New Pokemon TCG City Championships interview after Top 25

I interviewed a player at another recent Pokemon TCG City Championship, and that interview will debut after tomorrow's Top 25 Countdown. You can also see it here:

New Pokemon TCG City Championships interview after Top 25 and before Remix PIRN

I interviewed a player at a recent Pokemon TCG City Championship, and that interview will debut after today's Top 25 Countdown and be replayed before tonight's Remix PIRN. The interview will be in the regular playlist starting tomorrow. You can also see the interview here:

New music for the week of 12/26/2011

The Christmas music may be off the station, but there is a new track from the Pika Pika Massaichu Single:

-Pool

That literally is the name of the track. For those of you who aren't aware, it's from the Japanese version of the Pikachu short from The First Movie.

Interview with Alex Nackman ("Follow Your Star") now on the station

Earlier this week, I conducted an interview with Alex Nackman, who co-wrote both versions (and performed one version) of "Follow Your Star", the ending song for the Pokemon Victini movies. That two-part interview is now on the station. You can also check it out here:

New music for the week of 12/19/2011

One new track from the Can You Draw All the Pokémon? single:

-Crayon de Pokémon

Because of the way the music on the station is grouped, you'll probably be hearing this about once per day.

Pokemon the Movie White-Victini and Zekrom review following today's Top 25

There will be a review of last weekend's Pokemon the Movie White-Victini and Zekrom following today's Top 25 Countdown. You can also see the review here:

New music for the week of 11/21/2011

Three tracks this week, all from Pokemon Rumble Blast:

-Toy Town
-Easterly Town
-Westerly Town

Fair Wairning: Holiday music starts on Friday (or very late on Thursday).

By the Numbers: Victini and Zekrom’s Theatrical Distribution

For those who weren’t aware, one of the 14th Pokémon movies, Pokémon the Movie: White-Victini and Zekrom, is being given a limited theatrical distribution on December 3rd and 4th. You can read a list of the currently announced locations here.

For those of you who love statistics, I thought I’d break down the numbers and give you some interesting facts (accurate as of 11/19/2011):

-347 locations are currently listed, covering 39 states.
-The largest state without any theatres on the list is Utah, with 2.7 million people.
-The smallest state with a location on the list is Wyoming (which is also the smallest state in the country).
-The state with the highest number of listings relative to its population is Hawaii, which has one location for about every 194,000 people. If the entire country were covered at this rate, there would be over 1500 screens showing the movie.
-Out of all states with one or more venues, the one with the highest population-to-theatre ratio is Wisconsin (primarily by virtue of being the largest state with only one announced location). If the entire country were covered at this rate (approximately 5.7 million to one), there would be a mere 54 screens.

For you nitpickers out there, here are several problems with the current list:

-One entry for Colorado (Highlands Ranch) is mixed in with the locations for California.
-There are two vertical dividing lines between “MI” (Michigan) and “MN” (Minnesota) in the header. However, the only states that start with an “M” not currently listed are Maine (“ME”) and Montana (“MT”), neither falling between the two alphabetically.
-Although Minnesota comes before Missouri alphabetically, the one location in Minnesota is listed after Missouri’s locations.
-Despite having a location listed, Wisconsin does not appear in the list of states at the top of the page.

Sources:

List of theatres
List of state populations (itself derived from 2010 census data)

New Nick McKaig interview following tomorrow's Top 25

Yep, the recently added artist just completed an interview and it will premiere tomorrow following the Top 25 Countdown.

New music for the week of 11/14/2011

Four new tracks this week. Three from the Victini movie:

-The Sword Castle's Out of Control! (Reshiram Version)
-Bring the Dragon Current Under Control (Reshiram Version)
-The Beach and the Macaron

And one from Nick McKaig:

-Pokémon! (Theme)

You can buy Nick's album here:

iTunes

New interview before tonight's Instrumental PIRN + new music for the week of 11/7/11

I've got another Pokemon TCG Noble Victories Prerelease interview that will be premiering before tonight's Instrumental PIRN.

Also, the usual three new tracks from the Victini movies:

-Truth and Idealism
-Ash's Trials (Reshiram Version)
-Ash's Truth

Daylight Savings Time Ends Today

This is just a friendly reminder that Daylight Savings Time ends today in the US. As a result, all PIRN programming has been shifted back from GMT -5 to GMT -6.

New scheduling algorithm on the station today

I've recently purchased some new scheduling software for the station, and I've used it to schedule today's playlist. Here's what you'll notice:

-Longer overall playlist: Instead of looping every eight hours or so, the playlist now covers the entire day.
-More plays of the latest tracks: Going off of the statement above, I'm now better able to let some songs play more often than others. I'm still working out the exact ratios, but you should be hearing these songs more often than before.
-More variety in archival tracks (music from previous generations): Instead of having the same four tracks from archival albums for an entire week, you'll be able to hear a wider variety of selections each day.

And don't worry-despite these changes, I'm still planning on running our specialty programming blocks (Instrumental, Remix, and Top 25).

Please let me know what you think of the new scheduling method. You can contact me via the usual PokePress e-mail address or via the shout-out box on the station page.

New music for the week of 10/31/2011

Three new tracks this week, all from the Victini movie:

-The Thousand Year Dream
-The Protecting Pillars Start Up (Reshiram Version)
-The Sword Castle Levitates (Reshiram Version)

New Pokemon TCG Noble Victories Prerelease Interview Following Today's Top 25

There will be a new Pokemon TCG Noble Victories Prerelease interview following today's Top 25 Countdown.

