Shuffled Episode #32: The Video Game Cartridge Series - From Bits to Orchestra Pits

Every other Wednesday either Matt or Alex C-Y share their love of music in an assortment of ways. Shuffled is a podcast whose format is as varied as their tastes in music, so hopefully you won't ever be bored and everyone can find something to enjoy.

This is an episode I've been wanting to do for awhile now. Video game scores always have a special place in my music library. In many ways they've shaped most of my tastes in music. Our guest this week, Corey Williams, shares the same sentiments. Corey approached me on twitter a month or so back wanting to do the same thing for Shuffled and I gladly obliged to team up for a back and forth about what makes video game music special to us. Be sure to check out below for links to download some of these amazing tracks from the original scores and some of the arrangements done by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. One show is barely scratching the surface on this topic, so be on the lookout for more video game themed playlists in the future. 

Six Independent Games of PAX East 2012: Part 2

When we left Matt at last week's Tuesday feature, he was busy fighting off the dreaded PAX POX, which had mutated this year through a variant of palm-sweat-stained controllers mixed with the petri dish of the showroom floor. Fearing that it may get the best of him this year (mostly because he was a dumb-ass and left his hand sanitizer at home) our fearless blogger heads deeper into the bowels of the Mega Indie Showcase.

Music Review: The Real McKenzies - Westwinds

I'd never heard of The Real McKenzies when I drove an hour and a half to see them play at the bar my brother worked at, but the bagpipe player was enough to convince my then girlfriend/now wife to come along, and any time I can get her out to a show is a win in my book. It's near impossible to describe in words the energy the band puts forth in their live shows, but it was definitely a high point in my concert-going career.

The problem is, none of the McKenzies albums have really delivered for me. The faster songs just don't seem to translate the intensity of their live performances onto the record, and the songwriting just isn't there. A band like The Dropkick Murphys (obviously comparable in this case because of the similar Celtic influences) disappoints me because they've never put out a completely solid album, just ones filled with high points and valleys. The Real McKenzies don't even do that; I've never heard them excel past just plain old "good" on their albums, and their newest, Westwinds, is no different.

Dedicated gamer edits all three Uncharted games into movies

If you're familiar with the Uncharted series you've no doubt heard them described as extremely movie-like, Sony even had a commercial that said it. Well, Reddit user morphinapg heard it too, and decided to actually make them into movies. So he got to work playing the games, capturing the video, and editing out unnecessary gameplay to make it as much like a Hollywood blockbuster as possible.

Apparently he isn't the first to do this sort of thing, as the comments section is rife with people linking to other examples like Shenmue, Heavy Rain, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Metal Gear Solid 3 via a bonus feature on the special edition of the game. It probably says something about the state of video games as a medium that so many of them can be made into effective movies by just cutting out the extraneous gameplay between cut-scenes, but I won't get into that now.

If you played the Uncharted games and want a refresher course without the effort of pushing buttons, here you go. Or if you haven't played the games and would rather just watch them from the very start, that's all up to you, man. Either way, these are pretty awesome. Hit the jump to watch any of the three. Oh, spoilers. Obviously.

Music Review: Breton - Other People's Problems

Blanket Rule -- the free 5-track EP from UK-based electronic act Breton -- was a good teaser for what was to come, but it was a bit disjointed. And that made sense, given the band's self-described penchant for chopping up and mixing musical genres like they were cooking you a wonderful audio stew. It didn't bother me on the EP, because it was a free EP from a brand-new band, but I worried that this would carry into their full-length and hinder it. It did, but somehow it works this time.

Other People's Problems runs the gamut of musical styles, but it all blends together quite well. It feels like a variety of genres were fed through a filter and infused with Breton's sensibilities. String instrumentation is cut up and turned into a whole new beast, and horn tracks are morphed into an epic beat that trump whatever drums might have been used in any normal situation. It's almost fascinating when you stop and attempt to discern the origins of what you're hearing at the moment.

Unoriginal Soundtracks Podcast: Portal 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.

