2Mello

I started making music limited to just pre-made samples and loops. It wasn't ideal, but I think it's a big part of how I started learning to make things so quickly, and I still use them all the time. Starting from scratch can be demotivating because everything--drum programming, bass, chords, lead melodies--has its own challenges to tackle. Loops can be great for giving you something to base an idea around or quickly adding a new element to play with.

With that, I strongly recommend Music Radar's growing collection of free loops and samples--now up to over 70,000 WAV files.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/free-music-samples-download-loops-hits-and-multis-627820

Since instruments and DAWs have already been heavily discussed, I thought I'd mention this other angle. There are an overwhelming amount of products on sale for music-making. Other than my main program Ableton Live, there is no software or hardware I have ever bought that made me think "now this, this solves all my problems". Keep it in mind when being sold on new products that if you don't already know exactly what they'll add to your setup and how you are going to use them, they probably aren't worth it yet.

YouTube is an endless, excellent resource for tutorials. For whatever DAW you choose, there is bound to be a video series explaining its interface and functions and making this all a little less overwhelming (I learn best by being shown)

Andrew Huang has a gleeful think-outside-the-box approach to music production, though the content assumes some knowledge.
Reverb has a great series with a walkthrough of how famous synth sounds are made that may help with synth fundamentals.

But there is SO MUCH content on YouTube that you should assume you will get some result from typing just about any term or query in.

Try going to events that you're interested in or joining an ongoing group. I really think that getting to know just one person while attending an event can lead you into a whole new friend group, and all sorts of opportunities.

The crowd throughout James Brown's Live At The Apollo.

I've been hoping Ben would spearhead a video series; it's kind of something that's helped me become a fan of each member of the team that I didn't previously "get". I also want to figure out why the heck people like Kingdom Hearts so much, because I couldn't play it myself but have been intrigued.

I just hope the commentary is energetic, engaging and somewhat positive; the title of the series kind of suggests that some members of the team are ready to shit on the games.

Only the Beastcast now; in the last few months I had to leave the Bombcast behind as I started getting into podcasts in general and not just Giant Bomb's, so that time went to other programs. I check in and would still like to hear Jeff's thoughts on weekly happenings, but it's often a longer show and that crew still hasn't quite found their groove again in the midst of personnel changes.

Ah, the archive is always late on the times I decide it's OK to not watch any of the feature live. Darn! :D

I used the Genki textbook as well as the website Tofugu with its many useful articles, RealKana and the phone apps Japanese Words and Japanese Verbs. Learning hiragana and katakana was the most fun way to start for me. I need to start studying again, though.

Here's a neat website that lets you test your hiragana and katakana skills and writing.

Heart of Darkness for the PS1 and PC is Eric Chahi's follow-up to Another World (Out Of This World), and it's a very gorgeous cinematic platformer as well as the first game to ever be scored by a live orchestra. It wasn't very successful and caused Chahi to take a break from game development, but it's one of my favorite games ever. I wish I had kept my PC copy in better shape, but I didn't think a game like this would become as obscure as it has. You can really see how games like Playdead's LIMBO and INSIDE took a lot of inspiration from classics like this.

Thank you so much, Austin. You helped build something astounding with Giant Bomb East. You, Vinny and Alex were truly #squad. The Giant Beastcast has been full of interesting perspective and in-depth conversation on topics not often previously touched by the site. Just the right people coming together in the podcast room to make something incredible. I hope the spirit of those recordings is able to continue there in the future.

I am following you right on over to the new VICE gaming site and I can't wait to see what you create there!