Basementwall

Yes: exactly. I vote awesome.

Listening to FFXIII this morning, it struck me how this simple guitar track could be beautifully expanded upon by some of the artists here, keeping the mellow mood but taking it to new heights.

Totally fantastic. So often piano music sounds overly simple--in OSTs, when rock musicians think "anyone can play piano," etc. But this is complex, bright, and skillful. Well done!

This is definitely my favorite vocal track on the site, and maybe my favorite Wily track too. When I read the description I thought, "Autotune? Lazy! Overused! Should be eliminated!" But then I listened and realized just how many vocal tracks (including many on OCR) are almost unlistenable, with the vocalist singing consistently flat. So I've switched sides: for this kind of setting, if you need it, use it!

This blows my mind. I love how in one sense it moves so far away from the original track, but in another sense (mood, chord progression) it stays so close to home. Perfect.

I've thought about using Goldwave to record an Internet radio station for later play in the car, but I've never gotten around to it....but it's fairly simple to get it to record anything that comes through your soundcard. I've always wanted to morph into more of an actual fan of ambient music and know the names of artists and all, but I've never really gotten there, even though I love the stuff I hear. I sometimes will go to Echoes, which doesn't allow free streaming, find the name of someone that they seem to like a lot, and then either make a Pandora station based on that name or stream a few of their albums on Lala (one free listen of anything they have online).

"We are surrounded by sound since our birth." I think I'll put that on a t-shirt. Or an OCR album title...?

Thanks for helping me out, everyone. I'm going to keep the survey up a couple more days, but then I'll start contacting a few of you for further chats. Woo-hoo!

Yeah, I've gone through some of the same stages. I actually have come to love Classical music (especially after being a music minor in college, where it's about all you study), but when it really comes down to it, I spend more time listening to contemporary people doing crazy things with classical-type instruments or VG music that makes me jump up and say, "Wait, what is this? It's the most amazing thing in the world!" Maybe I like this site because I envy everyone with the equipment and tech know-how to create the remixes I would love to make. Like, I've jotted down musical ideas for arranging FF stuff for accordion and guitar, and I wrote a Zelda-themed string quartet a few years back--but where to get an accordion player or string quartet? Where to get the cash for a keyboard that's fancy enough to create lifelike copies? I know there's answers to that stuff in the boards, and people willing to play, of course, but I've never gotten around to reaching out... My earliest VG "remix" memory: playing Mega Man 3 in 4th or 5th grade and insisting to my friends that the Shadow Man stage seemed to have lyrics that were hiding in the background of the song. They thought I was crazy.

Totally--reading is crucial. I've been reading lots in the last couple weeks, and I've lurked on and off since 03 or 04. But I think lurking leads things more toward an us/them mentality than actually talking to people here--so I'm doing both! And yeah, the terminology gets weird, doesn't it? I keep using "fans" because I need a catch-all term for the 4 groups I'm surveying/interviewing (here, Lost Video Island, Zelda Classic, and fan fiction writers at Remix Redux on LJ). That's why some of the questions make more sense in some settings more than others, too. Like, the whole point of the fic remix redux is to rework other fic, but I've only heard remixes on here that do that once or twice.

Hi! I've put together an anonymous, open-ended, 5-question survey (for remixers and listeners) about the process of remixing, what happens when a remixer remixes another fan's remix, and issues of ownership and intellectual property. If you want, you'll have the opportunity to give contact info so I can ask you more about these topics, but that's up to you. If you've got 5 minutes, fill it out! I'll drop by later to let you know how many people have filled it out. The survey is here. If you're wondering why I'm surveying, I've got an FAQ on my survey site. Enjoy!