It’s almost time again for our end-of-year “Best of Season 2” (C2R2), on Channel 2, where Hugues and I will pick a combined 22 tracks from the 72 total which we featured across all of Season 2 in calendar 2022. Like last year, we’ll each pick 2 tracks per episode (one per episode per host from each of the two hosts), as well as each picking one wildcard track to serve as our episode opener and closer tracks.
To build a little excitement for that episode, as well as to give you a handy refresher of everything we did this year, we have put together a music-only recap of the entire season’s output (links will be included to each of the “full episodes” with Hugues and I’s dialog included).
Of the 72, we already know which 22 we’re going to feature as “Best of”s, but as there’ll be no spoilers on it, you’ll have to just guess and wait and see and hope your personal favorites make our cut! ;-)
You can also email us at nerd.noise.radio@gmail.com, or reach out to us on social media telling us what your top 11 would be (one track per host per episode, plus one wildcard), and if we get some submissions before recording time, we can mention them in the episode (or if we get enough of them, perhaps we can even make an Archive SUPER BONUS release out of them).
Cheers!
-St. John
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Tracklist (by episode):
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C2E6: “Fast Music for Slow Times” (A hard / heavy / heavy-adjacent music-themed episode).
Original [FULL] Episode Release Date: 02/03/2022 (St. John’s 42nd Birthday!)
Link to original [full] episode (Spotify Users ONLY):
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1HXUb8F2hFbIa4IFz0Ngt9?si=615eb104eaf64352
Link to original [full] episode (Non-Spotify Users - works for everybody):
Link to Music-Only SUPER BONUS (Archive):
https://archive.org/details/c-2-e-6-music-only
Theme Decision: Collaborative (Hugues with final vote).
Episode title chosen by: St. John
Episode Music Block Runtime: 00:42:55
Episode Music Block Timestamps: 00:00:00 - 00:42:55
Special Notes: The final episode BEFORE St. John’s mic/equipment/production techniques upgrade.
Track# (total) / Track# (episode) / Track / Game / System / Composers / Selected By / Timestamp:
01 / 01) Like a Wind - Revenge of Shinobi - Genesis - Yuzu Koshiro - Hugues - 00:00:00
02 / 02) Swing Time - Spider-Man vs the Kingpin - Sega CD - Mr. Big and/or Spencer Nilsen - St. John - 00:02:03
03 / 03) Wildon - Lords of Thunder - Sega CD - c: Satoshi Miyash*ta / a: Unknown - Hugues - 00:06:08
04 / 04) Quad Machine - Quake II - PC / PS1 - Sonic Mayhem - St. John - 00:10:35
05 / 05) Conflict - Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - Takeharu Ishimoto - Hugues - 00:14:08
06 / 06) The Super Gore Nest - DOOM Eternal - Multiplatform - Mick Gordon - St. John - 00:16:26
07 / 07) Midnight’s Stage - Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side - Sega CD - Tristan des Prés - Hugues - 00:25:19
08 / 08) Title - Spider-Man / X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge - SNES - Tim and/or Geoff Follin - St. John - 00:27:01
09 / 09) The Cage - Shadowrun - SNES - Marshall Parker - Hugues - 00:27:59
10 / 10) Bonus Table 4 - Devil’s Crush - TG16 - Toshiaki Sakoda - St. John - 00:30:08
11 / 11) Theme of Chester - Ys III - X68000 - Masaaki Kawai - Hugues - 00:32:19
12 / 12) Run Through the Speed Highway - Sonic Adventure - Dreamcast - St. John - 00:35:02
13 / 13) Fight ver. 1 - Grandia II - Dreamcast / PS2 - Noriyuki Iwadare - Hugues - 00:37:00
14 / 14) Stand Up Against Myself - Lightening Force - Genesis - Composer: Toshiharu Yamanishi, Takeishi Yoshida, and/or Tomomi Ootani - St. John - 00:40:45
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C2E7: “All Night Super Kawaii Dance Party” (A cutesy, dancy, joyous music-themed episode).
Original [FULL] Episode Release Date: 04/28/2022
Link to original [full] episode (Spotify Users ONLY):
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3m7eT455ixzkYBgCDWfFiL?si=d1f368f3bc98404d
Link to original [full] episode (Non-Spotify Users - works for everybody):
Link to Music-Only SUPER BONUS (Archive):
https://archive.org/details/c-2-e-7-music-only
Theme Decision: St. John.
