kdj2hot 14.05.2008 09:05 |
I'm a lil' embarrassed to say this after all my years of listening to queen but I just figured out that the "cheesy sci fi movie synth" in play the game supposed to represent the sounds of a video game. Genius. |
mooghead 14.05.2008 17:54 |
What? |
AssDudeRule 14.05.2008 19:53 |
kdj2hot wrote: I'm a lil' embarrassed to say this after all my years of listening to queen but I just figured out that the "cheesy sci fi movie synth" in play the game supposed to represent the sounds of a video game. Genius.explain your self you son of a bitch. |
victor fleitas 14.05.2008 21:37 |
I think that he/she mean that the weird sound on the beginin of play the game was supposed to sound like a videoGAME videogame/playthegame... eh,.. game! xD I think thats what he/she mean... |
AssDudeRule 14.05.2008 21:59 |
yes yes,,, i see your point,, how ever.... in 1980/81 video games at that point where no where as near as intelligent as the sound made in the song. Mario Bros was about 4 to 5 years away totally revolutionalising the market in every was possible... Even then, as great as the sounds were, it was not at the calibra of Play the Game. |
victor fleitas 14.05.2008 23:03 |
well... then lets just say that Queen was going very fast on the time, like they always deed... pd: sorry for my terrible english. |
Yara 14.05.2008 23:26 |
kdj2hot wrote: I'm a lil' embarrassed to say this after all my years of listening to queen but I just figured out that the "cheesy sci fi movie synth" in play the game supposed to represent the sounds of a video game. Genius.No reason to be embarrassed! I always thought they did represent videogames, at least, though I'm 17 and, of course, I don't have the slightest idea of what kind of console people played back then. I was never much into playing videogames, but I remember my cousin had a game console called "Mega Drive", I think!?, well, that was the name here, at least, and when I was a kid, like, a few years ago (lol), he used to play it and he liked it a lot and the noise did bear some resemblance to the sound of the synth in "Play The Game"!!! Now, I don't know, because technology advances so fast, and I don't know if this "mega drive" - and I don't even know if you'll understand what I'm talking about, this was the name here, it was all black, the console - already existed by the time the song was composed? Or was it another one? Or were there no videogames at all and the synth doesn't have a thing to do with them? But, yes, I always thought that was the trick behind the synth, or the reason for it being there, at least. Queen rules! And the song is so beautiful in its architecture, synth included, it makes sense there in the song, believe it or not. lol This is a beautiful Queen song. Beautiful. It has an architecture-like quality to it that makes it beautiful, and not only good. Criminal with regard to singing, beautiful soloing by Brian, and beautiful piano intros when they played it live. |
Cwazy little thing 15.05.2008 05:12 |
Yara wrote:The song is top notch Yara, but to hopefully give you a better idea of the technology at the time (although admittedly this is still before I was born!) the mega drive was probably not even a twinkle in its designers eye at this point (1980 ish).kdj2hot wrote: I'm a lil' embarrassed to say this after all my years of listening to queen but I just figured out that the "cheesy sci fi movie synth" in play the game supposed to represent the sounds of a video game. Genius.No reason to be embarrassed! I always thought they did represent videogames, at least, though I'm 17 and, of course, I don't have the slightest idea of what kind of console people played back then. I was never much into playing videogames, but I remember my cousin had a game console called "Mega Drive", I think!?, well, that was the name here, at least, and when I was a kid, like, a few years ago (lol), he used to play it and he liked it a lot and the noise did bear some resemblance to the sound of the synth in "Play The Game"!!! Now, I don't know, because technology advances so fast, and I don't know if this "mega drive" - and I don't even know if you'll understand what I'm talking about, this was the name here, it was all black, the console - already existed by the time the song was composed? Or was it another one? Or were there no videogames at all and the synth doesn't have a thing to do with them? But, yes, I always thought that was the trick behind the synth, or the reason for it being there, at least. Queen rules! And the song is so beautiful in its architecture, synth included, it makes sense there in the song, believe it or not. lol This is a beautiful Queen song. Beautiful. It has an architecture-like quality to it that makes it beautiful, and not only good. Criminal with regard to singing, beautiful soloing by Brian, and beautiful piano intros when they played it live. The Mega drive was probably almost a decade away in fact, as I reckon it was a late 80's/early 90's thing. In 1980 computer games would barely have been getting off the ground, and would still have been the realm of "geeks" only. Nobody would have known what a "console" was, and the enormous majority of people wouldnt have owned a computer of any type. I think the Commodore 64 and similar early "PC's" may have been on the way, and Im sure there were arcade machines by this point, but I doubt very many people even associated computers with games at this point! Its possible I suppose that the synthy intro to Play the Game was a computer games reference, but I think it unlikely given that computer games werent really in the public consciousness to any extent (unlike now). My guess, although its possible Brian or someone has explained it at some point, is that the synthy intro was just to create a big opening for the album, and to show off the epic noises they could make with such things! An interesting discussion point nonetheless though! |