In case you missed it, you can watch it here:

New music for the week of 10/24/2011

Just three new tracks this week, all from the Victini movie:

-Friends in the Orchard
-Journey of Conviction (Reshiram Version)
-The Country of the Earth (Reshiram Version)

New music for the week of 10/17/2011

Five new tracks this week. Two from the Pokemon anime:

-2006-2010 (DP)-M05 (Together)
-2006-2010 (DP)-M06 (Together)

This actually concludes our playthrough of the two volumes of Pokemon anime music. It only took us a little over a year to do it.

We also have the usual three tracks from the Victini movies:

-Victini Appears
-The Legend of the Country of the Earth (Reshiram Version)
-The People of the Earth

New Pokemon TCG Fall Battle Road interview following today's Top 25

There will be a new Pokemon TCG Fall Battle Road interview premiering on the station following today's Top 25 countdown. The countdown starts at 4pm Eastern (3pm Central).

You can also view it here:

New music for the week of 10/10/2011

Another six new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime:

-2002-2005 (AG)-M40 (Advance Adventure)
-2002-2005 (AG)-M41 (Advance Adventure)
-2006-2010 (DP)-M04 (Together)

And three from the Victini movies:

-Victini's Wish
-The Pokemon Known as a Legend, Zekrom
-The Curtain Rises! The Harvest Festival Commemorative Battle (Reshiram Version)

Pokémon Movies-A History of Limited Release

There seems to have been a lot of confusion regarding the recent announcement that one of the Pokémon movies released earlier this year in Japan would be headed to US theaters in a limited release covering “more than 300” screens. While it might seem unusual, this is not the first time a Pokémon movie has been shown in on a limited number of screens.

Contrary to what some may believe, the theatrical distribution of Pokémon movies in the US did not end with Pokémon 3: The Movie in 2001. After a long delay (the gap between the first, second, and third movies was eight or nine months), it was finally revealed that the fourth movie, now called Pokémon 4Ever, would be making its way to theaters in October of 2002. What wasn’t initially known, however, was that the movie would initially be shown only on about 250 screens in select markets as part of a limited distribution.

Truth be told, 250 is actually a lot better than what most limited release movies ever get. Many of them never expand beyond New York and Los Angeles. Even the acclaimed The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters never made it out of the fifties. According to the 2000 census data (and my memory of which markets were included), these 250 screens were enough to cover about 40% of the US population.

As for how the movie did, when Pokémon 4Ever was released, it grossed a little over $700,000 in its opening weekend (which works out to a little less than $2,900 a screen). After a few weeks, the film transitioned from the larger markets down to the smaller ones. Pokémon Heroes would follow a similar pattern in 2003.

Since then, there have been various theatrical exhibitions of Pokémon movies, typically as part of a special event. Most recently, Zoroark: Master of Illusions, the thirteenth movie, was shown at the Pokémon Black and White Mall tour earlier this year. Still, no movie has been shown commercially on anything approaching the scale of this upcoming release in over eight years.

What’s Different?

Unlike in 2002, Pokémon the Movie: White-Victini and Zekrom is being distributed via digital cinema, which has a lower cost versus distributing on film. Additionally, the movie is being shown on two days only, December 3rd and 4th. The smaller viewing window could lead to more packed theaters, but the fact that this is a limited-time event could also end up leaving more people out, with the exact number depending on the geographic distribution of the locations.

Sources:

Cinedigm press release

Cinedigm movie minisite

Pokémon 4Ever box office statistics

Pokémon Heroes box office statistics

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters box office statistics

2000 US Census data (Excel)

Wikipedia article on digital cinema

New Pokemon TCG Fall 2011 Battle Roads interview before tonight's Remix PIRN

There will be a new Fall 2011 Battle Roads interview premiering on the station right before tonight's Remix PIRN at 11pm Eastern/10pm Central.

New music for the week of 10/3/2011

Another six new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime:

-1999-2001-M36 (OK!)
-1999-2001-M37 (OK!)
-1999-2001-M38 (OK!)

Despite the similar names, these are actually fairly different takes on the same song.

Next, there are three songs from the Victini movie:

-V Generate
-Bring the Dragon Current Under Control
-Beach

New music for the week of 9/26/2011 + new poll

Six new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon TV show:

-2006-2010 (DP)-M19
-2006-2010 (DP)-M24
-2006-2010 (DP)-M25

And three from the Victini movie:

-Rescue Victini
-The Dragon Current Flows Backwards
-The Sword Castle's Out of Control!

I've also added a poll asking when you started listening to PIRN:

-Within the last month
-Within the last year
-Within the last 3 years
-Within the last 5 years
-More than 5 years ago

New Geek.Kon 2011 Interview following today's Top 25

There will be a new Geek.Kon 2011 interview following today's Top 25 Countdown. Of course, you can watch it here too:

PIRN Technical Journal 003: Removing Silence Between Tracks

Note: The following article describes a technical deficiency with PIRN. If you don't want it to be spoiled, stop reading this article.

Recorded music generally has space between songs. For vinyl records, this is indicated by a visible blank space on the surface of the disc:














(This is actually my copy of the Italian "PokéDance" EP. The record is so horribly scratched I can't use the music on the station. Nice to finally get some use out of it.)

These gaps make it easier to find specific tracks on the record. While they don't have visible gaps like records, the practice of having these silent passages has carried over to cassette tapes, CDs, and is still present in digital downloads today.

While this might seem like a good feature, in radio, silence is generally the worst thing to have playing. The common term for this is "dead air", a name which should give you a pretty good idea of how bad it is. For the listener, these spaces between tracks can feel like an eternity (at least, they do to me when I listen to radio online).

