NONE Xmas songs - MSX Style - part 3

Yes there is a part 3. I wasnt planning it, but the New Year demo of part 2 was MSX-2 only
So I got the idea to create an MSX-1 New Year demo,
but because of the limitations of MSX-1 Basic (and my own limitations) I decided to make a Happy New Year Picture demo for MSX-1.

I re-used the sounds, sprites and greetings of the original, search on the net for pictures, converted them with my fav tool,  did some testing and here it is...

Gavitex LZH DSK
Mediafire LZH DSK

It took me 8 hours to finished, most of the time I was searching and converting the pictures. If you dont like it ? Well...search on YouTube for MSX demo...

But I wish you all a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year !

MSX Xmas game: Penguin Adventure

When I think of Xmas and MSX games, the first name that I can recall is Konami's Penguin Adventure. It has snow and even Santa Clause. It's a really good but hard game to handle.
I made it once to stage 3, so you know my gaming skulls now...

So I search in my own MSX archive and found an old BCF demo, that seems to be forgotten on YouTube.

When I started the demo I knew why. It had 2 little animation demo's with the famous SNOUT humor   ,
a converted picture from the cartridge box, some credits, all location of the traders, santa claus and all warps and a slotmachine just like in the game.

Only the slotmachine had some music (stolen from the MSX-2 game Red Lights of Amsterdam) and some mostly annoying PSG sounds.
So instead of uploading a video of the demo to YouTube,
I decided to search for other YouTube videos about the game Penguin Adventure.

But here you can download that old 1989 demo of BCF:
Gavitex LZH and DSK or Mediafire LZH and DSK

BCF became more famous when they created some games and their DiscStations, but of course you knew that already.

And here some great video's I found about Penguin Adventure:
1. Penguin Adventure MSX Konami overview
* The review is very nice made by a none MSX-er, it gave me a new inside info 
about the game itself *
2. Soundtrack Penguin Adventure Konami MSX
* Not the real OST from Konami, but nicely arranged, better than any so called remixes *
3. Weird Video Games - Penguin Adventure (MSX) 
* Forget all that nonsense about speed and more, just listen from 11:30 to the Penguin Adventure Rap, hilarious !!! *

  

 

NONE Xmas songs - MSX Style - part 2

This post is related to the song "Happy New Year" of ABBA. I can't remember much
"Happy New Year" MSX-demo's, with fireworks and stuff...

"Yeah yeah yeah, MCCM once published an firework listing that worked with MSX- and GW-Basic (PC), but it was so slow on MSX and PC, I had to use the KUN compiler on my MSX-2 and a Turbo Basic compiler on my PC-XT to get something that looked like fireworks..."
Noo, I won't put the listing in my blog, go to here and click on nr.35, good luck with typing in...

Well, in 1988 I got the idea to create a simple MSX-2 screen 8 New year demo with the use of my selfgenerated firework sounds and some of my creations made in Philips Designer...

So here it is, it's very old, but the listing is very readable for beginning MSX-ers or MSX-ers who forgot how to program in Basic (like me).



Mediafire: LZH or DSK
Gavitex: LZH or DSK

NONE Xmas songs - MSX Style - part 1

Of course I wanted this Xmas to have some MSX stuff in my blog, so I thought hard about the earlier Xmas posts (My Music Memories) and then it struck me. For both NON Xmas songs I could create a MSX post, so here is the first one.

On the tape I purchased from the C.U.C. composer TerjaSoft created, for both Spectravideo  SVI (side A) and MSX (side B) computers,some very nice PSG songs,
even with some animation.

At the end of the tape was WEALL, yes an nice with MSX-1 animated sprites PSG song.
Because it took a lot of time to load all the sprite data I included an timer and soundeffects to keep the waiting less boring.

So here is all SVI and MSX computers: We All Stand Together is glorious 3-channel PSG version...

At Mediafire: as file or DSK
At Gavitex: as file and DSK

I was curious about the story behind Spectravideo, so I found some info and
some fan websites.

Wikipedia
Roger's
Spectravideo Sweden
Thomas's




I think all MSX-ers should know there were once Spectravideo computers, which were almost MSX computers. And I remember C.U.C. club, who published lots of SVI/MSX related info, listings and programs, and bought lots of magazines and other stuff
at the fairs in Holland. I tried but can't find anything about C.U.C. on the net.
They really deserve their own archive of their magazines and tapes...

My Music Memories: 2 favs Xmas songs

Every blogger should have some post every christmas, so I tried to find some fresh ideas
to post. Here is part 1.

Some artists just record christmas songs almost exactly like the originals from the 50s, 60s, etc., that's ok by me. But I like the songs more, if the artists use new arrangements
to sound a little different than the traditional ones.

It was difficult to choose 2 favs songs and even more difficult to find an artist who made
a nice arrangement to that classic song.
When I finally had 2 favs I browsed YouTube to find a nice arrangement of those songs...

After 1 hour searching and listening to failed attempts of all kinds of (amateur) artists
I was so disappointed I decided to browse in my own CD-collection.
Within 15 minutes I found for both favs an nice new arrangement.

Here it is (as long as YouTube dont remove it).
"Winter Wonderland" of Steve Overland


"Have Yourself A Merry Christmas" of Tomorrow People

These songs can also be found somewhere on the Modern Christmas Tapes 1/2/3
( Another Xmas Post (Part III) )

My Music Memories: 2 NOT favs Xmas songs

Part 2.
There are xmas songs that me run as far as possible from any loudspeaker or if I cant escape I pretend I dont' hear it at all.

My choices may suprise you and you will probably disagree, well...you can always left a comments or stop reading...

First: my most annoying xmas song:

"Blue Christmas" of Elvis Presley
His Christmas album wasnt that bad at all, but this song was worst. Sadly this is the only song you hear from Elvis during the Christmas periode.

Why ?
Here is comes:
"Ahaahaa haahaa haahaa haahaa ffffff a blue xmas without you"
And:

"And I have a blue blue blue blue blue xmas"

Even a duet with Maria McBride cant save this song.

Second: my most boring xmas song:

"12 Days of Christmas" of ...that doesnt matter
It's just a memory game set to music, and it repeat itself over and over again.

Want proof:

Here it comes:

"On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree"

On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

and we are just at day 5 !

If my true love send the same prenents every day I would tell her to stop,

No, the fool in this song wants all the same presents, 12 days long.

Stupid !

Even the Muppets with John Denver couldnt make the song less boring...

My Music Memories: 2 NONE Xmas songs

Here is part 3.


I looked to a couple of the "Best Xmas songs ever" and similair titles (what may help to sell those recycled CD collections) and saw in the tracklisting some songs, I think ,should never be part of any Xmas song collection.

First one: We all stand together - Paul McCartney.

Why is this a xmas song ?
It's a song for a animated children film with Rupert the Bear and in the musicvideo (just a rip from a short movie
"Rupert and The Frog Song" I see no snow, no xmas trees, no santa or reindeers, just a container full  of frogs !

Here is the complete movie to see for yourself if this is really a christmas movie.

Second: Happy New Year - ABBA.

Is this really a xmas song ?
Sorry, I think it is a song about New Year, Christmas is already gone then.
Yes, at New Year you can play that song from your Christmas CD, but nobody is waiting
for the next song like "Jingle Bells" or "White Christmas".

Here is the original video of ABBA and despite the "Happy" refrein, the lyrics are kinda sad.