After partying hard on New Year’s Eve and Day, a rest is surely deserved. In fact, there’s a day for that, called the Festival of Sleep Day, celebrated on January 3rd every year.

Sleep can have some wonderful effects on the body: it lowers the blood pressure, regulates blood sugar, helps one solve a problem the next, relieve stress, and maintain weight. A lack of sleep, though, can cause heart attacks, heart failure, irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, stroke, or diabetes. There are some that are able to function with about four hours of sleep, while some need eight or more hours to ensure the maximum benefit.

For this week’s first episode of 2025, we’re playing tracks from video games that may help you fall asleep (according to an article on the internet): falling shapes set to music, climbing a spire, and surviving a mob of pixelated monsters. There’s also covers and remixes to follow each original track.

Enjoy the episode, whether you plan to fall asleep to these tracks or my monotone voice…

Track Listing

“Midnight Sky” – [Tetris Effect Connected] – composed by Hydelic (Noboru Mutoh, Takako Ishida)

“Midnight Sky (Moon Lounge Mix)” – mixed by Hydelic

“Slay the Spire” – [Slay the Spire] – composed by Clark Aboud

“Slay the Spire Piano Remix” – remixed by GrandElemental

“Reincarnated Echoes” – [Vampire Survivors] – composed by Daniele Zandara

“[Epic Symphonic Metal] REINCARNATED ECHOES” – remixed by Mythic Souls Audio

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Ah, the fruitcake, one of the holiday desserts that brings a smile to fans, a laugh to certain people, and a moan of pain to those receiving it. Because of how the cake is preserved, the fruitcake has also been family heirloom, passed down several generations, with some families having a sample of it each year.

This week, we’re celebrating National Fruitcake Day on December 27th, with tracks from video games that have fruitcake or an enduring treat: a lone warrior who awakens to a devastated world, a test subject told they will be reward with a delightful treat, and a common person who finds out their destiny lies with dragons. We also have covers and remixes to follow each of these tracks.

National Fruitcake Day

Most Iconic Cakes in Gaming

Sweetroll (Elder Scrolls Fandom)

Track Listing

“Tarry Town” – [The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild] – composed by Yasuaki Iwata

“Tarrey Town – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Remix/Arrangement)” – remixed and arranged by Jojo Tunes

“4000 Degrees Kelvin” – [Portal] – composed by Kelly Baily, Mike Morasky

“Portal – 4000 Degrees Kelvin [Remix]” – remixed by Vandoorea

“The Streets of Whiterun” – [The Elder Scrolls V: Skryim] – composed by Jeremy Soule

“The Streets of Whiterun – Skyrim | Jazz Cover” – covered by insaneintherainmusic

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

It’s that time of the year where I compile all the tracks I’ve showcased for 25 days into a special holiday episode for your listening enjoyment. While some tracks are returning from the previous holiday episodes, there are some new one to spicy up the list. If you enjoyed any of these tracks, be sure to support these musicians by visiting their website, following and subscribing to their channels, adding their music to your playlists, donating to their support pages, and buying any of their albums and merch.

Again, have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and be safe out there…

Track Listing

Intro: “A Video Gaming Christmas” – composed and performed by Retro-Fusion (David Wise and Grant Kirkhope), vocals by Kev Bayliss

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six

Day Seven

Day Eight

Day Nine

Day Ten

Day Eleven

Day Twelve

Day Thirteen

Day Fourteen

Day Fifteen

Day Sixteen

Day Seventeen

Day Eighteen

Day Nineteen

Day Twenty

Day Twenty-One

Day Twenty-Two

Day Twenty-Three

Day Twenty-Four

Day Twenty-Five

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“There’s no need to fear…”

This week, we are celebrating National Underdog Day, the third Friday of December. It was originally created to honor those unrecognized employees who toil in their workplace but nowadays it’s about those people who were expected to lose in a competition but somehow manage to win it out. One of the earliest examples is David, a figure from the Bible who took down Goliath with a sling and a smooth stone. Other examples include the “Miracle on Ice” from the 1980 Winter Olympics and Rocky Balboa from the Rocky movies.

For our playlist, we’ve got tracks from video games featuring the underdog: a lone survivor of a plan crash, a man who wakes up with no memory, and a sister protecting her brother from the Inquisition and the plague. There’s also covers and remixes to follow these tracks.

