Look for any podcast host, guest or anyone
Showing episodes and shows of

Drew Mackie & TableCakes Productions

Shows

Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastCruise Into SunsetSome of you bemoaned the loss of the Singing Mountain Patreon because it also meant the loss of the ”all music, no talk” versions of episodes that I sometimes posted there. Never fear: the files have been recovered, and I will be posting them on the main feed. First up, the ”all music, no talk” version of episode 105, “The End... as a Beginning.” Track listing: 0:00 Donkey Kong Rescued (Credits Roll) / Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong-Quest (Super NES) / David Wise 2:57 Credit Roll / Space Harrier II (Genesis) / Tokuhiko Uwabo and Matt Furniss 7:12 En...2021-09-201h 04Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastAttack of the Cutie PieThe episode I intended to put out this week isn’t done yet, but I decided to toss you guys an episode that was previously a Patreon-exclusive. Last year, around the time Singing Mountain hit one hundred episodes, I did a bonus that was just all the VGM tracks I’d encountered just through doing research for this podcast. You know, as opposed to hearing them while actually playing video games, like normal people.  Also, if you’re seeing this episode, that means Singing Mountain has successfully transferred over from SoundCloud, which sucks, to Libsyn, which does not. Ya...2020-11-161h 10Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastMy 16-Bit Horror MovieThis year, I tried to pick tracks that sound like they could be from a horror movie — and not just any horror movie, but a solid B horror flick, watched on VHS, with a synthy score that’s way better that it should be given the quality of the movie. There is also an "all music, no talk" version of this episode up on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/43338773 BTW, if you dig this, then check out VGM101’s 16-bit horror episode from this week: https://prolefeed101.com/vgm-101-episode-43-16-bit-horror/ And its Splatterhouse episode from the week before...2020-10-291h 02Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastGame Over / The Return of PeachIt’s a Halloween miracle! As Singing Mountain preps to transfer over to a new hosting site, some of the Patreon-only bonuses from back in the pre-16 bit days are getting folded into the main feed mix. Since this was in the process anyway, I decided that listeners might enjoy this all-music, no-talk Halloween episode. It’s all creepy Nintendo music! Track listing: 0:10: Joke’s End / Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions / Yoko Shimomura 2:01: Haunted Enigmansion / Paper Mario: Sticker Star / Masanobu Matsunaga, Saki Kurata, Shoh Murakami, Yoshito Sakigawa, Yasuhisa Baba, Hiroki Morishita, Masanori Adachi, Kiyoshi Hazemoto, Tomoko Sano, Kosei Muraki...2020-10-221h 08Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastDevil CityThe sun has gone down and the moon has come up, and it’s not a good time to be in the city. This is part three of a three-part series that began with a drive into the city and led to a fight through the city. Now you’re in a neon metropolis at night and you’re on your way to the big boss fight. Drive Into the City: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/16bit-driving-music Gritty City Sounds: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/gritty-city-sounds Also have a listen to the spotlight on Masahi Kagayama’s soundtrack to the later NES game Gim...2020-10-201h 06Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastGritty City SoundsBack in the 16-bit era, urban streets were littered with no-good punks who would attack in wave after wave, leaving a group of musclebound heroes no choice but to keep on punching — and hope there is a whole roast chicken hidden in a garbage can somewhere. This episode is a celebration of those gritty city environments, the music heard in them and the music from other genres of game that nonetheless get at this same vibe. And if you want to check out my other podcast — my new music podcast, which is why this one was off last week, do so h...2020-10-131h 02Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastDrive Into the CityIn the grand tradition of Singing Mountain episodes that make driving music of VGM that’s not from driving games, here’s a new one: the soundtrack for a drive into the city that starts out laidback but gets a little tense as you get toward the big city. This is actually a part one to a part two that you’ll get next that’s all gritty city music — basically what you here when you finally arrive at those scary skyscrapers on the horizon. Listen to my previous driving music episodes: Sunset Drive https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/sunset-drive-vgm Afternoon Drive http...2020-09-2847 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe End… as a BeginningSinging Mountain is back. I said it would be back and I meant it. And to contrast this new run of the show from what I left you all on months ago, I decided to put out something a little more hopeful. Do you know that particular kind of video game ending where you see your character cruising toward the horizon, bad guys vanquished in their wake, and there’s maybe a sunset or something, and the music sounds like the end of an 80s movie? Yeah, this episode is all about that. Track listing: 0:09: Sunset of Puyo Puyo / Puyo Pu...2020-09-151h 01Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Sealed CityA disclaimer: This episode won’t be for everyone. It’s been an odd few weeks, and for some reason I’ve been finding comfort in sad stuff rather than just trying to flood my brain with relentlessly happy things. As a result of this special mix of factors, the episode you’re getting from me is all about sad music — specifically sad music from 16-bit RPGs. While Singing Mountain is not yet back, when it returns it will be with a slightly different format that in this episode. I hope this is something we can both look forward to. Special th...2020-04-141h 40Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastAll I Want for Christmas Is a Frost DragonWelcome to this year’s installment of my “Christmas Eve in an ice cavern” series. Do you think winter music could do with fewer jingle bells and more cool, clear chimes that call to mind a lonely, cold night? Then you’re in luck! Also listen to the other ice and snow VGM episodes! Diamond Dust: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/diamond-dust-ice-music Another Winter: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/53-another-winter Slip Off a Ledge and Die in a Hole: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/55-ice-stage-vgm-3 A Harvest Moon Winter: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/54-harvest-moon-winter-music Track listing: 0:07: The Wind Can Be Still (Winter) / Stardew Valley...2019-12-251h 17Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastA Relatively Brief Special AnnouncementThis is just a quick post to inform you that Singing Mounatin is going on hiatus for the rest of November — and beyond that too, despite some episodes in December. But no worries — I’ll be back. And if you miss my stupid voice in the meantime, listen to my other podcast, Gayest Episode Ever: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/gayest-episode-ever/id1357463744 Website: https://www.gayestepisodeever.com/ Track listing: 0:13: Title Theme / Shin Onigashima / Koji Kondo 3:54: First Chapter: Road Through the Mountain / Shin Onigashima / Koji Kondo 5:49: Staff Roll / Shin Onigashima / Koji Kondo 8:13: Title Theme / Yuyuki / Soyo Oka Drew on Twitter: https...2019-11-1109 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Dark Side of NintendoNintendo may have a reputation as being family-friendly, but even its sunniest franchises have their dark moments. The second Halloween episode of 2019 looks at some of Nintendo’s more sinister musical moments. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s Halloween episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/minusworld/2018/10/18/halloween BTW, Singing Mountain now has a Patreon, and patrons can access to an hourlong bonus episode featuring even more spooky Nintendo music: https://www.patreon.com/singingmountain Ashley Halloween BGM for Nintendo 3DS posted by Supper Mario Broth: https://www.suppermariobroth.com/post/188372895610/background-music-for-the-ashleys-halloween The VGM Podcast Fans group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com...2019-10-281h 11Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM Podcast16 Bits From Beyond the GraveBecause horror always begets sequels, I’m giving your a follow-up to last year’s creepy 16-bit music episode. It’s all Hallloween-appropriate VGM from the Super Nintendo, Super Famicom, Sega Genesis and Mega Drive. Boo. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s Halloween episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/minusworld/2018/10/18/halloween BTW, Singing Mountain now has a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/singingmountain Track listing: 0:09: Omen / Final Fantasy VI / Nobuo Uematsu 0:55: Maridia Rocky Underwater Area / Super Metroid / Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano 2:52: October Fields / Pocky & Rocky 2 / Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, Kinuyo Yamashita, Haruo Ohashi and Asuka Yamao 4:44: Strains of Insanity / Chrono Trigger / Yasunori Mitsuda...2019-10-181h 18Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe 100th EpisodeAgainst all odds, this podcast persisted and endured, and now we’re at the one-hundredth episode. The best idea I had to celebrate this milestone was sharing all the lesser-known VGM tracks I came to love since I began Singing Mountain — the VGM gems that I would have never unearthed if I hadn’t been doing research for this show. Enjoy. Please! Partake in the brand new Singing Mountain Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/singingmountain Track listing: 0:13: Baby Bird / Bravely Default / Revo 3:00: Hole Overview / Pebble Beach Golf Links / Shigekazu Kamaki 5:12: Ending Theme / Panorama Cotton / Kenichi Hirata 7:20: Essential Vitamins (Blue Blue Moon...2019-10-081h 27Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastWhiskered Eggplants (Songs I Haven’t Played Yet)We’re ninety-nine episodes in, and I’m taking the moment to share some tracks I haven’t yet featured on the show. Some got nixed from the final cuts of previous episodes, and others haven’t even gotten that far. Either way, I thought you might enjoy an eclectic mix of VGM you maybe haven’t yet heard or haven’t yet heard enough. Take a survey and tell me about your hopes and dreams: https://singingmountainpod.com/survey Do you regularly eat food? You may enjoy Singing Mountain’s sister podcast, Smart Mouth: http://www.smartmouthpodcast.com/ There is even an epi...2019-10-041h 16Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThrough Creamed Spinach-Colored GlassesLifelong gamers might like to reminisce about video game consoles past, but just by the numbers, system that got the most play back in the ’90s was the Game Boy. It outsold every console in its day, which means that a lot of players would have played famous video game franchises on the Game Boy before they played it on a standard system. This episode is all about those versions of famous series, and how the composers tasked with translating iconic VGM themes often worked wonders with the Game Boy’s more limited sound technology. Track listing: 0:31: Overworld / Legend of Zeld...2019-09-251h 10Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM Podcast16-Bit RuinsIf I made the things you know to suddenly seem different, would that be good? Think about that while you listen to this episode of celebrated 16 bit-era VGM made to sound weird, dark and maybe a little drunk. I promise this will not become a habit. Track listing: 0:10: Revenge of the Kraken / Singing Mountain 4:58: I Want You / Gary Low 6:12: Feel It All Around / Washed Out 7:03: Casual Friday at Booster Tower / Singing Mountain 9:15: Disco Train / Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest / David Wise 10:00: Disco Death Train / Singing Mountain 15:51: Village / Shining Wisdom / Motoaki Takanuchi 16:46: Medicated Village / Singing Mountain 20:42: Schala / Chrono Trigger / Ya...2019-09-181h 14Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastBravely Default 1.0Released in 2009 for the Nintendo DS, Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is the game that ultimately ended up leading to Bravely Default in 2012. And while Bravely Default improved upon the core mechanics in almost every way, there’s a certain charm to 4 Heroes of Light — and that includes a soundtrack by Naoshi Mizuta. The music mixes the best of what the Nintendo DS could do at the time along with a nifty, chipune-y throwback style. And that makes all the sense in the world, because this game is in many ways a throwback to the early days of the Squa...2019-09-0659 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSunset DriveWhat does a sunset sound like? This episode may well fail to answer that question, but what you might get anyway is the third installment in the (so far) trilogy of Singing Mountain episodes about driving music but drawn entirely from non-racing, non-driving games. This one follows the narrative from bustling freeways to that perfect moment of sunset to early evening in the city. Track listing: 0:10: Silent Gravity / Bloody Roar (Arcade) / Atsuhiro Motoyama and Kenichi Koyano 2:08: Sunset Bridge / Persona 5 / Shoji Meguro 5:05: Grope After the Truth / Tobal 2 / Takayuki Nakamura 8:35: Wormland / Super Turrican II / Chris Huelsbeck 11:18: Seeking the Holy Sword / Sword of...2019-08-291h 04Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastChoo Choo! (Yeah, It’s a Train Music Episode)Hey, who likes trains? Because I do, and this episode is all about how different VGM composers interpret the sound of the train into actual music. Track listing: 0:25: Charge Man Theme / Mega Man 5 / Mari Yamaguchi 2:05: Train Ride / Animal Crossing (Gamecube) / Kazumi Totaka, Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi and Shinobu Tanaka 3:34: Excess Express at Night / Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door / Yoshito Hirano, Yuka Tsujiyoko and Saki Haruyama 4:45: Railroad Wrath / Cuphead / Kristofer Maddigan 9:36: The Long Train (Act II, Part I) / Nina Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos / Ryuichi Nitta and Mayuko Okamura 12:51: Living on the Deck / Metal Slug X / Takushi Hiyamuta and...2019-08-2257 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastMy Village Is Number One: RPG Town ThemesThis is not a definitive list of the best-ever RPG town themes. This is the first in what will be a regular feature on Singing Mountain in which I look at various town themes and talk about what I think the composers were trying to tell us about the fictional cities these songs are attached to. It’ll be good, I swear. Track listing: 0:09: Village / Shining Wisdom / Motoaki Takenouchi 3:04: Village / Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals / Yasunori Shiono 6:20: Hometown / Terranigma / Miyoko Takaoka and Masanori Hikichi 10:16: Village of Luc / Grandia / Noriyuke Iwadare 15:39: Another Arni / Chrono Chross / Yasunori Mitsuda 19:44: The Village of In...2019-08-141h 14Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastFour Flavors of ForestDo video game composers speak a language that video game players understand? I’d like to think so, and maybe there’s some small proof in the way they score forest scenes. In this episodes, I talk about four different styles of forest VGM that might be particular to this genre of music but also happen to be pretty sweet to listen to. Track listing: 0:13: Lost Forest / Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box / Tomohito Nishiura 2:59: Boggly Woods / Thousand Year Door / Yoshito Hirano and Yuka Tsujiyoko 5:01: Great Forest of Moore / Final Fantasy V / Nobuo Uematsu 6:51: Wood Man / Mega Man II / Takashi Tate...2019-08-081h 28Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSave Point: Sixteen BitsAn hour of relaxing video game music — a pixelated hideout from the world. For this go-around, all tracks are taken from the Super NES and Sega Genesis. The original Save Point episode: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/40-save-point More of the episodes where I shut up and just play music: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-chill-vgm Track listing: 0:19: Beginning / Monster World III: Wonder Boy in Monster World / Shinichi Sakamoto 2:24: Water Goddess / Shining Force II / Motoaki Takenouchi 4:03: Seven Wise People / Pocky & Rocky 2 / Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, Kinuyo Yamashita, Haruo Ohashi and Asuka Yamao 5:40: The Legend / Arcana / Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando 8:04: Overworld / Equinox / Tim Follin an...2019-07-311h 05Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastDavid Lynch in Nintendo LandIn a departure from the typical Singing Mountain episode, this one isn’t focused on video game music. There still is VGM, it’s just that the episode is more of a deep dive into a very niche subject: the popularity of Twin Peaks in Japan and its subsequent impact on two major Nintendo franchises. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of David Lynch. I will explain it all out for you. See links to all articles mentioned here: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/twin-peaks-nintendo Track listing: 0:12: Falling (Twin Peaks Theme) / Composed by Angelo Badalamenti, performed by SomethingHolden 3:10: Falling (Twin Pea...2019-07-2433 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastLet’s Get Creative, Mario Maker-StyleEvery version of the stage themes in Super Mario Maker 2 has both a regular, in-stage version and then a sort of remix you here when you’re in edit mode, building the stage. They’re cool, and they make for good thinky music. This episode is all them. Get to work! Listen to the other episode about Super Mario Maker 2: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/super-mario-maker-2-retro-vgm Track listing: 0:18: Sky (Super Mario Bros.) [EDIT] / Super Mario Maker 2 / Atsuko Asahi, Toru Minegishi and Sayako Doi 3:03: Forest (Super Mario 3D World) [EDIT] / Super Mario Maker 2 / Atsuko Asahi, Toru Minegishi and Sayako Doi 5:37: Desert (Supe...2019-07-1943 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Retro Sounds of Super Mario Maker 2One of the not-so-obvious functions of the Mario Maker games is as history archive for the Super Mario series. The newly released Super Mario Maker 2 boasts a whole lot of music, much of which looks to the past for inspiration. This episode looks how the composers used music to bring Mario’s history into the present. Track listing: 0:10: Underwater (Super Mario 3D World) / Atsuko Asahi, Toru Minegishi and Sayako Doi 1:52: Course World (Version Two) / Atsuko Asahi, Toru Minegishi and Sayako Doi 2:06: Special World / Super Mario World / Koji Kondo 2:29: Endless Challenge (Easy) / Atsuko Asahi, Toru Minegishi and Sayako Doi 2:43: Endless Challenge (Ha...2019-07-1836 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastWhat Does America Sound Like?Video games allow American gamers to see depictions of America that don’t always line up with how they might see themselves. But how do VGM composers shorthand the U.S.A.? I listened to some of the more notable examples of themes for American characters in games around the Street Fighter II era to see what version of America they’re trying to communicate to us. Track listing: 0:09: Charlie’s Theme / Street Fighter Alpha 2 / Setsuo Yamamoto, Syun Nishigaki and Tatsuro Suzuki 2:04: Jazzy NYC ’99 / Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike / Hideki Okugawa 5:01: Plight (Guile’s Theme) / Street Fighter Alpha 3 / Takayuki Iwai, Yuki Iwai, Isao...2019-07-1244 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastGimmick! in 30 MinutesReleased late in Nintendo’s 8-bit run — and even then, only in Japan and Scandinavia — the Sunsoft platforming game known either as Gimmick! or Mr. Gimmick has one of the best soundtracks of that era. In fact you might be surprised just how beautiful Masashi Kageyama could make the system sound, even when most eyes (and ears) were focused on the brand new Super Famicom. Track listing: 0:07: Good Morning / Gimmick! / Masahi Kageyama 2:23: No Limits / Gimmick! / Masahi Kageyama 4:47: Happy Birthday / Gimmick! / Masahi Kageyama 6:41: Good Weather / Gimmick! / Masahi Kageyama 8:38: Slow Illusion / Gimmick! / Masahi Kageyama 10:30: Paradox / Gimmick! / Masahi Kageyama 11:06: Paradigm / Gimmick! / Masahi Kageyama 12:24: Lion H...2019-07-0431 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSummer Vacation for People Who Play Video Games All SummerIt’s the sound of summer.... specifically for people who’d rather not put on sunscreen or deal with beach traffic. Everything in this episode reads as summery to me, and I will try my best to justify my picks. Listen to last year’s summer episode: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/28-summer-vgm-mix Track listing: 0:09: Flashback / Akumajou Densetsu / Hidenori Maezawa, Jun Funahashi and Yukie Morimoto 1:35: Noki Bay / Super Mario Sunshine / Shinobu Tanaka 3:20: The Dim Light of Dusk / Star Ocean: The Second Story / Motoi Sakuraba 5:29: Summer / Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals / Yasunori Shiono 7:33: The City Liked by the Wind / Breath of Fire I...2019-06-261h 02Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastMonster World IV in 30 MinutesSo there is the Wonder Boy series, the Adventure Island series and finally the Monster World series, which are all related but separate. But in 1994, Sega released Monster Hunter IV for the Mega Drive, and while it didn’t make it out of Japan for a very long time, it did sport a catchy soundtrack that you wouldn’t expect from an action platformer. Happy Friday! The Retronauts episode explaining Wonder Boy, Adventure Island and Monster World: https://retronauts.com/article/188/retronauts-episode-72-wonder-boy-vs-adventure-island Track listing: 0:09: Heart of Icegrave / Monster World IV / Jin Watanabe 3:05: Lamp de Godjarre / Monster World IV / Jin Wata...2019-06-2132 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastMario Artist in 30 MinutesDid you know that Japan got a spiritual sequel to Mario Paint in 1999? An entire suite of programs released under the name Mario Artist, it was released for the 64DD peripheral, which never made it to the U.S., and it features a lot of the calm, creativity-inspiring music heard in Mario Paint. This episode is all about that. Whee. Listen to the Super Mario B-sides episode that inspired this one: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/minus-world-super-mario-b-sides Track listing: 0:13: Title Theme / Mario Artist: Paint Studio / Kazumi Totaka, Chris Jojo, Martin Goodall and Suddi Raval 1:31: Space Base / Mario Artist: Talent Studio / Kazumi...2019-06-1739 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastYour Favorite ’80s Action MovieBecause console video games hit mainstream around the same time that America was watching a lot of B-grade action movies, there’s a more-than-occasional similarity between the way ’80s video games sound and the way those movies sound. It’s a good thing, and this episode is all about VGM that sounds like those movies. Track listing: 0:16: Title Theme / Final Fight (Amiga) / Jolyon Meyers (a.k.a. The Judge) 6:12: Pints and Punks / Final Fight 3 / Katsunari Kitajima 8:16: Fight to Survive / Stan Bush 9:58 Dare / Stan Bush 11:26: She’s Got the Power / Stan Bush 12:32: Robot Factory / Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies / Noriyuki...2019-06-131h 18Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastRic Ocasek in Moonside (Reprise)It’s not a rerun; it’s a special edition. This is redo of the fourth episode I ever did on this podcast. I thought that original was good. but being relatively ignorant about podcast-making back in the day, there are a few things, content-wise and production-wise, that I always wanted to change about the original version. Now I’ve done it: For your enjoyment and entertainment, a better-sounding and deeper-diving episode about the use of pop music in EarthBound, all tied together with a personal story about the persistence of memory. Weird! All installments of the VGM+PO...2019-06-0634 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastMy Boiling Blood Bubbles for BattleSamurai Shodown has a lot to offer… just not that one missing W. SNK’s fighter had samurai and non-samurai alike swinging weapons in one-on-one combat, and though it once appeared to be a moribund franchise, it’s actually being revived later this year with a brand-new entry later this year. This means more fighting game action but also more amazing music that draws on traditional Japanese compositions. This episode offers an overview of music from the series’ six main installments. Track listing: 0:16: Song of Men (Sun) / Samurai Shodown / Yasuo Yamate 3:11: Fifteen Warriors / Samurai Shodown II / SNK Sound Team 3:53: The Old Temp...2019-05-301h 14Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastLagoon in 30 MinutesAn early Super NES title, Lagoon is a Zelda-ish adventure that is today most remembered for its soundtrack. But here’s the thing: That music was initially composed for the game’s first incarnation on the Sharp X68000, which is both maybe the best version of its music and also a version you probably haven’t heard before. Happy discotastic Friday. Track listing: 0:13: Moonchild / Lagoon / Zoom Sound Team 2:34: Keep the Faith / Lagoon / Zoom Sound Team 3:22: Voice of the Spirits / Lagoon / Zoom Sound Team 4:31: Premonition / Lagoon / Zoom Sound Team 8:07: Castle Mark Philips / Lagoon / Zoom Sound Team 10:00: Senegul / Lagoon / Zoom Sound Team 11:22: Voloh...2019-05-2436 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastWinners Don’t Use DrugsBack before mainstream pop started sampling video game music willy-nilly, The Pixies went a step further and wholesale covered a VGM composition: the theme from NARC, a 1988 arcade game. This says as much about The Pixies as it does Brian Schmidt’s great soundtrack for this game, and in the scope of Singing Mountain’s series looking into the intersection of VGM and mainstream pop music, it’s an outlier in that the latter isn’t screwing over the former. This episode’s show notes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/winners-dont-use-drugs-podcast Listen to all VGM+POP episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-v...2019-05-2022 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastA Different Kind of DesertNot every desert sounds the same. The sitar and tabla are Indian instruments that, in video game music, are almost always used to signify the desert. Not every composer buys into this trend, however, and this episode focuses on desert themes that suggest a different kind of adventure. Track listing: 0:14: Tostarena Ruins / Super Mario Odyssey / Naoto Kubo 3:42: Lethal Lava Land / Super Mario 64 / Koji Kondo 4:07: Through the Desert / Castle Crashers / Matthew Harwood 4:31: Drums of Dalia / Golden Sun: The Lost Age / Motoi Sakuraba 4:53: Kingdom of Nasrad / Skies of Arcadia / Yutaka Minobe and Tatsuyuki Maeda 5:15: Gritzy Desert / Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time / Yoko...2019-05-161h 19Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastArc the Lad Battle Music in 30 MinutesA big hit in Japan during the PlayStation’s early days, the Arc the Lad series hasn’t endured quite as well as other JPRGs. However, the soundtrack to the first three games — masterminded by Masahiro Andoh — has a style all its own. In fact, these games’ battle themes sound nothing like most other battle themes you’ll here in