Palpable

For the most part, I really dug this. Good atmosphere and build-up, and a cool variation of the Titania melody. The drums coming in at 0:47 were sufficiently kickin' and I think that section in particular was very strong. But there were some ideas that detracted as well. From 3:10 on, I'd like to hear some new element rather than the previous sections minus the lead. Some soloing could really add a lot here, especially as this section doesn't have anything tieing it to the source (I think). The tom drum breakdowns were a little sloppy and jarring and some lighter drums might give you the effect you're looking for. On a minor note but still worth mentioning, the huge volume decrease on the lead at 0:10 and other points is a little much. The production was pretty good. I liked the levels and the processing effects. The drums were a little muted to me - could come down to the sample or the way it's produced. Not a huge deal but I think this song could use a little sparkle. I could even see other J's being more lenient, so good luck with their votes. To me, this needs just a little more effort to put it over the top, Minority. Please take another look at it and resubmit! NO (resubmit)

Larry's pretty much got it. There was a section that I think was entirely new that fit nicely into the existing song (1:16-2:09), but the sections that were similar to the original were very similar. The right-hand part is pretty close to unchanged. The left-hand part sounded original but played almost the same way the entire song, changing with the chord. I did like your performance though, and I think you gave the song a smooth dynamic curve. The recording could have been fuller and towards the end, there's a loud section where it clips. But before you re-record, I think you have to take a look at the arrangement and give it more detail and variation; more personalization along the lines of the section you wrote, but in the source sections. Give it another shot! NO (resubmit)

Good old Pachebel's Canon. The song that keeps on giving. It's pretty hard to find major fault with this song, but at the same time also hard to get excited about it. The song at its base is generic happy-hardcore, but there are some interesting ideas thrown in, e.g. the whistling section, the Lemmings FX, the breaks section. I also liked that the texture and drum pattern changed every few measures or so, while maintaining the flow. Overall, the song holds my attention because of those details, even though it's not at all innovative melodically. (Happy hardcore is not a genre that lends itself to much melodic interpretation anyway.) Good use of soundscape. 1:30 was the only section that stuck out to me - a little thin given the build-up preceeding it. But once more instruments came in, no problem. The drums in the breaks section seemed oddly disconnected from the rest of the song, like they were too dry, perhaps. Small issues, nothing damning. No problem with your claps either. Though I can see why Larry or any other judge would say NO, I'm going YES. I thought this dealt with the theme interestingly enough, and while there's obviously room for improvement, it's still a well-put together song. YES

Though the intro was a little jarring (perhaps intentionally), once this got moving, I was feeling it. Like Forest of Hysteria, your attention to detail with processing here was excellent. I think you got really creative with some of the percussion here too - very unique sounds. And just when I thought this was a perfectly enjoyable song, I was floored by the chorus at 1:37. After listening to it, I had to go back to the source just to make sure that the melody you had added was actually original, because it fit so perfectly. All I can say is this is a fantastic interpretation. You managed to keep the spirit of the original and add so much to it. YES

Haha I had three of the instrument channels disabled when I was listening to the source tune and was thinking, "man, I don't remember this game's music being so minimal." This starts off pretty well, but around 0:36, the problems started to show. The soundscape is very thin - the drums should be heavier for how much it builds up. I'd have liked to hear some parts in the lower mid-ranges too. Again at 0:55, it ramps up, but doesn't deliver. The drums that come in there are weak, though at least there are more instruments filling in the spaces. 0:59 was a strange, abrupt retread back to being quiet. Overall, your ideas are good (I loved the scratching section) but I'd like to see more energy and filling of the soundfield. Some heavier, more complex drum patterns could make this one. I thought your production was pretty good, though sometimes the instruments were too soft or too loud. I'd love to see you play with this one a bit and resubmit it. There's a lot of good ideas here that just need some help in execution. NO (resubmit)

Very clever idea to layer the themes - I think it worked nicely. I also thought the slick, futuristic mood of this piece was cool. The beginning of this piece is a little chaotic though, because all the instruments play around the same volume level. I found it difficult to place my focus on anything. More emphasis on the melodies and less on background instruments like the strings and guitar could give this more direction. Production was troublesome at times. Larry noted the mechanicalness of the piano and strings, and I agree. While the intro starts fine, I kept waiting for the song to really take off. It didn't happen until 1:28, which is probably too long for a song of this length - it sounds too thin before the fat drumloop comes in. I think a stronger lead would help that out and place more emphasis on the melody. Also, probably wouldn't be a bad idea to bring that drumloop in sooner. (BTW, I didn't have a problem with the drumloop, because you switched it up a little and you usually had other stuff going on. Obviously, some of the other judges may see this differently, so you may want to reconsider your usage of the loop.) Some great ideas here, but it needs attention, especially in the production. I hope you touch it up and send it back to us. NO (resubmit)

There were three points I wanted to make and BOOM: Larry has hit them all. Too underdeveloped and conservative, and the songs don't connect well enough. You did work some neat improvisation into this in short bursts; it needs more along those lines, a more substantial change. The drum change-ups were pretty sweet though and definitely lended this character. I'd love to see you take one of the longer themes here and expand it into its own song, maybe soloing over the chords or something. You've got a great sound and I bet you could get something passed here if it was closer to our standards. Hope to hear from you again! NO

Sorry, Larry, but really not feeling this one. It sounds way too conservative. There wasn't any melodic or structural variation at all, and even a lot of the instruments are just sound upgrades. Some of the backing instruments are new, but few of those parts ever take lead or lend the song a new direction. (The drum switch at 1:05 was a cool idea though.) Especially compare the first and last minute of this to the original song: it's basically only instrument changes and added drums. Production was a little troublesome but fine, like you noted. Drums were thin, and the new instruments at 1:20 overpowered the song. Not a big problem compared to the arrangement. NO

Just finished up watching the first season myself. Good stuff, though sort of disappointing how the strike ended the season short (it shows). I actually didn't think the pace was super slow - I mean, watch Six Feet Under if you want super slow. The meth montages, light humor, and action scenes kept this show a little lively.