Portal is an example of what a world-class development studio can do with one great idea, a solid game engine, and some clever writing. It ended on a memorable song by Jonathan Coulton, but left plenty of room for this playlist of soul, spoken word, and scientific comedy songs.

Six Independent Games of PAX East 2012: Part 1

It's Sunday, the last day of PAX East 2012. Despite the chaotic view from above on the glass sky bridge, walking about the showroom floor doesn't feel as crowded as it has been over the last two years. It's still a rat maze to navigate, to be sure, but this time around there seems to be a bit more shoulder room for those of us who just want to stare at the flash and dazzle of game demos. I would love to play most of the games on display, but no extra room can mask the long lines at the big publisher's booths. At peak hours there is almost a two hour wait (sometimes more) to play games such as Max Payne 3, Boarderlands 2, or Steel Battalion. For now though, just viewing other people play these games works for me. Besides, there is plenty else to play on the showroom floor. PAX East for me is independent game territory.

Browsing the independent booths is usually how I spend my time between panels and the music being preformed at the Jamspace. While they are not the games with the biggest budgets or the grandest of booths, they have plenty to offer in terms of entertainment. Here are three games of six that avoided the big lines this year.

Shuffled #31: Boston8Bit Interview PAX East 2012

Every other Wednesday either Matt or Alex C-Y share their love of music in an assortment of ways. Shuffled is a podcast whose format is as varied as their tastes in music, so hopefully you won't ever be bored and everyone can find something to enjoy.

One of my favorite spots at PAX East is the Jamspace. For the past three years, it has played host to some of my favorite acts such as Powerglove and Mega Ran. Expo goers of all walks can even come and jam on the open mic hours. What led me to this little nook in the first place though is the rocking chiptune collective known as Boston8Bit. This week I am pleased to have on the show one of the co-founders of the group along with several other chiptune artists from around the area and beyond. Read on to listen in and learn what Boston8Bit is all about.

The heartwarming story of a nine-year-old boy and his self-made cardboard arcade

Everyone owned their own lemonade stand at some point during their childhood -- mine featured the adorable misuse of the word "free", which I clearly did not understand the meaning of -- but all those stands were likely thrown together in an hour or less and abandoned by the end of that same day. Nine-year-old Caine Monroy from Los Angeles took his childhood business-owning dreams to the next level, though.

Caine spent his summer vacation turning the heaps of leftover boxes from his dad's auto parts store into his own arcade made of cardboard. There were some pretty genius design elements to these hand-crafted games, but sadly, there was almost no foot traffic to his location. Until he got his first customer, who not only loved the experience but decided to help give Caine a big surprise, and film the entire thing.

Seriously, the short film created by this chance encounter with a creative little boy will have smiling ear to ear. Hit the jump to make your day.

First teaser for Rian Johnson's Looper released online

Director Rian Johnson has made a name for himself critically with his past releases -- Brick, a film-noir-take on high school, and The Brothers Bloom, a charming attempt at a con movie. Now he's taking on the sci-fi genre with his upcoming time-travel action flick, Looper.

Time travel can be a pretty hard topic to tackle in media, because there's always a slew of perceptive nerds ready to call you out on any oversight or inaccuracy. Still, given his track record, I'm excited to see what he's come up with.

Hit the jump to point out any logical failings that might have occurred in the teaser trailer.

Music Review: Suzanne Ciani's Lixiviation

It has taken me a long time to try and wrap my head around how best to describe Lixiviation. Suzanne Ciani was a pioneer in synthesizer music in the 1960's and has consistently continued to produce innovative albums. During her prolific career, she has composed theme songs for shows and companies as well as commercial jingles in addition to her personal songs. Lixiviation is a collection of examples from all of these pursuits. The best way to describe this album is as a musical version of a coffee table art book with half the pages missing; it seems disjointed and incomplete.

