Unoriginal Soundtracks #51: Costume Quest

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.

Cerebral Pop has you covered for both sweet and satanic songs this infernal season; Shuffled provides the trick, and Unoriginal Soundtracks brings a punk, soul, and rockabilly treat inspired by Costume Quest.

Shuffled #44: Spoooooky!

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.

Can you feel it? That chill in the air. The wind sweeping through the branches of trees. The stillness of evening nights broken by a sudden and startling sound! Damn right, it's Halloween! While I wanted to do something new for this episode, well to be honest I couldn't get all the pieces together. Instead, enjoy this small sampling of spooky songs that I hope will make for a very creepy evening.

Sophist Radio Episode 62: Horny Bums and Generous Bums and the Difference Between the Two

James, Aaron, and Harold do not get a ton of chances to speak about video games as of late, so please enjoy this offering. In this episode you can expect some great bum stories and probably too much talk about Half-Life’s lore. Games are the main focus of the show as always, and the crew spends time talking about some of our recent favorites like 30 Flights of Loving and Asura's Wrath.

Unoriginal Soundtracks #50: Plague, Inc.

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.

Video games are diseased! This one has pneumonia, nauseau, paranoia, and worse. But it does inspire a sick playlist of heavy metal, boogie piano, and novelty rap. Take aurally.

Shuffled #43: Jammin'

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.

Remember that song you played over and over again in the summer of 1998? Man, that was my Jam! The desire to share a certain song we keep listening to over and over again is so commonplace in our music culture today. Listener requested music radio built off of the idea, as did music television try accomplish the same idea not too long ago (though, honestly, it is all stuffed in the pant linings of  the bigger production companies).

Sharing your current Jam on the Internet has never been easier since the dawn of social media. This week on Shuffled, I look into one of the sites I use when listen to music online and from other people. Check out the site ThisIsMyJam.com to learn more about annoying friends and strangers with your music tastes. The whole track list this week is a bunch of random picks from some of the people I follow.

Game Review: To the Moon

The dying wish is a powerful tool in storytelling. Almost everyone has thought about something they would change about themselves before they die. What if you were given the power to control the memories of somebody on their deathbed in order to grant them this wish? And what if you disagreed with what they wished for?

In To the Moon you control Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts, two scientists who have been tasked with altering the memories of Johnny, a man who says he always wanted to go to the moon. Johnny doesn't know why he wants to go there, it's just something he feels he needs to do. In order to help Johnny fulfill his life-long dream, you jump into his mind and start working backwards through his memories in order to find the right point to insert the fabricated experience.

Unoriginal Soundtracks #49: Left 4 Dead 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. Searching for relevant terms on Spotify is a great way to discover new music and uncover hidden gems. Make requests to @USPodcast on Twitter.

Left 4 Dead 2 tightened the formula Left 4 Dead concocted: intense co-operative adventuring with much more character and atmosphere than one would expect from a multiplayer-only shooter. That character makes for an episode of Liverpudlian rock, St Louisan jazz, New York mariachi, and more.