Liontamer

I saw this thread and thought it was an interesting idea, so I made a big list. It's just my personal feel for "quirky" (peculiarity of character) as a song descriptor, mostly thinking of mixes with "quirky" rhythms, instrumentation and/or deviation from the mood of the source material. That said, I just did a short sweep, so it's not the be-all-end-all comprehesive list, especially for such a subjective word. Anyway, have fun with it and TRY EVERYTHING! --------------------------------------------------------- • 7th Guest 'Fat Dance' by "The Fat Man" George Alistair Sanger http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00741/ • A Boy and His Blob 'Cyborg Blobby' by Mazedude http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00881/ • ActRaiser 'Fill More Funk' by djpretzel http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00541/ • Adventures of Bayou Billy 'Trippin' on Alligators' by Mazedude http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00808/ • Akumajo Dracula 'Mucho Dollar Care a Junk CIA' by Shnabubula http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01289/ • Banana 'Slumber Party' by Grodan Grobi http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00059/ • Battletoads 'Bird Guy Jam' by Kumeelyun http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00292/ • Battletoads 'Toads in the Suite' by Mazedude http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02396/ • Blaster Master 'Amphibian' by wRenchpilot http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00350/ • Bubble Bobble 'Hillbilly Rodeo' by djpretzel http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00014/ • Castlevania 'garlic' by posu yan http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01776/ • Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance 'Behold the Winged Cathedral' by Shnabubula http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01456/ • Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance 'Swingin' with Death' by Nase http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01924/ • Cauldron II 'It's Binary, Baby! Album Mix' by Makke http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01536/ • Chrono Trigger 'Millennial Mountain (Delightful Disco Mix)' by NoppZ http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00652/ • Chrono Trigger 'Team Gato' by Dale North, Mustin http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00313/ • Chrono Trigger 'The Incredible Singing Robot' by Star Salzman http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00988/ • Chrono Trigger 'Zeal Feels Good' by Gario http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02372/ • Commander Keen V 'Slick Rippin' Keen' by Mazedude http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01432/ • Conker's Bad Fur Day 'Rhapsody in Poo' by ilp0 http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01678/ • Crazy Comets 'Komet Non-Stop' by Makke http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00936/ • Crystalis 'House Leaves' by Neostorm http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00734/ • Diddy Kong Racing 'Samba Primata' by Guifrog http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02398/ • Diddy Kong Racing 'Shiva Nataraja' by Guifrog http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02072/ • Dig Dug 'Six Feet Under' by injury http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00424/ • Dizzy the Adventurer 'Mix Dizz' by Makke http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01367/ • Donkey Kong Country 'Cry of the Chasmal Critter Chain' by ella guro http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01256/ • Donkey Kong Country 'Stray Donkey Strut' by djpretzel http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00792/ • Donkey Kong Country 'Welcome Home, DK' by Blue Magic http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02017/ • Donkey Kong Country 2 'Tricky Swamp Style' by Heath Morris http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01571/ • Donkey Kong Country 3 'Claustrophobia' by Mattias Häggström Gerdt http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01802/ • Doom II '31 Seconds' by John Revoredo http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01808/ • EarthBound 'The Great Blizzard of '9X' by halc http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02359/ • EarthBound 'Unleashed! The Large-Hearted Scientist Boy (and the Magical Monkey)' by ella guro http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01449/ • Earthworm Jim 'Acrophobia' by about:blank http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01568/ • F-Zero 'The Freedom of Zero' by Harmony http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01672/ • Faxanadu 'Ce pays me rend mauvais' by Nurykabe http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01853/ • Final Fantasy IV 'Crazy Old Betty' by Sergiu Muresan http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02139/ • Final Fantasy IV 'Four Friends of the Elements' by Hyadain http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02204/ • Final Fantasy IV 'Rhymes with Elixir' by Liontamer, The Scuba Divers http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01999/ • Final Fantasy V 'ROBOVoice' by Joe Redifer http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00465/ • Final Fantasy VI 'Allfactory' by E-Bison http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01533/ • Final Fantasy VI 'Celces (Dance)' by FFmusic Dj http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00199/ • Final Fantasy VI 'Inspector Strago' by AeroZ http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01831/ • Final Fantasy VI 'Let Us Dance in the Dark Phantom Phorest' by Star Salzman http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00699/ • Final Fantasy VII 'Aeris Summer Samba' by Lau http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00440/ • Final Fantasy VII 'Chocarena' by Draggor http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00775/ • Final Fantasy VII 'Golden Feathers' by Mattias Häggström Gerdt http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01644/ • Final Fantasy VII 'Space Station of the Ancients' by Mazedude http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00959/ • Final Fantasy VIII 'Shine Tonight' by Poolside http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02023/ • Final Fantasy IX 'Hunter's Community Chest' by Shnabubula http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01267/ • Final Fantasy X 'A Fine Place to Live' by halc http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01957/ • Final Fantasy X 'Ethnic Rush' by Brandon Strader http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02163/ • Final Fantasy X-2 'Chauffage au Gaz' by Navi http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01342/ • Final Fantasy Adventure 'Chocobo!' by Big Giant Circles http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01504/ • Frogger 'Frog Jam Stomp Box' by Scott http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00196/ • Frogger 'Funkiphibian Dub' by djpretzel http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00078/ • Fury of the Furries 'Furry in the Forest' by Cyborg Jeff http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00491/ • Fury of the Furries 'Swimming Furries' by Cyborg Jeff http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00844/ • Gauntlet III 'Blue Wizard Is About to Die' by Binster http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01320/ • Ghosts'n Goblins 'Ghosts'n Condoms' by Mazedude http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01961/ • Ghouls'n Ghosts 'Poltergeist Mix' http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01478/ • Gitaroo Man 'FML (If I Could Drift Away)' by Sir Jordanius http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02317/ • Gradius 'X' by Memblers http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00035/ • Guardian Legend 'Big and Blue and Round' by munky http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00692/ • Guardian Legend 'Red Spiders' by Shnabubula http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01218/ • Guardian Legend 'Starflake Jazz' by Shnabubula http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01436/ • Gun.Smoke 'Spaghetti Cowboy' by Gux http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00189/ • Highway Hunter 'The Final Stretch' by Suzumebachi http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01593/ • Ice Climber 'Snow Cone Heaven' by Mazedude http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01176/ • Jet Set Radio 'Late Night Sneakin'' by HappyBivouac http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01146/ • Jurassic Park 'Concerto for Velociraptor' by Koelsch1 http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01474/ • Kirby's Adventure 'Cosmic Transformations' by ella guro http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01369/ • Kirby's Dream Land 'Bias, Groove' by Insert Rupee http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02109/ • Kirby & The Amazing Mirror 'Kirby's Mystical Mirror' by Nav http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01701/ • Kirby: Canvas Curse 'I Want You Inside Me' by halc http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01902/ • Kirby Super Star 'Floating Islands of Grand Beach Manitoba' by Double A Ron http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00868/ • Kirby Super Star 'Green Greens (Contagious Eye Infection)' by SgtRama http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00612/ • Kirby Super Star 'Ska Buffet (All You Can Eat: Clean Version)' by The OverClocked Plaid Muffins http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02254/ • Kung Fu 'Sound Test' by badlsdtrip http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00565/ • Lagoon 'Dwarfunk' by Mazedude http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00602/ • Landstalker 'Rare Mineral Addict' by Shnabubula http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01380/ • Legend of the Mystical Ninja 'Oedo Hop' by Palpable http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01255/ • Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 'Farore Lies in Wait' by Benjamin Briggs http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01987/ • Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 'Kakariko Prom' by Flik http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01241/ • Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 'Sacred Flute' by Blue.Nocturne http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01861/ • Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 'Town Music (Busy Life)' by Hazama http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00422/ • Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures 'The Electric Flute' by halc http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01978/ • Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 'Fungus Funktion' by Dj Orange http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01133/ • Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 'Mysterious Groove' by Scott Peeples http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00335/ • Legend of Zelda 'Link Goes to New Orleans' by Neskvartetten http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00989/ • Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 'Anthem of a Misguided Youth' by Benjamin Briggs http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01364/ • Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 'G.E.R.U.D.O.' by Tepid http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02043/ • Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages 'Past, Present, and Future Perfect' by PROTO·DOME http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02055/ • Legend of Zelda 'Rabbit Joint Cover' by The Rabbit Joint http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00022/ • Legend of Zelda 'The Music of My Groin' by Shael Riley http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00209/ • Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker 'First Time on Outset' by halc http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01917/ • Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker 'Hyrule Wimbledon' by ktriton http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01422/ • Legend of Zelda 'Zelda Heineken' by Mattias Holmgren http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01845/ • Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards 'Larry's Funky House of Lowe' by Mattias Häggström Gerdt http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01677/ • Lemmings 'Dig This!' by OneUp http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01779/ • Lemmings 'Let's Go Dance' by Nines http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00568/ • M&M's Minis Madness 'virt's Madness' by Mustin http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00653/ • Maniac Mansion 'Flashbulb Junk' by Dan Studnicky http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01005/ • Marble Madness 'Marble Dancefloor' by Palpable http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01102/ • Marble Madness 'Sphercular Kinetics' by Sideways Staircase http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00755/ • Mario Paint 'Load/Save the Last Trip-Hop for Me' by Disco Dan http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00537/

