MindWanderer

<sigh> Even when I'm trying to be nice... there's nothing wrong with elevator music as a style. Wasn't meant to be condescending at all.

I was referring more to the style than the samples, myself--that pleasant, ambient sound that characterizes early Kirby levels. Perhaps "synth elevator music" would have been a less ambiguous characterization?

Since people were sick, busy, and uninspired this week, and because I ruffled some feathers last week, I'll restrict myself to a few positive comments rather than full reviews. Dayquil, Nyquil: Beautiful soundscape, and the best interpretation of the Mr. X theme this week, IMO. It helps that this was neither 80's synth-pop nor Kirby-esque, which helped it stand out. Easily my #1 choice. Cold Dreams: I expect nothing less from Sir_NutS. A solid arrangement, if slightly homogeneous (which is standard for the genre). Liquid Metal: Took me a couple of listens to wrap my head around this one. It's actually a very solid arrangement, possibly the best blending of the two sources this week, with great instrumentation, playing, and production. Very sweet guitar work. The screams don't go great with the wood blocks, IMO... not that I'm a fan of screams in any context. If this had been actual singing instead of screaming, it could have been one of my favorite entries of the whole compo. Sidenote: I would have gone with "tushy" rather than "caboosey," personally. I didn't have time...: Oh, this was shaping up to be so good! Definitely would have earned a vote from me if it had been even just long enough to get to the Gemini Man theme. The Death of Mr. X: Almost made my top 3, but my main comment is: I'm dumbfounded that you didn't name this "Mr. X Marks the Spot."

http://www.themmnetwork.com/wiki/index.php?title=We_are_ROCK-MEN!_(album)

That's a possibility that shouldn't be understated. High-range hearing is the first to go, and repeated exposure to sounds above 85 decibels or so, or occasional exposure to sounds above 120 decibels, can speed that up a lot. There's also a lot of individual variance: some people can hear muted TV's and dog whistles. But taking care of your hearing is very important, especially if you need it for remixing.

I agree in general, and I listened to every submission myself, even those I had made my mind up on in the first minute, but I think physical pain should be an exception. I listened to Solidity less than I did the other mixes this week because it was giving me a headache, and if there had been four or five of those shrieks in Wily's Inferno, I might not have finished listening to it (which would have been a shame). Acute sensitivity to high pitches, or loud bass for that matter, is a real thing.

Just wanted to say that Witness My Quickness has the best use of 8-bit sound effects I've ever heard. They sound like part of the music instead of glitches. Bravo.

Sorry, I'm really not making myself clear lately. I mean that, for those of us to whom "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" means something, we automatically read "Electric Sheep" when we see "Electric Sleep."

It's not just you. I did the same, and I saw at least one vote for Electric Sheep. The Blade Runner reference is too obvious, I think.

OK, I finally caught it, by assuming that everything that wasn't Top Man was Wily. And yeah, it's there, but it's heavily arranged, in a different key, and in small snippets. And it seems like most of it is the "introduction" of the Wily theme rather than the main melody. But several remixers took that approach this week. Which I found odd--it's a great source, I'm surprised that so few of you used the whole thing, and so many took the least interesting part.That being said, the two parts are really well integrated, and props for that. As for Electric Sleep, listening specifically to the end, I can finally hear the other half of the Elec Man theme. Again, it's just really heavily altered. IMHO, more divergent and adventurous remixes work best when they go through a theme once "straight" so that the listener can hear the source tune done in the style of the mix. Once attuned, it's easier to pick out the source when it's heavily altered. For instance, The Frog Dance: It's one of my favorite mixes now, but the first time I heard it I couldn't tell what the hell it was until halfway through, when it does the Frog theme "straight" for the first time. After having heard that, I knew what to listen for, and I could go back to the beginning and appreciate it for what it was.

Sorry, let me clarify: I enjoy solid covers, but I wouldn't vote for one in this context. That's also why, while I enjoyed several of the mixes this time, I didn't vote for them because I couldn't hear much of one of the sources, and why I didn't vote for the mixes I enjoyed the most in the last round because I felt they were too derivative. My top vote this round went to a piece I didn't enjoy at all, because I felt it did the best job of meeting the compo criteria.

