About this episode

The episode explores the cultural impact of the album 'Pac-Man Fever' and its connection to the video game craze of the early '80s.

In the very early '80s, the world as a whole had come down with Pac-Man fever. But this condition wasn't formally diagnosed until budding musicians Buckner & Garcia released their hit album of the same name in 1982. Slapped together to address the then-recent fad known as "video games," this collection of songs took pop culture by storm—but the duo behind it failed to follow up on their tribute to arcade mania. This week on Retronauts, join Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, and Drew Mackie (of Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games ) as the crew digs into this novelty album and learns how to Do the Donkey Kong. Retronauts is a completely fan-funded operation. To support the show, and get two full-length exclusive episodes every month, as well as access to 100+ previous bonus episodes, please visit the official Retronauts Patreon at patreon.com/retronauts .

People in this episode

Hosts: Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert

Guest: Drew Mackie

Topics covered

• Pac-Man
• video games
• music
• pop culture
• arcade games
• 1980s

Keywords

• Pac-Man
• Buckner & Garcia
• video game music
• 1980s pop culture
• arcade games
• novelty album

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Buckner & Garcia

Books & works: Pac-Man Fever

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