Your post is ridiculous. You're unreasonable for treating one post as representative of the collective consciousness of an entire community. One person saying "God sucks" doesn't reflect anything about OC ReMix. Some guy was dumb on the internet. It happens. OC ReMix isn't a God-hating forum. Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, Wiccan, whatever, all are welcome, because our community isn't about exalting or bashing religions, it's about video game music. Move on.

The FF7 album had a FLAC release, so no worries about those 2. Thanks so much for Jueeeeeeese.

Loved it from the moment I heard it. Lovin' the groove bias.

Definitely feel free to look, but the end result has to be the same. Even EQ changes are a no-go, unfortunately. "Chasing Waterfalls" is on the DKC3 project, so if you gave a lossless copy to Emunator, he should have it, though it doesn't hurt for me to have it too. Rock. I definitely appreciate you taking a look, K. Pras. Yeah, I think I've got everything available from your material, but I'll double check and let you know. I know the older stuff's long gone. :'-(

1. Don't be slighted! Human error! 2. Don't collab with people with earlier names than yours in the alphabet, OK! It throws off the scent! Excellent. Looking forward to 'em.

SUCCESS! ReMixes 1-2500 retagged! http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=41730 I still want better encodings of past OC ReMixes. I have most of djp's and Mazedude's stuff, and most mixes with lossless releases (album projects/free Bandcamp DLs) are already covered. I'm looking to get other mixes as well, no matter if they're from 1999 or accepted but not yet posted. IF you've already given me something in the past, I still have it, no worries. Email me a hosted link to FLAC or WAV copies of your past OC ReMixes at larryoji@ocremix.org. They can't be changed from the existing version on the site, I'm just looking for the versions currently on OCR as WAVs or FLACs. OC ReMixers with >5 mixes (specifically listed since you have the most tracks): Are you on this list? Got WAV backups of your old mixes? You do?! POST HERE or EMAIL ME! Know someone on this list? Can you ask them for me and report here? THANK YOU! DON'T have WAVs? PLEASE do let me know, so I don't bug you. 192kbps MP3s are also OK if you had to reduce the bitrate to fit the old 6MB and 8MB size limits, and you have no other backup. Abadoss ABG AeroZ Ailsean AkumajoBelmont ambient AmIEviL analoq Anthony Lofton A_Rival audio fidelity Avaris Beatdrop Beckett007 Benjamin Briggs Big Giant Circles Binster Bladiator bLiNd Blue Magic Brad Burr Brandon Strader Children of the Monkey Machine Christian Pacaud Dale North Danny Baranowsky Darangen DarkCecil13 DarkeSword Destiny Dhsu Diggi Dis DigiE Disco Dan Dj Redlight Dr. Manhattan DragonAvenger DrumUltimA EgM ella guro Evil Horde FFmusic Dj Fishy Flexstyle Freemind Game Over Gecko Yamori Geoffrey Taucer Ghetto Lee Lewis goat GrayLightning Gux halc Harmony housethegrate ilp0 injury Israfel James George Jared Hudson JAXX Jeremy Robson Jillian Aversa Jivemaster JJT Joe Redifer José the Bronx Rican Josh Whelchel Joshua Morse Jovette Rivera K. Praslowicz Kaijin ktriton Level 99 LuIzA Makke Malcos MarcstaR Mark Vera Mattias Häggström Gerdt MC McVaffe mp Mustin mutagene mv Nate Cloud Navi Nekofrog Neskvartetten Nines Nixdorux NoppZ Nutritious OA Orkybash Palpable posu yan Prince of Darkness PROTO·DOME PrototypeRaptor Protricity prozax Quinn Fox Random Hero Rayza Red Tailed Fox Rexy Rozovian Russell Cox Ryan8bit Ryu7x Scaredsim Scott Peeples sephfire SGX Shael Riley Shnabubula Sir_NutS Sixto Sounds SnappleMan Sole Signal Star Salzman Steffan Andrews Steve Pordon Suzumebachi Tansunn tefnek Tepid The Orichalcon The Pancake Chef The Wingless Trenthian Tweek Tyler Heath Vampire Hunter Dan Vigilante Vurez WillRock Xaleph Zeratul zircon Ziwtra zyko