Break out the pom-poms and put on your best cheer, as we root for the underdog…

Track Listing

“Lost Soul” – [Bioshock] – composed by Garry Schyman

“Variations on a Lost Soul” – remixed by schafi1, PurpleSchala

“Main Menu” – [Amnesia: The Dark Descent] – composed by Mikko Tarmia

“Dark Rebirth: 1983” – remixed by Mike Norvak

“A Plague Tale” – [A Plague Tale: Innocence] – composed by Olivier Deriviere

“A PLAGUE TALE: INNOCENCE (cover Phileas Rouge)” – covered by Phileas Rogue

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Muh-haha-haha! Friday the 13th, one of my favorite days of the year. Well, any month in which the first day starts on a Sunday, and it is a tradition that, for any episode that is to be released on a Friday the 13th, that its theme include any superstitions and myths. Since December has a Friday the 13th, this week’s episode will be a Christmas edition of superstitions. There will be some food items and a worn accessory.

In turn, we’ve got some original from video games that are (somewhat) related to this items: a prisoner planning a jailbreak, a disembodied hero trying to retrieve a sacred item, and a blue hedgehog running fast. We also have some covers and remixes to follow each original track.

So, prepare the mince pie and plums and ensure your shoes are comfortable as you listen and learn some holiday superstitions…

Christmas Superstitions From Around the World

Unwrapping the Tradition: Why Are Plums Associated With Christmas

Shoes Superstitions

Track Listing

“Lights Out” (from the DLC “Santa’s Sweatshop”) – [The Escapists] – composed by Oli Wood

“[Santa’s Sweet Shop SoundTrack] The Escapists – Lights Out (Gmx Remix)” – remixed by GMX Productions

“Deep Forest” – [Rayman] – composed by Remi Gazel

“Rayman – Deep Forest Remake” – remade by VGM Remaker

“Ice Cap Act 1” – [Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles] – composed by Brad Buxer

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – Ice Cap Zone (Remix)” – remixed GlitchxCity

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Welcome to December, and this week, we’re getting dirty as we celebrate National Miner’s Day on December 6th. The day has three-fold purpose: 1) recognize the hard work and labor of miners and their families, 2) honor the Monongah Mining Disaster, and 3) bring awareness to mining safety and procedures. Without them, roads couldn’t be built with asphalt and cement, houses wouldn’t have a solid foundation, and computers wouldn’t exist.

We’ll be listening to tracks from video games that having mining: a side-scrolling adventure above and below the surface, a farm in the valley, and space dwarves mining the planet. There’s also covers and remixes to follow each track.

Put on the overalls and gloves, heave your pick axe, and prepare to dig into this tracks.

National Miner’s Day

Senate Resolution 337, of the 111th Congress

The 10 Best Mining Games

Chubby Checker Sings About Dig Dug…

Track Listing

“Underground” – [Terraria] – composed by Scott Lloyd Shelly

“Underground Terraria Remix” – remixed by NoteBlock

“Mines (Marimba of Frozen Bone)” – [Stardew Valley] – composed by ConcernedApe

“Mines (Marimba of Frozen Bones)” – Staredew Valley (Percussion Cover)” – covered by V-Ron Media ft. VGM Friends! (Evan Carville, Sean R. Hanson, MarimbaMatt, Nico Mendoza, Rahul Vanamali)

“RUN!” – [Deep Rock Galactic] – composed by Sophus Alf Agerbaek-Larsen

“Deep Rock Galactic – RUN! (StAiS Remix)” – remixed by StAiS

Outro: “Dig Dug” –  composed and performed by Chubby Checker

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The end of November is here, and that means it’s time for a special episode of “On Stage Now”, our final one for 2024. This month, we’re featuring Jordan Daniels.

A classically trained pianist, Daniels (aka Jordan D Piano on YT) has been playing covers and arrangements of music from video game and anime. He has played in some famous venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Carnegie Hall in New York but, as evidenced by his video uploads, he plays in public. This includes wedding venues and anime conventions. It’s a treat to see people look up and take notice when familiar tune is played on piano.

Prepare to enjoy the masterful skill of Jordan Daniels as we listen to several tracks from some popular franchises, such as Pokemon and Genshin Impact.

Jordan Daniels [Jordan D Piano] (Personal website, YT, Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, Apple Music, Patreon)

Track Listing

Super Mario Land (composed by Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka)

Pokemon Red/Blue (composed by Junichi Masuda)

“Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow – Gym Battle Theme – Piano Cover” – [Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow] – composed by Junichi Masuda, arranged by Bespinben

“Pokemon Theme Song | Piano” – composed by John Siegler

“Legend of Zelda – Zelda’s Lullaby | Piano” – [The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time] – composed by Koji Kondo, arranged by Tony Brand

Genshin Impact (copmposed by Yu-Peng Chen)

Outro: “Kingdom Hearts – Simple and Clean (Slowed Piano)” – [Kingdom Hearts] – composed by Hikaru Utada, covered by Jordan Daniels

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[The audio has a low hum in the background; somehow my mic picked up the noise from my PC. I did my best to remedy it so my apologies.]

