Liontamer

ReMixer Name: Mawnz Real name : Måns Åberg Email: website: http://soundcloud.com/mansaberg user id: 50327 Name of game: The Legend of Zelda: Adventure of Link Arrangement name: Palace of Haste Name of song arranged: Palace theme My own comments: My first remix of any kind. Also my first drum n bass attempt. The reason why I decided to remix this song? I don't really remember, but I think it just popped up in my head or something... Also, I like piano :3

Sounds cool! It's close, but it's personalized well. However, while it doesn't repeat, it's a slow-tempo piece that's essentially over & done in 90 seconds, and it isn't a fully developed arrangement. The point's debatable, but I'd argue our first Touhou ReMix by Justus Johnston really set the bar as far as creating a sub-2:00 piece that has a solid beginning, middle, and end. Select Start's Frog mix also shows you how it's done, though that's a faster tempo, so they could fit more substance into it. BTW, 128kbps?!? This ain't 2002, son! 192kbps or VBR1. Thems the rules. Short and sweet, this is an awesome start to a concept that isn't fully realized. I don't have any doubts that you know what you're doing as far arrangement and production. If you're willing to explore this arrangement further, it would likely have a home here. Give it a shot. NO (resubmit)

Remixer name: Forrest Real name: Christopher Forrest Powell Email: Website: www.forrestpowell.com (long overdue for an update) User ID: 49388 Game: Secret of Mana Arrangement title: Elinee Song arranged: Phoenix and a Rose Hello there! I found out about OCRemix from a friend and got involved in arranging a track for Balance and Ruin. Have posted a bit and listened to lots of tracks, but as of yet I've not submitted any songs. So, here's my first. When I was in my early teens, I loved this song, and it stood out as one that hasn't really seen a lot of attention from remixers, maybe since it is pretty short and to the point. I opted for a sort of Thomas Newman approach with the strings and pads, and really had a great time arranging this on a day off from work early in the week. The crescendo and then the immediate quiet of this song was something that always caught my attention. It was one of the earlier SNES titles that I noticed had a strong sense of dynamics and space, which I'm still learning how to achieve in writing. Since my website is still sort of under construction, I'm attaching the file. Thanks for reviewing it! Can you let me know if this is too close to the original from Secret of Mana, or if it's okay to have something that's loyal and to the point, with a bit of embellishment like I did here? Criticism (or complete abject praise) is totally welcome! Also, if there are tracks that are in demand that you think my style fits, I'm always up for putting something new together and maybe collaboration. Cheers, Forrest

The arrangement's creative, but everything's hampered by this mechanical sound of the piano. Things started off nice and airy, but anything fuller than that was immediately exposed. Once this got uptempo at 1:32, the issues were even more pronounced and the timing sounded extremely mechanical. Piano of this sound quality's generally not acceptable. Right now, it's "Stiff Winds of Antiquity." It's too stilted and unexpressive, and it undermines the energy of the composition, as much as the effort is there. Also there were some sour notes from 2:01-2:03 and 2:07-2:10 that were awkward. Then weird notes for the left hand part from 2:19-2:21 and 2:23. It's good that delay and effects were used to try to fill out the soundscape, but everything sounded pretty distant and lossy as soon as the lower registers got involved; something's muddying up the whole sound. Gotta give this more TLC. Piano sampling/sequencing tips from experienced Js are welcome! NO

ReMixer: Ryndal Name: Matthew Kessler userid: 49135 Game: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons Remix: Winds of Antiquity Original Track: Tarm Ruins I first set out to remix Tarm Ruins earlier this year. It began as a project with many more instruments, evoking an ethereal atmosphere that would show just how ancient and mystical Holodrum's ruins are. I eventually came to a fork in the road, unsure of what direction to proceed in. I kept messing with the melody and chord progressions on the piano, and I began to realize that a perfectly wonderful arrangement could be made on ivory keys alone. This time, though, I decided to advance the tone in a new direction, maintaining the sublime quality of Tarm but also showing the more whimsical nature of the Ancient Ruins located there. The end references the Legend of Zelda main theme and closes out on a major tone, signifying triumph and the recovery of the sixth Essence of Nature, the Blowing Wind. Adventure, myth, danger, vagary, and beauty. Tarm Ruins is one of my favorite locations of in all the Legends of Zelda, and in this remix I wanted to capture everything that it's about.

