Disco Dan
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Posts posted by Disco Dan
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Not bad.. a little dull. Nice instruments. Doesn't really do anything too
terribly creative with the theme though. But I suppose it doesn't really
have to.
If I had just said this, I would not have followed it up with a yes. There is nothing in that sentence that would have made me want to post it on the main page. It's like if I cooked a batch of cookies, and they all came out burnt, and they stuck to the pan, and I had added too much salt so they tasted like crap, but I ate them based on the fact that they were cookies or something like that. It's like, if there's all of this stuff that's so "meh" or "blah" about it, why are you saying yes?
I don't know. Just seemed contradictory to me.
Anyway, I like the percussion in this. But I should probably hear the original... so I will...
Ok, yeah I hear very little different from the original, and looking back on my own stuff, perhaps I'm a hypocrite to say this, but I really see very little variety on the original, save the drums, which, once again, are cool. Plus the choice of sounds is about as blah as the original zelda 2 game soundtrack.
I say NO
DC
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Ok, everyone knows how anal-retentive I am about chord progressions...
Plus, if you're going to rework a chord progression, don't leave loose ends, like the little bit at 1:11 - 1:17. Sounds like someone didn't know what to do with all those extra notes that the composer put in. Damn him for being so creative. And damn my own musical ear for not being able to pick up the progression by listening carefully. I can't say I don't like the mood it creates, but the overall progression seems choppy and unprepared. It's like, "Where do I go now? What fits with this note?" So I'm saying NO based on that.
DC
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I can't believe he said "the old n64." A sign that technology is developing too fast, I think...
And as for malcos's statement about the dodgy guitar... you all just went along with him without noticing that YOU WERE SPEAKING BRITISH! HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Ok, but seriously, that guitar is so obviously sampled and pitch tuned. My question for judging this mix, since it came from the n64 (OH SO LONG AGO), is whether or not this somehow needed to be done. Like, whether or not this song makes us want to go back and listen to the original because the original is far superior. I've never heard any PD music, so I don't know what to listen for here. I think the beat sounds funky. And the fast synth definitely keeps the music moving. The voice sample is meh, and the moving guitar has seen better days... or not... but anyway, I don't really know what to give this one. Actually, yes I do. My gut says no, and that's what I'm going to go with. Between quality, repetition, and the overall feel of it, I'm not at all satisfied with this remix. The only thing going for it is the beat, in my mind, so I says:
NO
DC
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Ok, I'm a little pre-biased towards saying yes on this song, because I've heard what this guy can do, but y'all have put down two nos already, so I'm also a bit discouraged. Maybe I should do what Saunders does.
Oh that's the messy you're talking about. I see... well, perhaps you should listen to that song by Brandy called... what about ... something... it's relatively new, but anyway, the thing that you guys are calling messy is the triplets in the bassdrum that are conflicting with the non-swing-time bass and basically every other instrument. Beej likes to intersperse samples where he can, and usually comes up with a good result. I think the overall feel of this is nice, except that I don't hear the melody much. It's almost as if, he was working on this funky piece, and then realized he could put the SMW melody over top of ... OH MY GOD.
I love that ending. It's... perfect.
YES
Plus the rest of it is a funky mess. Maybe this review is too subjective? I don't know. But it's overall a good piece, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION (which is not so humble when in caps).
DC
Edit: after listening, I believe I hear the "off key note" that you refer to. If you listen to the orignial, you'll notice that the melody slides from a flat 3 to a major 3. beej has done that as well, just without the slide. So really... it's right.
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Ok, I'm not sure about your theory here Starla, but the overall effect is great. And is that a bit of woodman and airman included in the mix??? IS IT?!? Because it sure as hell sounds like it. So sneaky. You are the sneakiest evar.
