danny B

Every once in a while we'll get submissions where i'm not sure if the strange sound quality is intentional. The most blatant "offender" with this kind of presentation I can think of is Shnabubula. I don't think it's any secret that I'm a huge fan of Shna's work. Why do I bring up such a wacky allusion? Because this track reminds me of that vein of the bizarre, the avant-garde. I believe that Mazedude's wackiness is completely intentional here. I mean - he's Mazedude. Fanboism aside, I don't profess to be an expert in the obscure, but what is here is just about the best interpretation I can render in my own mind about what the source could inspire. It's not a brilliant onslaught of harmonic progression and melodic transcendence - No, this is a pseuso-atonal journey into the nether realms of Crazy, Anyone who disagrees with this OCRemix's legitimacy can explain to me a better way of interpreting such an insane original. The fadeout/cutoff is fine. The original does it as well, and it serves the same purpose. This ReMix, in my book, is a prime example of a solid reinterpretation of the original that places creativity first and sound quality second - as it always should be. This is another submission that I feel doesn't need the little details pointed out to qualify it. Mazedude knows what he is doing, and he does what he does better than anyone else out there. Go, boi. YES -D

I agree with Darkesword in that some of it is just a bit too punchy and abrasive. But I don't think it's too bad at all. CHILL BIAS This is super chill, well thought out and emotionally stirring. It's nice to hear an arranger that isn't afraid to completely alter the presentation of a melody, while at the same time retaining the spirit of the original. Other than the "punchy" comment, the technical side of this is very well executed. I'm not one to try and fix something that isn't broke. GJ YES -D

I agree with a lot of the criticisms here, but overall I think it's made up for by other things. Yea, it's too long. Yea, some of the mixing is less than stellar. But overall, there's a solid rearrangement effort here. It's creatively paced and arranged, and there's a solid effort at variation and dynamics. Jive does well not to overdo the presentation, a lesser musician would have gone over the top on some of these passages and made a real mess of things. I like the restraint shown in certain sections. It does suffer from a bit of a "videogamey" sound throughout, but considering the presentation, I think that's more to its advantage than anything. It's certainly enjoyable, and as always - the right amount of rearrangement will overcome most SQ issues. Minor issues here and there, but nothing I can't objectively say is bad enough to warrant posting. YES -D

I think zircon hit it on the head here. There's a lot of good arrangement going on, but the sound quality is too bad to be acceptable. Free shit out there is much better than what I hear here. Follow zirc's advice. NO -D

I like the fact that there's someone doing something original with super mario bros. What I don't like is the execution. I could count the number of different sounds on one hand. Not necessarily bad, when used appropriately. But here, we have this off-the-wall crazy shit going on, but it doesn't really feel like it goes anywhere. Melodically and harmonically? yes. Dynamically? no. Conceptually? not really. Normally I encourage any type of originality we can get. But in this tune, it's too disjointed and dare i say - random - to get by. Even just a phat bassline that's more present or smooth low pad to transition and flow along, along with a tempo increase. The point is, it's a mix that has an interesting premise, but is simply uninteresting to listen to. But that's all subjective nonsense. Opinions, even. The fact is that it sparsely uses the original to a degree that the original sections do not seem at all derived from the source. Add to that dynamically dead percussion and lifeless synths that sound pre-set. Get some velocity alteration in your percussion. I realize it's supposed to be all mechanical and stuff, but i'd love to hear some nicely placed syncopated fills and patterns, along with some type of dynamic work. The synths seriously need some attention. Some of them serve the theme well, being straightforward and mechanical, but oh how i'd LOVE to hear that lead WAAAAIIILLL with some filter automation. Just a suggestion. This one has got some work to be done until I can pass it. NO -D

Like analoq said, these string attacks are pretty pumpy. There's not a lot to add to this decision - once again, my capable colleagues have summated my beliefs. Would pass me if there was an appreciable degree of arrangement. Same style, same arrangement sans vocals? come on..... NO -D

I didn't get to this one in time, but once I saw a Contra mix on the panel, and it was approved, i HAD to know what was up. I'd like to add an emphatic honorary YES to this tune. Absolutely amazing synth work and superb mixing/mastering. Thanks for making me feel like the first time I heard "Fat of the Land". Please submit much more. -D

I'm thinking about posting a very early WIP once I get scratch vocals recorded. Is that cool? -D

