danny B

Fucking Amazing!!!!

Hey dudes, I need a guitarist to finish up a ReMix in progress. Don't want to give too much away - but it's a final fantasy remix in need of some heavy guitar with some virtuoso lead parts. If you're interested, please send me an email at systemaniac(at)cox.net, or hit me up on AIM at righteousM9. It would help if you provided some demos of your guitar shredding ability. Thanks! Looking forward to it! -d

I'm in. Do it.

i get to be knuckles. nyah nyah-nyah nyah-nyaaaaah nyaaaah

BEST SUMMER CAMP EVAR!!!!!!!!!! thanks for calling me and passing me around so i could awkwardly speak to people i can hardly understand.

I transcribed the melodic and harmonic content directly from the original, with very little alteration, with the exception of the parts that are blatantly original. This is actually one of my most faithful remixes with regard to use of the original's composition. I guess perception is reality. Take your soapbox outside, please.

Sorry this took so long..... Knuckleduster lyrics - I've gotta know Who takes a life for free? Some kind of man, I know would tell her openly I know your eyes expand I won't lead you by the hand I'll ask again, Please, is there anybody free? A foreign land Why won't they speak to me? I know your eyes expand We can't lead you by the hand Know you're a knuckleduster And you're caught in a relapse now With eyes half open and a trail of head crumbs, Tell me again where you are from. *scat* Hope that helps people who have been mouthing nondescript sounds. btw, i welcome criticism gladly, although some of it in this thread was blatantly ego-boosting trash talk. However, there's a reason they didn't like it, and I use that as additional perspective to analyze my own work and improve it. If people don't like my singing, hell - most of the time I'd agree with them. I finished this track about 6 months ago, and gained some perspective from not hearing it for so long. I know where they are coming from, but the goal of this song is the same goal I have with a lot of songs - to try something new. Some things worked out well, some things not so well. Just like Invertebrate Retreat - a song about a worm - try to write lyrics at least partially pertaining to the subject of a 16-bit sidescroller. It's tough! But again, I wouldn't do it if it wasn't fun. I showed an early version of this track to Jared Hudson, and he said it sounded like Milli Vanilli. That's EXACTLY the kind of response I was looking for. I laid the cheese on extra thick for this one. This is by no means the type of music I would listen to, but damn - it was fun to make! I'm glad there are some people out there who appreciate my efforts . Thanks for the comments, guys - and expect some more tracks soon. Maybe this time it won't be from a site project -dB

Well, as a massive Muse fan, I had to see what this was about. He ain't kidding about the Apocalypse Please bit. I've heard that song hundreds of times. Obviously it isn't identical, but both stylistically and production-wise, it's very similar to the Muse track. Overall, i'd say there's pretty good production all around. There are some trouble spots, in my opinion, but they certainly don't impact the majority of the piece. Some of the string lines are a bit dry and lacking in dynamics, in need of crescendo/decrescendo and the like. Also, the strings are mixed a bit hot, often becoming the forerunner when it seems they should be supporting. It isn't always the case, though. The actual sound quality of the strings is top-notch, however. Nice work! The "beatles" part or whatever hits me like a ton of bricks. It goes from the angsty brit pop/rock to the happy fun time 60's vibe like THAT. Maybe it was intentional, and I can hear the effect intended. But personally, it gets me out of the trance that the earlier sections set up. The arrangement/combination of the styles/tracks is very impressive. The Muse -> FF7 transitions are mostly very well done and don't sound contrived or forced. The guitar work as a whole is consistently superb. While I wished the guitars would be more out-front-wall-of-sound on some parts (mostly because it's more Muse-ish ), they adeptly represent the angst-ridden guitar riffage of the source band. The drums are easily the least impressive part of the track. They really aren't mixed very well. The kick has no body, and the snare has that very "triggered" feel to it. The hi-hat suffers greatly from machine-gun syndrome. More velocity adjustment there would make it sound far more natural. The arrangement of the drums fares a bit better, but it doesn't sound very....human. Could be my comparison to Muse's drummer, who has a VERY tight feel, which I don't think could be replicated verbatim. But that's not a necessity . Also, as long as there's the comparisons to the production being as similar as possible to the Muse, this track certainly lacks the crazy-compression-slammed sound of the Muse. When I listen to Absolution, it's absolutely floored with compression and maximization and the like. It greatly enhances their stylistic expression, in my opinion, and I felt that particular production aspect was missing. So it didn't hit me as hard as the Muse does. That's what multi-million dollar recording and mastering facilities are for! Overall, one of the most intriguing OCRemixes i've heard in quite some time. Some of the transition areas are a little rough and jarring, and it seems to be much more a Muse song than a Final Fantasy 7 Song. It's certainly enjoyable, and a more than worthy OCRemix. Good show, sirs. -dB

I want my 9 dollars back.

powerchords? POWERCHORDS??!?!?!?!?

