Gario

0:45 - Alright, I'm sure many people have had that happen before, but not because of Duke-Nukem's Disease... lol.

Yes, this is Luke's Birthday, not Epitaph's! Why'd you go change your name - you just succeeded in confusing us (alright well, me, anyway). Happy Birthday, Luke!

Wow, this is great! I really like all of the chippy goodness & sound effects you've incorporated in this 'noise' . Now make it longer - we need more of this.

Well, that's that. I just finished voting, and believe me - it wasn't easy. This is one of the best rounds I've seen here.

Hah, I was waiting to see what you'd do with it. You didn't disappoint - I love that intro . Yeah, the EQ is really, really hot throughout, so you certainly need to work on the upper end of the EQ, there (lower it significantly). Again, a common issue you tend to have though is that the leads never stick out - you need to mix the leads into the forefrone a bit better. Sone of the notes were a bit off in the beginning (at 0:21), you should take a look into that. I really like the arrangement direction you took with this one - Swordbreaker better like it . It's a touch on the liberal side, but I can still identify the source well. The song felt just right when it comes to length; it didn't leave me hanging nor get me bored, at all. Very sweet arrangement. May I add that this was indeed epic? Indeed.

I don't know, most remixes of the a h seem to follow the structure quite accurately .Most remixes on OC don't though, of course - we try to mask the effect. For shame.

Woa, your right about that. I noticed that the noise had swing, but I didn't even think about the rest of the music being straight. That's a trip and a half.

Oi, OC people! We're going to take a look at one of the most popular video game songs in existence (or at least, one of the best known songs, anyway)... Ha! If there's any song in the world that is recognizable, it is the Mario Theme! Really, more people know about that in America than our own national anthem (seriously). Why is it so recognizable, though? Why do people remember it so well? Of course, it's been around for ages, but even when it first came out everyone knew the theme. Why is it so easy to remember, and why do we consider it so damn catchy (admit it, you like the song - you just do)? As anyone will know, repetition does wonders when it comes to trying to remember something - and this song takes full advantage of that fact by using a classic phrase structure called 'Antecedent/Consequence' form throughout the music (as well as using conventional repetitions). Essentially, a musical phrase will play, ending with a 'tension' - this is the 'antecedent' of the phrase. This will be followed by a phrase that is virtually the exact same, except the end of it will resolve the 'tension' - this is the 'consequent'. This engrains the idea of the phrase in the listener's head due to the repetition involved, but it won't sound boring because the context of the two phrases are completely different - one sounds like it's 'asking a question' while the other sounds like it is 'answering the question'. Listen to the sections at 0:14 - 0:23, 0:33 - 0:42, and 0:52 - 1:01 - these are all examples of 'antecedent/consequent' phrases. Notice that it is, in essence, repeating the material over and over again, but because of the very slight variations in the music it keeps the material fresh. Repetition keeps something in your head, while variation keeps it interesting - Koji Kondo was a genious merging the two so seemlessly, thus making it both catchy and memorable. Not as long as my normal posts, I admit, but perhaps that's a good thing.

Hmm... pretty interesting - this is the third Metal Man song I've heard in the WIP forums recently. Nice overall sound to it - good job with the playing. I like the pacing and the overall sound to it. Some of the parts in the first half seem follow the source too closely for my taste, and I'm not saying that because of OC's standards, either - it just clashes with the style your going for, here (although the second half is pretty well done, overall). For example, that run that uses three descending notes then a rising note (and repeats this - it's used at the end of the source) just shouldn't be used note-for-note in this song. You have such a smooth feel going throughout that it sounds abrasive. There's a note in the beginning that sounds out of tune (a bit less than a quarter tone flat), but perhaps you can 'tune' it in your DAW rather than re-recording the song on your own - it's understandably difficult to make recordings of music and may not be worth trying to fix one note. EDIT: Oh wait, you knew that, my bad . I personally like the fact that the melody is in the same range as the rest of the arrangement - it gives the music a more 'warm' feel that you'd lose if the melody was higher. It can sound good either way, though. I like your take on this - it makes me feel relaxed. I can't say it's an OC track due to the conservative nature of the song, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

Hmm, this is a very popular source from MMX on the WIP forums here. What's on the Chill Penguin menu today? Orchestral, mmmm... I hear a lot of popping. Clean up the production on this, pronto (turning down the compression until there is no more popping). The panning is irksome (too much hard panning, there) and the sound is pretty mechanical, overall (changing the velocity up would be a good idea to give it a more life-like sound). Otherwise, not bad at all - it's slightly on the conservative side, but I don't think it's too much so. I like your instrument choice, and I feel where it needs to go (that instrument in the beginning of the source would be perfect right where you ended this). By the way, what do you mean you've tired out the source? Listen to what people do here on the site - you'll find that they take sources and expand on them in a variety of ways, making it last as long as it needs to. Try to expand your source so it lasts longer without getting boring .

