Palpable

Great pacing and use of silence and tension. This is pretty much what I'd expect to get used in the film version of FF7. The original theme is simple, but you added a lot of spice while keeping the basic structure. Thought the execution was a little sparse but otherwise, bang on. I really would have liked to hear something longer because there's a lot more directions you could have taken this in, but I can roll with it as a short but sweet nugget of goodness. YES

I have nothing against medleys except when they are used in lieu of arranging the material. Like when the song is pretty much just a sound upgrade, which gets obfuscated by the medley structure. I didn't have that problem here at all. Each song was handled creatively, and some of them were handled REALLY creatively. In every one of these sections there is some prominent new element distinguishing it from the original, and the different sections have different ways of approaching the material too. The writing in this is nothing short of awesome. And damn, for a song that could have 12 awkward transitions, I only thought two of them (3:37 and 5:47) weren't smooth. And not to single out "Rockabilly ~ Dark Gears ~ Surfing Gear" (which I liked a lot - don't hate me, guys!), but that song had rougher transitions than either of the two I listed in this song. I guess rough transitions don't bother me much if the song is strong enough and there are only a few. So yeah. Definitely call me a YES. YES

The rock arrangement was pretty good, though with a song like Bloody Tears, high standards have already been set for rock arrangements. Still, I think you had a unique take on it with the addition of synths and a great, original section in the middle. The repetition was a little much - Larry and Mattias pointed out the cut-and-paste articulations, and 0:00-0:13 gets used a lot too. Good drum programming though. I also wasn't crazy about the synth choices. They sound too thin to be a lead in a rock arrangement. None of the synths are worked into the song well enough either; they sound like they are floating over the mix. Push them back a litttle to work them in, using some reverb too. The mixing here is pretty good beside that, but when you combine it with an arrangement that's also pretty good, it isn't strong enough to pass. It's certainly close, and with another revision, I think it could be there. NO (resubmit)

I always like it when remixers take on newer songs, because like Larry said, it has to involve rearrangement, not just sound upgrades. This is similar to the original, but given a nice, laidback vibe and a different instrument palette. The vocal delivery suits the song very well - you've got a good voice, Matthew. The playing could be tighter and the mixing could be cleaner, but I think this is pretty cohesive. I'll call this a conditional YES too - the last few minutes need some clarity. Those strings eat up a lot of space so I'd start there. Nice work! YES (conditional on mixing after 3:31) Edit (7/23): Marked improvement over the last version IMO. Still a couple timing issues and I agree the new drums in the end aren't that cohesive, but the mixing and balance is much better, really helps sell the song. I'm a YES

Also, what's the app tefnek's using to get a graphical representation of his music as the desktop?

Heh, interesting. Maybe that will mean people won't be disappointed come the finale. When it comes down to it, there aren't a lot of mysteries on this show that I'd really want to be explained. Like take last week's episode, where we weren't sure what changed Kate's or Hurley's mind. I guess I figure if someone can come up with a possible explanation for it (as the fans always do), then it really doesn't matter whether we find out if that was the real answer or not. I think it'd be quite in the spirit of the show to finish the story with only wrapping the major loose ends.

The first episode my co-worker saw was the season 3 finale. Needless to say, I laughed a lot when she told me it didn't make a lick of sense. On another board I read, there's about four LOST threads that are each 2000 posts long. That's pretty much what I love most about the show. It's a unique brand of mystery and story that lends itself to countless theories. I've got a few myself that I might add later. Show's not quite as good as it used to be because the characters don't get the same development time they used to, but that's because the story is winding down, which is exciting. More shows need to announce their stopping date seasons ahead of time. It's really nice knowing they are trying to plot things so that it concludes a year from now, rather than throwing in a completely filler season. Oh, and I doubt the writers will ever explain 80% of the stuff in this show, like the four-toed statue. I'm not even sure I care if they do!