While it is possible to manually edit the audio in an editor such as Audacity, there is actually a way to remove silence without manually trimming (and then re-encoding) the file. A helpful utility called mpTrim can detect and remove silence from both ends of an mp3 file (in digital audio, tracks often contain a small amount of silence at the beginning and several seconds at the end). With a single click, it will automatically attempt to detect the actual beginning and end of the sound. Of course, you can preview the new start and end points and adjust them as necessary before saving.

There's one other feature of mpTrim worth mentioning. As I said earlier, this article exposes a technical fault of the station. Despite what you might think, the tracks on PIRN don't actually crossfade-there is no actual overlap where two tracks are playing at the same time. Instead, by adding a short (usually one tenth of a second) fade on each end, the illusion of a crossfade can be created.

New music for the week of 9/19/2011

6 more new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon Anime:

-2006-2010 (DP)-M10
-2006-2010 (DP)-M14
-2006-2010 (DP)-M18

And three from the Victini movie:

-Ash's Ideals
-Golurk VS Reshiram
-Zekrom VS Reshiram

2-Part Key to Progression interview following Sunday's Top 25

A week or so ago I conducted an interview with The Key to Progression, creators of an OC ReMix released earlier this year. The 2-part interview will be on the station following Sunday's Top 25 Countdown.

Or you can just watch it here:

New music for the week of 9/12/2011

Six more new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime:

-2002-2005 (AG)-M31
-2002-2005 (AG)-M33
-2002-2005 (AG)-M34

And three from the Victini movies:

-Idealism and Truth
-Seek Out Zekrom
-Ash's Trials

Happy listening!

New interview following Sunday's Top 25

There will be a new Pokemon TCG Emerging Powers Prerelease interview following Sunday's Top 25 Countdown.

New music for the week of 9/5/2011

Another week, another six tracks. Three from the Pokemon anime:

-2002-2005 (AG)-M26
-2002-2005 (AG)-M27
-2002-2005 (AG)-M29

And three from the Victini movie:

-The Country of the Earth
-The Protecting Pillars Start Up
-The Sword Castle Levitates

New music for the week of 8/29/2011

Six new songs this week. Three from the Pokemon TV series:

-2002-2005 (AG)-M14
-2002-2005 (AG)-M15
-2002-2005 (AG)-M17

And our first three from the Victini movies:

-The Pokemon Known as a Legend, Reshiram
-Lure it with a Macaron
-The Legend of the Country of the Earth

And no, that second one isn't a typo (at least, according to Dogasu's Backpack). A macaron and a macaroon are two different things.

New two-part interview following today's Top 25

There will be a new two-part interview with Zack Bogucki following today's Top 25 Countdown. The countdown starts at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central.

New OC Remix interview before tonight's Remix PIRN

I've got an interview with "TheGuitahHeroe", creator of the recent "Temporal Despair" Pokemon Mystery Dungeon OC ReMix, that will premiere just before tonight's Remix PIRN at 11/10c. If you haven't already, you can download the mix here. The interview will join the regular PIRN playlist tomorrow.

New music for the week of 8/22/2011

Four new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime:

-2002-2005 (AG)-M07
-2002-2005 (AG)-M08
-2002-2005 (AG)-M10

And one new one from Zack Bogucki:

-Dream Eater (Remix of Game Sync from Pokemon Black & White Versions)

You can check out Zack's new album, Amalgorithm, here:

iTunes Amazon

Two new Worlds 2011 interviews before tonight's Remix PIRN

There will be two new Pokemon World Championships 2011 interviews before tonight's remix PIRN Block. One is with a participant in the video game competition, and the other is with Ray Rizzo, this year's Masters VG champ.

New Music for the Week of 8/15/2011

Five new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime as you might expect:

-1999-2001-M33
-2002-2005 (AG)-M05
-2002-2005 (AG)-M06

No, the track names aren't really any more helpful in the third generation than in the first two. We also have one more track from Germany:

-Misty's Song

Yes, the "In Der Dunkelheit Der Nacht" single does include an English version as well. There's also another new track from the far-off land of Rhode Island:

-Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time 'Temporal Despair' OC ReMix

You can check that one out anytime here.

First Pokemon Worlds 2011 Interview on the Station

I've added the first Worlds 2011 interview to the station playlist. It will also appear after Sunday's Top 25 countdown.

New music for the week of 8/8/2011

Four new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon Anime:

-1999-2001-M29
-1999-2001-M31
-1999-2001-M32

And a special track direct from Germany:

-In Der Dunkelheit Der Nacht

For those of you not familiar, "In Der Dunkelheit Der Nacht" is basically the German version of Misty's Song.

PIRN Technical Journal 002: Importing Music from Overseas

One of the great things about this modern digital age is that it's easier than ever to import music from areas outside the US. Sometimes it's really easy because the music shows up on the iTunes store (a good example of this is The Master Saga), but often I'm not so lucky.

Japanese Music

Thank goodness they still make CDs in Japan. Actually, very little official Japanese Pokemon music is available on the Japanese iTunes store (though there is an expanded selection of English Pokemon music there-but that's a topic for another technical journal), so I have to import CDs to use here. I import most of my music from CDJapan (here's the latest Pokemon CD you can find there). The prices are good and EMS shipping generally gets the discs here within a few days (though annoyingly I have to pick them up at the post office since EMS requires a signature and I'm usually not home when they come).

Once the CD arrives, there's actually a bit more processing needed to get the music ready for the station. The metadata is generally in Japanese, so I have to translate that into English. Since I don't really know the language myself, I have to find outside resources to get the track names. In years past I would use an online Japanese-to-English translator to get the titles, but nowadays I generally use Bulbapedia or VGMdb to get the information. After that, I go through the standard ripping, leveling, and trimming process to put the music on the station.

