http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com the only podcast solely dedicated to the academic study of videogame music! Sat, 01 May 2010 19:42:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Happy May! Hey there, team! There's a new FULL episode of "Into the Score," can you believe it? Here we are, delving deep into the Underworld and following the awesome adventures of our favourite calaca, Manny Calavera, in LucasArts' 1998 release of "Grim Fandango" with a score by Peter McConnell. In this ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2010/05/01/29-fandango-fandango/ Okay... it's been announced and it's final :) Enjoy the update! I FINALLY have my ducks in a row... very excited :) Cheers, mates! Kenley http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2010/04/21/mini13-new-episode-finally-announced/ Holy crow, a new ITS post - somebody take a picture :) It's been a long time, but finally, something new has come to the world of ITS. Thanks for waiting! New episodes are coming - this entire year has been completely out of control... like, REALLY out of control, but ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2010/03/21/mini12-st-patricks-day-rfg-interview/ Hello, listeners! Thanks for your patience on this episode - it's a week late, but things are crazy and it's out now, which is what's really important :) In this episode, we jump into Bit Blot's 2007 game, "Aquaria", with a score by Alec Holowka (and he's on the show with ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2009/10/11/28-into-aquarian-waters/ Good day, listeners! Happy September 2nd, 2009! This is August's podcast of "Into the Score," the only podcast solely devoted to the in-depth study of video game music! In this installment, we hammer in a look at Square Enix's 2008 release of "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King" with ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2009/09/02/27-journey-of-the-classical-podcast/ For shownotes, please visit http://www.intothescore.com. http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2009/08/21/mini114-just-the-echoes-bloops-and-misquotations-really/ Hey everyone, Wow, two posts in just a few days! A big change from three months ago! In which case, it's been a pretty interesting day in the history of video game music, so I want to put in my two cents about "Kind of Bloop," a chiptune remix ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2009/08/21/mini112-shall-we-try-this-again-echoes-bloops-and-misquotations/ Hey all, After an unbelievable absence, there is a return... things are going to return to normal. Everything is okay, just being swamped, studios getting swamped and especially comments on the board that have really gotten me thinking - which I think is awesome. It's important for the listeners ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2009/08/18/mini10-triumphant-or-not-so-return/ Good evening, listeners! While Manitoba may be hit with a torrent of snow, thaw (and subsequent flooding), the March episode of "Into the Score" is finally up, focusing on Takeharu Ishimoto's dynamic score to the 2008 release of Square Enix's "Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII." In this episode, we focus ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2009/04/04/26-alls-fair-in-strife-and-crisis/ Welcome to March, listeners! After a three-month hiatus, "Into the Score" is back on the town and we are ready to go! This month, we study the Sony sound team's 2005 score to "God of War" for the PlayStation 2, as well as studying the beginning of Western tuning, the ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2009/03/06/25-god-of-war-and-the-god-of-triangles/ Hey again! A special thanks to Jeriaska from http://www.nobuooo.com for putting this together for his year-end wrap up! This is only one section from the show, but please go to his site and check out the user-submitted VGM news and if you have some, submit some yourself "God of War" is ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2009/01/19/mini08-its-for-2009-from-nobuooocom/ Good evening, listeners! While this is not a "podcast" in the traditional sense, it's an update as to why there is no episode for December... and as it's looking, for January either... yikes! Watch the video and check it out! Kenley http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2009/01/19/mini07-january-2009/ Happy November, listeners! I hope that it was stellar and the beautiful fall is drifting into a clear and ivory winter :) For this month's episode, we jump into a 1995  score that made a huge impact in the VGM community, if not as a breakout hit, then as a cult ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/12/02/24-live-at-the-chaos-theatre-the-runaway-five/ Happy October! Episode 23 of "Into the Score" tackles an incredible score by composers Masaharu Iwata and Hitoshi Sakimoto... it's called "Final Fantasy Tactics." It was released for the Sony PlayStation by Squaresoft in 1997 and it is a story of complexity, drama, love and the strive for goodness ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/10/27/23-symphonia-ivalice/ Good evening, listeners! After a month of traveling and then a month of research and recording, Episode 22 of "Into the Score" has finally arrived! This month, we chronicle Ko Otani's moving and emotional score to Sony's "Shadow of the Colossus" for the PlayStation 2. In the episode, we look ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/08/27/22-symphony-of-the-colossus/ Hey there! Well, I'm back from Japan and the trip was a blinding success! Much to see and much to do, but now that I'm back... there is still much to see and much to do! Thanks so much to everyone who stayed subscribed through the show's hiatus, but now it's back! ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/08/09/mini06-back-from-japan-and-sotc-up-next/ Hello, listeners! After a long break from ITS, it's back with Episode 21, studying the 2008 release of "Professor Layton and the Curious Village!" It's developed by the folks at Level 5 and scored by Tomohito Nishiura! In this episode, we study concepts like the waltz, variations on the beat as well ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/07/04/21-professor-layton-and-the-musical-podcast/ Good evening, everyone! I hope that everyone is excited for Episode 20 of "Into the Score!" It's been a while coming, but for some crazy reason, this episode took me a long time to write, even though it's 1/4 of the length of the last episode! In which case, it's ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/05/23/20-the-music-of-the-mushroom-kingdom/ So... something happened with the last audio file and post... not really sure what, but the ending was cut off for some reason, so I'm just going to re-post the show and I really hope this works!" Thanks, Kenley "Good evening, listeners of video game music! I hope that you really enjoy this ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/04/20/19-arias-of-balance-and-ruin-take-2/ Good evening, listeners of video game music! I hope that you really enjoy this episode, as it's on my favourite VGM score of all-time, Square's 1994 release of "Final Fantasy VI" with an epic, evocative and memorable score by Nobuo Uematsu! In this episode, we study character themes, also called ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/04/19/19-arias-of-balance-and-ruin/ Recorded on March 20th, 2008, this interview between "Into the Score" and "The Megas" chronicles the journey from the first track of the VGM rock band's epic and monumental album "Get Equipped" to its release and crowd response! The album covers nearly every track from Capcom's late-80s release, "Mega Man ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/04/01/18-the-quick-and-the-megas/ Sometimes, musicians aren't the sharpest of folk. This is the REAL show switcheroo episode... yargh! http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/03/20/mini052-the-real-switcheroo/ Hey all! This post is just a heads-up that the next show will not be with Glenn Stafford and Russell Brower, but it will actually be with "The Megas" and we'll discuss the release of their new album, "Get Equipped." There were a few scheduling conflicts between Blizzard ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/03/11/mini05-show-switcheroo/ Hey all, The results are in from the "Nobuo Uematsu Arranging Competition" put on by Squaresound.com and I got 2nd place! Pretty excited about it! To hear the arrangement, click here: http://www.squaresound.com/arrangements/competitions/uematsu/submissions/23.mp3 The first place winner was Andrew Aversa, of OCReMix and of Soundtempest.net, as well as zirconstudios.com -and for the record, ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/02/19/a-hundred-voices-swinging-in-unison-comes-in-second/ After an unbelievably long wait, Episode 17 is finally here. I can't believe it took this long! Sorry, listeners! However, it's here, and that's all that matters... right? Well! This episode covers the 1991 release of "Street Fighter II" with its score by Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, Yoko Shimamura, Tatsuya Nishimura and ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/02/16/17-street-fighter-second-movement/ Hey everyone! After a wait that is far too long for any human being to handle, I have finally uploaded a photo stream of my excursion to "Video Games Live" in Calgary! I got a Flickr account and allowed access to everyone, so everyone can go to set and look at ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/01/27/video-games-live-in-calgary-photostream/ Hey there, listeners! It's been an epic two weeks since last we spoke and there are some big announcements in the VGM community to exclaim to the world! Online VGM arrangement community, "OverClocked ReMix" has released their most recent album project! It's a "Radical Dreamers" arrangement album called "Thieves of Fate!" ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/01/18/update-january-17-2008/ Happy Holidays, Happy New Year... and Happy Birthday? I hope that everyone had a tremendous holiday season celebrating your holiday of choice, the coming of a new year and the first birthday of "Into the Score!" On December 29th, "ITS" turned one year old, celebrating its first episode "From Silence to ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2008/01/02/16-masters-of-the-craft/ Happy holidays everyone! This is a brief holiday edition of "Into the Score" and while it is quite short, there are many treats in store for our next episode, chronicling the 1998 Blizzard release of "Starcraft!" Everything is a crystalline purity around the city of Winnipeg, with freshly fallen snow and ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/12/24/mini04-two-terran-wraiths-and-a-brand-new-scv/ After a brief (though unplanned) hiatus from podcasting, "Into the Score" returns with Episode 15, studying musical themes and practices that span the 19-year run of Konami's "Castlevania" series. Also in this episode, we study the influence the influence of Gothic and Romantic music and culture on the games as well ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/12/07/15-arias-and-laments-rondos-and-symphonies/ Ahoy, listeners! With only three days left until Video Games Live, I'm really excited to put out a "mini-episode" before I leave! Because I'm really interested in the personal lives of the hosts of shows that I like (and am, perhaps, a big narcissist, ha!), I'm releasing an interview that ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/11/07/mini03-fsmak-interview/ Good evening and a Happy Halloween to all! "Into the Score" returns with Episode 14, chronicling an independent game out of the University of South California! This diamond in the rough... is called "Cloud." Also in this episode, we study the practice of orchestration, we stumble upon the practice of "demoscening" ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/10/31/14-beautiful-sky-with-clouds-and-white-moon/ After a one-month hiatus, "Into the Score" has returned; albeit, not at full strength, but better than none! I have made the decision to switch servers for the time-being, bringing back "Into the Score" and returning to the release of episodes every two weeks. I am still part of the ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/10/23/return-of-the-score/ Good evening! After some technical difficulties on the back end of things, ITS13 is finally up! While betamodradio.com is still down, I'm borrowing some webspace from a good friend of mine at our sister site (http://www.blueandbrownbooks.com, moderated by Aaron), so many thanks for that! This episode... (#13... not #14 as stated ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/10/18/13-voices-of-the-lifestream-2/ While this doesn't really pertain to anything in regards to VGM, it's a cool site to check out if you're into gaming analysis or the ongoing history of video games. Also a neat section on "Dispelling Myths in Gaming"... worth a look! http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/history/index.html Kenley (hope the server gets online soon!) http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/10/07/harry-jenkins-history-of-gaming/ Hey everyone. It appears that the site is down... many sorries.  