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Geneson

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Posts posted by Geneson

  1. Quick thoughts:

    Intoxica is soooooo good. Radiowar - as much as I loved your past music, I never knew you had a track like this in you. It's amazing.

    So is Treehouse Campfire. Love this one so much.

    Taken together, discs 3 and 4 (the GBA tracks) are like a huge party where all the best musicians show up and do their thing. It's like a huge triumphant victory lap. Everyone is in their top form on these tracks and there's hardly a misstep. The SNES tracks didn't carry the same momentum and sustained excellence as the GBA collection.

    Theophany, you're brilliant. Your musical fingerprints and DNA are found all over the entire album.

    zyko, I'm constantly fascinated by how you continue to reinvent yourself. All three of your tracks exhibit something new that I've never heard from you before. Awesome work.

  2. Kirby: Dudes, I love this matchup. Both songs sound drugged out as hell, like if Shnabubula decided one day to Play Kirby While Taking Mushrooms. And to read that Ben Briggs wrote the ending to the Kirby song while hella drunk? good shit. Wonder if that title is a play off of AnSo's Life and Death of the Mario Bros, which was originally intended for this album. But anyway, this is some next level chiptune madness with all kinds of crazy stutter effects. Bomb diggity. Mazedude's track is a bit of a miss for me once that trumpet comes in. Certainly I applaud you for your artistic bravery, but the Dedede theme is such a satisfying tune and I can never get used to the bizarre nature of the second half. The chorus of the source, which gets stuck in my head at random times, only comes in once in this song in chiptune mode, leaving me very unsatisfied. I think it could have worked beautifully if you closed the song with one more refrain of that chorus played by piano (Bladiator, where art thou). Regardless, still a very cool battle, who knew that Kirby would be the trippy druggie battle (would have been even more perfect if Dedede was in ACID jazz). Insert Rupee ftw.

    Castlevania: Haha love the title to Mustin's song, so fitting for a traitor :P. Why can't I stop picturing Mustin as Hulk Hogan everytime this song comes on?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwr1dTrLbY0

    "MUSTIN is here! MUSTIN IS IN THE BUILDING! Wait, who's side is he on?" *Mustin promptly dropkicks a fallen Mazedude* "OH MY GOD. Mustin has betrayed the Bad Dudes!"

    But I have to say, this is an awesome twist, and a matchup with great old school flavor. While we're all disappointed we didn't get McVaffe vs Mustin or Snappelman vs Ailsean, Mustin vs Ailsean ain't bad. I go with Ailsean on this track though for a brooding arrangement topped off with unexpected use of Clockwork. It's not that Mustin's track is too relaxed, it's just a bit too predictable and less dynamic than I'd like it to be.

    My final tally: 6-4 in favor of the Villains, but overall I thought the Heroes side was more consistently great while the Villains had the bigger standout tracks. Hold out on volume 2 for a couple years guys, I'm still trying to catch my breath from this collection.

  3. Zelda: THE most hyped match of the whole thing in my mind. Rap battle was a genius idea and I had really high hopes for this one. The end result is fun and an awesome effort but perhaps made me realize my expectations were a bit too lofty. I think both these guys have done better rap songs in every facet, Niggaz 4 Life and Spittin Narcissism both exhibit better production, lyricism, and flow in my humble opinion...

    zyko's 'Bladewalker' is an interesting companion piece to 'Rime of the Wanderin Seafarer' as Zelda storytelling songs, but I don't think the execution is as strong. The rap delivery in both songs felt a little bit off-beat and awkward at times. As far as guest verses go, zyko's verse on 'He Ain't a G' hit much harder than Jose's verse on 'Bladewalker.' Part of the reason for that though is because Jose provided an easier hip hop beat to rap on, I have no qualms about the Zelda theme arrangement and therefore proclaim Jose my winner here.

    "nigga I'm a cavalry Hyrulian, chop you down as I cut through your whole fuckin battalion!"

