Retronauts Episode 780: Pac-Man Fever
ahh crap, does anything rhyme with Xevious?
We have many yardsticks by which to measure commercial success, but cultural success is a little harder to determine. Once upon a time, having "Weird" Al Yankovic record a parody of your pop song meant you had truly arrived as an artist. Yet when Pac-Man took over arcades in the early 80s, Al had yet to establish himself as a litmus test, so it fell to musical duo Buckner & Garcia to record "Pac-Man Fever."
This week on the podcast, host Bob Mackey and returning guests Henry Gilbert and Drew Mackie listen to this album all about video games as interpreted by two amateur diagnosticians.
Description: In the very early '80s, the world as a whole had come down with Pac-Man fever. But this condition wasn't formally diagnosed until budding musicians Buckner & Garcia released their hit album of the same name in 1982. Slapped together to address the then-recent fad known as "video games," this collection of songs took pop culture by storm—but the duo behind it failed to follow up on their tribute to arcade mania. This week on Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Drew Mackie (of Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games) as the crew digs into this novelty album and learns how to Do the Donkey Kong.
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MP3, 102 MB | 1:50:52 Direct download Retronauts on iTunes Retronauts at Audioboom
As with all of the episodes Bob produces, this week’s cover art is by Nick Daniel. Follow him on BlueSky, or patronize his Patreon!
