rnn

Okay guys, Shariq's driving back from MAG Classic currently, so with his blessing, I'm posting in his place. The source for Round 8 is Mega Man X6 - Gate's Laboratory. It's technically a remix of the second X-Hunter's stage theme from Mega Man X2 (for reference), but with a little extra added.

rnn Vector Point Engineering Sigma Fortress (Blizzard Buffalo in Final Weapon [X4]) Sword of the Scavalier (Ground Scaravich in Final Weapon [X4]) Mind Flip~ (Cyber Peacock in Final Weapon [X4])

rnn MMMDop (Slash Beast in Doppler Stage 1 [X3]) I Don't Run At All (Crystal Snail in Doppler Stage 1 [X3]) Red Shifting Drift (Boomer Kuwanger in Doppler Stage 1 [X3])

rnn Rolling (Frost Walrus in Palace Ground [X]) Wanderforce (Gravity Antonion in Palace Ground [X]) Bounce Too High (Vanishing Gungaroo in Palace Ground [X])Shariq said I could get my vote in now - this once - because I helped with sigs. Please no bully.

Since you need more reviews, you're getting an uninformed, non-musician review: Not the most difficult round to pick favorites for, but the quality and enjoyability of the mixes in this batch are arguably the best so far and reminded me why I loved the 2011 run of this compo so much. I'm gonna keep these short and mostly positive, because I'm busy working on other artwork for OCR. Bees - If you took out the Hornet Man part, you'd have a beautiful Moon remaster. Flush the Sky - Feels like it lacks direction and an overall mood, but the orchestration sounds very natural. Obviously laid some good elements down and I'm guessing with more time, your inspiration would have caught up to you. Rockin' Sockin' Cinder Blood - Gorgeous piano performance in the middle. All three parts were well done, but I wish there had been some unifying thread throughout. This Place Blows - ties with 'The Moon is Dumb' for best title since Pete's 'I Oni Wanted To Play Wif Ryu' in the WWRR compo. Also, you're a trooper. Going Commando - Fun stuff. Honestly didn't think Commando and Moon were gonna work out together, but I was clearly wrong. Stone Cold Rock - had some doubts about this one at first because of the sudden change in mood around 2:20 but then I just imagined Huey, Dewey and Louie leaping in to help Stone Man out and then everything was amazing. Lunar Storm - Definitely one of the best arrangements with no jarring transitions between Tornado and Moon. Wish it could have had a little more energy in the first half, but otherwise, an interesting fun time! Moowa - beautiful stark opening fitting for both sources. Was expecting some buildup after the first minute but it never went there, dangit. Celestial Shimmer - Honestly had a hard time picking out the sources except maybe the Moon stuff at the end, but it has a certain quiet charm reminiscent of a Cafe SQ track. Precious Precious - Took a second listen to hear the Jewel but once I caught it, thought it brilliant, especially considering how disparate the sources are. Voted it first, because it seemed to have the most distinct development and consistent character. Ganymede Cactus - 2:17. Nice job - a key change that makes sense. Lunar Aquaduck - I loved the Neil stuff, but I honestly didn't care for the Aqua Man bit before the 0:30 point. I felt like everything past that could have crept in a little sooner during the tail end of his speech. Otherwise, this is super fun and such a clever arrangement. I'm sure I'll be playing this over and over again long after this compo is over. Ducksickles in Space - You probably already know I thought this was pretty sexy. Solar Man Needs to Grow Up - Great performance but would have been even better if the Solar Man source could have been tweaked to fit the hopeful mood of the Moon theme.

Yeeeah, seconding Darkflamewolf's sentiment there. Sounded like it was shaping up to be sumtin' fierce.

It makes generous use of both themes, just not in an entirely expected way. The latter half of the first minute is all Catfish (okay so it's possibly a blend of both Catfish's and Centipede's intros). Underlying chord progression is a compromise between the two sources. During the obvious Centipede section at the end, it sounds like the part of Catfish's theme that starts 40 seconds in is weaved into it... ...Or at least that's what it sounds like to my untrained ear.

Mixes are great this week! Voting's going to suck - both Ben and Jason did an amazing job melding their sources. And imfho, the dissonance in Cash and Change's submission is part of the charm.