Palpable

Yeah, I played that one. The mechanic of having to switch between sides hurt my brain a bit, but definitely a unique concept.

Well, there have been some demos over the years, but I agree anyone willing to back 3D Realms at this point is crazy or has lots of money they don't want. There'd been a longstanding race in my mind about which of three mythical projects would be completed first, if any: Chinese Democracy, DNF, and My Bloody Valentine's next album. I was shocked when GnR actually finished the race, and it gave me hope that maybe the others would get finished too.

Yeah, I got reaaaaaaal sick of Stapp's style of singing after a while. I don't really have a problem with his voice per se, but so many mainstream rock singers have used this voice over the past 15 years, it just got tiring.

I got some time today so why not: Disc 4 Disillusioned Fate - Fun to hear songs that blend the orchestral, dark rock, and synth styles present on these discs. Pretty much covers everything! Drums could be stronger, but overall a well-made track that sustains mood across genres. Continental Divide - Starts off like a dirge, but picks up a minute in with staccato strings. I like the transition a lot and though it remains quiet, there's a tugging along that keeps it lively. Very nice production. Like a Glint - It's funny how I get a sense of the original soundtrack just from listening to the arrangements. There's several heavy rock songs, so presumably a number of the original songs sound rock-ish to begin with. This stands with the best of the rock cuts. Great runs, and I like the switching between half-speed and regular speed. Cartesian Warfare - This sounds like it needs more to fill it out (maybe just playing with the mixing), but good guitaring, good variety in playing across all instruments. Sacred Ashes - A switch to piano orchestral, yet the same mood and key as the last song. Oh those transitions. A good interlude built of long, thoughtful notes that doesn't drag. Altar Perception - Lots to like here, especially the cello and the song's beautiful rises and falls. A mildly unusual set of instruments (the drums particularly), but a singular, cohesive sound. Great track. Dream Traveler - There's something very classically dramatic about this one, I like it. The strings execution is weak in comparison to the piano, but it's a background instrument and the song is still enjoyable. My Secret Forest - Hard to hear Reuben's stuff without feeling sad, but this one especially. Beautiful expression and writing in all instruments, great stuff he left us with. On the Edge - Like the guitar tone a lot, it gives the track a great edge and unique sound. Synths are integrated well. The mixing could be more balanced though. Apogee - High energy song that is a great mix of talents. A little gothic definitely. The intro and outro are cool bookends to the piece. Dark Corner - Covered this one here. Lots of stuff to recommend even though it was a liberal take. Great guitar sounds, cool use of uneven meters. Holy Judgement - Pretty much the definition of epic. Over 12 minutes, but barely repeats any ideas. Everything is well-executed and flows very naturally, from heavenly choir to light rock to slow grind. Summoning of Spirits - I think this was my favorite of Rexy's tracks. Good build and movement, through a variety of sections. Those high frequency instruments need to be toned down though. Nice way to end it! FIN! Oh right, the bonus tracks. Do I have to? No Better Time Than Now - Very catchy track, I've found myself humming it from time to time. Love the harmonies. Quite exploratory with the source, both in melody and instrumentation. Standing Up - Pretty much sums up the album, orchestral elements paired with rock drums and touches of electronic elements. Very downbeat and delicate. Love the subtle grinding guitar coming in near the end. Go the Distance - How can you not love this guy? Such great energy and riffs, and awesome to see him branching out into different leads beyond guitar and synth on this track.

I did catch the source melody somewhere in the first half, but the rest was original. Sorry, it's not gonna meet our dominant source usage criteria. I did like what you did with the song a lot. The new writing is reminiscent of the rhythms and chords of the original, but strays a bit far. The piano sample was a little muted, sometimes it was hard to hear the left-hand stuff, but overall, production was not bad. That's not going to make the difference here but since you subbed, figured I'd give you some crits there. I'd love to see more from you, something which uses the original VGM song more overtly. NO

Good mood. Reminiscent of the original tracks, but with some interesting instrument choices and added melody. Alex, I thought it was better than your usual stuff because the randomness of notes and drums was toned down, but not entirely. There were moments where it just sounded sloppy like 1:24-1:33, and 2:00-2:10. I do like that you're keeping the phrases shorter and using some repetition. Now you just need to work on the parts that don't. Production was not bad, though it sounded very low-energy. It needed something to stand out more, and also more of a dynamic curve. I guess that's more of an arrangement thing. Not gonna be the one, I'm afraid. I do feel like you're making slow but steady progress, so keep it up. NO

At first I was thinking that Creed and Limp Bizkit had reunited into one band. That gave me quite a shudder. EDIT: Maybe like 7-8 years ago. I've been doing it long since it's been cool.