Anyway, a nice sound coming from this whole mix. I love the twinkly arpeggios that dot the "woodman sections" (as I'll call them), and the funky bass in the airman sections. Though those two themes are similar, so I may be hearing them as two different sections despite the fact that they're both the same. Anyway great job overall. Can't wait to hear more. MORE!
DC
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Yeah, I have to agree with djp's first comparison more. Vangelis.
It pretty much sounds like a sonic mess up to around 1:40, but after that there's something definitive. The quality is nice. Oh. This is supposed to be that music. Nice to see it's actually in the mix somewhere. To be honest, this doesn't really remind me of mutagene. It's not really trippy enough for mutagene's style. Not that this isn't nice work, but it reminds me of Sidewaystaircase before anyone else, except possibly in the area of "sonic depth" alone. And it sort of seems to break off at 5:23. Like it's trying to fade slowly out but stops the fade out just about 5 seconds too short.
Anyway, nice stuff
DC
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ok when I first saw this link I was at work, and I knew that the way the computer was then locked down, I would never be able to download a file with the extension "xyz" rename it and then listen to it, so I had to skip it at the time. Guess it's time to actually listen to it.
50% done....
waiting...
this is the worst part really, it's like, it could suck or it could be great, but it's the sitting here and wondering how this will effect my life that drives me insane...
Not really.
Song's done.
Ok... what the hell was that?
Was that from a movie or something?
And while I AM a big fan of delay...
Ok I had to skip to around 2 minutes where the song becomes something more than it was in the game. The first two minutes are basically the same as the game with some massive amounts of delay slathered upon it...
Ok all notes were fine in my book up until around 3 minutes. I was getting ready to type "all the notes seem to be good and pure" or something like that, and then there was this flurry of evil in the form of dissonant notes that Arnold Schoenberg wouldn't have liked. Ok I understand the idea was to have a sort of improvised section here, but keep your improvising in the key you're in or if not, make the whole song dissonant, so it doesn't just sound wrong. I like the end part. From 3:28 on it's good. so cut everything else and we're left with... about a minute.... yeah this isn't gonna fly.
I'm gonna say no, for the purposes of keeping the bar a little higher and this has too many "if this were changed..." parts to it.
DC
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Actually, "Rapper's Delight" in it's full glory is around 14:30 though on my 12" version, the printing on the inset says 15 even. Anyway...
I realize there is some rhythmic value to this song. I won't dispute that, and the idea is rather unique if not down-right weird, since it took me a while to figure out which theme this was a remix of. However, I will say... that square/triangle wav sound that comes in at :31 is off. Well... no. at :31 it's fine, but at :41 when it does the second part of its riff, it's... sadly out of tune. It maketh me to wince. And every time it repeats that section (:56, 1:13, 2:13) it's just as out of tune. And actually, after relistening to it, the part at :31 (and all of its repetitions) is also out of tune, just not as noticeably so.
Imagine for a moment, you're sailing along in a sailboat, smoothly, quickly, with little to no friction, the wind at your back, and all of a sudden, the bottom of the boat scrapes along a long stretch of steel that's somehow submerged just below the surface and makes this terrible screeching scraping noise as the boat grinds over it, and then after a few seconds, returns to its smooth sailing again. That's what this piece felt like for me. Nice idea, nice instrumentation, but I'd ask that next time, he get someone who isn't tone deaf to take a listen before submitting...
DC
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Wait, I found it. Under the OLD directory.
Yay for mislabeling... *makes note to self to buy a nuclear warhead for BC, Canada when he gets the chance*
I'm streaming this from your computer Rob. How does that make you feel? Do you feel used? ...
I think I heard this and put it off because I was like "meh" the last time I heard it. I honestly think it would have sounded better without the drums. While I advocate the use of orchestral instruments and drums, this sounds a bit too much like a midi from one of those greeting card places with the exception that it's on the judges forum. Ok, but what's worse is the orchestral part really doesn't change. It's the same thing... over and over again, and I swear at half way through the song it just starts over and the drums do that roll again and it goes on from there. Yeah it's just incredibly repetitive with no variation as far as the eye can see (and the ear can hear). Ok, yeah that alone sinks it. sorry.
