I don't get how "the music" and "the chat" are good reasons to stick around while ping-pong table and xbox aren't.
It would have been interesting had the author elaborated on what "the chat" meant. Is it friendly banter between knowledgable folks about their personal takes on interesting problems? Or is it high-school drama or bro-code hijinks?
Yes, but you also have to have a culture that lets you use them. My office has both and yet, they never get used. If you try to use them during the day, you're told it's too much of a distraction and you should get back to work. You pretty much have to wait until the boss goes home for the day.
Also, playing is usually a matter off stress relieve, and if there is no stress and deadlines, there isn't much need for toys.
I remember reading that Githubbers are into Techno (trance?), so that speaks to the kind of people you're likely to work with.
Chat is passive communication, which is something many developers look for. (God, if I could get a dime every time a sales/marketing guy went to talk to devs directly despite me getting all over their case so many times...)
Travel I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt and think it's travel for OSS conferences and the like, which again not all companies provide or look favorably upon.
People with bad taste in music?
Music, chat, xbox and ping-pong can all be either a means to that end, or a soul-sucking lie.
Given that these things are common in even many of the worst startups in the bay area, they can't reasonably be used as indicators of whether a company is toxic or not, much less whether it has a good culture.