MindWanderer

One week down, one to go. Hopefully everyone has most of a mix done and is working on tweaking it with the help of their Star.

Strange mixes this week. Theory of N's piece is an interesting take, sort of in the vein of Mega Man Powered Up. If only it weren't for the voice (which is both painful and overused), otherwise it's pretty creative and cool. ProjectSpam's entry also has some pretty good stuff in there, reminds me of several Castlevania games at the beginning, though the second part sounds like a totally different song. And I agree with Bahamut that the voice doesn't come off very well. Hakstock brings us something straight out of Woodstock, seemingly. Certainly the most straightforward mix this week, and the only one totally lacking anything jarring. Speaking of jarring, dubstep isn't my favorite style, and Sir_NutS's piece is really heavy on the wubs. Great interpretation and integration of both themes, though. This is another case where I have to work hard to evaluate a piece objectively.

On the way to work this morning, the main theme to Metal Gear Solid 4 came on my music player, and I found myself mentally changing it into a minor key, played with a church organ. I hope everyone who chooses option B comes up with something as good as that sounded in my head.

Theme Since voting for this month closes on October 31, in celebration of Halloween, this month's theme is Spooky! All entries should either: Be based on a source or sources from a game, area of a game, etc. that's all about ghouls, ghosts, goblins, witches, vampires, zombies, or anything else that goes bump in the night, or Use any source or sources from any game or games, remixed to sound like something that belongs in a haunted house, horror movie, etc. Remixes should not be judged based on how well they apply the theme, it's just a guideline. Pairings shadow24 with DusK Cash and Change with Rozovian Trism with wildfire ProjectSpam with ectogemia The Eluryahn with Gario Dafydd with Sir_NutS Garpocalypse with Syllix Have fun!

Current count: Novices shadow24 Cash and Change Trism ProjectSpam The Eluryahn Dafydd (willing to be dropped) Garpocalypse Stars Gario Rozovian wildfire DusK Sir_NutS Flexible Syllix ectogemia Nice! If Syllix and ectogemia are put in as Stars, we're at 7 and 7. A bit less than 24 hours to go, but that's a pretty good turnout already.

No one else has mentioned how Prophecy's entry cuts off abruptly--it's not just me, is it? Very interesting stuff this week. It's especially nice to hear something from pH that doesn't sound exactly like all his other mixes.

Current count is 2 solid Stars, 6 Novices, and 5 people who have mixed feelings. That means that as things stand, for every person who isn't sure, their deciding to enter as a Star means one more entry (except for the 5th, since there's an odd number ATM). Please bite the bullet and help fill out the roster if you're at all comfortable doing so. It would be nice to have at least 4 entries; if I don't get at least 3 people to agree to be Stars, I'll be postponing this. Ectogemia, even though it's not exactly hard to find samples of your work around here, please still link to a couple if you want to enter as a Novice. There's method to my madness.... The current plan is to try to keep a consistent set of "contestants" (novices) for each season. If you're not available this month, you might get in later this season if novices drop or we get more stars, otherwise you'll have to wait until next season. I'm currently planning on 6-month seasons, with 4 normal episodes, 1 special episode in the middle, and a season finale.

Good idea, and done.

Some comments to help me square my own thoughts: - Stealth Chameleon: It's interesting to hear a piece I would characterize as jazz that lacks a single jazz instrument. Smooth and cool. T of N tackled Heatnix and beat it into the ground. Gently. - Unfazed: Hard as hell to integrate these two themes, but this does an excellent job. As much as I admire T of N's approach, and as much as I want Heatnix to get knocked out of the compo, I think I have to hand it to Gario for mainly this reason. I caught myself on multiple occasions, in both mixes, going, "Hey, this part is really good!... oh, that's because it's a Sting Chameleon bit." It's a difficult challenge to give credit to Gario for integration without giving him bonus points for using the better theme more. - Knowledge Representation: This is Sir_NutS? Really? Amazing to hear him branch out a little. But it is repetitious and has no ending. Definitely feels unfinished, which of course it is. - Superconductivity: Oh, I'm torn. The good parts are really good--there's some great arrangement--but that dissonance hurts and the production needs a lot of work, that synth just sounds so tinny. My knee-jerk reaction was to vote against this for those reasons, but now I'm reconsidering, forcing myself to focus on the good parts too. - Seahorses, FOREVAH: Similar to Superconductivity, some really good ideas, some really bad production. It's also pretty unfinished, though. Rexasaurous is definitely someone I have an eye on as his skills pick up. - Drifter: It's a little rambling--I think if this were more cohesive, and flowed better from the first 0:50 or so, it would be a really strong entry. Good idea that just doesn't go where I was hoping.

