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Super Mario Bros. theme part of the 2023 Library of Congress registry

107 points| segasaturn | 3 years ago |loc.gov | reply

65 comments

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[+] autoexec|2 years ago|reply
It's pretty hard to get too excited about seeing our culture locked up in a slightly different way. If we had any kind of sanity to our copyright law the super mario bros theme, and for that matter the game itself, would already be in the public domain and just about anything deemed worthy of inclusion in the library of congress would be available as high quality digital downloads to anyone in the US at any time.
[+] LocalH|2 years ago|reply
There are people who ultimately liberate works and ensure that they are forever preserved, regardless of the wishes of the copyright holders (some of which would like to think that they have the moral right to withhold copyrighted works from public access).

Unfortunately, those people are labeled "pirates" and demonized by the proponents of lengthy IP protection. The fact of the matter is, regardless of an individual "pirate's" motivations, piracy is preservation. The most widely preserved libraries of media and software are the ones that are the most widely pirated.

[+] matheusmoreira|2 years ago|reply
Yeah. This Mario game is like 50 years old now. Nintendo has already been properly rewarded for their efforts: they've turned a profit many times over. This stuff belongs in the public domain. Instead we have Nintendo DMCAing sites out of existence and selling people the exact same Mario game from the 80s over and over again with every single console they create. It's the epitome of rent seeking.
[+] Dalewyn|2 years ago|reply
>the library of congress would be available as high quality digital downloads to anyone in the US at any time.

It should be noted that the primary function of the Library of Congress is, as the name suggests, to facilitate research by members of Congress and the government. The Library of Congress is not a public library.

[+] echelon|2 years ago|reply
In some short years I'm sure we'll just imagine the rules and the feeling of Mario and have it instantly transcribed into playable form and emotion.

Copyright is a blip on the trajectory of information.

[+] Rebelgecko|2 years ago|reply
How does listing the song lock up our culture?
[+] shp0ngle|2 years ago|reply
Eh, I am fine to hold copyright as long as the author is still alive.
[+] qtzfz|2 years ago|reply
I could understand these arguments, in a way, when they are about IP that hasn't been used in decades. But Nintendo still exists and is still producing Mario games. Why should any other company be able to use the Mario theme?
[+] andai|2 years ago|reply
Why should the US get to decide what to do with other countries' IP? China has the same attitude and it is generally frowned upon.
[+] havblue|2 years ago|reply
"Perhaps the most recognizable video game theme in history, Koji Kondo's main motif for the 1985 Nintendo classic, “Super Mario Bros.,” helped establish the game's legendary status and proved that the five-channel Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) sound chip was capable of vast musical complexity and creativity. The game's main theme, or “Ground Theme,” is a jaunty, Latin-influenced melody that provides the perfect accompaniment to Mario and Luigi's side scrolling hijinks. Kondo's score laid the groundwork for an entire generation of chiptune musicians and has been performed by orchestras around the globe, befitting its status as one of the most beloved musical compositions of the last 40 years."

Also added: Stairway to Heaven, What a Feeling, All I Want For Christmas and Imagine.

[+] em500|2 years ago|reply
A somewhat unique desideratum of video game music that distinguish them from film scores (especially with the limited storage in the 1980s and 90s) is that short pieces need to be played in a loop for hours and hours on end without the player getting sick of them. I think nobody has done this as well as Koji Kondo (who also did the Zelda music).
[+] dwighttk|2 years ago|reply
Which all I want for Christmas?

Two front teeth? Or You?

[+] otaku59|2 years ago|reply
what does this mean? As I don't live in America I don't understand. Does this mean the theme is now in Publc Domain?
[+] boomboomsubban|2 years ago|reply
No, it means it's on a list of recordings that the Library of Congress calls important. You'd think it means they also now archive a copy of the song, but that doesn't seem to be the case

Kinda neat, but completely meaningless.

[+] eh9|2 years ago|reply
Daddy Yankee’s Gasolina was also included
[+] quickthrower2|2 years ago|reply
Aside: I love their writeup on Stairway to Heaven. I never realised the tempo changed.
[+] WrtCdEvrydy|2 years ago|reply
Also, "Gasolina" and "Sweet Dreams are Made of This"
[+] cma|2 years ago|reply
The Mario theme intro may have been lifted from here:

T-Square Adventures - Sister Marian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2la3MlJx3s&t=1m3s

Guile's theme, same album (from the song "Travelers"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1vwlTZ5EGQ&t=1m26s

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Underworld theme intro likely taken from here:

Friendship (ft. Lee Ritenour) - Let's Not Talk About It https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX5ef_KAZlY&t=14s

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Mario star powerup music:

Piper - Summer Dream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH5K6fm2C0I

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Mario 3 water theme/Zelda Fairy theme:

Tatsuro Yamashita - Morning Glory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-A1nnfJ4VY

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Hammer Bros. Mario 3 theme and Dr. Mario theme seem to have taken from Lady Madonna though it is also may just be a common form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYp6QbAE6s8

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Mario Galaxy theme:

Barbra Streisand - Evergreen (Love Theme from, "A Star Is Born") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH0D4TANhk4

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Bob-omb Battle field:

Steely Dan - Kid Charlemagne (coda) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ9Xk-VoGqo&t=3m52s

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Zelda 1 dungeon music:

Deep Purple - April https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV8e_RkpiNA&t=2m

-- Zelda Ocarina of Time opening:

Gymnopédie No. 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Xm7s9eGxU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC_4XE8wGa8

-- Zelda Ocarina of Time Gerudo Valley:

Heavily lifted from an anime song that was metal instead of acoustic. Link appears to have gone dead but I think it is the one mentioned in here:

https://zeldauniverse.net/forums/Thread/168079-Ocarina-of-ti...

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Zelda's Lullaby:

Mort Garson - Concerto For Philodendron And Pothos (Plantasia) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c49Trz5Rc_A

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This video goes over several of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBNJ5cAxcQ8

[+] rideontime|2 years ago|reply
I don't buy the notion that Plantasia inspired anything personally, as much as I love it. They gave it away with plants and mattresses in America, how'd it end up in Koji Kondo's hands?