NO
DC
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Well I finally get around to this one and Rob has REMOVED TEH FILE! PUT IT BACK YOU FOOL!
Please?
Thanks
DC
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er... yeah there are a lot of mixes to review... neat.
Ok up until it got into the part that I recognized, I really liked it. There's still something intrinsically neat about it. Antonio Pizza will most likely like this one. Why? Because he won't be able to hear that 60+% of the notes are out of tune. I can probably guess what happened. Remixer picks a sample, and uses it, but doesn't realize that it will detune itself when moved up or down on the scale. However, at around 2:30 there's something nasty there that is just way off and it has nothing to do with the sample used. Anyway, it's too off for my sense of tonality. And this ain't no Schoenberg we're dealing with, so this is most likely unintentional. Yeah, it's painful, but not as much as it would have been, say, a year ago, when I hadn't gotten as used to hearing the results of poor planning. Also, in case the remixer didn't say so, this was done in Fruityloops. The opening sound. It comes with the program. Nothing wrong with it, just thought I'd mention. Anyway, a good idea, just needs some tuning. So for now, NO.
DC
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I recall a certain mix by Mustin entitled "Blue Bomber Forever" which, though orchestrated well, has crap for samples....
Yes, i know the topic is locked.
DC
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Skies of Arcadia 'Dungeon Cave (Buried Alive Mix)'
This is basically reworded from the judges forum...
The quality on this mix is high. At least on the guitars, though I think the bongos aren't varied enough to connote realism to me, but that's just the way I think when it comes to bongos.
The intro has a nice almost Irish sound to it, very beautiful with the layers and the reverb, though I'm still disliking the bongos. It drags on for a bit (maybe too long?) then the hard part. Ok, that sounds like bass-distortion there. And out of tune guitars. Not as baldy out of tune as it could be but... still... The guitars ARE out of tune in the "heavy" part. To be honest, I've heard good guitar music (Dream Theatre, Steve Morse, Joe Satriani), and this middle section just sounds plain messy. Very messy and crowded. The acoustic part isn't too bad at all, but it IS a bit too repetitious in my opinion, seeing as the first 1:45 repeats itself at the end.
Overall, there's not much variety here, and the middle part is very messy, though, on the positive side, the repetitious part is high quality. A former roommate once said "Just because you really like a part of the song doesn't mean you should beat everyone over the head with it till they don't like it anymore." And if there had been more melody over the repetitious part it would have been more bearable. A nice violin with subtle reverb and delay would have sounded nice there. Anyway, I feel this mix has much potential but really isn't finished yet. A shame really. The question in my mind is does the high quality repetitious part redeem the rest of the song? I can't answer that.
DC
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Yeah... it uh... it just keeps on moving... look at that. Anyway, this is just a placeholder so other people can review it, but the mix ain't bad anyway. I do kind of like the beat, despite the droning hi hat, because it reminds me of a sort of 80's sound... yeah I'm running out of things to say. This mix was fine. The end. Everybody review it.
DC
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Castlevania III 'Ephemeral Evergreen'
My question would be, who did what? Reading the description first, I thought this might be a live piece, the collaboration of two music students who knew how to plan an assortment of wind and string instruments, but after listening, I see that they are samples. This is incredibly short, and I'm not sure if it's even complete, but it has a satisfying ending, so ... yeah. I really don't know what to say about this one. I'm mainly just writing this so other people can say stuff about it too. And djp forgot or left out the mention of a french horn which seems to have been snuck in the background there if you listen carefully. But still, a good arrangement, and yeah that pan flute transition is kind of strange, but other than that, good work.
DC
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Ok... this is... yeah. Ok, really neat.
