Music
Digging The Music of “Stranger Things”? Meet Survive
This past Friday brought the first season of Netflix’s new original series “Stranger Things“, the mystery thriller that is inspired as much by John Carpenter as it is by Steven Spielberg. Set in the 80’s, the show oozes with nostalgia both in its visuals as well as in its soundtrack. Both the original score and the licensed tracks are total throwbacks to the days of synth glory, although the latter loves to delve into the punk and rock of the time as well.
If you’re anything like me, then you’re loving the original music of the show, which is composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein. Looking them up on IMDb doesn’t really offer much as this seems to be their first foray in Hollywood. However, this definitely isn’t their first rodeo when it comes to music. In fact, they’ve been doing it for a while in their experimental synth quartet S U R V I V E, which is based out of Austin.
With releases going as far back as March of 2010, the group has been issuing their own albums and EPs for several years, each offering something mysterious and haunting. Truly, if this music of “Stranger Things” is calling to you and tugging at your emotions then you need to acquaint yourself with S U R V I V E.
Below are some samplings of their music but you can order what you’d like through Bandcamp. Additionally, the quartet signed a deal with Relapse Records, who will be releasing their second full length album later this year.
Bobby Prince, the composer who provided the soundtracks to legendary titles such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Doom II, has passed away.
Prince’s family confirmed the composer’s death on June 16 late last week at the age of 81. No cause of death was released.
id Software, the company that gave Prince his first job in the industry, paid tribute to the composer, referring to him as a “video game music pioneer.”
Indeed, in addition to providing the soundtracks to id Software’s hits in the FPS genre, Bobby Prince also provided the soundtracks to other id Software classics, such as portions of the scores for Commander Keen series and the forerunner to the modern FPS, Catacomb 3-D. Prince also worked with Apogee Software and 3D Realms, providing the soundtrack for Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold, and teaming with Lee Jackson for Rise of the Triad and Duke Nukem 3D.
Bobby Prince’s death comes just after the Library of Congress announced back in May that his soundtrack for Doom would be preserved in the National Recording Registry.
The soundtrack for Doom and its sequel took inspiration from designer John Romero‘s collection of CDs at the studio, which included the likes of Alice in Chains, Pantera, and Metallica. In spite of the limitations composers faced with the sound cards of the era, Prince was able to replicate riffs from songs like “Master of Puppets” and “Painkiller” for tracks like “At Doom’s Gate”, the iconic opening track for Doom‘s first level, E1M1.
For Doom II‘s soundtrack, Prince continued to employ the same tactic, lifting rifts from songs like “Sex Type Thing”, “After All (The Dead)”, “South of Heaven” and more.
In addition to composing, Bobby Prince was also a practicing lawyer, and had pursued a career as an attorney before making his way into the video games industry.
Bobby Prince is survived by his wife Connie, and his sons, Robert Caskin Prince IV and Andrew (Cristy) Prince.