Unoriginal Soundtracks #99: Crossy Road

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.

The Frogger remix that was the flavor of late 2014 inspires this playlist of punk, blues, and heavy metal.

Neighborhood Brats call it quits after promising debut

If the punk rock ethos of living fast and dying young applies to any band, it'd definitely be the Neighborhood Brats who threw in the towel via a Facebook post late yesterday evening. Citing release delays, lineup changes, and health concerns, among other more basic musician stress factors, they decided to call it quits, not even dropping the frequently used "indefinite hiatus" term to offer any hope to fans.

The band hasn't talked much publicly about the release delays they mentioned or the causes behind them, but their album was available for streaming in late September last year, and released digitally in late October, but didn't receive a proper physical release until mid-December. The reason behind that extremely slow roll-out remains to be seen, though I'd suspect the label was behind it.

One less promising new punk band out there to reinvigorate the scene. It's a sad day indeed, though co-founders George Rager and Jenny Angelillo have stated they will likely be found in various new musical projects down the road. Give their debut a listen after the jump.

Unoriginal Soundtracks #98: Crusader Kings 2 expansions

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.

Crusader Kings 2, the simulation of medieval politics, has featured on Unoriginal Soundtracks before. Its multiple expansions since the game's launch almost amount to a whole new game, and the extra content merits this second musical look.