Episode title chosen by: Hugues
Episode Music Block Runtime: 00:38:33
Episode Music Block Timestamps: 00:42:55 - 01:21:27
Special Notes: The first episode AFTER St. John’s mic/equipment/production techniques upgrade. Also, the first Ch 2 episode that Hugues named.
Track# (total) / Track# (episode) / Track / Game / System / Composers / Selected By / Timestamp:
15 / 01) Lovely City - Lovely Planet - Multiplatform - Calem Bowen - St. John - 00:42:55
16 / 02) Kimi wa HoeHoe Musume (Ending / Staff Roll) - Idol Hakkenden - Famicom - Kiyohiro Sada, Tomoo Misato - Hugues - 00:45:28
17 / 03) Evil Dante - Cratermaze - TG16 - Toshiaki Takimoto, Katsunori Takahashi, Takayuki Iwabuchi, Keita Hoshi - St. John - 00:48:34
18 / 04) Tiese Shopping District Theme - Gurumin - Multiplatform - Falcom Sound Team JDK (prob. Hayato Sonoda) - Hugues - 00:50:14
19 / 05) Stage 1-2 - Jumping Flash 2 - PS1 - Takeo Miratsu - St. John - 00:51:55
20 / 06) After School - Persona 3 Portable - PSP - Shoji Meguro - Hugues - 00:53:33
21 / 07) Nice Day - Spindizzy II - X68000 - Toshiya Yamanaka and/or Tetsuya Nakano - St. John - 00:55:41
22 / 08) Dreams of Love and Literature - Doki Doki Literature Club - Multiplatform - Dan Salvato - Hugues - 00:59:09
23 / 09) Crystal Breeze Springs - Lovely Planet Remix - PC - Satsuma Audio - St. John - 01:03:09
24 / 10) Electoria - Sonic Crackers (unreleased) - Genesis - Junko Shiratsu, Masato Nakamura - Hugues - 01:07:22
25 / 11) Stage 1 - Chip Chan Kick - PCFX - Hitoshi Sakimoto and/or Masaharu Iwata - St. John - 01:10:03
— Brief pause between tracks so weird opening note in next track can be appreciated —
26 / 12) Clothes Make The Man - Shakedown Hawaii - Multiplatform - Hugues - 01:14:31
27 / 13) Message from Nightopia - Nights into Dreams - Multiplatform - Naofumi Hataya - St. John - 01:16:11
28 / 14) Track 9 (ending probably) - Graduation II - PC Engine - Isao Mizoguchi (likely) - Hugues - 01:18:56
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C2E8: “Our Four Favorites” (A non-binding survey of each of our four favorite composers).
Original [FULL] Episode Release Date: 06/30/2022
Link to original [full] episode (Spotify Users ONLY):
https://open.spotify.com/episode/11dEaC6IMIrVuoYpats4nH?si=e29ca375dd2243ec
Link to original [full] episode (Non-Spotify Users - works for everybody):
Link to Music-Only SUPER BONUS (Archive):
https://archive.org/details/c-2-e-8-music-only-candidate-1
Theme Decision: Collaborative (Hugues with final vote).
Episode title chosen by: Hugues
Episode Music Block Runtime: 00:46:53
Episode Music Block Timestamps: 01:21:29 - 02:08:20
Special Notes: Nerd Noise Radio’s contribution to the greater “Masters of VGM” VGM community group project [www.mastersofvgm.com]. Also, this track has two more tracks than a typical episode of Ch 2 (16 instead of 14). Lastly, ever so slightly non-standard format (instead of H / J / H / J / H / J etc, it’s H / J / J / H / H / J / J / H / H etc - which will make more sense when you see the tracklist), and because of the weird formatting, Hugues also had the rare opportunity to get BOTH the opening AND the closing track!
Track# (total) / Track# (episode) / Track / Game / System / Composers / Selected By / Timestamp (brief pauses between all composer blocks):
Hugues’ Composer #4: Yoko Shimomura!
29 / 01) Hugues’s Yoko Track: Ken - Street Fighter II - Arcade - 01:21:29
30 / 02) John’s Yoko Track: Kairi 1 - Kingdom Hearts - PS2 - 01:23:36
St John’s Composer #4: Martin Iveson!
