Does Blackout City by Anamanaguchi count? Because I like a little guitar with my 8-bit music.

Oh man, I'm going to write something big for this.

MowDownJoe, Anamanaguchi has played every Blipfest to my knowledge, so they definitely count.

Also, check out Dtoid New York for meetup plans. A ton of people will be there.

http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/DtoidNewYork

Robot Sneakers - Trash80
http://trash80.net/files/8bp086-02-trash80-robot_sneakers.mp3

I had never heard any of Trash80's music until that night. I had recently broken up with my girlfriend of two years, so I was a bit of a wreck, and my friend Jeannette came with me to the Data Beez concert out in LA. Now first off, this is a big deal because just there's really never any chiptune shows out in LA. But also, I was out with a girl, having fun, we were dancing to some completely awesome music, and I was really happy. The next night when I finally got home, the first thing I did was find Trash80's website, download his Icarus EP, and blast it as loud as I could. I love this song.

mega man 2 heat man

mmmmmm

the megaband version is epic, but 8bit version is just as good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fJdAnu9MDU yay!

Well shit. I'd love to go, but I have no way to pay for a flight out to New York. My favorite chiptune song is Reformat the Planet by Bit Shifter. I guess I'll just have to wait til these guys come back to Austin for SXSW free shows like they did last year.

duck tales - the moon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfkTmr28fXg

Anamanaguchi - Helix Nebula
http://www.8bitpeoples.com/discography/by/anamanaguchi

The reason I decided on Helix Nebula is twofold.

First off the song is nostalgic; though this is true for the chiptune genre as a whole and will probably be the central point of mention for many of the posts here, it's an important one to remember. It shows that games are now at a point where they are so deeply rooted into our culture that we are remembering and even referencing them in other forms of media, be it music or canvas or literature (which admittedly is arguable). Whenever I sit down and really listen to Anamanaguchi's Helix Nebula, I feel there should be a controller in my hand. I don't know if it's just the nerd in me, but I'm excited by that.

Second and more exclusively to this song, listening to it really makes me feel like I'm about to go on some sort of an adventure or begin a journey. This point ties back to the first, since many of video games' greatest songs (Mega Man 2's Dr. Wily Stage, Duck Tales' The Moon, Actraiser's Fillmore to name a few) try to do precisely the same thing. The catchy hooks and and fast pacing are secondary to the fact that I'm imagining the words "READY!!" or "GAME START" as the song's playing.

Also I guess there's a third reason which is Anamanaguchi is fucking awesome but far be it from me to post a fanboy comment and expect that to garner any credibility. Except I just did. Shit.

My most favorite chiptune would have to be something my most kickass grandfather made for me.

He's about 60-something at the time, and it was my tenth birthday. He said he had a present that you couldn't just buy in a store. He then pulls out his laptop, and begins playing back a very highly stylized version of "Happy Birthday". Then he says, "This is what I got you. I made this for you."

Turns out he had heard about the style of music and how it's made, and having grown up surrounded by the early stages of technology, he decided to research and work on a song -- all for me.

He's still around today, in his 70's now. And he's still the most kickass person ever. He gave up chiptunes altogether after that day, but then took up gaming, and took up kicking my ass at every PC-based shooter on the market.

That present is still the best present I've ever had, and that chiptune is something I'll never forget.

Being in a chiptune band myself, I might have to stick to my own category and say "Triangular" by Chromelodeon. That or "Polygon Sun." Both off the same album, but honestly can't pick just one.

links: Trianglular: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUaJw_ZIVYE
Polygon Sun (live): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4STyJ_HPb5M
Polygon Sun (not live, excuse video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZu4F0zybUM

Why? It is perhaps the most 'emotionally' charged 8bit track I have ever heard. And while I have total appreciation for people that can make super energetic music, or dancy music, happy, sad music.. etc (all of which are arts on their own), Chromelodeon remain one of the rare few that somehow surpass those feelings. They make me feel the whole "i can't explain why i like this so much" feeling that can come from pretty much any media and is often unexpected. I was (and am still) so happy that that"feeling" popped up for me in chip music, of all places. ;)

Honorable mention? The total ear-fuck last song Nullsleep played at Shea Stadium last Saturday with Starscream and Graffiti Monsters. I would totally lose even more of my hearing just to hear those sounds again.

HyperGiant by Fighter X

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atez4NnLOl8

I first heard this song at a show during Folk Life festival in Seattle and fell in love, it's exactly what you want in a chiptune song, bass, dancy tunes, and bleeps. Also this is what one looks like after dancing for an hour straight at a Fighter X show.

'Choppastyle' by Virt

MP3: http://www.8bitpeoples.com/mp3/get/448/8bp071-05-virt-choppastyle.mp3

Live Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OOEFFLkpkk

I heard this live at MAGFest two years ago and it's pretty much what made me decide to start making music. Virt creates some of the most catchy, stylized and compositionally rich chipmusic out there, and I know close to a dozen people that have completely changed their opinions on chipmusic after listening to 'FX3', myself included. The things this man does with a NES soundchip are the stuff of legends.