We're gonna take the FLAX yeast to the PAX feast!

Sweet intro. Actually, once things picked up from the intro, this was actually disappointingly similar to the original as far as the tempo and rhythms. Too bad considering how much more personalized the first 25 seconds were. 1:22-1:33 possibly used a very loose adaptation of a subtle part from :40-:43 of the source. The recording was decent, the performance was solid, and there were some embellishments/flourishes there in terms of adapting it to piano, particularly towards the end after 1:55. The left-hand writing throughout attempts to add that level of intepretation. But overall, I'm just not hearing ENOUGH beyond subtleties to really push me toward this arrangement standing apart enough from the original. The mood just feels pretty similar without feeling distinguishing itself enough. And at only 2:24 long, there wasn't much else to take away from it. Am I in haterade mode? I like the track in a vacuum. It's certainly in the right direction as far as personalizing it; it's not as if it's entirely without merit. No vote yet until I see how some others feel about the potential subtlety of the arrangement approach, but I just can't quite get behind this one.

ReMixer name: Tarcani Email: Userid: 50321 Game: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Arrangement: Run, Yoshi, Run!! Individual songs arranged: Athletic Theme Comments: I've been toying around with developing a piano arrangement of this piece ever since it invaded and pervaded my consciousness for about a month a while back. I came up with this light-hearted arrangement over the course of many revisions and I am pleased with the way it came out. The solo piano was an attempt to create a sort of homogeneous unit that demonstrates that this piece doesn't require any complicated instrumentation to be executed in an interesting and successful way. Enjoy!

Man. I really disliked the phasing electrosynths in this. Is it just me? I'm paneling it just because I wanna be sure it's not just me. They just sounded so generic and were not fitting this at all. Sometimes, things sounded off-key or flat, and just... unpleasent. Aside from those electrosynth leads and the glassy instrument first brought in at :47, the arrangement had a cool minimalist vibe. Some might say it was too flimsy, but the space was being filled out well enough. The articulations were too mechanical on the organic-style instrumentation, though some stuff like the bass at the end was fine enough. That said, too many sounds felt out of place and dragged this way, way down. Props on getting this performed; I'd defintiely like to hear how this arrangement turned out with a different instrument set and dynamics of live players. As far mockups go, you get the gist of it, sure, but man does it need a lot of TLC. NO

Alias: Melodious Punk Name: Kevin Fredericks Address: Website: http://soundcloud.com/melodious-punk Forum ID: Melodious Punk Games: Mega Man 2/3 Arrangement: Metal Snake Stages: Metal Man, Snake Man, Air Man, Mega Man 3 Intro, Gemini Man This piece is a remix of an arrangement that will be performed by the Reno Video Game Symphony on October 19th 2012 in Reno, NV. The original score is for woodwinds, tuba/euphonium/trombone/trumpet, full strings, percussion, and bari/alto sax. I made this to show the 22 members of the group how the track sounds, but I opted to make it in Ableton with an electropop treatment for fun. Thank You, Kevin Fredericks

