Game Theory was an American power pop band, founded in 1982 by singer/songwriter Scott Miller, combining melodic jangle pop with dense experimental production and hyperliterate lyrics. MTV described their sound as "still visceral and vital" in 2013, with records "full of sweetly psychedelic-tinged, appealingly idiosyncratic gems" that continued "influencing a new generation of indie artists." Between 1982 and 1990, Game Theory released five studio albums and two EPs, which had long been out of print until 2014, when Omnivore Recordings began a series of remastered reissues of the entire Game Theory catalog. Miller's posthumously completed Game Theory album, Supercalifragile, was released in August 2017 in a limited first pressing.
The Loud Family was a San Francisco-based power pop band formed in 1991 by songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller, who previously led the 1980s band Game Theory. The Loud Family released six studio LPs and one live LP from 1991 through 2006. After Miller's death in 2013, three Loud Family members participated in recording sessions for Supercalifragile (2017), Miller's posthumous Game Theory album.
33+1⁄3 is a series of books, each about a single music album. The series title refers to the rotation speed of a vinyl LP, 33+1⁄3 RPM.
Michael Quercio is an American musician. He is the founder, bassist and lead singer of The Three O'Clock, and coined the term Paisley Underground as the name of a musical subgenre.
Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things was the 1993 debut album by The Loud Family, a band formed by singer, songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller after the dissolution of his 1980s band Game Theory. It was Miller's fifth album to be produced by Mitch Easter.
From Ritual to Romance is The Loud Family's sixth full-length album. It is a live album released during a six-year hiatus from studio recording, which followed the expiration of the group's recording contract with Alias Records in 2000.
Lolita Nation is the fourth full-length album by Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Originally released in 1987 as a double LP, the album was reissued by Omnivore Recordings in February 2016 as a double CD set with 21 bonus tracks.
Two Steps from the Middle Ages (1988) is the fifth studio album by power pop band Game Theory.
The Big Shot Chronicles is Game Theory's third full-length album, released in 1986. Produced by Mitch Easter, it was recorded with a new line-up of Game Theory members after leader and songwriter Scott Miller moved the band's base from Davis to San Francisco, California. The album was reissued on September 23, 2016, on Omnivore Recordings as part of the label's re-issue campaign of the Game Theory catalog.
Scott Miller was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work as leader of the 1980s band Game Theory and 1990s band The Loud Family, and as the author of a 2010 book of music criticism. He was described by The New York Times as "a hyperintellectual singer and songwriter who liked to tinker with pop the way a born mathematician tinkers with numbers", having "a shimmery-sweet pop sensibility, in the tradition of Brian Wilson and Alex Chilton."
Alternate Learning was a power pop/new wave band from 1977 to 1982, based in Davis, California and fronted by Scott Miller, a singer-songwriter later known for his work as leader of the 1980s band Game Theory and 1990s band the Loud Family.
Real Nighttime is the second full-length album from Game Theory, a California power pop band founded by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Released in 1985, the album is cited as "a watershed work in '80s paisley underground pop." A 30th anniversary reissue was released in March 2015, on CD and in a limited first pressing on red vinyl, with 13 bonus tracks.
Music: What Happened? is a book of music criticism by Scott Miller, leader of the bands Game Theory and The Loud Family. Published in 2010, the book was described by Billboard as "a well-received critical overview of 53 years of rock history."
Distortion is a 1984 five-song EP by Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. A remastered reissue of Distortion was released by Omnivore Recordings in November 2014 as a 10-inch EP on green vinyl, with four of the songs released on CD as part of Omnivore's reissued Dead Center compilation.
Distortion of Glory is a 1993 compilation album from the band Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Issued on CD by Alias Records, it anthologizes the band's debut album, most of the songs from two subsequent EPs, and one rare single.
Brett Milano is a Boston-based music critic and columnist. His fourth book, a biography of Game Theory's Scott Miller, was published in October 2015.
Dead Center is a compilation album from Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Initially released in France on Lolita Records in 1984, a newly remastered version was released on CD on November 24, 2014 on Omnivore Recordings.
George Gilbert "Gil" Ray was an American rock drummer, guitarist, and vocalist, best known for his recordings in the 1980s and 1990s as a member of the bands Game Theory and The Loud Family. In late 2012, he joined Rain Parade as drummer for a series of reunion performances.
Supercalifragile is the sixth and final studio album by Game Theory, a California power pop band founded in 1982 by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. At the time of his death in 2013, Miller had started work on the recording, which was to be Game Theory's first new album since 1988. Producer Ken Stringfellow and executive producer Kristine Chambers Miller enlisted the participation of numerous past collaborators and friends of Miller to finish the album after Miller's death, using Miller's partially completed recordings and source material. Supercalifragile was released in August 2017.
Annie Zaleski is an American music journalist and author.
