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Play the latest Humble Bundle with headphones
The latest Humble Bundle, available through August 9, is composed of six musical albums and zero video games. Think of this bundle as a break from all the games you've been buying thanks to a certain recent sale, while still perfectly aligned with your latest paycheck.This bundle includes music from the Valkyria Chronicles series and Jonathan Coulton's Greatest Hit (Plus 13 Other Songs), which includes a live version of the iconic song "Still Alive" from Portal. Albums by Christopher Tin, They Might Be Giants, and MC Frontalot are also featured in the music package. The sixth album, OK Go's Twelve Remixes of Four Songs, is available to buyers that pay more than the average price.For those wary of picking up some new tunes, each piece of this Humble Bundle is compatible with any pair of headphones or speakers you want to use.
The Humble Bundle tries something different, lets you name your price for albums from They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton, and more
The Humble Bundle may have gone mobile on Android earlier this year, but that's proven to be a relatively small jump compared to the organization's latest expansion. It's now rolled out its first Humble Music Bundle, a collection of six albums that, as always, you can name your price for. Those include an album of rarities from They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton's Greatest Hit (Plus 13 Other Songs), an exclusive MC Frontalot collection, Christopher Tin's Calling All Dawns, and game composer Hitoshi Sakimoto's Best of the Valkyria Chronicles -- plus OK Go's Twelve Remixes of Four Songs if you pay above the current average price. Naturally, all of the albums are DRM-free and available in both MP3 and FLAC formats, and you're able to choose what percentage of your payment goes to the artists, charities (Child's Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation) and the Humble Bundle organization itself. You can get a taste of what's in store in the video after the break, or get previews of each album before you buy at the link below.
Four Grammy Awards renamed to include 'video games music,' underline its growing importance
Video games have never had a problem sitting alongside movie DVDs and music CDs (back when such things were distributed physically) in stores, so it's frankly overdue to see them pop up in a mainstream awards show like the Grammys. The US Recording Academy has finally deigned to address video games and their aural landscapes as a separate class of entertainment, and has now amended four of its awards to spell that out. What was formerly known as "Motion, Television, or Other Visual Media" is now reclassified as "Motion, Television, Video Games Music, or Other Visual Media," leading to there now being four awards that explicitly recognize excellence in video game music scores. Guess that was inevitable after Christopher Tin's Baba Yetu won a Grammy this February, ostensibly because of its inclusion as one of the marquee songs on Civilization 4, but in a category entirely unrelated to gaming. Skip past the break to hear it for yourself, along with a couple of other favorites of ours.
OneBigGame assembles 17 game composers for album to benefit children's charities
Gaming charity OneBigGame has partnered with developers for such as Chime and WINtA, with a portion of the profit they've generated going to benefit children's charities. Its new project, while still game-related, is decidedly less interactive -- but nonetheless compelling. The organization has announced it's teaming with the Game Music Initiative to bring together 17 game composers to create the OneBigAlbum, featuring new works by the likes of Masaya Matsuura (above, PaRappa the Rapper) and Emmy award-winning Christopher Tin (Civilization IV). Eighty percent of the proceeds will go to Save the Children and the Starlight Children's Foundation, each receiving half. OneBigGame hasn't firmed up a release date yet, but we'd say keeping the album on your radar would be a sound move. We've got the full list of composers who are contributing just past the break.
Christopher Tin wins Grammy for Civ 4's 'Baba Yetu'
Christopher Tin's "Baba Yetu," otherwise known as "that Civilization IV song that won't get out of your head," won a Grammy for "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists" at the 53rd annual music awards. The track, which is the first piece of video game music nominated for a little gramophone, was recognized so many years later because it was the opening track on composer Christopher Tin's debut album, Calling All Dawns, which also won a Grammy for "Best Classical Crossover Album." Tin's "Baby Yetu" has been a mainstay of Video Games Live for several years and can be seen performed live on the show's DVD/Blu-ray (and on the YouTubes). "We're so proud of Christopher's Grammy Award victory and what he has accomplished," said Video Games Live CEO Tommy Tallarico in a statement this morning. "This historic moment will continue to bridge the gap between mainstream music and video games. It is an honor to perform his music in our show." The award-winning song and the entire Calling All Dawns album are both available through iTunes.
Civ IV theme nominated for Grammy, first game music ever nominated
The slow-to-adapt music industry has finally caught on that Christopher Tin's "Baba Yetu," an amazing piece composed for Civilization IV, is worthy of a Grammy nomination. The song was originally created for the 2005 game, but has since made the pro choir circuit over the years, and has also become a staple of Video Games Live. The track, which is nominated in the "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists" category, is from the composer's debut album, Calling All Dawns. Video Games Live Executive Producer Tommy Tallarico tells Joystiq that this is the first time a song made for a video game has been nominated for a Grammy award. He explained, "We've worked very hard through the Game Audio Network Guild for the past decade to gain game composers the ability to be nominated for a Grammy and to get the recognition they deserve. ... We've always been very honored to work together with our good friend Christopher Tin to bring this wonderful song to the world. As video games start to evolve more into our culture and become a bigger part of mainstream society, we're hoping to see a lot more of this kind of thing happening in the future." The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will be held on February 13, 2011. Best of luck to Tin on grabbing the Grammy: he'll win an award and hold a record that will stand the test of time.
Video Games Live trying New Orleans concert for PBS again
Video Games Live plans to record a show on April 1 (no joke) in New Orleans to be aired on PBS stations in July. As this is going on the tee-vees, special guests and spectacle are planned. Ralph Baer will play Pong against an audience member on stage, with the symphony providing the sound. Guests for the post-show "meet and greet" include Tommy Tallarico (Earthworm Jim/Advent Rising), Jack Wall (Myst/Mass Effect), Marty O'Donnell (Halo), Russell Brower (Blizzard), Gerard Marino (God of War), Christopher Tin (Civilization IV) and more. VGL Executive Producer Tommy Tallarico tells Joystiq that the previous attempt to record the show in February fell through due to licensing and approval issues. Tickets for the show are available from Ticketmaster. Hopefully, the second attempt goes smoother.