31 / 03) John’s Martin Track: Shop Theme - Jaguar XJ220 - Sega CD - 01:25:55
32 / 04) Hugues’ Martin Track: Country Select - Jaguar XJ220 - Sega CD - 01:28:50
Hugues’ Composer #3: Yuzo Koshiro!
33 / 05) Hugues’ Yuzo Track: Daiba Freezing Town - 7th Dragon 2020 - PSP - 01:31:26
34 / 06) John’s Yuzo Track: Undiscovered Realm - Actraiser Renaissance - Multi - 01:34:48
John’s Composer #3: Spencer Nilsen!
35 / 07) John’s Spencer Track: Cathedral and Sewers - Batman Returns - Sega CD - 01:37:15
36 / 08) Hugues’ [maybe]* Spencer Track: The Vents - Ecco the Dolphin - Genesis - 01:40:20
*= Instead of Spencer (or at least, in addition to Spencer), it is possible that this track is an Andras Magyari and/or Brian Coburn composition.
Hugues’ Composer #2: Nobuo Uematsu!
37 / 09) Hugues’ Nobuo Track: The Oath - Final Fantasy VIII - PS1 - 01:42:33
38 / 10) John’s Nobuo Track: Esto Gaza - Final Fantasy IX - PS1 - 01:45:51
John’s Composer #2: Matt Furniss!
39 / 11) John’s Matt Track: The Red Woods - Puggsy - Genesis - 01:49:40
40 / 12) Hugues’ Matt Track: Title - Sega Chess - Mastersystem - 01:52:41
Hugues’ Composer [TEAM] #1: Hayato Sonoda and/or Takahiro Unisuga [Falcom Sound Team JDK]!
41 / 13) Hugues’ Falcom Track: Blue Destination - Trails of Cold Steel II - Vita/PS3/PS4/PC - 01:53:38
42 / 14) John’s Falcom Track: Crystal Valley - Zwei II - PC - 01:58:02
John’s Composer [TEAM] #1: The Super Follin Bros. (Tim and/or Geoff Follin)!
43 / 15) John’s Follin Track: Gambit - Spider-Man / X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge - SNES - 02:00:49
44 / 16) Hugues’ Follin Track: Parking Garage - Target Renegade - NES - 02:04:52
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C2E9: “Just Deserts” (Desert Biome Music to while away the dog days of summer).
Original [FULL] Episode Release Date: 08/25/2022
Link to original [full] episode (Spotify Users ONLY):
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0yfkhlsOxd7XXTmfqO3PpM?si=e3c567d1f35640b7
Link to original [full] episode (Non-Spotify Users - works for everybody):
Link to Music-Only SUPER BONUS (Archive):
https://archive.org/details/super-bonus-c-2-e-9-music-only
Theme Decision: St. John
Episode title chosen by: St. John
Episode Music Block Runtime: 00:43:03
Episode Music Block Timestamps: 02:08:22 - 02:51:25
Special Notes: N/A
Track# (total) / Track# (episode) / Track / Game / System / Composers / Selected By / Timestamp:
45 / 01) Dry Desert Sky - Two Dots - iOS / Android - Upright T-Rex - St. John -02:08:22
46 / 02) Oasis Town - Atalier Iris: Eternal Mana 2 - PS2 - 81 Produce Inc (possibly Yuko Kaneko - Hugues - 02:10:24
47 / 03) An Endless Desert - Alto's Odyssey - iOS / Android - Todd Baker - St. John - 02:12:46
48 / 04) Atlantis of the Sands - Uncharted 3 - PS3 / PS4 / PC - Greg Edmonson, Azam Ali, JD Mayer, and/or Clint Bajakian - Hugues - 02:18:21
49 / 05) Dune Variation - Dune - PC (AdLib) - Stephane Picq - St. John - 02:20:49
50 / 06) Motavia - Phantasy Star - Master System - Tokuhiko Uwabo - Hugues - 02:23:49
51 / 07) Level 3 - Tetris - CD-i - Jim Andron - St. John - 02:25:41
52 / 08) The Cursed Oasis / Desert - Sorcerian - PC-88 - Yuzo Koshiro - Hugues - 02:30:05
53 / 09) Third Confluence - Journey - Multiplatform - Austin Wintory - St. John - 02:32:27
54 / 10) Gerudo Desert - LoZ: Twilight Princess - GameCube / Wii / WiiU - Tōru Minegishi, Asuka Hayazaki, and/or Kōji Kondō - Hugues - 02:33:59
55 / 11) Deserted: Lunar Discourse - Tetris Effect: Connected - Multiplatform - Hydelic - St. John - 02:37:04
56 / 12) Deadwood Ride - Cruis'n USA - N64 - Vince Pontarelli - Hugues - 02:42:39
57 / 13) The Burning Sands - Final Fantasy X - PS2 - Masashi Hamauzu - St. John - 02:45:32
58 / 14) Roulette - Casino Kid 2 - NES - Kenji Eno, and/or Michiya Hirasawa - Hugues - 02:49:06
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C2E10: “Sega CD 30” (An episode celebrating the Sega CD on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its North American launch)).
