WPRB Princeton 103.3 FM

New Jersey's Only Radio Station

WPRB is a community-supported, freeform radio station. Our FM signal (103.3) serves central New Jersey, Philadelphia, eastern PA and the northern tip of Delaware. We reach a global audience at wprb.com.

it is what it is

Jun 30, 2025 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Music

With Tis

50% video game soundtracks, 110% heart. we're gonna dance, we're gonna feel feelings, and we're gonna make connections.

ep43: bitterersweeter symphony

it was a travel week this week, so i have broken the emergency glass and revived an old favorite format: today we'll hear some very long -- dare we say symphonic? -- video game songs, interrupted by covers of The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony."

i enjoy this, because it lets us hear the depth and scope that some vgm works can achieve, while allowing us to simultaneously more deeply investigate Schrödinger's Pop Song: is "Bittersweet Symphony" a meme? is it earnestly good? or is it a superposition of all the states in between?

we'll also end with the most epic chiptune cover that exists, as a treat.

6:00 PM		Norio Hanzawa OBLIVIOUS PAST(Ending BGM) Norio Hanzawa Alien Soldier FUTURELAND 1995 Alien Soldier released 1995 for Mega Drive
6:05 PM		London Grammar Bitter Sweet Symphony (Live at BBC Maida Vale) London Grammar Truth Is a Beautiful Thing (Deluxe) Ministry of Sound Recordings 2017
6:09 PM		Ratvader Ouji Saint Ratvader Ultros (Original Soundtrack) Laced Records 2024 Ultros released 2024 for various platforms
6:22 PM		Mazza & Go Bitter Sweet Symphony (Club Mix) Bitter Sweet Symphony House Nation 1998
6:30 PM		Jesper Kyd Title Theme Jesper Kyd The Adventures of Batman & Robin sdtk. The Adventures of Batman & Robin released 1995 for Genesis
6:39 PM		Graeme James Bittersweet Symphony Graeme James Play One We All Know, Vol. II Graeme James 2014
6:43 PM		Lena Raine & pluswav Game, Set, Match! BEASTIEBALL Original Sound Track 2024 Beastieball currently in Early Access for Mac and PC
6:50 PM		Unknown Bitter Sweet Clocks mashup
6:53 PM		Yoshinori Nakamura Midgar Expressway - Long Ver. (FFVII REMAKE) Nobuo Uematsu FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Original Soundtrack Plus SQUARE ENIX MUSIC 2020 FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE released 2020 for PS4
7:05 PM		mr8bitninja 1-Bit-Ter Sweet Symphony 2021
7:07 PM		Wally Beben Tetris Wally Beben The Epic Themes Binary Zone Interactive 2007 Tetris released 1988 for C64
7:33 PM		Scala & Kolacny Brothers Bittersweet Symphony Scala & Kolacny Brothers Dream On Rhino 2004
7:36 PM		Isabelle Chiming Tarkus Emerson, Lake & Palmer 2024
7:57 PM		Rosanna Francesco Bitter Sweet Symphony (Acoustic Cover) Rosanna Francesco Full of Life: Lively Guitar Atmosphere RMG Classical Records 2019

Chat is archived.

we out here

\⁠(⁠ϋ⁠)⁠/⁠♩

wooo hoooooooooo <3

I'm ready for the music today e

we're going to need to be; this is the Not Messing Around Crew

well, almost all of them

Shall I be afraid?

no, never

just stretch those ears out, get that stamina ready :D

My stamina is unstoppable

yeah tandy!

today has been so great already and 6 to 1 am mondays are just my fav !

and deirdre's replay is up there for goated shit too honestly lmao

big ups!

big ups to you too, and welcome!!

wow ultris sounds beautiful in many ways

it's a metroidvania with a high-concept conceit; i loved the demo, and some day I'll get into the whole thing for real

in the meantime, the OST is beeyootiful

I'm kinda vegging out to this rn. Incredible.

way to bury the lead

stamina, i'm telling you!

Vibing so hard rn

same tbh

omg I think the avgn covered this game in an episode

i think it might be in the top 10 best vgm soundtracks ever, maybe even top 5

Yeah this really changes how the Genesis sounds imo

just a composer meeting a moment in a way that cannot ever be duplicated

Like this does not sound like it was made for a video game. It sounds like a studio track or something from a blockbuster scifi movie

💯

this is truly a long boi

its giving theme and variations

who was brave enough to sit at the title screen and listen to this in its entirety?

well if you don't know this particular game, it was difficult enough that one spent a lot of time at the title screen

so maybe eventually one just decided to go for it

i love that he gives you the normie variation at the very end

Those are some really nice ice bears on the cover for this track

tag urself, i am lying down bear

I'm the text bubble

couldn't do it without you

I gotta get some music from Mindwave or Scratchin Melodii up in here sometime

Hearing Beastieball on my FM radio made me think about neat indie stuff

those are both new to me; i am in your debt 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

ugh, the chrono trigger strings

i can't

Oh my god it's been SINCE I WAS 15 YEARS OLD I HEARD THIS ON LIMEWIRE

*extremely pouring one out*

I swear I heard this I can't be misremembering that

it definitely has that vibe to it

🤯🤯🤯

I could be misremembering hearing it on another p2p thing at a later date since I haven't used p2p in like a decade

yeeee ff7!