Yup, it’s another episode celebrating another game, this time Donkey Kong 64, first released on November 22, 1999. This action adventure game places Donkey Kong in 3D, allowing the player to explore DK Isle as he rescues the rest of the Kong family and the island itself from K. Rool’s Blast-O-Matic weapon. It is also one of two games that required the Expansion Pak for the N64 (The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask).

We’ll be playing several original tracks from the game, along with their covers and remixes. Yes, we’ll also talk a little bit about one of the game’s infamous tracks: the DK Rap.

It’s time to get bananas and get down and funky…

Donkey Kong Wiki

DK Rap Remixes

Rare Treats: DONKEY KONG 64 Revisited (Materia Collective, Bandcamp)

Track Listing

(all original tracks were composed by Grant Kirkhope)

Intro: “DK Rap”

BGM: “Main Menu”

“Jungle Japes” / “Jungle Melody”

“Jungle Japes – Donkey Kong 64 (Rock/Metal) Cover” – covered by gabocarino96

“Gloomy Galleon”

“Gloomy Galleon (Donkey Kong 64) Metal Guitar Cover” – covered by Dee Leggett

“Pufftoss Boss”

“Bloated Symphony (Pufftos) | Donkey Kong 64 (Remix)” – remixed by AstrothSounds

“Mad Jack Battle”

“Mad Jack Battle – Donkey Kong 64 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” – remixed by A_A_RonHD

“Banana Fairy Isle”

“Banana Fairy Isle – Donkey Kong 64 Cover (feat. Madalyn Music)” – covered by EndofTheSeaVGM

“Hideout Helm”

“DK64 “Hideout Helm” Orchestral Remix” – remixed by RebeccaETrip

Outro: “DK Rap (Player2 Remix) [2023 Radio Edit] – Donkey Kong 64” – composed by George Andreas and Grant Kirkhope, remixed by Player2

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This week, we are celebrating the 23rd anniversary of “Halo: Combat Evolved”, released on November 15th. It was the launch title for Microsoft’s first console, the Xbox. This first-person shooter helped spawn a franchise of sequels, books, and film. By November 2005, it sold more than six million copies worldwide. Halo CE is considered a successor to Bungie’s previous games: Marathon and Marathon 2: Durandal.

We’ll be listen several original tracks from the game, along with any covers and remixes to follow.

Sit back and enjoy the music from a game considered on the greatest in history…

Halopedia

Laced Records – Halo

Track Listing

All original tracks were composed by Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori

Intro: “Opening Suite”

BGM: “Halo/The Siege of Madrigal”

“Rock Anthem for Saving the World – Halo Guitar Cover” – covered by Sumask

“Perilous Journey”

“Halo – Perlious Journey [New Remix] | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” – remixed by LUCKYRiCK

“Under Cover of Night”

“COVER: Halo CE – “Under Cover of Night”” – covered by Cursed Lemon

“On a Pale Horse”

“On a Pale Horse (HALO CE) But It’s Synthwave” – covered by MS Synthwave

“Dust and Echoes”

“Dust and Echoes (Piano Version)” – covered by Hailscope

Outro: Halo Theme (Irish Folk Version) – composed by Martin O’Donnell, covered by Colm R. McGuiness

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What is black and white and holds 88 keys in one place? No, it’s not another Keyblade. It’s a piano, an acoustic instrument in which pressing a key will cause a hammer to strike a tuned string. In the hands of a capable and talented musician, it can produce music that soothes the soul and enriches the creative mind.

This week, we’re celebrating World Piano Day on Friday, November 8th, in honor of this acoustic instrument and its pianist. We’ll be listening to tracks from video games in which one can easily learn to play on the piano: a party of warriors in a final fantasy, a link to the past, and a tale from the Underground. All the covers and remixes will be rendered on piano.

Prepare to listen to musicians tickle the ivories and travel across the keyboard with flair and dexterity…

World Pianist Day

10 Easy Video Game Music Arrangements For Piano Students

Track Listing

“Opening Theme” – [Final Fantasy] – composed by Nobuo Uematsu

“Final Fantasy: Main Theme” – arranged by pianoYN

“Fairy Fountain” / “A Goddess Appears” – [The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past] – composed by Koji Kondo

“The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – Fairy Fountain (Piano)” – arranged by Jonathan Aldrich

“Megalovania” – [Undertale] – composed by Toby Fox

“Undertale: Megalovania | Frank & Zach Piano Duets” – arranged by Frank & Zach Piano Duets

Outro: “Fragile Fantasy – Genshin Impact Dragonspire OST – Piano” – [Genshin Impact] – composed by Yu Peng Cheng – covered by Jordan D Piano (Jordan Daniels)

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