I would, actually. I really tried to catch it, but after 4 listens I couldn't. Those four notes are Faithfully, but they're only half of Elec Man. As with Flexstyle's piece, I listened for the rest of it several times and couldn't hear it. And I would like to know what I should be listening for and when. Sorry about that, and I'll make an effort. But the truth is that I liked what came out of the two GRMRB's a lot better than what I've heard so far here. If my reasons are perplexing, maybe it's because I'm not a remixer (or, at least, not a half-decent one). I can tell a really bad sample, but not a mediocre one from a great one. I prefer a solid cover to a strange but well-excecuted experiment. A few notes of dissonance or harsh noises take a lot out of my enjoyment of a whole piece. So I don't appreciate the challenges so much, only the result.

Review time! Sting Operation: Interesting style, sort of electronica jazz. I like my synth to be more peppy, but I think this could have been awesome if done with real or well-sampled jazz sax, bass, and brass. I've only heard Lemon's super-synthy style, so I'm not sure if that would be in his comfort zone, but I'd like to see him try. Back on topic, this is a catchy arrangement, good production, good use of both sources and original content, so I don't have anything to criticize on technical grounds; it's just low on personal preference for me. Air Man in a G-String: Classic WillRock goodness, reminded me very much of Mountain of Dreams (which is my favorite piece of his, BTW). I can overlook that it's a little repetitive. The big problem is that the Wily theme use is very subtle, and not much of it is used, just the intro and the first phrase. It's a pleasant song but with such a huge Air:Wily ratio I can't see myself voting for it. unto dust: This is really hard for me to evaluate semi-objectively, because I love Dust Man's theme. But the two themes aren't blended together very well, they mainly just alternate; they play together at the end, but it feels forced. At the same time, the bass line is pretty repetitive. I'm also not crazy about the instrumentation choices; I can't get into these whiny whistle noises. I have high hopes for prophetik's upcoming rounds, but I'm not loving this one as much as I'd hoped (which he'd warned us might be the case). Running With Scissors: This is more the style I like (much like The Very End), but the bass is overwhelming, not just in terms of auditory balance but in style--it feels like the bass was written first and the melody shoehorned into it (sometimes with some dissonance). The switch to Cut Man at 1:28 is a bit jarring--it very much feels like two songs stuck end-to-end. Hard to avoid given how different these two sources are, but there it is. Also, the Wily part is a bit repetitive. Sidenote: the transition sounds a lot like the final stage of Contra at first, which makes it slightly weird. Power Outage: Poor samples and bad timing plague this piece immediately following the opening. The balance is also a problem--the melody is often buried under the percussion as well as the harmony. It doesn't help that the melody is meandering, directionless, and often doesn't match the singing. On my first couple of listens, it sounded like the singing wasn't very good either, but I eventually figured out that it's just being accompanied badly, and that the style (operatic tenor) is a total mismatch with... whatever type of music that's supposed to be. Taken in isolation, the only thing wrong with the singing is that his range is very narrow--you can hear him straining to hit both high and low notes. Oh, and robot voices, yuck in general. Tripping Through: Ah, Tornado Man, I learned to love you after the first GRMRB. The piece opens with a stellar cover of the Wily theme, spoiled only by some dissonance, especially bad at 1:41. Then a long break (essentially 45 seconds), and Tornado Man comes in for the remaining 55 seconds. Again, it's done well, only tiny bits of dissonance, but A) it's short, especially compared to the lengthy build-up, like the Wily part, it's arranged very little, and C) there's absolutely zero integration of the two themes. I'm guessing both are due to the time constraint, but them's the breaks. Topsy Turvy: Once again a solid arrangement, solidly produced, but even after several listens I can't hear Wily's theme at all. At least you can pick it up in Will's if you listen for it. Here, I got nothin'. That's a deal-breaker. Riding the Avalanche: Contemporary classical, huh? With some bits that sound more like a movie soundtrack than a concert piece. Very hard to evaluate, because this is perhaps my least favorite genre, but the more traditional parts are excellent--well arranged, well-orchestrated, well-produced. Probably the most technically perfect submission, even if I don't care for the style. Electric Sleep: Slow trance is another style I could do without, but it's done well here. But once again, one theme is hard to pick out, this time Elec Man. I have to be listening for it specifically, and even then I can only hear four notes except for during the last little snippet. If I can't tell that it's supposed to be Elec Man and not "Faithfully" by Journey, it doesn't count in my mind. Solidity: The bass literally gave me a headache by the fourth listen, but I understand that's a style now. Great integration of the themes, but it does get very repetitive, especially with that driving bass. I'd love for you to give this particular combination of themes another shot with a different style and arrangement; there's some great ideas that just get hammered into oblivion.

