I missed this back then: What's up with Mark Morgan stealing music for Fallout?

[crawlkill]

I just reinstalled New Vegas and found a patch to run the original Fallout 1/2 music over it. Tabbed out, I suddenly found myself wondering, "When did I start Aphex Twin playing?"

On some googling and application of thought, it became painfully clear that several (less significant, usually--one was in the credits) Fallout tracks had been essentially stolen from Aphex Twin. Almost identical composition, sometimes different synthesized instruments. On a little further googling, I find that another Mike Morgan F1/2 track was lifted almost perfectly from an adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand.

What the fuck's up with this? Does anyone have the complete story?

 

[Jagged Appliance]

Post the tracks.

 

[felipepepe]

IIRC Mark showed some quickly altered Apex Twin tracks just as reference of the tone, then someone at Black Isle took them and added to the game... or something like that.

 

[Infinitron]

Old, old news. Just do a search for "Aphex Twin" "Mark Morgan" on the Codex or Google.

 

[Roguey]

It wasn't just Aphex Twin, there's also Brian Eno, Techno Animal, Nijiumu, buncha others.

Mark Morgan is a plagiarist hack, that's all there is to it.

 

[toro]

It wasn't just Aphex Twin, there's also Brian Eno, Techno Animal, Nijiumu, buncha others.

Mark Morgan is a plagiarist hack, that's all there is to it.

Not to mention Josh Sawyer. Fucking hacks.

 

[Konjad]

IIRC Mark showed some quickly altered Apex Twin tracks just as reference of the tone, then someone at Black Isle took them and added to the game... or something like that.

Yeah, right.

 

[Gnidrologist]

Plago of Massive Attack's ''Angel'' in Bloodlines starting menu was more blatant. Don't remember who did that. Is basically the song with vocals removed.

 

[Astral Rag]

Post the tracks.

Morgan is listed as "synclavier programmer" in the Stand's credits

Spoiler

Great track:

 

[crawlkill]

Old, old news. Just do a search for "Aphex Twin" "Mark Morgan" on the Codex or Google.

I did. I couldn't find the full story anywhere. It was a bunch of people coming to the realization independently and a bunch of people not being remotely sufficiently shocked by it. I would've thought this got a Vice-esque deconstruction somewhere some time.

So he might have stolen the The Stand track from himself, but the Aphex Twin stuff is just outright theft? I'd never heard that particular Massive Attack track. But this is so fucking depressing. I've loved Selected Ambient Works II and the Fallout themes since forever. I can't believe I never noticed, and now they're poisoned.

 

[Pope Amole II]

Edit the name of the thread, dammit. Also:

So he might have stolen the The Stand track from himself, but the Aphex Twin stuff is just outright theft? I'd never heard that particular Massive Attack track. But this is so fucking depressing. I've loved Selected Ambient Works II and the Fallout themes since forever. I can't believe I never noticed, and now they're poisoned.

Dude, who gives a fuck about originality? It's overrated. Properly arranging music is no easier than actually composing it. Yoko Kanno, the love of my anime-filled youth, stole tracks all the time, but the thing is, all of her "sources of inspiration" sound much shittier than her work. So, as long as it sounds good, why bother?

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Edit the name of the thread, dammit. Also:

So he might have stolen the The Stand track from himself, but the Aphex Twin stuff is just outright theft? I'd never heard that particular Massive Attack track. But this is so fucking depressing. I've loved Selected Ambient Works II and the Fallout themes since forever. I can't believe I never noticed, and now they're poisoned.

Dude, who gives a fuck about originality? It's overrated. Properly arranging music is no easier than actually composing it. Yoko Kanno, the love of my anime-filled youth, stole tracks all the time, but the thing is, all of her "sources of inspiration" sound much shittier than her work. So, as long as it sounds good, why bother?

Exactly this. All music is high derivative, and you're delusional if you think otherwise.

 

[Destroid]

I think a lot of older videogame soundtracks were made very very close to the ref material.

 

[crawlkill]

Exactly this. All music is high derivative, and you're delusional if you think otherwise.

Yep! Nobody's ever written a track ever! All tracks are copied straight from other tracks, with no creditline given! Sure am glad for those ur-tracks vomitted up by the raw cosmos we could all copy from.

Fuck off. Plagiarism is plagiarism. There's nothing honest about this.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I did. I couldn't find the full story anywhere. It was a bunch of people coming to the realization independently and a bunch of people not being remotely sufficiently shocked by it.

I think you are the one acting like someone pissed in your beer. It's ambient music for a game, how "shocked" should I be?

 

[crawlkill]

how "shocked" should I be?

...about plagiarism poisoning a classic? shocked.

 

[shihonage]

Yeah, it's not just "inspired music" but downright plagiarism. Oh well.

 

[AlexOfSpades]

Huh, didn't know that. That's fucked up. Still, both games (Fallout & VtM:B) have amazing soundtracks, so i guess i'll let it slide

 

[Utgard-Loki]

...about plagiarism poisoning a classic? shocked.

big deal. doom got away with it, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H3BB2gKKeY

 

[Curious_Tongue]

I could never get the music to work for F1 or 2 for some reason.

To be honest, after hearing some of the music, I think the games are better off without them

 

[circ]

This shit again?

As I recall the story, someone at Interplay told MM - Mark, can you remake this (referring to an Aphex Twin track), and he did. It's not that similar unless you're deaf.

 

[crawlkill]

This shit again?
It's not that similar unless you're deaf.

Yeah, they're so dissimilar that...I independently noticed it.

 

[Destroid]

This shit again?

As I recall the story, someone at Interplay told MM - Mark, can you remake this (referring to an Aphex Twin track), and he did. It's not that similar unless you're deaf.

There's about 5 or 6 tracks that are very close to other songs, the Aphex Twin one is just the most well known.

 

[crawlkill]

This shit again?

As I recall the story, someone at Interplay told MM - Mark, can you remake this (referring to an Aphex Twin track), and he did. It's not that similar unless you're deaf.

There's about 5 or 6 tracks that are very close to other songs, the Aphex Twin one is just the most well known.

There were three I heard that are direct rips from Aphex Twin songs, just with different--not sure what the word is, "digital instruments?" Hearing them side by side, it's impossible to miss.

They're still good arrangements, the score is fantastic, but plagiarism is loathsome.

 

[SCO]

Another disappointed fallout fan, first it's this, then it's tim cain being inconveniently gay, will someone think of the libertarian bigots?

muh legend

 

[StaticSpine]

Which songs are copies, anyway? Can you people be clearer?

Anyway, I don't care that Mark Morgan used a lot of other (and very different) composer's stuff as long as he managed to create a unique and solid game OST. Probably the best game soundtrack ever.