My dad passed in December of 2022. I always felt like we lived in two different worlds, and it was sometimes hard to connect with him. But Steely Dan was one of the things he showed me that allowed me to connect with him in the way I wanted. He never really took interest in video games, which was something I am very passionate about. I'm sure he wanted to take an interest in my hobbies, but I didn't really have a way to do that. That is, until, I decided to make a playlist of video game music that I knew he would like. Most of it was jazzy or laid back stuff like Steely Dan. I wish he was still around so I could show him this. I bet he would be really surprised that video game sounds could replicate the music we both loved so much. This truly is the kind of thing that makes me feel connected with my dad. A mash of music we both love, mixed into one. I miss my dad.
I know this isn't what you were trying to express but this is exactly how I feel about Steely Dan in a derogatory way. it's just so, so milquetoast. it's right in this pointless middle-ground of spiciness between "peaceful/meditative/ambient" and "actually interesting". it's just anaemic
@@gloverelaxis Steely Dan is incredibly well performed, recorded and produced faux jazz easy listening nothingness that's very hard for me to listen to. I genuinely like about 3 of their songs, but the rest are like a thousand Quint nails on a chalkboard.
Two things: Thing 1 - I didn’t check the length of this before I clicked on it, so I came in expecting to only hear Aja. Awesome that so much of this album was done (no I Got The News is a downer, but not enough to keep me away). Thing 2 - the Venn diagram of ‘People that like Aja’ and ‘People willing to listen to a song made with Super Mario 64 sounds’ is simultaneously bigger than I thought and smaller than it should be.
I’m so stoned and I’ve honestly never listened all the way through to any of these soundfont albums. This is just fantastic. Drum solo on “Aja” made me laugh so hard but it slaps like no other.
I VERY much appreciate the accuracy of the chords/and parts. There are a lot of these going around that mangle the harmony/chords of the originals. Homeboy's got some jazz training!
He didn't transcribe these, read the description. He just took midi files off the internet. The people who made the midis have some jazz training for sure.
@@asukalangleysoryu6695 ohh I see. that makes sense because some of these soundfont albums are super wonky and I guess it depends on the source midi used.
I don't know how the algorithn decides to put this guy with 1 video and 200 subscribers at the top of my feed, but this was fun to listen to, and I think my kids will enjoy it even more than me.
Honestly, this is so niche. A reasonably obscure record in the history of music, impressively recreated in super Mario 64 sound font. There's only a handful of people who would really respect the work that has gone in to this. I can imagine any one of these recreations in a Mario Kart 64 replay screen or Mario 64 DD. What a fucking achievement. Peg absolutely bangs.
I didn't think I would be getting this emotional over a soundfont album. This is amazing. Thinking about it, this is more logically connected than I realized.
The Nightfly would be interesting, I feel like it could use more of the sounds from the game that weren’t used here. Although, I wouldn’t envy assembling the midi data, you did such an amazing job on this one!
Honestly, I want a Mario 64 world that's Seoul in 1976 and Mario has to wander through the streets at 3 am looking for Princess Peach up on a hill, and the only power ups available are cigarettes and whiskey.
Kid Charlemagne guitar solo using those horns is STANKY. I have great memories of listening to that song and many off this album (ya know, the real one) in the car with my dad. Enjoyed every second. First time a Mario sound font video wasn't just a funny meme to me.
I learned a LOT about what is going in several parts of the actual arrangements because of this! This is really nice work. One of my favorite albums. Thanks for doing this!
I have been waiting for a Steely Dan 64! The whole album rips just like the original. And we finally get to hear where SM64 ripped of Steely Dan with the final chord progression of Kid Charlemagne
most people coming across this will have no idea what MIDI is or how easy it is to load a midi in a daw and replace all the instruments with fart and cat meow samples lol but anyway enjoy the love and praise you still deserve a little bit
This is incredible! It shows off the amazing sound hardware of the N64, as well as laying bare the complexity of the arrangements in this masterpiece of an album.
omg, lol. at least you added some post production reverb so it's not all dry and dorky sounding. lol. it's amazing how midi can render the best songs horrible (and yeah, i produce music so i understand the protocol and the fact this soundfont is shit),but, also, it's a testament to how a great song can make shitty sounding midi soundfonts better than you'd imagine.
I started cruising the intertubes in the late days of the SNES, not too long before the N64 materialized. Today is the day I finally have to concede - the algorithm finally has me figured. The source MIDIs are of course excellent - but you did a FABULOUS job putting this together!
Don't knock yourself, Joe. You did about half of a producer's job, the "without you it wouldn't have happened" part. I'm glad to have this in rotation.
sounds like 90s japanese point and click music, like something from Policenauts. Also props for pointing to original sources but well done putting it all done together!
