[OCR00939 - Socket "Trip the Light Fantastic"]

I have to agree with the words "kick ass" when used in a description of this mix, but somehow, it's kickass in a subtle way (notwithstanding the inherrent contradiction therein).

Case in point: I've been listening to this for about an hour straight now (immersion is how I like my music - I've been known to submerge into my headphones for the better part of a day when a new Jamiroquai album comes out) and I'm still hearing new nuances and harmonies and syncopations that blow me away in their subtlety and detail. The style is drastically different, but the listening experience itself is decidedly similar to hearing "DubNoFantasyAloneMan" - layer upon layer of delicately and deliciously constructed complexity that leaves me with just a single thought in my mind:

Wow*.

As ever, thank you DJP.

*actually "wow" is probably an understatement (and coincidentally, a palindrome) compared to how this song makes me feel when i listen to it, but that's probably as close as i can come with the cumbersome alphabetical amalgamations of written language.

...probably makes good fast driving music for late at night through empty city streets lined with sky scrapers...

So very, very true.

[OCR00814 - Final Fantasy IX "dubnofantasyaloneman"]

Fantastic work. The subtle 16th note percussions, especially in the hat and snare, the fat quarter note triplets at the ends of phrases, and of course the inimitable sense of style... wow. You can be sure I'm going to play this the next time I'm in an... er, "altered state of consciousness". Tremendous skill, for a Pretzel. *wink*

[OCR00809 - Luigi's Mansion "That Balcony Thing"]

God. Damn. Pretzel broke it down piece by piece already, so there's no need to go into the nitty-gritty of the technical aspects - I'll just gush some more. This mix is brooding, dark, and ethereal. Flat out, it's EVIL, and I love it. I think what makes it stand out most, though, is it's departure from the source material. Luigi's Mansion is evil too, but in a very fun and playful way; there's really nothing scary about a ghost that looks like a casting call reject from Ghostbusters. What Carbunk1e does with the tune turns it into something far more menacing than the original, and with technical and musical prowess that make it flat out addictive. Loveitloveitloveit. I can't believe I actually considered NOT putting this on the last OC Mix CD I burned. What a fool I was. I say this in the most complimentary, non-gay way imaginable: Carbunk1e, I love you, man.

[OCR00828 - Final Fantasy VII "Heart's Anxiety"]

I may be a bit biased, given that Anxious Hearts was one of my favourite tracks from FFVII, but I think Ceracryst hit it dead on. It's a peculiar feeling the songe evokes - that of being both worried and comfortable at the same time. As with any console game of earlier days, hardware limitations often prevented composers from getting accross exactly what they had intended to be the soundscape of a particular moment in a game. I'd like to think that if Uematsu-san were able to redo the soundtrack for FFVII, the tune he would give us would sound an awful lot like this mix. It just feels right.

Sonically speaking, I'm very much impressed with the way the rich sound of the marimba used for the arpegio patterns complements the extremely dense sound of the distorted percussion, not to mention the dark, airy sound of the melody. Very slick, very appropriate. Full marks.