I'm Headed to the Arcade

Today begins a week of tipping our hats to video game music. Tomorrow Mothra and I head off to Funspot (now officially the world's largest arcade) with a van full of junkies to celebrate the wonderful era of 8-bit brilliance that gave birth to such masterpieces as Q-Bert, Spy Hunter and Mr. Do's Wild Ride. I grew up in the 80s and seem to recall every game I ever played and every arcade I ever spent wasted hours in. To me there are few greater joys than playing video games whether it's old skool favorites like Donkey Kong where I tend to die within seconds or modern classics like The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess where I've already played for 10+ hours and have been told I'm just getting started.

I was just discovering the world when Pac-Man came out so I seem to have mostly missed the craze it spawned but I was certainly swept away in the aftermath. The early 80s Pac-Mania seems similar to the Wii-mania that we are currently experiencing since both captured the entire public's attention, not just computer freaks or hard core gamers. It's stunning how long Pac-man has stayed in the public consciousness. They're still making console games with him as the star. I remember countless sequels including Baby Pac-Man which involved a pinball machine as well as the normal video screen, Pac-Man board games, Pac-Man cereal and the bizarre Pac-Man Saturday morning cartoon.

Obviously, for the gaming world and beyond, Pac-Man is a pretty big deal. Part of his fame must be credited to the wonderfully stupid novelty single "Pac-Man Fever" by Buckner and Garcia.



It was released in December of 1981 to capitalize on the growing national obsession with the little yellow man. The lyrics are woefully stupid but well researched as well, at one point singing, "I've got all the patterns down, up until the ninth key." Consider yourself a true video game nerd if you understand that line. It somehow made it to #9 on the Billboard charts and led the songwriting duo to create an entire album of video game songs. Apparently they wanted to write pop songs about different topics but Columbia Records had other plans for them. I find it strange that they didn't want to become known as a novelty act who only wrote video game songs but I guess it was because they had so many other novelty songs on so many other worthy topics just begging to be set free. Their first big hit explored the idea of Howard Cosell as Santa Claus and is titled "Merry Christmas in the NFL." They went on to pen other greats such as "E.T. I Love You" and "Mr. T." Where have you gone, Buckner & Garcia? A novelty-starved nation turns its lonely ears to you.