My expectations are informed by the previous compos as well as the previous work of the same artists. For instance, I feel like Treasure Hunter was much better than Air Man in a G string.If every one of the competitors brought some of their best work this round, it honestly wouldn't be that hard of a decision--it would come down to likeability for the best composers of the lot (and the less-experienced wouldn't have a chance). Because each has some noteworthy flaws--not enough source material here, a bit of dissonance there--it's a tough call.

Almost the opposite, actually. I don't feel like the OCR superstars in this round brought their A games to it, but the submissions of the underdogs were pretty solid. It's going to be a pretty tight round, I think.Also, I voted early in the first week and kept second-guessing myself (ended up sticking with my picks in the end, though). I won't do that again.

Another excellent choice, thank you! And if Mr. X is legal, I have hope for Dr. Cossack....

Just impressions/reviews for now. I haven't decided on my top 3. The Root of All Things: The arrangement is very nice, but I think the reason it comes across feeling like it's mostly Wily, even though I know objectively that it isn't, is because of the instrument choices for the Plant Man theme. They're soft instruments, and lack the punch that the melody line should have (IMHO). When the two themes play together, the Wily one comes out on top. Also, the original content seems, subjectively, like it's riffing on Wily's theme rather than Plant Man's, probably again because of the instrumentation but it's hard to put a finger on it. There are also a couple of moments of dissonance (0:56 especially). I love Plant Man, so I'm really hoping you make that theme pop in the next round. I know you have both the skills and the tools, so make it happen! Wily's Inferno: I was really looking forward to this one (Nutritious doing Napalm Man? Yes please), but when it opened, it seemed awfully familiar. I feel like I already have a slightly faster version of half of this song. Also the "whines" at 1:40 and 1:50 were a huge detraction. Clearly still one of the best submissions of the round, but I was hoping for more. I have high hopes for the next round. Attracted to Power: Wow, this is heavily arranged. Definitely an emphasis on the Wily theme, though the style is more Magnet-ish. It's unfortunate that the whole Magnet Man theme is never played--and is that the MM3 Stage Select theme? I have few "hard" criticisms, but this overall just isn't to my taste, purely subjective. Mr. X Was Dr. Wily THE WHOLE TIME: An odd Middle Eastern style going on here. I concur with others who said that they didn't care for the minor key (or diminished, or whatever it's called). It's certainly a novel take on the Wily theme, but Tomahawk Man is awesome and I don't feel like this piece did it justice. What it tries to do, it does well, but I'm not sure it was a good idea. Smooth Heat: This is fine, but it isn't very interesting. Vanilla synth with vanilla samples and a vanilla arrangement. Being overly adventurous can be polarizing, but being overly conservative will probably mean not landing in anyone's top 3. Glacial Age: Not bad atmosphere. If I played a Mega Man JRPG that involved Wily's Castle frozen over, this would make great background music. It's not the kind of music I'd listen to as music, though. As an early remixing effort, it's quite good, but I'd try for something more melodic next time. Light Your Way: Coming up with a unique mix of these two sources is especially challenging, and kudos for doing that! This is a solid arrangement, with a nice bit of original riffing to make it feel new. It's hard to get excited about this piece just because of how old hat the sources are, but I'm not sure it would be reasonable to expect anything more, given the circumstances. Deciding on whether to vote for this one will be tricky for that reason alone. Far From Home: Holy crap, I wasn't expecting this! You have a good singing voice, although the timing is off on occasion. I'm not a big fan of Cold Man (or anything from MM&B, really--though this is one of