Layered counter-melodies - Dynamic drum solos - Soaring, jazzy leads... Until a few years ago, these were things I would never expect to hear from decades-old videogame hardware. Hearing Virt's music not only challenged my perception of the hardware's technical limitations, it introduced me to a whole new world where seemingly soulless pulsewaves could be transmogrified into screaming guitars, singing saxophones or melancholy violins.

..and yeah, Ary. That Nullsleep piece from the other night would be a close second for me too. The raw talent and bold innovation that comes from people in this scene will never cease to amaze me.

My choice is "Power Supply" by Anamanaguchi.

http://www.8bitpeoples.com/files/8bp065-07-anamanaguchi-power_supply.mp3

I LOVE IT SO MUCH I LEARNED ALL THE LYRIX! HERE THEY ARE: BLEEEEP BEEPBEEP BRIIING BLOOP (repeat x3)

This track is absolutely amazing and emotional. The atmosphere this song creates is one that drives me into an indescribable nostalgic dream. I can imagine a busy world that is either from another planet or tightly wired into my old NES. This album got me interested in researching other chiptune artists, however Anamanaguchi remains my all time favourite. I never get tired of listening to Power Supply, and have seen them live over 25 times in the past 3 years. I look forward to supporting them in the future and shaking my booty fast and hard at all of their beatz. Namely this one. Shit's amazin'.

Can somebody tell me what the embedded video is? I've heard it so many times and loved it but have no idea what it is or who does it.

Hyper link fail. Counter of the Cumlus by Disasterpeace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcFJPXNL_2s

@Zen Albatross: What?! I thought this song was by TV Deathsquad!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRCqzJEA0yw

Also, I don't know if this counts but this whole A Capella Mega Man thing is RIDICULOUSLY CATCHY. There needs to be some kind of warning sign before listening to this because you will get hooked. http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1810647

Woah that drop at 00:36 sent chills down my spines ^^ Wish I could go but mr travel to big country USA is expensive :O I'm going to post one of my favorites anyways :/ My hat is off for Flashygoodness : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYg6JEs_5C0&feature=related , God I love this song, I replayed the game just to let this tune melt my ears... again... and again *insert infinity loop here* :)

Hands down Reformat the Planet by Bit Shifter. The melody of the song brings back those memories of the simple days. Those days back when your parents drove you around on long car rides while you played Pokemon, Zelda Kirby or whatever in the backseat. My parents would say to me "why don't you look out the window more?" but it was no use the giant worlds in the tiny screen captured my youthful imagination and showed me places that we're far more interesting to me than a few cows and some farms on the side of the road.

Simpler times. The music is so quaint and joyous it makes me wish I could really reformat the planet and relive those days when my only concern was if my batteries would last me the way home.

http://www.last.fm/music/Bit+Shifter/_/Reformat+The+Planet

Hands down Reformat the Planet by Bit Shifter. The melody of the song brings back those memories of the simple days. Those days back when your parents drove you around on long car rides while you played Pokemon, Zelda Kirby or whatever in the backseat. My parents would say to me "why don't you look out the window more?" but it was no use the giant worlds in the tiny screen captured my youthful imagination and showed me places that we're far more interesting to me than a few cows and some farms on the side of the road.

Simpler times. The music is so quaint and joyous it makes me wish I could really reformat the planet and relive those days when my only concern was if my batteries would last me the way home.

http://www.last.fm/music/Bit+Shifter/_/Reformat+The+Planet

Yeah I didn't mean to post that like 4 times. I was on my relatives wireless network and I just kept refreshing. If you could delete those it would be awesome D:

I usually like really fast chiptune songs or really catchy ones, like Destination Tomorrow from Nullsleep or a lot of the classic Megaman II songs, but even then, i have to say my favorite is Nullsleep's Galaxy Tonight, I believe that it's not that hard to get a rhythm to which you can dance, rock out or just fun with (as reggaeton has proved) but for chiptunes, finding one that evokes a certain flow of emotions, that in my mind it tells a story or brings me back to a specific place of my life, i think that's the only one I've heard so far that does that for me, and that exception is what makes it special and my favorite.

I take you back to the beautiful decade of the 1990s. I was but a wee lad, yet I could not be separated from my gameboy, and I had a rather extensive collection of cartridges too, for a 4 -year-old at least. The soundtracks of some of these games define the entire "chiptune" era. Let me show you what I mean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYTCb64lns0 (Kirby's Dream Land, Final Boss)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_-HvB3zbC4 (Super Mario Land, Overworld)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_N7__8-9r0 (Donkey Kong Land, Underwater Theme)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxDy8oNSqno (Super Mario Land, Underground Theme)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj6r4lff0-o (Milon's Secret Castle)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0JVI11Eo6Q (Pocket Bomberman, The Jungle)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY5G_3zIf0g (Super Mario Land, Submarine Theme)
These are just a few examples of the great video game music of the 90s. Pick any of these songs as my entry, they are all great. If I am really required to choose one, I suppose I'll pick the last one for no particular reason. Just hearing them again puts me in this state of immense nostalgia. God I want to be five again...