Props to harmony on throwin' the book. HARD. Let's close this one up. NO -D

Production is a major problem for this track, but not nearly as much as the fact that it's essentially a straight cover with some riffs thrown in. There's no effort to expand upon the original or even perform it in a different manner. It's the original plus some guitar licks and drum fills. We don't do these here, sorry. NO -D

As someone who tried to do his own thing with this theme, I commend you for your take on this over-covered tune that is both technically impeccable and musically intriguing. I don't really have a lot to say about this yes vote. If the readers of Judges' Decision forum want to get something out of my decision, it is this - Learn from chthonic. YES -D

Wow. This is actually a really tough decision. I like the fact that it isn't needlessly complex or inundated with special fx that mean nothing. Conversely, it is somewhat sparse and dry at points. The stutter fx are a bit jarring at first, but after a listen or two they become more acceptable. I have to stave off my prejudice, as I'm definately not a fan of the original. I think it's too ballad-y for it's own good and too cheesy. But this mix does well not to cheese it up any more. The beetz are simple yet effective, and are served well by not transmogrifying into a new beast every 4 measures. There's a solid effort at keep the percussion fresh, and I think it pays off. If I were to nitpick, the ending is a bit abrupt, and like Larry mentioned, there is a conspicuous lack of velocity alteration. It's not particularly bad, but something that may have spiced it up a bit. The arrangement is solid, taking the original tune and laying it out intelligently and methodically. I can't think of what more we could ask for in an OCRemix, personal hatred of the source (THASAUCE) aside. GJ YES -D

Getting an orchestra to play your arrangement is in of itself a huge acheivement. You should be proud. I try to make concessions to the quality of recordings of this scale, mostly because of the sheer difficulty of making it happen. Let's go through this one. Like Israfel said, the tuning is "bugaboo" in some sections. Mostly not too noticeable, but some parts screechingly apparent. More importantly, however, the orchestra doesn't blend and balance as well as it should. Probably the violas. I hate viola players. The most deaf of string players. Personal vendettas aside, I agree again with Iz that it sounds under-rehearsed. Of course, we shouldn't dwell on sound quality issues here. I don't expect an amateur utilizing a community orchestra to represent the pinnacle of orchestral finesse. Aside from some questionable "arrangement decisions", I hear very little difference from the original or arranged versions i've heard before. This is a cover of Terra's Theme, and one that's been done before. A commendable effort, dude - but sorry, it's a guidelines thing. NO -D

I really like this track. There's a lot of good ideas present, and a pretty decent orchestration job. It's pretty close to having that solid "Hollywood" sound. Unfortunately, 5 minutes of drumloop and largely rehashed structure does not an OCRemix make. I really like the direction you're going with this, but we're going to need some kind of variation - and dynamic contrast wouldn't hurt. Almost there. NO -D

This is form letter rejection material. Like Gray mentioned, there is no meat to this mix. Add to that a connection to the original that I can hardly recognize, sloppy percussion work, and no cohesive structure to be found. The melody isn't even close... NO -D

First off, that initial rain sound makes my medulla oblongata hurt. It sounds like the bones in my neck are breaking. Call it a nitpick, but it gives me a headache everytime. Immediatly following that, we get what amounts to a direct cover of the theme for the next minute or so. Then, there's a sparse section of a smooth guitar solo that builds up into a more interpretive section of the main theme. Following a so-so transition, we go into Atma Weapon. The major problem with this mix is that without the guitar, most of this is a direct cover. What alterations there are lie on the side of simplification. It's not until the near-5-minute mark that we get any kind of substantial rearragement. Then, after about 30 seconds of that, we go back into the cover. I'm not really hearing much of an arrangement here, as much as 2 cover songs linked together and sprinkled with some largely unrelated jam sessions. The entire mix sounds very sparse and weak. It's volume is very low, and nothing really has any punch. The percussion is not at all dynamic, and it's got a GM MIDI sound quality to it. It needs much more velocity modification to even begin to sound natural. Some of the fills are decent enough, but mostly it's pretty awkward as far as the drums are involved. The sound quality on this track isn't by any means terrible - some of the string work (2:10 for example) is superb, and there's a solid effort at providing dynamic contrast. However, the arrangement is nowhere near where it should be to overcome the major problems inherent in the mix. The guitar doesn't lie above the mix where it should be, the winds get muffled very badly (and i'm sure we're missing some very cool things there). Overall, the sound quality issues negatively affect the arrangement aspect, because many of the good arrangement ideas simply can't be heard. I'd need to hear a much more solid mix to justify passing this conservative of an arrangement. NO -D

