The reigning guest champ Natalie Checo returns after a long hiatus as we talk about the beginning of Nier Automata's Route C. We talk about passing the torch to the final playable character, unpack the surprisingly timely themes of Automata, and somehow find a way to talk about KPop Demon Hunters. Enjoy the show!

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Follow us on Bluesky:
Normandy FM: @normandyfm
Eric: @seamoosi
Ken: @shepardcdr
Natalie: @heartimecia

Nier Automata, Episode 8: Confl[u]ence of Worlds feat. Natalie Checo

“This Is Just a Man” is a raw and unfiltered take on silent struggles — the kind that don’t show on the surface. It tells the story of someone who looks fine on the outside but is barely holding it together inside. No drama, no solutions — just the honest loop of messing up, overthinking, and carrying on. A track for anyone who's ever felt like they’re falling apart but still showing up.

This is just a man

“My Friend” is an emotional tribute to the kind of friendship that goes deep — full of love, silence, missed chances, and raw honesty. It’s about finally saying the things we usually keep inside: pride, regret, affection, and the fear of losing someone who’s always been there. A song that feels like a hug you never gave, but needed all along.

My Friend

I started life with questions that had no answers.
Every turn felt like a map I had to draw myself.
Overgrown paths led to so many dead ends,
and long stretches where silence was my only friend.

I learned to stand on ground that wasn’t steady,
and to trust the weight of my own two hands.
Some doubts stayed with me like old friends.
But most I let fall behind.

After fifty years, you are the only things that feel certain.
The world spins, fast and strange,
but our roots know where the earth is warm.
We'll all huddle together, laugh, and ride out this storm.

Staring out the window at blurry yellow lines
from the back of a wood-paneled Ford Station Wagon
Skateboard wheels humming on cracked pavement.
Chased music with friends, indulged in some sonic joy.
I used to think chance ruled everything
until patterns surfaced in the noise.

I’ve planted things in poor soil,
only to watch the green push through.
If tomorrow is uncertain,
just build a small fire and keep it fed.

So if the water keeps on rising, 
and if the shouting never stops,
I want you to remember: the world is made by hands like ours.
What you choose becomes the shape of things.

I need to believe in our hands.
I need to believe in your hands.

Fifty years in, and you're the only things that feel certain.
The world spins, fast and strange,
but our roots know where the soil is warm.
We'll all huddle together, laugh, and ride out this storm.

Random is only random, until it finds a pattern.

I need to believe in our hands.
I need to believe in your hands.

Fifty Hits Fast

Pattern in the Noise

SmilingAtHatersAMust / im going up they want me down

Dj Isthar - Trance & Retrospective sesión Agosto 2025.

Trance & Retrospective

Hindrance

Imagine all the faces who have ever looked at you with love, a smile, a sense of "omg I can't believe we are just about to go have this fun". 

Composition for two cellos. Original score on my website http://www.micslab.com/compositions

All The Faces

Ep. 338: Jessica Kiang on Locarno 2025: The Best of the Postwar British Retrospective + Becoming 

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I’m reporting from the Locarno film festival, which every year has an outstanding retrospective that’s a parallel essential to the premieres of new films. To discuss this year’s retro, a deftly curated tribute to British postwar cinema called Great Expectations, I’m joined by a regular guest, critic and programmer Jessica Kiang, who is filing reviews for Variety but also, like me, inhaling swathes of this retrospective.

Titles discussed include Obsession (1949, Edward Dmytryk), The Yellow Balloon (1953, J. Lee Thompson), It Always Rains on Sundays (1947, Robert Hamer), Turn the Key Softly (1953, Jack Lee), To Be a Woman (1951, Jill Craigie), The Elephant Never Forgets (1953, John Krish), Train of Events (1949, Sidney Cole, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden), Passport to Pimlico (1949, Henry Cornelius), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950, Frank Launder), Time Without Pity (1957, Joseph Losey), and Never Let Go (1960, John Guillermin). Plus, just because: a bonus, brand-new film from Kazakhstan, Becoming (Zhannat Alshanova).

Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at:
rapold.substack.com

Photo by Steve Snodgrass


Ep. 338: Jessica Kiang on Locarno 2025: The Best of the Postwar British Retrospective + Becoming

It is getting worse for our android heroes as we keep going through Route C. Diego Argüello returns to talk about A2 learning to care and 9S falling into madness. Enjoy the show!

Become a Normandy FM patron:
http://patreon.com/normandyfm

Follow us on Bluesky:
Normandy FM: @normandyfm
Eric: @seamoosi
Ken: @shepardcdr
Diego: @diegoarguello

Nier Automata, Episode 9: [V]iolent Ends feat. Diego Argüello

I’m Town Gorge. I write the songs — raw, emotional, sometimes a bit messy. Then I team up with AI tools to produce them under The Alterwills. It’s just me, some tech, and a lot of feelings.

Composer, Songwriter, Rhythm Guitar Player, Digital Dreamscape Producer & Beat Maker.

Eric Van Allen and Kenneth Shepard come together for a multi-part video game retrospective podcast. Normandy FM does episodic analysis of video games, starting with Bioware's Mass Effect series, going on to discuss other genres and studios. Tune in to the discussion and join in by playing along with us!

Mass Effect | 51 Eps.
Dragon Age | 47 Eps.
Jade Empire | 5 Eps.
The Last of Us | 16 Eps.
Final Fantasy X | 23 Eps.
Cyberpunk 2077 | 15 Eps.
Nier | Ongoing

Twitter:
Normandy FM: @normandyfmshow
Eric: @seamoosi
Kenneth: @shepardcdr

Critic Nicolas Rapold talks with guests about the movies they've been watching. From home viewing to the latest from festivals and retrospectives. Named one of the 10 Best Film Podcasts by Sight & Sound magazine. Guests include critics, curators, and filmmakers.

Versatile electronic music producer, always up for collaboration

New tracks tagged #retrospective