I wonder how expensive the wind synth used for the solo at about 27:30 was in 1976... and how close a piece of home entertainment hardware from 1996 sounded to it might have been hard to believe
Yuck!
Saw this dude at Rudy's. Definitely high.
@@IfYouInsist It was a crying disgrace, I saw his face
Try again tomorrow
whenever i play koopa troopa i die behind the wheel
This would infuriate them and possibly send them into hysterical laughter at the same time.
What do you mean “them”?
@@ophello Mario and Luigi
@@ophelloRen and Stimpy
@@campbelldixon6134lmao
@@Deli1972 I think @ophello is raising the point that Walter is no longer with us.
To be fair, absolutely no studio noise in this version. They'd love it!
No doubt! LoL
@@dainhuston I’m thinking not.
Grew up with steeley dan
I'm ballerina dance to them❤
@@dainhustonindeed boy
This sounds so great with the N64 instruments. It's Steely Dan though, so it would probably also sound good coming out of a garbage disposal.
I also think it's a statement on how instruments from the late 70s sound. Some of that I mean in a good way, some not as good!
@@mattwarbuckle It's not about the instruments as much as how they were recorded, which for Aja's case I think is damn near immaculate.
LOL
It's miraculous that this is so good. Due, of course, to the quality of the compositions. But it's a great quality MIDI file too.
@@skelecrineok dude, chill
Sharing this with no one because I don’t have any friends who will understand how important this is.
My dad passed in December of 2022. I always felt like we lived in two different worlds, and it was sometimes hard to connect with him. But Steely Dan was one of the things he showed me that allowed me to connect with him in the way I wanted.
He never really took interest in video games, which was something I am very passionate about. I'm sure he wanted to take an interest in my hobbies, but I didn't really have a way to do that.
That is, until, I decided to make a playlist of video game music that I knew he would like. Most of it was jazzy or laid back stuff like Steely Dan.
I wish he was still around so I could show him this. I bet he would be really surprised that video game sounds could replicate the music we both loved so much.
This truly is the kind of thing that makes me feel connected with my dad. A mash of music we both love, mixed into one.
I miss my dad.
Thanks for this. Love u
I also have a dead dad danfan. Thanks for sharing
reminds me of my dad too. he was a huge steely dan fan and i'm personally getting into them as well
Cool blog post bro
I cried
The instrument used to imitate the Michael McDonald vocals in “Peg" is stellar
Almost like they SD as inspiration
Right!
Lol I see the confusion but you’re thinking of Donald fagen. McDonald was a doobie brother
@@clibreros94, no the guy who sings “peg” in the chorus of Peg is Michael McDonald. He regularly did background vox for the Dan
@@clibreros94MM was in SD before DB’s. Same with Jeff Skunk Baxter.
idk how to explain it but this is what regular Steely Dan sounds like to me
Yep. Sterile 70s porn music lol.
It just hits the spot man
@@white.lodge.dale.cooper You know about both kinds of music. Noted!
I know this isn't what you were trying to express but this is exactly how I feel about Steely Dan in a derogatory way. it's just so, so milquetoast. it's right in this pointless middle-ground of spiciness between "peaceful/meditative/ambient" and "actually interesting". it's just anaemic
@@gloverelaxis Steely Dan is incredibly well performed, recorded and produced faux jazz easy listening nothingness that's very hard for me to listen to. I genuinely like about 3 of their songs, but the rest are like a thousand Quint nails on a chalkboard.
This is absolutely immaculate. I require Gaucho done just like this.
Seconded.
Yes
I would lose my mind. Oh, I already did.
Including the second arrangement
@@glennmathisen2537based
Feel like this really shows off the harmony of the songs
it does
I agree. I’d love to hear some 6 voice a cappella tho. I’ve found that nothing brings out latent harmonies like a cappella for my ears.
I think that's mostly because the way the mix is balanced. The Peg solo is completely lost under the chord changes.
It definitely shows off just how dense the arrangements are, sometimes on the original you forget because it's mixed so well.
@@Joiner113I was just gonna say, Aja has so much layering, but it’s done so well you almost can’t hear it. Especially on Deacon Blues.
Two things:
Thing 1 - I didn’t check the length of this before I clicked on it, so I came in expecting to only hear Aja. Awesome that so much of this album was done (no I Got The News is a downer, but not enough to keep me away).
Thing 2 - the Venn diagram of ‘People that like Aja’ and ‘People willing to listen to a song made with Super Mario 64 sounds’ is simultaneously bigger than I thought and smaller than it should be.
No "I Got The News"? That song can't get any love even under these circumstances.
yeah because both steely Dan enjoyers and N64 soundfont enjoyers are giga chads
So good I died behind the wheel
is there gas in the kart? yes, there's gas in the KAAART!