Other Countries

For everywhere outside of Japan, most of my music comes from auctions on eBay. Thanks to the wonders of PayPal, I can buy music from virtually anywhere and have it shipped to my home. In contrast to CDJapan, however, shipping times vary considerably (there have been times I've waited weeks for music to be delivered), and of course there are no guarantees about selection.

New music for the week of 8/1/2011

Three new tracks this week, all from the Pokemon anime:

-1999-2001-M26
-1999-2001-M27
-1999-2001-M28

New music for the week of 7/25/2011

Just three new tracks from the Pokemon anime this week:

-1999-2001-M15
-1999-2001-M16
-1999-2001-M25

New music for the week of 7/18/2011 + new poll

Five new tracks on the station this week. Three from the Pokemon anime:

-1999-2001-M12
-1999-2001-M13
-1999-2001-M14

And two from the latest Japanese single:

-The Sky
-The Voice

To go along with this new single, I've added a new poll asking you to pick your favorite.

Also, in addition to these new songs, there are some additions to the instrumental and remix playlists thanks to a CD I got from Australia.

New music for the week of 7/11/2011 + new poll

Four new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime:

-1999-2001-M09
-1999-2001-M10
-1999-2001-M11

And one from a recent Japanese single:

-Can You Name All the Pokémon? BW

Going along with the last addition, I've added a new poll asking you to decide between it and Can't Stop Catchin' 'Em All.

Third US Nationals Interview Now on the Station

I've added the second Pokemon US Nationals interview to the main playlist, as well as a new interview with one of the top finishers in the Masters division of the video game competition.

New US Nationals 2011 interview following tomorrow's Top 25

I've got another US Nationals 2011 that will premiere on the station following tomorrow's Top 25 Countdown. This one is an interview with some of the participants in the VG event.

New US Nationals 2011 Interview on the Station

The first interview from US Nationals 2011 is now on the station. It covers 3DS StreetPass's impact on the event.

Fanfiction: MythBusters-Pokemon Special-Part 1 + Bonus MythRap Parody

MythBusters: Pokémon Special

Note: The outcomes in this fanfic are entirely hypothetical and have in no way been tested by me, nor do I encourage anyone to test them.

(Unless you actually are the MythBusters)

Adam: Attention viewers-do not try anything you are about to see at home.

Jamie: We’re what you call experts.

Announcer: On this bust-‘em-all episode of MythBusters-Can a bird ground a hot-air balloon-and survive to fly again?

(Reaction shot of Jamie)

Jamie: Looks like buster’s blasting off again.

Announcer: Meanwhile, Kari, Grant, and Tory test a shocking myth: Can a sudden jolt of electricity destroy a bicycle in seconds?

(Reaction shot of Kari)

Kari: My bike’s barbequed!

Announcer (Continued): Who are the MythBusters? Adam Savage.

Adam: There are a lot of unknowns here.

Announcer: And Jamie Hyneman.

Jamie: Through this electrode.

Announcer: Between them over thirty years of special effects experience. Joining them-Kari Byron.

Kari: You just totally jinxed us!

Announcer: Tory Belleci.

Tory: I see injuries in my future.

Announcer: And Grant Imahara.

Grant: My kettle corn empire!

Announcer: They don’t just tell the myths-they put them to the test!

Super: Balloon Bird Strike

(Adam and Jamie are in the shop in a typical myth-explaining setup)

Jamie: So what’s our myth?

Adam: Well, it involves hot air balloons.

Jamie: Go on.

Adam: Well, the myth is that a bird, flying at top speed, can fly through a balloon, tearing a hole and causing it to float back down to Earth.

Jamie: Is that it?

Adam: Actually, no-it goes even further. Apparently, not only does the bird make a hole through both sides of the balloon, but it also comes out on the other end relatively unharmed and can still fly back to its owner.

Jamie: Sounds like we’ll need to bring back the chicken gun.

Adam: Yes, but there are some other variables we need to consider.

Jamie: Like what?

Adam: Well, our research indicates that this has been done with varying sizes of birds flying at various speeds. I think we should start out by figuring out how much force and mass it takes to break through two layers of hot-air balloon material.

Jamie: Sound good to me.

Announcer: So that’s the myth.

(An animated sequence begins. Adam and Jamie are standing with Adam holding a dog and Jamie with a bird on his shoulder. Suddenly, Kari, Grant, and Tory appear and grab Adam’s dog and hop into a hot-air balloon shaped like Grant’s head)

Announcer: If a team of ner-do-wells kidnapped your prized pet and try to make a getaway in a hot-air balloon, you can send your trained bird-no, we didn’t make this up-to tear a hole in the balloon and send it back down.

(Jamie’s bird flies through the balloon, punching a hole and causing the balloon to fall)

Announcer: Amazingly, even after this kamikaze attack, the bird emerges on the other side safe enough to fly back to its owner.

(Jamie’s bird flies back, and Adam catches the dog as it falls)

Announcer: So while Adam and Jamie take care of things up above, Kari, Tory, and Grant are getting ready to hit the trail.

Super: Fried Bicycle

(Tory, Grant, and Kari are standing around about to explain a myth)

Grant: So, what’s the deal with this one?

Kari: Apparently, if you zap a bike with electricity from an animal equal to a bolt of lightning, you can actually destroy the bike, twisting the metal and rendering it unusable in a matter of seconds.

Tory (in disbelief): A bolt of lightning? What kind of animal can do that?

Kari: Apparently, some type of electric rodent.

Grant: Somehow I doubt we’ll be able to get one of those. Sounds like a good myth, though, so why don’t we start with the amount of current a real animal can put out, and if that’s not enough, we’ll turn up the voltage.

