Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

Just got off the phone with Brandon (Harmony) to confirm that he's DOWN with being there at 6PM for the show to help with the meet and greet as official OCR representation!

Brandon & Jose, mail me ASAP. larryoji@ocremix.org Sorry about being MIA on tickets, but not enough people were locked in, so that's OK. The group rate is only a couple dollars less, so don't feel like you missed out on the sale of the century (which was a cool game show, BTW; I'm dating myself). I'm not able to go myself because I got called down to Atlanta for a job interview this past weekend and am there until about July 1st. That said, I'm not in a position to be the one organizing things, but will help where I can. We still have a good group looking to go, and I encourage y'all to make it out, because OCR & MAGFest are doing the meet-and-greet at the venue before the show and will be hanging out! EDIT: Dave (who is posting below) smells.

You da best, mayne!

Yeah, as long as the majority of the arrangement uses the source tune and it laid out cohesively, feel free to structure it how you want.

Yeah, that's fine, Phil! That kind of stuff is hunky dory.

Nope. Twitter's downtime is today, the contest is tomorrow, so we should be free and clear to give away some SEGA stuffz!

Got a breakdown from Nick that's worth checking out up top. I'll try to (finally) get to this weekend. Sorry this has taken so long, Nick! We still love you!

Nope, you're NOT supposed to sample the original tracks, you're supposed to create an arrangement from the ground up. A little bit of sampling is OK, but it can't be a case where if you removed the sampling, there'd be no other connection to the original music. We did link the MIDI pack to use as a reference if you need it. There's definitely no BPM requirement, so uptempo or downtempo, it's all your choice!

THIS WEDNESDAY, June 17th, we're teaming up with SEGA Europe to give away SEGA swag in support of the US & European releases of the innovative music/rhythm game Let's Tap, out this week for the Wii! Along with other goodies, we've got THREE copies of the awesome Let's Tap official soundtrack that we want to hook you up with! The contest is open to EVERYONE worldwide! (NOTE: It's throughout June 17th according to GMT-4/United States EST time. That may go into Thursday, June 18th for you Japanese, Australian and other Eastern hemisphere fans!) In order to qualify, YOU HAVE TO BE FOLLOWING THE OCR Twitter, and then respond to our open-ended questions including the #LetsTAP hashtag! Meanwhile, I'll be randomly selecting winners from the responses! Remember, you have to be following http://twitter.com/ocremix to have your chance to win! Be sure to join us for this 1-shot OCR/SEGA Europe "Win Stuff Wednesday!" And be sure to follow http://twitter.com/SEGA for the chance to win cool SEGA merch EVERY week with their Free Stuff Fridays! Links Follow OCR on Twitter! Follow SEGA on Twitter! SEGA Europe Let's Tap

Remixer: Dr. Manhattan Submission information: Game: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Song: Hidrocity Zone Acts 1 and 2 PS1: I didn’t changed the tags i used for DoD, hope that’s ok. PS2: I'm having some connection problems, so i apologize if you reveice more than one e-mail. Thanks! --------------------------------------------------------------- http://project2612.org/download.php?id=61 - Hydrocity Zone 1 & Hydrocity Zone 2 The brass samples were hurting in terms of realism, although the brief stuff at 2:39 sounded pretty solid. I've heard really fake brass in ktriton's "Hyrule Wimbledon", so I can co-sign on a track where a key instrument is blaringly fake and there's a quality disparity. In the case of "Hyrule Wimbledon", the rest of the instrumentation sounded really good, and the brass sequencing was OK even if the samples weren't. This would be the same case, except the textures here were on the sparse side and definitely could have used another element to prevent the brass samples from being so exposed, and also flesh out the background. I've heard your Ys 3 mix, "The Freak Winged Boy", so it's obvious you can create a track that really fills out the space effectively, but this one didn't do the same IMO. We'll see if the others feel the same way. Arrangement-wise, I'm loving the interpretation. The bass work was pretty low-key, but really cool to focus on; great stuff there. Right now, the background created by the drums felt too empty for much of the track, and some of the simpler drum patterns didn't give enough energy to rest of the piece. I'd love to hear you tweak this with one more instrument added, some sort of effects, or just pushing up some other background elements to better fill out the soundfield, so I'll go conditional YES on it. Otherwise, fun stuff, so I hope we see this on the site in some form. YES (conditional)

