Episodes

Last year, my world was shaken by the passing of my mom. It was a sudden, almost unbelievable, moment in my life, despite having attended the funerals of other people, from co-workers to friends. My emotions were running rampant and my thoughts are a hot mess. Much has changed for me but the feelings are still there, albeit faded and mere remnants of an intense moment. For this week’s episode, we’ll be listening to tracks from video games that deal with sudden loss: A lone warrior washing up o...

It’s time for another edition of “On Stage Now” for the month of March. This month’s featured musician is Firamiel. Hailing from Brazil, Firamiel plays celtic, epic, and medieval/medieval fantasy music, from both movies and video games. Her main instrument is the violin, while she also plays other instruments, such as the tin whistle, lyre, and ukulele. She enjoys Lord of the Rings, folk music, anime, Final Fantasy (the older ones), and “medieval fantasy” style in stories, games, and movies; on...

St. Patrick’s Day is here, and green is everywhere: on the clothes worn to avoid getting pinched, in the beer, and the four-leaf clover. People are hoping to get lucky in gambling, dating, and video games. Speaking of video games, St. Patrick’s Day also means the re-run of last year’s episode (#07), so to speak. I mean, yes, they are gacha games, but it’ll be a different set of games from last year. We’ll be listening to tracks from several gacha video games: a battle on the high seas with ant...

You know it’s a big deal when a company recognizes a fan-made holiday. Oh yes, we are celebrating (another) special holiday, called National Mario Day. Thanks to the realization of a fan writing out the date (Mar. 10), Nintendo officially endorsed the date afterwards in 2016. While it could be argued that any day is a day to celebrate, March 10th is officially the day to walk, talk, and play Mario. You can play any game with Mario in it, dress up like Mario, or even try talking like Mario. Thi...

Have you ever heard a track that made you say “Hey, I played that game in that franchise!”, turn up the volume to 11, and well up with pride as tears flowed from your eyes? More than likely, that track was the main theme for that video game franchise. In a sense, it could be considered that the anthem, a song that fills you up with a sense of identity, purpose, and prestige. It’s like the Pokemon Theme (from last episode, #57, “Catch That Pokemon!”). You know (most of) the words, you close your...

“I wanna be the very best…” Admit it, you started humming the the tune and even finished the rest of the verse. Now that you’ve got that earworm, it’s time to celebrate an upcoming date, February 27th, known as National Pokemon Day. It was on this date in Japan that Pokemon Red and Green were released for Nintendo’s Game Boy. Two years later, Pokemon Red and Blue were released in North America. Since then, the Pokemon franchise has exploded into many different media outlets: manga, anime, Satu...

Welcome to the February edition of “On Stage Now”, a special monthly episode in which a cover or remix artist or band is featured with a playlist of their work. This month’s featured guest is The Consouls, an ensemble band based in Sydney, Australia. They started in 2014 with jazz arrangements and have since expanded into other genres, such as funk, fusion, and rock. They will, on occasion, include some horns and strings in their arrangements. While the Consouls have played locally at several p...

The United States and Mexico have Independence Day, France has Bastille Day, Germany has Unity Day, and both Russia and Australia have a Day. All of these days, in common, celebrate a country’s or nation’s birth or reformation. They mark a time when a group of like-minded citizens decided to declare itself separate and apart from another ruling party or establish a place of their own upon landing. It is a day that reminds its people of where they came from and how they got there, in comparison t...

Wow! Happy Anniversary to RE-VGM! One year ago, I decided to start a podcast to showcase covers and remixes of video game music (VGM). I’ve listened to other VGM podcasts (Rhythm and Pixels, VGMporium, VGM: A Very Good Music Podcast, XVGM, A VGM Journey, Shujin Academy VGM Club), along with another podcast about movie soundtracks, called “The Soundtrack Show”. While I enjoyed them, the thought of doing a podcast had tickled my fancy. I eventually came around when I bought a mic and figured out ...

Do you remember, as a child, getting a box of plastic bricks that let you build a house, a police station, or a spaceship? How about having a chest of loose pieces so that you can build anything limited by your imagination? Or, maybe you heard your parents screaming as they hopped across the floor, cursing and complaining that you need to pick up your toys off the floor. January 28th is International Lego Day, the day when Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, a Danish carpenter, patented the original Le...

It’s a special-special episode for this week. To begin, we’re celebrating Mariachi Day, on January 21st, to honor this music genre that is the pride of Mexico. While it is widely known for its heritage, mariachi has expanded from Mexico to other parts of Latin American and even across the ocean to Japan (search for Samurai Mariachi). Most recognize the music for the instruments (guitars, trumpets, violins, accordion), its members (traditionally male but now may have both male and female or all ...

Muhahah! It’s BAAA-aaack… This year, Friday the 13th appears twice, in January and in October. While most may think this is already looking like a bad year, I’d like to think that this will be most interesting 2023. If some of you listeners may remember, I like to consider myself a paraskevidekatriaphile. This week’s episode, we’ll be talking about some of the superstitions of playing certain video games, while playing some original tracks and their covers and remixes. Whether you’re out colle...