I liked the approach taken here, definitely unique. The harsh jungle textures were cool and very fitting to Wild West, especially the namesake didgeridoo. But the soundscape never felt totally glued together. Reverb and delay on the drier instruments (drums, some of the synths, flute) would have made this more cohesive. Some of the volume levels needed adjusting; the drums are much louder than everything else and you lose some of the detail because of it. I'd also second AnSo's suggestion of doing more with the source. Each section of the source is used in only one or sometimes two ways, and there's more looping going on there than I'd like. Section to section variety was great, not as great within a single section. That's probably enough for you to chew on. There's a lot of positives here and I hope you continue with this. NO (resubmit)

The general approach is very interesting and well-suited to the source, but this didn't quite work for me. With a song this sparse, the execution of the samples is everything. These samples needed more nuance and detail to carry such long stretches. I found the pace was too slow for these samples to handle, and I wished there was more detail. To me, the two options are getting better samples and using more detailed articulations, or expanding on the writing. I'm not sure I could pass this unless one of those two things was changed. Sorry, man. NO (resubmit)

Sorry, wasn't digging this one as much as Larry. The writing lacks any kind of detail and it really hurts over the course of the song. A lot of things in this are just simple loops: the organ, the drums, the backing synths, which just get taken in and out. Compositionally, it feels basic. The intro was also a little weak until more got added like Larry mentioned, and the original parts at 2:46-3:00 didn't quite work for me melodically. Production can make up for writing shortcomings sometimes, but I thought this wasn't quite there in that respect either. Things get crowded and indistinct in busier sections (yet still don't sound like they completely fill the soundscape), and the drums also sound pretty cheap. It's a fun song for sure, but it feels like a rush job to me and I think you need to spend more time on this. EQ is definitely a good place to start to separate your parts better, and some variations in drums and the organ would add a lot. NO

Larry, I agree with your timings. I tried looking at every spot where Bobby gave himself credit and you didn't, and I agreed with you on all of them. Rounding those numbers all in Bobby's favor, it adds up to 49.6% by my count. When it's that close, I just go by feel. It felt like a Lava Reef arrangement to me (and a good one). YES

I'm not gonna say anything new here unfortunately. Or perhaps fortunately, because what you need to fix should be obvious with three people telling you the same thing. The arrangement repeats itself a little much, and could have used a section which took it in a different direction (not just dropping instruments out and keeping the same melody lines). On the production side, it's murky and dull and could use some clarity and crispness. The low-end especially gets crowded. I did like what you had going on here. The mood was nice, and the combination of instruments was sound. Your writing is good too, you have a good handle on what we're looking for. So don't go overboard rewriting this. Just vary the last minute or so and clean up the production. I'd like to hear another version of this! NO (resubmit)

I'd say this is about 90% of the way there. The arrangement separates itself from the original, though that's mostly in the backing parts. It wouldn't have hurt to vary the lead melody a little bit more. I had no problems with the timing of your playing, but sometimes the notes feel static and could use more slides, vibrato, and grace notes. With those kinds of subtleties, you might be able to leave the melody intact and still have it sound different enough. Mixing is a little funny. The backing guitars are definitely too low, the hi-hat is too high (I think there's where Larry is going with the treble comment), the kick has an unusual sound to it (no body), the lead guitar could use more high frequencies. EQing and recording is definitely good, there's a clarity here that I like. Playing with the volume levels would probably be all you'd need to do. I contemplated giving you the YES, but I think this needs that last bit of polish. Hopefully that fact will spur you to fixing this up and resubmitting. It's a close one, Joey. NO (resubmit)

The DS version does have a sound test, which is probably as definitive a list of English song names as we'll get. http://chrono.wikia.com/wiki/Chrono_Trigger_Original_Sound_Version Though in my copy of the DS game I see track 13 called "Guardia Castle - Pride & Glory". The rest match.

Interesting, never heard of this 400Hz trick, I'll have to try it and see what it sounds like. A few years ago I used to notch everything at 1.5k to get a less irritating sound. It wasn't a very good idea, but some instruments have irritating frequencies in the 1k-5k region that should be notched, so my heart was in the right place.