any era RPG. Yep, that’s what this episode is about: 30 minutes of battle music that doesn’t sound anything like battle music. Track listing: 0:11: Arc / Arc the Lad / Masahiro Andoh 0:52: Save and Loud / Arc the Lad / Masahiro Andoh 2:54: Seirya / Arc the Lad / Ma...2019-05-1039 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSleepy Time With SquaresoftThis is the sound of low-key, 16-bit JRPG, before Enix got all involved. This is for when it’s time to check into the village inn. Track listing: 0:12: Epitaph / Final Fantasy VI / Nobuo Uematsu 2:28: Select a Live / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 4:52: Melody of Lute / Final Fantasy IV / Nobuo Uematsu 5:40: Underwater City / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 8:19: Innocent Water / Seiken Densetsu 3 / Hiroki Kikuta 11:54: Summer Day / Radical Dreamers / Yasunori Mitsuda 14:45: Katrina’s Theme / Romancing Saga III / Kenji Ito 16:26: Ebon Keep Castle / Secret of Evermore / Jeremy Soule 19:12: Green Continent Campbell / Noriko Matsueda 21:58: Surrounded by Forest / Treasure Hunter G / Hitoshi Sakimoto 25:27: Beautiful Fore...2019-05-021h 13Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastMidnight Mass at Our Lady of PixelsWho likes pipe organs? This episode offers up some of the best pipe organ (or pipe organ-like) music in the history of video games. In almost every instance, this instrument is used to signify the sacred, the profane or some horrible combination of the two. Is it a cliche? Sure. But it’s one this podcaster can be okay with. Listen to the saxophone-specific episode of Singing Mountain: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/best-saxophones-video-games Track listing: 0:15: Ultimecia’s Castle / Final Fantasy VIII / Nobuo Uematsu 2:34: Manoria Cathedral / Chrono Trigger / Yasunori Mitsuda 3:42: Door of Journey / Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals / Yasunori Shiono 4:56: Titl...2019-04-241h 13Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Groove Is in Space: Lady Miss Kier vs. UlalaWhat could the 1990 dance hit “Groove Is in the Heart” possibly have to do with video games? It’s kind of a weird story, involving the Sega series Space Channel 5 and — in the context of this episode — diversions into Herbie Hancock and the Edgar Winter Group. The fifth installment of my series on VGM and mainstream pop looks at how Sega imposed a major game over on the cult pulp icon Lady Miss Kier. Listen to all VGM+POP episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-vgm-pop-music-singing-mountain An excellent, comprehensive article about the Miss Kier-Space Channel 5 lawsuit: http://www.sega-16.com/2018/04/sega-firsts-ulala-goes-to-court/ Track list...2019-04-1824 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Minus World (More Mario B-Sides)There’s the Mario music that gets remade time and time again with each new game, but there’s also a great deal of other tracks that don’t. They're good too, however, and a lot more eclectic than you might expect from ol' Super Mario and friends. This episode — a sequel to Episode 23, linked below — is all that weird stuff from Mario games and their various spinoffs. The Marioverse is wild and strange. Enjoy. Listen to the first Mario B-Sides episode: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/super-mario-b-sides Track listing: 0:09: Gurgle Gulch / Wario Land: Shake It! / Tomoya Tomita and Minako Hamano 2:53: BGM 2 / Ma...2019-04-111h 14Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Magic Effervescence of Athena AsamiyaHow many versions of Athena Asamiya’s theme can you listen to before you give up? Is Athena the businest high school student this side of Laura Palmer? Is this whole episode an April Fool’s joke? You better run if you are bad! Track listing: 0:17: Psycho Soldier Team Theme (China) / Papaya (a.k.a. Masahiko Hataya) 3:11: Title Theme (Japanese) / Psycho Soldier / Composed by Eikichi Kawasaki, vocals by Kaori Shimizu 4:58: Title Theme (English) / Psycho Soldier / Composed by Eikichi Kawasaki, vocals by Kaori Shimizu 6:07: Area 1 (Japan) / Psycho Soldier / SNK Sound Team 7:22: World of Sea / Athena (NES) / SNK Sound Team 8:57: Psycho Soldier (Cass...2019-04-0134 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastAfternoon DriveYou’re driving, but it doesn’t have to be a race. Track listing: 0:11: Grand Bridge / Yoshi’s Safari / Yoshiki Nishimura, Miyuki Uemura and Yasushi Tokunaga 1:29: Grass Land / Yoshi’s Safari / Yoshiki Nishimura, Miyuki Uemura and Yasushi Tokunaga 2:31: Pipe Island / Yoshi’s Safari / Yoshiki Nishimura, Miyuki Uemura and Yasushi Tokunaga 3:10: Crescent Island / Yoshi’s Safari / Yoshiki Nishimura, Miyuki Uemura and Yasushi Tokunaga 4:33: Amazon / Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix / Isao Abe, Yuki Iwai and Setsuo Yamamoto 7:29: Marina Madness / Knuckles’ Chaotix / Junko Shiratsu and Mariko Nanba 10:16: Column Dive / Columns III / Morihiko Akiyama 12:18: Sea / U.N. Squadron / Manami Matsumae 14:50: Title Theme / Double Dragon II: The Reveng...2019-03-281h 10Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastLink and Mario Go to CoachellaIndie rock was one of the biggest genres of the early 2000s. This episode looks at some of the more notable instances of video game music influencing the indie sound, with stories of Super Mario, Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy infiltrating the work of artists such as Owen Pallett, Boom Bip, Fleet Foxes and The Mountain Goats. All this plus a stern warning against going to Coachella if you haven’t been already. Listen to all the installments of Singing Mountain’s VGM+POP series: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-vgm-pop-music-singing-mountain Track listing: 0:09: Wario’s Castle / Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden...2019-03-2244 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastValis III in 30 MinutesThe Valis series stars long-legged, sword-swinging anime girls, and the third installment has more than one to choose from. This entry in the series also boasts a kickass soundtrack by Jun Hasebe, Hisao Inoue and Shingo Murakami. It toes the line between 1980s cheese and anime badassness, and here’s hoping it’s what you need to make your Friday better. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Track listing: 0:09: Prologue / Valis III (Genesis) / Jun Hasebe, Hisao Inoue and Shingo Murakami 3:26: Ningenkai / Valis III (Genesis) / Jun Hasebe, Hisao Inoue and Shingo Muraka...2019-03-1533 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastHard Rock Minus GuitarsBack in the day, video games could rock without featuring anything close to a real guitar. It’s actually a testament to those composers’ ingenuity that they could conjure something from those sound processors that sounded unmistakably like an electric guitar. This episode is an eclectic mix of some of those remarkably hard-rocking soundtracks. (Long live Barbara the Bat!) Track listing: 0:17: Launch Octopus / Mega Man X / Setsuo Yamamoto 3:02: Overdrive Ostrich / Mega Man X2 / Yuki Iwai 4:56: Volt Catfish / Mega Man X3 / Kinuyo Yamashita 6:26: Operation Thunder Zone / Thunder Zone (Desert Assault) / Hiroaki Yoshida (a.k.a. Maro) and Akira Takemoto (a.k.a. R...2019-03-131h 13Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastKirby's Dream Land 3 in 30 MinutesThe music of the Kirby games is cheerful but not relentlessly so. In fact, Kirby’s swan song on the Super NES, Kirby’s Dream Land 3, has some slightly more down-tempo tracks. This quickie episode is just those: not a comprehensive look at this game, but a more moody take on Kirby, some of Jun Ishikawa’s best work and some of the best music we ever got from Nintendo’s 16-bit era. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Pixel Beat’s episode about the first Kirby’s Dreamland: pixelbeatpod.com/blog/files...2019-03-0638 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastElec Man’s JourneyThe third installment of Singing Mountain’s look at how VGM interacts with mainstream music focuses on the Elec Man theme from the first Mega Man game. It sounds a lot like a track by Journey, but also like likes from REM, Cheap Trick, Bon Jovi, Human League and more. What’s going on here? I talk to some songwriters about why this one melody might seem to be a 1980s mainstay. Listen to all the installments of Singing Mountain’s VGM+POP series: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-vgm-pop-music-singing-mountain This episode's page, with notes, sources and that weird Journey album art th...2019-02-2731 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastPower Litany (With Special Guest Star My Roommate!!!)Can you guess how a piece of VGM was supposed to be used in a game you’ve never played? This week, I’m giving you an experiment, and you will decide if it becomes a regular feature on Singing Mountain. I play a little un-winnable, un-loseable game show with my roommate, Glen, in which I play music from video games he doesn’t know and he uses his base knowledge of VGM to guess what kind of scene, setting or genre the composition was supposed to evoke. Play along! And tell me if you’re into this. Glen on Twitter...2019-02-2153 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSquare Over ThereThe 16-bit era of Squaresoft RPGs helped teach a generation of gamers what this