@TAndy could also be parallel evolution, though that particular mash struck me as particularly well done

@michael ☄️⚔️

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Funny was looking at White Mage fanart and then seeing the playlist to find a FF song playing!

the odds are a little better during this show than most 😅

And came across White Mage dressed as Ulala from Space Channel LOL 💖https://www.deviantart.com/deaththeshadow/art/Space-White-Mage-Channell-1135679901

classic look!

And pink hair dominance!

well duh sure

Uh obviously yeah

I think her name is btw maybe Shiroma, this particular mage that appears in Mario Sports DS series

there's a white mage in the mario sports series???

Yeah

https://www.mariowiki.com/Mario_Sports_Mix

that is deep lore <3

Why does this go so hard

Tis - My friend recently got me into it months ago and would play as WM Shiroma...which he calls her a pink hair FF Rosalina ripoff LOL

@TAndy it's a UNESCO World Heritage track, imo

Since some FF chars are there, you can they're in the same universe with Mario, haha

@Ossy mashup of the century 👑

Hey, peeps! :D

Hi FME!!! :)

What's cookin', y'all?

Mario Gaming Universe

Tons of VG music tonight! :D

🦾

FME - Mhmm, smells great also!!

Just in time for dinner, Ossy! :D

🎮💯

💖💖💖

and watching playthrough of zelda 2: adventure of link with this! 💚🌟

🗡️🗡️🗡️ (Link's sword)

Got to watch someone play old-school Zelda during a video game music show in-person meetup locally last Saturday. I didn't get the chance to play, though. :D

I listened to the Super Mario Compact Disco tracks yesterday. Good stuff. :D

@FME what locality was the meetup in?? that's cool!

OH SHIT 🎽

🚨🚨🚨

SoCal (the LA County part of the Inland Empire region). 😎

@Tomi I was so hoping you'd be here for this one :)

@FME Nice!!

We have meetups once every couple of months or so.

This is pretty dope ... an 8-bit cover of ELP!

FME - AWESOMENESS! Long ago at my cousin's high school, 1st saw Link in the fighting game Soul Calibar 2, and 2 years later got Zelda 2 for my birthday

@FME what a lovely piece of community! and yes, i was psyched to uncover this, especially coming from one of my fave chiptune folks

This dos adventure(police quest) won't be known much in everyone's neighborhood, but it's policing fun 🔵💙https://www.google.com/search?q=dos+police+quest+1&client=ms-android-tmus-us-revc&sca_esv=95ea4c12a7d0ddd3&udm=2&biw=411&bih=702&ei=sCBjaMv6O5vk5NoPoISC8Ac&oq=dos+police+quest+1&gs_lp=EhJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWciEmRvcyBwb2xpY2UgcXVlc3QgMTIGEAAYCBgeMgYQABgIGB4yBRAhGKsCMgUQIRirAkiSF1CXDFioEHAAeACQAQCYAZYDoAGuBaoBBzAuMi40LTG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgOgAqIGwgIGEAAYBxgewgIGEAAYBRgemAMAiAYBkgcHMC4yLjQtMaAH8

this really changes how I think about the NES

Yep, this type of community is what helps me keep a bit sane these days.

Speaking more of the NES, kinda played one mystery retro adventure called Maniac Mansion

I'm saving that Tarkus one on my YouTube playlist.

Ossy, that was a cool birthday gift! I never got any game stuff for a gift. When it came to games back in the day, I'd just watch my brother beat all the games. LOL.

He was/is a lot more coordinated than I am. LOL.

@Ossy is that the old Sierra Police Quest? And Maniac Mansion has a bomb soundtrack :)

@Tomi fwiw, this is an expanded nes chip, as hard most famously on the Japanese version of Castlevania 3

full list of games with expanded nes hardware is here: https://www.nesdev.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_expansion_audio

this track is VRC6 specifically

Tis - Oh yea for both! Years back got into police quest on random recommendation after watching another classic dos Hugo 1: House of Horrors

really liked todays theme!!

Also got into space and kings quest...and space quest is fn hilarious!!!

@rosasolis queeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen

glad you enjoyed! prog 4eva

Oooooo rosalina

@Ossy have never played space, but have watched compilations of all the death scenes/jokes

Yeah the ways to die/lose blow me up into crazed quirky laughter

Coming in the space station with this space hazmat suit on, is instant "death" by Roger's mean scary violent boss LOOOOOL https://alexbevi.com/images/adventure/sq2/scummvm-sq2-00003.png

Thank you for the incredible show!

wow great show

Serious VG music! Woot!

see ya tis, stay gaming nerdy and sassy!

ty all, loved getting to uncork those vintage tracks with you :)

peace

Until next time ... more VG goodies! :D