    Street Fighter: watermelon flava to the ice cream truck to garlic to...coconut milk? hell yeah. Lots of tasty treats from posu and Mr. Morse over the years, and this Sagat mix proves there's still boundaries untouched in the theme that will never die. zircon is no slouch either and I favor his song probably 4 out of 10 times...but my heart still says to go with the irresistible mix from posu and Morse, an undeniably infectious and groovy mix that feels so organic and alive.

  4. Alright I got lazy with my reviews. Here's the rest of my decisions:

    Streets of Rage: Thought WillRock won easily during the first couple of listens, but his track didn't hold up to repeated listens while zyko's just kept getting better. 'Go Straight' was melded into 'Fighting in the Street' pretty ingeniously. I'm a big fan of the source zyko got to work with and thought he had the right idea turning it into a big booming Latin club song, which he almost nailed. I'm not a fan of the lead guitar here carrying the song, I do find zyko's signature guitar sound unique and exemplary depending on the context, but here it completely drowned out that big booming beat that I love. The rhythm guitar sections do work really well though. Would have absolutely hit this one out of the park with some Latin guitar or something noodling around that sick booming bass. Nevertheless, advantage zyko.

    Mega Man: LOVE the playful song titles. Good route for Mr. Gerdt turning the familiar MM2 theme into a lounge jazz tune. I wanted this piece a little bit more dynamic. Morse's track, on the other hand, moves in all kinds of crazy directions and IMO is one of his most fluid and fun arrangements. I'm slightly disappointed that JJT couldn't assume the Wily role, but more Morse is never a bad thing.

    TMNT: Aside from the Zelda rap duel, I thought this was the matchup with the most hype. I was excited to hear the juxtaposition between one of the best electronic artists against one of the best rock/metal artists. Plus there was a little bit of extra motivation after the scuffle for the rights to the Shredder track...surely Danimal wanted to prove he was worthy of handling a song bLinD wanted so much. The end result is even more amazing than I had expected...both artists throw curveballs and briefly put on their opponent's hat! I thought Danimal's electronic elements worked better than bLinD's guitar sampling which came off a little bit too harsh for my tastes. On the first few listens I was definitely leaning Danimal; from 1:40 on, you can tell he completely pushed himself to new limits here. The guitar shredding on the theme is more interpretive than in the first minute, and I'm totally a HUGE fan of the glitchy CD-skip effects that close the track. I know a lot of people don't like them, but I thought it fit with Shredder's personality and the whole time-distortion aspect of Turtles in Time.

    bLinD's track was an awesome homage to the radical turtles. In my head I can imagine different sections dedicated to each turtle; the meditative Asian sections are for Leonardo, the guitar parts for Mikey and Raph representing their dichotomy of free-flowing fun vs aggression, with the warbled dubstep segment reflecting Donatello's mechanical knowledge and calculating mind. That might just be my interpretation of it and I don't think bLiNd intended it that way, otherwise there would have been more distinct parts between Raphael and Mikey. Personally I can't get enough of the Asian sounds, everything else is just extra cheese on this wonderful pizza pie. I initially favored Danimal because he really pushed his creative powers to the limit on this matchup, but I find myself listening to the track from bLinD much more.

  5. From the depths of Hades, Round 3...

    kratos.jpg?w=150VS________zeus.gif?w=150

    Hype Factor: 6/10

    Let's all be honest here. On paper, at the outset at least, this was the most lopsided of the announced match-ups. In one corner: ktriton, accomplished musician with some of the most creative and imaginative music on OCR and the Bad Dudes albums. In the other corner, after multiple artists declined taking on the Kratos theme: Brandon Strader, with no posted OCR songs on his resume at the time. Put to the monumental task of re-imagining the God of War soundtrack, it was easy to bet on the veteran over the newcomer.

    Fast forward about 8 months later and that gap has narrowed somewhat, with Brandon adding 4 OCR tracks to the site and the release of Root of All Evil, which sort of flew under the radar as a pretty solid OCR album. I probably would have still bet the farm on ktriton winning the match-up though.