style of game could be. But as celebrated as titles like Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger were, their fans outside Japan missed out on a slew of others. This episode is a musical sampler of the titles that came out for the Super Famicom but not the Super NES: Romancing SaGa, Bahamut Lagoon, Front Mission, Treasure of the Rudras, Treasure Hunter G, Alcahest and Live a Live. Track listing: 0:11: Tension / Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard / Nobuo Uematsu 2:28: Menu / Bahamut Lagoon / Noriko Matsueda 4:47: Voyage...2019-02-151h 29Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThroughout the Universe, in EternityThe second installment of the VGM+pop music series looks at Eternal Champions, a 1993 entry in the canon of fighting games that was created by an all-American team of Sega employees. Eternal Champions has its own merits, but this episode is concerned solely with two tracks from this game — both composed by Andy Armer and both of which seem to have been sampled in the 1995 Bone Thugs-N-Harmony album E. Eternal 1999. Neither Armer’s work nor Sega’s ownership of the source tracks seems to be documented anywhere official, and I do my best to try and find out why. Listen to all...2019-02-0842 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastWizards & Warriors in 30 MinutesThe previous episode looked at David Wise’s music before Donkey Kong Country, but purposefully spared on the Wizards & Warriors just because this long-neglected Rare franchise had too much good music to ignore. So please enjoy thirtysomething minutes of the best of the soundtracks from Wizards & Warriors and its three sequels. David Wise rules! Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Track listing: 0:10 Wizard Guild / Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros — Visions of Power / David Wise 3:11: Title Theme / Wizards & Warriors / David Wise 3:47: Forest of Elrond (Alternate) / Wizards & Warriors / David Wise 6:42: Mountain Theme / Ironsword: Wizard...2019-02-0132 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastDavid Wise Before Donkey Kong CountryIn 1994, David Wise became a video game hero as a result of his soundtrack to Donkey Kong Country, but he’d actually been composing music for video games for nearly a decade. This episode looks at his NES work leading up to DKC and pointing out where and when his genius for mood-setting, ambiance-encompassing first blossomed. By virtue of showcasing the best of early David Wise, this episode features some of the best music composed for the NES. That Eurogamer interview with David Wise: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-04-05-from-slalom-to-snake-pass-the-musical-life-of-david-wise The first ice level episode: https://singingmountainpod.com/ep...2019-01-291h 14Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastMichael and Janet in Video Game LandThe first Singing Mountain of 2019 is also the first in a new series looking at the interactions between mainstream pop music and video game music. Though this episode focuses on Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, consider it an overview of the many ways VGM and pop can play off each other. I’m also stoked to say that in addition to the Jacksons, I got to mention Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Carly Simon, Biz Markie, Phil Collins, Sia and The Beatles, and I never thought I’d get to do all that in one episode of this show. It’s super...2019-01-2142 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSlip Off a Ledge and Die in a HoleHey, remember winter? The season we’re in right now? In response to audience requests, I decided to get in one more episode about non-jolly winter music. And unlike Episode 33, I talk less on this one so you can enjoy an hour of what it would sound like to hang out in a palace made of ice. Listen to all the Singing Mountain winter music episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-winter-music Track listing: 0:08: Ice Cap Zone / Sonic the Hedgehog 3 / Unknown Composer (but probably Brad Buxer) 2:37: 3 a.m. (Snow) / Animal Crossing: New Leaf / Manaka Kataoka and Atsuko Asahi 4:11: Heart of Icegrave / Mo...2018-12-271h 01Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastA Harvest Moon Winter in 30 MinutesSeasons come and go in the world of the Harvest Moon games. This episode is all about the music you hear when snow covers the landscape. It’s all peaceful, but with a twinge of sadness, because it’s the coldest time of year and presumably the worst time for a harvest. The game, however, must go on. Listen to all the Singing Mountain winter music episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-winter-music Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Track listing: 3:35: Winter / Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life / Miyuki Homareda 5:59: Winter (Farm) / Harves...2018-12-2432 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastAnother WinterLast year, I celebrated the season with a trove of icy blue tracks from wintery video game levels, with none of the mirth and jingle of most Christmastime music. This year, I intended to go cheerier… but I didn’t, and instead I’m given you more chilled-to-the-touch levels that evoke Christmas eve in an ice cave. Stay cool. This episode is a sequel to Episode 12, Diamond Dust. Listen to that episode here: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/diamond-dust-ice-music Listen to all the Singing Mountain winter music episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-winter-music Track listing: 0:06: Frostlands / Octopath Traveler / Yasunori Nishiki 5:52: Cool Cave...2018-12-191h 29Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastLive a Live in 30 MinutesIt never left Japan and it’s not the best known of Square’s 16 bit-era RPG outings, but Live a Live should be notable to VGM fans at least for having a great soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomura. It bridges the gap between her Street Fighter II phase and the work she composes today for games like Kingdom Hearts. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Track listing: 0:16: Title Theme / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 2:22: Select-a-Live / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 5:03: Secret Mission / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 7:39: Under the Fake / Live a...2018-12-1431 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastWhen Smash Bros. Remixes Improve Upon the OriginalsNintendo’s Smash Bros. series has become not only an altar to worship the gods of video games past but also a place to pay our respects to video game music. In this episode, I anticipate the arrival of Smash Bros. Ultimate on Friday with ten examples of Smash Bros. covers that improve upon their source materials. Track listing: 0:06: Super Mario Bros.: the Lost Levels Medley / Super Smash Bros. Wii U / Composed by Koji Kondo, arranged by Katsuro Tajima 2:08: Pedal Glider (Pilotwings Resort) / Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / Composed and arranged by Asuka Ito 6:30: Stickerbush Symphony / Donkey Kong Country 2: Di...2018-12-041h 09Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastUnused and UnheardSometimes great video game music doesn’t end up in the finalized video game, but that doesn’t mean it's gone forever. Singing Mountain celebrates its fiftieth episode (!) with a playlist of lesser-known, lesser-heard music from famous franchises, including Super Mario Bros., Sonic, Final Fantasy, Streets of Rage, Mega Man, Ys, Castlevania and of course Chrono Trigger, the game whose “lost” track gave this podcast its name. Track listing: 0:08: Singing Mountain / Chrono Trigger / Yasunori Mitsuda 3:26: Unused Track 5 / Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Kiyohiro Sada and Minako Adachi 4:59: Underground Theme / Koji Kondo / Super Mario Bros. 2 (prototype) 8:26: Space Fight / ActRaiser / Yuzo Koshiro...2018-11-301h 12Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastNaptime With NintendoRelax with all your favorite Nintendo franchises except F-Zero, because that one is never relaxing. But hey, Fire Emblem is here and even Metroid. There’s even Panel de Pon! But with this podcast, there is always Panel de Pon. Track Listing: 0:12: Piranha Plant’s Lullaby / Super Mario 64 / Koji Kondo 2:58: Shooting Star Summit / Paper Mario / Yuka Tsujiyoko and Taishi Senda 6:32: A Rainy Day / Pikmin 3 / Asuka Hayazaki, Atsuko Asahi and Hajime Wakai 9:37: Daytime (Globe) / Wii Weather Channel / Kazumi Totaka 13:05: 11 p.m. / Animal Crossing: City Folk / Manaka Tominaga, Shiho Fujii and Kazumi Totaka 15:42: Lake Lamode / Super Mario Odyssey / Shiho Fujii 18:43: Zora's Domain (Nigh...2018-11-151h 23Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastLittle Nemo in 30 MinutesLittle Nemo: The Dream Master was a NES-era Capcom platformer that didn’t star a robot or a gargoyle or a millionaire duck. This title was one of the tougher 8-bit platformers, but it was also one of the best composed, with a soundtrack by Junko Tamiya that features melodies that will stick with you… or at least stuck with Drew for almost three decades. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Track listing; 0:06: Prologue Theme / Little Nemo: The Dream Master / Junko Tamiya 0:58: House of Toys / Little Nemo: The Dream Master / Junko...2018-11-0934 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastMy Stepdad Is the Game MasterIn a Singing Mountain first, this episode features a person who is not me: Katherine Spiers, friend and business partner, comes in to talk about TableCakes, the Los Angeles-based podcast network we started together and what that means for Singing Mountain listeners. She also talks about growing up being the stepdaughter of Howard Phillips, the American spokesperson for Nintendo back in the NES days and then we play a loosely structured game about video game music. Plus two stories about Macaulay Culkin and one about New Kids on the Block! Track listing: 0:19: You’ve Come Far, Ness (Coffee Break) / Earthbound / Ke...2018-11-0554 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastStreet Fighter But With Vampires and WerewolvesSinging Mountain’s celebration of Halloween comes to an end with the most Halloween-appropriate fighting series in history, Darkstalkers. This is a “music only” episode befitting the season, but Drew is pledging to give this franchise a fully annotated spotlight episode one day. For now, please enjoy a taste of the series that made a mummy fight an evil bee. Track listing: 0:09: Player Secret 1 / Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors / Takayuki Iwai and Hideki Okugawa 2:05: Continue Theme / Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge / Takayuki Iwai, Akari Kaida and Hideki Okugawa 4:20: Demitri’s Stage / Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors / Takayuki Iwai and Hideki Okugawa 7:15: Iron Horse, Iron Terro...2018-10-2932 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM Podcast16 Bits of TerrorThe horrors of the Halloween season never sounded creepier than when they were channeled through the audio processors of the Super NES and Sega Genesis. Welcome to my 16-bit nightmare. Track listing: 0:07: Prologue / Super Castlevania IV / Masanori Adachi and Taro Kudo 2:48: The Nightbreed / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 5:33: Mystic Chanting / Chrono Trigger / Yasunori Mitsuda 7:30: Mystic Cave Zone / Sonic the Hedgehog 2 / Masato Nakamura 9:30: Macabre Funk / Magic Sword / Kouji Murata 11:49: Plague Factory / The Ooze / Howard Drossin 13:45: Crazy Woods / Ghost Sweeper Mikami: Joreishi wa Nice Body / Inuyo Yamashita and Hiroyuki Iwatsuki 15:52: Haunted House / Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose / Kazuhiko Uehara and...2018-10-251h 34Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastCursed Spinach (a Game Boy Halloween)Why does creepy music sound even creepier when channeled through a Game Boy? Maybe it’s that we still think of the Game Boy as a system we played on family trips. Maybe we think about it being more innocent, like when we were kids. Regardless the reason, when it skews sinister it gets uncomfy real fast, and this Halloween episode features some of the most unsettling music yet. BTW, this episode is limited to creamed spinach-era Game Boy and Game Boy Color only. Track listing: 0:09: Tower / Donkey Kong (Game Boy) / Taisuke Araki 3:42: Battle of the Holy / The Castlevania Adventure / Sh...2018-10-161h 11Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastAn 8-Bit Halloween, Part Two: The SequelIt’s October, and Singing Mountain celebrates the Halloween season with the first actual, fully fledged sequel episode: a follow-up to Episode 10: An 8-Bit Halloween from October last year. Like the original, it’s a celebration of the spookiest music to ever be created for the NES and/or Famicom systems. Boo. Track listing: 0:08: Prelude / Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse / Yoshinori Sasaki, Jun Funahashi and Yukie Morimoto 6:23: The Ghoul Realm / Gargoyle’s Quest II: The Demon Darkness / Yuki Iwai 7:46: Labyrinth of Mirrors / Gargoyle’s Quest II: The Demon Darkness / Yuki Iwai 9:02: Dark Forest of Hidon / Gargoyle’s Quest II: The Demon Darkne...2018-10-081h 02Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Legend of the Haunted ArcadeHorror-themed games are relatively rare in the arcade, but this first October episode looks at a handful of ’80s titles that sound spooky in the good way. This Friday episode features tracks from Haunted Castle (the arcade version of Castlevania), Splatterhouse and Ghouls ’n Ghosts. What’s your favorite spooky-sounding work of VGM? Track listing: 0:08: The Crypt Elevator / The Simpsons (Arcade) / Norio Hanzawa 2:21: Bloody Tears / Haunted Castle / Kenichi Matsubara 3:40: Evil Cross & Nightmare / Splatterhouse / Katsuro Tajima and Yoshinori Kawamoto 6:31: The Haunted Graveyard / Ghouls ’n Ghosts / Tamayo Kawamoto 8:56: Devil’s Requiem / Haunted Castle / Kenichi Matsubara 10:59: Master Dead / Splatterhouse / Katsuro Tajima and Yoshinori Kawamoto 1...2018-10-0537 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastA Beautiful Place by MoonlightNight doesn’t have to be scary. This episode brings together video game music that suggests the ways night can be the most exciting part of the day. I’m calling this a sequel to Episode 11, Moonlight Drive. Track listing: 0:09: Gloom of the N.H.B. / NiGHTS into Dreams / Tomoko Sasaki 5:00: Silvery Light of the Moon / Thunder Force IV / Toshiharu Yamanishi, Takeshi Yoshida and Tomomi Ootani 7:48: Planet 7 / Street Fighter 2010 / Junko Tamiya 11:34: Prayer of a Tragic Queen / Castlevania: Bloodlines / Michiru Yamane 15:15: Sword of the Valiant (Moonlight) / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 18:40: Desert Highway / Hotel Dusk: Room 215 / Satoshi Okubo 23:14: Fate (Sara’s Them...2018-09-281h 06Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastDoshin the Giant in 30 MinutesIt’s a game you maybe haven’t heard of. And if you have heard of it, you probably haven’t played it. And even if you have played it, you probably still haven’t heard the “full” soundtrack. Spend thirty-some minutes with Tatsuhiko Asano’s trippy tropicalia in the expanded soundtrack to Doshin the Giant, a Nintendo series that came and went but is perhaps worth a second look. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Track listing: 0:16: The Theme of Doshin the Giant / Doshin the Giant / Tatsuhiko Asano 1:52: Bonfire / Doshin the Giant...2018-09-2233 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSave PointSometimes you just need a break. This episode is all about relaxation… and I promise I’ll do an episode where I intro every track next week. For now? Just kick back and go to a pixelly place. Track listing: 0:10: Star Lift / Mario Party 3 / Ichiro Shimakura 2:10: Beacon / Fez / Disasterpeace 4:36: Space Junk Road / Super Mario Galaxy / Mahito Yokota 8:05: Big Water / Ecco the Dolphin 2: The Tides of Time / Gabor Foltan, Csaba Gigor, Laszlo Fazekas 10:54: Game Over / Shin Megami Tensei OST II / Tsukasa Masuko 13:12: Meditating Monks / Rayman / Stéphane Bellanger and Pete Anthony 16:13: BGM 3 / Mario Paint / Hirokazu Tanaka, Ryoji Yoshitomi and Kazumi Totaka 19:37: Tears...2018-09-1359 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSuper Adventure Island in 30 MinutesStreets of Rage and the Ys series most likely top most VGM fans’ lists of the best-composed Yuzo Koshiro games, but they'd likely be leaving out his unlikely turn in Super Adventure Island, where he lent the Hudson Soft platforming series a higher level of cool than it deserved, with a soundtrack that combines reggae, calypso and hip hop influences. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Track listing: 0:09: Round 1 / Adventure Island / Jun Chikuma 2:21: Round 2 / Adventure Island / Jun Chikuma 4:59: Blue Blue Moon a.k.a. Essential Vitamins (Stage 3 Theme) / Yuzo Koshiro / Supe...2018-09-0735 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe VGM Dance MixtapeIt's a super megamix of the dance tracks featured in episodes 29, 30 and 31, plus some extras from previous episodes, all adding up to just under two full hours of video game music you can dance to. (Or so I think, anyway.) Enjoy! Track Listing: 1:29: Levels 5 & 6 / Dance Aerobics / Unknown Composer 3:15: Disco Train / Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest / David Wise 6:42: Chemical Plant Zone / Sonic the Hedgehog 2 / Masato Nakamura 8:48: Track 1 / Top Gear / Barry Leitch 12:34: Basement Melodies / Haunted Castle / Kenichi Matsubara and Masahiro Ikariko 15:32: Master of Water / Lagoon / Hideki Suzuki 18:25: Unbreakable Determination / Ninja Gaiden / Keiji Yamagishi and Ryuichi Nitta 19:49: Kraken of the Sea / Ea...2018-09-041h 54Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSamurai Shodown in 30 MinutesThe classic SNK hacking and dicing fighter finally gets its Singing Mountain spotlight, and everyone is going to lose a limb. In roughly thirty minutes, you'll get traditional Japanese compositions, some stuff inspired by western music and then a little of the nifty ambiance for which the series is famous. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Track listing: 0:12: Fifteen Warriors / Samurai Shodown 2 / SNK Sound Team 1:57: Bamboo Thicket (Jubei Yagyu) / Samurai Shodown / SNK Sound Team 4:06: Comma-Shaped Jewels (Kyoshiro Senyro) / Samurai Shodown 2 / SNK Sound Team 6:26: Demon (Kibagami Genjuro) / Samurai Shodown 2 / SNK Sound Te...2018-08-3133 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Problem With Chai KingdomMario’s first-ever adventure on a portable system has a great soundtrack, but its final world, Chai Kingdom, features an example of a certain melody that has long been a shorthand for all manner of Asian cultures, accurately or not. This episode — which is one where Drew talks a lot, you should probably know — explores where this nine-note structure came from and how we should regard it now that we know it’s a bunch of malarkey. But what VGM is actually authentic to the culture it is referencing? Track listing: 0:07: Chicken Dance / Savage Reign / SNK Sound Team 2:18: Chai Kingdom / Super Ma...2018-08-2844 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastMega Man 3 in 30 MinutesToday I'm rolling out a new feature on Singing Mountain: a regular Friday afternoon "mostly music" episode that gives you a solid thirty minutes of music. This first week focuses on the NES classic, Mega Man 3. Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s 30-minute Friday episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-30-minute-fridays Track listing: 0:12: Select Screen / Mega Man 3 / Yasuaki Fujita (a.k.a. Bun Bun) 2:16: Title Theme / Mega Man 3 / Yasuaki Fujita 5:17: Gemini Man / Mega Man 3 / Yasuaki Fujita 8:13: Shadow Man / Mega Man 3 / Harumi Fujita 11:08: Magnet Man / Mega Man 3 / Yasuaki Fujita 14:01: Hard Man / Mega Man 3 / Yasuaki Fujita 16:55: Snake Man / Mega Man 3 / Yasuaki Fu...2018-08-2434 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastLeast Likely to Be in Smash Bros.A history lesson (with musical aids!) that explores lesser-celebrated Nintendo games by pointing out which characters are probably not going to be playable in the upcoming Smash Bros. game, from Sky Skipper to Panel de Pon to Captain Rainbow. Track listing: 0:12: Bonus Stage Theme / Balloon Fight / Hirokazu Tanaka 3:09: Recover Health / Mole Mania / Taro Bando 5:11: Stage 3 / Sutte Hakkun / Akito Nakatsuka 7:10: Castle Theme / Mysterious Castle Murasame / Koji Kondo 11:21: Course Theme / Mach Rider / Hideki Kanazashi and Hiroaki Suga 15:18: Title Theme / Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School / Nobuo Uematsu and Toshiaki Imai 17:51: Robot City / Joy Mech Fight / Hideaki Shimizu 21:56: Investigation / Famicom Detective Club: The...2018-08-211h 20Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastReturn to Big Ape CityLong live King K. Rool! In Donkey Kong Land, the Donkey Kong Country games had spinoffs on the Game Boy that tread into weird territory not covered by the Super NES version of the series. This episode looks at the original areas created for the first Donkey Kong Land and how the music for these locations tried really hard to match David Wise’s newly established Donkey Kong Country sound. Track listing: 0:09: Gangplank Galleon / Donkey Kong Country / David Wise 3:38: Main Theme Menagerie / Donkey Kong Land / Graeme Norgate 7:55: Kremlantis / Donkey Kong Land / Graeme Norgate 11:10: Chimpanzee Clouds / Donkey Kong Land / Graeme Norgate 13:56: Ca...2018-08-131h 06Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastRhapsody in Creamed SpinachThis is a celebration of the sounds of the classic, green screen-era Game Boy, which can be as beautiful as what you'd hear on any fancypants console system capable of displaying full color. Thanks much to everyone who reached out with their suggestions for their favorite Game Boy tracks. Without you I wouldn't have ever learned who Yakapoo was. Track listing: 0:06: Stage 1 / Battletoads / David Wise 2:42: Link Awakens (Marin’s House) / Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening / Minako Hamano and Kozue Ishikawa 4:05: Menu / Game Boy Camera / Hirokazu Tanaka 6:36 Tal Tal Heights / Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening / Minako Hamano and Kozue Ishika...2018-08-081h 23Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastBeyond River CityThough probably most familiar to North American gamers as the series that gave us River City Ransom and Crash and the Boys, the Kunio-Kun series is one of the longer-lived and more varied in video game-dom. Kazuo Sawa's soundtracks are not only consistently great but also some of the most representative of how great 8-bit NIntendo could sound. And considering how most of the Famicom-era titles didn't make it outside Japan, you may well be hearing this great tracks for the first time. Track listing: 0:09: Boss Battle 2 / River City Ransom / Kazuo Sawa 1:45: Streets Theme / River City Ransom / Kazuo Sawa 4:37: Password...2018-08-011h 20Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastDancing With Mi AmigaThe third and final installment in Singing Mountain’s series on dance music in video games takes a detour into the wild world of the Amiga, and the many kinds of electronic genres that you can hear in its titles. Some of the music is very ‘80s, but other selections veer into more ‘90s-era techno. If you’ve never played a game on the Amiga, you’re missing out on some amazing work by western composers. Track listing: 0:15: Title Theme / Super Cars 2 / Barry Leitch 6:59: Title Theme / First Samurai / NIcholas A. Jones 10:13: Title Theme / Amnios / Paul Shields 13:33: Title Screen / Bad Company / Dave Whitt...2018-07-261h 05Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastA VGM Dance PartyRad! Another look into dance music in video games that probably wasn’t meant for dancing but you totally could if you wanted to. This episode pulls from dance music of all types, including EDM, funk, house and more… though since it is video games and mostly retro games, there’s still a profound ’80s vibe. Enjoy. Track listing: 0:07: Spicy Calamari Inkantation (Squid Sisters Theme) / Splatoon 2 / Ryo Nagamatsu and Shiho Fujii 4:27: Chemical Plant Zone / Sonic the Hedgehog 2 / Masato Nakamura 7:36: Bonus Stage / Cool Spot (Genesis) / Tommy Tallarico 11:10: The Man With the Machine Gun / Final Fantasy 8 / Nobuo Uematsu 14:36: Wave 131 / Streets of Rage 2 / Yuzo Kos...2018-07-171h 13Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastHave a Pixelated Summer!Pixelated waves crashing onto a 16-bit shore. Welcome to summer, or at least a reasonable video game reproduction of summer. Track listing: 0:07: Summers, Eternal Tourist Trap / Earthbound / Hiroshi Kanazu 4:44: Labyrinth Zone / Sonic the Hedgehog / Masato Nakamura 6:59: Flower Garden (Ohanabatake) / Yoshi’s Island / Koji Kondo 11:11: Grasslands of Time / Chrono Cross / Yasunori Mitsuda 15:14: Blue Resort / Bomberman 64 / Akifumi Tada 18:44: Hang Glider / Pilotwings 64 / Dan Hess 25:08: Passing Breeze / Out Run / Hiroshi Kawaguchi 31:57: Besaid / Final Fantasy X / Masashi Hamauzu 37:35: Lawn Court / WIndjammers / Tomoyoshi Sato and Seiichi Hamada 40:33: Palmtree Panic (Past) / Sonic CD (Japanese) / Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata 43:10: Shipwrecked / Treasures of the Deep / Tommy Tallarico 46:25: Cianwood Ci...2018-06-251h 16Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastWario and the Golden PyramidThe last handheld Wario Land outing had one of the best and weirdest soundtracks ever featured in a Nintendo title. But while this episode is a showcase for composer Ryoji Yoshitomi, it’s also a giant shoutout to a Wario fan named Weario, who took the time to create an uncompressed version of this game’s soundtrack — which is to say a cleaner, brighter, and altogether spiffier version of this underrated classic. Track listing: 0:09: Title Screen / Wario Land 4 / Ryoji Yoshitomi 2:53: Enter the Pyramid / Wario Land 4 / Ryoji Yoshitomi 7:00: Palm Tree Paradise / Wario Land 4 / Ryoji Yoshitomi 11:50: Wildflower Fields / Wario Land 4 / Ryoji Yoshitomi 16:27: Mystic...2018-06-111h 34Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Overworld MixtapeHere is what it sounds like to be a tiny person traversing a big world. This is a remix + extended cut of the previous episode that started out as a side project and quickly grew into a full-fledged bonus episode. Track listing: 3:30: Main Theme / Final Fantasy (NES) / Nobuo Uematsu 4:46: Unknown Land / Dragon Quest (NES) / Koichi Sugiyama 7:35: Silent Zone / Phantasy Star II / Tokuhiko Uwabo 10:33: Eternal Wind / Final Fantasy III (Famicom) / Nobuo Uematsu 12:55: Seeking Treasure / Landstalker / Motoaki Takenouchi 16:31: Alefgard Overworld / Dragon Quest III (Super Famicom) / Koichi Sugiyama 18:43: Main Theme / Final Fantasy IV / Nobuo Uematsu 21:14: Homeland / Dragon Quest IV (Nintendo DS) / Koichi Sugiyama 24:01...2018-05-292h 07Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastLonesome JourneysA hero’s journey can be lonely. Think about what it was like to start a new game, see your tiny sprite on the map screen for the first time and then wonder about what all you might be doing in this new adventure. This episode is all about music that captures that feeling: being a little excited, being a little lost, and feeling all the freedom of setting off on your own. Track listing: 0:16: Eternal Wind / Final Fantasy III (Famicom) / Nobuo Uematsu 4:50: Wanderer / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 8:32: Walking in Peace / Bounty Sword / Kohei Tanaka and Akihiko Mori 12:40: Rise Fr...2018-05-241h 17Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastStaring Into the Stars and Seeing Something Staring BackThis is an experiment in which I'm trying to tell a story using video game music. I'm not sure if the story