Jillian Aversa

Oh, my Lord... Who are you, and where did you learn to play so beautifully? I am stunned. The tone, the phrasing, the musicality... This performance is easily on par with the classical guitarists I've heard at Peabody. The section starting at 2:39 is so moving, I could cry. This arrangement may be a little on the conservative side, but it's certainly no cover. You've clearly put in a great deal of personality and feeling into your performance, and it shows. I have not a single criticism. It's a gem. YES, YES, YES!!! P.S. I love the sound of your instrument. I know TO and Malcos pointed out that it could be sharper, but I personally wouldn't change a thing. I guess it's a matter of taste. P.P.S. I hear what you're referring to at 2:13, Lee, but I think that's just buzz from the guitar, not his voice being picked up.

Yikes. That's not purdy weather. In other news.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UPTHORN!

For the record, I'm with DJP here. Dumb guys are gonna be dumb guys no matter what the writeups say. He shouldn't have to *hide* our gender to the public... And believe me, LuIzA can handle a few internet stalkers; with talent like hers, I'm sure that's nothing compared to the kind of attention she gets in real life! Back on point, yes, this remix rocks.

Rock on, Luiza! You couldn't have picked a better debut track. This is awesome!

Okay, I absolutely love the ideas you have going on here. This mix reminds me a lot of the music from Laputa: Castle in the Sky, or any of the Miyazaki film scores, really. The romantic guitar tremolo layered with slow, ethnic percussion, picking, asian flutes... it's all gorgeous in concept. But I'm afraid to say that your execution isn't living up to the arrangement. Problems: - The guitars are noticibly out of tune, on both ends of the spectrum. I just can't let that slide. - Your pan flute part isn't working for me. You start off the mix with a short slide followed by four seconds of silence; whaaaaat? If you're gonna intro it like that, at least have the flute extend into the rest of the music. And in every other instance it returns, it sounds choppy and ineffective. Gotta be smooooooooth! - The music box part is likewise choppy, and sounds out of tune with the guitars. - Something really funky going on at the 3:46 transition. The guitar strumming starting at 3:04 is actually executed well (other than the tuning)- a welcome change. Everything else sounds clumsily performed and mixed with no sensitivity to the overall balance of parts. Pleeeeaaase, don't throw this away! It's just gonna take a lot more effort in recording and mixing to appropriately carry the arrangement, which is superb. NO

Meh, you know what this reminds me of? Old people step dancing. Those drums are like a really boring karaoke track that plays in the background at a family vacation home. The only thing that could bring me out of that mindset was sixto's guitar soloing, which sounded great, but didn't quite fit with the rest of the style. You guys have incorporated a lot of themes here, and intelligently, I might add! It's mainly the percussion that drags you down. The woodwinds sound nice, strings ain't half bad, and the accoustic strumming is soothing... but it's all a little static. Even with a more laid-back piece, there still needs to be an underlying "energy." If you were actually going for the old people step dancing feel (which is totally legitimate and could be potentially very amusing), there need to be more obvious stylistic choices to get that point across. I somehow doubt that that's the vibe you were going for, though, because the electric guitar brings a more serious element to the mix. The transition at 1:26 was a little too abrupt for my taste, as well as the picardy third in the ending. I don't have much else to say, though. You're both very talented remixers, so perhaps this collab was a problem of communication. If you sit down and discuss your mutual goals with the piece, I think that could unify it. NO

Hoo boy. Alright, I'm gonna use an unusual analogy for my comments here. You, my friend, are suffering from a little phenomenon I like to call "diarrhea pen." This mix runs on and on and on with no substance. It's more like a stream of consciousness than a coherent piece. The funny thing is that you actually have more than enough arrangement here; it's the length that makes it seem like there's nothing there, because you've spread your butter too thin. Ah, but there is an easy solution! Condense what you have. Be selective about which sections you wanna feature, and then go all out with those. Right off the bat your introductory piano parts are extremely exposed, which makes the massive amounts of delay sound tacky. I like the way you added in the harmonies piece by piece, but they need backing support. The same can be said about a lot of places in this mix. The female vocals are cool, but they'd be much stronger if you incorporated them earlier on, instead of just sorta throwing them in towards the end. And continuing along with this theme of literary analogy, you know those kids that begin their essays by saying, "Okay, first I'm gonna talk about this, and then we'll move on to this and this..." ? That's how I view your "First stage," "Second stage," "Game over" vox interjections. Come on, do we really need to know that? Cheesy to the max! Take a look around the site and see how many remixes exceed the seven-minute mark. Very few, huh? Well, there's a reason for that. You'd have to have A LOT going on to keep an arrangement interesting for that amount of time. You shouldn't have too much trouble condensing this down, though, so I hope to hear an update soon. NO