Yara 15.05.2008 10:22 |
Thanks, Cwazy Little Thing! Thank you for the reply. Is it possible that they have been inspired by sci-fi movies or series then? |
Cwazy little thing 15.05.2008 13:10 |
Yara wrote: Thanks, Cwazy Little Thing! Thank you for the reply. Is it possible that they have been inspired by sci-fi movies or series then?That sounds more plausible to me - Brian likes a bit of Sci fi I think, it ties in nicely with his fondness for the stars! You could ask him on his soapbox - you never know if you might get a reply! Ive had a couple in the last few years, and I refuse to accept this business someone is saying on another thread about treating fans badly! Anyway, thats off topic, hehe. |
Micrówave 15.05.2008 15:12 |
Cwazy little thing wrote: In 1980 computer games would barely have been getting off the ground,1958: link It is a really fascinating subject. link |
P-Staker 15.05.2008 16:31 |
I never realized it, but come to think of it, that's very plausible! Cwazy little thing: in 1980, there was nothing geeky about computer games; they were hot, a little mysterious, a promise of a weird and exciting future. William Gibson had romanticized virtual reality in his debut story two years before; Disney had Tron in the making. Home computers were a hot new toy and they were strongly associated with games; the business world frowned upon "micros". By 1980, you had Synclair ZX80, Apple II and Commodore VIC-20, equiped with state-of-the-art 8-colour graphics and 1 channel sound to play everyone's favourites such as Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Pong, Donkey Kong and Frogger. Gaming consoles were also very popular. By 1980, Atari 2600 had been a hit and Mattel (of Barbie fame) had launched the world's first 16-bit (sort of) console. Anyway, if Queen were so excited by this future-is-today vision that they admitted the Oberheim on their album, it's very possible they were inspired by video games as well. And yes, I realize this post will label me as the biggest geek ever to grace these forums. Oh well. I grew in the 80s, I got a Commodore when I was six, I ran a BBS when I was 12, and nobody ever told me I was growing up a geek - I was just a wide-eyed kid excited by the future. :-) |
Yara 16.05.2008 08:49 |
P-Staker wrote: I never realized it, but come to think of it, that's very plausible! Cwazy little thing: in 1980, there was nothing geeky about computer games; they were hot, a little mysterious, a promise of a weird and exciting future. William Gibson had romanticized virtual reality in his debut story two years before; Disney had Tron in the making. Home computers were a hot new toy and they were strongly associated with games; the business world frowned upon "micros". By 1980, you had Synclair ZX80, Apple II and Commodore VIC-20, equiped with state-of-the-art 8-colour graphics and 1 channel sound to play everyone's favourites such as Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Pong, Donkey Kong and Frogger. Gaming consoles were also very popular. By 1980, Atari 2600 had been a hit and Mattel (of Barbie fame) had launched the world's first 16-bit (sort of) console. Anyway, if Queen were so excited by this future-is-today vision that they admitted the Oberheim on their album, it's very possible they were inspired by video games as well. And yes, I realize this post will label me as the biggest geek ever to grace these forums. Oh well. I grew in the 80s, I got a Commodore when I was six, I ran a BBS when I was 12, and nobody ever told me I was growing up a geek - I was just a wide-eyed kid excited by the future. :-)Hi, P-Staker. Your comment was tremendously helpful, thank you very much. So, I think I can stick to my interpretation of the synth without fearing to talk nonsense. :-) Good, it was a great input, really. Wide-eyed, really, and also because if you closed your eyes you'd get killed by those monsters...I hope there were monsters in the games by then, they're so important. lol |
mooghead 16.05.2008 15:47 |
Are you on drugs? |
john bodega 16.05.2008 16:10 |
It sounds like Xanadu if anything Move along my niggas XANA-DON'T. |
kdj2hot 19.05.2008 10:39 |
I was talking about the middle part before the guitar solo. You know aftre the "play the game, play the game play the game play the game"then it has a synth break down. I'm willing to bet if this was a pre mack song it wouldve been more ambitious in that the descending repeat of "play the game" probably wouldve became more computerized with each repeat and then goes oin to the video game part. Anyway I think all the synths were a symbol to represent "games". So the intro would too. I just wasnt thinking about it when I made the post. |
Deacon Fan 19.05.2008 14:30 |
I thought the intro, which sounds like a power saw, was supposed to represent having your heart cut out from being in love over and over again. It'll cut you to pieces my friends... this "love" stuff. Take my advice: get a cat instead. Love is destined to fail. It nearly always does. And in the meantime you have to share your personal space with someone else... it's so inhuman. And for what? An orgasm? Visit link for tips on how to have wonderful orgasms without the need of people. |
vadenuez 19.05.2008 15:06 |
The cheesy sci-fi movie synth is there at the beginning just because Queen wanted to tell all the fans that they've started using synths. |