Liontamer

Did a Wikipedia page for the project based on a template from Rmrfstar's Kong in Concert Wiki entry (which I also updated). Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_Phobos, and of course Navid, Lee, or anyone else that can genuinely contribute to the page is encouraged to fix any potential inaccuracies and provide additional details for the project. This entry in particular could use some expansion for the entry, for example a sentence or two regarding the style of the original soundtrack. demonik! electronik!

Did a Wikipedia page for the project based on a template from Rmrfstar's Kong in Concert Wiki entry (which I also updated). Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_of_the_Star, and of course Shariq or anyone else that can genuinely contribute to the page is encouraged to fix any potential inaccuracies and provide additional details for the project. Pink is not a cool colour, man.

Did a Wikipedia page for the project based on a template from Rmrfstar's Kong in Concert Wiki entry (which I also updated). Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog_Heaven, and of course Matt or anyone else that can genuinely contribute to the page is encouraged to fix any potential inaccuracies and provide additional details for the project. Dan: "Hello Larry, this is Mustin." - Larry: "WHAAAAAAAAT?!?"

Updated Rmrfstar's Wikipedia page for the project. Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kong_in_Concert, and of course Binnie or anyone else that can genuinely contribute to the page is encouraged to fix any potential inaccuracies, provide additional details for the project, and peel my banana.

Did a Wikipedia page for the project based on a template from Rmrfstar's Kong in Concert Wiki entry (which I also updated). Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_of_the_Chozo, and of course Ari or anyone else that can genuinely contribute to the page is encouraged to fix any potential inaccuracies and provide additional details for the project. Hope it proves useful. If anyone can dig up information on who made the CD cover art linked at the top of the page in Binnie's post, I'd appreciate it. OMG, gr00ve biaz! EDIT: ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFL! Look at Protricity keep trying to edit/vandalise all of the OCR Site Project wikis! (You'll get there yet, baby, don't tucker yourself out!)

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/ff2.zip - Track 3 HAHAHAHAHAH! Feeling this one for a *ROFL* decision. It's less ROFL for the actual comedy, and more for the fact that it's a serious submission. Just basic beats and the melody isn't doing anything new, but I LOALed at this little 69 second mix. Rhymes and rapping weren't bad. Hang in the ReMixing forum and learn how to put together some full, more complex music, and keep improving your whitey whitebread rapping skills, so you'll create something more substantial than this. And seriously use the Works forum just so someone else could have told you that this would have had no shot. Out. NO

Having listened to this so much more since I judged it, I really came around to appreciating ALL of the choices exercised here. This was one (if not the) most professional-sounding piece I've heard in my time on the panel, and it's an absolute must-have. Pieces like this make the site as whole look better. While on vacation last week, I had my girlfriend listening to the mix, and, besides the actual static sections (which do work well, I've come to understand), she thought it was really well-done. I feel sorry for anyone who misses out on this one. Thanks a lot, Kunal & Christian!

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FFX_psf2.rar - 102 "In Zanarkand" Decent ideas off the bat with the piano, though it's not really anything new. Did like the idea of guitar added on top for to double the harmony, but it was pretty thin-sounding. During the chorus, the guitar was used lightly on support but was basically a non-factor. Already at 1:05 the composition is simply retreading itself, so I don't really have major hopes for the development to be good. The hip-hop beats here are decent, but are overbearing compared to the rest of the instrumentation, plus they sound really dry. The beats don't really mesh well with the rest of the piece, and if you took them out, the arrangement's awfully exposed as not being very interpretive. Decent, but underdeveloped to be sure. NO

Guardian Legend NSF - Track 21 Pretty vanilla orchestration, IMO. The lead is really flat and lacks any power. There's not really enough separation in the sounds either; too much reverb and sounds washing together. Repetitive, undeveloped, no ending, and only 1:47 long. NO

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "Chrono Trigger" (ct-1-02a.spc & ct-1-02b.spc) The orchestration is pretty cool. Lots of tradeoffs between instruments to be sure, and they sounded pretty good, if not particularly powerful or bold. Needs more originality via instrumental expansion as well if you're just gonna go the cover route, especially for being so short. Please add some original composition as well if you feel you can integrate it into the piece well. 2:07 is too short and underdeveloped for this. I can see why this wasn't named anything more unique, as the arrangement here doesn't do anything hugely interpretive with the source material. Don't just arrange, rearrange in some manner as well, as it's more of what the site's about. And name the piece something that reflects well on the changes you've made. Looked around for your name and see that you have some nice credentials, Mike, so I certainly hope you're willing to revisit this. NO