Everyone knows the Lakers, the Celtics, the Suns, or the Nicks. You may even know the Bruins, the Blue Devils, or the Aggies. However, have you ever heard of… the Harlem Globetrotters? They are an exhibition basketball team known for their on-court antics. Once you hear their theme song, you’ll remember their warm-up routines with their red-white-and-blue basketball: passing and bumping, juggling one or more at a time, and spinning it on their fingers and feet. During a “game” with their rivals...

2022 will be history in a couple of days. The parties will be dripping in style, decorated to the nines, and loaded with food and drinks. New York will be filled as the crowd gathers to watch the ball drop during the final seconds of the year. The world will see sun set and the moon rise for the new day as 2023 arrives. For this week’s episode, we’ll be playing some video games tracks that play during the roll of the ending credits, along with their covers and remixes. I also talk about my pers...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! This week’s episode is the culmination of the 25 Days of Holiday VGM covers and remixes that were featured on Instagram and Twitter. We’ll be playing all 25 tracks in order, starting with Day One. These tracks were from Overclocked Remix, an organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of video game music as an art form. They are definitely worth checking out. I hope you enjoy Christmas Day, whether it’s with family and friends or simply...

Okay, so perhaps you’re tired of celebrating Christmas. You know, because of how much more commercialized it has become, how few understand the real meaning of the holidays, and why so many people feel burned out after the 25th of December. How about celebrating a non-traditional holiday known as Festivus! This week’s episode will attempt to match video game music related to parts of this tradition that was made public by a comedy show called “Seinfeld”. We’ll start with stuffing a bag with a ...

Christmas is less than two weeks away, but I’ve decided to celebrate it early. This week, I’ll be gifting several podcast hosts with some tracks, along with covers and remixes. It’ll be a long episode as I talk about several podcasts in particular: Rhythm & Pixels, VGMporium, Very Good Music: A VGM Podcast, A VGM Journey, and Shujin Academy VGM Club. Hopefully, I’ve picked some goods ones, but any excuse to play lots of video game music is a great excuse. So enjoy this episode and perhaps cons...

Put on your best dance outfit, gather your friends together, and break out the lightsticks! December the ninth of Friday, according to DaysoftheYear, is known as World Techno Day. It is a day to celebrate two things: the genre of techno and dance music, and the birthday of a musician (Juan Atkins) who founded and promote techno. Four on the floor and running at 120 to 150 beats per minute, techno is widely recognized by its heavy use of electronic instruments, namely synthesizers, drum machines...

See you next year, November. Hello, December… As the last of the leaves fall from the barren trees, and the last of the migrating flocks of birds make their way to warmer areas, the winds blow cold and crisp on your face, nipping your nose and shivering your skin. The sidewalks are getting covered in sporadic wet piles of fallen ice, much to the consternation of workers furiously scrapping the windshields. People are walking about in their portable bundle of warmth and chilly protection. Yes, ...

Thanksgiving is here, and that means every family member and their friends are gathered together at home. The dining table is decorated with the colors of brown and yellow, from the table cloth, to the name placard. Each seating place has their plate and silverware, set upon a table cloth and highlighted with a tall wine glass. The food table is dressed up with a variety of dishes: a tray of gravy, a plate of sliced, canned cranberry sauce, a stack of square cornbread pieces, a mound of mashed p...

This month’s special episode of “On Stage Now” goes across the ocean to Europe, where we feature a delightful and folksy musician who calls herself Alina Gingertail. She plays a variety of instruments, most of them that are traditional and a few that are modern. In addition, she displays a lovely voice that serenades with sweet lullabies and chorus. It’s not enough for me to speak more about her, so allow this set to show how well she plays and sings. Sit back and enjoy a sample of her video ga...

Raise those fists and scream your face into melted madness, headbangers! There’s an important event that we’re celebrating, called “National Metal Day”! If you’re a fan of the movie This is Spinal Tap, then you know that any heavy metal music sounds awesome at eleven. Thanks to VH1 Classic, National Metal Day is celebrated on November 11, the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year. This week’s episode will feature some ripping, shredding, and bashing. In addition to original tracks, we...

It’s a new month, and November is known for more than just Thanksgiving. It’s a special time of the year called National Novel Writing Month, when writers around the world attempt to write a novel of their own creation of at least 50,000 words. It doesn’t matter your level of experience (beginner or professional), your amount of education (self-taught or formally educated), or your current employment status (unemployed or full-time). All writers have an opportunity to accomplish something that c...

Okay, I confess that I have played some scary video games. This includes mobs I encountered that were inhuman: mutated by some genetic experiment, infected by a widespread disease, or conjured by the imagination of the main character. These mobs may jump out of nowhere, ready to hurt with sheer strength or surround in great numbers. The settings of these games are often dark and obscure, with hints of light that may or may not lead to some refuge. Sometimes the reason for being there is enough t...