Stand Under the Don’t Tree and Riddle Me This

This is a big one, folks. Dennis Furia joins me in the studio to discuss the top 20 games of the decade, and I review both DJ Hero and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.

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Topics:

Game News

• Silent Hill 2 adapted for the stage.
• Silent Hill composer leaves Konami.
• MYST brought to GoodOldGames.com

Portraits of Shame

• Woman cuts power to hospital, blames Silent Hill.
• Sarah Palin-signed XB360 marked down to $800.

What’cha Been Playin’?

• Uncharted 2 (PS3)
• DJ Hero (XB360)
• Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (Wii)

Songs Played:

1. “Devil’s Haircut” – Beck
2. “Revolution” – The Beatles
3. “Chase the Devil” – Eagles of Death Metal

4. “Pinch Me” – Barenaked Ladies
5. “Little Bird” – The Eels
6. “Movement” – LCD Soundsystem
7. “Sonnet No. 3 (Like a Duck)” – MC HONKY

I go it alone for the first time this quarter, in a lean/mean episode heavy on Portraits of Shame and quick hit game news. Brandon Kisker from Five Minute Major calls in to give his first impressions of Assassin’s Creed 2.

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Topics:

Portraits of Shame

• Google provides free wi-fi at airports for the holiday.
• Mario and Luigi commit armed robbery in New York City.
• Pokemon marriage proposal.
• Man eats rusty metal for fun.
• Xbox 360 has 60% failure rate.

What’cha Been Playin’?

• Assassin’s Creed 2 (XB360)
• Saw (XB360)
• Dragon Age: Origins (XB360)
• Guitar Hero 5 (XB360)
• New Super Mario Bros. (Wii)

Game News

• Natal rumored for Nov. 2010, at $80.
• Alan Wake releasing in May 2010.
• 2 million simultaneous Xbox Live users.
• Silent Hill: Shattered Memories releasing Dec. 8.
• Hotel Dusk getting a sequel.
• Gwen Stefani sues Activision over Band Hero appearance.
• Microsoft bans tons of Xbox Live users.
• Child’s Play 2009 opens for donations.

Songs Played:

1. “New Fang” – Them Crooked Vultures
2. “Icky Thump” – The White Stripes
3. “Rotten World Blues” – The Eels
4. “Alone + Easy Target” – Foo Fighters
5. “Mind Eraser (No Chaser)” – Them Crooked Vultures
6. “Crawl Home” – The Desert Sessions
7. “White Waves” – Shearwater
8. “You’re Untied Again” – Okkervil River
9. “Sowing Season (Yeah)” – Brand New
10. “Doin’ the Cockroach” – Modest Mouse
11. “Tangled Up in Plaid” – Queens of the Stone Age
12. “Bandoliers” – Them Crooked Vultures

Comedian Rajiv Satyal, comedian and Cincinnati native, stops by the Bearcast studio for an interview at his alma mater. He speaks about his show, and tells the story of how he named Bearcast. Check out his site at www.funnyindian.com.

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Amber, of Shiny and the Spoon, joins Kole in the studio to discuss net neutrality, Geocities, and Chris Farley.

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Topics:

News

• John McCain proposes anti-Net Neutrality law.
• Yahoo shutters GeoCities.

Portraits of Shame

• Ice skating bear kills Russian circus hand.
• Nannies protest Dante’s Inferno.
• DirecTV desecrates Chris Farley’s corpse.

What’cha Been Playin’?

• Ben There, Dan That (PC)
• Time Gentlemen, Please! (PC)
• Zombies Ate my Neighbors (SNES)
• Pzizz (iPhone App)

Game News

• Netflix confirmed for Playstation 3.
• Civilization announced for Facebook.
• Chinese policies regulating gender of MMO characters

Songs Played:

1. “Black Wings” – Tom Waits
2. “Penny Harvest Field” – The Hiders
3. “The Next Four Months” – Okkervil River
4. “French Canadia” – The Minor Leagues
5. “Never Ending Math Equation” – Modest Mouse
6. “Drive Me to the Center” – The Seedy Seeds
7. “Nausea” – Beck
8. “She’s All Mine” – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
10. “Military Clothes” – Shearwater
11. “Looking Out My Back Door” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
12. “Numbered Days (Live)” – The Eels

Ben Merkel joins me in the studio for a high flying coverage of the Balloon Boy saga, and a discussion of the finer points of Xbox Live Achievements.

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Topics:

News

• Balloon Boy.
• Drew Carrey Twitter Drive.

Portraits of Shame

• Amazon sells sexy dog costumes.
• Louisiana judge disgraced.
• Postal worker caught stealing Gamefly shipments.

What’cha Been Playin’?

