Krypton Radio

A Krypton Radio Special Review by Producer, PK

Krypton Radio looks at new music additions and finds a surprise in the Brony fandom

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

We’ve heard about the Brony culture before, but for the first time Krypton Radio takes an in-depth look at what we never knew about the show, the music, and the fans.

We’re always looking for new and interesting music that fits in the genres we cater to, primarily Superhero, Comic Book, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Fantasy, and Gaming. But lately we’ve been getting suggestions for music based on a different fandom that was a little surprising. Some of the KR staffers had been bringing up songs from an animated children’s show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic which debuted in 2010, and admittedly an initial reaction to what looks like a little girls cartoon was that of skepticism. Although we’re hard pressed to turn down a good song, so when checking out some of the fan made music, it peaked our interest enough to look at the actual show music as well.

I agree, when someone comes to you and says I got some great music from a show featuring brightly colored talking ponies named Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie; it’s a little hard to take seriously at first. But we gave it a chance, and yes not all of the music seems appropriate for the bulk of our audience (although we’re digging the Discord EuroChoas Mix like crazy). Though during our searches on YouTube and related fan sites, we’ve come to develop an appreciation for a fanbase that has many parallels to that of mainstream Science Fiction and Fantasy. Whose fanbase’s have also suffered from ridicule and misunderstandings among some media and the public. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP:FiM) while primarily aimed at young girls in the 7-10 year-old range, has drawn some attention and criticism for attracting many male adult fans, commonly known as Bronies.

Despite its origins and current target audience, the show has displayed that time and time again that it has interesting and engaging characters,  humor that even adults can enjoy, and stories that help teach people of all ages important life lessons. From a musical standpoint, which is what attracted us initially, the show’s music is expertly crafted by composers Daniel Ingram and William Anderson. Rivaling and even surpassing some big-budget movie music productions for similar children’s content, with Broadway inspired musical segments of such joyful quality you can’t help but smile. The fan created music has truly blown us away on professionalism, with animated shorts, music videos, and original compositions that look as though they were from a major Hollywood studio.

During our search we came across a documentary on MLP:FiM by a YouTube user called Saberspark,which he created for a school project on the subject of deviant cultures. Saberspark does an excellent job of exploring aspects of the show’s history, characters, and fan culture. Although despite a slightly sarcasm laden fanboy defending his turf approach, the video covers important details to bring non-fans up to speed on why the show has become wildly popular and how it’s impacted pop-culture and people’s lives.

The video was published in December of 2011 and has been updated as of March 2012.

Watch the documentary after the break: Continue reading »