Look ma, no hands. I did this report (including the typing) with my ears only. Are you not proud of me? I know I am. Now let's view the goods from June 19th to the 25th in order to achieve karmic alignment: Adhesive Boy - Kirby's Adventure "Cosmic Transformations" [Rise of the Star / OC ReMix #1369] Everything that Jack Ryerson does when it comes to ReMixes is few and far between which means that whenever he drops a track, you've gotta be there to pick it up. Welcome to the inaugural track to Rise of the Star, the happiest OCR Site Project you could ever ask for. djp mentioned this one as having some dark undertones, but I don't think the sheer volume & power should be interpreted as dark. I remember telling Jack that I thought this was too loud and cluttered, and he got pissed off since it was an artistic decision, so don't tell him that. Just smile and nod at the kickass arrangement, some parts heroic, some parts quasi-industrial. If you're familiar with "Linoleum Stalactites" or "Cry of the Chasmal Critter Chain", AB knows all about being able to put complex, intricate work together that'll easily impress. Don't miss out on other tracks from DarkeSword's pet project including Suzumebachi's "The Ballad of Sir Kibbles" & analoq's "Creampuff Starship". PICK OF THE WEEK: AkumajoBelmont f/Stephanie - Bust a Groove "Bust This Groove '81" [VGMix2 #3391 / OC ReMix #1368] Hearing something like this completely legitimizes all the time I've spent in this community. I heard it a while back and played it on the radio show. Aussie cousins Robbie & Stephanie totally have the whole disco/roller rink/Jackson 5 thing down pat in this superlative take on Kitty N's theme "Blue Knife (Bust A Move Edit)". Cleaned up further since the VGMix version, I have to say once again, that I was incredibly impressed by not just the production, but by the idea of turning a futuristic source tune into something so unequivocally retro. If you don't like the genre, you smell. If you don't want to check it out because you don't know the game, you smell. And if you don't get it now because I said so, you smell worse than me. DarK PurPLe - GoldenEye 007 "00 Agent Life" [VGMix2 #4415] NICE! Bond with beats, loud and in your face! Such a sucker for this stuff in every way, as GoldenEye had such a great soundtrack. With nearly every track in the soundtrack being an arranged version of the Bond theme, the medley-itis of this mix is more forgivable as the track references one level after another within nearly 7 minutes. The mixing is far from Francis Veilleux Gaboury's best, as it's too loud and the high frequencies got cut off for no discernible reason, but it's the Bond theme in an electronic/club style. OMG, u have License to Listen! DarkeSword - Megaman X4 "Searching for Light" [VGMix2 #4379] Fellow OCR judge Shariq Ansari produces the next MMX mix in a now-lengthy series with this downbeat follow up to "The Father of All". The sampled Japanese vox didn't really fit the track well being that loud, but it's alright. This was kind of a darkly-themed mix that doesn't quite want to embrace that type of imagery but gets you feeling it with a moody atmosphere complete with male choir vox filling things out. This actually didn't hit me very hard on the first listen, as it genuinely almost struck me as a "throwaway" piece that didn't possess much impact. But therein lied the conundrum, for as the track unfolded, my interest only increased and I started digging the texture more and more. The soundfield was still a little sparse-sounding to me, but otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised by how the track developed. Not here to punch you in the face, this was quite the sleeper hit. Das Karl Werk Projekt - "Elektro Lok (Allgemeine Frequenz)" [R:K:O #2734] Alright, so the intro will likely leave you going "What the fuck?" but STAY with me, you asshole! You don't like robotic electronica, then get the hell out. The rest of you will pop and lok to this GROOOVY cut from Das Karl Werk Projekt for the win. Out of sheer ignorance, I can't even compare any other music to this. But analoq might be feelin' it and because analoq is someone who you fanboys aspire to be like, listening to this will be an important first step to making your life better than it ever was. Retooling the original "Elektro Lok" by Mark "Heinmukk" Waldaukat, this is probably the most unique thing I've heard out of Kwed and the C64 community in a while. Damn, DO THE ROBOT! DO THE ROBOT! You gotta get it-get it. Depeche Mode f/tefnek - "I Feel Loved (tefnek Remix Extended)" [http://www.tefnek.com] I covered the original remix earlier in the month, so we revisit those comments and perhaps...extend them... Lengthened by almost 3 minutes, this new version definitely adds some new ideas to the picture that make the overall package more unique. If you passed up the opportunity on the prior offering, don't be such a dumbbutt this time. You don't wanna do that again. Please...let Jack feel loved. Flik - "They Lumbered On" [Thematic Original Music Competition 2] Chris Serani is a man. Chris Serani is a man's man. And only a MAN's man like Chris Serani could lay waste to the competition like this, not caring if it was fun-loving Trenthian, fair maiden pixietricks or crazy Aussie TO being leveled by this asskicking gloomy/mysterious forest theme. Yes, they lumbered on, but only one MAN truly lumbered like the best! You want rain SFX? You want beautiful ethnic percussion and woodwinds? Then you want this. "Chris Serani - Reason files the size of grapefruits!" Ichitootah - The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang "Bat Cloud of Morning" [The People's Remix Competition v2-18] Nice stuff here with the piano on the opening, along with some organ stuff that doesn't quite sound like something Adhesive Boy would do, but had some similarities. Some fairly upbeat stuff here for PRCv2-18 tackling Spike McFang's boss theme. The Casio-style keyboard and drumloops were meh, but the rest of the package had some good touches. The use of xylophones is always a plus, and there's even a non sequitur key change around 3:10 just to mess with your head. Can't say it actually worked, especially because the last minute or so wasn't very well-written, but it is worth talking a look it. JD Harding - Mega Man 3 "Sparkman" [VGMix2 #4361] JD's returned to VGMix in order to start revisiting and revising older material of his, starting off with this...creatively named...