Tory: As long as I don’t have to be on the bike, that sounds great to me!

Cut to scene of Adam and Jamie

Adam: Jamie, we’ve done tons of myths on this show.

Jamie: Hundreds.

Adam: Well, the network is making a music video and they need us to pick out one hundred fifty.

Jamie: That’s an oddly specific number.

Adam: I know, and kinda familiar.

MythRap
Parody of PokéRap by James Willams/Babi Floyd
With new lyrics by Steven “Yoshi” Reich

We put them to the test,
Yes every one,
You know we won’t rest
Yeah we’re not done

Bumpy Road, Phone Books, Jailbreak, Turkey
Nitrogen, Antacid, Baghdad-Battery
Drafting, Alcatraz, Jawbreaker, Taxi
Sodium, Convertible, Dental Floss, Gravity

Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all-Mythbusters

We like to blow stuff up,
Set them on fire
We’ll get to the truth
No matter what’s required!

Scuba tank, Polygraph, Bottle Rocket, Syrup
Coconut, Old Dog, Firewalk, Quicksand
Flat Tire, Franklin, Pole-Vault, Aerosol
Dumpster, Pykrete, Wasabi, Parasol

Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all- Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters

Zig-Zag, Prime Rib, Reverse, Butter
Octopus, Resonance, Magnetron, Parachute
Plywood, Fingerprint, Horseback-Arrow
Duct Tape, Eel, Hwacha in Slo-mo

Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Pow!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Bam!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters (Wow!)

Tornado, Air Bag, Sawdust, Laptop
Tailgate, Dynamite, Night Vision, Radio
Hoffa, Friction, Hurricane, Vacuum
Seven-fold, Tortilla, Bus Jump, Sonic Boom!

At least one hundred and fifty, or more to see,
To be a MythBusters fanboy is my destiny!

Exploding Pants, Piano, Tablecloth, Blow Dart
Avalanche, Lights On, Cabin Fever, Catapult
Blue Ice, MRI, Moon Walk, Awning
Costume, Tenderize, Thermite, Yawning

Woo! We’re at the halfway point! What are you doing?
Hey, what’s this? (Crash)
Break time’s over-here we go!

Hamster Ball, Helium, 10%, Red Herring
Mind Control, Seesaw, Cinnamon, Penny
Cheese Cannon, Hammer, Needle, Microchip
Match Heads, Diamonds, Subwoofer, Cycle Flip

Gotta Bust ’em all, Gotta Bust ’em all (Whoa!)
Gotta Bust ’em all, Gotta Bust ’em all (Wham!)

Water Heater, Moss, Elevator, Boom Lift
Bumper, Rain Run, CD (Mythbusters!)
China Shop, Elephant, Goats, Custard
Banana, Ski Lift, Watch out, Buster!

At least one hundred and fifty, or more to see,
To be a MythBusters junkie is my destiny!

Coffin Punch, Hair Spray, Swingset, Cold Feet
Lava Lamp, Cork Bat, Concrete, Ultralight
Right Turn, Tesla, Laminar
Spider, Hindenburg, Stethoscope, Spy Car

Whoa! Catch your breath, man!
We’ve got more myths!
It’s downhill from here-
Just a few more to go!
We’re gettin’ testy,
So listen real good!

Car Cling, Hovercraft, Brown Note, Waterslide
AC, Extinguisher, Soda Pop, Candy
Salami, Rowboat, Fishing Line, Trombone
Regolith, Popcorn, Moose (Don’t try at home!)

Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Zap!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Ow!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters (Yeah-ee-ee)

Potassium, Jackhammer
Car Fall, Tennis Ball, Pressure Sensor
Soda Cup, Crossbow,
Magnets, Rockets, Time to blow! (Explosion)

Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Oooo-Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters)
Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Oooo-Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters)
Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all - Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters!

New music for the week of 7/4/2011

Four new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon Anime:

-1997-1998-M76A
-1997-1998-M80
-1999-2001-M08

And one other track:

-Pokémon Red Version 'Out of the Palace' OC ReMix

You may also have noticed there's a new station ID in the mix. In case you didn't know the PIRN playlist is updated every day, and fresh music (not just the new stuff you read here in the blog) is swapped in every week.

New music for the week of 6/27/2011

Five new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Last Battle -N^n Mix-
-Sayonara -Refrain-

By the way, those are the last two in the four-disc set. We also have the usual three new tracks from the Pokemon Anime:

-1997-1998-M74
-1997-1998-M75
-1997-1998-M75B

Finally, the VGC regional interview is now on the main station playlist.

New Pokemon VGC interview following tomorrow's Top 25

I recently conducted an interview regarding last weekend's New Jersey VGC qualifier, and that interview will premiere on the station following tomorrow's Top 25 Countdown.

New music for the week of 6/20/2011 + New poll

Yet another five new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Champion Battle!
-Lullaby For Trains

Believe it or not, we're almost through Black and White's four discs of music. There's also three from the Pokemon Anime:

-1997-1998-M71B
-1997-1998-M72A
-1997-1998-M73

I've also added a new poll asking which of the following should be the next PIRN technical journal topic:

-Ripping from vinyl
-Removing silence between tracks
-Importing music from overseas
-Something else (comment on this blog post)

Finally, the Pokedex 3D interview is now in the main station playlist.

New Pokedex 3D interview following tomorrow's Top 25

There will be a new interview about the 3DS Pokedex 3D app following tomorrow's Top 25 Countdown.

New music for the week of 6/13/2011

Another five new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Kyurem Battle!
-Team Rocket?!