Hey This is "Monkey Kong"´s Submission of our ReMix: Dolphin Ride. Contact Information * Your ReMixer name: Monkey Kong * Your real name: Daniel Rosenqvist, Anton Dromberg, Lucas Grönlund, Anton Fluch, Axel Johansson, Ian Eiderbo * Your email address: danielrosenqvisten@hotmail.com * Your website: www.myspace.com/monkeykong * Your userid: 27438 Submission Information * Donkey Kong Country * Aquatic Ambience * Composer: David Wise Game system: Snes * Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) * Comments: Bassist and bandleader Daniel Rosenqvist: When Monkey Kong first was formed, we kinda just ripped the songs off as they were, but I felt that just playing covers straight from the game wouldnt be so much fun or much of a challenge. So I was really nagging the others in the band about us doing more rearrangements and spending more time with each tune. We found our inspiration when we found the Dolphin pad you hear in the intro. We turned off the lights and jammed the whole form of the track in complete darkness! (except for the lights from the keyboards) I was really happy when the track was done, (I think it was in September 2008) because it was our frist "rearranged" track and I just felt proud of the whole band. ^^ We named the track beacause of the flow of the song. I've felt we have learned a lot and we are always improving and learning new things. The track was recorded in November 2008 and mixed in February 2009. I played this game so much when I was a kid, I could ride that swordfish around for hours...thinking it was so cool. And I must also take this opportunity to settle things once and for all: Snes owns Nes. A huge thank you to our good friend Ian Eiderbo for playing the lead guitar on the track and also live at Dreamhack, thanks man! And a huge thanks to Erik "The Ricecooker" Risberg for mixing the track, he knew right away what I was looking for. Follow the flow because now you're going on a Dolphin Ride. For updates, check out our myspace: http://www.myspace.com/monkeykong ----- I've talked to several OC ReMixers and they are not sure whetever this would fit into OC ReMix, but many have said we should try and after reading the Submission Standards I belive that we uppfill both the criterias of: -Modify instruments, dynamics and rythm -Adding original solos If djpretzel wants to give credits to a specific part in his writeups the credit list is: Anton Fluch - Pads Anton Dromberg - Piano/Organs Daniel Rosenqvist - Bass Lucas Grönlund - Guitar Ian Eiderbo - Lead Guitar Otherwise we dont have any specific asks for our writing in the writeup, except for mention of myspace adress if possible. I also want to clearify that we want to make a demo cd to sell when we warm up for PLAY! A Video Game Symphony and that this track will be in it. It will be clear on our MySpace that the track "Dolphin Ride" is available for free though but we will take small charge for the whole CD. I'm a huge fan of the site and has been for a long time. /Daniel Rosenqvist --------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=dkc - "Aquatic Ambiance" (dkc-08.spc) Source didn't kick in until 1:04 after an extended intro, though there were some fleeting references and the chord progression was there. This was a cool arrangement with some measure of interpretation in adapting it for the band setting here, but I wasn't getting much interpretation until 2:36's piano-led section offered more. 3:22 got a bit heavier, though I felt the lead got buried; melodic arrangement was also pretty straightforward. 4:08 went with some original material over the chord progression, before heading back to a very liberal take on the theme at 4:58 that was mostly original. Piano sequencing was decent, but exposed the sample as fake too many times. The track was reasonably put together, and it did have a good balance of source usage vs. original sections, but the Aquatic Ambiance melody wasn't very interpretive for much of it IMO, which makes that a difficult pass for me. The mood was different, which was a positive, but something about the constant tempo and overall energy and execution was making this drag out, and I just wasn't feeling it. We'll see if anyone else feels differently or can better articulate what I heard, but I'm going to let this one marinate. No issue if this passes, but if I went YES, it would be a weak one, no offense to the band. You guys are a group to watch, and I look forward to hearing more from y'all! EDIT (6/25): Really dislike some of the exposure of the piano sample at the end, but taking another listen, I'm ultimately down with this. Aside from the valid production crits, I think the arrangement could have been structured in a more interesting way. However, what's there is still solid and what we're looking for. Let's go! YES