[looks around]...remix of "Spark Man Stage". The melody surprisingly doesn't play as much of a factor as I thought it would/should, and the synth design here was pretty lackluster to be honest. The soundfield was pretty cluttered, making sounds hard to distinguish from one another, but the main incentive for checking this out is to see how JD has reworked this older material for re-release. Especially if you were familiar with his former OC ReMixes before he had them removed, see what The Artist Formerly Known As Kendri now has up his sleeve. LastUnicron - "Present" [http://www.sonicevolver.com] Being so used to electronic material from Andy Wood, the last thing I expected when discovering a new original on his site was a piano-based opening. Now the cymbals added behind the piano are nothing but crappily added, doing nothing but exposing the disparity in sound quality between the cymbals and piano. Fortunately though, Unicron made up for it by transitioning into some other synthetic elements and interlacing them much more skillfully with the piano work. And some woodwind usage! What a nice present, y'all. (Get it...?) Short stuff that on some level sound underdeveloped, but it's good to heard LastUnicron still keeping 'em coming. Makke - Dizzy the Adventurer "Mix Dizz" [VGMix2 #3798 / OC ReMix #1367] Marcus is a refreshing artist in the community. Like I said when I judged this mix, he's one of the more consistent vocal mixers out there, but for some reason I don't even think of him as a vocalist. His music is usually so catchy on it's, I almost forget it's him. Makke is fearless; he has and will tackle any and all genres. Need some modernized doo-wop? He'll takes a random source tune from an NES game he never even heard of and he runs with the entire concept. While I've more commonly seen people in the community hating on lyricized mixes, I've been recently seeing a lot of people specifically gravitating toward them. Malcos thinks it's where a lot of future VG mixes are headed. So there you have it: join the wave of the future with OCR's resident Swedish superstar. pixietricks - "The Rainforest Song" [http://www.fayhaven.com] HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Jill Goldin is CUTE! And I don't mean in that teenage crush kind of way, because while she's a beautiful lady, my girlfriend would kill me. We're talking about murder here. So let's figure out how to handle this without macking on adult Jill. Well, for those of you that have yet to get this track, you'll find not the lady singing in "Prayer" but a lil' kid! So CUTE! Indeed, the cuteness is revealed in this classic cut from lil' pixiesticks. Jilly sang this for the closing credits of a production her father made and it still sounds all cuddly and Star Search worthy today. The word "hamburger" is in there! How can you go wrong? So don't slash it and burn and cut it. Download it! (I amuse me!) RoeTaKa - "A Hero Decides Fate" [http://www.soundclick.com/roetaka] Alex releases something on the original side here with this brand new orchestral arrangement. Usually, Roe's pieces are too heavy on the volume, but while this was definitely loud, it wasn't ear-breakingly loud. Perhaps we're learning! While most of the phrasing here doesn't really produce anything melodic or driving, the composition here is somehow interesting. It really sounds like it would function well as background music for a large scope of combat simulation games, which is excellent. Noticeable dynamics were present as well, doing a nice job of lowering the energy level before building things back up. So despite there not being any real hook in the package, the track is really worth checking out. Even though I'm just creating a function for the track's form in my mind, it really works well as BGM and you could leave it on loop for quite a long period of time. Some of the best stuff I've heard from RoeTaKa yet that you can't miss. Skrypnyk - Donkey Kong Country 2 "Vociferous Storm" [VGMix2 #4385] You may be surprised, but I actually haven't heard too much straight trance in a while in this community, so Andy's latest actually took me by surprise. The melody doesn't actually kick in here until about 1:30, and even then it's kind of fighting to be heard. Took me a little while to realize it was "Bayou Boogie". For those expecting a hugely interpretive mix as far as the melody goes, nah. Skrypnyk mostly deals with a small piece of the pie in terms of the source material used here, but if you like the oomp-tss, you'll be in oomp-tss/electrosynth heaven. TO - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee "The Monsaic" [VGMix2 #4394] There's nothing more indicative of skill than fashioning a lot out of a little, which is why I appreciate the arrangement involved in Lee Barber's latest from the never-covered-as-far-as-I-know Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. Going the new age route with Ellen Meijers-Gabriel's "Monsaic Lines", TO goes for a delicate build over the course of the 5 minutes, with the only thing disturbing the peace being a potentially overbearing snare drum. Great job turning such a brief source tune into something a lot more substantial, so click the link and put some roo in your doo. Vampire Hunter Dan - Chrono Cross & Chrono Trigger "To Times Once Forgotten" [VGMix2 #4416] It's my understanding that some of you old-schoolers have been waiting patiently for new material from Vampire Hunter Dan. In the VGMix1 days, Dan Barnaba was someone you could turn to for consistency and professionalism. Luckily for you, VHD hasn't forgotten about the little people, fusing 5 arranged Mitsuda pieces into the orchestral behemoth you see before you. It builds, it declines, it makes your ears want more. At a (mere) 8:26 you'll get all the Chrono you can handle unless you're Zeality or some permutation thereof. In any case, Dan is back for one more and he's making sure you noticed. XOC - Super Mario World 1 "Chocolate Island" [sMW] "Holy shit, have you heard of this stuff from XOC?" That's all I was hearing in post after post across several forums after the community at large caught wind of Jason Cox and his tribute to Koji Kondo in this swanky set of covers that are so thoroughly and uniquely stylized track by track that no two track approaches are similar. 21 tracks, 26 minutes, lots of ear candy. I picked "Chocolate Island" as my personal favorite for all the chocolate people around the world such as your humble Judge right here. Look, I do the work for you... Pick your poison. Man, if someone could make some looped copies of these... zykO - Super Mario Bros. 1 "ReMix" [VGMix2 #4404] Hahahahaha! Full Metal Jacket clip to open, so I've gotta stick around. weed handles some predominantly synth material in this thank you to VGMix featuring some lyrical bits and a nice cheesy tropical vibe. Oh that's pure fun! Judges aren't allowed to have fun, weed! Stop having fun! I'm always a fan of zyko's more serious work, but this has the "hoo-hoo" sounds in there non-stop and surf-style guitar. That's the way to close it. Lots of Mario pimpage to end things. I'll make sure to feature more BurgerTime for the next batch to balance things out. Now get a goin'!

