Liontamer

For personal use, I don't think anyone could stop you. Not sure I see a problem with it. That's like asking "If I own a DVD, could I put the audio from it on my iPhone for personal use?" Well, yeah... no one would mind.

An eventual forum migration to Invision (IPB) doesn't support HTML or titles with more than 64 characters (including code), so plain text it is for everyone. We've saved the old titles (just in case), but I don't believe they're workable in IPB.

As good cop to djp's bad cop, I'd just say that if someone hurr-hurr's that an album doesn't get released after someone announced an earlier date, I don't really mind that stuff. I don't have a problem with someone whapping Garrett for being unhelpful/needlessly douchey about it , but I'm also not offended. Album delays happen; sometimes the right people aren't free/available, but everything comes together nicely in the end no matter how long it takes.

Opened up pretty solidly, with good energy. The arrangement had good variations of the theme, as well as some original soloing-style stuff. 2:06's section felt like a copy-pasta, but got out of that feeling a little later, so my initial fears of laziness in the structure were put to rest. The ending was a bit sudden and could have been given a bit more space to wind down. I'm not going ZOMG at the production quality, and OA and Chimpa's criticism aren't necessarily wrong. I liked their insight into the rhythm guitar patterns needing variation and some of the mixing choices. I myself felt the soundscape was slightly muddy. I didn't agree on the crits of the transitions though, but that may just be me. On the whole, this was solid work and the arrangement carried it nicely for me. Issues aside, I didn't feel it needs to be held back as is, but if it doesn't make it, this wouldn't need TOO much work to get it where it needs to be. Count me in. YES

If you think THAT was a downer, try http://www.remix64.com/track/ezprado/the-great-giana-sisters/ Also, it's more implicit than explicit around here, but if it gets posted to the site nowadays, the track is good and worthwhile. I thought the writeup conveyed that, while we got into the details with analyzing this one, the arrangement and production standards are (purposefully) separated from the ability to enjoy the music. And that the right side won out in terms of adding it to OCR.

Interesting lo-fi opening. The bass and groove brought in at :28 sounded busy yet empty, if that makes sense. The bassline could have been pulled back, since it tends to compete with the lead, while the beats were plain & thin and didn't fill out the background enough. Not sure why the strings during part of :56-1:10 were behind the beat, but it sounded awkward. Obviously, ZUN's stuff has never been realistic, but I thought the string attacks in the arrangement still sounded too unrealistic; when the tempo is comparatively slower, robotic attacks drag the piece down more. The plodding kick beat finally dropped at 1:39, and the percussion worked better to accent the string work until 1:53. Here, the percussion pattern clicked much better with the rest of the instrumentation and was positioned in the back of the soundfield. The plain, plodding groove came back at 1:53. I liked the arrangement ideas there with the melodic lead, crystalline accents and bass synth, but again the groove plodded, was mixed too loudly (especially the bass kick) and didn't complement the other sounds. From 2:50-on, the melodic lead was also repeating itself too much without any other variations or interpretive development. 2:50's section was empty, as well as 4:05's. From 2:50-on in particular, you did try to make the melody sound different by sometimes not doubling it, or by changing the textures and energy level surrounding it, so that was headed in the right direction. That said, once you've heard the melody once, you've basically heard it a ton more times. Hopefully, the musician Js can better articulate what's not working here. If you can make the backing patterns softer and more creative & complimentary to the lead, the piece would be in better shape. Right now, it's got potential, but the mixing is off and there are backing patterns are weak. NO (resubmit)

Contact Information * ReMixer name: LucasFlicky * Real name: Lucas Reis * * www.lucasflicky.com * User ID: 48572 Submission Information * Game: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil * Remix Name: Touhou Chinese Iced-Tea * Song Name: Shangai Teahouse * Composer: ZUN * Original Song: This was originally made for a couple of touhou-tard friends of mine, as some kind of gift for both, their taste for electronic music and exotic instrumentation leaded me to this arrange, lead violins with electronic background, some solid bass, merging the personal preferences of both of them into the same song. ------------------------------------------