Onward! Disc 3 Tales & Trials - This is a lot more optimistic and forward than the first two discs, though there is an undercurrent of their distanced moodiness. Something of a fanfare to herald disc 3, solid orchestral song. This Fate - Brooding but oppressive, a song that would be right at home in a modern RPG. Hushed and cinematic, which makes the moments of bombast that smack you all the better. Smile and Forgive - A tranquil song that I feel like I've heard before. The percussion is fun and spices it up a lot, keeps it from getting too ambient. I also love the moment where it sounds like it's going to break into a groove but stops. Cafe Mantra - I love the intimate atmosphere and warmth, great bass. Very clean sound, almost lonely in how isolated the instruments are. The percussion ties it nicely to the preceding track, even though the styles are different. Chaotic Heart - Leave it to Sixto to ruin the mood built up by the first half. To be fair, this is a little more laidback than his other cuts, relying more on a mellow, expressive playing than crunch. Good vibe. Desert Nights - Back to something more peaceful... oops, j/k. Nice fakeout to disco bass and brass. Well-timed sax solo, though on paper it doesn't seem like it should work. Actually, the whole song is like that. Strike of the Devil's Axes - Another mood-breaker, but I'll take it. Good energy, good playing, just good ol' solid rock. And a very unexpected jazzy section in the middle. Pain Withstanding - Hard to classify, this skirts genre lines in a unique way. The organ is probably the most distinctive element, and it reminds me of 70's rock, but the piano, strings, and martial drums pull in the orchestral direction. Then there's jerky electronica drums too just to confuse the heck out of me. It does end up being a little disjointed, but there are moments where it really comes together. Determination - Not too far from the last song stylistically, this pairs D&B percussion with softer, organic instruments. This combination almost always works for me and this is no exception, and the queasy detuning adds some uniqueness. Ain't Yo' Fool - OK, wasn't expecting this one, though I guess it shares some similarity to Desert Nights. The groove is fun, though the tireless energy level of the brass gets a little wearing by the end. Antegenesis - More 70's rock sound, this time a more obvious connection. Whatever the source sounded like, it's pretty well-suited to prog, because this sounds totally natural. I like the shift to blues in the middle for a more steady groove, then back to prog again for the lengthy ending. The Fall of Iselia - Very emotional piece, starting with calm piano, eventually adding strings and power as it breaks into a minor key climax. Great composition, and a good ending for this disc. I'm curious to check out the original to see how much the remixer added to it!

Ha, I mentioned this exact thing in my decision vote for the song. I'll have to go back and listen to it now that I have the answer. I oughta finish what I started in this thread too...

Gotta go with Larry. Deejay's stage is not a particularly unique chord progression to begin with, and too much of this is just soloing over it, and some of the time I can't even hear that. Needed more usage of the melodies to achieve dominant source usage. A stellar arrangement and performance, but it's not suitable for OCR. Sorry. NO

Arrangement had a lot going on, I liked it a fair bit. Very cool drum change-ups, good use of instruments to cover the spectrum. There were some sections like the speed-up and slowdown and the filtering out that weren't that strong, but overall, it's chock full of good ideas. Level of repetition was kosher by me, but a 4-minute song probably would have been stronger. Mix needed a little more smoothness though; feels like you guys threw down your ideas while you had them and didn't go back and refine them. I've done it too, but you gotta fight that impulse. Sort of gets me to the next point, the mixing is really out of wack. When the tss is louder than your leads, like Larry said, something is wrong. Way too compressed too. Take off the compression, make the mix sound more balanced, then put some of the compression back and bask in awesomeness. Piano was really dry and upfront, which sounded weird in this mix. I like what you guys have, but I think it needs some TLC. Keep the good ideas you have but refine the sound picture a little. NO (resubmit)

Not trying to make fun but this was a pretty cool typo. My apartment mates picked up a Dreamcast and games real cheap back in 2002, when the console had basically already died. I've got a lot of fond memories of Crazy Taxi and Chu Chu Rocket from then, I'd recommend those two. We also played a lot of Sonic Shuffle, but most of the enjoyment we got out of it was that it was a crappy game.

Interesting point. I wonder whether down the line sharing personal information publically on the Internet would become so common that employers might explicitly state that they don't google prospective hires. Or who knows, there might even be a law against it! Seems absurd, and a law would obv be impossible to enforce, but I think it's a possibility given other restrictions that have been placed on hiring practices. After all, like you said, it's easy to claim that X employer googled you, saw you were such-and-such religion, then decided not to hire you based on that. By stating that they don't google, employers maintain that they aren't holding your... extra-curricular activities against you. I think we'll see more on this issue in the near-future, especially as more and more minors put things that damage themselves up on the Internet, that can never be removed.

You weren't the only one.

And the final track deadlines have been up in the air longer than Kain!

MM5 is probably my second favorite MM soundtrack after MM2, and reading this made me realize I gotta mix something from it, it's definitely underrepresented. I have an idea for something to do with Gyro Man, but might be a while before I get to it.