ROFL! I'll tell ya, I was like "What the...hell? That looks like something...I would do." Sooo...better do it. Yes?

Not too much for me to go through means that I could knock this out in a couple of hours, which is not only good for you and me, but good for America. The summer rundown gets back on track with material from June 12th through 18th. Alexander Prievert - Donkey Kong Country 2 "Ye Olde Brambles 2006" [VGMix2 #4362] Everyone loves brambles. Just from judging at OCR for a year, I've heard a number of people try to tackle "Stickerbrush Symphony", most of them not really gaining any measure of success. Alex here knows where his bread is buttered and sticks pretty closely to the original composition, simply giving the source material more of a sound upgrade in this simple electronic conversion. Very repetitive, but if you really love the theme that bad I suppose if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Bladiator - Final Fantasy 8 "Moontang" [VGMix2 #4359] Karl always does a good job taking some average samples and working the magic on them. This take on "Waltz for the Moon" envisions the piece in a new dance style, opening up with a very flowy, natural-sounding piano intro before transitioning into some spicy tango carried by strings & accordion for the peoples. Anything with a sequenced accordion is automatically sexy. And you'll either love of loathe the "Hoo hoo" at 1:56. Very dynamically constructed stuff, further using the second half to build the momentum even further with a piano joining in. If this was live, the FF fans would mess themselves. Luckily for them, Blad doesn't give 'em the full monty. chthonic - The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time & The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening "Anthem of a Misguided Youth" [VGMix2 #3667 / OC ReMix #1364] Man, I dunno why people weren't feeling the clap-driven intro here. I usually hate the use of claps, but how can you help loving them when they're used skillfully like that? Ben Briggs followed up his incredibly catchy Super Mario 64 OC ReMix debut with this equally tricked out take on Z64's "Gerudo Valley" featuring the tasteful and well-integrated reference to "Ballad of the Windfish in there that all the musicians seem to be fascinated with these days. Kids, it works. You like vibes and Spanish-sounding guitars in there too? Who am I kidding, the whole Zelda thing already sold it for most of you anyway. chthonic shows his potential versatility & consistency nicely here. DJ Crono f/Yuko Isamiyama, Takumichi, Keishi & Daisuke - The Legend of Zelda 1 "Ware o Sukui Tamae" (a.k.a. 'Save My Soul') [VGMix2 #4365] Jovette Rivera be back at it again with friends via some liberal synth rock & vox spin on the often-mixed Overworld theme. The phone call opening with Yuko on this one was nearly worth the price of admission (free) alone, so be sure to see what that's all about. At 5:19-long, the length is a bit much for the idea, with some brief vocals from Crono only showing up at 2:43. The mixing was particular messy, which frankly is always a problem for Crono's material, but despite being cluttered together and clippy, the sound is somehow relatively sharp. Needs to be re-mixed, but if you're a fan of Jovette's stuff, this is yet another solid offering to flag down. the funktionalists - "Southern California Sky" [http://www.zykomusik.com] zyko's latest band completed their second jam session on June 10th, producing another full album's worth of material for fans of the funk to get funky. Much like the funktionalists' first session releases, these are some very loose and unpolished tracks, so don't be walking in here like "dizzamn, this be straight from the studio!" or you'll look (and feel) stupid. weed, Bryce & Ryan keep it simple, but they really come together nicely within some of these tracks, especially the spotlighted "Southern California Sky". Guitar lead + effects = Geetar bias. Very effective stuff right there that has a simple structure but really is a quintessentially stylish and laid-back jam track. Don't miss out on others in the session like "Simian Alien" and "Pink Love" for the full experience. Ichitootah - "Pompoms and Candied Chestnuts" [Original Remix Competition 23] What a strange creature this was. It felt like a doo-wop song given an electronica conversion. Don't believe me? No dice, you're supposed to. Besides, it's not like that the whole way through, so just keep an open mind. Ichi grabbed the uncontested win for OCR23 by fiddling around with some original material from Nasenmann. At 4:46, the idea kinda runs thin by the 3-minute mark, so I can't give it the full plug, but Ichi continues to remain a force in both the PRC & ORC competitions. PICK OF THE WEEK: Jared Hudson - "One Spring Morning" [4 Seasons] Jared has his second season-based composition in this vibrant original. Hanging out with Jared early this year let me know how much of a crazy bastard he is, but when he's not busy investigating the latest racing games, saying "pour over" in a German accent (!), hunting Bambi, learning from industry mover/shaker Chad Seiter, and studying at Berkelee, he's