I've been listening to M83's Digital Shades Volume II (the album can be heard here on YouTube). I didn't think too much about it until I read that it was partially inspired by 80's video game sound tracks, according to Anthony Gonzalez.

I started wondering if I could identify the game that inspired the song. For example, the song A Bit of Sweetness seems to me like it borrows from Zelda's Fairy Theme. Particularly, the descending arpeggiation that can be heard in the background of the M83 track bears an uncanny resemblance to the Zelda theme.

Other tracks are harder to place, but if you are "game", take a listen and share the song you think was inspiration for one of the DSVII tracks.

So I thought I'd try a little experiment here. Here are 2 songs I like from the same band. They're very different songs, and here's why I like them:

I Got You - This is a song about infatuation. It conveys that feeling I had when I was smitten with someone as a teenager. It feels very intimate to me, like the singer's directly expressing his innermost feelings to the person he's infatuated with. Or perhaps thinking of what he would say if he had the guts. It's very much a new wave pop song, and is probably the most well-known of Split Enz songs, at least where I live in the US.

I See Red - This is very much a song of rage. To me it's about a guy who's been dumped, or maybe who was infatuated with someone, and now they're with someone else. Whereas "I Got You" was very poppy, this is more punky. (I mean it's still pop, but with a punk flavor.) Putting it together with the previous song makes a lot of sense to me, even though they have such different tone. It's like the 2 songs together tell a story. I also love the phrase "down the drain like molten toothpaste." There's just something so illustrative about "molten toothpaste."

Anyway, just thought I'd share these random thoughts.