Oopsy. Did you die? Don’t worry. This week’s episode has just enough MP to bring you back from other side (thanks to Emily). Join us for the first VGM podcast to include a biology lesson as Emily and Josh discuss squamous cells, interstitial matrices, and the impressionistic fate of a piece of paint. Stick around to find out just how important certain vowel sounds can be. Last but not least, listen in as a new Keyglyph karaoke gives Josh sideways nostalgia for the place he already lives. All this (and the sound of heavy machinery) this week on the VGM Jukebox!
Click above to listen or subscribe. Click below for the usual direct download.
| This episode was made possible by: | ||
| Game | Track Title | Composer(s) |
| Terranigma | Light and Darkness | Miyoko Takaoka, Masanori Hikichi |
| Monty on the Run | Title Theme | Rob Hubbard |
| Teen Agent | IntroC2 (Main Theme) | Radek Szamrej (RST) |
| Obduction | Caroline Farley | Robyn Miller |
| Invader | Shop Theme | Joris de Man |
| Rambo | Stage 1 (We Fight for Friends) | Katsuhiro Hayashi |
...and listeners like YOU.
EXTRA CREDIT: Josh's Discogs Profile
Hello gang! You have mentioned in a couple episodes that you both use some kind of mobile (I think) app to play VGM soundtracks. What do you guys use? I'm in the market for something so I can ditch these bulky MP3s on my phone and ipod.
ReplyDeleteHi The Diad! The program I use for ios is called "nesmusic." Some notes about that program:
Delete1. Yes it is awesome
2. The free version only plays NES/Famicom tracks
3. There are extremely limited playback features. For example, if you are listening to Ganbare Golf Boys, you will only get one loop of each song, and then an abrupt change to the next track. So, while it's a great way to explore new soundtracks, you might want to load up some bulky MP3s for your favorite songs and playlists. Note: NES music loops and fades between tracks just fine, for some reason. Keyglyph might use something else, though.
For NESMusic, you're much better off finding the NSFE files instead of the NSF files. NSFEs have song title data and are timed, most of them will loop twice before fading to the next track. Here's a dropbox link with almost every North American game and a great percentage of the Japanese titles, timed and tagged. (Josh and Emily, this may come in very handy for the show!) These NSFEs were all created courtesy of my pal WiiGuy.
Deletehttps://www.dropbox.com/sh/hkfyq2ixxbytaud/AABJtSBUuJuBELmDjaBUZ08ma?dl=0
This is amazing! Can't wait to check it out when I get home from work
DeleteHey man, I checked out your podcast…
DeleteYou know how to pick tracks! It's like every single selection you make pours right into my B-spot. I like it a lot; keep it up!
Nathan if you're talking to me, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me :)
DeleteThe Diad,
DeleteYes, that was directed at you. I love your show so far. I can't wait for more. If you keep it up, I'm sure you're going to hear a lot of people say the same thing.
If you need a good mobile app that plays most vgm files and lets you switch up how much time the tracks loop for, check out ZXtune:
Deletehttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.zxtune
I love this app. It also has cloud libraries of songs that anyone with the app can access, in case you don't have an SD card loaded with VGM files.
Hey The Diad! Sorry for the late reply.
DeleteWhat I did years ago was install the firmware Rockbox on an old MP3 player (specifically a Sansa Clip+ with a 32 GB micro SD card in it).
Rockbox boots before your device's factory firmware and supports playback of tons of niche file types as well as offers enhanced playback control and other such abilities.
For example, since Rockbox interprets the ripped VGM files themselves (.gbs, .vgm, etcetera) instead of converting them to some other format, I can loop a VGM track indefinitely if I want to. And believe me... I often do. ;)
Not to mention that the ripped OST data files are so tiny in size that I have thousands upon thousands of full retro soundtracks on my SD card taking up just 10 GB of space.
You would go to https://www.rockbox.org/ and download the firmware for your device of choice, install it, and enjoy!
I remember that the initial setup was a slight pain, but the payoff has been a childhood dream come true: all the 8-bit and 16-bit soundtracks I can find on the internet packed onto one tiny portable player.