The snare drum beat is super vanilla and shouldn't sound so much cleaner than the guitar work. Maybe it's just me, but the drumbeat plods and should be taking more of a backseat to the guitar lead, not competing for space. The lead guitar work was performed well, but the rhythm guitar sounded pretty muddy and the textures here just didn't glue together well. There wasn't much in the way of dynamics, IMO, as it was just an aggressive sound with no breaks from :53-on; this needed a breather somewhere for some contrast. The percussion writing also was too repetitive/samey over the long haul. There were some more interpretive sections, and I'm not ignoring the original part-writing under the melody or the wholly original transitions, but the A-type melody wasn't handled in an interpretive way, and there wasn't much difference in the phrasing or style from :53's section vs. 1:45's. Some subtle melodic variations at 1:06, 1:45 and/or 1:59 would keep things interesting and well-developed. The wild supporting guitar work under theme from 2:25 was a good touch to provide something different, but the core beats basically being on auto-pilot for so long undermined that attempt to ramp up the overall energy for the close. This isn't a poor concept or poorly performed, but it's underdeveloped as an arrangement. I know you went for dynamics here, but I thought the curve ended up pretty flat. Don't be discouraged, Thomas, but do spice it up. NO

* My ReMixer name: Too Cool For School * My real name: Thomas Benton Murray * My website: http://toocoolforschool.bandcamp.com/ * My userid: 52168 * Game title: Tetris * Original arrangement title: Theme A * Song title: Blocks Of Madness! * Description: I've always loved the music from Tetris, and I've always wanted to make a cover of it and I thought it would make an awesome first submission, but nothing I could come up with seemed good enough for such an iconic game soundtrack. Especially since you guys already have so many remixes of this particular song. I wanted it to be original, not too repetitive, but remain faithful to the original. So I re recorded this track several times, set it down for a few months while I learned how to mix and master and I picked back up and polished it until I could proudly submit it. In this track I sacrificed a bit of volume for dynamics. I hope it lives up to your awesome standards. Thanks for your consideration! Sincerely, Thomas Benton Murray of Too Cool For School ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as things picked up at :22, this piece consistently sounded needlessly lossy and muffled for some reason. I'm not sure of the cause, but it defintiely undermines the energy of the piece. I'm not a fan of the panning and the way the soundscape sounded cramped. This almost like certain parts would get pushed down only when other channels triggered. The woodwind soundfont first brought in at 1:23 sounds uber-fake; definitely not feeling it and was glad it bounced at 1:48. The attacks and trills were way too unrealistic and exposed. The fadeout ending was a bit anti-climactic, but otherwise I really enjoyed the creativity and dynamics of the arrangement. There could stand to be a bit more dynamic contrast, as most of the time, things are loud and the chip sounds bordered on shrill sometimes; softening some areas would help. Mainly, I felt it was the mixing and production that needed tightening up. Hopefully some musician Js can point you in the right direction, as this has good potential, Chris. I hope you're willing to revisit this one. NO (resubmit)

Hi OCRemix! I'm ChrisColaMusic. My submission is a remix of music from the Legend of Zelda games on Game Boy and Game Boy color. The tracks primarily used are "Mabe Village" from Link's Awakening, "Horon Village" from Oracle of Seasons, and "Lynna Village" from Oracle of Ages. "Mabe Village" is the most prominently featured of the three, I would say. The name of the arrangement is "Get Some Fresh Air." The track is a blend of chip-tune sounds, bouncy rhythms, echoey synths, and some orchestral instruments too. The remix starts with the "House" theme from Link's Awakening with a tinny and claustrophobic filter, then the listener "gets some fresh air" by stepping outside, and the remix starts. Even if my submission doesn't cut it, I hope you enjoy the music! You can reach me at the address used to send this email, chriscola66@yahoo.com. -------------------- - "Mabe Village" (Link's Awakening) - "Horon Village" (Oracle of Seasons) - "Lynna Village" (Oracle of Ages)

