Fieldwork: 8bitcollective's Most Liked

Today I'm taking a look at 8bitcollective's most liked track of last week, and seeing what people had to say about it.

The winner is "I AM A FUCKOKA RAVER" by USK (Fuckoka is a city in Japan and the name of a record company USK has released material under). I was a bit surprised to see that this was USK's first submission, so I dug a little deeper. Turns out USK is kind of a big deal. Looking at his bio, he's been making chiptunes for a little over 10 years and has been performing live since 2004, including some places far, far away from his hometown in Japan. So it's understandable that this well-established chiptune artists finally posts some stuff on 8bitcollective and people go absolutely nuts for it. And deservedly so - the song has a catchy hook, a well-layered arrangement, and is energetic and danceable.

Moving on to the comments, the first 12, which came within 2 hours of posting, are all just chock full of excitement, most just saying something like "USK!" USK gets in a response saying, "I'm so happy to share the same feeling with you all lo-bitterzzzz!!!!" The positive comments continue to stream in, but some come close to criticism:

Droid Song: "okay..I must admit i was gonna move on about half way through the song and then that little funky swing breakdown came up. that part is really really really good."

xGx: "Well i cant stand those fucking shitty 8btit noisey drums, those cymbols sound like shit but then that mid section kicked in and I was like omfg wow! Those damn drums cant save this for me but that middle bit was fricking awsome man."

I highlight these only because the overwhelming majority of posts are basically one sentence long, each one a more ridiculous way of saying "I loved it" than the last. My initially impression of the site was a slew of possibly disingenuous compliments, so I'm trying to probe that impression and see how accurate it is, especially in a situation involving a celebrity of the genre.

Mikimedia: "ive listened to this alot now, and still dont like it. i wish i liked this"

This strikes me as unquestionably honest, which is reassuring. A bit more partial criticism:

Deadly-Beatz-"Sorry, but I do not like the intro, and frankly it seems rather repetitive throughout the entire song until the second 1/3 or so. Then it is very very very very very very very (have I made my point yet?) very good!!!!"

Some honesty here, some criticism. "Sorry" could indicate the commenter knowing that he/she is deviating from the expected behavior.

The critics get a mouthful, however..

smiletron: "@everyone who doesnt like this: USK pretty much DEFINES chip unce. there can be no other. he is the first and he is the best. FOREVERRRR"

"Unce" hear refers to the sound of a dance music bass drum, and the genre that uses it frequently. Another commenter piggybacks..

boaconstructor: "Thumbs up smiletron. Its ridiculous to think of how many of the songs on this sight (and maybe even the sight itself) wouldn't be here if it weren't for USK! Know your roots chipperzzz!!!"

This comment sparks a debate...

Xylo: "Calling USK 'chiptune roots'. You fell on your head boy?"

YourPOV : "No joke man. USK is good at LSDJ for sure. That doesn't make him the beginning and end of all chiptune. Let's not go crazy here. On a side note, this is amazing :)"

I will keep an eye out to see if the debate unfolds more, but what I've observed is, while USK is definitely very important and respected in the chiptune scene and has been for a while, he is not unarguably part of the roots of chiptune. Also, there is some discrepancy of knowledge / fluidity of interpretation among the commenters as to the history of the scene and the genre.

USK's other comment in the thread, two weeks after posting, simply says: "I AM A FUCKIN HAPPY RAVER NOW." He is pleased with the responses to his song.