JJT

if you're unclear as to why your song was rejected, i'd suggest listening to it all the way through. your drums are a different tempo then the rest of your song starting at 1:57. if you can't discern why that sounds bad, then remixing isn't for you. i'm just being honest. in addition to that, your sample quality is poor. not only that, they're not processed well (especially the drums. they're too dry and exposed). if you can't hear a disparity in sound quality between this and current OC ReMixes, then I don't know what to tell you.

i'll be there.

Wow. You got over yourself. No hard feelings over here.

I'm succumbing to techno? I've lost my ambition to use real instruments? If you'll actually listen to my music in the order it was posted, I won't need to point out how laughably misguided that statement is (hint: there's a couple solo piano recordings that you may have missed). My main point, dude, is that if you ever get really involved with producing your own music, you'll eventually realize how foolish you appear to everyone else at the moment. Nothing more, nothing less. Good luck in your anti-sequencing crusade. The third remix I had posted (Anthem of Exile) uses a full rhythm section, and I did it without any sequencing. It was fun, but I would later found out I could program fills better than I could play them. Go figure. p.s. if you ever use broad, critical statements like "this sickens me" or "the idea of sequenced music disgusts me," then expect to be labeled as a critic p.s.s. you didn't get over yourself, like i asked. please do.

First off, get over yourself. Second, there are plenty of remixers who play more instruments than you (more than just dabbling, mind you), but still choose to use sequencers. I'm one of them. In my remix Voices Broken, I sequenced the drum part. Can I play the drums? A little bit. Can I play lightning fast fills? No. Can I keep time at that tempo? No. Do I have the studio setup to record drums? No. Would you have preferred a sloppy, poorly recorded drum track in place of what's there right now? Would it sound better? No. If you think the ability to play an instrument automatically equals musicality, that speaks to a tremendous amount of ignorance on your part. Any given remixer on this site has displayed more musicality than 80% of the people I grew up playing music with in large ensembles. All those kids could do was look at a page, press a key, and blow. No pun intended. Listen. If there was ever an advocate for live performance in this community, its me. I was once like you, until I started to see the big picture. If you ever try to take the step from critic to creator and make your own remixes, your awareness of music and music production will blossom, and you'll probably look back on your post in a mixture of amusement and embarrassment. That was my journey, and I hope that someday it'll be yours. -JJT- p.s. Get over yourself

it means the project will be released on that date, regardless of what's finished.

ASAP huh? you have a paper due tomorrow on this topic? you may want to look up what a sequencer is on wikipedia, as that's what you're describing in your first paragraph.

yeah! good musicians can't afford or use protools! producers suck at music! like beck, or prince, or quincy jones or especially George Martin. what a bunch of no-talent hacks. best thread ever.

I hear plenty on the arrangement side. lots of substantive supporting parts, interpreting the main theme (rendering it in a minor key, for example), and some new segments that compliment the original nicely. I also think there is an upgrade in sound quality (though not by a large amount). My only issues are where the production gets muddy, but that's not enough to sway my vote. YES

There's a difference between a song sounding 'raw' and a song sounding sloppy and poorly performed. This are a TON of mistakes in this recording, bro. That's not your biggest problem, though. Some people use a train as a metaphor for the rhythm section. The bass is the engine, the drums are the wheels, and the piano is the chasis, providing the shape of the train. In this song, your train has functional wheels, a chasis that is falling off because its been hastily thrown together, and an engine that works in spurts, tending to do more damage to the train then good. The bass needs to be the driving force behind both the harmony and the groove. What you've recorded here doesn't make ANY sense to me. It feels random, and half the time the bass isn't supporting the chord structure at all. It should be. The piano playing isn't the worst we've heard, but this sounds like it was done in one take. In fact, everything sounds like it was done in one take. In future submissions I would advise you to 1) make sure the drums and the bass are working together to create a groove 2) come up with a shape to your arrangement, from a melodic, harmonic, and dynamic perspective 3) keep the mistakes to a minimum This submission does none of these things. NO

Do it! I'd get a kick out of it, at the very least.

