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I wondered how this mix could make Oblivion piratey and was duly impressed. Very diverse instrumentation, but all melded wonderfully into an old salt's style. Bethesda should take note and create an expansion of the same name.

Wow! Amazing mix. I don't know what I was expecting but it is nothing like the other Castlevania ReMixes I've heard, in a great way. Excellent guitar work, fantastic rhythm, and such a catchy tune! po!, do you have any other ReMixes or original music in the same acoustically delightful genre? I wonder what would the line-up of Capcom vs. Konami look like...

I'm doing the same thing right now but using Audacity. My guitar is jacked straight into the computer (1/4" plug to headphone plug adapter). It works pretty well. Also, I've run my pedal set in as well, which allows for better volume control. As far as the guitar is concerned (and you'll probably want to defer to the likes of sixto sounds, Fishy, and nekofrog), do you play often? I find that to be the greatest technique for improvement. I'll have to check out Reaper...

To this day, I still cause Valentin some pain in the Statue and Streets levels. And that soldier in Facility near the body armor... rear shot every time. When we first got the game, I told my youngest brother that he had to free the scientists trapped in the white canisters in Facility. Boy, was he mad. Oh, and my vote is c (hooray for explosive chairs!).

Veteran Gamer Opinion Poll #3 In a FPS, which is more tempting? a) writing your name on the wall with bullets maiming NPCs c) blowing up everything and everyone d) turning on your teammates Vote and be heard! Results and a new sig next week.

Awesome. If I had known what it was called I might have been able to figure it out... Thanks guys!

I've been playing guitar for many years now but there is one technique I can't seem to figure out. It's that "screaming guitar slide" that is employed heavily by Boston, particularly in their debut album. Hear it here (around 0:43): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcsVPis1iNs Is it done with a pick? Any pointers? ...when are those hairstyles coming back?

This is a short musing I wrote on music recently. It's a bit wordy but I think it raises some interesting concepts. ~ How, why, and when did music originate? Apparently, as is obvious from its ubiquity, the question of who first created music is not appropriate. All cultures exhibit musical forms and appreciation. With a form of creativity this accessible and widespread, it begs the question: is music a result of our humanness? Do humans, as a species, gravitate towards the creation of music? Or is it a fluke, an evolutionary misfire, that led to a world of organized sound? These questions take us to the definition of music. It is often described as I have already noted, "organized sound". This is simplistic, to be certain, as a large part of music is also cultural and, ultimately, subjective. For the present discussion, however, this definition will suffice. How, then, did music come into being? The natural world is full of pleasant sounds from which our ancestors may have derived their inspiration. This is assuming that the creation of music was spontaneous and unrelated to our DNA. One could argue for a genetic basis that animals have their own counterparts to what we recognize as music: birdsong, whalesong, crickets chirping, apes beating on logs, etc. But is this merely an acoustic pareidolia, an interpretation of sound by our musically-conscious brains? In other words, do we identify animal communication as music because it matches our concept of music? Obviously, we cannot inquire if these creatures are exhibiting creativity (which requires intelligence and self-awareness) or simply conversing. Nor can we assume that music sprung into existence without influence or growth. But we do know one thing for certain: humans can create and enjoy music. Otherwise, OCR would be... well, pretty pointless. Why, then, did music become a feature of every human culture, past and present? We take for granted that it is used in many, many situations, including celebrations, recreation, travel, toil, and family bonding (lullabies, for example). Without music, humankind would still have its rites-of-passage, its long walks, and its hard work. Music is not necessary to be human or to live well. Its exclusion may remove much from what we consider a modern human experience, but one does not die from a lack of music. That said, it is possible that music was not developed until humans had the time and the minds to create and appreciate it. For, if the mind was unable to create or understand music, it was unlikely to have existed. Instead, it would not have offered any benefit to mankind, and would, therefore, present a waste of time and energy, as well as a possible attractant to predators. Perhaps evolution led to the creation of music. Humans as a species are gregarious, as the apes before us. The development of social grouping led to division of labor, which led to better nutrition, which led to longer lives, which led to increased intelligence, which led to higher levels of social grouping. As our wisening ancestors left the jungles and savannas, they developed language, which probably consisted, first, of rudimentary sounds and gestures. It is possible that, in this time of burgeoning intelligence and creativity, music was born also or in tandem with language. This would imply that we have had music for at least 50,000 years. In contrast, music may be more than a natural manifestation of intelligent creativity. It may be a feature unique to our human nature, a product of the human spirit, tempered by our experiences and birthed of our emotions. Either that or a deep-seated passion kindled by the divine spark. While no one could prove a sublime origin of music, it certainly affects our species in such a way to believe a numinous genesis to be possible. Though the topic may never find a sufficiently satisfactory answer, this discussion does lead to a number of interesting hypothetical situations which could test the origin of music. Consider, for example, a person with no knowledge of music who lives alone for their entire life. Would this person be capable of creating music? Or is musical creativity a social process, based on knowledge and the appreciation for musical sounds and styles that seems to be hard-wired in the human mind. If our hypothetical test subject was to create music, what form would it take? How much of musical creativity is constrained by the individual's own abilities, and are these gene- or experience-based, or some combination of the two? Regardless of scientific or philosophical findings, past, present, and future, on the subject, I think we can all agree that music is an important part of humanity and well worth our time and investment as creators or patrons. Why else would you be here? Thank you for reading. Long live OCR! Sources: http://www.answers.com/topic/history-of-music http://www.answers.com/topic/prehistoric-music http://www.answers.com/topic/evolutionary-musicology http://www.answers.com/glottogony

Awesome! A VG concert in MD! Thanks for the heads up. Oh, and nice logo, by the way.