As part of my one-man vendetta to raise the bar on orchestral mixes, i'd like to see this go to 6Y. At the very least for my own benefit to see why this should be posted without even asking for a resub. -D

I would like to add an emphatic GJ -D

Man, the groove in this thing is making my bias tingle. It's not a very dynamic mix, but it definately carves its own niche and hangs out. It's actually a pretty adept arrangement, but it feels a bit "muted". It feels like a badass intro for a big beat drop and crazy synthwork. I think that would alleviate a lot of the sound quality issues as well, if dynamics were more closely considered. There are plenty of interesting synth textures here, but they are being buried underneath the mix rather than up top where they should be when they're featured. The arrangement is pretty liberal, no problems there, a bit on the original side, but hey - i'll take that over a MIDI Rip anyday. Let's get these parts where they need to be with EQ and compression, and we'll have a winner. GJ NO -D

Am I the only one reminded of Wesley Willis here? NO -D

I see a lot of pointless bitching here, and a lot of bleeding-heart propaganda serving several different persuasions. My feelings on this song are outlined in the judgement, and I don't think it's necessary to state them again. But i'm seeing people write criticisms along the lines of "I don't like how your snare drum sounds, so the mastering sucks". This thread has been about 10% constructive and 90% self-serving personal-vendetta bullshit. You CANNOT tell me that this mix doesn't contain an appreciable amount of originality, style, and effort. I'd like to paraphrase djp in saying that sometimes a tune is not served by a flawless LA production job. Also - i'm positive that certain people with certain opinions wouldn't feel that way if they were judges. What better way to show that the judges are inept than heavily criticizing an accepted song? And how ironic that the artist has himself been critical of the judging process? I'm seeing a bunch of undeserved criticism of graylightning as well. More pointless personal vendettas. Anyone who has talked to Gray for more than 5 minutes knows that he is a wonderful human being. I don't see how anyone can even construe his conduct as being hurtful or spiteful. Again, ridiculous behavior by disenfranchised individuals. It's a bunch of bullshit - and serves no purpose here. At the risk of losing my own post, i'd hope that the mods delete all the irrelevant posts. Behave yourselves - quit acting like such miserable little shits, and get back to enjoying the reason you should be here. The Music. To quote the brilliant Gene Wilder, "Good DAY, Sir!". -D

Again, I agree with the wingling here. This is a very pointed allusion to Radiohead, specifically a track off OK Computer, I can't remember which. It's a good concept, despite the cheesy opening sfx. Tune it up, that's my main beef. The production isn't bad enough to really disqualify it alone. Also, purely as a stylistic suggestion, maybe a little more underlying instrumentation. I like the minimalism, but i'd like to hear a smoother, cleaner piano and drums that don't jar me out of the trance you've put me in by their entrance. Maybe lower the attack? Great ideas here, let's polish em up and make a hit. NO -D

I like the style modification, and I like the arrangement ideas. However, i'll have to agree with wingless (ugh....makes me sick) in that the harmony sounds "hollowed out", and something about a duck. The main problem here is sound quality and instrumentation. Fix em up - the arrangement is good, but not enough so to overcome these issues. NO -D

Well now, I really enjoy the concepts in this mix. It vaguely reminds me of our good buddy Shnabubula, in a much more structured way. At times it seems like the low sound quality is used to the track's advantage. Almost like he's using lo-fi samples as a synth. Like the staccato flute that sounds almost like a sine wave with a fast decay. I'm a fan of the arrangement, and of a lot of the sound quality decisions here. Unfortunately, among a lot of cool shit, there are some things that just sound bad, and not good bad. Jesse touched on the harp and brass. I agree. Lots of potential here. Hang out in WIP, or just keep on truckin' and i'm sure you'll polish this one up good. And add an ending next time. NO -D

My likes - A varied and original take on some themes from Halo. I really like the triplet shit going on at times like 2:23. Good string articulations too. My beefs (beeves?) - Choir sounds painfully artificial at points, voicing of orchestra is a bit cluttered at times. Mostly a nitpick. It's not exactly the most original presentation for a Halo mix, but the composition is sound and the concept is well-executed. And he used brass blats in a way that wasn't offensive or obnoxious. YES -D