the best source tunes in that game), so this being one of my favorites from this round was a big surprise. The instrumentation is a bit repetitive, but that's normal for the genre. The Wily theme seems shoehorned in--I'd guess you came up with the Cold Man part ahead of time, then added the Wily theme after it was announced--but it's well done, and if I hadn't known about this contest format, I'm not sure I would have noticed. My one major complaint is that there's perhaps too much original content; the source isn't as evident as it could be while you're singing. If it weren't for that, I'd say this was a shoe-in for acceptance for OCR. Shadows of Wily: Once again the Wily theme is strikingly familiar (to provide just one example). Running it on top of, and harmonizing it with, the harmony line of Shadow Man helps where you do it, but sometimes it's pretty much a straight rock cover, with nothing original to the approach at all. The Shadow Man part is done well, but it's nothing special. whatever.jpg: I have to turn the volume way, way up to hear this at all! Too bad Piano Wily is one again old news, but at least your rhythm is unique. Also, I can barely hear Bubble Man. It was worth a shot, but I'm not sure how great this would have been even if you'd had more time. It's pleasant, but I don't think it succeeds at being a remix. No Ticket!: Charge Man is one of the two remixes I've ever tried to do--as you know, since you commented on my WIP--so I know its parts quite well. I'm glad you appreciate its harmony lines almost as much as I do. There's some dissonance, especially around 0:35 and 1:35, and I'm not a big fan of the "glitchy" sound effects. Both detract a lot from my overall enjoyment of this piece, which is very unfortunate because otherwise I like it a great deal. Glitch in the System: A long intro of its own, a lot of repetition of the intro part of Crash Man, no appearance of Crash Man's actual melody. Then UGH, those robot voices! Finally Wily's theme shows up, with some pretty bad dissonance, followed by an extremely awkward transition into the fade-out. No integration of the two themes at all. I'm sorry, but I just don't have anything positive to say about this one. Especially done by prophetik. Not having enough time for this would be very, very sad. I'm greatly looking forward to it, and I hope you can do it justice.

I'd be happy to do a table with the Z-scores calculated out if anyone actually wanted them. It's actually very simple in a spreadsheet. I don't think there's any point, though.

Already have been. The roster now has the ranking results. For the vote totals you'll need that spreadsheet that I'm too lazy to link to right now.I have more detailed thoughts upcoming, but I actually thought this round was better than the last. It's really hard to do something original with Wily 2-1, and I feel like most of you did admirably, considering.

YES!Probably one of my top 5 tunes of the whole series. Competitors, do not disappoint.

Either that or I just didn't notice them. I'm still training my ears to pick up on a lot of the things that a good critic looks for. My own submissions to the WIP forum were torn apart, largely based on things I couldn't hear even when they were pointed out to me.If it's any consolation, ZtM, if I'd had time to enter this contest, I'm sure I'd be giving you a run for your money fighting for last place. These are a good forum to practice without having to try for OCR quality. Also... I only just recently discovered these contests, so my ears are freshly full of High Pressure System, Shocked Quartz, The Space of Blades, Steel the Wind, Tornado Man Goes Clubbing, and Treasure Hunter--the last of which was good enough to get accepted to OCR despite having lost its bracket! I'm holding y'all up to that standard.

Thanks! So on the plus side, we get Plant Man, Napalm Man, Tomahawk Man, Shadow Man, and Charge Man in the most famous stage theme of all. On the minus side, we get 4 Robot Masters from the same game as the Wily stage, all of which have been done often, and one combination of which has already been done! Being original with those will be quite the challenge.

