Palpable

I wasn't familiar with this game - damn, the Training Grounds song is catchy! Though it seems far too sunshiney for a song I assume is related to battle. I can kind of see your thinking in arranging it this way. Your song has a light pop vibe with the electric piano/regular piano combo, and it compliments the source. The changeover to Place of Peace and back worked well enough and gave some good contrast. A little more dynamic contrast would help make this song more memorable, as Larry pointed out, but I think it's fine enough in this regard. At first, I thought the song was bland, but listening over it a few times, I realize a lot of that has to do with the production rather than the writing. I didn't think the drums sat with the rest of the song at all, sort of plodding and muted. I see Larry's concerns about the snare (turn down the volume on your speakers and notice how pronounced that snare is) but I felt the bigger problem was that the drums need some highs to really give them life. The leads in your song also aren't that clear, sometimes. It can be difficult to tell what should get our attention, possibly because of all the layering. Taken together, your mix feels like it could use direction. The individual parts are pretty, they work together, but the right parts aren't being focused on. I think you've got a lot of this where it needs to be, Simon. The intro really worked for me (actually, the piano was gorgeous when soloed), and the part writing was nice throughout. Just fix those problem areas. NO (resubmit)

Not sure how long you've been following OCR, but in general, we're looking for stuff that's more interpretive, that strays further from the original. You've kept the melody basically intact here, and the other instruments servicably follow the chords and rhythm. This needs a lot more variation in melody, structure, chords, or something along those lines. The guitar you added at 0:55 is a step in the right direction, if a little predictable. The song could also stand to be more dynamic from an overall song perspective. Almost every part of the song keeps the same texture. Your guitar playing is pretty solid, but you could use some better recording - the guitars sound muffled. EQ would help too, as the mid-range guitar is difficult to hear. It blends into the bass, rather than locking with it and staying distinct. It's clear you have that ear for making a song, but I feel you need to be more creative with your writing. Best of luck, Nick. NO

Cool arrangement, Joren. Very epic sound, good use of machine gun drums, crazy work on the leads, and nice supporting sounds to round it out. I think on arrangement this is definitely good enough. Production... not at the same level. Larry has got most of your problems covered. In general, there's a lot of fighting for space between the instruments, and some rebalancing that needs to be done. Many of the instruments that should take the lead end up getting pushed back too far, like the strings in the intro, the synth at 0:21, the orch hits at 1:04, even the lead guitars to some extent. They sound distant and need to be brought out. Start with EQing those cymbals and drums down in those mid-ranges to make space for the leads; maybe take them down in volume a little too. Careful with reverb too; it sounds like the synth at 0:21 might have too much. Lifting some of that reverb will give the track some breathing room and brightness. Finally, the song is a little muddy in the low-ranges. Try cutting some room out of the backing guitars and leads. Hopefully this can get you started on making this more solid. I personally find it hard to give detailed advice without getting my hands on the track itself, but maybe this is enough to help you see how you can fix it. I hope to see this one make it to the front page in the future. NO (resubmit)

Think my favorite is still: "And when you’re on the street Depending on the street I bet that you are definitely In the top three Good looking girls on the street" That whole song.

I actually have the Manhole for Mac lying around somewhere in my parents' basement. Not sure which version, but I think I remember some sort of funk song in the dragon's lair. I may just try digging out the game anyway, because I haven't played it so long and I loved it as a kid. If I find the song, I'll let you know.

Very fun take on the song, Brad. I think the Mario soundtracks definitely lend themselves well to an a capella style, based on the chords they often use. I know you yourself said that you took the parts and transcribed them, but I thought that wasn't giving this enough credit. There are definitely some meaty changes in the backing parts compared to the original, like the stuff going on at 0:23-0:30 and 0:55-1:10, not to mention 1:10-1:32, which had some original writing and chord changes. And it has a totally different feel from the original - very loose and swingy, with new emphases. My biggest problem with the mix is that the lead vocal could be brought to the forefront more. There are times it gets drowned out and you can't make out the lyrics, but by and large, I never thought it hurt that badly. I agree with Larry and Jill's criticisms of the mixing, but I didn't think that really hindered this to the point where I would say no. YES

Not at all. I think many of us have done it. It's interesting to hear the songs were to be part of a series, though the connections are obvious. I look forward to the 3rd part!

Yeah this is way too close to the original. You've got a couple steps in the right direction, like the new bassline, the fills, and the breakdown-ish parts at 1:58 and 2:50, but even those parts are on the conservative side. The rest is practically note-for-note unchanged. Take a listen to some recent mixes on the site where you're familiar with the original to get a better idea of what we're looking for, in terms of modifying the original song. You seem to have a decent handle on getting parts to sit together, but the song lacks energy, possibly because it's slower and so easily comparable to the original. A slower tempo can work, but I don't think it does in this case. I think you've got an ear for interpretation based on the minor changes demonstrated here. Use that ear to make it your own song. NO

Great game, and totally slept on at the time of its release (and possibly still?). I even liked the incredibly misnamed sequel.