creating engaging pieces such as "One Spring Morning." As soon as I heard it, I was absolutely captivated by the beauty of this orchestral piece. It really emotes the traditional motifs found in other pleasant & upbeat scores like Princess Mononoke without coming across as utterly cliché. Mixed with more clarity, this would be deadly. It'll still put you in a satisfying coma. Joshua Morse - Sonic the Hedgehog 1 "Marble Dash" [OC ReMix #1365] Alright, so when I first heard this, I said to myself "This be groovy, but that piano sample be too fakey and so do the strings." They are too inhuman-sounding to me, but when you're presented with something this incredibly arranged, you just end up looking past it. I've heard Josh offer some very conservative AND very liberal mixes, so I was glad we had something right here that was right in the middle. Equal parts interpretation and complete originality, I was just amazed at this mix of Masato Nakamura's "Marble Zone". Described by djp as any combination of house, disco, and funk influences, some have decried this mix for being too long, while I say "Hell no! Make this 15 minutes!" At 6:20, the mix manages to evolve the whole way through. Relatively recent changes in the staff of OCR over the months allowed Joshua to reconsider submitting here again, and you'll certainly be glad for it. Main Finger - CastleVania 1 & CastleVania 3 "Beware of the Stalker" [VGMix2 #4344] CastleVania plus beats brings the groove bias like nobody's business here courtesy of Jesse Gregory. The arrangement is fairly simple and straightforward, starting off with techno beats and moving on to a string/piano duet before fusing the two ideas together for the finish. I won't lie, the first section is probably the best part in my opinion, but the material is classic and catchy which should be able to rope you in to give it a sample. So, you know...give it a sample. Noir w/Brendan Evans, Nate Levin & Kevin Alexander - "City of Ruin & Rain" [Evidence of Weather] Noir provides some subdued but progressive stuff with this 10+ min original that's rough around the edges but shows a lot of promise for an even fuller, more rehearsed version. Alongside "The Bright Path", these tracks are both studio demos from a crew Eric put together for his senior recital at the Oberlin Conservatory. Things really took a nice turn after the 6:30-mark, as these bros really hit their stride for the last few minutes. Could have used some more meat on the bones, but considering what the recording was put together for, this is some worthwhile stuff. Reuben Kee - "A Piece of Heaven" [http://www.reubenkee.com] Hey, more woodwinds for ya. Reu pieces together some orchestral flavor for you just to make sure Jared's not the only one putting some your way for this week. The piano here is a little plinky and thin, but the overall presentation is relaxing and lush, adding to the mix some touches of New Age for the listener who needs everything. There were some nice subtle dynamic changes before a more pronounced increase in intensity was worked in at 3:36 with the arrival of some trademark instrumentation in Reu's repertoire. What can I say? The man can write, and he also does a great job of establishing a memorable style. Very fitting material for the ending of a game, is it not? Starblaze - F-Zero 1 & F-Zero GX "Blue Blazes" [VGMix2 #4354] WHAT IN BLAZES?! Evan Pattison is back once again with some electronica that satisfies the groove bias within me nicely. This stylish remix of "Mute City" takes the perennial favorite and weaves it with the F-Zero GX material of "Infinite Blue" as well as a story mode track. When the familiar Mute City melody kicks in, it's a slice of goodness, which only makes it unfortunate that it wasn't referenced more than once. Mr. Pattison, don't tease the community like this! Cool stuff, but I can't help demanding a new version called "Bluer Blazes" that features more of the Mute City-ness I came to expect. I'm just a bastard when it comes to wanting the old stuff. Get your fix of two different eras of F-Zero thanks to Starblaze. Vurez - Megaman 6 "Flurry of Frozen Fury" [VGMix2 #3851 / OC ReMix #1366] So I remember playing this one on my show when it hit VGMix and had djp listening to the show while chatting with him on the side. This "Blizzardman Stage" remix particularly caught Dave's attention. And while djpretzel readily and genuinely hands out props for the quality material that makes it on OCR, speaking as a staff member he's not one to go "Whoa!" a lot. The man's hard to catch off-guard and impress. So when Pretzel was won over by "Flurry of Frozen Fury", I felt good knowing that Don here would finally get posted on OCR as soon as he submitted it. A lil' nudge-nudge and here it is. Vurez already had a nice batch of MM6 mixes available at VGMix, and this one arguably outshines them all. For purely sequenced material, it's definitely punchy but incredibly sexy. Sax = sexy, folks. To the point, don't miss out on this one for any reason whatsoever. Not TOO much going on this week, but some worthwhile selections came out nonetheless. Be seeing you, music lovers and haters.