Nothing really "wrong" with the notation or instrumentation here. Just solid work really. The only thing I might have changed was the attack on the strings. A lot of times they seemed to be behind the beat (maybe the intention, though I can't imagine why), especially the strings with slow attack, and then the staccato (not to be confused with pizzicato) strings seemed to be just a tad behind, which might be fixed by simply moving the notes back a fraction of a step. But anyway, other than that and the fact that it didn't seem loud enough (could be my speakers), this was one solid piece of work. Nice mix of orchestral and electronic elements and to be quite honest, it reminded me of the music from "The Saint" a bit. Anyway, don't miss this one. It's a keeper (like one of those wives that you don't want to cheat on... do those exist?).
DC
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Super Mario Kart 'Rainbow Rain'
Wow. Two Mario Kart remixes with a couple of weeks from each other... and of the same stage. It's like those Guardian Legend remixes from a while back. Anyway, this mix doesn't appeal to me personally, but that's because I always had a different idea of how it was "supposed" to sound. But it's a good interpretation nonetheless, and a nice try, if nothing else. The Rainbow Road theme is full of 9ths, 7ths and chordal inversions up the wazoo, not to mention major-minor combinations and an assortment of other various jazz chords. So I really didn't expect as many right chords and notes as I heard here. It's a tricky original, and I'd say that the remix here was prepared very maturely. I think at times the song sounded a bit to raw, like there were absolutely no effects put on it, but this is just a personal preference, and overall it's not a bad listen. Eventually I'd like to hear a version of this song that didn't lull me to sleep, seeing as the course was always stressful for me to play and far from sleep-inducing.
DC
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Ok, no one's gonna read this anyway, but I have to explain something. Mike McGann is known on the boards as "Hosehead" and I'm pretty sure that's how this particular number is supposed to be credited, though he may have just said to go with his real name. Anyway, I laughed when I saw this on the site. Mike was so excited about getting this new retro electro-organ for like $20 or something. It was just so cheesy that he had to buy it. Granted now he practices his piano skills on it. But after figuring out how to use accompaniaments, program chord progressions and play over top of them, saving them to a disc or tape or stone tablet, I'm not sure which, THIS came out. I laugh because it's novel, and I don't think that when Mike originally did it, that he had any intention of it showing up on the front page of Overclocked remix. But still, though he hides it, he's got musician in him. Here's the evidence. No tracking, no piano roll, no staff view. Impressive. Most impressive.
DC
Edit: I don't know how many of you have played "Sam 'N' Max Hit the Road" (and if you haven't, do so.) but this song reminds me of being in Snuckey's. If you've played it, you'll know what I'm talking about.
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Final Fantasy VII 'JENOVAD Trance'
I keep wondering why this guy hasn't gone pro yet. I guess in a sense he has if you include his contributions to PMM and Squaredance. But this guy has a serious grasp on the trance basics and even the more expert concepts behind a good trance song. I was happy to see a full diminished triad in a trance song. Right there at 1:18 where djp mentioned, there's a diminished 7 chord. Good god I never thought I'd hear that chord in ANY type of danceable music. It's great. The whole thing is worth it for that chord. And then the progression after that... though this might all have everything in the world to do with the original and not the remix, so I say it with caution, but the interpretation is satisfying. Once again I have to agree with djp when he mentioned the part where the bass drops out at 2:28, then the dream-sounding sequence at 2:55, and state, that the variety in this trance song is what makes it so enjoyable in my mind. Everything, as far as I'm concerned is very solid in this mix, well mixed, well mastered, well arranged. In the future the only thing I might like to hear from Haroon is the use of more varied percussion, perhaps some bongos, congas, anything to give it a little more spice, but used tastefully (that's always the trick, isn't it), and maybe even some more varied instruments looking out side of the world of synths. These aren't necessities, just things I think I'd like to see in the future, but in this mix, I wouldn't change a thing. Masterfully done.
