ReMix: Tetris 'Linear Groove'

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So, my girlfriend and I were at the 9:30 a while back, waiting for Gogol Bordello to come on, when I start feeling incredibly sick. We ended up having to leave before they started, and she got sick later so we think it was the appetizers at GB, but either way, it was a letdown, because we were both really psyched to see them. They're sort of "gypsy punk", and the only reason I mention the event - besides my predilection for irrelevant anecdote - is that I've always thought they'd do a GREAT Tetris cover, if they could ever be persuaded as such. In the meantime, though, Mr. Briggs comes through in spades with an eccentric blend of rock drums, retro electronica, and ethnic instrumentation. We're working on revising the standards currently, and we gave some serious thought to banning Tetris mixes, because the music involved wasn't originally written for a game. This *is* an important part of our standards - otherwise we'd get Star Wars mixes up the wazoo and any licensed Need for Speed rap would be fair play, which doesn't really maintain an emphasis on video game music - but for Tetris we agreed we'd make an exception. The main theme, Коробе́йники, is so pervasively known worldwide as the Tetris theme, despite its roots as a Russian folk song from the 19th century, that we felt it could constitute the one and only exception to an otherwise strictly enforced aspect of our standards. Heck, at Otakon this year there was an ice cream truck playing the theme, and people were lining up in spades because it was "the Tetris theme," as onlookers commented. How many of them knew said theme was really Korobeiniki? Who knows, but it has a unique status as the most widely known piece of video game music that wasn't written for a video game, regardless.

So, this policy decision comes at an appropriate time, given chthonic's excellent submission. This piece is a lot of fun; from the swinging, somewhat lo-fi rockish drum intro that's followed by some chiptunish textures in a funky jam to the intentional vinyl crackling effects to the unexpected cello and strummed/plucked guitar turn at 2'09" followed by some shoutin' samples, it's definitely both energetic and peculiar, in a good way. If the tempo was a little less perfect and you added in some crowd ambience, it would almost sound like a live recording; I could definitely see the arrangement being performed live very effectively. Actually, throw in some vodka-induced shouting and somewhat goofy singing, and it'd make a great Gogol Bordello track. So, while we may have missed them in concert, we get our zany Russian regardless. Всё что ни делается, всё к лучшему.

― djpretzel