I love that the program never made the same sound twice. It would have been kind of cool for them to run the program for every new THX movie, and the sound would be a little different.

Dreamworks is the worst offender of this by far. I've always felt like those movies are very 90's in some ways; must be the baditude factor.

Sorry for what happened to you and your friend, though it sounds like that could have happened with any kind of communication except IRL or the phone. Anyway, I don't think we're disagreeing except that I see the technology reflecting the attitudes of people, not vice versa. If we choose to replace communication with some illusion of communication, the problem is with us. These sites don't just become popular on their own, and even if sites market themselves as personal, people stick with them and continue to use them. They exist because we wanted them to. If this really is a bad road we're taking ourselves down (like I said, there are things about the sites I like), I trust we'll eventually figure out which parts aren't helping us and steer ourselves right. It sounds like some people on this thread already realize the sites aren't all they're cracked up to be.

Like every new technology that comes along and changes the way people communicate, I think we only start to understand the impact well after it's already been incorporated into our lives. There are a lot of downsides to these sorts of sites, many of which you mentioned, Meteo. I think they have probably replaced some deeper, more personal communication, and posting about things can be like talking into a void, where you're unsure if anyone is reading. Total time sinks too. But I'm always hesitant to condemn the technology rather than the way people are using it. There are some things that I think are absolutely great about social networking sites. My band got a really cool free video for our song just because we were random friends with a stranger who was looking for a song to use for a class project. We may get to play some shows in our area because of joining Facebook groups. And it's cool to see when friends' birthdays are coming up, or that I have this group of friends in the Bay Area, e.g., who I can meet up with while visiting there. They aren't a good substitute for conversation, even compared to IM and e-mail. Even when you're using it to augment conversation with people you talk to in other mediums, it's a shallow, uninvolved sort of conversation, kind of like what you say to people in elevators. Fun but easy to waste your time. I've found social networking sites are much better for aggregating friend data (heh, that sounds so robotic) and other utility purposes, and I don't spend as much time on them as I used to.

Sort of a background-y track, which makes sense given the originals don't have that strong a melody. I still enjoyed it quite a bit, and thought the mix of sounds was very cool. Sebastian's cello is excellent. Ari's drums are written well, but like Larry said, don't fit seamlessly into the track. I think in the parts Larry mentioned, the drums overpower the other instruments which makes the track seem a little sparse. Pretty small complaint, thought the overall mixing was good. Where the heck was starla on this? I seriously never heard her! Well, however you used her voice, good work - it's a well put-together track that nails the sullen mood of the original soundtrack and expands on it. YES

Wow, this is excellent, had never heard this one before (maybe sometime I need to go back and finish listening to VotL ). What a gorgeous soundscape. Chimes, piano, gated synth - a perfect set of instruments. The random percussive elements really add to the cold, isolated feel. Awesome work, Tweek.

Yeah, that's probably too much pulling from "The Animal". Your song uses it pretty heavily, feeling like a mash-up of Vai and DKC. There's parts of the song where it's not just the bassline, but also the guitar, which brings that element front and center. I can see how you were inspired by it, because it definitely plays well with Swanky's Swing. Pretty awesome track, but I don't think it's kosher for OCR. Thanks for being honest about your inspiration - it sucks to figure these things out after the fact. Source usage is also just below 50% by my count, though I'd probably give that to you since it's on the border. NO Override

Good atmosphere, but almost identical to the original for the first 1:27, and almost entirely original from 2:10-3:59. 1:28-2:10 was the only section that I thought you were striking a good source/original balance, so it's hard to pass this. It feels like two separate songs that transition together. I like the piano work and the chimes, though more volume changes would have added some detail and realism. The strings were a little muffled and maybe not the best choice for a lead, but when they played a background role, they did the job. Overall, the production was pretty solid, just a couple small areas for improvement. Would like to see more from you, Krow, but this one might be hard to pass without major reworking. NO

Definitely an unexpected way to take this material. I misread the title and thought it was "Calcobrena AND a Night of Dinner of Dancing", then expected something like a flamenco, which the material would lend itself well to IMO. But that's neither here nor there. This is yeah, dour. Guitar noodling was pretty cool, and I liked the general vibe, but there were issues. 1:31 was a point where I thought it would build more than it did, and then again at 2:00, the drums were distant and soft, didn't build enough. Was strange to hear the same light drum pattern at 2:56, where there was more energy. I think the mix could use more elements that stand out, including the elements you've already got in the song. Fixing the mixing will help but I'd like to see more elements added too. The intro is pretty but a little samey after 2:30 of pretty much the same thing. That's half the song. With respect to the source material, you're probably close enough to the line that I'd call it in your favor. Would certainly help to have more of a connection in the intro. I do like what you've got so far, but I think it needs more love. NO (resubmit)