no backup, but restore: part 1 (wsc 2025)

Ragtime

[1998] musical that flopped because of its producer going to jail and the Lion King's release not long before

[2009] remade musical with upgraded costumes, music and cast, while being darker than its 90s' optimistic counterpart

Wheels of a Dream [Ragtime]

[1998] Audra and Brian sing about the American dream for their child

[2009] same setting but vocals were slower and more emotional, as Audra and Brian were happy to perform together again

Martin Guerre

musical about a man who leaves his life and goes to war, then 7 years later a man claiming to be him returns, based on historical Martin Guerre and a film (Return of Martin Guerre)

I Will Make You Proud [Martin Guerre, 1994]

The man who assumes the identity of Martin Guerre, Peter Guerre sings about how hard he has worked, that he is determined to make 'you' proud and bring the world justice; he pulls out a knife and hates Protestants

Justice Will Be Done [Martin Guerre, 1999]

sung by Guillaume when the town demands justice regarding the identity of Martin Guerre, to inspire hope, justice, and the courage to do good, and brings up the name of Jesus (and violence)

Reflection [Mulan, 1998]

Mulan removes her makeup, wanting to show the world who she really is instead of pretending to be who she is not, but is afraid to disappoint her family by doing so

Written In Stone [Mulan, 2024]

removed along with Stephen Schwartz as he refused to stop another project; performed in Lea Salonga's 2024 tour and children's staged musical Mulan, Jr; about traditions in China

Ironic [Alanis Morissette, 1995]

several unfortunate situations that aren't ironic, which is ironic; shows that we can't predict the future as well

Ironic [Alanis Morissette, James Corden, 2015]

late night show; has modern humor like Netflix and Uber etc; "It's singing "Ironic," but there are no ironies"

Surrender [K. D. Lang, 1997]

originally intended as the theme song for the 1997 James Bond film; used for the end credits after Sheryl Crow's song "Tomorrow Never Dies" became the official main title theme

Tomorrow Never Dies [Sheryl Crow, 1997]

replaced Surrender but had some similar melodies; more seductive and sleek, with the 'sly female spy' vibe

We Didn't Start The Fire [Billy Joel, 1989]

mentions 119 brief references from 1949-1989; based on the idea that their time was a horrible time to be alive, but that problems have always existed

We Didn't Start The Fire [Fall Out Boys, 2023]

references events starting from 1989, a modern version of Billy Joel's original tune; ironically history repeating itself

A TV Show Called Earth [Philip Labes]

Aliens are real and they watch Earth doing cruel and kind deeds, pretending to be good people while actually being bad (esp. 'leads'), and try to predict humanity's plot; questions whether our world doesn't matter and if they aliens will get bored or think the writing is bad

Korobeiniki

[Russian for peddlers] basis of the Tetris theme, created as a poem by Nikolay Nekrasov and turned into a folk song

Tetris theme

Hirokazu Tanaka remade Korobeiniki in 1989 for the Nintendo Game Boy as a 'Type A' game song

wave sequencing

something composers used to hack sound generator chips to reassign waveforms and write more complex pieces

Music 2000 , FL Studio

games that let people make music

AdLib music synthesizer

plays 11 continuous sounds, changing the game music industry

Sound Blaster, Digital Sound Processor

the audio cards still being used today

chiptune / 8-bit music

music from early computing chips; technological limitations turned simplistic, charming, nostalgic art

Chipmusic.org

share works, discuss everything from production techniques to hardware modifications

Bandcamp

artists can share and sell music, its tag-based browsing system makes it easy for those wanting to discover new chiptune music

Soundcloud

host competitions and projects that inspire artists to produce new music

Blip Festival

[NYC] one of the most influential chiptune events; ended in 2012

Square Sounds Festival

[multiple cities] hosts artists from various countries, reflecting on the international appeal of chiptune music

various chiptune influencers

Anamanaguchi, Chipzel/Niamh Houston [indie game Super Hexagon], SabrePulse/Ashley Charles [chipbreak], Bit Shifter, Trash80/Timothy Lamb

Space Invaders

1st game with a continuous 'soundtrack', composed using a noise-generator chip, not actual 'music'

Rally-X

arcade game, first game with a continuous 'melodic soundtrack'

virtual instruments

modern technology that recreates old music

Inon Zur (Dragon Age, Syberia, Fallout)

more music personalization in games, AI

Darren Korb (Hades, Bastion, Pyre)

ease of use, lower prices, powerful tools to make the most of a minimal home-studio setup

Chase Bethea (Aground, Aztec Ride)

efficient workflows, virtual mix rooms that emulate world-class acoustically treated studios and buildings

Jacob Foxe (Verdancy Vale)

technology will evolve as long as people throw money at it, which they will

future of games

VR, AR, new innovations, software rather than hardware