Original [FULL] Episode Release Date: 10/20/2022
Link to original [full] episode (Spotify Users ONLY):
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5WaLXTxglHBdnRvcO64EMP?si=00e39ec155064e55
Link to original [full] episode (Non-Spotify Users - works for everybody):
Link to Music-Only SUPER BONUS (Archive):
https://archive.org/details/super-bonus-c-2-e-10-music-only
Theme Decision: Collaborative (Hugues with final vote)
Episode title chosen by: Collaborative (Hugues with final vote)
Episode Music Block Runtime: 00:46:54
Episode Music Block Timestamps: 02:51:25 - 03:38:17
Special Notes: The final production of the original [main] episode was produced entirely on the Steam Deck (a first for the show). The various bits and pieces that comprised the show were made here and there across four different devices. The Steam Deck WAS one of them, but not the main one. The music block for the music-only version included in today’s episode (as well as today’s full episode) were NOT produced on the Steam Deck. I am committed to doing at least one episode where every single bit and piece of the production is performed ENTIRELY on the Steam Deck. This episode was not that, but was a FANTASTIC first [giant] step towards it, and as such, still very important in these regards!
Track# (total) / Track# (episode) / Track / Game / System / Composers / Selected By / Timestamp:
59 / 01) Track 03 - Robo Aleste - Katsumi Tanaka, and/or Satoshi Shimazaki - Hugues - 02:51:25
60 / 02) West Side Andore Cage Battle - Final Fight CD - c: Harumi Fujita, Yasuaki Fujita, Manami Matsumae, Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, Yoko Shimomura, Hiromitsu Takaoka, and/or Junko Tamiya / a: T’s Music - St. John - 02:54:54
61 / 03) Track 08 - Spider-Man vs The Kingpin - Spencer Nilsen and/or David Young - Hugues - 02:58:03
62 / 04) Rolling Bad Guys - Lethal Enforcers - Kenichiro f*ckui - St. John - 03:01:02
63/ 05) Ice Berg - Popful Mail - c: Mieko Ishikawa / a: Hirofumi Matsuoka - Hugues - 03:05:56
64 / 06) Wacky Workbench (past) - Sonic CD - Naofumi Hataya, and/or Masafumi Ogata - St. John - 03:08:25
65 / 07) Ending - Earnest Evans - Motoi Sakuraba, and/or Hiroki Itou - Hugues - 03:12:02
66 / 08) Track 7 - Keio Flying Squadron - Tsukasa Tawada - St. John - 03:16:19
67 / 09) Overworld Theme - Vay - Shigeki Sako - Hugues - 03:20:41
68 / 10) Ancient Temple - Wolfchild - Martin Iveson - St. John - 03:22:38
69 / 11) Meribia - Lunar: The Silver Star - Noriyuki Iwadare - Hugues - 03:27:29
70 / 12) The Undercaves - Ecco the Dolphin - Spencer Nilsen - St. John - 03:28:43
71 / 13) Melee Island - The Secret of Monkey Island - Michael Z. Land, Barney Jones, Andy Newell, Patric Mundy - Hugues - 03:34:01
72 / 14) Jamie's Theme - Snatcher - The Konami Kukeiha Club - St. John - 03:36:05
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Total Episode Runtime: 03:38:17