I loaded ZXtune, and I'm going to check out rockbix next. I have an android, so I can't use the nesmusic program, but I'm sure there are similar programs out there.
DeleteSuper remix group "The Relay Bros" just released, today of all days, a super-mega-remix of Monty on the Run, featuring a whopping 33 remixers! It's pretty awesome, check it out!
ReplyDeletehttps://soundcloud.com/relaybros/relay-bros-monty-on-the-run-main-theme
Hey Emily! Thanks for resurrecting us all! You get a sisyphist bump! This is actually funny; the evolution of VGBJB's intro stories mirrors the Pokémon origin, where the story starts off slight, but has grown over the years to its present level of gravitas, where you realize they are holding the universe in place.
ReplyDeleteEmily, thanks for the shat out! All I can say is, I'm glad streaming podcasts don't transmit smells.
OreGAWN Trail!? Emily, C'mon! It's pronounced O-re-gun. Josh, that Thom Yorke impression is hilarious! Top notch!
Hey guys, your banter on sideways nostalgia was great. That said, I will always prefer the Oregon coast. It's humbling. Walking on an Oregon beach on a clear night is the best way to realize one's insignificance in the universe. I've been to California beaches, and I've seen both the Pacific and the Atlantic from both sides, but I haven't seen anything like the Oregon coast. Incidentally, it seems to resemble descriptions I've heard of northern Japan.
Hey everyone. No collaboration here, Monty On The Run's music is just that amazing.
ReplyDeleteI'm in central Oklahoma. Never even heard a C64 until the Internet.
Actually, neither had I! Despite what I said about computers being more popular here, as a 90s kid I was a console boy all the way. I just really love that song.
DeleteWell, since no one has chimed in on Josh's comment about Mormons and Terranigma, I guess I'll do my best. Yes, I am a Mormon (which is a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also shortened as LDS Church). And no, I haven't played Terranigma. But going off the plot summary from Wikipedia, I've concluded that it has little to do with specific teachings of the LDS Church. The whole battle between good and evil and resurrection plot elements seem to have a slight similarity to Christianity as a whole, but I couldn't pick out anything specific. Also, a brief google search didn't reveal any talk on the possible connections.
ReplyDeleteSo my question is this: Josh, where did you make the connection between Terranigma and Mormons?
http://www.mormondna.org/mormon-beliefs/mormons-planet-die.html
DeleteHi Big Papi. The connection I was making was between the game's repopulation concept and something that I heard about the Mormon afterlife. I'm glad you called me out on this because by finding that page that explained the concept I was talking about, it showed that that belief is regarded, apparently, as a possible interpretation, rather than as something that appears literally in the text. At least, that's what I gathered.
DeleteI was raised LDS early in my life in Utah, though my family and I split from the church when I was about 8 or 9. Terranigma doesn't seem like particularly Mormon game to me either. A better choice would be to watch the original Battlestar Galactica from 1978. It's sort of like Mormon's in space, since series creator Glen Larson was a Mormon. I used to love that show as a kid. It seems a bit silly by modern sci-fi standards though.
DeleteJosh, my understanding of the LDS view of the afterlife, though I'm sure Big Papi knows more about it than me, is that there are three kingdoms of glory that you might enter when you die. The telestial, terrestrial, and celestial. If you make it into the top tier celestial kingdom, then you basically become a God yourself and reign over your own universe. Mormons believe our present God lives on the planet Kolob. Most Mormons seem to talk more about reunititing with their dead family members in the afterlife though, rather than all this cosmological stuff.
There is also "Outer Darkness" which is kind of like hell. I think that's where they believe I'm going when I die, since I left the church. I've been told this makes me one of the "sons of perdition" who rejects the church and is banished with Satan. I prefer to think of myself as an agnostic Buddhist though.
To back up the patron Emily, Terranigma is a fantastic game. I put it up there with Chrono Trigger and Link to the Past in the pantheon of great SNES adventure/role-playing games. Definitely find a way to play it if you can! If SquareEnix ever makes it available on Steam or Virtual Console, I would buy it day one.
ReplyDelete