Level 99

No worries, Salluz, we'll catch you next time. HEY OHC CREW! FALL IN LINE! Anyone want to join me in possibly storming the PRC compo this round? http://compo.thasauce.net/compos/view/PRC Most recent round is a free round, any VG source is allowed as long as it's VG and you state what it is. OCR tunes are discouraged but not disqualified, I guess. I think we should give another compo some lovin, plus it's a great excuse to get off your duffs and do a remix you might have on your to-do list, make it for PRC and then use it elsewhere, like a project track maybe or an OCR sub or something. Anyways, that's just my Friday morning banter. Last night was beastly, and the driving would have been extra-awesome if I could have gone faster. Not only was traffic pretty bad, but apparently Baltimore has become the leading enforcer of speed limits with speed photo enforcement zones. I passed three on my 18 mile trip from home to work...YEESH!

...hmm....thinking about enterting...and possibly knocking two or three birds out with one BIG ASS STONE! I'm gonna go see if the troops from OHC want to rally and join in this. I love excuses to make music that has more than one use in the end. Since this is my first time entering, and I have read the semi-fine print, anything I should be made especially aware of?

Oh geez, this is the problem that happened last time. Well, I did make the channel already, does anyone know how to increase the size...or who to contact if the size needs to be increased?! If all else fails, we can spill over into #ocremix just like FF4 did. I hope we don't have to, but this party is happening either way. And yes, Avaris, I realize how lame that was. You be quiet! Sorry that DA, Nutritious, and all the rest unable to come won't be there. I'm 99% sure I'll save the chatlogs, just have to remind myself to copy it after the party!

double-post cause I'm a bumping n00b. channel is set at #ocrwip be there at 7 PM EST or be square forever.

Remember when FF4: EOBLOR was released? Man, that was awesome.

I really don't have much to say for this one. I was ashamed to play it loud in my car at first, but now I just blast it. This is so sexy that it's glistening sweat from every sensual curve. This is so hot that you just want to scream from the passion. This made me want to go and take a bunch of $20's out of the ATM and go somewhere on the Baltimore side-streets, unmentionable things transpiring. HOT MIX. I expect to hear this in strip clubs in no time.

CAPS LOCK IS INTERNET FOR "LOOK AT ME, I'M ANGRY OR SAYING SOMETHING IMPORTANT!" Out of all this, I expected all the awesome except moving the dance party into the main hall and giving more DJs set time. THAT will be amazing. Good call. Oh, and hope you can make it out here again, Salluz!

Spammer waited around since September to make the one post. While I understand many of us may seem troubled, what with all the video game remixing and blips and bloops, I don't think we all need mental health stuff. http://ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=30560

Beat me to it...DAMN YOUR QUICK WIT!

Edit: lol got your post before you edited, nevermind!

I really enjoyed FFTA's soundtrack and fully encourage this one to be arranged, though "epic battle" might not be the end result depending on who picks it up. I would if I had any free time but, sadly, my imaginary secretary says I'm booked up through 2031 right now. Someone else want to give this a go?

Yup, this Friday, 7 PM EST. It's set. Sorry, OA, but it's your choice to break plans off and I will only allow you to break them of if they're with less cool people than us. With that said, I'll see everyone on Friday in IRC since no one's responded to the house-listen offer. Easier on my anyway, I don't have to clean up or anything.

