Listen to Led Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand." Now, the song stands on its own merits as an example of Zeppelin's formidable awesome-ness just shining through its latter-day bloat. But when I listen to the song--particularly the bridge, when the drums kick in, from 4:09 to 5:15--I can't help but hear the familiar, soothing rhythms of Sonic the Hedgehog.
I'd draw particular attention to Sonic 3's final boss fight and Sonic & Knuckles' Sandopolis Zone Act 1 (which is also kind of reminiscent of "Kashmir"). And the aforementioned drums make it very clear to me that Dr. Robotnik is approaching.
My grasp on music theory has never been very strong--and it was once stronger than it is now--so I'd like to get a more learned opinion on this, if I could. But I detect some distinct similarities. The mile-a-minute percussive beats and the quick, leaping bass lines; these create the sensation of speed. The melodramatic thumping undercut by zippier guitar overdubs; these invoke fun, but momentarily important fun. And, yes, the repetitiveness; evocative of tunes composed for levels that could be completed in a minute or two, but which gave the player a max of ten. Speed, fun, repetitiveness. Any child of the early nineties should immediately think of the same blue spiny mammal.
Anyway. Something to think about.
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