• Batman Arkham Asylum
• Resident Evil 5
• Beatles: Rock Band (again)
• Dr. Mario
• Mirror’s Edge
• Rolando 2
• Beneath a Steel Sky
• Final Fantasy XII

Game News

• September NPD Numbers
• Beatles: Rock Band outsells Guitar Hero 5
• Achievements sell games
• Facebook and Twitter on Xbox Live
• EverQuest addiction

Songs Played:

1. “Whorehoppin’” – Eagles of Death Metal
2. “E-Pro” – Beck
3. “Tremendous Dynamite” – Eels
4. “The Far Pavilions” – And You Will Know
5. “King Rat” – Modest Mouse
6. “Get it Together” – The Go Team
7. “Down in the Park” – Foo Fighters
8. “Atlas” – Battles
9. “A Day in the Life” – The Beatles

This week I was joined by Dennis Furia to discuss internet addiction, the McDonald’s at the Louvre, and the design disparity between Zelda games and newer Eastern-developed games. Also, a belated celebration of Shark Week in the “Strange… But” segment.

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Topics:

• New study on internet addiction in teens.
• McDonald’s is coming to the Louvre.
• Woman arrested for video rentals, 10 years overdue.
• Two animal attacks.
• SHARK TWEETS.
• Advance Wars, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Valkyria Chronicles, Beatles: Rock Band, Scribblenauts
• Jack Thompson sues Facebook.
• PSP GO doesn’t play nice with Macs.
• Hardware pricing outrage.
• Nintendo is apparently the best company in the world.
• Sarah Palin-signed Xbox 360 on eBay for $1.1 million.

Songs Played:

1. “I’m a Loser” – The Beatles
2. “Typical” – Mute Math
3. “Make it Wit Chu (Acoustic)” – Queens of the Stone Age
4. “Fulsom Prison Blues” – Johnny Cash
5. “Imitation of Life” – R.E.M.
6. “7/4 (Shoreline)” – Broken Social Scene
7. “Steady as She Goes” – The Raconteurs
8. “North Col” – Shearwater
9. “Legal Man” – Belle and Sebastian
10. “Bed” – Brand New

Still in a New York State of Mind (yet still hating Billy Joel’s smug attitude), Kole returns to the mic. Alongside him is Jordan, who was successfully returned to the studio after a successful milk carton campaign to find him. Topics include healthcare, samurai swords, Twilight, hardware redesigns and price cuts, a whole bunch of games.

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Songs Played:

1. “Satellite Skin” – Modest Mouse
2. “Fresh Blood” – Eels
3. “Hotel” – Broken Social Scene
4. “Mockingbirdsing” – Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
5. “O, Dana” – Okkervil River
6. “Oh No” – Andrew Bird
7. “Solitaire” – Wilco
8. “When U Love Somebody” – The Fruitbats
9. “WannaBe in L.A.” – Eagles of Death Metal

We are back with a full episode, featuring Kole and Ben, podcasters at large. We discuss the Pirate Bay, Twitter, and all sorts of techie topics.

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Songs Played:

1. “Sky Blue Sky” – Wilco
2. “Chandelier Searchlight” – Deerhoof
3. “Us vs. Them” – LCD Soundsystem
4. “Women We Haven’t Met Yet” – Minus the Bear
5. “Railroad Man” – Eels
6. “Tonto” – Battles
7. “Mexicola” – Queens of the Stone Age
8. “Cover” – Tom Vek
9. “Psychotic Girl” – The Black Keys
10. “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine” – James Brown

The show is a mite brief this week, due to a baseball game running long. Kole is joined by the intrepid Ben and the impetuous Jordan, and they all rush to fit two hours of awesome into one hour of panic.

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Songs Played:

1. “Lazy Eye” – Silversun Pickups
2. “Let’s Play Guitar in a Five Guitar Band” – Minus The Bear
3. “Penn Station” – The Felice Brothers
4. “Pop Lies” – Okkervil River
5. “Aerodynamic” – Daft Punk
6. “The Girl and the Robot” – Royksopp
7. “Packing Blankets” – The Eels

Come take a seat under the Don’t Tree and stare into the sun until time doesn’t matter anymore.

This week we talk about a number of Konami announcements, including a new Silent Hill. We also discuss the finer points of Game Boys and Donkey Kong.

Songs Played:

1. “C’mon C’mon” – The Von Bondies
2. “Down, Down, Down” – Tom Waits
3. “The Great Curve” – The Talking Heads
4. “Remember When (Side B)” – The Black Keys
5. “Before You Accuse Me” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
6. “Melody Day” – Caribou
7. “Starry Stairs” – Okkervil River
8. “I Can’t Wait” – Shearwater
9. “A Girl Like Me” – The Desert Sessions
10. “I Fought Piranhas” – The White Stripes
11. “Half Life” – Trocadero
12. “You Are My Face” – Wilco
13. “Doin’ the Cockroach” – Modest Mouse
14. “Burn the Witch” – Queens of the Stone Age
15. “Airborne” – Wussy