Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 56 - Markus Captain Kaarlonen (Space Debris)

Today's song is a blast from the past for me - 1991 to be precise.  

Way back, before I got a Commodore Amiga in 1992, I used to look forward to visiting our family friend Colin who wowed me on each visit with his Amiga 500.  He would show me the latest fantastic audio/visual demos on that computer.  Remember, I still only had an 8-bit Commodore 64 at that point, so hearing (and seeing) a home computer play back music that featured realistic sounding instruments and effects was totally mind-blowing.  These demos were part of the massive 'demoscene' that dominated the Amiga and other micros in Europe during that time.

At its peak in the late 80s to mid-90s, the Amiga demoscene featured some fantastic songs, many of them created using the freely available Sound Tracker software and saved in .mod format.  Most were released during demoscene parties that took place all over Europe.  

Countless .mod files were made for the Amiga, but one of my all-time favourites is a track called Space Debris, written by Markus Captain Kaarlonen.  The song took part in a music competition during the Anarchy Easter Conference Party in 1991and came first place unsurprisingly.  Besides having a fantastic melody, the song really pushed the Amiga and proved you could create incredible music with only 4 voices playing at the same time.

Sound Tracker made writing and composing music so much easier and accessible to people like me who had an interest in writing music, but not the skill of being able to perform or the money to buy fancy hardware and sequencers. Space Debris and many other mods are what got me into writing my own 'tracked' music.

Computer and VGM (Video Game Music) may not be everyone's cup of tea, but give it a listen if you've not heard it before.  Remember, this was created on a computer that came out in 1987!

And if you think that version sounds a bit dated, then try this amazing modern remix by D4XX

Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 55 - Jerry Goldsmith (Star Trek - The Motion Picture)

Star Trek The Motion Picture gets a lot of slack and negativity, but it has (in my opinion anyway) quite possibly the best soundtrack to any movie I have ever seen, and no - I am not just saying that because I am a big Trekkie.  Jerry Goldsmiths' signature theme to the film is iconic (yes more so than that other sci-fi franchise with Star in the title) and will forever be the 'theme' to Star Trek, even more so than the original title song from the 1960s.  

It, of course, became the theme tune to Star Trek The Next Generation in 1987, and featured in 3 of the 4 TNG movies, but this version is by far my favourite and also features the beautiful "Ilia's Theme" heard during the end credits.

If you like movie soundtracks and have never given this one a go - try it.  You don't have to be a Trekkie to appreciate one of Jerry Goldsmiths' best scores

Sit back, crank up the volume and prepare to boldly go.

Game Covers - Stunt Car Racer (Commodore 64)

Step into the driving seat of one of the most wicked stunt cars around as a Stunt Car Racer. It's now up to you to prove just how good you are and to see whether or not you can ultimately become Division One Champion. 

With a super-quick, turbo-charged V8 engine that will power you to incredible speeds, and long-travel suspension that enables you to soak up the bumps, your car really is an awesome projectile. The tracks are totally out of this world. Banked corners that enable you to 'pull g', undulating bumps that throw your car uncontrollably from side to side and huge ramps that catapult you into mid-air. In fact, you seem to spend so much time airborne, you could almost qualify for a pilot's licence!

Battle it out on the track against other computer controlled rivals, such as, Dare Devil and Road Hog. Race and jump so fast that your car starts to break up under the strain and then accelerate even more. There's no prizes for being second best in this game — it's all or nothing. 

Stunt Car is utterly brilliant and offers adrenalin-pumping, gut wrenching high speed action that'll keep you engrossed for months. C + VG. 

Stunt Car Racer — do you think you could be up there with the best? 

• Championship points system 
• Accurate simulation of stunt car 
• Realistic suspension and handling 
• Amazingly lifelike 3D graphics 
• Wicked tracks with huge jumps and banked corners 
• Highly skilled computer controlled adversaries 

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Game Covers - Computer Classics (Commodore 64)

1.  Zynaps

2.  Into The Eagles Nest

3.  Dynamite Dan

4.  Aliens

5.  Cauldron II

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Game Covers - Express Raider (Commodore 64)

THE COIN-OP SENSATION FROM DATA-EAST

Just like in the classic Wild West films of old, you'll be in the thick of the action right from the start!  Hold-ups, robberies and rooftop fights, Express Raider has them all!

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Now That's What I Call Stuart's Favourite Music 54 - Tears For Fears (Everybody Wants to Rule the World)

Here's another song from Tears for Fears, and probably one of their most well-known tracks.  I loved this song when growing up in the 80s and it will always remind me of a great 80s comedy flick called "Real Genius" that starred a young Val Kilmer and featured the song playing over the credits at the end (and a house full of popcorn!)

The song was released in March 1985 as a single from their second studio album "Songs from the Big Chair" and peaked at number 2 on the UK charts a month later.

This song is one of the defining new-wave/synth-pop tracks of the 1980s and is one of my all-time favourite songs.

Enjoy.