It's interesting to compare this to the GRMRB. There, the choice of Robot Master is almost trivial, since your opponent will always have the same sources as you. Here it's critical--a bad or difficult source can make it very hard to compete. Fair warning: I'm a harsh critic, and I'm also not very technical when it comes to this scene, so I may have criticisms that don't necessarily reflect the OCR "standards." She's a Squirter: It's catchy, but some of the SFX are a little random (a Super Mario coin?). I feel like the Wily theme, which is excellent source material, was a little squashed in the grand scheme, especially in light of a great deal of original material. However, the blending is done well most of the time, even if it's unbalanced. It's harder to blend two themes like this than it is to alternate them, and Brandon gets credit for that--enough to get my 2nd place vote. Don't Make Me Cut You: I don't have anything close to objective to offer here. It does a fine job of blending both themes, though there's a high percentage of original content, most of which I just don't care for. The riffing on the themes also just wasn't to my taste. It's not bad, per se, but I have to place my votes elsewhere. Totally Rad Winter: I haven't heard 80's synth like this since... well, the 80's. I actually find it odd that everyone instantly pegged this as Sir_NutS, when I associate him mostly with "Ashtar's Desires," a very different piece. Blizzard Man is one of my favorite sources, but again the Wily theme is pretty buried and highly distorted. It's also kind of repetitive; I found myself rewinding a lot because I thought I'd missed something, when really it was just that I'd heard it before. Double Doctors: I actually thought this did a good job of integrating and balancing the two sources, but it's kind of schizophrenic. It changes tone so often that it doesn't feel like one song, more like a very good DJ trying to switch between several very different songs. There's no part of this I dislike, other than the Wily laughs, but it's hard to like as a whole. The arrangement was good enough to take my 3rd place vote, but it could have been more. The Knight Who Says ROCK!: The guitar sounds a little off key to my ear. Nice use of the Wily theme, but this time it's the Knight Man theme that feels buried, being mainly used in the background, and then only the first stanza. I love Knight Man, so this was a little disappointing. Burn the Castle: I don't particularly care for Pirate Man, but this was a great blending of the two themes, which wouldn't sound like they'd go well together. My one criticism would be that the Pirate Man part is arranged very little, and certainly plays more of a supporting role in this mix. But on the whole, this comes across as a challenge accepted and met. My first-place vote goes here, no contest. The Last of the Clan: Lots of original material, which is a bit repetitive. Very little Yamato Man, which is a shame. It's a nice, rhythmic piece that feels shorter than it is, but I feel like it should have gone further. Minor nitpick: Warring samurai clans have hardly existed since the dawn of time. Two Minds Without a Single Thought: Yeah... wacky timing, poor samples, no percussion to speak of... I can't even blame the challenging source material, especially since I can hardly hear Search Man at all. I hate to say it, but I was wishing the piece would end, and it just didn't. This sounds like it was done by someone who's worse than I know Zerothemaster is--I know he can do better, I've heard it. Dubious Brothers: Timing is off here, too, but it's a good balance of source. Can't say I agree with the chiptune selection. Not bad but not my cuppa'. Under Construction: Piano solo into heavy synth? It's certainly interesting. A weak percussion line hurts this a bit. Sometimes the transitions seem to flow as if part of one tune, but sometimes they seem abrupt. The ending is very abrupt, too. This feels like a work in progress that could go somewhere if SuperiorX had had more time work on it. If I were an OCR judge I'd vote No (resub), whereas some of the other entries I'd just say No. And that's worth something, though, sadly not enough to score my vote.

I admit I forgot about that one... but ya, rly. Mazedude is awesome, but I wish he'd done something else with his time.

I'm kind of hoping MM2 is omitted. There are about 50 billion remixes of stages 1-2, and stages 3-4 have perhaps the worst music of any Mega Man game ever from a remixing perspective.Also, don't forget the other games in the series! The Game Boy games and Mega Man: The Wily Wars have some excellent Wily themes that should be viable candidates as well. But yeah, there are a lot more than 9 great Wily themes, so I too hope that this goes well so we have a repeat of this event.