This is a pretty strong showing for a first submission. While the mix flirts with being too dense, too long, and too uniform, I think that just enough attention has been paid to both production and arrangement to put this over the bar. Also, the chanting is very memorable; creepy, but in a good way. Look forward to hearing more stuff from you in the future, Leah. YES ps This sounds like chase music from a summer blockbuster

fuck that man, session musicians are a dime a dozen. great producers, not so much.

yeah. should be good.

the arrangement/production combination doesn't put this over the bar as far as I'm concerned. as zirc and vig have already alluded to, the arrangement is a simplification of the original. add to that the slightly sloppy production (the synths can be grating at times) and what you've got is a borderline NO. this is close, but not quite there yet. BORDERLINE NO

solid snake, nice work jake.

i thought it was funny, but then again it doesn't describe me as having a vagina (filled with sand, no less). andy gets a paragraph and all i get is a (significantly more accurate) one word description?

i don't care about you enough to give my birthday greeting in a timely manner. maybe next year.

Factoring in both the arrangement and production, I'm just barely inclined to give this a YES. What this means is that the production and execution are incredible enough to carry the liberal interpretation of the source. Much like I YES'd Figaro Chiptune for its amazing arrangement and strong connection to the source, I'm YESing this for its production and execution, despite a weaker connection to the original (but a connection nonetheless). This was not an easy vote. YES

a few things: * if you're gonna have a forte section that incorporates a drum kit you've GOT to have a bassline supporting it. otherwise it sounds awkward. * i'm hearing a LOT of clicks and pops all over this track. * the reverb is WAY too wet, and the release is too long. * strings + piano + two electric guitars requires a lot of eq'ing to make work. its all blurring together in the soundfield into an incomprehensible slough. Your production skill needs to come a long way before you'll be close to "the bar." Sorry to be blunt, but this sounds pretty bad. You've got some good ideas, but don't have the skill yet to present them well. Work on that. NO

nice attempt at interpretation, as Larry mentioned, but the arrangement isn't very dynamic, and the production is grating. Also, your lack of attention to the harmonic structure of the original shows at both 3:29 and 3:49. Sounds like the melody was midi-ripped, then you just slapped a different bassline underneath it. In a very harmonically straightforward interpretation, you've suddenly got a C major chord over an F# in those two sections. Uh-glee. Pay attention to this stuff. It's important. NO

in the 12 years before that happens, i'll make sure to tell your shift manager you made my tall-no-water-chai latte wrong. gotta love those benefits! Sounds like a solid foundation to build your future on. You guys know I love you, right? Gimme a hug.

ah performance majors. a.k.a. future longterm starbucks employees.

This track is devoid of energy, and I've gotta attribute that to the production. Specifically, the drum and bass samples are blah, and the synths are mixed poorly. Investing in some decent headphones wouldn't be a bad move. Some of the leads are waaaaaay too quiet at times, and the strings especially are pushed too far into the background. Two other big issues are the flat drumbeat, and a bassline that doesn't drive the piece at all. It all comes off like a soda that's been left out too long. That being said, this isn't the worst sub we've seen, and you seem to have a good idea of what this whole arrangement thing is about. Keep honing your production skills, and work a little more on how you structure your arrangement from a dynamics persepctive (this thing hung at the same intensity for 95% of the mix). I have a feeling your next submission is gonna be substantially better. Keep at it. NO

I played an S08 when I was on the road last summer, but the action wasn't stellar and I wasn't taken with the sample quality, given the price tag. When it came time for me to buy my own keyboard, I went with the Privia 310, based mostly on the action, which is pretty good. The main piano sample is pretty decent, but I have no use for any of the other patches. Since I use it mainly to control my Nord Electro rack unit, I don't really care. Also, the lack of a pitch or mod wheel hurts. One of the biggest pros is how friggin light it is. I guess this doesn't matter if you're not moving it a lot, but I gig with it on a semi-regular basis. It's nice to have a full 88-key unit that i can carry easily under one arm. trivia fact: my "Leis Miller" entry to the icecap.ocremix.org project was made using samples from the privia and an acoustic guitar.