Awesome. Thanks, Nohbody!

Holy percussion, Metal Man! The syncopation is awesomely varied and adds incredible depth to an already kickin' mix. I don't see how it can get any better than this. Well done, Nekofrog, well done.

The original Fire Temple music from Ocarina of Time really set the tone for that level: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_nCxM9ofhI&eurl=http://video.aol.com/video-detail/zelda-ocarina-of-time-music-fire-temple-chanting-vers/3731807441/?icid=VIDURVMUS10 By the way, are you differentiating sharply between atmospheric sound and atmospheric music? Eternal Darkness (mostly sound) Eternal Darkness Super Paper Mario, Underwhere theme

Here is last week's question: Veteran Gamer Opinion Poll #2 In a RPG, which of the following characters is most likely to die? a) the old person the magic user c) the strong ally d) the love interest Here's what you said: a - 6 votes (50.00%) WINNER! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> b - 0 votes (0.00%) c - 5 votes (41.67%) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> d - 1 vote (8.33%) >>>>>>>> It's a win for game geriatrics everywhere! Apparently the life expectancy for adventuring elderly is not very good. I was surprised to see that there were NO votes for b (FFVII and Lufia as examples in my mind). Regardless, I'm still posting the sig I created! Preview sig here. For the large version, 247 X 814, copy this image code and replace the parentheses with brackets: (IMG)http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr201/trueedgedesigns/aerisawardbig.png(/IMG) For the smaller version, 124 x 408, copy this image code and replace the parentheses with brackets: (IMG)http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr201/trueedgedesigns/aerisawardsmall.png(/IMG) If anyone knows of an easier way to post these image codes, please let me know. Thanks for voting and look out for another poll next week!

Actually, there are games that I want to play because of the ReMixes (and many that I want to revisit as well). This has happened more often with shows like Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, and Wolf's Rain where I listened to the soundtracks for years before watching.

Glad to see the uncanny valley explained so succinctly. Excellent points, sephire. There is something to be said about suspending one's disbelief, though, as in FF: The Spirits Within or other almost-realistic works. I think that you can overcome the valley for a time by accepting what is presented as human (ignoring the idiosyncrasies). It's not perfect, but, as long as everything else is correspondingly imperfect, it works. I suppose this amounts to viewing the unnaturalness as stylistic. Just my opinion, of course.

second post, sorry! What's up with that? I, too, get bored with a lot of games before reaching the end. For example: in FFVII/Earthbound/Dragon Quest: Swords/Secret of Mana/Jet Force Gemini (and I regret that some of those examples are classics) I got to the end and felt no need to beat them. As a completionist, I may have played too much, too fast. I do pick up my favorites again and again, though. I've been struggling to find a balance between writing and gaming for a long time. When I spend hours playing, I feel like I've wasted perfectly good writing time (which seems like work compared to playing). And picking up something I've beaten already is almost like killing time until a new game is released.

Now those are funny.

Try out The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (as you are into RPGs) and, if you want a challenge, download a mod (like Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul) to up the ante or add quests/features/items. I've put in over 200 hours on the vanilla version and found it very fun. Of course, that can get old too so I would also suggest something creative and different like Animal Crossing (creativity = making designs, home decor, etc.).

It's not supposed to be a player-based decision but more of a "I'm playing a RPG. Oh, look at this character; I'll bet they die first." I'll make it most likely.

Veteran Gamer Opinion Poll #2 In a RPG, which of the following characters is most likely to die? a) the old person the magic user c) the strong ally d) the love interest Vote and be heard! Results, and a new sig, next week. For those of you who saw the first poll and its results, any suggestions for improvement?

Finally, High Voltage Software's highly anticipated FPS, The Conduit, has found a publisher! See article here and check out the trailer if you haven't yet: the trailer

Ugh, I remember a yard sale where my family sold off a number of NES games I miss... I think Star Tropics and Ducktales were in that unlucky group. Drat!

I've been very impressed with Marvelous Entertainment, Inc.'s work recently. This game looks very cool and, from what I can hear on the main page, the music is quite good. If I could read Japanese I would know more about it. Anyone know of game details in English? Check out the site.

I'm resurrecting this ReView because the guitar work is so good. Vigilante really set an example with this one, despite the otherwise synthetic sound. I am unfamiliar with MMX except for Star Salzman's take on it but I keep coming back to this mix for the amazing guitar. It sounds like Mark Knopfler's grittier soloing and that ranks pretty high in my book. Fantastic!

My brother goes to East Carolina University for composition. He's enjoyed the program and the marching band (if you're into that).