Whether you're a classic gamer or into nothing but a Wii thing (or of course there's the occasionally popular neither of the above) I'd like to welcome you for this salute to Video Games Day. At the center of the frenetic activity is "Pac-Man Fever" a novelty smash from Buckner & Garcia. Billboard confirms it. This prime slice of camp went to #9 on its singles chart. For some of you who may remember the song from '82, this song falls under the category "so bad it's good". The two of them stack the deck with all kinds of winning reminders of the classic arcade game which kicked the door of quarter popping dominance open that stalwarts like Space Invaders and Asteroids had pried open. Note the opening ditty which plays once the player has pressed "One Player". Bathed in vintage nostalgia. The sounds of game play pop up time and again. To those of you who know your way around an arcade the way I do, you'll recognize the sounds that get made when Pac Man eats a super charged space wafer, thus turning "the ghostly quartet" blue, and even more thus making them dinner time fodder for the now empowered yellow wedged wonder. Quite lamentably the sound of Pac Man himself getting eaten and disappearing from the screen should ring a bell also. But what is this a video game history class? Not on your life! Well, okay...maybe on some of your life. Pac Man is, like or not, part of the fabric of video game history but it's the tribute I'm here to discuss. It's jukebox ready from the start. Backing the two on drums is Ginny Whitaker. Nothing overly flashy. Just a steady timekeeper who leaves the storyline in the hands of Garcia, who's the one doing the belting here. We hear the story of a man (I presume he's young given the arcade climate of the time, but don't hold me to that) armed with quarters, headed to the arcade with what little money he has. Callouses on his fingers, shoulders hurting, he ventures forth into the only slightly seamy underbelly (are underbellies anything other than seamy, really?) of Pac-Man Fever. As the chorus contends, it's driving him crazy. Must be a benign sort of crazy though. Usually when I think anthem I envision something in the rock vein of "We Will Rock You" or "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen. However, to the Aladdin's Castle frequenting set (I was one of those), "Pac-Man Fever" also belongs in the anthem category. Kind of an anthem for nerds (again I was and probably may still continue to be viewed as one).Be clear on one thing, I doubt anyone in the band took themselves too seriously when putting this on vinyl. It's loyal to its subject matter but there's a rollicking good time sensibility in play (no pun intended, game play, etc...). Unless you need Cliff Notes you'll probably remember well what "the 9th Key" means. For the record it's an advanced level of game play. "Cherry" refers to one of the bonus point objects that would appear in the center of the screen from time to time. Strawberry and lemon would also appear there on other levels. Ms. Pac-Man's designers took it a step further by allowing the fruits to move about the screen. Garcia's really throwing himself into the role of Pac-Man addict who's not exactly aching for a cure. By the time we reach the bridge he's name dropped Pokey and Blinky, two of the ghost monsters I made reference to earlier. Chris Bowman ups the chuckle ante with his guitar emoting at the bridge. You hear him maximize the camp value, sense of decorum tossed into the waiting cup of beer nuts. Pressure building. Garcia, or the man of untold demographic he's telling the story of, is burning up the scoreboard. The high score's in his sights. His hero's voyage through the "side door" gets more intense. Pac-Man's eating everything in sight. But what's this? No more money? Always tomorrow then. You know damn well he means to return to that same arcade, to that same game, tomorrow night. What homework? What girlfriend? That's what Pac-Man Fever can do to you. I'm guilty of having owned the "Pac-Man Fever" album the song came from. It's also home to several other video game-themed charmers like "Froggy's Lament" (Frogger), "Ode to a Centipede" (Centipede), and "Hyperspace" (Asteroids). "Pac-Man Fever" is goofy but endearingly so. Smiling comes easily.
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