Of the 16 tracks, seven are legitimate songs. There are five corporate “logos” and three TV spots. I have no idea how to classify “Sound of a Dream Kissing,” a highly experimental 52-second track that sounds like something Ciani included on the album for sentimental reasons. The logos are interesting in their own right; my favorite one for Coca-Cola uses a synthesizer to perfectly mimic the sound of a soda can being popped open and poured. Because I'm a fan of video games, I also liked the old Atari spots which utilize synth to evoke a robotic/futuristic sound that is somehow also quite cheerful and lighthearted. However, these “songs” are really just nostalgic curiosities and museum pieces. The album's real strength lies in the full-length songs it contains.

Watch or listen to this fantastic La Dispute session by Audiotree

I hadn't heard of Audiotree before La Dispute shared this session on their Facebook, but I was immediately a fan. The site invites talented bands and musicians to perform short sets -- much like Daytrotter, LaBlogotheque, and other sites I can't think of right now or don't know about. Their sound quality and camera work is top notch, though, easily helping them fit right in with the best.

Now, if you haven't heard of La Dispute, allow me to sell you on them as well. While their home base is a scant 45 minutes from me I only heard them this past year, but I fell in love right away. Singer Jordan Dreyer's talk-sung lyrics sound like they're straight from a journal, and the stories he tells through that style are heart-breaking, inspiring, contemplative, insightful, and extremely well written. Honestly, when I first heard some of the songs on their latest release I was glued to my headphones waiting to hear the ending like I would a great movie or book. They're like a post-hardcore The Hold Steady, which is a pretty weird but very apt description.

Hit the jump to watch the video of the session, or click here to listen to the audio (conveniently broken into tracks).

Four March Music Releases You Shouldn't Skip Over

I didn't have as much time to listen to new music releases this month, so this list is ignoring some heavy hitters. Instead, I'm going to justify why you should listen to two releases from bands you've probably sworn off in the past due to unjustifiable sins against your listening ears. And then throw on two more releases from bands you might not have heard of yet. These are all worth listening to, so take some time to jump on Spotify and do so.

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Anti-Flag's The General Strike
Released March 20th
Purchase

Oh god, I know. Trust me...I know. Anti-Flag is awful now. I'm right there with you. I grew up jumping around my bedroom and singing along to the "Woooooooooooooah!"s of their hyperbole-ridden, angst-filled anthems. I held on to the legacy way longer than I should have. Terror State was/still kind of is a favorite of mine, though some of the songs are just too cheesy for me to listen to anymore. I even followed them along to For Blood and Empire, though my heart wasn't really in it anymore.

I think the cheese overwhelmed me at this part of the opening track. I walked away from the band, and was happy ignoring them for the next several years. But for some reason I decided to check out their newest release, The General Strike. I was ready to hate it, but I just couldn't. It's good.

Sometimes I Wish AMC's The Walking Dead Had the Balls to tell a Completely New Story

I don't mention specifics, but I do mention things that are spoilers of Season 2 and the comics if you know the context at all.

During the first season of AMC's The Walking Dead, fans of the original comic on which the show is based were throwing hissy fits. "This didn't happen in the comics! Gaaaaaaaaaay!" seemed to be their rallying cry, and they wanted to be heard. With Season 2 AMC apparently listened, and that's really my only gripe with the show.

Don't get me wrong, as someone who has read through the seventh trade paperback of Robert Kirkman's comic, I'm extremely excited to watch how the prison stuff plays out in Season 3, and how Michonne's awesomeness translates to the television screen, but I'd also like to see something completely new. It's a constant back-and-forth going on in my head as I watch the show, and sometimes I wish they'd just choose one or the other, complete faithfulness to the source, or a brand new direction.

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.

Sophist Radio Episode 58: I'm The Bouldernaut, Bitch!

After a bit of a hiatus, Harold, James, and Aaron return with a tale so grand and epic, that it may make you sprint down to your local comic shop and demand they order the next installment. Unfortunately, the only place you will be able to hear such a tale is here on Sophist Radio. Fear not avid listeners, video games are still the main offering. The guys cover plenty, including Mass Effect 3 and Bastion, with a trip through Journey thrown in for good measure. Come for the birth of a new superhero team, but stay for the game chatter.