I don't know what the problem is, but I'm talking to betamodradio (my webspace provider) and we're going to fix it...!  Thanks, Kenley  ps: as soon as it comes back up, brace yourself for Episode 14! http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/10/05/server-issues-again/ Hey everyone - this is a bit of a supplementary video for Episode 12 because it was the first presentation that I gave on Thematic & Adaptive music (as well as other compositional elements as well... like hydrogen, jk) While I've scored another game since the time that I did this, ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/09/23/mini02-wgdg-meetup-november-30-2006/ After near-a-month off, "Into the Score" is back with an awesome, yet moderately obscure game to cover for this episode! It's"Shivers", put out by Sierra in 1996 for the PC Platform. I won't disclose too much, but I'm telling you... there are even graphics involved in this one! This ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/09/23/12-a-night-at-the-museum/ Good evening, Listeners! Just a super quick heads-up saying that the betamodradio.com server is back up, so all of the episodes are back on the air! Also, the parent network of "Into the Score" called "Betamod Radio" is back up too! You can check them out at www.betamodradio.com! Now that everything is ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/09/21/server-resolution/ Good evening all - happy Friday! Slight bit of bad news: There is some sort of issue with the server and none of my files can be accessed online... including the podcast.  I'm really sorry, there's nothing I can do about it, but I'm doing everything to make at least get ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/09/15/server-issues/ After a month off, "Into the Score" is back on the air... server... what? It's true, we're back! This episode, we take a look at Capcom's 1990 release of "Mega Man 3!" composed by Yasuake Fujita (or BunBun) ERRATA: At 23:47, I say that we listen to "Snake Man's Stage", but ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/09/02/11-of-megas-and-men/ Hey everyone, In trying to expand the audience of the show, I've been submitting the podcast to many-many-many directories, one of which is podcastalley.com, which allows listeners to vote for their favorite podcast and (votes willing) get the name posted on the index page for all to see! You can vote for ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/08/28/vote-for-into-the-score-at-podcastalleycom/ Hey everyone, This is just a quick heads-up for those who subscribe to the wordpress feed (www.intothescore.com) that I'm going to do a "change of feed" to the actual iTunes feed, which is...  http://feeds.feedburner.com/intothescore ... for those who use podcatchers or Google Reader.  This is the feed that iTunes uses, so I'm really ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/08/27/new-feed-for-into-the-score/ So just recently, Episode 9 has been getting some comments, which is super exciting - especially considering that they are from some veterans at OverClocked ReMix (http://www.ocremix.org). Larry "Liontamer" Oji has a very intense blog on the current affairs of video game music called "VG Frequency" and is absolutely ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/08/22/vg-frequency-posts-about-into-the-score/ In this special addition to Episode 10, we're going to have a listen to Jeremy Robson's "Final Fantasy VII Philharmonic Suite!" It was submitted and approved by the judges' panel at OverClocked ReMix (http://www.ocremix.org) a few years back and now we get to hear it in its entirety! http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/08/15/102-to-the-orchestra/ Yeah! Episode 10! I'm really excited that "Into the Score" has survived such trials as the last year at University, last big student-teaching block, job-hunting and then having two jobs this summer - spot on, podcast :) Because we've reached double-digits, I decided to tackle a bigger score than usual - ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/08/15/episode-10-sending-a-song-into-the-universe/ The best score you’ve never heard of - this is Uncharted Waters: New Horizons, scored by Yoko Kanno. Also featured in this episode is anime’s influence on video game music! shownotes http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/07/13/09-into-uncharted-waters/ Video game music as a medium is something that has been very important to me for a very long time - since I was about fifteen. It began like any other art form - cutting edge, but with a moderate hint of distaste from the contemporary artists. And, like most art ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/07/13/about/ This episode, we study Yoko Shimamura’s score to the Kingdom Hearts series! We also look at safety/danger state music and polythematicism! shownotes http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/06/25/08-the-kingdom-key-is-eb-major/ We finish up Michael Land et al’s “The Secret of Monkey Island” and take a look Video Games Live! While this one is a bit shorter than usual, we talk about developing/playing with the listeners’ sense of expectation and we hear an interview from Western composers, Tommy Tallarico and Jack ... http://intothescore.blueandbrownbooks.com/2007/06/09/072-revealing-the-secret/