Episodes

I wanted to do something big and wonderful for this 250th episode of RE-VGM, but I couldn’t think of what to do. The next best thing was to celebrate National Saxophone Day, on November 6th. Yes, it’s a day to honor that brassy instrument that is one half mighty and the other subtle. This day also celebrates the birthday of its inventor, Adolphe Sax. This instrument has been featured in jazz, classical, and popular music, while also showcased in television and movies. The saxophone has also bee...

The end of October is just around the corner, and that means it’s time for our special episode of “On Stage Now”, featuring a musician of playing covers or remixes of video game music. Our featured musician is FamilyJules. Family Jules (real name Jules Conroy) is a metal guitarist that has been covering music from video games, anime, and popular music and has been feature in several episodes. Most of his works are individual tracks or medleys, as well as collaborations with other musicians (GaM...

Today, October 23rd, is a special day. First, it’s National Horror Movie Day, a day to celebrate all things horror for those who enjoy the genre. Second, it’s also the birthday of Sam Raimi, the filmmaker best known for the Evil Dead trilogy. Created by Christian Ackerman and Black Vortex Cinema, Christian wanted to honor Raimi while also honoring the genre, which includes Evil Dead. Of course, not all horror films have to be gory and involve dismemberment; it can have jump scares or psychologic...

On October 16th, 1923, two brothers got together and formed an animation studio. It was called The Disney Brother Cartoon Studio. Walt and Roy Disney had just signed a contract with Winkler Pictures to produce a film series called “Alice Comedies”. They moved to new building in 1926 and renamed it Walt Disney Studio. Inspired by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt created his own character named Mickey Mouse. Since then Walt Disney Studio had more successes, starting with their first animated movie, “...

Today, we are celebrating “MediEvil”, an action-adventure PS1 game that was first released in the United Kingdom and European regions on October 9, 1998 and then later in North America on October 21st. You’ll play as Sir Dan Fortesque, a knight who must defeat Zarok and the resurrected minions, in order to get a seat in the Hall of Heroes and be hailed as the rightful Hero of Gallowmere. While the game was praised for its Halloween-theme visuals, some complained about its controls and cumbersome...

For any car owner, there may be a certain vehicle that was driven for a long time and experienced many different scenarios, some memorable and intimate. That car may have a certain mechanical personality or charm, be it how it’s decorated or why it behaves under certain conditions. That car has become a second home or a personal concert hall. It also has carried the burdens and desires of its owner At one point or another, the owner has bestowed a name on their vehicle. On October 2nd, we’re ce...

September is almost over, with this last weekend of the month. That also means it’s time for “On Stage Now”, our monthly special episode that features artists of video game music and their covers and remixes. This month’s artist is Sapphire (and long overdue). Sapphire is a creator of vocal content. She first started with doing fandubs and then singing covers of music from video games and anime. While Sapphire as done solo projects, she has also collaborated with other musicians, such as The Co...

Everyone, or perhaps most people, fall in love with something or someone. Literally, they fall head over heels and float on Cloud 9. It causes goosebumps and strokes the heartstrings with a unique melody. There’s no reason or logic to it, other than that one must have have it. It’s the sound of that Mustang revving its engine at the stoplight. It’s the way a sun sets in the distance while gazing from atop a hill. It’s the smile of an attractive person from across a crowded room. Today we’re cel...

Tuesday, September 11, 2001… 8:46 am EST – Flight 11 hits the North Tower between floors 93 and 99, killing everyone on board. Many inside die immediately or are trapped above the crash zone 9:03 am EST – Flight 175 hits the South Tower between floors 77 and 85. 9:59 am EST – The South Tower collapses. 10:28 am EST – The North Tower collapses. On the morning of this event, I woke up to news reports of one of the Twin Towers being hit by an airplane, initially thinking it was some movie preview....

Several people passed away last week: Dolly Parton, Peter Cullen, and Tim Curry. Dolly Parton was the Queen of Country and an American Sweetheart that saw the good in everything and everyone. Peter Cullen was the voice of leadership and strength through Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots from “The Transformers”, an 80s cartoon. Tim Curry is an actor and singer who’s talent span all forms of entertainment: from movies like Annie and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, to cartoons figures such a...

August is about to end, which means it’s time for our special episode of “On Stage Now” that showcases a musician and their works of covers and remixes. This month, our featured musician is tnbee. tnbee is a composer and producer or orchestral/hybrid arrangements of music. Their influences point towards several sources, starting with anime songs and Vocaloid, western music while in high school, and then expanding to rap, soundtracks, and K-Pop while in college. Their channel boasts over six yea...

The poet is a sayer, the namer, and represents beauty… -Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Poet” Today, on August 21st, is Poet’s Day, a day that honors the art of the poem and its poets. All poems can take several forms, from the strict cadence of iambic pentameter, to the loose and fancy-free form of free verse. The words can rhyme or simply express the heart and mind of its writer. Poems, while mostly written as lines, can also be shaped into objects and symbols to emphasis the theme or focus. There ...

