Antonio Pizza

I didn't have a problem with the drums. Post it. Yes.

Lockin' and movin', yo.

I think you understepped your bounds by posting that new Mario Paint mix. I mean, come on! What were you thinking?

Here you go. Yoink it from here on the off chance that Rob's server is actually up.

Whew, last one Okies, here we go *cracks knuckles* I disagree with orky on the guitar samples, as I thought they sounded alright. My version cuts off too, so I can't really say how the ending sounds. The one I got ends at 2:05 at what sounds like the beginning of the closing. The thunderclaps were... okay, I guess. At first I thought they were cool and they relate to the mix ("Storm Eagle"). They do, however, interrupt the flow of things because the sample is loud enough to distract you from the rest of the song. My main complaint is that it's too repetitive. I think you could've ended the song at 1:04 and called it a day. Just because the song is short doesn't mean it won't get posted. While I was going to originally say yes, closer reviewal warrents a no verdict on this one. I do agree with rob though. This mix does have the potential to get posted. You just need to clean it up a bit.

Well rob1's right in that it sounds like the main melody was played on a child's piano, but I don't see that as a negative considering the song that's being remade. It adds to the tranquility of the mix. I like that the beat isn't something rehashed or a derivative of the beat that oh-so-many kids, including myself, used to pound on the tables in middle school (think of the Special Stage from Sonic 2. Yes, THAT beat.) My main complaint is the stereo switching of the support layer. It put too much emphasis on each individual ear drum. The notes shouldn't have been set 100% on each channel. But since most folks aren't going to listen to this on headphones, it's not a huge problem. I liked this mix and I'm gonna listen to it again. Overall, I think it's pretty solid.Yes.

I agree with Malcos. The middle section needs a bassline or a backup or something. The opening and closing is the GB with a drum loop and we already have one of those here >> http://remix.overclocked.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR00155 . I didn't care for this one too much. No.

OKAY, SO ARE WE POSTING IT, NOT POSTING IT? WHAT? LET'S GET THIS TOPIC CLEARED OUT.

HEY! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING WITH THIS SO WE CAN CLEAR THE BACKLOG!

This here folks, is a resubmission munky's "Big Blue & Round" remix from The Guardian Legend. If you don't remember it off hand, it's the one that had all of those Terminator 2 voice samples in it. Well I'm very pleased to announce that he took them out and to the satisfaction of Rob Saunders, he added another 1:20 of music to the song. If you guys still have the original, you can notice the differences start around 1:30. If you don't have it but still want to compare, you can find it on Saunders' Server. Inanycase, this version is much better (not that the first was all THAT bad) and I vote yes. See? Our suggestions DO help

I second 100% of everything orky said. At 1 minute in, you're like "Damn, this thing isn't over YET?" But you can tell someone put some effort into making this and is really proud of their work. It's not a pretty feeling to say no, but I've got a job to do.

This mix needs some pads or background strings or ambience or something. Add some reverb or delay to your main instrument, as it's a bit to choppy. And as biased as it sounds, you need a helper/subsitute for your choice of percussion. P.S. Lose the SC samples. Maybe find something Zelda related? There've got to be some voice samples from the old Zelda cartoon show floating around on the web somewhere. I'm going to say no.

The main guitar is a bit muffled, but that's not nearly enough to hold this back. It's well executed, it's well layered, and it's definitely OC material. Post it. Yes.

I've never played Lemmings, but that doesn't matter as this piece is solid. The drums are good as they occasionally switch up and don't remain exactly the same throughout the duration of the mix. The strings are a nice instrument choice and I agree with rob1 on the orchestral hits. They help to keep things from getting boring to early. The voice samples that open and close the song are a cute addition and they also breathe a little personality into the song. Post it. Yes.

