ReMix: Sonic the Hedgehog 'Love Hurts'

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Okay, hope this don't piss anyone off - I know it follows pretty hot on the heels of my last mix, but for a couple reasons I probably won't be doing anything else for a little while, and this sort of happened by accident. My first Sonic mix, from the first Sonic. This is also, unless someone knows something I don't, the first mix that basically was inspired by an ad for Coors. That's right, the beer. Story goes something like this - I really dug that ad that Coors ran with Dr. Dre jamming on an Akai MPC in an airplane awhile back, esp. the bassline - it was HUGE. It could serve as an audio example for the 'phat' entry in your multimedia dictionary of choice. So I sat down at my Motif recently, and out of boredom wanted to see how close I could come to recreating a sound like that. I took an already deep synth bass, piled on the cutoff and resonance modulations on a simple riff I came up with, and fed that through a wah filter. Presto - instant Coors ad. Fiddled some more, and had the framework for a piece. Decided I'd try to turn it into something half decent - didn't wanna spend a lot of time, you know, just something fun. If the result was postable, I'd post it, if it wasn't, it'd go in the recycle bin. While what I ended up with has its fair share of deficiencies, it's fun in spirit, and the bassline came out exactly like I wanted. As Masato Nakamura is a bass player, and I was essentially writing an entirely new bassline for his track and making it the emphasis, this was important to me. So, you get a funk diddy, with acoustic drums, monstah wah bass, some pads that stay out of the way but add depth, some electric piano (also wah'd), some lead triangle synth, a funky resonant clav that acts almost like a second bass, an organ with a nice thick release, and - just for the damn hell of it - a shamisen. Who knows what bizarre use for ethnic instruments lies in the hearts of men? The pretzel knows. Anyway, things start with a mellow, melancholy version of the verse and then slide into funkland. This was mostly meant as a fun excursion, so I won't go into much more detail. I do like how the genre fit the source material, which I always wanted to cover but was never sure how. I don't plan on treading into Jivemaster, Malcos, or countless other's territory who have ReMixed songs from the Sonic series to great success too often in the future, but it felt good to cover something, as I did play almost all of these games - even Knuckles Chaotix, back when I had my 32x - and I always dug the music.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
This is some pretty funky stuff going on! I gotta hand it to you, DJP, you make damn good ReMixes for the site and I think this is one of your best. The organ, the electric piano, the utter funk and bass and overall, it's a good rendition of combined original tune and source tune. The ethnic instrument bit was also funny and unexpected. It works with the genre here for some reason, but I wouldn't have thought so if I didn't hear it here. This ReMix made Marble Zone even more enjoyable to listen to.

- Crulex on April 19, 2011
All of djp's mixes have been great in my opinion, but I think every artist has that one breakthrough track where a significant milestone in quality has been achieved. This mix is fun because, you get to hear essentially a 'best of' showcase of djp's techniques from his previous mixes. They come together into a hit package. This mix has it all. You're missing out if you haven't downloaded it yet.

- SubNormal J3 on March 20, 2011
DJP knoez, but he brings the groove to make it all fahine.

- WesternZypher on January 31, 2011
Grab some marble, add a helping of funk, a pretzel, and cover it with cheese. This is from 2002? djp got good pretty quick!
--Eino

- evktalo on December 13, 2010
This is bloody brilliant, I've been regularly listening to this track for years.
It is (still) my favorite djpretzel's mix.

- Holy Land on September 28, 2010
Dat Bass.
Back It Up.
The breakdown had some beautiful leadwork, and the flow was excellent. The soloing was tasteful and emotional, and the length was perfect. Great source track as well, and I really liked the wah'ed clav. Great work right here.

- OA on September 1, 2010
Wow, this is really over-the-top. I'll be honest, some parts of it sounded like they were just trying too hard to be funky, but that doesn't really lessen the enjoyability factor. The electric piano and the organ particularly work well for me... samples hold up to today's standards, and the arrangement is a great take on a classic source.
I don't know if this is one of my favorite djp mixes (there [i]are[/i] a lot of them!) but it's definitely worth checking out for anyone looking for a downright fun groove!

- Emunator on December 19, 2009
This has to be my favorite mix by DJP. Very groovy.

- metalsnakejuice on October 8, 2009
This music is mixed ... 10 points, do not stop listening, until I've invented some lyrics for this song and I was inspired to do a comic, beautiful re not stop listening :oops: :-P

- ely_chan on October 26, 2008
I lost my virginity while listening to this.
..editing 2.5 years later to emphasize the fact that i am being 100% serious

- halc on February 13, 2008
I absolutely enjoy'd every second of this...
Please never stop mixing..

- Ranch Doritos on January 30, 2008
I've never posted here before but had to post something after listening to Sonic The Hedgehog "Love Hurts". Yup, love does hurt. And this tune right here surrounds you with emotions, feelings and that sweet/bitter heart ache. It has a very 'blue' feel to it. This remix is so full of heart and character. It's sad, deep and inspiring. Most unbelievable remix! Gorgeous!

I love the groovy 70s feel to it. Fantastic use of retro style instruments. Both the organ and bass fit right in (some have been complaining about this). Djpretzel has remixed this tune to perfection. Thank you for such a beautiful piece of music. There's so much more to say but I just can't find the right words.

My fav bits:

[*]0:48 - echoing guitars
[*]1:08 - I love the way how chorus is repeated 4 times unlike twice as in the original Genesis version
[*]2:15 & 3:04 - very emotional parts these two
[*]3:38 - lovely organ / leads follow through
I salute you djpretzel, sir, for giving us a chance to enjoy such lovely tunes. God bless you and wish you all the best.

- kamran on October 25, 2007
well i've enjoyed this mix for years now and... reading your writeup again i finally tried to listen for the shamisen.
absolutely ridiculous. who knew the shamisen was the master of the funk riff?!?!!

- ziwtra on December 31, 2006
...WOW. This is excellent stuff. This remix capitalizes on a vague yet distinct emotional theme that I've detected in the Marble Zone's music. It always seemed tragic to me in a way (and not only because of all the rings I would inevitably lose just getting out of there alive), and even though I've never seen the beer commercial that apparently helped to inspire it...this has become one of my favorite remixes on the site. Wonderful job, DJP.

- FrozenHope on December 29, 2006
but I really feel I've got to put my 2 cents in. This mix always makes me tap my feet (former drummer) and bop in my chair. One of DJP's best mixes and one of my favorites overall.

- paperCrane on December 20, 2006