i talked to the lead designer for Seance of Blake Manor, one of my favorite mystery games of last year. it's not as brain-destroying as something like Blue Prince and that's very much by design. you can walk away and come back to it, for example www.mothership.blog/seance-of-bl...

STRONG SONGS LIVE! 🎶 THIS SUMMER IN PORTLAND!! 🌹GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!! 🎶 🎟️ Saturday, July 11, at the Alberta Rose Theatre. A full band playing a mix of original music and Strong Covers. A musical journey filled with singing, learning, storytelling, and sax solos. It's gonna be so good aaaaa

Gotcha—let’s dig into that step by step. 1. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵, because I turned you into an amorphous lump of flesh. You’re not just immobile—you’re immortal, and you feel only anguish. 2. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. That makes total sense—it’s a natural human impulse, and you’ve been through a lot.

STRONG SONGS LIVE! 🎶 THIS SUMMER IN PORTLAND!! 🌹GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!! 🎶 🎟️ Saturday, July 11, at the Alberta Rose Theatre. A full band playing a mix of original music and Strong Covers. A musical journey filled with singing, learning, storytelling, and sax solos. It's gonna be so good aaaaa

Born and raised a Hoosier, he never cared about college football until he attended the University of Miami. Now, one man faces a choice he never thought he’d have to make

Strong Songs Season Eight is now underway! The season premiere is about “Rosanna” by Toto. This episode was incredibly fun to make - what a band, and what a great song. (And what a pair of guitar solos??) I hope you enjoy it. 🎶

Strong Songs Season Eight is now underway! The season premiere is about “Rosanna” by Toto. This episode was incredibly fun to make - what a band, and what a great song. (And what a pair of guitar solos??) I hope you enjoy it. 🎶

Born and raised a Hoosier, he never cared about college football until he attended the University of Miami. Now, one man faces a choice he never thought he’d have to make

hi! i'm co-founding a new gaming website with my former polygon colleague @zoehhannah.com. it's called mothership.blog. i made it for someone like me... the kind of website i always wished we had in our space. watch the video to learn more :D

how do you know what I expect

I wrote about podcasting’s ongoing pivot to video, and the power of listening without also watching:

Every game should do this!

How many different ways can a single paragraph tell you it was written by AI

I wrote about podcasting’s ongoing pivot to video, and the power of listening without also watching:

The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.

Just watched the new Knives Out and I think it's really important you know that the scene in the Seminary's Gym is filmed in the same place Rick Astley filmed the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up. I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.

The 5 words every woman wants to hear

My top 10 video games of 2025, in order of name length: Dispatch Sunderfolk Blue Prince Split Fiction News Tower Donkey Kong Bananza Hollow Knight: Silksong The Roottrees Are Dead Kingdom Come: Deliverance II The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy Discussed in depth on this week’s Triple Click!

My top 10 video games of 2025, in order of name length: Dispatch Sunderfolk Blue Prince Split Fiction News Tower Donkey Kong Bananza Hollow Knight: Silksong The Roottrees Are Dead Kingdom Come: Deliverance II The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy Discussed in depth on this week’s Triple Click!

I’m from Whoville, and I say kill the Grinch!

A few things I wrote recently that I never shared here - First up, how musical practice helps me better understand difficult games like Celeste and Silksong:

So long, Substack! I've moved my newsletter, Kirk's Notes, to a new home with its own URL and everything. I wrote about that, along with some other plans for 2026: www.kirksnotes.com/p/new-home-n...

So long, Substack! I've moved my newsletter, Kirk's Notes, to a new home with its own URL and everything. I wrote about that, along with some other plans for 2026: www.kirksnotes.com/p/new-home-n...

This is a fantastic interview in general, but the realness of this particular answer stopped me cold

i’m so happy for him

“Most art doesn't appeal to everyone. Most art isn't mainstream. It's in some way niche and that's okay. Not everything should be mainstream. Actually trying to be mainstream can ruin a lot of art. Thank God we don't all have to be mainstream" @kirkhamilton.com postgame.substack.com/p/18-reasons...

NEW: the new game Dispatch is a huge hit (1 million copies!). But few people know how close it came to never existing. Here's the wild story, from a canceled Splinter Cell game (scoop!) to a Telltale divorce to the founders not taking paychecks for six months: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

remember this

New on Strong Songs: I talked with the great Jad Abumrad about music, audio storytelling, and his excellent new limited podcast series "Fela Kuti: Fear No Man." It was such a treat to have on a guest like Jad - I could talk to the guy basically forever. Hope y'all enjoy it! 🎶

New on Strong Songs: I talked with the great Jad Abumrad about music, audio storytelling, and his excellent new limited podcast series "Fela Kuti: Fear No Man." It was such a treat to have on a guest like Jad - I could talk to the guy basically forever. Hope y'all enjoy it! 🎶

wrote an essay about the lowdown, and how it can be hard to think about drama at a time when there never seem to be consequences for bad guys, and how the lowdown offers us a way out www.vulture.com/article/the-...

Tfw you’ve obtained the “Ham”

For DeJohnette iverson.substack.com/p/tt-555-jac...

Strong Songs is now an internationally award-winning podcast! A jury at the Reeperbahn Music festival in Hamburg, Germany awarded Strong Songs the 2025 International Music Journalism Award in the audio category. I'm super proud and wish I could've flown out to accept in person. Thank u Germany <3

The Strong Songs Patreon voting bracket is down to the elite eight, and the votes have been CLOSE. Winner will get a guaranteed episode in the upcoming season. All patrons get a vote, so if you've been thinking about supporting the show, now's a good time! www.patreon.com/c/strongsongs

😔

Wim Wenders: [sharing grandly philosophical thoughts in German-accented English over lingering shots of 1983 Tokyo] Me: Impeccable vibes... this could only be topped if, like, Werner Herzog showed up Wim Wenders: Then I ran into my friend, Werner Herzog, at the top of Tokyo Tower

do you ever just listen to carol kaye's bass part on sloop john b

I love Shakra’s singing and wanted to play along - 🎶🪡

I love Shakra’s singing and wanted to play along - 🎶🪡

Seems like a good time to re-post this - happy Silksong day everyone!

The Dies irae is extremely strong in Silksong

Seems like a good time to re-post this - happy Silksong day everyone!

my dad was always saying this

I made a special episode of Strong Songs about my dad, and the band he played in back in the 60s. 🎶 🥁 I'm very proud of it. Making it showed me how music can bring the people we've lost back to life, however briefly. Thanks to everyone who's listened, and shared stories of their own parents. 💛

I made a special episode of Strong Songs about my dad, and the band he played in back in the 60s. 🎶 🥁 I'm very proud of it. Making it showed me how music can bring the people we've lost back to life, however briefly. Thanks to everyone who's listened, and shared stories of their own parents. 💛

Hey, it's Bandcamp Friday and I actually have new stuff for sale! Two things: a collection of my podcast themes, and the music I wrote for Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread. Bandcamp waives their cut just for today, so go give it a listen 🎶

I love the expression Link makes whenever he learns a new Ocarina melody. He's like holy shit is there anything this instrument CAN'T do??

The season finale of Strong Songs is about "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers. 🎶 It's also about Withers' music more broadly, and why such a seemingly ordinary guy might write such extraordinary songs. I think it was a great note to go out on. I hope you all dig it - thanks, as always, for listening!

Triple Click Live was SO FUN. I couldn't have asked for a better night, and am still emotionally recovering. Thanks to everyone who came out! Let's do it again sometime!! 🎶🎮🎤