Actually, I was under the impression that "mixing" and "remixing" referred strictly to fader/aux/insert/send/patchbay/etc settings on a console or a DAW Workstation. That's how my engineer buddies use the term. I think popular culture perverted those terms into what we call a "ReMix". Anyway, THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO RAWK

You get points for submitting an engrish submission e-mail. But, it's not enough to save this. There are a handful of interesting synthetic ideas, like the stuttering bendy synth dealie. But like aaron said, there's no balls to it throughout most of the tune. When there's finally an actual chord progression, it's too short and meager to make up for the 90% of this mix that is generic OOMTSS. Better luck next time. NO -D

Sam's essay really sums it up for me. It's a technical dissertation on why we have to reject this. But i'll go ahead with a more ooey-gooey gut-feeling decision. The samples themselves are very exposed. The loop points are very early in the sample, and there is no attempt to mask this fact with any volume automation. Even subtle volume swells would do wonders to cover up the artificial nature of the vibrato. The composition is definately up to par, except for the notable problems that sam uh....noted. That 1:32 thing KILLS ME!!!! Just use the right harmony LOL! Anyway, I can't compete with sam when it comes to figured bass analysis. So, I'd recommend giving the samples a bit more TLC and heeding the wise instruction of the theory deity that is the SHNA! NO -D p.s. I SAID SAM A LOT! p.s.s. SAM!!!!!!! ITALICS!!!!!

I'll back up the comments aforementioned, and also add that this is fairly decent all around, especially for using garage band. You've got much to learn still, mostly regarding technical stuff. It IS very piercing, and the percussion is about as standard 808 as you could get. The synths don't really complement each other very well. They all have similar timbre and clash quite a bit. make your background pads either smooth, or rhythmic... something! Just to differentiate your separate ideas into easily discernible sounds. I like that that you're modifying the synths, and making sure the lead isn't completely stagnant. Just keep making tracks, learn from your own mistakes and critique from others. Also, try to get a little bit more creative with the source. Add some counter melody, switch up the rhythm, alter the chord progression, something that makes it YOURS. Keep at it. NO -D

It's hard to judge po!, he's been around far longer than i've even been into making music. But, I have to apply the rubric just like everyone else. As my two preceding votes mention, there's not a whole lot to this track. I agree with Shnabubula's vote completely - read it for my thoughts. It's well-produced, but it's missing a vocal track, or something. It just really doesn't do enough with the original to make it an OC ReMix. Good work though. Sorry po! still luv u. NO -D

Man, this is REALLY enjoyable, but there are enough technical issues to keep it back. First off, i didn't notice it until I put on my headphones, but most of this tune is clipping pretty bad. I like some of the instrumentation choices, and there's a pretty solid ratio of original/new material. The new sections are highly motivic and comprised of mostly rhythmic jams. It's refreshing to hear an arranger confident enough to not reinvent the wheel on every breakdown. It's pretty interesting throughout, and the synthwork is of a generally high quality, although some of the more...organic elements need some work. Please modify the volume or modulation on your strings a little bit! They sound like robot strings, and not funky-happnin' robot. In general, a bit more dynamicism wouldn't hurt, although there is a pretty solid effort at it already. The cutoff ending is not acceptable. Overall, there's a pretty commendable effort on making this your own. There are however, major technical issues to be resolved before I give this one the go ahead. NO Give it one more shot, I think it's almost there. -D

I don't agree that the bass "muds things up" here. It sounds to me like a very intentional atmospheric effect, and as such, I don't think it's appropriate to call it detrimental. At 1:20, there's a breakdown that sounds pretty deliberate in nature. By itself, the synth is a bit strange, but the incoming instrumentation more than makes up for it. Then, the source material comes in and very adeptly covers the source. There's a nice little improv, it's not over-the-top crazy synth solo, but it's definately adequate to add to the original. Again, it gets pretty dense here (notice "dense", again - not "muddy") and intensifies, leading into a dynamically creative outro. It avoids all cliche as an ending and does well to wrap things up. If I had to nitpick, i'd say that the length of the intro insinuates a longer track, and I sure would love to hear another minute or so on this one, perhaps a bridge section or some type of chorus reiteration, but that's subjective and doesn't affect my judgement. It's a little odd to me that other, less interesting mixes that were more ambient in nature have been passed, but this is contested. It's an interesting and well-executed mix, and I don't think that the sound quality issues brought up are anything more than opinions. I've heard muddy tracks, and this is anything but unpleasant muddiness. This ReMix adequately and creativly uses the original to a new effect, and without major technical issues, it should be more than enough to get the go-through. I'm a fan. GJ. YES -D