DC
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Sort of wish I had caught this one before it was posted. Drums do seem really good. I recognize a couple of the brass rise samples that CotMM has. Nothing wrong with the samples as far as I'm concerned. And what I've noticed in the past is that if you use reverb, delay, and other effects tastefully on a not-so-great sample, you can cover the blemishes to a degree. Anyway, like I said, the drums are done really well, almost uncanny at times. My beef with this tune is the lack of harmony. I hear a bass line at some points that basically follows the melody, and when all of the instruments come in near the middle of the song, they're all playing the same notes at the same time. If you can imagine a marching band doing this, it would be incredibly boring. You know that last note in most symphonies? The one that sort of rolls on like buuuuuummmmmmmmmm. That's a unison or ocatve, usually. A finality. The thing about using a chord progression or even a melody and contrasting bass line, is that it shows development and helps transition. With everything in unison, there's no statement of key or key-center, it's just random notes in order. Besides the drums, this piece seems to have no meat. It's got really good bones, and some reeeeally thin skin, but nothing in between.
DC
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It also makes me wonder what I would say if someone remixed "Captain Comic."
DC
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well rob, somehow your version of "Children" forgot to include the piano part. I wonder if that's a dub remix. Either way, it's got the guitar, ambience and effects that are exactly the same.
DC
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I am on my guard immediately when I see this site. There are so many songs credited to one artist. I question anyone's talent when they put out that much material...
And mp3s.com better not ask for my e-mail address...
It did. I don't feel like entering my e-mail address into yet another database. I'll let you guys vote on this one.
DC
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I hate rock so I say no.
No, I'm kidding. I haven't even heard this yet. It might not suck.
90% done downloading....
5 seconds left!
Ok we're playing now. Wonderful.
Quality IS high. At least on the guitars, though I think the bongos aren't varied enough to connote realism to me, but that's just the way I think when it comes to bongos.
I honestly don't think the intro is too long, but that's because I'm typing here at the same time. Is that lead supposed to be so quiet??
Ok, that sounds like bass-distortion there. And out of tune guitars. Not as baldy out of tune as it could be but...
Ok, now I think AP was saying no because of his personal taste. But to be honest, I've heard good guitar music (Dream Theatre, Steve Morse, Joe Satriani), and this middle section just sounds plain messy. Very messy and crowded. The acoustic part isn't too bad at all. Ok, well now I'm feeling it IS a bit too repetitious. See I didn't realize that the first 1:45 was going to repeat itself at the end.
Well, not much variety here, and the middle part is very messy, though, on the positive side, the repetitious part is high quality. My roommate once said "Just because you really like a part of the song doesn't mean you should beat everyone over the head with it till they don't like it anymore." And if there had been more melody over the repetitious part it would have been more bearable. A nice violin with subtle reverb and delay would have sounded nice there.
Anyway, I'm gonna say no for the reasons I stated.
DC
*NO* Breath of Fire 2 'Mountain Pass'
in Judges Decisions
Posted
The description on the page:
"This is the music from the mountain pass you encounter about 10 minutes into the game, between HomeTown and the ruins. The original was done with a plink-plonk piano background melody supporting a lilting flute lead. This arrangement uses much more powerful instruments to invoke a feeling of vastness (the scene in question takes place HIGH above the forest floor)."
I'm not sure why a piano and a flute wouldn't do just the job for a feeling of vastness, since there's usually a sense of emptiness included in that description.
AND WHAT IS THAT ANNOYING BUZZING?!?
Ok, maybe I don't know what a chiptune is, but this doesn't sound like any I've heard before. I can't imagine this being on the NES. Not even just the drums. Sounds like a bad bagpipe. This is way too cluttered and loud and annoying for me to say yes to. I'm sorry. Chiptune or not, I have no bias in that matter, but this seems very sloppy.
The only part that seems to evoke what he's talking about, remotely, is the part from 1:53 to about 2:20 before that awful buzz/bagpipe noise. This is ick
NO says I.
DC