Just had to ROFL with this in public! He'll be jealous forever! Plus Paige PMed me earlier today telling me she clicked on that evil 1 Night in Chyna link and saw the utter devastation of Chyna clenis. SHE"S TARUMATIZED, SOC! I'LL KILL YOU!

Featured this one way back on VGF45. What a gem. Awesome opening with all of the percussion involved. It created a very unique texture. The source tune came in on strings at :28, followed by some male choir vox at :42. I'm really loving the simple yet liberal arrangement here already provided by the xylo lead and strings from :57-1:34. The arrangement became more conservative/overt (albeit what's conservative for Mike is way more interpretive than most ReMixers get) with the xylo lead from 1:35-1:55. More overt source usage from 2:15-2:55 and onward from there as more ornamentation was added at 2:55. Loved the xylo really bringing home the source material at 3:15, and building the track exactly as Mike mentioned: alluding to the theme gradually over time and slowly introducing it more prominently as the track progressed. Great stuff at 4:17 also, as the track wound down. The subtle but well-done dynamics throughout the piece was a treat, and the changing time signatures evolved very naturally within the piece as well. Being the non-musician, I'm not gonna try to name all of the instruments in play as I don't formally know what they are, but all of the percussion was solid, and the strings and vox were haunting the whole way through. The combination of sounds was put together with expertise and an understated but notable flair, not requiring an insanely dense soundfield to nonetheless sound rich and full. One of the things that really impressed me the most was Mike's "real-world" assertion of the premise of the game, and how that actually does a great job of legitimizing the feel of this mix. Indeed, running around trapped in a maze with ghosts constantly chasing you is actually eerie stuff, much like Shael Riley's more grim and realistic take on Super Mario Bros., "I, Mario." Very intelligent imagery for those seeking underlying creative depth in their music. I nagged Izz to sub this for a while after first seeing in on VGMix but couldn't make any headway. Despite Mike not liking the thought of subbing older material, I really didn't think the age factor was a big issue here. This stuff still sounds great. Maybe could use a little nudge with the higher frequencies, but it still sounds golden overall. I'm glad I kept making this mix a sticking point as something that needed to be subbed. If we never hear the absolute gold that is Super Mario 64 "Onyx Lips and Cheese Nips" on OCR, then I'm certainly proud that I could get this one brought our way by bugging Gray. You're the man, Mike! YES