Very effective use of limited samples here. The bass is a bit much, and some samples could be bundled with a Creative Live! Card, but the arrangement here absolutely makes up for the sample discrepanies. A very simple YES DRINK VODKA! -D

I don't know what else we can ask for in a dance remix. It's got a solid rearrangment with some creative application of the original melody. Overall, it's a pretty effective conversion, with some interesting harmonic choices such as before :44. The song develops in its own unique way, but still presents the content from the original in a deliberate and satisying way. Kind of how ffmusicdj's String Machine uses the original. Rather than just slap the original parts down with a synth or something, it uses them in the new style to enhance the song as a whole. I've got no issues with the production overall, aside from a little bit of a loudness issue. But this kind of music often benefits from that type of mastering, so I can't really penalize for a stylistic decision. Couldn't ask much more out of this genre, and it's executed well. A Textbook YES. -D

Aside from not hearing much relation to the original, those voices are driving me insane. There's a few cool synth/vocal ideas, but mostly it's just a mess of samples that somehow vaguely represent Undersea Palace. the sound at 2:58 is pretty cool, but when it gets doubled with a Slayer-style synth, it gets too abasive for its own good. Yep, that's Slayer. There's some pretty dope Prodigy-style shit going down here, but there just isn't a strong enough structure to hold it down. I like a lot of where this is going, but I need more original use and a more filled out instrumentation. Subjectivity aside, this is a policy violation - not nearly enough original to be more than vaguely recognizable. NO -D

I'm on vig and darke's side for this one. It's got some fairly interesting arrangement ideas, but overall it's pretty rudimentary in style and execution. There's no major dynamic shift; it's all around the same volume level. The sample isn't a primary factor to reject it, but it sure doesn't help things. I'd need more in-depth arrangement, a cleaner sample and some kind of dynamics before i push this puppy along. Pretty good so far, though. NO -D

Well, first off - i'm fighting a major bias here, since this is the song that made me love FFX. I'm even in the process of remixing it myself, so there's plenty of bias to go around. In fact, funny thing - I just erased my long writeup on why I was rejecting this. Because I'm not. I thought to myself that I should reject this because it seems to follow the original in form and overall presentation. But I realized that the similarities are superficial in nature. The melody, and overall feel of it, is in a much more direct, full-speed-ahead kind of mood. Where the original set up a landscape to explore, and slowly meandered throughout said landscape in a journey of self discovery, this is a full-speed-ATV ride through Macalania Forest. I'm somewhat reminded of the brilliant score for the movie K-PAX, and that is a high compliment. It's ethereal while at the same time driven. I understand that sam has a full volley of ordinance to launch at the technique and arrangement ideas, but as someone who doesn't have superhuman piano chops, I need to go with my gut. It's emotionally stirring, and, in my opinion, effectively transmogrifies the original into a new entity with a creative new chord progression and interesting rhythmic alterations. The transition to the second section near 1:50 is pretty jarring, the over-pedaling does get a little bit cluttered, and the sample gets kinda icky at the high velocities, but that's just a one-way train to Gripesville, and I'm not aboard. I'm a fan. But i'm just a n00b. YES -D

how bout some DP akshun! YEAS -D irect ost sicko.

Maybe i'll be criticized for not being "consistent" enough for this, but here goes - This is a classic example of a ReMixer taking constructive criticism, and coming out on top because of it. I don't have the original submission to compare, but based on my comments on the first submission i'd say there's a commendable improvement here. This is definately engaging and dynamic percussion work. Maybe it's just hitting me differently now, but I think I remember the original being very flat and uninspired. This version is totally full of beans, and is entertaining and interesting throughout. The samples aren't Willy McGee's Dee-lux Sample BBQ Edition, but thet don't need to be. The wacky synth bass is a lot of fun, none of the leads are annoying - they fit in just right. There's a really nice arrangement here, same as the last time. This one just needed a nudge. Sir, you've provided a nudge, bump and a skip. Nice Work. YES -D

I agree with Shnabubula that technically, yes, there is a definite degree of rearrangement here. I don't share his opinion that the instrumentation/dynamics alterations are enough rearrangement to justify a yes vote. As far as I can tell, it IS very similar to the original, and even similar in sound quality. It's decently produced and there are no major glaring flaws. But this song and the original, to me, feel nearly the same. There's just higher octave strings on the ReMix. The cut-off ending is not acceptable. The qualities of this ReMix have been outlined in the reviews above. I agree with the NO votes on this one. -D