Oh, I love it. A little cheese when you're ripping off a title from a reality TV show is perfect. Even the album art version with the lens flare isn't too much. And it's a hell of a lot better than I could do. Of course, if someone wants to come up with something different/better/even cheesier for Season 2, I'd love to see that too!

I'm not going to use my judgment if at all humanly possible. We'll try Wheaton's Law for now and see if we need a better rule at some point in the future.

Season 1, Episode 1: Spooky! Current News Voting is closed! Results are below. Download Now! Results! First Place: "Scary Clipping" by Dafydd feat. Sir_NutS, with 32 points. Second Place: "Sepulchro Regum" by The Eluryahn feat. Gario, with 23 points. Second Place: "Mother of Abominations" by Trism feat. wildfire, with 23 points. Fourth Place: "Hallowed Haunt" by shadow24 feat. DusK, with 12 points. Fifth Place: "Ghosts on a Disco Train" by Cash and Change feat. Rozovian, with 11 points. Sixth Place: "Gloomy Glow" by ProjectSpam feat. ectogemia, with 10 points. Theme Since voting for this month closes on October 31, in celebration of Halloween, this month's theme is Spooky! All entries should either: Be based on a source or sources from a game, area of a game, etc. that's all about ghouls, ghosts, goblins, witches, vampires, zombies, or anything else that goes bump in the night, or Use any source or sources from any game or games, remixed to sound like something that belongs in a haunted house, horror movie, etc. Remixes should not be judged based on how well they apply the theme, it's just a guideline. Pairings shadow24 with DusK. Sources: http://youtu.be/UtgHZaq0EGs http://youtu.be/YD08IhdrGBk Cash and Change with Rozovian. Source: http://youtu.be/kck-jRkn5ts Trism with wildfire. Source: http://youtu.be/m9kGaw216HM ProjectSpam with ectogemia. Source: http://youtu.be/ZsgbnG7ZJ4g The Eluryahn with Gario. Sources: http://youtu.be/Mn0T6Xh5VXY http://youtu.be/olxIVcfY0hA Dafydd with Sir_NutS. Sources: http://youtu.be/Bmrik-sGG90 http://youtu.be/blHwuVoyTzE http://youtu.be/RsxENX3QN5Q Garpocalypse with Syllix About ReMixing With the Stars ReMixing With the Stars is intended to give beginning remixers some support, encouragement, and mentoring in their quest to become great, and as a sidenote, to become posted remixers. Beginners are mentored by experienced remixers to push their abilities to new heights and submit collaborative works according to the theme of the month. Who's a "Star" and who's a "Novice?" Any posted or accepted-to-be-posted remixer, as the only artist or as the lead arranger on a piece, is automatically considered a "Star." This isn't meant to be a statement on who's a "good" or "expert" artist, but it's a somewhat meaningful threshhold which doesn't require any subjective judgment on my part (however subjective the OCR judging process may be). Additionally, anyone who wants to sign up as a Star can also be put into that category. This is because a lot more "Novices" (who is everyone else) sign up than stars, and it's better to receive some mentoring from someone who's good but not posted than from no one at all. If you've done any of the following things, as examples, I strongly recommend you sign up as a Star: Contributed to an OCR album Had a submitted remix rejected but with one or more "Yes" votes Beat a posted remixer in direct competition (not counting forfeit) Sold your compositions (remixes or not) for money If you want to sign up conditionally (e.g. "I'd prefer to be a Novice, but if you need me to be a Star so more people can participate, that's fine too"), then go ahead, and bless you. Rules Enrollment/Pairings: These will be random, first-come, first-served for episode 1. Once the signup deadline is reached, whichever list of signups has more people in it will be truncated, based on order of signup, so the lists are the same size. Then Novices will be randomly paired with Stars. Mixes: The Novice must be the primary remixer. Stars can contribute by giving advice, playing a live instrument or vocals, and with production, including minor adjustments to fix timing or dissonance issues. They may also contribute a short solo segment. No one other than the Novice and Star may help in any way. Submissions: All entries must be sent to me by the 12PM PDT deadline via PM on the forums, with a link to a reliable host for me to download your mix from. I also recommend you post in this thread that you have done so, since I know there have been issues in other compos with PM's not being received. Please submit your file as an mp3, preferably encoded at a high-quality VBR or 320kbps. Filenames must be in the following format: Novice feat. Star - Title (Game).mp3 Example: MindWanderer feat. djpretzel - The World's Worst ReMix (Pong).mp3 Proper file names mean I can do my job of getting the compliation done and posted faster, which means you get to hear the great music produced by this sooner. Schedule All deadlines are 12 PM (noon) Pacific time (PDT). Signups until Wednesday, October 10, 1200 PDT. If you're signing up as a Novice, you must post links to at least two samples of your previous work! They don't have to be good, they don't even have to be game remixes, you just have to prove you're not brand-spanking-new to this music production thing. Things you've posted to the WIP forum are preferable but not required. If you're signing up as a Star, say a little bit about your strengths, and maybe post a link or three to remixes you feel best represent them. You can mention anything else you think would be helpful in working with you (software preferences, instruments you play, etc). Announcement of the pairings and theme on Oct. 10. The theme will be broad enough to allow many, many options, serving mainly as a unifying factor. It's announced later so that no one gets a head start. ReMixing from Oct. 10 to Wednesday, Oct. 24, 1200 PDT (2 weeks). Rules and guidelines above. Voting from whenever I get the compilation posted (should be no more than a few hours after the deadline) until Wednesday, Oct. 31, 1200 PDT. Votes should be based on, in roughly descending order, use of source, arrangement, production, and enjoyability. Interpretation of the theme shouldn't be considered. You'll pick your three favorites, in order. Your first-place vote will get 3 points, your second-place 2 points, and your third-place 1 point. Participants (both Novices and Stars) may not vote for their own mixes, but participants who vote will get a free first-place vote added to their score. Please send me a PM with your votes, like this: 1. First-place ReMix 2. Second-place ReMix 3. Third-place ReMix Thanks for your interest, and let's get this show on the road! Previous Episode [thread=40611]Pilot Episode: "Beginnings"[/thread]

