From what I remember, ever since I was I was born I was a gamer. One of those memories of course is playing the ps1 my dad got for me at the young age of… uh… 3? (4?). I’ve always loved playing different types of games and one of the easiest ways to find new games that I wanted was the occinal demo disc that came with… idk whatever they came from. I never knew where most of them came from, nor could I remember actually, so as far as I know they could have materialized from the aether. Demo disks where a product of the 90’s and early oughts’ that was a marketing strategy for getting gamers to buy currently and upcoming games like…. As times passed and the digital age came thru making physical disks with demos of games absolute due to online stores. But upon looking back, demo disks become an almost time capsule of gaming culture from the respective time.
Demo Disks had this air to them along with the design elements that truly scream the era that they came from. One of these elements of course, was the music. From the few demo disks that I played long for the songs to be seared and etched into my brain, I’ve found my self hearing certain styles of music that was most likely inspired by or inspired the composers of those track, leading me to learn about the genre of music that said songs fit in, and by extension finding new music for me to jam out to while say drawing art , cleaning my room, or searching for the artist of an uncredited repost of art of anime boy with huge tits.
And I also…. Like kpop…. And sometimes, kpop being kpop, being inspired by a multitude of genres the world over, has songs that sound right at home on a ps1 demo disk.
And so here in no particular order, are kpop songs that sound like they could be played on a ps1 demo disk. Bear in mind, the particulars of the reason why I think each song should be on a demo disk ost is all over the place, but will be explained in each entry.
***also bear in mind i’m not a pro at music nor have I studied music theory. this is 100% me going off vibes as a nerd whose just equating how these songs make me feel.***
| Crush - ZEROBASEONE | |
|---|---|
| Probably one of my favorite title tracks of ZB1 at the moment, Crush is a wonderful liquid drum and bass bop of a song that is so sonically addicting to me. So much of this song audibly scratch and massage my brain in the best of ways that I’ve always known certain sounds of music can do, but couldn’t place exactly what until it’s placed down in front of me. The song fits perfect, in my mind, with the demo disks I’ve seen in my research, consisting of a simple menu with a looping background animation of liquid chrome orbs. The tone is kind of perfect for the ps1’s marketing of the 90’s, primarily catered to a male demographic, the tone of the song’s futuristic, yet cool almost cold sound, with the occasional flourishes that keep the overall feel very light, giving a sense of optimistic outlook on the future of this technology. |  |
| Super Shy- NewJeans | |
| Ok, yeah this is a given. This is the most simple yet addicting example of drum and bass uk garage ass song that I’m shocked ever became a kpop song as a whole. This sound is so 90’s – 00’s it hurts. And along with NewJeans’ style and concept to make this song so understandably refreshing when it came out. If games industry had gotten on the train of making more "””girly””” games, and had a demo disc for just those games, this song let along the instrumental, would have been perfect. |  |
| TROUBLE – EVNNE | |
| So I’m gonna be honest. At first I wasn’t gonna put this song on the list because I felt like it didn’t fit. But upon thinking about it, and this might be a stretch, but just like some of the demo disk ost I’ve listened to before putting this list together, I realized something. There is a chance that some the ost’s sound like what people would think would play in a stereotypical gay club. For the most part. A lot of the “real” hardcore club seen from my limited knowledge |  |
| JUMP- P1HARMONY | |
| This a choice that I feel like I start to get a little picky on what parts of the song made me think Demo Disc, and upon listening to it the sixteenth million time, it stuck me. The chorus/hook of this song would a perfect loop for a menu screen with demos for like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon etc. Just to show off the games that would be marketed as the “cool” games everyone’s gonna play. |  |
| Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard's Wife - LE SSERAFIM | |
| So, for this one, it’s more of a stretch. So, I don’t think this would be on a ps1 demo disk, but I do think it would be used for a promo for PS1 games. As I stated earlier, some of the tracks used for demo discs were mostly very edm beats, like 90’s club/rave culture (especially in the UK.) This would possibly in my mind be good for a promo, but the chorus/hook section of the beat would go perfect for any games that would be used for showing off the mind-blowing graphics of ps1. You know, mind-blowing at the time. |  |
| SHALALA - Taeyong | |
| Oh, boy! This song has only one thing it would be used for and that’s the sports games on the PS1. You got your Maddens, you got your Gran Turismo’s, and you got your Tony Hawks. I don’t know what else to say. It felt like if anything, hip-hop beats were used for sport ball video games and their other elk. Hip hop beats are cool. Just like our sport ball games. |  |
| ★★★Bonus Addition★★★ | |
| Impossible - RIIZE | |
| Ok. So, SHALALA was gonna be the last thing I put on this list for PS1 demo disks BGMs, but I didn’t know where to put this came out recently at the time of writing this list together but also gave me an idea that was only half related to the subject of this list. And man, I was knocked hard into the earth’s core when RIIZE released Impossible, and the thought of using this as a song to as a promo for SEGA games. Mostly during like the 90’s and early aughts, but honestly any time onward to for the most part. I could see like an edited promo with games like Sonic (maybe Adventure and Adventure 2, and even one the first two Sonic Riders games), Space Channel 5, Jet Set Radio and Bayonnetta even. For me SEGA at its peak is very effortlessly cool with its presentation in a way that I can only say as knowing what their games are like and how they all have a vibe to them that is uniquely SEGA. And Impossible is exactly that. With The boys hanging out in a European county(?), hanging out, riding the subway, dancing in random buildings at parties, dancing some more on random stairways, and whatever Shotaro and Sungchan were doing, this song has my heart just as RIIZE does as a group. |  |
Conclusion
And that’s the end of this list. I know that this might not make any since for people who didn’t grow up playing the ps1 or games in general, but that’s kinda the whole point of me making this list. It’s so that I could share a thought and put it out into the ether. Sometimes you just gotta geek about something that your brain put a link between two different things you’re into for no reason other then your brain just does that sometimes and you just humor the thought to see where it goes. And sometimes it’s nice to just put all your thoughts on a sheet of paper, or a blog, or a video, just so you could see if I mad any sense at all. And with that, all I have to say is, Drum and Bass is forever gonna be associated with ps1 games for me, Demo disks bgm are gay club bangers, and as one great man once said, “RIIZE will continue to rise.” Thank you. P.S. RIIZE is 7.