RE-VGM

Do you remember when you last read a book? High school, because of summer reading? College, because of an English assignment? At work, because, well, the boss thought it was a good idea to build teamwork? This Friday, we’re celebrating National Read a Book Day, a time to consider reading one of your favorites books (at least a section of it) or a new one that caught your eye at the bookstore...

Here we are at the end of month, and that usually means it’s time for our monthly special episode of “On Stage Now”, and for the month of August we are featuring GlitchxCity. GlitchxCity has been creating covers and remixes since 2011. While most of her music is from the Pokemon series, she also has music from other popular video games. On a rare occasion does GlitchxCity have a...

The taped-up glasses, the plain buttoned-up shirt, a pair of pants held up by suspenders, and a smile with an overbite showing. All these combine to form the common image of a nerd. They’re socially awkward, speak through their nose and use large words, and may walk funny. Yet, they are devoted a subject matter or interest that some may perceive as obsessive. However, gone are the days when...

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear amusement park? The booths and the prizes big and small? The exhibits? The animal shows? Or perhaps it’s the sight and sound of a wooden or steel structure that dominates the landscape. It has a line of connected cars that race along a guided track that winds its way up, down, and sometimes loops around. It has various nicknames:...

Rack ’em and line ’em up! Make sure your cue stick is straight and the tip is smooth. Pick your shots and make them count, because if you miss the pocket or sink the cue ball, that’s a penalty. We’re celebrating, on August 9th, National Billiards and Pool Day, the table top sport played with a rack of colored balls and a cue stick. The term “billiards” first app...

Sometimes, when you’re in the mood to unwind and relax, you want to reach into the chest, wade through the mounds of ice, and grab one of your favorite beer can or bottle. After popping it open, you take a slow slip of your brew, enjoying its flavor and taste. You let out a sigh after taking the last gulp and settle into your chair. For this week’s episode, we’re celebrating Inte...

Welcome to the fourth and final special episode for The Masters of VGM event. The name Rika Muranaka instantly brings up one of the most popular and beloved video game franchises, Metal Gear. For almost 20 years, Muranaka has written and produced the music for Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear series, starting with Metal Gear Solid and on to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. With a background in ja...

Here we are, week 3 of Master of VGM, and our third episode focuses on Miki Higashino. Miki Higashino is a Japanese video game composer who is known for her work in the Suikoden series (Gensouisuikoden). She was born on January 1st in Osaka, Japan. At an early age, she learned to play piano and often listened with classic music with her father. She often sang church music while in middle and high...

Welcome to our second episode for Master of VGM! This week’s composer is Yoko Kanno, a composer, arranger, and music producer of anime, video games, TV dramas, and movies. Most anime fans will recognize her music from several anime ( Macross Plus , Cowboy Bebop , Turn a Gundam , Wolf’s Rain , Macross Frontier ) and movies ( Kamikaze Girls , Honey and Clover ). Video game fans may know...

It’s good to be back on the mic… Welcome back, everyone. I hope all of you listened to any episodes last month in relation to “Masters of VGM”, a community-wide event among all participating VGM podcasters talking about and highlighting composers of video game music. This year’s theme was female, lesbian, and gender-queer composers. While the event was over, I’v...

Yup, it’s time for our monthly episode of “On Stage Now”, featuring Vector U. Known as “your friendly neighborhood EDM VGM remixer”, he’s been turning the tables and adjusting the sliders for several years, remixing music from video games and anime. He’s collaborated with several cover/remix musicians, including Noteblock, Qumu, and P2. He’s also con...

Hello, racing fans! Today we’re celebrating NASCAR Day, on the third Friday of May. NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) is a sanctioning and operating company best known for the motorsports of stock cars, vehicles built specifically for racing, and this day aims to bring awareness of the sport to the general populace. It’s also a day used to help raise funds to the m...

