Unoriginal Soundtracks #82: GRID 2

Every other Wednesday, I share a playlist of songs tangentially related to a single game or series. Songs about alien sex for Mass Effect, world leaders for Civilization, and so on. Make requests to @USPodcast on Twitter.

This successor to the TOCA games is perhaps the best way to virtually TOur the world with a CAr. GRID 2 inspires this globetrotting playlist of blues, jazz, and rock.

Unoriginal Soundtracks #67: Dirt 3

Every other Wednesday, I share a playlist of songs tangentially related to a single game or series. Songs about alien sex for Mass Effect, world leaders for Civilization, and so on. Searching for relevant terms on Spotify is a great way to discover new music and uncover hidden gems. Make requests to @USPodcast on Twitter.

British developer Codemasters' successor to the Colin McRae series of rally games continues the tradition of solo drives along country roads. Those classic events and the newer buggy races and petrol-fueled gymnastics inspire this playlist of blues, hip hop, and rock.

News: The Postal Service making a return...of some kind [UPDATED]

[UPDATE: Billboard has confirmed the reunion will include three Coachella performances, a selection of currently unannounced other tour dates, and a deluxe reissue of their 2003 release, Give Up.]

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie appears to be resurrecting his short-lived side project, The Postal Service. Not much is known about the extent of the band's return, other than something will be happening this year, as evidenced by the logo now adorning their website (pictured above).

Obviously, fans are hoping this means a new album, though, it could very well be a tour (or, as Spin speculates, a Coachella appearance). February 18th will mark a decade since the release of their first -- and only -- release, so I'm hoping they're planning more than just a Coachella performance. I think most fans will take whatever they can get, though, as many had given up on any sort of reunion at this point.

Source: Reddit, /r/Music

Unoriginal Soundtracks Podcast: Bioshock Edition

Every other Wednesday, I share a playlist of songs tangentially related to a single game or series. Songs about alien sex for Mass Effect, world leaders for Civilization, and so on. Searching for relevant terms on Spotify is a great way to discover new music and uncover hidden gems. Make requests to @USPodcast on Twitter.

Bioshock, along with The Darkness, is one of this generation's stand-out examples of first-person storytelling. Apart from it's meta-commentary on how games manipulate you into acting in a certain way, it examined paranoia, addiction, and unchecked genetic modification. All of which makes for a playlist of ska-punk, rhythm and blues, soul, and more.

Unoriginal Soundtracks Podcast: Assassin's Creed 2 Edition (Including Brotherhood and Revelations)

Every other Wednesday, I share a playlist of songs tangentially related to a single game or series. Songs about alien sex for Mass Effect, world leaders for Civilization, and so on. Searching for relevant terms on Spotify is a great way to discover new music and uncover hidden gems. Make requests to @USPodcast on Twitter.

Assassin's Creed 2 (including its own sequels, Brotherhood and Revelations) is the pinnacle of musician-harassment simulators. It started with the ability to throw minstrels at cathedrals or into canals, and ended with Ezio infiltrating their ranks to commit crimes against music. Let this playlist of geographical, historical, and irreligious music compensate for those crimes.

The Monthly Music Wrap-Up: May 2011

The Music Wrap-Up is a monthly summary of my favorite and other notable new releases. Having trouble keeping up with all the new music? Need some music suggestions? Then the Music Wrap-Up is for you. And please support these musicians as that's the reason I'm featuring them in the first place.
This is easily the biggest Wrap-Up I've done since it became a podcast. This month's episode if stuffed full of great music from a lot of big names and several not-so-big names as well. Everything from big indie acts to often-thought-dead punk legends. Sit back and enjoy, it's the Monthly Music Wrap-Up.

Shuffled Podcast: Speechless Edition

Every other Wednesday I hit the shuffle button on my 90 gigabytes of music and post the results. I might have to justify some of the stuff in my library, but hopefully it will help inform you of new music -- or at least be entertaining.
If you only started listening to Shuffled when the podcast started then this might be a new concept to you, but quite often I have very little to say about some of the music in my library. Whether it was put there for a Music Wrap-Up and then never returned to, or a product of some friend or relatives CD collection being ripped, I don't always get around to listening to it enough. This happened a lot this episode, so there is much more music and much less talking. It's all good music, I just didn't have anything good to say about it.

Shuffled: Justification Edition

Every other Wednesday I hit the shuffle button on my 90 gigabytes of music and post the results. I might have to justify some of the stuff in my library, but hopefully it will help inform you of new music -- Or at least be entertaining.

Well, I knew I'd be justifying parts of my music library at some point, and it seems I'll be doing that twice this week. Don't judge my tastes! Luckily, the majority of the playlist is completely justified in it's own right. I mean, if you question The Beatles, you don't deserve to be a music fan. Anyway, let's get to the judging.