Gray is a smelly liar, with an odor of old cheese.

Avien passed away in September of last year. More information (including the ability to go to Chris's guestbook to leave condolences) is available in the writeup of "Club Del Toro."

No problem, thanks for the heads-up. It's been fixed. Cool stuff, BTW. Though an older piece, it's definitely consistent with some of Posu's other laid-back pieces like Axelay "Citylights." He be chillin' it good.

Still on vacation, but I think the mix is fine. We already have a unreleased/cancelled game (Sonic Crackers) that has a mix posted. It's still an homage to original game music. More later, if needed...

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Chrono_Cross_psf.rar - 107 "Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World" Nice cymbal fade-in to start things off. Liking the lead and the pads involved. The bassline and percussion work are cool, but the sum total is bare. Can't put my finger on why, but I'll certainly try. Offhand I do feel the kicks and other percussion are too loud over the other sounds, but I know they're supposed to be somewhat of a selling point here and I'm not necessarily saying that should go. But adjusting the sound balance a bit may be what this needs. Bringing out the bassline more during some of the bass's quieter moments would help provided you doesn't clutter things when you did it. The freestyle-ish section from 1:36-2:16 basically meandered around and felt like a freestyle/break section being there for the sake of having one. It feels pasted in rather than well-written, and I know it's been an issue since the WIP stages of the track, so I'd really like to see something better there. Also, watch all of the sounds cutting out at 1:57. Don't completely drop the volume out like that during the transition. In any case, the section after 1:57 was the one that most underscored the issues I had with the mix, where it sounded bare and the percussion (particularly the kicks) sounded too loud and dry. Adding a different type of pad in the back of that section for example could help fill things out. In any case, the rest of the arrangement was conservative but the rhythmical alterations were good, there were some good moments that showed dynamics, and the production was crisp & clean. I even liked the weird ending. But the track felt bare as if there was a spot that needed to be filled out. On that level, it was a similar problem that I believe djp was able to give suggestions on for "Chauffage au Gaz," and it's still an issue here that we've talked about before. Also, the percussion patterns got recycled too much. Consider varying the patterns from 3:14-3:53 so they aren't exactly the same as :02-:22 & 1:16-1:26. That pattern ran way too long that last time and felt like a lazy retread. I might end up being the only NO, but believe me when I say I ain't no hater, Navid. Would love to see this be your second posted ReMix down the line, but I feel it's got potential and isn't there yet. Good luck with the rest of the vote. NO (resubmit)