Today, we are celebrating National Golf Day, in honor of that single-player sport that pits you against the forces of nature and physics, with the goal of hitting a small, dimpled ball into a hole that is several hundred yards away, with as few strokes as possible. Sounds easy? Not when you must face many hazards along the way. We’ll be hearing tracks from golf video games: a franchise serie...

On this day, May 3rd, we’re celebrating Sun Day (originally International Sun Day). Proposed by Denis Hayes and established by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 by a joint resolution, Sun Day celebrates that shining star in the middle of our known galaxy, the sun. Along it providing light and heat, the sun can be harnessed as a source of power with the use of solar panels. We’ll be listen...

Here we are, with a special episode of “On Stage Now”, and this month’s featured musician is Ruscel Torres. Ruscel has been learning and playing music since the age of seven, first learning the piano and then other instruments, including the saxophone. He creates jazz arrangements and covers from video game music and anime. While most of his works have been solo, Ruscel has also...

Sometimes you got to know when to go all in, and know when to fold your hand. On April 19, we’re celebrating National Poker Day, a holiday to celebrate that popular card game, whether it’s 5-card stud or Texas Hold’em, played at a friend’s house or within a casino. This holiday was created by a Texas radio personality named Rick McNeely, who goes by the name DJ Rick. Nothin...

Any person who’s called a company or office has been through this scenario: You’re calling to speak with someone in a department or make an appointment. You may go through several menu options or, if you’re lucky, you spoke with a person who received your call. Suddenly, after punching in the last option or finishing your sentence, you may hear the line click and then a voice say...

Who remembers unfolding a physical map and reading it on the hood of your car or held up over the dashboard? Bonus points if you were able to fold it back up to its original state. Most people who grew up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s may remember these road maps, either from a visitor’s center or gas station while on vacation or on a visit to a local AAA office. They may also remember being able...

It’s time for our monthly special episode of “On Stage Now”, where we feature a VGM musician and their works of covers, remixes, and arrangements of video game music. This month, we’re featuring String Player Gamer (nom de plume for Diwa de Leon), a musician known for his signature instrument, the electric violin. He was smitten by the music of “The Legend of Zelda: A...

Better late than never, I suppose… This week’s episode is a tribute to one of the world’s most famous manga artist and illustrator, Akira Toriyama. He is known for the creation of Dragon Ball, a series franchise that is currently in manga and anime, as well as video games. He also illustrated for several video games, such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Tobal No....

How lucky of you (or maybe unlucky) to see that this St. Patrick’s Day episode is running for the third time. I suppose you’re expecting to get some special anniversary swag, like Primogems, or better odds at getting that certain Super Secret Rare character; all I have to offer is an episode of tracks from more gacha video games, along with their covers and remixes: a trainer with a st...

Today is National Retro Video Game Day, celebrating a special time in the history of video games. Sure, we could debate about what constitutes ‘retro’, but I believe it’s more important to consider why March 8 is a special day: it is the birthday of Ralph H. Baer, considered by many in the industry as “the father of video games”. Thanks to his “Brown Box”,...

When was the last time you’ve been to a cafe or bar and ordered your favorite beverage? I bet that beverage was hand crafted by someone who may know you like it done: double blended, extra syrup, on the rocks, shaken not stirred, and served with your favorite garnish. If you’re a returned patron, you may have a favorite barista who knows your preferences and take some time chew the fat...

Welcome to the February edition of “On Stage Now”, featuring our first vocalist, Lollia. Lollia is an independent creator of various media. She is known for her covers of music from anime, video games, and popular musicians, along with some original music. She has collaborated with many other artists (such as OR3O) and creators (such as Sleeping Forest). Prepare yourself to hear covers...

It was on February 16, 1995, that SEGA published and released a Genesis game titled Ristar in North America, a single-player platformer about a star that travels the Valdi star system to free the leader of each planet from the mind control of Kaiser Greedy. He bears no weapons, no magic, or psychic abilities; only two long arms that reach out so he can headbutt his enemies, traverse the area, or f...