Yes. I've not played NBA 2K1, so I don't know how closely this treads to the original. But this is a beautifully composed piece. It's fully layered so you're always hearing something. It's hard hitting. It's even got jingle bells (which reminds me of old school Death Row songs from the early '90's). It's one of the lengthiest mixes we've had, yet it's just barely under the limit. The fact that it's almost 6½ minutes long does make you a little sick of it by the 5th minute, but the guy chiming in that "someone has left there lights on" wakes you up a little bit. (Un)fortunately, the song is over by then. You've got an audience sample, a little play-by-play commentary going on around 4:35, and even a Janet Jackson cameo at the beginning! This is a definite poster. I just hope it was fully composed by netsu and isn't the actually Dreamcast song with one or two instruments dropped on top of it.

I SWEAR IF I HEAR ONE MORE DAMN SONG USING THAT SAME REHASHED FUCKIN' TECHNO BEAT, I'M GONNA... sorry. Well, I'm having problems deciding. I must have listened to this 6 or 7 times by now, but my concentration keeps veering away. Starts out okay. His segue around 0:25 is off balanced a little. It's not evenly aligned, but it winds up alright. The segue from 0:45 - 1:01 is very sloppy. It doesn't really even itself out until 1:01. It sounds like it was a quick cut and paste move. The segue at 1:47 ... I'm gonna have to say no to this one. I've now listened to it for the 10th or so time, and I'm still able to but a definitive "yes" on it. If I have to listen to it that many times, I should probably go with instinct. This song just didn't grab me. It's too forgettable.

Yes. You mean big like that? I don't think anyone's gonna argue that this belongs on the site. Well, Daniel might. Aside from it being a decent live arrangement, it's been floating around on the web for almost the better part of year. For it not to be submitted would only cause rioting the magnitude of LA c. 1992. As for this Crashman mix with swearing in it that wasn't submitted, someone might want to point him here: http://remix.overclocked.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR00570

I agree with djp and muh buddy Malcos. Pretz, maybe rewrite what you told us and update it in the submissions guidelines? Then put a sticky/annoucement in the GenDisc. forum explaining that the guidelines were updated. That way no one can claim, "I didn't know!" Bullshit. You knew. As for "Das Imperium," a conversation with muh other buddy Daniel reiterated that the Imperial March is not contained within "X-Wing vs. TIE fighter" wholly enough to justify it's posting on OCR. Basically, the game borrows the first 6 notes or so and then goes off to an original interpolation. Just enough so that you recognized that it's based on the Imperial March. "Das Imperium" uses the entire Imperial March and while the voice samples to help to legitimize it as a game remix, I do not feel it does so enough to OCR standards . So as painful as it may be, I'm gonna have to vote NO on this one.

