"Video Game Soundtracks 1983-1987" is from the "Title Variable" (2001-) series and was originally released as a CD-R. These compilations researched "the ways that digital technologies have effected music production, both in popular forms as well as in more rarified modern composition" and were each accompanied by an essay. This particular installment assembled video game soundtracks found on the internet. Link to an mp3 of the compilation and the original essay below.
Excerpt from the accompanying text: "Until now, these songs have existed solely as digital information: programmed, encoded, extracted, sometimes going through MIDI translation, uploaded and downloaded, finally burned to compact disc; all the while passing through numerous data compressions and file formats. The album release wraps them in plastic and cuts them loose from their origins. In a sense, the shift of context is a liberation; on the other hand, they are stamped with the authenticity accorded to genuine cultural articles (as opposed to mere electronic data)-- and this raises the question of how much an authentic article of culture depends on legitmization by packaging and distribution system of the market."