I can definitely appreciate what you're going for here. The bell-like arpeggiation is a neat concept, and we all know I like purdy stuff like that, but the arrangement itself is too straight-forward. You've got the same chord progression going on for basically the entire duration of the piece, and the actual source tune melody doesn't come in until 1:28. (You did have some form of variation on that melody beforehand, but it appeared as a rather simple, repeated piano riff.) The drums are definitely a weak point here, and they're mixed too soft! Perhaps you were trying to hide them for lack of a better sample? ^_~ Both key changes are abrupt and rather jarring. You've gotta have a reason to modulate if you really wanna pull it off, and more transition is needed. I hear a lot of minor changes in the arrangement and texture, but that's not gonna be enough since you're sticking to the same structure throughout. I'd also recommend being a little more sensitive to dynamics in this piece; considering a lot of what you're doing is additive material, the sounds can become loud and overwhelming. You're not off to a bad start, however. NO

Chung chung chung chung... (zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz) Maybe this whole mix would sound better if you sped up the tempo a bit? It still needs work in other areas, but I honestly think that could be a good starting point if you decide to revamp it. Right off the bat, the drums reaaaalllly drag things down, and everything to follow just seems kind of blah... even though there are some good ideas in there. It sounds like you're going for a sort of synth pop ballad, but even with slower songs, you need to keep things moving! All the lead instruments sound very similar, and the drums are plodding and stilted. I'm awesome, you're awesome, we're all awesome... buuuuuut this mix could use some work. ^_~ NO

Heh heh, wellll... Although I'll agree with Larry that this remix may be less grating than the original, it's still pretty in-your-face. There are no dynamic changes throughout the piece, and you're relying way too heavily on that Garageband loop. The transition at 0:49 is whack; why does it come in ahead of the beat, and why isn't it in the same key? The section to follow sounds rather off rhythm as well. Sounds like you need to do some time correcting with the lead synth there (and yes, Garageband is capable of that). The backing strings start to sound redundant after a while, probably because you're not making a considered effort with dynamics. Fadeout = copout in this context. Where's the arrangement? Where's the personality? Keep at it. NO

djpretzel: bah, stop being curmudgeon man djpretzel: When Mega Man defeats Curmudgeon Man, he then gets to use his weapon, which consists entirely of repeating phrases like "Bah, Humbug!" or "plz dont add me to any freakin lists" (Okay... Maybe a little wishful thinking, too, but hey- you asked Dave to clear you and JJT for the panel, so I thought that was indication enough.)

Not the most flattering picture of zircon... He looks like an old man. C'mon now, you can do better than that!

More like the TERRAflu, am i rite?

Everybody sit on zircon- we gotta keep him warm! Poor little snuffleuffagus.

We wanna allow people as much time as possible to register, book rooms, and plan travel arrangements. It's a big event, and will most likely be the largest OCR meetup to date.

MAGFest 5 Thursday, January 4th - Sunday, January 7th, 2007 At the Sheraton Premiere in Vienna, Virginia MAGFest? What the heck is that? Why, only the best music and gaming festival this side of the USA... This year is the 5th anniversary, and it's looking bigger and better than ever. Brendan somehow managed to book an absolutely beautiful hotel for the event, the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner, equipped with an indoor pool, jacuzzi, fitness room, and sauna. (Plus free parking!) What is there to do? Concerts- The musical performances are what make MAGFest so freaking awesome. There's already a great lineup of video game bands this year: The Minibosses with Jenova Project, Shawn Phase, Smash Brothers, Sprite Slowdown (Chromelodeon's video game department), Wave Theory, Concertneskimos, Parasprinter, Powerglove, Search Snake, and This Place is Haunted! Gaming- A huge 24-hour gameroom with tournaments, as well as a 24-hour LAN room! Costume contest- Self-explanitory. Panels- This year's panel lineup will play a large role in the festival activities: OCR will be giving a panel at 4:00 pm on Friday the 5th, featuring some site history, music (duh), trivia with prizes, and live performances. Immediately following will be a meetup in the lounge! And, of course, there will be other panels on geeky topics featuring artists, authors, and comedians of video game culture. How do I sign up? You should preregister to attend MAGFest if you wanna save money, and the sooner the better! Unless you live close to the location site, I would also recommend booking your hotel room well in advance. It's cheaper (and more fun) to split with a few other people. As I understand it, all the rooms this year will have two double beds, so 4 is an ideal number for rooming groups. If you're really strapped for cash, though, and wanna squeeze in more, there's always the floor. All that being said, I'm going to do my best to keep the following lists updated, so you can see who's coming. That should help with organizing carpools, rooming groups, and such. If you're looking for a ride or roommate and people don't respond in here, try PM. Just a couple requests: Anyone who's driving to the event (and has room for more) should post in here with their travel info! Let's not let the dream die for those who are transportationless. Once you've figured out who you're rooming with, please let me know either in the thread or by PM! Last year, it was hard to keep track of who was around from OCR because we were relatively scattered about. I know *I* don't wanna miss out on meeting any of you lovely people, so this should help. OMG SEE U THAR! Attending: djpretzel Liontamer zircon pixietricks zyko Shnabubula Geoffrey Taucer Rama Xerol Bahamut Darangen Shael Riley José the Bronx Rican Richter The Prophet of Mephisto Mustin Kitsuta DjSammyG Mogrothir NC_Dave Garian RealFolkBlues TristorTrucido JigglesMcPuff Benzo iShwenk hseiken fivre Moguta Zeiram_ q-pa The Pezman bucky o'hare Ayres Possibly attending: Beatdrop JigginJonT The wingless mv myf neminem Majin GeoDood Suzumebachi Fridge teknoboy shpladoink Rooming together: - Geoffrey Taucer, Darangen, zircon, pixietricks - Rama, Rama's daddy, and Rama's brobro - Xerol, Aaron, Garian, possibly Suzumebachi (willing to add more)

