Interlude: favourite Spectrum game theme tunes

My recent post referencing the old Slaine adventure game on the Spectrum has reminded me of some of my favourite 48K theme music.

Fairlight - you've got to admire the hubris of a game which is so impressed with its theme music that it makes you listen to it all before you can play the game.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - because you haven't lived until you've heard the Spectrum's puny sound chip try to replicate Trevor Horn's production on Two Tribes.

Heavy On The Magick

Turbo Esprit - someone pointed out on Twitter the other day that Grand Theft Auto wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Turbo Esprit. I think that's overstating it but the marvellous thing about the Spectrum was what its limitations as a machine brought out in terms of ingenuity in game design. So there's a grain of truth there.

Why your mind is a bit like an 8-bit computer game about a 2000AD character

Very much struck by this quote from the Williams & Penman Mindfulness book on perceiving the wandering mind
 
"For the briefest of moments, all of the thoughts, feelings and memories that flow incessantly across your mind will become apparent. Many of them will seem utterly random. It's almost as if your mind is digging round in the back room, offering up possibilities to gauge if you - your conscious awareness - like them or find them interesting in some way."

Whch is odd - because it's a near-perfect description of the command interface for Sláine - a bizarre Spectrum adventure game based on 2000AD's Conan/Cúchulainn splice. 

Watch this quick demo and it'll make sense. Sort of.

Video of the week: the theme to Toejam and Earl

One of the best console games of its era. And definitely the funkiest.