Today we are celebrating the birthday of Daisuke Ishiwatari, a man that wears many hats as a composer, video game developer, illustrator, musician, and voice actor. He is known popularly known for the Guilty Gear series, for its character design, storyline, and music, along with voicing Sol Badguy (until 2007). He has collaborated with several musicians, including AISHA, Lapis Lazuli, and Naoki Hashimoto. He also helped compose the music for the Blazblue series, including Blazblue: Calamity Trig...

Today on August 7th is National Sea Serpent Day, also known as Sea Dragon Day. It commemorates those mythological creatures that appear in many cultural and urban folklore. One of the more famous sea serpents is the Loch Ness Monster, nicknamed “Nessie”, supposedly photographed in Scotland. While the photograph has been debunked, Nessie definitely left a big mark of wonder and awe in society. Also, monsters thought to be mythical then have been confirmed to be real animals now, such as the giant...

Boy, July was a long, hot month, but we’re finally at its end, which means it’s time our special episode of “On Stage Now”. This month’s musician is RichaadEB. RichaadEB (real name Richard Bichler) is a metal guitarist that records and produces original music and metal covers of music from video games, anime, and popular music. He has collaborated with other musicians and artist, such as CG5, ToxicxEternity, Cristina Vee, and Lollia. RichaadEB has contributed to and been featured in several vid...

Before you lies the open road, with its many twists and turns, entrances and exits, and at times a path less used or paved. Your map shows the network of roads that pass through or end at a city or stop. There’s a destination in mind, guided by a general direction that needs to be taken. Today, we’re celebrating National Day of Motoring, on July 24th, a day launched by MINI USA, the manufacturer of the Cooper, for the pure joy of driving for fun. At first, MINI encouraged their owners to take p...

Today we’re celebrating the 26th anniversary of Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, back in July 10, 2001, exclusively for Sony’s PlayStation 2. It was the third installment and is the series’ first game within the sixth generation of consoles. While there is multiplayer mode via Arcade Mode, the core Gran Turismo experience lies in Simulation Mode. Earning licenses allows the player to access certain race courses and challenges, while winning these races gives credits, so that they can buy certain or their...

Happy 250th Birthday, America! On July 4th, delegates of the Second Continental Congress met to sign a document that would set a course for the Thirteen Colonies. Intense debate and voting sessions in previous days and weeks were required to ensure that all the colonies were in agreement. All knew they were declaring themselves traitors to a monarchy an ocean away yet were resolved in their intent to free themselves the invisible hand that burden them of their way of life. Two days before, they...

This week’s episode is a special tribute to Bobby Prince (aka Robert Caskin Prince III), the composer for several id Software games and their series, such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Duke Nukem, and Rise of the Triad. He passed away recent on Jun 16th. Bobby Prince had an interest in MIDI technology during the late 1980s and early 1990s, having a music background when he was part of a high school band called “Jesters”. He learned to create backtracks for various genres and was active on the BBS (b...

There was a time when people carried time with them all the time. Whether it was on a wrist or attached to a chain, people had a watch, a device that had a face with marks for hours and seconds and three hands (hour, minute, second). Some watches were either mechanical (gears and winding knob) or electronic (quartz), and some included the day and month. Some were functional while others were stylish. For this week’s episode, we’re celebrating National Watch Day, a day that brings awareness to t...

This week, we are celebrating Metal Slug 4, a run-and-gun side-scrolling shooter, released for the NEO-GEO AES (Advanced Entertainment System) console. Initially released on the NEO-GEO MVS arcade cabinet, Metal Slug 4 finds Marco Rossi and Fiolina Germi fighting against a new threat called Amadeus Syndicate that plans to upload a virus that take control of military computer systems; while Tarma Roving and Eri Kasamoto are on assignment, Marco and Fiolina are joined by Nadia Cassel and Trevor Sp...

Every day is a new day. A chance to start fresh and anew. It’s an opportunity to begin again and not be burdened by the past. And so we’re celebrating “National Start Over Day” on June 5th. “National Start Over Day” was created by Doug “Snoop” Philp, the Social Media Specialist and Web Administrator for the website National Day Calendar. He wanted people to know that it’s okay to start over; yes, there are setbacks and failures but those are moments to learn from them and grow in our own lives...

With the end of May near, it’s that time for our special episode of “On Stage Now”, where we feature a remixer or musician of video game music. For this month, it’s Player2. Player2 is a remixer of video game music done in the style of EDM and also a music producer and recording engineer. He was featured in a couple of episodes: #146 “Donkey Kong 64” with his remix of DK Rap, and #166 “Rats! We’re Rats! We’re the Rats! (World Rat Day)” with his remix of Lively Town from Shining Force II. His Yo...

Every fourth Friday of May, there’s a day called “National Title Track Day” that celebrates the title tracks of albums. These tracks were often the same as the album title, like The Beatles’ “Let It Be” or Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. They can also be tracks that were first released before the album is made available to the public or one that defines or summarizes the whole album. Title tracks are meant to grab the attention of the listener in the hopes of keeping them for the rest of the track...