Amen! Cerrax is another big one... the dude has only 2 OCR mixes, but he shows up, blows my friggin' mind in the GRMRB, then vanishes, never to be seen again....Grooming new awesome-mongers is a big reason I'm doing ReMixing With the Stars (plug! Season 1 signups start next week!).

Normally I find piano solos rather dull, but this one is really amazing, cramming so much variety and emotion into such a short piece. Strong props, and I hope to hear more.

Actually, I would bet it would work. Both are in a dairy base, and both fungi and fruit can be paired with a variety of things effectively (both can be used as sauces on red or white meat, for instance). You'd want to dilute both of them, but I wouldn't knock it until I tried it.

Lots of badass pieces this week that could use some polish. I'm really excited about the potential for some of the newer remixers getting some production chops to a point where their awesome ideas can really shine. Hakstock, jnWake, Trism, ProjectSpam, Metal Man, and TheRexAsaurous all fall squarely into this category.

That wouldn't be too consistent with the badges DS made. But given how much wider these are, they could use a little extra somethin' somethin', maybe some alternating swooshes up and down? And the Zero one needs a higher contrast between the red and the orange.

Can't believe I missed this one all those years ago. Sounds a little muddy up next to Ryu Next Generation, though--I wonder if a cleaner version might be available?

Ooh, great choice! I loved this game back in the day, still waiting for a remix of Nightmare Land, but most of the game has a good soundtrack.

I'm aiming for the start of October for Season 1, Episode 1 signups.

AKA Raticate?

And ended up with Spark Mandrill?! Hell yeah! Sorry, Will, but I'm very happy that you lost your first pick, and now you have to kick everyone's asses.

That's why she's going stag. /subtlepun

About time someone tackled the GB Mega Man games. Great job, hopefully it will inspire others to do the same.

I felt the same way re: Broken Wings: It may have only covered part of the source, but it was a part that really could have been a whole piece on its own. I thought it worked really well. Besides, you don't have to look any further than WillRock's Countdown to Infinity to find a remix that takes only a tiny part of a source and does awesome things with it.