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/kirbys~1.zip - Track 28 & 29 I remember hearing the WIP of this a long while back as Ty was getting back into the game and feeling out ideas for his Kirby project contribution. The volume was overly loud, but I generally liked where this went. Nice loose guitar with the power for the intro, along with some piano taking over the lead at :23. Too bad the bassline wasn't more pronounced. It doesn't engage my blackness, you white devil! Good stuff with the percussion until :45 oversimplied things there without the cymbals being used prominently. Too plain-jane but somewhat tolerable. Loved the synth lead at 1:07 for the faux-analoq feel followed by the guitar at 1:19 and the piano at 1:29. Great tradeoffs there for the melodic instrumentation. Things focused more tightly on the synth again at 1:52, but that lazy drumbeat returned. Could have at least gone for some mildly creative fills and whatnot. Almost a nice fadeout of the synth at 2:13, but you shouldn't have let it completely cut out at 2:18 to transition to the string pads, since it left the track feeling completely empty for that fraction of a second. The string pads at 2:18 were rather iffy and too bright/loud compared to the guitar work, so the idea was good but the pads were invasive within the final section. Nonetheless, it was a nice idea for the close and the arrangement was solid in my opinion. Wouldn't mind this getting tweaked a bit further with these levels or the occasionally sparse percussion, but otherwise it's all systems go. Good contribution for Rise of the Star and nice work, Ty! YES

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ed2.rsn - "Final Battle" (ed2-207.spc) & "The Prophet" (ed2-114.spc) Right from the get-go, the track already sounded muffled and very very distant, and the piano sample sounded very thin and artificial. The atmosphere could have been purposeful, so I waited to see what was gonna happen, but at :21, when more elements came in, I knew the production was gonna be lacking the whole way through. There's a lot of clutter in the low-end and no sharpness to this track whatsoever. The piano really needs to sound richer and as the melodic lead should have stood out more versus the strings, which sounded better. The treatment of "Final Battle" got a bit more epic-sounding at :40 when a drum pattern came in. The lead was still competing for prominence against the supporting elements. Liked the ideas starting at 1:00 with the change in style, though the change might have been too abrupt. Still had the piano on lead just smooshing together with the supporting instrumentation during the coverage of "The Prophet" from 1:18-1:42. Really, really gotta work on the sound balance. Strings took over the lead role at 2:10 with the melody on support, but they sounded strong & driving; purposeful reasons to be loud. 2:28 went for a more somber take on Final Battle that was a nice idea in principle. Again with the instruments jumbling together; meh. Beautiful touch with the piano notes at 3:03 for the finish. Richer-sounding piano (and perhaps richer-sounding instrumentation) is needed, less reverb, the presence of high-end frequencies, the presence of panning, better sound balance among the instruments, and sharper production in general is needed. Please continue to hang out at the venerable "OC Postproduction and Mastering Thang" and get diligent on getting all that down with practice. The arrangement is alright, but I'll admit I can't pay as much attention to the content when the track is so messy like this, so someone else is gonna have to get critical on that. NO (resubmit)

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/faxanadu.zip - Track 10 Kinda weird, the plucked string in the first 3 seconds seemed like a mistake. The samples are still very GMish and thin-sounding. The choir still sounds very unnatural in its usage. Not sure why all of the sounds are so thin. The soundfield is at least a lot less barren. On the other hand, it now sounds pretty cluttered and it doesn't sound like much panning or EQing was used to separate the sounds out. The arrangement just wasn't retaining my interest, especially for being 4:47-long. There were a lot of expansive ideas added at least, but again, everything sound MIDIish and cluttered, so all of the additions didn't really help this out in the end. Some of the non-verbatim sections (e.g. 3:27-4:15) didn't really sound creative or extensively thought-out. Just sounds like you need a lot more experience under your belt. Keep working on more music and using the ReMixing & WIP forums, but consider this a finished project and move on. NO

That's called an homage.

http://exotica.fix.no/tunes/archive/C64Music/Galway_Martin/Comic_Bakery.sid - Subtune 1/14 Covered this one for VGF in early May: Good freestyle stuff from Nina for the intro for the first minute. Kind of thrown off by the key change with the music coming in at :49, but I gotta run with it like Lars alluded to. I like most of what's in place, as the first half was awesome for me. The blips and beeps were hot hot. But this could be stronger after 3:26, which was really lacking to me. The vocals are awesome (the whole way through), but the music/instrumentation isn't very energetic there. When talking to Lars over my issues, I mentioned that, and he said he finds the instrumentation "sexy, dirty and funky. :)" I like the approach, but the delivery is flat and volume of the music is low. At that point, the instrumentation suffers from being all low-end and no high-end. The drums there sounded very static and the synth electric guitar didn't sound very strong or realistic. Really needs more bite/power to it. The arrangement is stylish and intelligent, and I think the first half was well-handled. I'd just like to see the instrumentation from 3:26 revamped badly. Nonetheless, this might be able to pass as is, so best of luck Lars! NO (resubmit)