I mentioned this to Andrew when hearing the early WIPs for this one during the compo, but I'm still legitimately bothered by the weak drum tone and sparse textures. There's a lot of volume, but the elements were thin. The strings lacked the body or warmth to fill out the background space. From :20-:41 and later on (e.g. 1:09-1:30, 1:50-2:00), it sounds like the cymbals and drums are clipping/distorting. There's a crunchiness or something going on that's really unpleasent. Loved the bass writing from :41-1:04, though the mixing for this section felt off. The background electric guitar & e-piano writing (if I have those parts right) was well-written, but too quiet to be fully appreciated. Enjoyed the Blanka arrangement in particular, as well as the tradeoffs between that theme and C. Viper's. The Blanka theme at 2:59 felt like too much of a copy-pasta as far as arrangement ideas, but it was brief, and the arrangement itself was strong. Honestly, I like the structure and flow here, and the arrangement works, but the persistent distortion (biggest issue), some thin-sounding instrumentation, and lesser balance issues dragged this down too much as is. Would love to hear this touched up so everything was sounding fuller and more cohesive. NO (refine/resubmit)

Street Fighter 4 (Main) and Street Fighter 2 Ok, I'll level with you guys; I never liked the Blanka theme, but speeding it up (a lot) and modulating it made it one of the most killer sounding melodies ever when put on top of a modified C. Viper theme. Who knew that was all you needed to do? Part DnB, part metal, fully aggressive; this arrangement trims away pretty much everything but the basics and keeps it tight. ToD stands for 'Touch of death' which is fighting game slang for a ridiculously brutal combo, ending in either a KO or stun. Such a badass name needs a badass mix, and I think this lives up to it. -Andrew C. Viper's Theme Blanka's Theme

The piano sample is pretty good; not anything one would mistake for a real piano, but the distinct lack of realism of the sound doesn't bother me after a few listens. Absolutely love this piece in a vacuum, Joe. But the arrangement is too liberal and much of the middle was basically improvisation over a super stripped down 2-note chord progression. One could argue the arrangement's too indulgent when keeping in mind that the source tune usage in required to dominate the arrangement. Giving this as much credit as I could, here's all I eeked out for overtly hearing the Special Stage theme in play: :00-:01, :09.75-:18, :23-:32, :45-:52, :54-1:01.75, 1:03-1:10, 1:11.75-1:17 (loose), 1:28-1:35, 2:42.5-3:09 Counting gaps or not, it just doesn't add up so far to anywhere near 50% of the length of a 3:38-long track. If anything can be done to use the Special Stage more directly and not just go on crazy (awesome) runs that go way too far off the beaten path of the source, I'd love to YES this. But what this shows off in technical/performance prowess, it lacks in overt source usage. If we can never post this in some form with revisions, it's a great piece, just not one that falls under OCR's standards. NO (resubmit)

Remixer Name: Pumpkin King Real name: Joe Dumpe Email: Website: soundcloud.com/pumpkin-king youtube.com/pumpkinking872 User ID: 48065 Name of Game: Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis) Name of Arrangement: Drifting Through the Surreal Name of song arranged: Special Stage Original Composer: Masato Nakamura Link to source track: My arrangement is included in the attachment. This is a piano arrangement for the special stage in Sonic the Hedgehog from the Sega Genesis. The stages are very surreal. It's almost as if you are in a dream. It is so surreal. The backgrounds change from underwater environments, to environments high in the sky. So I think that the style that I play in very often fits with the feel of the environment, and the ethereal sounding song. So I played to it with my signature style (hard to explain) and added good reverb and some stereo echo effects to capture the feel of being in another world. I ended it with the original style of the tune to give it more of a satisfying closure. I used Garageband and Logic Pro for my DAW. I used the Galaxy Vintage D library for the piano sound.

I'd argue this has moments of sounding too busy for its own good, but on the whole the arrangement is obviously a clear pass. Related to the busyness, I might have made a few balance tweaks by pulling back on some of the synth comping, but it wasn't a huge deal in the big picture. Everything's sounding much stronger and much more cohesive. Nice work, Paul, and an official welcome back! YES

Cool company. Should have offered some music services instead.

