Jam Pak

What even is a sprinkle in video game music? This is the question that Matt and Evan try to answer in this episode of Jam Pak, and Rick tries his best to have a good attitude about it. Get ready to have your eardrums tickled by some excellent video game music with extra sprinkles.

This episode is shmupped up! That's right, it's all tracks from autoscrolling shoot em ups. Rick plays three tracks that all have an interesting thing in common, Matt plays a series of rockin jams from a developer we all know and love, and Evan issues a formal apology to a composer.

Stepping away from the usual Jam Pak subject matter, the boys decide to focus only on covers of tracks from video games. This episode features fun arrangements of some well-known (and not so well-known) jams, as well as a lot of discussion about different music genres like heavy metal, jazz, and... bardcore.

In this episode, the boys focus on games that only released in Japan, and it's mispronunciations and bangers galore! Seriously, though, this one has some insanely good music. Rick plays a track from a game that sounds incredibly silly, Evan discovers a loop that he just can't get enough of, and Matt hits us with one of the most soulful Famicom tracks we've ever heard.

A hyper-specific topic on this one, it's all tracks featuring orchestra hits! An orchestra hit, commonly used in the 16-bit generation of video game music, is a single staccato note that uses the sounds of a large number of different orchestral instruments. Tracks that use orchestra hits tend to either sound more pumped up or sillier than the average track. In addition to orchestra hits, Rick puts a second limitation on Matt and Evan for this episode. Listen and find out what it is. A lot of fun tracks in this one!

It's JP2K! This time around, the boys are limiting their picks to games that were only released in this millennium. This episode features tracks from a really nice mix of consoles and indie games that deserve just as much attention as those 80's and 90's jams we all love.

Jam Pak is back! Rick, Evan, and Matt get Season 2 started by playing the hits. Well-known tunes from classic games take center stage in this episode, and they're just as delightful to listen to now as they were the first time we heard 'em.

The wolf children (Jam Pak boys) are back for the 1st annual Jam Pak Spooky Special! Matt, Evan, and Rick talk about hold music, spooky stories from their own lives, and other scary subjects while listening to some Cold Stone Classic jams from spooky games like Castlevania, Clocktower, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Better keep the lights on for this one, pals!Instagram---> @jampakpodcastBluesky---> @jampakpod

We made it, pals! It's the Jam Pak Season 1 Finale, and this time around the boys are playing whatever they want! No topics, no limits, just pure VGM bliss. No surprise here, but this episode puts the JAM in Jam Pak! Thanks for listening, and we'll see y'all soon for Season 2!

It's a Battle of the Composers in this episode of Jam Pak! Matt, Rick, and Evan each bring tracks from a specific composer that they didn't choose themselves. Matt pulls some great tracks from one of the all-time most prolific composers, Motoi Sakuraba, Rick plays some cold stone hits from Miki Higashino, and Evan steps way out of his comfort zone to find some George Sanger bangers. It's up to the pals to decide who wins the Jam Pak Season 1 Battle of the Composers!

Two underappreciated systems get some shine in the 10th episode of Jam Pak. The Sega Master System and Game Gear are both known for having a tinny sound, but when the music on these two systems hits, it hits hard! This episode is a pleasant surprise from start to finish, with some of the best music of the whole season that will have the pals making that “stank face”.

Girls to the front! This episode is a focus on games with a lady as the main playable character, and it's full of discoveries. Matt and Evan both dig pretty deep and find some tracks that they just can't get enough of, and Rick makes some interesting musical discoveries of his own. Some of the catchiest and most musically sophisticated tracks of the whole season can be found in this episode!

It's an all sports games focus in this episode, and boy oh boy does this one have some bangers! Sports games aren't exactly known for being great to play, so you might think music from sports games wouldn't be that great either. Well, pals, we're happy to report that the music in this episode had us wishing we could've taken it into overtime. Seriously, these tracks rule! A lot of these tracks are pumped up, some are sweet, and one track gets pretty emotional. You don't want to miss this one!

Someone roll out the red carpet! It's movie night at Jam Pak Studios, and the boys are playing tunes only from games based on movies. Rick decides to go covers only, Evan tells a story about getting motion sickness while playing VR mini golf, and Matt brings down the house with a track that's reminiscent of an 80s Paula Abdul banger. For technical reasons, this was the last episode recorded for Jam Pak Season 1, so they also try their best to not spoil things from future Jam Pak episodes.

Grab your shovels and headlamps! We're going underground in this episode of Jam Pak. The boys play tracks from video game caves and underground areas, and they make an effort to assess each track, listening for that “cave sound”. Rick brings a track for the 1990s alternateens, Matt plays an all-time Game Boy Color banger, and Evan lays down a particularly wet one. Dive on in, pals!

In this episode of Jam Pak, we're travelling forward in time to the distant future. The boys explore music from flying shooters, RPGs, tactical roguelikes, an unreleased NES game, and a weird golf game starring a humanoid robot. A really nice mix of consoles and eras in this episode too. The future is looking bright for the Jam Pak pals!

It turns out that jams can be found in the least likely of places. That's right, it's a focus on good music from bad games on this episode of Jam Pak. Matt brings some hot jams from three poorly regarded NES side scrollers, Evan discovers an absolute banger of a track from a Mahjong game, and Rick pitches a made-for-TV movie that we think all the pals would enjoy. These games may suck, but their tunes are top notch!

It's over! It's all over!!! It's a focus on Ending Music! Good endings, bad endings, and game overs are all on the table for this episode. The boys go in expecting mostly bittersweet tunes, but more often than not, they find that video game ending music can be amped up. They also give a proper farewell to a late, great golfing champ. Some excellent music on this episode that is paired best with a cup of chamomile tea. Grab your PJs and cozy up pals. It's Jam Pak!

It's an all Konami games focus, so you already know this episode is jammin'. Matt talks upgraded sound chips, Evan discovers his love of sprinkles, and Rick brings a refreshing track that feels like having your bare feet in the grass on a summer day. Take your shoes off, go outside, and give this episode a spin.

Title screens! The intro to a video game as you boot it up. This is the inaugural episode and boy is it kind of a mess! Matt, Evan, and Rick kick things off by establishing the format of the show and listening to some really great music. Headphone delays cause Evan and Matt to sound like they've had a little too much to drink, but it's not enough to stop these three pals from playing some cold stone classic jams.