And three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M68
-1997-1998-M69B
-1997-1998-M70

New Battle Roads interview following Top 25

There's another Spring 2011 Pokemon TCG Battle Roads interview which will be premiering on the station following tomorrow's Top 25.

I'm also looking for some interviewees for some upcoming features:

New Music For the week of 6/6/2011

Five more new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Village Bridge
-Mystery Gift

And three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M64
-1997-1998-M65A
-1997-1998-M67

New music for the week of 5/30/2011

Another five new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Powerful Wild Pokémon Battle!
-Surfing

And three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M43
-1997-1998-M62
-1997-1998-M63

Also, the interview that premiered yesterday is now in the main playlist.

PIRN Technical Journal 001: Volume Leveling

CD audio has 16 bits dedicated to each sample. Each bit adds six decibels (six decibels represents a doubling in volume) to the available dynamic range, resulting in 96 decibels of dynamic range. In simpler terms, that means that the ratio of the loudest sound a CD can produce to the quietest one it can produce is, in theory, 65536:1 (though in practice it's more like 32768:1).

What does this mean for PIRN? As it turns out, quite a bit. As a result of the available dynamic range, recorded music varies considerably in volume. Vocal music, especially popular music, has been consistently getting louder since the introduction of the CD in the 1980s, largely due to the availability of digital volume compression, in which softer and louder portions of the song are moved closer together in volume using a mathematical formula. This has escalated to the point where the song frequently "clips", maxing out the amplitude for brief periods of time (less than one thousandth of a second). Such durations are supposedly imperceptible, but allow the recording to have its volume maximized.

By comparison, orchestral music tends to have relatively high dynamic range so they can match the mood of the scene. Indeed, many times a track from an orchestral score never reaches the maximum amplitude of the format. This poses a problem for this station, however, where these two types of tracks often follow one another. Without some sort of correction, the listener will be forced to adjust the volume for every track.

As it turns out there's actually a pretty great program called MP3Gain, which takes an MP3 file, analyzes it, then allows you to adjust the average volume to the desired level:








(Yes, that's right, the good old Pokemon Theme is three decibels louder on Pokemon X than 2BA Master.)

MP3Gain isn't perfect, but it does allow me to fix most issues with song volume. However, sometimes tracks have so much dynamic range that straight amplification isn't enough-if a track is amplified too much in this way, audible distortion can occur. In these cases, the solution is ironically, dynamic audio compression.

Further Reading:

Dynamic Range Compression at Wikipedia

New interview following today's Top 25

There will be a new interview premiering on the station today following the Top 25 Countdown.

New music for the week of 5/23/2011

In an unusual move, there's seven new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Undella Town (Summer)
-Lostlorn Forest

Three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M39
-1997-1998-M41
-1997-1998-M42

And (gasp!) two from Pokemon: The First Movie:

-We're A Miracle
-Somewhere Someday

Since there was a tie (and I really wanted to bump up the number of used tracks from the album to twelve), I added both.

New music for the week of 5/16/2011

Five new tracks once again. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Entralink
-Someone's Entralink

And three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M30
-1997-1998-M31
-1997-1998-M31B

Also, remember that Pokemon Blu-Ray I wouldn't stop talking about? There's now a two-part review on the station!

New music for the week of 5/9/2011

Five new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M26
-1997-1998-M26B
-1997-1998-M27

And two from Pokemon Black and White:

-White Forest
-Game Sync

Speaking of Black and White, that second prerelease interview is now in the regular playlist.

New interview following today's Top 25

Another Black and White Prerelease interview will premiere on the station following today's Top 25. Also, here's one last plea from me on the (nearly) free Pokemon Blu-Ray:



The disc comes out this tuesday (or next Sunday, depending on the source), so be sure to watch for it!

New music for the week of 5/2/2011 + First Movie outcast poll

Five new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Anville Town
-Black City

And three from the Pokemon Anime:

-1997-1998-M22
-1997-1998-M23
-1997-1998-M25

I've also added a poll regarding the six songs from Pokemon: The First Movie you'd most like to hear on the station. The winner goes on!

New Interview + Get a Free* Pokemon Blu-Ray

Here's an interview from a recent Pokemon TCG prerelease:



Also, some of you may know that there is a Pokemon Blu-Ray coming out later this month:

Best Buy
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Wal-Mart

You'll probably want to order this online-it doesn't look like it's going to be stocked in stores very much, if at all.

I'm looking to do an audio review of this, and I'm looking for someone to comment back and forth with. If you meet the following criteria, you may be able to get a free* copy out of it:

-Must be at least 13 years old (18 would be preferable).
-Must have a Blu-Ray player capable of playing discs from region A (I don't know if the disc will be region locked, but it should definitely play in region A players).
-Must have access to a phone or Skype.

If you're interested, go ahead and e-mail me at the usual PokePress e-mail address (hint: It's in the video above).

*Cost of ordering the disc will be reimbursed after the interview is conducted.

New interview following tomorrow's Top 25

A new Pokemon TCG Black & White prerelease interview will premiere on the station following tomorrow's Top 25 Countdown.

New music for the week of 4/25/2011 + April Fools revisited

Six (gasp) new tracks this week. One from the Missingno Tracks:

-Journey's End (Ending)

Three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M17
-1997-1998-M20
-1997-1998-M20B

Those last two should be quite familiar. We also have two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Route 6 (Fall-Winter)
-Legendary Pokémon Battle!