Apparently the OP would like this deleted, though I have no info as to why. If this project won't happen, I'm just going to consider the thread closed.

Note, I'm voting on the fixed version. The soundscape was sparse, and really could have used something to pad out the background and create a fuller sound. While it was too it was too quiet from 1:50-2:04, the light string work at 3:04-3:57 and 5:04-5:46 worked well to help fill that void; I really wish there had been something else earlier to fill that kind of role. The instruments sounded muffled as well, as if there was a very light delay applied that prevented any of the instruments from sounding sharp. I like the arrangement overall, but the instrumentation still sounds too sparse. Though the organ dominates, the textures are so empty, the track comes off as more of a (great) arrangement sketch with incomplete instrumentation than a fully fleshed out production. I've been looking forward to these revisions, and there's a huge improvement, but the overall product still sounds too bare. If there's some way to fill the space better with an added part or further post-production work on what's currently there, this could definitely be raised above the bar. NO (resubmit)

Great interplay between the piano and violin, with Chris's piano adding a lot of new writing ideas to really compliment Aivi's rendition of the source and add that much needed interpretive dimension to it. It's relatively straightforward, but beautiful and expressive. It's short, it's sweet, it definitely gets the job done. Nice collab. YES

What was with the beats fading in around 4:12? The timing seemed off for no real reason, resulting in an awkward transition at 4:25. Anyway, the source was indeed used throughout, with some pretty liberal usage of the chorus, but everything coming out way over the 50% mark with a quick check. The arrangement felt a bit repetitive, and somewhat static for the length, but the interpretation was still well-developed and substantial, with some nice mixing. Everything clicking nicely, James; glad you stayed on this! YES

Solid work here. The realism of the brass, string and ending piano all left something to be desired. There was a bit of rigidness to those parts that was very exposed, but the sound quality throughout was serviceable enough. Loved the acoustic guitar being introduced at 1:08 and playing off of the source tune. A subtle, but beautiful touch to add. Same with the vocals at 1:50, which had good really nice interplay with the music as well as between each voice as the levels would switch off. Beautiful dropoff at 2:38 for the finish. Just a great case of taking a great theme, going for a fairly straightforward take, but then changing the mood and expanding it with new partwriting and some original sections. The dynamics were subtle, but everything clicked nicely. Nice work, y'all! YES

Solving math problems, for example, is the element of challenge in an educational game. Educational games are typically fine. Music aside, no one here is arguing whether Number Munchers, Where in the World in Carmen Sandiego? or most of the Pico titles are games. Even Brain Age, SimCity and flOw have been referred to as "non-games," because of freeform play with no ultimate ending objective, but they all have puzzles and challenges. Dave can speak more to it, but in most cases, it seems challenges (i.e. the challenge of building a successful city in SimCity despite no ending objective, the puzzles of Brain Age) suffice as an element to call something a game. The main thing I believe Dave means by the "educational software" example are non-game educational slideshows, encyclopedias and the like, i.e. software that can be played on a computer or console, but have no challenge elements like those found in a game.

Congrats, Mazedad!

Pretty sweet chiptune cover to start, though it didn't get hugely interpretive beyond the genre adaptation until the dropoff at :51. Good variations on the theme with the busier section at 1:10. 2:06 could have gone somewhere else besides the key change, as far as showing another interpretive take on the theme. That said, what's there was OK. The different mood, original countermelodies during the more cover-ish melody section, coupled with the substantial interpretation from :51-2:05 all set this apart from the original nicely as far as the arrangement goes. Everything was mixed/balanced solidly, so I was diggin' this. I wasn't put off at all by the 1:29-2:06 section from, as that was all based on the source's acoustic guitar intro, and did a good job of giving that part a new style. In the big picture, the overall dynamics of the arrangement felt somewhat flatter than most mixes given the very deliberate tempo, but it was more than OK. Sounds like Tim's got all the pieces in place for a solid track. Count me in! YES