This song strikes me as a bunch of breakdowns. Every time I think it's building toward something, it starts over in a totally different direction. I know that feeling of having so many ideas for a song that it's hard to figure out which ones to use (which is why my own songs tend to be a little disjointed), but this desperately needs some reining in. This will work better as bullet points, so without ado: Intro has a very nice sound to it, though a little harsh (as mentioned). Turn down the volumes a little and it's a fine way to start. Instrument starting at 0:56 really takes over too much. I didn't like the way it dominated. 1:20 is where the problems really start for me. The NES sounds are a dramatic shift and the song hasn't even really taken off at this point. It's the kind of section you expect after a good solid minute of the song firing on all cylinders. The problem is that you lose all your energy every time you have a breakdown like this. Another breakdown at 1:52. Very different from what precedes it. ANOTHER breakdown at 2:17. This acoustic-esque breakdown was my favorite of the three though, and I think this one works best because it builds back to the main groove. That's the sort of thing the song needs to focus on. Another breakdown at 3:00, and this one an original section that sounds like the start of a totally new song. Sorry to say, but the piece is stronger without this section at all. By contrast, the original writing at 3:42 works because it connects better. Summed up, your ideas are cool, but the piece has to move more organically. It works best when the sections tie together, like in the first minute of the song. This song has sort of a groove that comes back from time to time - try messing with that groove by altering just one or two instruments at a time and keeping the rest of the groove intact, rather than changing every instrument at once. I think that'll help you make more sense out of a kitchen-sink approach. If you're willing to put some work into this song, I think you can achieve great things with it. NO (resubmit)

Strangely, I never listened to this mix until today, though I've probably played through the Alpha mix about a dozen times since I first heard it. Both of these tracks are so lush and well-crafted. Nick's sense of sound design is astonishing; you get the feeling that every detail sounds exactly as he intended it to sound. Wonderful stuff, and I really hope to see more from Nick.

I'm so bummed I had to miss this thing! Looks like you all had enough fun without another person crowding into that enormous group shot though.

Happy birthday, DS! You're not just 24 - you're 24 years, 0 months, 0 days, 1 hour, 17 minutes, and 52 seconds old. Just thought you'd like to know.

Damn. You guys aren't kidding with that title. This song pulls out some really crazy effects. Overall, I thought it was a pretty cool arrangement. I love how liquid the song is, morphing into different styles fluidly and effectively. It's a good song to apply this trick on, as the original is pretty unsettling to begin with. You've changed it from something that sounds ancient to something a little more modern, while keeping the song's built-in creepiness. I wasn't the biggest fan of the transition at 1:16, but I think otherwise you did a good job with a difficult song structure. The song is way too loud. Some of those guitars and synths get very piercing at the volume you have them at, and I think I hear some loss of quality because of that too. The levels are balanced well; just take the whole thing down, and hopefully that will restore some of the sound quality too. Otherwise, I think the song is produced well. I could see judges having issues with the weirdly-balanced section starting at 2:21, or the lo-fi guitars closing the song, but I thought both parts worked in this context. Nice work, fellas. YES (conditional on volume) Edit: Listened to the new version. Volume is fixed but the song isn't balanced quite as well as I first thought - it sounds like it's high-heavy and a little grating. Also, I hoped taking down the volume would restore some sound quality, but it didn't. Nevertheless, I'm going with borderline YES. I didn't feel either of these issues was strong enough to sink this. I'm curious to see what other Js have to say.

Another nice interpretation, Mattias. Very funky groove, cool soloing, and nice choices of instruments. I really dig that xylophone. While it's an easy pass on arrangement, I agree with CHz that it's a little cluttered in sections, and I also thought the synth leads sometimes get a little too loud and dominate the soundscape. Pushing them down a little would give you a more balanced picture, and bring out the nice supporting work. Very minor gripes, and not even close to stopping this one. YES

Loved the mood here, very Christmasy. I got a very warm feeling listening to it. You use a wide array of instruments effectively, and the interpretation was inspired. I especially liked the woodwind section starting at 1:29. Really, my only complaint in the writing was the ending. While there's nothing wrong with a fadeout, it was an unusual section to fade out on and it felt out-of-place. The patterns are pretty mechanical, and it starts to wear over the course of the song. To your credit, you have a lot of parts and it's a smaller issue here than it is in many remixes, but when the percussion pattern hits the same way every time, AND the piano, AND the brass, that repetition takes its toll. Even minor humanizations like volume changes really add to the listening life of a song. Your mix is pretty close and it would only take a little bit of work to put it over the bar. I definitely hope you fix it up and resubmit! NO (resubmit)

Nice piece, Wilbert. I love your use of the sustain to create some beautiful, complex sounds from the melody. You can listen to any one moment of the song and hear some gorgeous chords gently dissipating underneath the main melody. I also love the difference in tone you get from the quiet parts vs. the louder parts. Combined with the subtle but interesting changes to the melody, chords, and rhythm, this really has a lot of depth. YES

I think Bubsy did some stuff like this back in 1992 (knocking on the screen when you leave him idle), though I doubt either one was first. I'd have to think something beat them both by a long while.