Additionally, I wanted to share insight into the fictional "Pokemon DJ Hero" game. I'll let you in a good story about one of them:

Rika Matsumoto/Megumi Toyoguchi vs. The Nylons-Kiss 2009 Goodbye

Combination of: High Touch! 2009 and Kiss Him Goodbye

Back in late 2008, right around the time I got the original High Touch! single, I also picked up the 12" (vinyl) remix EP of Kiss Him Goodbye (I've been a Nylons fan for quite some time, and given that they were quite big here in Madison, it's not much of a surprise this turned up here). As some of you probably know, the chorus of Kiss Him Goodbye, much like High Touch!, contains the phrase "Hey, Hey, Hey". The combination was obvious.

New music for the week of 4/18/2011

Yet another seven new songs this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Musical Hall
-Musical "Stardom"

Two from The Missingno Tracks:

-Argent Vexemon (Ice Path)
-May I Have This Swords Dance? [Canalave City (Day)]

And three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M10
-1997-1998-M14
-1997-1998-M16

Additionally, there's a new interview from last week's Midwest TCG Regional. Another one should be coming soon.

New music for the week of 4/11/2011

Another seven new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Gear Station
-Battle Subway Trainer Battle!

Three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M07
-1997-1998-M08
-1997-1998-M09

And two from The Missingno Tracks:

-Home Is Where the Luvdisc Is... [Hearthome City (Day)]
-My Friend Mudkip (Dewford Town ~ Surfing)

New music for the week of 4/4/2011

Once again, seven new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Wi-Fi Connection
-GTS

Three from the Pokemon anime:

-1997-1998-M03
-1997-1998-M04
-1997-1998-M06

Such lovely names, right? Finally, there's two from the Missingno Tracks:

-Clash of the Titans [Battle (VS Trainer)]
-Divine Olivine (Violet City)

Cancelled Pokémon DJ Hero Game Revealed

An unnamed source from FreeStyleGames recently revealed to PokéPress/PIRN that they had been working on a Pokémon DJ Hero game for the Nintendo 3DS. The game, originally scheduled to be released in 2012, was cancelled after Activision, the publisher of the Hero series of music games, laid off its music division earlier this year.

“After seeing our 3DS demo at E3 in 2010, Nintendo approached Activision about producing a Pokémon DJ Hero game for the system,” the source stated. “With the upcoming release of Black and White, they were very eager to capitalize on the wave of nostalgia that the new generation of games would bring.”

The source went on to describe some of the core features of the game. “Basically, we needed to make sure this was both a genuine Hero game and a Pokémon game. One of the ways we did that was by taking locations from the games and the anime and using those as venues. For example, we were planning on recreating Wigglytuff’s Guild from the Mystery Dungeon games and the city from the fifth movie.”

In addition to familiar venues, the game was also slated to offer a wide selection of characters from the franchise as DJs. “That part was actually a lot of fun. We really liked the way some of the Pokémon would use their wings or beaks or claws to scratch the records. For Mewtwo we even had it so it wouldn’t actually touch the records-they would just move on their own and glow like they were being manipulated psychically.”

To complete the package, FreeStyleGames planned to include unlockable Pokémon that could be transferred to Black and White, similar to the Pokémon Ranger games. “One of the things we’ve always been working on with the Hero games is how to keep the player interested and playing through the entire game. This was a unique opportunity to give the player something more lasting than a new outfit or character they might not end up using.”

Finally, the source provided a list of mixes slated to appear in the game:

Aaron Carter vs. Vanilla Ice-(Have Some) Ice with the Funk
Russell Velázquez vs. Rob Base-It Takes Two 2B A Master
Joshua Tyler vs. Rick Astley-Never Gonna Give Up Pokémon-Are You?
Mai Mizuhashi/Sky Boys vs. INXS-Kick No Message
Rika Matsumoto/Megumi Toyoguchi vs. The Nylons-Kiss 2009 Goodbye
James Willams/Babi Floyd vs. MC Hammer-U Can’t Rap This
M2M vs. The Jackson 5-Don’t Want You Back
The B-52’s vs. The Backstreet Boys-The Chosen One (Larger Than Life)
Westlife vs. Super Mario Galaxy Orchestra-Eggs Without Wings
Russell Velázquez vs. The Chambers Brothers-Time to Celebi-R-A-T-E
Blessid Union of Souls vs. The Fray-My Brother Saved My Life
Mewtwo Strikes Back Orchestra vs. Santana-Tears of Victory
“Weird Al” Yankovic vs. “Weird Al” Yankovic-Angry White Boy Polkamon
David Rolfe vs. Bonnie Tyler-I Want to Hold Out for a Hero
Russell Velázquez vs. INXS-What, You Need Pokémon? World…
Mewtwo Strikes Back Orchestra vs. Paula Abdul-Coldhearted Mewtwo
Dream Street vs. Miley Cyrus-Pokémon Can’t Be Tamed, Understand?
Presidents of the United States of America vs. “Weird Al” Yankovic-Can’t Stop Ridin’ the Bus
Yvette Laboy vs. The Pussycat Dolls-Misty Hates This Part
Johto vs. Lady Gaga-Pikachu’s Bad Romance (Buneary Mix)
Emma Bunton vs. Alysha-(Dreams) Free Up Your Mind
50.Grind Feat. Pokémon Allstars-Gotta Catch `Em All (Beat Juggle)
Maddie Blaustein vs. Amy Winehouse-Nobody Don’t Like Rehab

New music for the week of 3/28/2011

Another seven tracks this week. First, we finish up volume one of the Pokemon anime collection:

-Gym Leader Battle!
-Route 210 (Day)

And start volume two:

-1997-1998-M02

Yes, pretty much all the titles on volume two are unhelpful like that one. There's also two tracks from Pokemon Black and White:

-Ending -To Each Future-
-Cruiseferry SS Royal Unova

And two from The Missingno Tracks:

-Drowning Blue (S.S. Anne)
-Spume (Sea)

New friend code-3DS!