It varies for me. With headphones, the reverb is easier to hear so I can tell exactly how much I want to add. With monitors, it's a little more masked and sometimes I go over, or less often, under. I'd say my tendency is to get it right with headphones. Word for word what I do. It made my mixes a lot clearer and will definitely help in mixing/mastering. I usually start at 50Hz and drag up until I get an un-muddy sound.

I went through a period in college where I had pretty much no inspiration. It sucked. Collabing with someone can help kickstart your inspiration (I've found I get inspired by other people's material, shocking I'd end up here), and listening to a lot of other people's music, especially stuff outside of what you'd normally listen to, can give you ideas.

Yeah, you definitely want to be mixing for both. I mix on monitors and test my mixes on headphones and my not-as-great system in the living room, which all emphasize slightly different elements. As for the objectivity issue, after I call a track done, I like to give it a break of a day or two and relisten and see if anything jumps out. Also, listening to other music around that time can help you regain some objectivity.

The drums could definitely have been improved upon with some more switch-ups than you had, but I thought this was very solid work otherwise. I love the solo-ish chiptune thing happening at 2:11. There lots of ear candy and little details going on, such that it's hard to notice the drums are static unless you focus on them. There were a couple well-placed breaks to liven it up anyhow. And let's face it, the beat is great. I feel comfortable passing this, though I think you gone have gone an extra mile with it. Good stuff. YES

I thought it was an improvement over your previous sub production-wise, but still had its problems. Even for a reflective, atmospheric piece, this is very static, with the drum pattern holding the same for most of it and a lot of the instruments playing very simple parts. I think more detail in writing or effects would liven this up. It doesn't have to necessarily stand out, it can be subtle. The drums also didn't suit the song too much. The rest of the instruments sound solid and lock together well, very nice work there. Sometimes it's as simple as that. I really liked the mood crafted here and it's an interesting take on Still Alive, but it needs a little more work. NO (resubmit)

I like the arrangement. The set of instruments is cool, the two themes are woven together well, and the stuttering drums and reverse effects add a lot, while being a little reminiscent of Passion. Pretty much every problem I have is production, but they are significant ones. The drums are definitely weak and this piece feels a little adrift because of it, no anchor. Bring them up, maybe use some fuller samples or do some layering. The timing of the strings is off, and they also sound hollow. You might need to tweak those or find a new sample. There's also something about the way the piano is produced that sounds off but I can't put my finger on it. I think it's something in the reverb settings, so I might scale those down. I'd like to see this one again with a production as strong as the arrangement. Take the time to fix it up, Damon. NO (resubmit)

The arrangement was interesting, but it felt very unpolished. There's emptiness for large chunks of this and a ton of distortion, both of which I think are caused by how loud the leads are. Sometimes the distortion makes a cool effect (1:00-1:09), but most of the time it just makes the song unfun to listen to. (I find distortion is most effective when paired with mostly undistorted elements for contrast.) The strings in the natural instrumentation sections sound pretty fake and could use some better articulations. I thought your additions to the Wily melody were actually pretty cool and not as straightforward as Larry made it sound. But as he said, you could have gone further with supporting instrumentation, which would have filled in the missing gaps. I'd like to see you give this another try, adding some more elements, and smoothing out volume levels to lessen that distortion - polishing up elements that aren't as strong. NO (resubmit)

Heard this one a few months ago when Jimmy was gushing about it, and I loved it. Still do. It's rare that a song combines excellent writing, excellent production, and an excellent performance. There's so much emotion in all three of those aspects, and I feel it's a song where everything comes together perfectly.

http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01102/ This one was pretty much me trying to recreate Daft Punk's style. Could work out for you!

Lemmings 3D: the only game I've bought for the soundtrack (although the game is not bad). Skip forward to 8:03 to hear my favorite song in the game: 4huYssgZpA4 But the whole soundtrack is excellent, a lot of great songs. Planning on remixing a track from it pretty soon. Journey to Silius' soundtrack is pretty damn good from the songs I've heard from it, especially for the NES. Makes me want to play the game.