Remixer name - Theory of Nonexistence Real name - Dustin Lagaly Email - omfgitsdustin@gmail.com userID - 19501 Game remixed - Final Fantasy IV Song remixed - Theme of Love Composer - Nobuo Uematsu Source: My remix: http://ton.escariot.net/songs/remixes/ILoveThisRadio.mp3 This was the winning entry in PRC130 a while ago. A laid back arrangement of the Theme of Love from Final Fantasy IV. The prize was an OCR hoodie which was awesome because at the time, it was almost winter and I was a broke college student with no winter clothes (I'm still a broke college student, but at least I have a hoodie now). This mix has kind of a radio theme with a transistor radio (original, I know) and at the end, it breaks and I attempt to fix it the old fashioned way. By beating it like the red headed step child. Enjoy! ToN You can leave the links in. --------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ff4 - "Theme of Love" (ff4-04.spc) Texture was on the thin side. I've heard GaMeBoX pull that off with his Project Chaos mixes, but I wasn't quite getting that here; it's almost there, and some might feel it's already there though. I know this is meant to be a track played over a radio, but I would have pushed the leads up, because they sound too far away, leaving the soundscape dominated by the beats and bass. The core beat never varying hurt this too, all the more exposed due to the sound balance I just mentioned. Arrangement-wise, I think you went off in the direction of original writing over the chord progression too long in the middle. For a 2:31-long track (I'm not counting the ending, that's just extra), I needed more than 75.5 seconds of source usage. Here's what I heard: :00-:13, :33-1:23, 2:20-2:28 = about 71 seconds or 47.02% source usage That's pretty much it, gimme some more variation of the core beat (doesn't need to be drastic), tweak the balance and integrate the source a bit more. That said, if another Js points out a direct source connection I'm missing, I'd just suggest the first two things. Really cool, chill concept, Dustin; hope to see this posted in some form! NO (resubmit)

Contact Information * ReMixer Name - Scytheslayer * Real Name - Brian Morrissey * E-mail - luminousquest@gmail.com * Website - www.ameliastudents.com * Your userid - 28340 Submission Information * Game - Metroid (NES) * Song - "Dark Space" (Metroid Title Screen) * Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) * Comments - I have always had an affinity for the music of Metroid, but especially this piece. It always jumped out of the speakers to my ears and I would sometimes not enter my password just so I could hear the entire theme before I started the game. -- Brian Morrissey Youth/Worship Minister Amelia Church of Christ www.ameliachurchofchrist.com www.ameliastudents.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.zophar.net/download_file/14324 - Track 1 The highs were a bit piercing, and I'd argue the mixing of the low strings made things a bit too muddy, IMO. The realism of the high strings wasn't good, but they weren't as exposed as they could have been. Aside from the mixing, it's a pretty good sound upgrade and definitely has an enhanced mood, but structurally, there wasn't much difference from the original. Much of the part-writing was verbatim with the original. You're headed in the right direction with the mood, Brian, so I'd love to hear this with more elements of intepretation. Cool first sub! NO (resubmit)

Nah, different threads are fine. Mashups just go in the correct forum, i.e. http://www.ocremix.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=19

Yes, replying to threads clearly means mixes aren't judged or posted. I'm sure if we just limit our human interaction more, we can pump out those mixes! Not all work is judging/posting mixes, but if you pay me, I can do that.

That all depends on my free time, not the rate of subs.

I disagree with dPaladin on internet debate, or at least how I'm handling it here; I can't speak for anyone else, and I might not even be referred to. Just noting I'm not trying to just put the best face on OCR and misrepresent anyone. Even going back to the ReMixer exodus way back, some people have flat out hated the formal implementation of standards, and it's cost us the activity of some mixers; I just think we've moved in a more consistent, beneficial direction. No problem, po, I didn't think you were being a hater, I was just saying it's tough to see the standards as something that can encourage creativity if you see any measure of rules as stifling. Dave covered it a lot better than I ever could. Also, re: the Js criticisms and suggestions, they're mostly going to be geared to the standards, because people are submitting it with the specific intention of OCR posting it. Responding to subs with that POV is simply our job in the process.