    Let me also take this opportunity to shower some praise on Kunal, who I don't think has received enough credit for his role in bringing this album to fruition. Mustin may have conceived HvV, but I have a feeling it was Kunal's hard work that pushed this album to release in just a year. My guess is that the overall ordering of the tracks and consideration of flow (which are perfect, btw) were conducted under his supervision. I think we all owe him our thanks!

    Commentary:

    Brandon's track really surprised me here, he clearly busted his ass on this song. Large, satisfying buildups and lots of addictive riffs. Clever use of the GoW theme in a metal soundscape, especially when the most recognizable part comes in at 2:00. Would have liked the use of some more orchestral or choral samples throughout, but won't nitpick here; the track is very solid.

    The way Kunal turned that heavy percussion intro on Wrath Devine into industrial drums was genius and perfectly executed. Love the thunder sample. From there on it's a bit of a mixed bag, with the choral elements of the original turned into electro and industrial sounds that feel less striking. It's an accomplished technical piece but I think I would have loved it more if it fully embraced the industrial context created at the beginning to turn the track into something truly ominous.

    Verdict:

    The Kratos situation is kind of like having your first, second, and third string quarterbacks all falling to injury and depending on your fourth string quarterback to save the day. I think the Heroes side would have been happy if Brandon simply dueled Kunal to a near draw, but in a stunning upset I think the winner here is actually Strader. Wrath Devine is certainly a colossal track to mix, but so is the GoW theme, and I thought Brandon did as well as you could ask for. The different elements in Kunal's mix didn't mesh as well as I would have liked, but it's still a marvel on a technical standpoint. Well done guys! 2-1 advantage villains in my books after 3 rounds.

  6. Round 2 ahoy!!

    guybrush.jpg?w=150 VS lechuck.jpg?w=150

    Hype Factor: 8/10

    The original plan to have OA, audio fidelity, and Abadoss join forces in a mega collab for Guybrush made Diggi Dis seem like the baddest of all the Bad Dudes. If anyone can give Mazeude a run for his money in terms of versatility, it's Diggi Dis. A master of groove, disciple of phat hip hop beats, seducer of the Mamacitas with the Latin guitar...the man is a dangerous Swiss army knife wielding chiptunes, R&B, and a can opener of whoop-ass.

    That hype deflated just a tad bit when it turned out that OA and Abadoss had dropped, leaving us all to wonder what audio fidelity had up his sleeves. His body of work is impressive, but I think we were all excited to hear the Monkey Island theme done with a rich array of instrumentation brought by three unique musicians. Needless to say, I think audio fidelity fulfilled that wish and then some by bringing a few other friends on board.

    Bonus hype points for remixing Monkey Island and making the roster of games covered just slightly less mainstream and predictable. As much as we all love more Street Fighter and Mega Man coverage, I appreciate that an effort was made to scour the past for forgotten characters and themes, especially two that are beloved as this.

    Commentary:

    To be honest, I never imagined audio fidelity had an arrangement like this in him. djpretzel says he was sold at the first vocal 55 seconds in...I was sold five seconds in with the lush tropical sounds. So glad that both of these mixes fully embraced the pirate mentality, and delivered interpretations that I'm sure fans of the game will find nostalgic. As everyone else has already stated, this mix is pure FUN. I'm a big fan of the flute segment 2:15 in. The vocals MAKE the track folks, I can't imagine listening to the song without them.

    Diggi Dis fires back with the grooviest track I've ever heard from him, utilizing a large range of his repertoire to lay down the funk. Funky funky bass, clavinet, trombone, and all the familiar Diggi Dis elements are at play here. Perfectly executed chiptune to boot. Many try their best to defy genres and incorporate crazy mish-mashes of different styles and textures, but to me nobody does it quite as naturally and effortlessly as Diggi Dis.