The filename from the Mediafire link actually said 'A Lovely Shade of Emerald', but OK. The synth design was pretty vanilla for the first minute, but the mixing was OK. Things became pretty muddy after the drop at 1:08, and I'm not sure what happened to cause it. Some light wubbing was added at 1:35, but everything was so muddy, it just sounded like a distortion bleeding into everything else. Really exposed, fake pizz strings brought in from 2:04-2:17. It can slide some given the context of the song. More creative dubstep-style wubbery after 2:17, though the melody was getting drowned down some. 3:13 ended that and moved back into more of a focus on the source upfront. Definitely not my thing personally on account of the manic dub-wub in the middle, and I felt the treatment of the source tune was kind of straightforward once you took all of that out. That said, the approach was solidly personalized and I thought well in the right direction of interpretation. The mixing being off was the main dealbreaker for me. The cleanest sections sounded pretty thin despite being so loud, while other areas were too muddy and lossy-sounding. The arrangement was OK, but some production/balance improvements there would get things sounding a lot more solid and put this over the top, IMO. Good start here, Matthew. NO (resubmit)

Remix Title: Emerald Evolution Game: Pokemon Red/Blue Song: Viridian Forest Remixer Name: MtM Remixer Website: http://soundcloud.com/mtm64 This is a trancey/complextro-style remix of the Viridian Forest theme, which is also the very first video game remix I ever did, way back in 2009. I decided to remix the theme again now that I actually know what I'm doing, and I'm pretty proud of the result. There's not much more to say, really. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPH9bT2Agc0

No worries. Red Rum was just pissed and it's hopefully smoothed over on the Tweeter. https://twitter.com/Real_Red_Rum/status/299934313674334208 Everyone's a winner. Back when Rexy was regularly rejected, I'm sure she felt the same way. The things I'd say to Greg in regards to these replies are two-fold. 1) DON'T compromise your artistic vision for an arrangement to accommodate the OCR standards. When we judges make suggestions, it's with the OCR arrangement standards in mind. But if altering that arrangement isn't something you want to do, and you don't feel addressing the criticisms will improve your own enjoyment of the track, don't do it. Apply our criticisms in a way where you know you're improving the track in your own eyes, and not just ours. 2) We don't want you to put your heart into and submit a track that's too much of a close cover only to be surprised and angry it didn't make it for being too cover-ish, especially after 3 people, including 2 Workshop mods, tell you why they believe it's not going to make it. That said, this SoR track WAS mostly a straightforward cover. If you need guidance on understanding the level of interpretation needed to make it, you have to explore mixes posted in the last year, compare them with the originals and get a better feel for what we're looking for. People are here to help you get to where you want to be.

I'm 5 eps in, and loving it like I knew I would. Dave mentioned enjoying the breaking of the 4th wall, which was carried over well from the BBC version. It works well there too. I will say though, in episode 5, they showed Democrats working unified messaging on TV to perfection, when that's just total bullshit. Much to my chagrin, only Republicans effectively utilize Frank Luntz-style obfuscation language to that degree of unity and repetition. It's a not a huge complaint, I just got a kick out of it. I've got Jeff Beal's theme on repeat for the weekend http://www.youtuberepeater.com/watch?v=DbWcdaeYrsI

Saw this gem in response to the judges decision And yet, you had 3 different people basically say a lot earlier what I said in my vote, yet somehow you're still shocked: Now Rozo was wrong, IMO, and maybe that gave you false hope, but we still have ReMixes that are more cover-ish, retaining the same structure and tempo, but are more personalized than what you had. See what else you can do on the arrangement side or just try another arrangement with more interpretation in mind. I think djp said it best when I mentioned this offhand in chat just now: "Hey man, no need to call us cunts, we liked the track, we just have requirements that the arrangement change things up a bit more. No hard feelings if you don't feel like it, but we'd love to see you make some changes & resubmit." That's basically it. Maybe you can't read past the NOs at the bottom of the vote, but we all still enjoyed the track. And we've been called worse than Fucky McFuckcunt, or whatever you yelled, so we don't mind. Your production's not bad, just get the arrangement/interpretation component on point, and you're good to go. And if you no longer aim to get something passed on the site here because you don't like the standards, that's fine, but go channel that anger into something positive. EDIT: Here's the proof that we hate you:

We know. It'll be fixed.

...the fuck???