Okay, Mr. Madcore, what do we have here? (/me opens manilla folder of remix critiques) You are off to a very good start here, I'd say; there are only a couple production problems that I feel warrant attention. One would be the audible string sample breaks you have towards the beginning, which Malcos already pointed out. If you timed the breaks to fit along with the beat, that would be acceptable, but right now they sound slightly off. The other point that is that your bass entrance at 0:43 is waaaaay too loud, IMO. Other than that, balance and samples sound good! Now let me guess: zircon's your remixer idol, right? Reason for speculation? This remix follows the exact framework of much of his work, minus a lot of originality and plus a little redundancy. So you've discovered the phat beats- yay! But they rarely change, and considering that the arrangement also rarely changes, that becomes problematic for a six-minute piece. I don't suggest that you cut down the time, necessarily, but have you ever considered creating some variations on the main theme itself? As it stands, all that changes is the minimal accompaniment. I think the new chord progression that you've applied is overly simplified, and there are some clashing notes in the third chord of that progression as well. The breakdown at 3:56 is definitely one of the highlights of this mix. That's the sort of creativity you wanna have throughout your arrangement! Hope to hear more from you. NO

Oooooh... nice, slow buildup. Love the way you introduce all those crunchy synths and FX in contrast to the lead sinewav; good expansion on the original. This is a great remix for brooding. I'll be sure to listen to it on my next period. XD I also like the way you've intertwined the minor version of the main theme with The Great Northern Cave. That source tune wasn't much to work from originally, so I'm glad you tied in that extra element to remind us that this is Final Fantasy 7. (Yes, as if we didn't have enough already! ) The instruments are all well recorded, and you have some thoughtful little touches here and there. I see zircon's point about the stereo balance of the drums, but whatev, no biggie. This'll make a nice addition to Daragen's Greatest Hits I. YES

I'm with zyko 100% here. This is a refreshing submission! Simplistic? Hardly. There is a distinct lack of instrument variety, but I think that works entirely in this guy's favor. Every detail- every sound- is perfectly orchestrated to fit within the overall scheme. You shouldn't need a "wall of sound" to determine that there is a lot going on in this arrangement, even with the production. I would cite examples, but do I really need to? They are everywhere! Reminds me a lot of Mazedude's work. Needless to say, I'm impressed. YES

Hey now, this is cute! I know others have brought up some concerns about your instrument samples, but the only one I feel strongly about is the french horn. I'm sorry, Charlie, but that sample BURNS. Note after note after note, it's just the same repeated articulation... You could have easily replaced that solo with something else from the brass section, or anything else, really. o_O It took you a little while to get off the ground, but from 1:30, everything sounds great! The timpani sample really helped round out the lower end of the spectrum, with all those cheesy string samps. I wish your cymbal crashes had been more powerful in the section starting at 3:31, but what can ya do? This was a strong submission, IMO. Fun arrangement! Your samples may not be the best, but they fit the style of the game and music very well, so I wouldn't feel right rejecting this mix on those grounds. YES (P.S. Since he's gonna have to provide us with a version sans glitch, can someone talk this guy into replacing the french horn, pleeeeeeaaaase?)

Nope, Podcast Alley resets at 12 am Central, so 1 am EST. Glad you people are enjoying the video. It was definitely fun to make!

Yeah, Free Talk Live has been around for a loooong time, and it's good stuff. We're doing well so far!

Not bad, but 10 people beat ya to it. ^_~ Keep 'em coming, guys!

Hey guys! October 1st is here, and our well-funded R&D department has been hard at work figuring out the best ways to increase our monthly vote quotient. Their conclusion? Well, you'll have to watch our latest mini videocast at www.vgdj.net to find out! But perhaps more importantly... VOTE FOR US AT PODCASTALLEY and keep us in the top 10 for longer than ever!