will translate, but even if it doesn't, you're going to hear some awesome, spacey tracks. If you're wondering what the story is, the title is a hint. Track listing: 0:08: Title Theme / Phantasy Star / Tokuhiko Uwabo 1:30: Dr. Andonuts' Lab / Earthbound / Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka 2:51: Title Theme / Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for Famicom Disk System / Akito Nakatsuka 4:34: Shooting Star Summit / Paper Mario / Yuka Tsujiyoko and Taishi Senda 6:13: To the Sea of Stars / Wild Arms / Michiko Naruke 8:08: Title...2018-05-151h 03Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastDixie Kong's Double SoundtracksThe third Donkey Kong Country title is the black sheep of the series for a few reasons, but I'm here to sing its praises. It's especially unique in that it got two different soundtracks: one by Eveline Fischer for its debut on the Super Nintendo and a second by David Wise for its re-release on the Game Boy Advance. A lot of fans of Wise's work may not have ever heard this "lost" Donkey Kong Country soundtrack, and in this episode I look at the best of both. Long live Dixie Kong! Track listing: 0:18: Forest Frenzy / Donkey Kong Country / Eveline...2018-05-091h 20Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSuper Mario B-SidesThis is a celebration of the less famous songs from Mario games and Marioverse games. These are not the familiar, nostalgic tracks that get redone again and again. No, these are the catchy, weird and otherwise notable tracks from Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Wario games that haven't made their way into the go-to Nintendo songbook. Trigger warning: I will make you listen to a Virtual Boy song. Track listing: 0:12: Let’s Play “Geno” / Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars / Composed by Koji Kondo, arranged by Yoko Shimomura 2:05: Title Screen / Wrecking Crew / Hirokazu Tanaka 3:51: Ending Theme / Super Mario Land...2018-05-021h 21Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastNight Fight in Facepunch CityThe Streets of Rage series had one of the best soundtracks ever, and that music helped define the early '90s era of muscled vigilantes walking city streets and punching bad guys. This episode celebrates Yuzo Koshiro's incredible compositions for those games while also looking at other titles that get at a similar sound: a city at night, glowing with neon, riddled with crime and in great need of a face-punching. Track listing: 0:07: Title Theme / Streets of Rage / Yuzo Koshiro 1:39: In the Bar II / Streets of Rage 2 / Yuzo Koshiro 4:50: Go Straight II / Streets of Rage 2 / Yuzo Koshiro 7:26: Moon Beach / Streets...2018-04-251h 05Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastHey, Gang! Let’s Explore the Music of the Commodore 64!If you're like me, you encountered the Commodore 64 as a classroom edutainment tool only. But if you did, you missed out on a whole library of "real" video games and some of the most epic and most intense video game music you'll ever come across. Thanks to an episode of PixelTunes Radio, I had reason to jump neck-deep into C64 music, and this episode collects the brightest gems I found in this treasure hunt, including tracks by Rob Hubbard, Jeroen Tel, Tim Follin and more. Track listing: 0:15: Loading Theme / Great Giana Sisters / Chris Huelsbeck 3:53: Central Park / Last Ninja 2: Back With...2018-04-171h 23Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Queen of TreesI want you live in the 16-bit fantasy world you used to dream about, but giving you the soundtrack for that world is the best I can do at the moment. This is a mix of music that I can only call "medievalish" -- dreamy, melancholy, wistful, adventurous and hopeful, and all of the tracks plucked from the best fantasies that video games have offered so far. Get lost, but in the good way. 0:13: The Place I’ll Return to Someday / Final Fantasy IX / Nobuo Uematsu 3:55: Cavern 1 / Shining Wisdom / Motoaki Takenouchi 5:08: In the Memory / Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished (for MS...2018-03-301h 50Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastRace to Your Death! Or Don't!Think about what a racing video game sounds like and you'll come up with an answer pretty quickly. But what about VGM tracks that kinda-sorta-maybe sound like they're from racing games when they're not? What if you heard a piece of video game music out of context and had someone suggest it was from a racing game? Could you picture what kind of track you'd be racing around? I think so, and this episode thinks so. Track listing: 0:06: Crazy Motorcycle Chase / Final Fantasy VII / Nobuo Uematsu 5:17: Sting Chameleon / Mega Man X / Setsuo Yamamoto 7:07: Speed of Sound / Knuckles’ Chaotix / Junko Shiratsu an...2018-03-1956 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Laidback Fighting Game MixtapeThis is a music only remix of my last episode, about laidback music in fighting games, in which "laidback" = relaxed, cheerful, atmospheric and in any other way unusual for the background music of a stage in a fighting game. In addition to the tracks from that original episode, I included a few more that either didn't make the cut or had been used in recent episodes. It's about an hour of music altogether. Track listing: 1:30: Floating on a Harp and Piano Fantasy for Yvonne Lerolle / Fatal Fury 3 / SNK Sound Team 4:52: Vanity Paradise / DarkStalkers 3 / Anarchy Takapon (a.k.a. Takayuki Iwai...2018-03-101h 02Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastA Most Chilled-Out FisticuffTypical fighting music is exactly what you'd want as a soundtrack to two people kicking the crap out of each other, but sometimes composers throw in a random laidback track. This episode is all about these: the inexplicably peaceful or cheerful or otherwise not-super-face-poundy songs that are nonetheless in fighting games, featuring tracks from Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, Tekken and more. Track listing: 0:12: Guile’s Theme / Super Street Fighter II / Yoko Shimomura 3:34: Vanity Paradise / DarkStalkers 3 / Anarchy Takapon (a.k.a. Takayuki Iwai) and Masato Kouda 7:19: Floating on a Harp and Piano Fantasy for Yvonne Lerolle / Fatal Fury 3 / SN...2018-03-0551 minSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastDisney Afternoon, Presented by CapcomCapcom gave us a generation of NES games inspired by Disney’s animated series but set these games to soundtracks that were wholly original. Sure, games like DuckTales and Rescue Rangers also have 8-bit versions of the show theme songs, but the rest of the music is awesome all on its own. This episode is all about that classic Capcom platformer sound, as it was defined by greats such as Hiroshige Tonomura, Harumi Fujita, Minae Fujii, and Yasuaki Fujita. Track listing: 0:08: Moon / DuckTales / Hiroshige Tonomura 2:54: Himalayas / DuckTales / Hiroshige Tonomura 4:25: African Mines / DuckTales / Hiroshige Tonomura 7:48: Amazon / DuckTales / Hiroshige Tonomura 10:43: Transylvania (Beta) / Du...2018-02-221h 14Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastBad Girls ClubI'm celebrating Valentine's Day with the video game characters I love most: bad girls. This is a collection of music associated with big bads, supervillainesses, henchwomen and general badasses who don't fit the mold of damsels in distress, with music from DarkStalkers, Shovel Knight, Sonic, Breath of Fire, Battletoads, Final Fantasy, Samurai Shodown and more. You go, girls. Track listing: 0:13: Morrigan’s Theme / Darkstalkers / Takayuki Iwai and Hideki Okugawa 2:09: Medusa Battle / Kid Icarus / Hirokazu Tanaka 4:06: The Pirate Shop / Wario Land: Shake It! / Tomoya Tomita and Minako Hamano 7:25: Succession of Witches / Final Fantasy VIII / Nobuo Uematsu 11:04: Mizuki Rashojin / Samurai Shodown V Sp...2018-02-151h 09Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastThe Best Saxophones in Video Game Music"No, there atcually *are* some kickass saxaphones in video game music," Drew said, responding to no one. Yes, this is an unabashed appreciation of saxophones and their digital reproductions as they've been used in video games, all because I wanted to include Edea's theme from Bravely Default in an episode and ended up building other sax-tastic tracks around it. I have tracks from Mario Kart 8, ToeJam & Earl, Street Fighter 3, Undertale and Bayonetta and more. Bonus? I avoided making an "aural sax" pun. You're welcome. Track listing: 0:10 Title Theme / John Baker / ToeJam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron 3:47 Baby Bird / Revo / Bravely Default 5:38...2018-01-091h 11Singing Mountain, A VGM PodcastSinging Mountain, A VGM PodcastWet MetalMusic is a big part of the Mega Man games, in more ways than you might think. This episode looks at the relationship between the games' stage music and the boss waiting at the end of those stages. The goal here is Splash Woman's theme from Mega Man 9, about which Drew has some crazy, unfounded theories. Track listing: 0:06: Needle Man / Mega Man 3 / Harumi Fujita 3:51: Pharoah Man / Mega Man 4 / Minae Fujii 4:51: Shade Man / Mega Man 3 / Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama and Makoto Tomozawa 6:18: Charge Man / Mega Man 5 / Mari Yamaguchi 7:22: Maze of Death / Mega Man 9 / Yu Shimoda 8:26: Splash Blue (Splash Woman) / Mega Man 9...2017-06-1717 min