I've placed the friend code of my 3DS on the friend codes page. For those of you too lazy to look, it's:

0559-6761-1963

Send me yours and I'll add it!

New music for the week of 3/21/2011

Seven new tracks his week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Ghetsis Battle!
-Farewell

Three from the Pokemon anime:

-Spotted by Artist!
-Super Contest!
-Difficult Dance

And two from The Missingno Tracks:

-Hope to See You Again Soon... (Pokémon Center)
-On the Origin of Species (Evolution)

New interview following today's Top 25

There will be a Wisconsin Pokemon TCG States 2011 interview premiering on the station following today's Top 25 Countdown.

New music for the week of 3/14/2011

A magnificent seven new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Zekrom/Reshiram Battle!
-Last Battle with N!

Three from the Pokemon Anime Collection:

-Spotted by Pokemon Collector!
-Route 206 (Day)
-Spotted by Karate Master!

And two from the Missingno Tracks:

-Shades of Red (Theme of Pallet Town)
-Rain Prayer (Road to Viridian City - From Pallet ~ Guidepost ~ Road to Cerulean - From Mt. Moon)

If that wasn't enough, both parts of the Mall Tour interview are now on the regular station playlist.

Part Two of Mall Tour Interview Following Today's Top 25 + Friend Code

The second part of the Pokemon Black and White Mall Tour interview will premiere on the station following today's Top 25.

I also added my Pokemon Black Friend Code to the Friend Codes page.

Part One of Pokemon Black and White Mall Tour Interview Following Tomorrow's Top 25

I recently conducted an interview regarding the Pokemon Black and White Mall Tour. Part one will be on the station following tomorrow's Top 25.

New music for the week of 3/7/2011

Six new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Carrying out a Mission
-N's Castle

And three from the Pokemon anime:

-Wild Pokemon Battle! (Sinnoh)
-Sandgem Town
-Eterna Forest

And one very special one:

-Can't Stop Catchin' 'Em All

By the way, you can download that last one for yourself here-for free!

New music for the week of 2/28/2011 + The Missingno Tracks on OCRemix.org

Five new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Pokémon League
-Elite Four Battle!

And three from the Pokemon anime:

-Labratory (C)
-Twinleaf Town
-Route 201 (Day)

Also, the folks at OC Remix has finally released The Missingno Tracks, a compilation of Pokemon remixes you may have heard about a year and a half ago.

New music for the week of 2/21/2011

Yet another five new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime:

-Regi Fight!
-Labratory (A)
-Labratory (B)

And two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Route 10
-Champion Road

Also, a new interview from Anime Milwaukee 2011 is now on the station.

New music for the week of 2/14/2011

Here's the five for this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Souryuu City (Black)
-Souryuu City (White)

The titles may be similar, but the songs are quite different. Next we have three from the Pokemon anime collection:

-Elite 4 Battle!
-Abandoned Ship
-Stone Chamber

And the latest interview is now in the regular rotation.

New interview following today's Top 25

There will be another new Call of Legends Prerelease interview following today's Top 25 Countdown.

New music for the week of 2/7/2011

Five tracks yet again (you can expect this for a while). Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Ryuurasen Tower
-Ancient Castle

And three from the Pokemon anime collection:

-Ancient Pokemon Battle!
-Victory Road (A)
-Victory Road (B)

Also, here's a video regarding an upcoming event I plan to cover:

New music for the week of 1/31/2011

Five tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Fukiyose City
-Sekka City

And three from the Pokemon Anime collection:

-Team Magma Appears!
-Hideout
-Team Magma/Aqua Battle!

Also, the Call of Legends interview is now in the regular playlist.

New interview following tomorrow's Top 25

There will be a new interview following tomorrow's Top 25 Countdown. The interview covers the upcoming Call of Legends Pokemon TCG set.

New music for the week of 1/24/2011

Another five new tracks this week. We've made it to disc two of the Pokemon Black and White collection:

-Route 6 (Spring-Summer)
-Tourmaline Cave

And another three from the Pokemon anime collection:

-Fortree City
-Lilycove City
-Fire Mountain Ceremony

New music for the week of 1/17/2011

Five new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime collection:

-The Oceanology Museum
-Team Aqua Appears!
-Contest

And two from Pokemon Black and White:

-N Battle!
-Champion Adeku

By the way, after about three months, we're finally at the end of disc 1 of the Black and White collection. Only three more discs to go!

Additionally, there are two new Pokemon: The First Movie alternate soundtrack selections:

Vitamin C: Smile
98 Degrees: Still

As usual, the new polls are up, and you'll have three weeks to vote.

Pokemon Arts & Crafts-Sprite Stitching

Here's another interview from last week's Pokemon TCG City Championship in Rockford, IL:



This one probably won't actually be on the station, but I wanted to show it here anyway.

New music for the week of 1/10/2011

There are the usual five new tracks this week. Three from the Pokemon anime collection:

-Gym (Hoenn)
-Victory Over Gym Leader! (Hoenn)
-Crossing the Sea

And two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Raimon City
-Unwavering Emotions

Don't forget, there's only one week left to vote for the current Pokemon: The First Movie Alternate Soundtrack selections!

New interview following Top 25

There's a new Pokemon TCG City Championship interview following today's Top 25. Be sure to listen!

New music for the week of 1/3/2011

The usual five new tracks this week. Two from Pokemon Black and White:

-Hiun City
-Route 4 (Spring)

And three from the Pokemon anime collection:

-Oldale Town
-Wild Pokemon Battle (Hoenn)
-Petalburg City

Happy new year!