    Verdict: These are probably my two favorite tracks on the whole shebang. That being said, I don't really hesitate too long in awarding Diggi Dis with the point. Objectively, it's arguably the best song on the album. The two closest matches, in my books, happen to be at the very front of the album, and audio fidelity delivered a humdinger that I hope everyone who played the game will have the chance to experience. Tough tough break for OCR and the Heroes to be edged 0-2 right at the start with some clooooose calls, but Diggi Dis prevails by another tiny margin by raising the bar yet again.

    Will the Villains take a commanding 3-0 lead in the next battle, or can Brandon Strader save the day as Kratos? Tune in next time :tomatoface:

  7. I can't help but just sit back and marvel. You guys made me skip one of my classes today so I could sit in a corner and just soak it all in. I couldn't help but smile half the time while listening...this album feels like a culmination of this community's amazing growth.

    I love sports and it was this album's friendly-competitive nature that drew me to it from the beginning. The project directors put it best when they said that having a remixer at their throats ready to dual them brought out everyone's A-game, it's like everyone brought out their big guns as if their lives depended on it. I'm compelled to write track reviews with the hyperbole of a sports commentator.

    There's been a lot of good vibes throughout the VGM community lately, with virt mixes showing up on OCR, OUS peeps showing a lot of love to the work of OCR artists, even Protricity offering to write code for VGmix. What better way to represent this new-found harmony than with the Bad Dudes and OCR trying to kick each other's asses in music supremacy. Enough talk, let's get to fightin'!

    Round 1. FIGHT!

    samus.jpg?w=133VS motherbrain.jpg?w=150

    Hype Factor: 9/10

    As the first announced match-up way back around the project's birth, the excitement level for this pairing was already pretty high given the track record of these two all-stars. Stylistically, you typically know what you're getting from BGC, and you know it's going to kick all kinds of ass. Mazedude, on the other hand, is notorious for adapting to any type of playing field you want to throw at him. So when the sneak peak came out on Youtube showing that he was turning Mother Brain's track into a COLOSSAL D'n'B track, the hype factor went up a further notch.

    Commentary: You could not ask for a better kick off or opening pitch than BGC's track. The tone has been set, the gauntlet has been thrown down, and we know that OCR is not going down without a fight. We've all heard these sources before, and for the most part BGC doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, he just makes it sound even sharper and more atmospheric than ever before.

    Mazedude counters with yet another one of his left-field, where-the-hell-did-that-come-from mixes that defy rational characterization. This is downright sinister stuff, a perfect counter to the tone of heroism that BGC brought with Samus. The end has a schizoid intensity that reminds me of Squarepusher. Frightening on so many levels, especially when I remember that this is the same guy who makes music as smooth as Sagat's Moonbike.

    Verdict: SLIGHT SLIGHT edge to Mazedude. This match was as close as it gets. BGC delivered some serious shots that sent the Bad Dudes reeling but Mazedude's insane creativity gives him the tiniest edge, and it's as close as it gets after Round 1. I hate to pick a winner in any of these matchups since we're all winners like djp said, and this one was especially heartbreaking to decide. Both are A+++ mixes.

    tbc...

  8. Not much to say about this labor of love except that it's fantastic. I was already a big fan of Morning, Thinker and was pleased that the rest of the vocal tracks were just as slick, creative, and just pure enjoyable.

    A great achievement from an artist who keeps branching out, your musical growth over the years has been a joy to witness and this is the culmination of that. This is the closest an OCR album has gotten to being flawless...

  9. edit: holy wow animal counterpoint. this album is making me dislike many previous ocr albums i was mostly indifferent to. hell this album is defining what an album really should be

    Ditto to all three points here. This album is a gem. Most surprising is how consistent the quality is throughout even though some of the tracks are separated by several years.

    The tracks that made me go 'wow' on first listen were Lucidic, Animal Counterpoint, Spare Key, and House of Frogs. But it's meant to be listened to as a whole, and I will indeed save it for a pensive rainy day. Thanks for making this!

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