jones
No one really records songs dedicated to emerging mediums anymore. However in the early 80's, the video game medium was exploding and two artists jumped at the chance to pay it a pop homage. So...shall. we. play. a. game?
The 1983 movie Wargames, starring Matthew Broderick, was one of the first pop-culture films to look at the negative aspects of computers. Not only was it a ground-breaking film, but the music was pretty awesome too. Player 1: The film's electro-pop tune "Video Fever" by The Beepers, captured the main character's obsession with video games through rather cynical lyrics. 1000 points for The Beepers.
But wait, wait! Competition is creeping up, Italo Disco style. Here comes player 2: Ronnie Jones with his obnoxiously long, but wonderful 1980 ode to the medium, simply titled "Video Games." I couldn't have said it better myself, Ronnie. Unlike, "Video Fever" the song embraces the medium whole-heartedly with naive and romantic lyrics. 2000 points for Ronnie. After all, isn't there enough cynicism in the world?
Ronnie Jones was rather prolific when it came to recording. You can pick through his body of work here. I'm not sure if The Beepers ever recorded a full-length album, so unless you can find a copy of the Wargames soundtrack online (good luck)...I'm afraid it's game over.
Cheers to Beat Electric for the Ronnie Jones find.
MP3
Download 'The Beepers - Video Fever'2:52 | 3.29MB
Download 'Ronnie Jones - Video Games'7:47 | 8.94MB
Posted by Michael on 11/21/2007 10:26 AM in Electronic, 80's Pop, Movie Music
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