~*~ About the Project ~*~
"Like many men of a certain age, I have a deep nostalgia for the toys of my youth."
The Mario Opera
In college, circa 2001, I became re-obsessed with the Nintendo games I had played as a kid, rebuying an NES and a Super NES on eBay. I found myself chasing the rush of nostalgia I'd feel upon seeing something again for the first time.
This obsession led first to the Mario Opera, and eventually GameJew.
GameJew
GameJew was a character I created in 2006, launching on the then-brand-new YouTube. GameJew sang songs about video games, did interviews with game designers, and was the first person on the west coast to get a Wii (I camped outside the story for 36 hours). He also sang to Shigeru Miyamoto.
"I offer up this bit of context to explain my feelings about M.U.S.C.L.E."
The M.U.S.C.L.E. Connection
Of all the toys I remember (He-Man, Transformers, Batman figurines, etc.) there is something about M.U.S.C.L.E. that has always felt different. Their American heyday was very brief, just a few years in the 1985-88 range, but their short existence belies a dedicated fanbase that has sustained for decades.
Towards the end of my 5th year of writing a Song A Day, I dedicated Song A Day #1781 to M.U.S.C.L.E.
The CryptoPunks Connection
Then, a few years later in late 2017, I discovered CryptoPunks, one of the earliest and most famous NFT collections. The feeling I felt looking at CryptoPunks, I realized, was the same exact feeling I'd felt as kid collecting M.U.S.C.L.E. figures.
Since way back then, it's been my goal to bring M.U.S.C.L.E. to the blockchain. I have a feeling a lot of OG M.U.S.C.L.E. collectors will hate this; and I understand that. But I've put a ton of work into this collection, and I'm excited to see it come to life.
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