Peg should be straight out of Mario Kart 64!
ha true that
I was going to say, sounds like it could be race lobby music 😂
Or WaveRace
"I'll learn to work the Nin-ten-do
(I) I play just what I feel"
*Mario paint solo*
I’m so stoned and I’ve honestly never listened all the way through to any of these soundfont albums. This is just fantastic. Drum solo on “Aja” made me laugh so hard but it slaps like no other.
The Polygonification of her face lmao
Fun fact, that’s actually Peach’s face from the opening of the game
@@joeshmuck9683 clever
21:40 peachhh it will come back to you!🎤🎶
If customer service put me on hold with this, I wouldn’t be mad.
Fagen: Okay fine Chuck you may have a partition but remember no slapping on this track
Chuck Rainey: 20:33
The drum solo at the end of Aja gave me an entire day's worth of dopamine
This is The Beatles at their best
Only A Fool Would Say That
Aja already sounded like a mario track to begin with lmao
How good would Black Cow have been on Pilotwings 64? So relaxing.
Whoa!!!!!
You damn right!
🔨 nailed that comment ! love pilotwings !
Oh god, someone desperately needs to start this soundfont/album trend with Pilotwings 64 soundfont!
Something tells me Dan Hess was/is a Steely Dan fan and would approve
I was just thinking the same thing about “Home At Last” 😂👍🏼
R.I.P. Phil Hartman, who created the original cover art to this amazing album!
Urban legend. He had naught to do with it.
He didn't do this cover, but he did other well-known ones .
even the drum solos on aja, amazing
Should have added Gadd smacking his drumsticks together around 10:15
❤
“So long gay bowser” - Donald Feagen
I VERY much appreciate the accuracy of the chords/and parts. There are a lot of these going around that mangle the harmony/chords of the originals. Homeboy's got some jazz training!
He didn't transcribe these, read the description. He just took midi files off the internet. The people who made the midis have some jazz training for sure.
@@asukalangleysoryu6695 ohh I see. that makes sense because some of these soundfont albums are super wonky and I guess it depends on the source midi used.
Home at last and Peg go so hard its insane
I don't know how the algorithn decides to put this guy with 1 video and 200 subscribers at the top of my feed, but this was fun to listen to, and I think my kids will enjoy it even more than me.
Gotta love this internet thingy.
Not gonna lie. I clicked this video only to type "NO!" In the comment section. But I hate how much I actually like this
I have NO idea how I ended up here, but I'm so glad I did!
Honestly, this is so niche. A reasonably obscure record in the history of music, impressively recreated in super Mario 64 sound font. There's only a handful of people who would really respect the work that has gone in to this. I can imagine any one of these recreations in a Mario Kart 64 replay screen or Mario 64 DD. What a fucking achievement. Peg absolutely bangs.
Finally, someone did it! XD Aja is one of my favorite albums of all time. I got to see Steely Dan live a year ago which was pretty cool.
I saw them live too! Where did you see them?
seen them live twice once at coachella and another at the hollywood bowl, they are goats
I didn't think I would be getting this emotional over a soundfont album. This is amazing.
Thinking about it, this is more logically connected than I realized.
The Nightfly would be interesting, I feel like it could use more of the sounds from the game that weren’t used here. Although, I wouldn’t envy assembling the midi data, you did such an amazing job on this one!
Another vote for The Nightfly
The intro to peg always makes me think of Plessie jumping in water
This is such a hyper specific crossover of two things i didn't know needed to have a crossover
“…I stomp on these goombas so languid and bittersweet.” Mario Fagen
I'm dying that's great
Dude, my two favorite things. God bless your soul.❤
The Josie intro sounds like a legit boss intro or something
the intro kind of reminds me of the Wall Market theme in Final Fantasy 7
Underground boss
20:33 goes hard as hell
And 24:40
Omg the voice used for Michael McDonald is so perfect I am dying
excellent choice for the bonus track.
That airy organ-ish sound on Peg representing Mikey McD's background vocals is perfection.
*4 part angelic Mike McDonald Toad quartet*
the hi-hat on Deacon Blues is AGGRESSIVE
Honestly, I want a Mario 64 world that's Seoul in 1976 and Mario has to wander through the streets at 3 am looking for Princess Peach up on a hill, and the only power ups available are cigarettes and whiskey.
Damn, even got the Purdie shuffle in home at last spot on. Ooookayyyyyyy
Kid Charlemagne guitar solo using those horns is STANKY. I have great memories of listening to that song and many off this album (ya know, the real one) in the car with my dad. Enjoyed every second. First time a Mario sound font video wasn't just a funny meme to me.
I learned a LOT about what is going in several parts of the actual arrangements because of this! This is really nice work. One of my favorite albums. Thanks for doing this!