I'll have you know Radiohead made me go to their website and pay $0.00 for their latest album. The bastards. I'm definitely checking out this album soon.

I still play, Dyne; in fact, I was up in New York for the recent World Championships (though wasn't playing in them ). Now is actually a great time to get back into the game, because some of the recent sets have been excellent. Ravnica and Time Spiral are both awesome blocks, possibly the two most well-designed years of Magic ever. But it sounds like if you stopped at Coldsnap, you're familiar with Ravnica. The current block, Lorwyn, is fun, but I don't think it's as good as the two previous blocks. I play on MTGO whenever that urge to draft hits me, and with my RL friends on occasion. I'm definitely up for some casual games on MTGO sometime next year, when things are less busy for me. I don't get to play as often as I like.

There's some nice ideas in this song. I like some of the synth choices, the breakdown effects, and the toy box opening. Bass and drums lock together nicely. The counter-melodies to the source were very serviceable though. They fleshed the song into something fuller, but I thought they played predictably, always arpeggiating the same way. You need more variation there, especially considering how you keep the original melody pretty intact. I didn't feel there was a lot tying the whole song together either, and the transitions between sections felt abrupt. Gotta work on smoothing those jumps. The percussion was dry and I thought some of your samples were low-quality, particularly the hi-hats and claps. Though you've got a pretty good handle on balancing the soundfield, I think the section starting at 2:15 needs some EQ. The synth you introduce there competes with the other parts and makes things difficult to hear. Later sections which combine a lot of instruments could use some too. Altogether, I think you've got a decent start but this song needs some real work on both the writing and producing ends. Keep at it! NO (resubmit)

Though pretty subdued, this arrangement has some unexpected twists to it, and I mean that entirely in the good way. The original is very watery and fluid (well, duh) and this has a more concrete sound. To be honest, it was a little unusual hearing the synth come in after more than a minute of piano, but the song gets fleshed out with a spry beat and bass and it makes sense. I liked the double-speed section, the slight modifications to the original melody and chords throughout, and the new piano figure that drives a good deal of the song. Good adaptation. Production was on the same level. Good usage of effects and synth tweaking, instruments chug along nicely, and parts are nice and distinct, mostly. The lead competes with the piano a little at 1:47 but that's very minor. Nice work, Johan. I look forward to hearing more stuff from you! YES

Amazing song. I remember watching the WIP thread for it, and I got excited as all the people started offering to record parts for it. I think the final result actually exceeded my expectations. The arrangement and performances are excellent, and I adore the contrast between the lead guitar and the viola. Wonderful stuff, ya'll.

I'll start by saying I'm pretty out of my element on this one too, though I did have a roommate in college that was into some death metal, so I have some exposure to it. I thought the arrangement was pretty inventive, to say the least. I love how you've taken what was a very delicate song and just completely trashed it up. There are a few parts where you can't hear any source but more than enough where you can. I like how the original melody and chords get used in a variety of different ways - different speeds and emphases. Keeps it interesting to listen to. Guitar work in general was amazing, and the attention to detail with all instruments was excellent. Production could have been better. You can hear all the parts, and the mixing levels are good, EXCEPT when those vocals come in. It gets muddy with all the reverb effects, and they really eat into the other instruments. They could use less reverb, more EQ, and maybe even a volume decrease. The section starting at 2:03 in particular is... bizarre. I realize you're going for a crazy sound to the vocals there, but it sounds like part of it is intentional and part of it not. I can call the distortion an artistic choice, but the vocal totally overpowers the drums and guitars from 2:14 to 2:54 and sounds messy. One last thing: 0:38 - 1:20 seemed to lack energy compared to the rest of the song. There's so much going on in the low end, and so little on the high. Not a huge deal, but that's there. All in all, I think it's very close, but not quite over the line. I know you've put a lot of effort into this already, CHIPP, and I'd hate for you guys to give up on it, but the problem areas are a little too big for me to pass this. I strongly encourage you to try to fit those vocals in a little better. If you can do that, you have my yes. NO (resubmit)

Ook, wish I'd known about the Amazon thing sooner. Could've thrown a decent chunk of change OCR's way. Oh well. Next year.