thehowe_v7.1

Around this time of year, I'm always looking for good Christmas music. I've never listened to much music, so I don't really own any CDs or online music subscriptions. My usual staple of remixed video game music doesn't really cut it when it comes to my thirst for traditional Christmas music.

This year, I've finally found a good solution. I've played with Pandora Radio before, but I've never really got a station out of it I really liked until now. For those not in the know, Pandora is a free online music service linked to the Music Genome Project. To use it, you tell it a few example songs, and it starts playing other songs similar to the ones you suggested.

Well, it turns out Pandora is really good at finding not only all the good old classic Christmas songs, but some really neat modern interpretations of some of the old favorites too. I've really enjoyed it over the past few days, as I've started gearing up for Christmas.

I have two exams this week I should be studying for. Instead, I'm going to do this. I got to thinking on the bus back to the dorm, I haven't gone through all of my remixed videogame soundtracks to tell you which ones to download recently. So, I present (in alphabetical order) the 23 remixes off of OverClocked Remix that you should hear. Go download them. Now.

• Altered Beast 'Resurrection by Breakbeat'
• Breath of Fire 2 'You Must Dance'
• Castlevania Adventure 'Quasikaotic'
• Castlevania 'Midnight Slayer (Solemn Mix)'
• Castlevania 'Wicked Orchestra'
• Chrono Trigger 'The Incredible Singing Robot'
• Chrono Trigger 'Time Management'
• Donkey Kong 'Diddy Evolution'
• Doom 2 'Barrels o' Fun'
• Final Fantasy 7 'String Machine (Corel Prison Mix)'
• Final Fantasy 9 'Safety in Numbers'
• Final Fantasy 9 'The Battle of Strings and a Cell Phone'
• ICO 'Save Me (OCR Edit)'
• Mega Man 2 'Wily meets Flashman'
• One Must Fall 2097 'And You Must Dance'
• Punch-Out 'Dream Fighter'
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 'IceCapped'
• Street Fighter 2 'Ryu Freestyle Dojo'
• Super Metroid 'One Girl in all the World'
• Xenogears '7 Years Broken'
• Zelda 64 'Gerudo Peeples'
• Zelda: Link's Awakening 'Braving Tal Tal Heights'

Just a couple of tips:

Give Midnight Slayer and Time Management a little time (no pun intended), it takes them a while to get to the best parts.

In Barrels o' Fun, make sure you hear the part starting at 2:00.

If you listen to no other song on this list, at least listen to Battle of Strings and a Cell Phone. It's quality.

If you absolutely can't enjoy a song without lyrics, The Incredible Singing Robot and 7 Years Broken are the only two songs on the list that have them.

Make sure you turn the bass way up for the beginning of Gerudo Peeples. You'll see why.

Goddamn FrontPage, crashed the first time I tried to type this... alrighty, let's try again, shall we?

For those of you who haven't been to OverClocked Remix yet, go there now. For your convenience, I have provided a list of the songs you will download. Not "should," will. I don't care if you've never even head of the game, just download the remix. Don't argue, just do it, simpleton.

• Chrono Cross 'TimeScars'
• Chrono Trigger (and FF9) 'KnightsComeMarchingHome'
• Chrono Trigger 'What Hath Thou Done With This'
• Final Fantasy 6 'La Locura Del Kefka'
• Final Fantasy 6 'LetUsDanceInTheDarkPhantomPhorest'
• Final Fantasy 6 'Terra Black Crystal'
• River City Ransom 'RiverCityRammstein'
• Super Mario Bros. 2 'Insomnic'
• Super Mario RPG 'BobbleHeadInspiration'
• Tetris 'McVaffeQuasi Ultimix'
• Zelda 64 'Gerudo Peeples'
• Zelda 64 'GerudoInterlude'
• Zelda 64 'LateNightLullaby'
• Chrono Cross 'Crossfire'
• Every Remix by 'AE'
• Mega Man 2 'DrWily Haunts Flashman'
• Mega Man 2 'EvilHorde Heatman'
• Mega Man 2 'TeknoWily'
• Mega Man 2 'Wily Meets Flashman'
• Shadowgate 'Shuffle'
• Batman 'MusicofFunk'
• Bionic Commando 'ASSAULT'
• Breath of Fire 2 'YouMustDance'
• Castlevania 'Wicked Orchestra'
• Zelda 2 'Temple Trance'

I've just discovered my new favorite band. They're a Russian, teenage, lesbian pop group named t.A.T.u. Now before you say anything, check out some of the pictures here. I first saw them on a couple of late night shows. They make out during their hit song. Now, don't get me wrong, their music is actually really good too. I'd provide a link so you can hear for yourself, but I don't think that would be entirely legal. Watch the music video on their website.