It's a cool arrangement that would have been over the bar in ye olden days but, IMO, doesn't bring it enough for the current standards. It's not undeveloped, but it feels underdeveloped. On a more minor thing, the clap groove (while layered) sounds super basic and doesn't fill out the soundscape. Meanwhile, the level of melodic interpretation was low and the adaptation to this genre wasn't personalized and expanded as much as it could have been. 2:10 was essentially a copy-pasta of :48, while 2:24 was essentially a copy-pasta of 1:29 only thickened a little bit. Ultimately, for a 3 minute arrangement, it felt like there wasn't enough development or evolution in the long run. It's a good cover that was somewhat personalized, just not enough to really allow it to stand apart from the original. It's still a cool piece, but there's a lot of unrealized potential. NO (resubmit)

Contact Information RJ remixes Jonathan Lemethy and Richard Földhazi jonathan@ilproduction.se https://soundcloud.com/rjremixes 51359 Submission Information Megaman 3 Yasuaki Fujita - Megaman 3 Title Screen (RJ Remix) Megaman 3 Title Screen Made this remix becouse we love THE BLUE BOMBER! ---------------------------------------------------------

WE'RE LIVE! http://youtu.be/qAadPiqcMiQ

Pretty mechanical-sounding strings attacks at :11 that were very, very exposed. There was some light reverb on 'em, but otherwise, you could hear how rigid the timing was throughout the track, and I had more of a problem with that than the other judges. There needs to be more sonic glue to properly pad out the soundscape and give the strings something to sit in and mask the fakeness a bit. Also, having the attacks like this the entire way also undermined what little dynamic contrast was in the composition. There was some distortion around the 1-minute mark, but man, this got pretty cramped, distorted and buzzy from 2:03-2:27. What HAPPENED at 3:11 with that abrasive, dissonant instrumentation? Just an awkward addition for the finish that merely barreled over the string lead and didn't click with anything else there. There was no need to mix it that way. Then the ending cut off abruptly in the middle of the fade, which was sloppy. There are some interpretive ideas arrangement-wise, so I'm not trying to rip on this piece overall, but anything going in the right direction's completely hampered by really weak execution. The textures are just thin and dry (effects notwithstanding), there's needless clipping/distortion, and there's imbalanced mixing. Sorry, Johnathan, it's just very unpolished so far and sounds like a work-in-progress that's more of a compositional sketch without any detail work on the production side. NO

Can't wait for Season 3. Loved Season 2! I'm a fan of the original House of Cards, so the big "ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOMG" moment that opened Season 2 wasn't a total shock if you knew that version (just the way it was done was ). I didn't think it dragged out, though The Lady got tired of the subplot with the Chief of Staff. I enjoy political shows, so I got a kick out of everything.

Wow, this is awesome. "Oui Are Al Bhed" is a very calm and laid back piece, while this track's energy just grabs your attention immediately. As someone who actually enjoys dissecting arrangements and understanding the connections with the source tune, I liked the main verses where one part of the melody was the lead, while another part was on countermelody; great use of those melodies in tandem. At only 2:41-long, this one's short, sweet, and upbeat. I could loop this all day and have a smile on my face, and I think it's not unfair to assume Uematsu might smile too if he heard this take on his original. Nice work, Dustin!

My eye batted, for the record.

What's the month/cover of the issue? Also, cool to be next to (OCR fan) Brandon Sanderson in the plug section.

Niiiiiiiiiiice. Definitely holler, man.