Haha, I just can't read is all. I'll throw another track and if it's too late, it's aight.

My challenge: http://snesmusic.org/hoot/kingshriek/IncredibleCrashDummies.7z - Track 10 The Incredible Crash Dummies (1992, GB)

It's fair to note though that your post there had nothing to do with what I quoted. Saying YOU know mixes don't have to be made to OCR spec and that they aren't bad wasn't the same as acknowledging that we on the panel are cool with that too and don't put down submitters based on that. You seemed to acknowledge that we knew that earlier in this thread, but then IRC was a complete 180. Regardless, I got my mea culpa, and I'm good. With no sarcasm/holding it over you intended, THANK YOU. Who knows though, maybe we faked being constructive and supportive to submitters for months in advance in every decision KNOWING we'd get called out for being unsupportive, OCR-standards-or-it's-crap douches. See, we plan ahead. The conspiracy continues...

Again, I'm not mad, but if you're going to talk trash about me & the rest of the judges "under heavy pressure" and for everyone to read, it involves me. When you get disproven after links to 36 decisions in a row (because you don't actually read Judges Decisions), the LEAST you can do is admit "OK, I was just saying whatever. My mistake." Right now, you're just giving me a weak excuse, but I'll have to take it, because that's all you're willing to say. "I was under pressure", whatever that's supposed to mean. Say what you will about the process, but it's clear as day if you READ the decisions that we're not implying to everyone that rejected subs are bad music, and we also don't relax or tighten standards depending on the who the submitter is, unlike what Starla said. The beauty of it is that we don't need you to believe it in order for it to be true. As long as you have conspiracy theories on how we operate and assume bad faith, we're gonna have this problem.

We could do the same thing with VGL where people PayPal'ed the OCR account with their ticket money, then we'd simply use that $ to buy the tix. Who is going and has their $ ready now? Show of hands plz!

There's nothing inherently wrong with someone making an OC ReMix because they want the e-fame or e-penis or whatever you get from having a mix posted. Jared Hudson, SGX and Star Salzman have said they like the praise and exposure the most. Some people think that's not an allowable way of looking at it, and even I don't prefer it, but there's nothing wrong with that. As long as the music is enjoyable, the listeners generally don't really care what the motive is. Some of those people Wes mentioned have modified tracks to get on OCR (e.g. AeroZ, OA, Nutritious and Willrock have resubbed mixes before), but not necessarily in a way that runs contrary to their creative process or personal enjoyment. If anyone has, they really shouldn't have. I'm always an advocate of making an arrangement however you want, and if it's eligible for here, that's great. Unlike whatever Doug has insisted on, we make it pretty clear when something's a good piece of music that happens to be outside the standards. When Js make suggestions for resubmissions, we hope the artist feels they'll improve the song in a way they're personally happy with, that they only take suggestions on that level, and that they pass on whatever doesn't work with their vision for the piece. I remember years ago pretty soon after I joined the panel, Darangen resubbed a mix and lamented to me that he was unsatisfied with it because it was becoming less of what he wanted. I had to make it clear that we're not implying you have to turn a piece of music into something you're personally dissatisfied with; that's stupid. We're not clients, we're not paying anyone to make the music, and we're not asking for something to be built with very specific specs. We only want artists to tweak a mix or make a mix with OCR's guidelines in mind because they want to make it that way, not to conform against their better judgement. I can't go with the implication that the standards are a bad, stifling thing that's mutually exclusive with fun. It just seems like the natural progression of "the rules are limiting my artistic freedom" is throwing out all rules and saying this place should be run as "goodmusicwebsitewithnocommontheme.com", which is over the top. Obviously there's limitations involved in making an OC ReMix. Discouraging MIDIs and direct sampling does limit some options, sure. But if using the source material a lot, producing it reasonably well and not creating a pure cover is too limiting of their freedom, then this isn't the place for them. I think most people look at the OCR guidelines as encouraging their own creativity, not discouraging. Coming at the standards from a negative point of view assumes that no one has ever used them as a positive creative influence and channeled that towards making a piece of music that they like.

That's my plan. This would be a much more consistently tagged set of mixes.

Might just wait for 1900, or do an 1850 one, but I'm still waiting for some album art. I wanna do it right.