Interesting song - I enjoyed it, except your treatment of the samples is not the greatest. If there are better samples out there than use them instead. I like the time you spent with the saxaphone, though - you added vibrato (did you add it or is it a part of the sample ?), dynamics, etc. to it. Now spend that much time on every instrument - everything else sounds rather mechanical. The arrangement is pretty good, though. Clean up your samples and such and continue - I approve this remix.

A few hours = A few days, but whatever, I'm listening to it now. Gotta love voice clips (you got me there - I can't help but love them). I can so see your lyrics going with your music perfectly. Even if it would sound like a kids show. That bass is annoying, but if you go for the kids show sound it fits well (although it gets a bit loud, from time to time). I noticed a few 'pops' in the sound, so you'd need to look into the production on this one a bit. By the way, I don't know the source well enough, so I can't say I agree or disagree with what everyone said about this song... Maybe they're right, but whatever . I have to admit, this is pretty good. Sing over it and we'd have a winner (or at least I'll really like it, lol).

Agreed. You've basically got it, right there.

Yeah... ditto. I'm gonna try that out now.

E.) Seriously, people, have you ever played the NES series? The story for that was epic and the character development was great. It's dying for a movie remake... although as we all know all VG movies are a bad idea. Ninja Gaiden is the only one that might work (and because of the xbox overshadowing the old series with the new, the story and such could still be fresh with the audience). Only X4 had ingame movies on the PSX 1 (I never played MMX7 on, so I can't say anything about that). I agree that they were pretty well done, though.

I done it once and was showered with verbal abuse. No voting for yourself .

Yup, 'cause my track needed more love .

If the track wasn't attributed to bLiNd, I never would have guessed that it was him - it is so far from his normal style it's crazy. It's a great thing when a remixer can break away from their comfort zone and do something new (especially when your comfort zone is so amazing, like in bLiNd's case). By the way, I love this track - especially the title .

Don't post your thoughts here until the voting stage is done - you could influence everyone else's vote . Otherwise, yeah, this was a pretty damn good round... Sorry about the rough recording on mine - my mic is crap (also, I started rather late 'cause I've been busy ). Good job, all.

Alright, my mix is up. Enjoy the power of collaboration with Eruigi and I!

Hey, hey - I'm working on it! I'm collaborating with someone on it, though, so be patient! I don't know how it'll compare with everything else, because I don't listen to other music when I'm in a compo (as it often gives me an ear worm which hampers me, overall), but it's coming along rather nicely, now. I'll get it done before the deadline, don't you all worry.

I never agreed to scrap it - I'm glad he put it up again. Unfortunately I'm not in a condition to listen to anything, right now (just did about 6 hours of labor in ~100 degree weather - yuck) but maybe I'll get on it in a few hours.

Yes, but if he moves on to something else, Neblixsaber, he might be able to learn something faster than if he wrestles with a song he is at a deadlock with, too. There's some give and take with this situation.

If I didn't put where I live in my profile, I'd say you wouldn't know where to look, Will... Damnit! I can't believe I'd do such a thing .

Huh, it sounds like, as you said, Mitsuda doing the soundtrack for a Golden Sun remake for the Playstation . It's quite nice. If I recall the source correctly, it's basically the same as this, right? The production and such is very good, and the treatment of that source is nice, but I also can guarantee that OCR would not accept this, as they want to see some creative interpretation in it, as well (If you didn't write it for OCR, then there's no problem, for sure). If you continue into something that is more liberal with the source then I don't see too much of a problem with it, for OCR purposes (I personally like the sound of those bongo drums - they just seem a touch too close to the foreground, to me). Keep working on this, though - if you plan on doing more with this theme I'm listening . EDIT: Oops, the source is right there, lol. I didn't see it .