Prepare for part one of three/four posts. This is what I have done for now on my full album review of Xenogears, the later parts coming later in the week. Enjoy! Quickening: Since this is my own track, I’ll just give a little bit of backstory behind it. While talking with Avaris one day, the conversation was turned towards the project and, in a very ridiculous way, I asked if there was a song left to do that hadn’t been done. He jokingly told me that Faraway Promise had not yet been arranged and that if I could have the ReMix for him by the next evening, it’d be on the project. 2 hours later, Avaris had my preliminary guitar tracks for editing and mastering. I asked to collab, and Shaun really pulled out the environmental sound and solid guitar backing for this one. The result was a very “humans” approach to Faraway Promise, and what I hope was a nice last-minute addition to the project. I’m glad I could take part! Of Sea and Fire: I’m still floored by this track. The attention to detail and accuracy of conveying the garage-bandy style. It never feels too long to me, and the source tune shines through in ways I could have only imagined. It isn’t surprising that there’s already been some usage of this as a floor routine, and I’m sure some AMVs on youtube will be sporting this track in the very near future. The instrumentation is amazing, with the piano, accordion (?), and fiddle really carrying the song to new heights. One can see, in their mind, the “members of the band” just playing off of each other, musically energized, and enjoying every second of the performance. Ziwtra…I am in awe. Shattering Dreams: A very haunting piano slowly brings in further organic instruments in this arrangement. While I feel like everything is played very very well, it is a little on the plain side in my perspective. It doesn’t make the song any less of an achievement, as I could easily fall right to sleep to this. Definitely feeling a “Titanic” vibe here besides the Japanese instruments, and I the strings are extremely solid underneath the leading instruments. Cybernetic Love: I did not expect this, though looking at the title, I probably should have. This is what I imagine a dance night on the main ship in Phantasy Star Online would have playing on the PA. This combines a multitude of retro styles, from classic rock backwards guitars to 80’s synthplay and almost-too-cheese drum samples. The robotic voice-synth is a perfect fit. I honestly would have liked to have heard some more variation in the guitars, but what’s there is well-played and perfectly mastered. Solid execution and a catchy nostalgic charm from the cornucopia of style-blending. Piano at the end is a somber lead for the narrative sample, which makes the ending quite moving. When the Smoke Clears: I have the great pleasure of being friends with Mr. Taucer in real life, and he’s always been a caring person, right down to the core of his being. He doesn’t take things for granted and values the people in his life to the nth degree, and his heart-wrenching story about his concern for his kids as a coach makes this abundantly clear. He didn’t even need to write the story verbally except to clarify exactly what happened, because the song itself tells the story beyond words. The guitar is the best I’ve heard him ever perform or write, and his Irish Flute work left me near tears while listening the first few times. This song is so completely moving that there’s no way I can do it justice with a writeup, as you can literally feel the “relief after tragedy” pouring out of every note. Ship of Emotion and Song: Oh, Vampire Hunter Dan, when will you ever stop writing these incredible orchestrations? I don’t have much to say here, simply because if you know VHD, you already know to expect top-quality material. If you’re new to VHD, expect some jaw-dropping classical composition with great variation and smooth transitions. He seems to use every instrument to its fullest potential. I would say that this even surpasses some of the compositions used on the orchestral tours, like Distant Worlds. The only drawback is that this piece is particularly long, but if you like the style it shouldn’t be a problem. For people who only like electronic or rock and don’t have a lot of patience to sit through orchestral exposition for almost 8 minutes, this might not be your cup of tea. If you are willing to give it a shot, you’re more-than-likely going to immerse yourself in this song for its entire length. Take Flight: It’s pretty hard to follow up VHD with another orchestral arrangement, but this one holds up quite well. There are some issues I had with certain parts of the production, but this song was still written with care for the source. Very floaty feel, but also very short for an orchestral piece. I’ll be interested in hearing what POCKETMAN does next just to see where he goes from here. The Last Fatima: Despite being one of the oldest mixes on the project, this is one of the standouts. The style, imitating the same techniques as the score of “Last of the Mohicans”, is top-notch. Has a half-riverdance feel to a lot of it. Though there are some small things I could say might have been done better, I don’t think I should because it may have ruined what’s already there. Despite any issues, this song, as a result of its style and composition, can now claim the source inspiration to be considered fully realized. Cinematic and inspiring. Echoes: FISHYFISHYFISHY! Here, Fishy Fishy…This also has a cinematic feel to it, and for some reason reminds me of a Pink Floyd/Fleetwood Mac intermingling. Guitar is great, but the drums are a little on the plain side, though it was done before Fishy was really established and can be a perfect reminder of just how far Mr. Fishy-guy has progressed. The bottom line: it spins the source in an unexpected way, and though some of the supporting instruments may be a little weak, the guitars more than make up for it and pretty much steal the show. Putting this on my make-out disc right now… My Child: What is with all this awesome orchestration?! Powerful opening chords lead into the lullaby portion, and everything is gorgeous and soothing. Xenogears movie? This would be in it, for sure. Another song where I can’t do justice to it with words, this is something that needs to be listened to in order to be understood.

...okay...umm, mods?

You certainly have a lot of lyrics and vocals written for unwritten versions of songs! How big is the list now?

After lots and lots of thinking, I'm going to have to decline Dyne's wonderful offer to do it over Radio:thasauce Live. I don't want the party to cut into your radio broadcast too much, though, so as of right now the listening party will be at 7 PM in an IRC channel which will be created on Friday and then posted here/spammed on #ocremix. The runtime for both discs is a bit over 2 hours, and there will be a 10-15 minute break in-between the discs, so hopefully people will head over to Radio:thasauce Live right after, probably around 9:30ish. The biggest reasons for this choice are a) the ustream chat is very small in lines compared to IRC windows, despite that it would prevent people who don't already have the tracks from listening, it would also prevent any hiccups from possible streaming issues, c) the quality of tracks wont be dependent on connection speed and d) you'll still get to do your own show (I don't want to step on any toes ) You are still the man, Dyne! DA: oh man, what's more important: those kids watching a movie, or the listening party?! For all that can't make it, I'll probably post up the logs of the channel after the party's over.

Hmm....I'm actually giving that heavy consideration. On the one hand, it saves the trouble of creating and admining a separate channel on IRC, would resolve issues with queueing up the tracks as well as give people a chance to listen if they haven't been able to download the project themselves yet. On the other hand...hmm, Dyne, let's start a PM going and figure this out. I'll send you one when I get home today.

I have to say that this is easily one of my favorite tracks on the Gears disc, if not on the whole project. Every element in it has been carefully calculated to fit and give it's own part to the whole, ranging from the eerie opening vocalists through the ridiculous amount of percussion holding the rhythms and every instrument inbetween. The singers are of major note for creating a mood of indescribable size, so large and oppresive that the listener may, quite literally, shake in its pressence. It is also some of the best production I've heard, and much like a good book, this is another mix where you notice something new every time you listen to it. I could go on and on about how great this song is, but you really should just do yourself a favor and listen to it. Right now. No, really, drop whatever you're doing and listen to this song. It's THAT good.

Too bad this couldn't be a sub to OCR... Anyway, this is a repost of the NC Meetup version of the Ducktales themesong. It has a post in the NC meetup thread, but now it has its own thread! Reactions? Insults? Did we kill your childhood? Enjoy, and hope to see you at the next meetup! DRUNKTALES (NC meetup version) Who-di-waht: Harmony: Lead vocals, one set backing, keydrums audio fidelity: Sexy-bass Level 99: Two runs of guitars, one set backing vox Everyone at the meetup at the time: crazy alcohol-induced yelling of "DUCKTALES *incomprehensible words*". Geoffrey Tacuer: played "drunk in the bathtub before 11 PM".