Yeah, I enjoyed this one as well. Things seemed OK to start, then there was a weird shift in the mixing at :34. Every time the electric guitars came in, it seemed like it was all mid-range, and you couldn't hear much of anything else with the supporting instruments other than the drums. Cool vocals by Sheila at :55. I wasn't bothered by the instrumentation seeming similar for too long, as Deia felt. The overall arrangement was very personalized and interpretive, so everything felt strong there. The soloing from 2:07-2:35 was indulgent but fun; it clicked well and fed back nicely into the return of the theme at 2:31. Too bad the vocals were copy-pasta'ed at 2:35, but the instrumentation for this iteration was changed. Ooooh, bad production at 2:53 with that other vocal line, I see what DA was talking about. The need for de-essing was more apparent, and Sheila's vocals sounded drier and more exposed than how they were produced earlier. The mixing of those vocals was stronger at 1:33 than 2:53. The transition back into the acoustic stuff at 3:31 was a bit weak, because the electric guitars faded out too quickly, but it wasn't a big deal. Awesome final section to close this out with an entirely different feel. Derick's keybopard timing was too stiff, but was alright in the big picture and didn't drag this down. I hear the production issues Deia was talking about, and nothing she said was wrong there, but the level of creativity, interpretation, and overall execution was more than strong enough for me to be comfortable with this. A lot more works than doesn't work. Nice job, Gerard; you, Sheila and Derick made a great team here. YES

Source usage ended up being easy to timestamp: :03.75-:33, :54-:57.5, 1:13-2:05, 2:53.5-3:25 = 116.25 seconds No question of using the source tune enough; it's significantly over 50%, but I had to double check. Seemed to open strong, albeit a pure cover with the Eastern instrumentation. Finally picked up at :34. I could see why the strings were a bit of a bother. They're distant-sounding and the attacks were ending up sounding fake to a discerning ear, though serviceable. Most casual listeners wouldn't mind, and I don't think they were a huge deadbreaker. I see where halc's coming from on the arrangement, but I wasn't as impressed, so my criticisms are coming from a different angle. The backing harp writing was pretty similar in structure and tone with the original, so the level of interpretation felt lacking for extended periods of time (e.g. 1:13-2:05). I mean, that original harp line is awesome. If you're going to copy it with weaker but very similar instrumentation, it'll still sound good, but anyone can do that. The fade-out didn't bother me substantially, but it did sound like the volume came down a bit too fast. The original sections flowed well and pieced together nicely with the arrangement. None of the transitions bothered me either. If there were a way to make the harp portions more interpretive, that would rock and make this a more solid call. As is, I'm feeling a weak NO, but it's a NO nonetheless. That said, this is clearly pointing in the right direction, and may make it. Good luck with the rest of the vote!

:32.5-:38, :40.5-:45.5, :48.25-:54, :56.25-1:00, 1:19.5-2:07 (backing guitar part from :16 of source; buried from 1:35-2:07), 2:39-2:56 (more backing guitar), 2:56-3:28 (main source verse paired with the guitar), 3:59-4:14.75 (more backing guitar) Need 131.5 for acceptable source usage. I counted 100.25 of overt usage along with 32 seconds of the buried guitar riff. So it would barely get over the line from what I can make out, provided the mixing was better and I'm not missing other interpretation. I'd need a breakdown to better understand the way the source material was used (aside from the obvious verse from :50 of the source). Sounds like there's no source usage until :32.5 of the mix, if I understand the arrangement correctly. Also seems like a lot of it rests on using the backing guitar as a background element, which isn't working that well. The arrangement came off as too liberal, and should use some more overt references to the source tune in other places in the arrangement, IMO, but it's all about what you'd be willing to do with it. Hated the piano introing things. It was so barren sounding and the sequencing sounded way too robotic and out of sync. I try not to get carried away describing it, but "hated" was indeed the right word. Sorry, bro. Gotta agree with Andrew that the timing was too loose. However, I thought the mixing was still sloppy in places, making individual parts too difficult to parse. The cool crystalline sounds from 1:03-1:20 were buried in the soundscape; as is, there was almost no point to them being there doubling the piano (which was also buried during the section). The chorus from 2:07-2:39 just sounded like a wall of guitars; you couldn't really hear the notes change from those rhythm guitars. Same problem with the guitars being overloaded from 1:03-1:20. Something needs to be dialed back. During the vocals at 1:35, the backing guitars are supposed to be paying an arranged variation of the riffing from :16 of the source (a part first brought in at 1:19.5), but the soundscape is muddy and cluttered, so you can barely hear them even though they're supposed to be the main connection to the source tune. If you COULD hear them better, it's apparent the timing's too loose. Also, the vocals needed de-essing, and were too dry. Love the drums, though; beefy as hell. They end up kind of being in the way of hearing the source tune arrangement in the guitars, but they were cool nonetheless. Anyway, in short, more overt source usage would be nice, the timing between parts needs to be tightened, and the mixing needs to be properly balanced. NO