That's the point about being 'blunt'. Sometimes you have to be to express an opinion. And I've been around DJ EAR a bunch of times as well and he has shown enough hands-on experience to back up his blunt criticisms. I've certainly heard both ways of criticism work. I hope everyone I'm mentioning will forgive me if I'm screwing up the details and misrepresenting something, but IIRC, Suzumebachi mentioned how Mustin's blunt suggestion for him to simply stop making music -- i.e. the suggestion that Ty didn't have what it took to ever be good -- ended up fueling him to become better. I think Protricity felt the same way about virt being that negative about Ari's music way back when he was also a beginner, and Prot didn't forget it or forgive it for a long time, again if I'm not mistaken with my memory. So it's not to say that tactless, unconstructive negative feedback can't have some benefit and drive some people. I just think that on the whole, "blunt" criticism without some sort of meaningful insight or takeaway is not nearly as beneficial as offering fair criticism with substance and support. I'm biased towards that, and that bias definitely has to do with cultivating a community of active artists with a desire to continue learning and growing. In this instance, it's certainly not DJ EAR's job or responsibility to offer what I feel would be more constructive, meaningful negative feedback while still being candid. That said, I've seen a lot more people in the VGM community persevere and improve because of helpful feedback, not hyperbolic putdowns. "This is shit, you are shit, just keepin' it real" doesn't strike me as fair or accurate with much of the music the community puts out. Those kind of reactions only work to motivate so many people, and I think it's reasonable to say they don't motivate most. There's a reason the panel moved away from it a long time ago. If anything, I think going away from kneejerk, over-the-top blunt criticism isn't about compromising your opinion, it's about taking the time to make sure your opinion settles into what's genuine instead of being hyped up.

Hahahaha! Sums it up right there.

I certainly can't tell you or anyone else what to think, but if shunning people who talk shit about other people on an album or the site in general were an actual thing here, we'd never have SnappleMan on an album. Ever. And we'd never have several others who (back in the day) would complain that what was posted to OCR was comparative trash to their (rejected) subs. Don't get me wrong, I do agree there's some level of disrespect in the WAY the opinion's expressed, co-signing with someone saying XYZ shouldn't ever sing, but G-Mixer can have that opinion. Not every mixer is going to appreciate every other mixer, that's just not possible. I suppose the takeaway for others is shut the fuck up. Voicing your dislike of other artists won't get you banned from OCR, but it'll piss off some album directors who think you're a hater. EDIT: "Fuck" is used 40 times. Tons of the comments are shitting on something with unconstructive comments. Not a paragon of virtue re: awesome reviews. It's one thing to dislike a piece of music, but it's another to be a douche with the criticism, which kind of goes back to people being mad at G-Mixer. If the panel gave feedback like this in this day and age, we'd (rightly) be criticized.

I would just say don't generalize their community either.

Ooooooooh, cool! DusK noticed this Sonic Retro thread. http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=32095 Started out sweet: "hey, nice rap track, looking forward to the album", which turned into polarizing opinions due to personal tastes, and then a shitfest on the community and music. I did get a kick out of it though; the usual complaint tropes: * presence of rapping/lyrics = ugh * people can't sing * mostly generic electronica/little genre variation * mostly FL/Garageband presets * don't recognize the originals * too MUCH like the originals * community too insular/circlejerky * judges are biased * nothing but JRPG love I also got a kick out of G-Mixer thinking "lol hope no one sees" with his negative comments like he'd be excommunicated from the church, as if everyone who's ever participated has to love everything the entire community does in lockstep. If you don't like DiGi Valentine or ladyWildfire, fight it out. At least he squashed the whole "they just use presets" hyperbole from some ignorant person. I did learn some new tropes though, i.e. if any OCR project is good or has variety, it's because it has good "outsiders" who aren't "from OCR", so if you're an OCR regular, you're bad at music, everything is homogenized, but if you're an outsider, then you have the chance to rise above the mediocrity. Also, Howard Drossin slapped us down or something. Even though when we met him, he was cool and supportive. Never heard any issue about him re: "Lover Reef", so that was new. But if anything, it just sounds like a case where the mixers showed him the track and he clarified he didn't actually compose "Lava Reef" though people believe he did because of the S3&K composer credits debacle. But hey, maybe they have some transcript of Howard saying "they showed me some stuff, and it was soooooo bad, they stink!" Also, Danny Baranowsky's "Knuckleduster" is both amazing and horrible, depending on the POV. Imagine that, polarizing opinions on a creative arrangement due to personal tastes. Been here 12 years, and it's definitely just the same people around here, no new blood: djp, me, Vig, DarkeSword on staff and I swear the rest of these people are all Dale North, Ailsean, AmIEviL, Mustin and McVaffe.