I like to focus my more detailed listening on the stuff in the queue, but since I was the one who nagged you, Prototype... this sounded like a huge improvement to me after one listen. Production is really clean and well-balanced, and there's more obvious connections to Corneria (which was my big problem). I'd say submit it!

I gotta say, Alex, I think this is definitely a big step production-wise from your last submission. I was really feeling the mood here, and your instrument choices worked well together. The articulations were good. I think your writing has improved as well, but this one plays a little too similarly to the original in terms of instrumentation and notes. Maybe modifying some of the parts a little more might give this that boost of originality to put it over the top. I did like your original writing and I think it complimented; especially the harp part at 2:26. The transitions you added were somewhat dissonant, but the one at 1:46 was not bad, and they always resolved quickly. I also would have liked the section at 1:01 to be a little fuller, as it seems like a chorus of sorts - maybe you can add more original writing there. You're gonna get something passed one day, Alex, I can feel it. But probably not this time. Knowing you, I'm sure you will revisit this one and hopefully you'll take our suggestions to heart. NO (resubmit)

It got rejected: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10857 But it was a close vote and I'd still like to see a resubmit from Prototype. *hint hint*

When the song is that close to 50%, I like to use my gut feeling rather than the stopwatch, just because the stopwatch isn't exactly precise. Like I said already, I really wasn't digging the way the chime was used as the connection from 4:03-5:51, particularly at 4:59-5:35. It's barely audible amidst all the other stuff going, and my gut says that this section is too weak a tie - the source is marginalized. It's not a very prominent part of the original, nor this song. I did take a relisten though, Larry, and I definitely missed the drum connection. I didn't hear how 2:03-2:12 and 2:15-2:26 were liberal takes, but the rest of your breakdown looks right. I'm still going with NO because the extra 0:20 of drums don't push this enough to a YES.

Yeah, feel free to use my OCR music too. One of my friends turned one of my rejected ReMixes into steps a couple years ago. It was neat.

Yeah, the original was very close and I think this seals the deal. I still don't think the production is perfect - I feel like I can't turn it up that loud because of how grating the treble ranges get - but it's a good enough improvement over the last version. YES

Unexpectedly melodic mix (as djp has pointed out). It's got a great sound though and the arrangement really comes together. I always love when ethnic sounds or unusual instruments are used well. I ended up reading McVaffe's interview while listening to the song. I highly recommend this combination.

I still learn most everything by ear, but man, sometimes you really don't want to have to waste time figuring it out. Especially complex chords (I'm particularly bad at these) or fast runs. Now that I'm picking up music lessons again, I love having the sheet music there in front of me so I can play a song instantly, without even having to ever hear it. Also, I hesitate to admit this, but I've referred to a MIDI for more than one OCReMix.

Happy birthday man!

Donated. Keep the momentum going, y'all.

PALPABLE IS KING OF THE SOCCER FIELD By which I mean I have voted on everything currently in the queue. Not even Larry "The Liontamer" Oji can claim this. (I reckon in a max of fifteen minutes, he will have added ten more submissions to the queue to spite me.)

Quite similar to "Romance" for the first 2:37, down to mood and texture. The piano was new, but I didn't think it was a substantial addition. In general, the song really had a lack of ideas. Even the original (?) tribal section following the iterations of "Romance" relied on the same sounds for nearly two minutes, with very little progression. Actually, I thought the percussion groove here was entrancing and well-incorporated, but I still would have preferred more direction to this section or for parts of it to be cut out. Production was alright, but the piano sticks out as being low-quality with unrealistic playing. The notes don't sustain like you expect them to. Fuller-sounding instruments would also bump this up a notch in my book. I'd be willing to revisit the decision if someone finds more connection to the FFXII soundtrack, but even if that tribal section turns out to have a source connection, the rest is still too similar to "Romance". On top of that, the production issues would probably still make this a NO. Though I came down on this, discounting the repetition it was a fine piece of music, good for what it was. I don't have any major suggestions for reworking the arrangement because IMO it's pretty far from what OCR would accept. I'd still encourage you to submit something different in the future, Michal. NO

I can see why this might not be the most popular song, but I think it's great for what it is. I love this kind of ambient techno, where there are a lot of subtle details. You get rewarded for paying close attention, or you can just as well sit back and enjoy it as background music.

The writing felt quite basic. The song starts with some very drawn-out strings, leading into slightly more complex patterns, but even then the writing was underdeveloped, too simple. I totally wasn't feeling the switch at 2:28 either, where it became quite similar to the source song. 3:07 tried to inject some energy, but didn't quite; some new countermelodies in the bass region could have added more power. This really needs more to it than what's there. I'm digging the mood, and some parts of this are decently personalized, but I'd like to see more detail in the writing and more departure from the source songs. With how drawn-out those opening notes are, the string quality could stand to be stronger. It's a little dull to listen to. Volume changes and more realistic articulations could cover for the quality of sample. The violin coming in at 1:11 is pretty low-quality too, and with something so prominent I think you need something more realistic. Lot of room for improvement here. I did like some elements of this, so I hope you keep working on your skills, Michele. NO

May 3rd is actually pretty bad too, 'cause I have a work thing tentatively scheduled that day. Actually my work thing could possibly slip a week or two, so it's best not to plan around my schedule (if you were, hehe). I'll make it if I can make it.

Actually, I'm busy that weekend too... move it to May?