That’s the most honest take of transcribing ‘I Got the News’ lmao. This is a piece of magic! Thank you
Extra points for nailing the Larry Carlton guitar solo!
This is their only album that I've listened to but I expected nothing less than spectacular.
Gaucho my friend
This idea works great with Steely Dan.
Did you realize that you were a champion in our eyes?
Well the danger on the Dire Dire Docks is close at hand…
but still i'm swimming from dry land
This actually hurts a bit, but i can't stop listening to it
I have been waiting for a Steely Dan 64! The whole album rips just like the original. And we finally get to hear where SM64 ripped of Steely Dan with the final chord progression of Kid Charlemagne
Please read the description before you go showering praise on me! I’m a lazy hack who didn’t make any of this 😌
most people coming across this will have no idea what MIDI is or how easy it is to load a midi in a daw and replace all the instruments with fart and cat meow samples lol but anyway enjoy the love and praise you still deserve a little bit
hahaha I love the Beatles comment in the description. You are hilarious.
You stand on the shoulders of giants, so that future generations may stand on yours.
@@FishSlappee I dont get it lol
You can find midi of popular music online?? I've never tried looking.
Just slightly choked there's no I Got the News but this is incredible
Especially because I’ve Got The News sounds THE MOST like an N64 theme (specifically Mario Kart)
actually insanely good! aja has been one of my fav albums for almost 15 years since i first heard it, this is awesome
Becker and Fagen: "No, the drums still aren't right."
I can't stop laughing, this is so garish. You nailed this, thank you
I was asking for this for a while now. Thank you for delivering.
Don and Walt were very particular about the musicians who played the N64 on this album.
rofl
the LAN parties sometimes went from noon until 2 am
This was actually much smoother than I imagined!
Interesting choice to omit I Got the News and put Kid Charlemagne at the end, sounds fantastic either way!
This is what regular Aja sounds like to me, love it
I don't get it.... This is exactly what it sounds like. Slightly different instruments but that hardly even makes any difference
I love how kid Charlemagne was added as a bonus. Definitely sounds like it could’ve been the theme in a store in a Pokémon game
god i love this album
This made my day thank you this is frickin sweet
Solo on home at last goes crazy
I'm here for both. Been listening to Steely Dan since 2003. Awesome idea
This is incredible! It shows off the amazing sound hardware of the N64, as well as laying bare the complexity of the arrangements in this masterpiece of an album.
Might just be the best thing I’ve ever heard! It’s so accurate!! Amazing achievement. Incredible. Thank you. Simply joyous.
Very fitting because Kid Charlemagne was the inspiration for Bob Bomb Battlefield.
Hal from Malcolm in the Middle really is an icon
Where’d you hear that?
Was that confirmed anywhere?
what is this a reference to?
is there a source for this?
really just speaks to the power of these arrangements.
Aja would be a perfect track for an underwater level.
wet dry world
Incredible sounds coming from this concoction. Can't wait to see what comes next.
omg, lol. at least you added some post production reverb so it's not all dry and dorky sounding. lol. it's amazing how midi can render the best songs horrible (and yeah, i produce music so i understand the protocol and the fact this soundfont is shit),but, also, it's a testament to how a great song can make shitty sounding midi soundfonts better than you'd imagine.
youtube recommended on it as always
That was incredible.
Thanks for Kid Charlemagne! Glad that other track didn't have a midi lol
man I waited 12:30 minutes to get to the ending of Aja, man am I glad I waited
I love this! Aja is one of my favorite albums, it's interesting to hear it in a different genre, but still just as awesome
You ain’t no schmuck,
This is Great!
I started cruising the intertubes in the late days of the SNES, not too long before the N64 materialized.
Today is the day I finally have to concede - the algorithm finally has me figured.
The source MIDIs are of course excellent - but you did a FABULOUS job putting this together!
The ending for aja is so good and sounds like a bugged Mario level. DIG!
Why have I listened to this entire video every day for the past 2 weeks. It's incredible.
Don't knock yourself, Joe. You did about half of a producer's job, the "without you it wouldn't have happened" part. I'm glad to have this in rotation.
The internet was made for things like this.
Now time to do The Second Arrangement
Peg and Home At Last sound phenomenal
sounds like 90s japanese point and click music, like something from Policenauts. Also props for pointing to original sources but well done putting it all done together!
i've been loving every sm64 soundfont cover album i've come across, but i genuinely think this is my favorite. they mix so unbelievably well.
Michael McDonald backgound vocals in Peg 🤌
I think this is the first time I’ve enjoyed one of these beyond the initial “oh that’s funny”. This is just good music, period!
do gaucho do gaucho do gaucho PLEASE do gaucho
I wonder how expensive the wind synth used for the solo at about 27:30 was in 1976... and how close a piece of home entertainment hardware from 1996 sounded to it might have been hard to believe