Forgot to come back to this, but just co-signing with a YES. I was just high and neglecting the steady bassline usage, which more than put the source involvement over the top. WillRock had a good point about the nature of the source tune being standard blues, but as I mentioned in the #j chat last night, that's not really the source's fault. As long as the source wasn't flat out lifted from another non-VGM song, it's valid to arrange. I still poo on the piano here, but this rises above that.

I wish the snare patterns were a little less vanilla, but as the track hit the soloing, that part dropped and the percussion really got room to get active. The first 90 seconds were a well-personalized cover, IMO. I wouldn't pass a whole arrangement done this way, but everything after 1:28 with the integration of original writing with the original, followed by guitar and woodwind work on top of the base of the source from 2:09 until the end, made it an easy pass. The progression here was solid; it started close to the vest and steadily opened up as the level of interpretation grew. Vig's high about the intro & outro crits. I mean, sure, you COULD trim the start and add more to the end, but did that really break the track as far as what we're looking for in the big picture? Not really. Forward. YES

Good catch; you're definitely right about hearing those brief "skips." If I had to take a guess, I'd say intentional alongside the other glitching effect, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. I could ALSO see it being unintentional, but it honestly didn't make any difference to me. Still a solid YES myself.

TL;DR Undecided. For stuff like this, we cross that bridge when we get there and handle it on a case-by-case basis. For something like Sonic Before the Sequel or a similar example like Streets of Rage Remake, the game certainly looks good, but the game itself is unauthorized. That might be a call djpretzel ultimately makes, with or without thoughts from the panel. Personally, I could live with it, but the soundtracks of unauthorized fan-games possibly fall outside our scope of acceptable games. Well-made original games with some notability aren't legally nebulous. I'd rather keep my fingers crossed for more success stories like Capcom being forward-thinking and taking Street Fighter X Mega Man in-house.

comiXology pretty much runs the game. They're awesome. https://twitter.com/comiXology/statuses/218946422635106304

I actually got to hear this one in Stevo's car while visiting Maryland for a work conference, and everything sounded strong; really glad we finally got to this one. Vocals isn't a direction I would have expected to hear "Rainbow Road" in, but it works very well. Great combination of the acoustic and chip elements as well. The nasally style of the vocals will kill some haters dead, but that's about the only "issue" I hear and it's a subjective thing. Cool to hear Ben do some vocals as well. Play this for your Kart 64-lovin' lady and give her a big hug. YES

I loved the BBC series with the late Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart. Now we hopefully get to see Kevin Spacey kick ass as Frank Underwood. In both versions, FU is the creme de la creme of douchey, scheming, underhanded politicians, and if the American version is ANYTHING like the British one, it will be awesome. Netflix is the exclusive home of show, and they've released ALL 13 episodes of season 1 TODAY. This release style may eventually blow up the television model, given the way things are going. Ars Technica has a good overview up, and I just gave props to showrunner Beau Willimon on the Tweeter as a show of support. With Kevin Spacey on board, I can't WAIT to see what kind of evil stuff he's up to here, and I know he's gonna be great. Gotta give a big recommendation to check this show out, and definitely hit the BBC trilogy as well on Netflix if you have time.

Friday, March 22 to Sunday, March 24 Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, MA http://east.paxsite.com/ Time to pahk the cah in Boston again! OCR heads north to attend the 4th annual PAX East! OverClocked University will be there with an oh-so-sweet LIVE PERFORMANCE! If you promise to love video game music, we promise not to beat you up! Got swag to give away as well, so get HYPE! PANEL! OC ReMix: Punching You in the FACE with VIDEO GAME MUSIC!!! Arachnid Theatre Sunday, March 24th, 2PM Panelists: djpretzel DarkeSword Liontamer José the Bronx Rican Palpable AND OverClocked University!!! OA Level 99 diotrans DragonAvenger with special guest rumpshaking by Vilecat!!! (Stevo's going to kill me) We'll see you there! Who else is going?!