(originally posted Apr 01, 2002 8:45 pm) Okay...take 2. ====================================== Rapid Fire (Mega Man II) ====================================== by Disco Dan. You may remember him from such remixes as Mario Paint's "Load/Save the Last Trip Hop For Me" and Donkey Kong Country's "Hard Candy" Mega Man II gets covered yet agin. No, no. Don't run in fear. It's okay. Disco Dan to the rescue! 11 layers, 10 simultaneously playing at it's peak, and 30 (count 'em, THIRTY) layer transitions. So should I rate it now or at the end of the review? Hmmm...maybe I'll throw it in midway and only mention it once to insure that the whole thing is read. And in case anyone wants to be a smarty pants and look for the word "slices", you just found it. On with the show! The first three seconds greet you with a spooky ambientlike bass foundation. Very soon thereafter, it is joined by the real bassline, after which a soft flowing ambience kicks in (boy, was THAT redundant!). At 0:26, everything stops and you are introduced to the main melody's underlayer. Over the next 40 seconds, a hihat, the bassline, the beatdrop, a SECOND hihat, and an oscillating/pulsing layer join in one by one. The oscillating/pulsing layer leaves to make way for the main melody which is created though lovely synth horns. Accompaning the horns are a drum loop and another synth which I call "the bubble thingy." Trust me, you'll know it when you hear it. At 1:33 "Rapid Fire" snaps you back to reality by dropping all but the main melody's underlayer. Within three seconds both hihats, the drum loop, and the beatdrop reaquaint themselves back into place. They are then respectively rejoined by the bassline, the bubbly thingy, and the ambience. At 2:13, Disco Dan brings the horns back in, but drops the bubble thingy. Thirteen seconds later, only the ambience, the horns, and the underlayer remain...but their isolation is only temporary. At 2:40, the bassline comes back, joined by the bubbles three seconds thereafter. At 2:51, the horns, the underlayer, and the bassline either drop off or fade off, leaving the bubble thingy and the ambience a mere 2 seconds to play by themselves. The bassline comes in and enjoys the solitutde until the underlayer comes in. By 3:13, only the underlayer is playing. Starting at 3:13 however, the layers begin a gradually rebuilding of the song. In what takes almost a minute to accomplish, "Rapid Fire" readds the hihat, the beatdrop, the second hihat, the bassline, the oscillating/pulsing layer, the drum loop, the horns, the bubble thingy and the ambience (in that order). For fourteen seconds (4:06 - 4:20), you get to enjoy the climax of the amassed instrumentations before Disco Dan prepares his closing. At 4:20, the remix undoes the work of the previous minute and starts to fade the layers out. Taking only 20 seconds to fade them (as compared to 53 to build them up), the beatdrop, the bass, the drums, both hihats, the oscillation/pulsing layer, and underlayer are all gone by 4:40. The final moments of the song are lovingly spent with the ambience, the horns, and the bubbles until they too fade out, closing the song with a length of 4 minutes and 56 seconds. "Rapid Fire" is one of the longer tracks on the site. Disco Dan uses very little (if any) improvisation on this track, yet it still earns a rating of nine. Why? First off, Disco Dan's choice of instrumentation. The buzzing of underlayer, the flow of the ambience (my favorite), the lighthearted bubbliness of the...well, of the bubbles. And of course, the horns (which came in at a close second for favorite). Second, the amount of instruments. True, quality is more important than quantity. But what's wrong with having LOTS of quality? Third, the sheer amount of changes. Thirty. Thirty switches 'n twists 'n turns 'n additions 'n subtractions... You're allowed to get comfortable with what's going on, but not for too long. It's okay, because you've almost always got a familiar instrument leading you into the next change. I don't think anyone will debate what Disco Dan earned on this track (keyword = earned). I'm pleased on a personal level, because Heat Man's theme was the one I disliked the most from Mega Man II. Our buddy Daniel has somewhat redeemed the boys at Capcom. Thank you Dan. Fandamntastic and unnotlistentoable. I know Dan's pleased on a personal level, because he's been waiting for SOMEONE to comment on this song since before it was posted. There? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW Folks, these opinions are just that. I ain't a remixer. I'm a listener. But if you've been a regular visitor to the message boards since July 10th of 2001, you already know that. Please, listen to this track more than once before you make your own opinions. Listen to it through decent speakers. And keep comin' back. Kudos to Disco Dan. Well done sir, well done.

(originally posted Feb 08, 2002 4:46 am) So sit back; dig, while we do it to you in your eardrums. -George Clinton from Parliament/Funkadelic's "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" ======================= Circuit Breaker (Mega Man) ======================= by Injury. You may remember her for her duet with CotMM-68030 in Chrono Trigger's "Magus Decay of Hope" and from Super Mario Bros. 2's "Dream Hacker". Once again, I have downloaded a ReMix from a game I've never played. I started to play it, but gave up. I did grab the .nsf however, as it's essential in the reviewing process. I talked to Injury in #OCREMIX before this was posted. She was apprehensive about her score, yet instrumental in making sure I didn't screw this review up (too much). Not to fear sweetheart. You join JAXX, Dale North, Mustin, and LousySpy in the Mile High Club. A perfect score; 10 slices. Here's why: Circuit Breaker clocks in just under 6 minutes (5:59 to be exact) making it one of the longer mixes on the site. "Six minutes!" you must be saying, "that's absurd!" Trust me, you'll almost wish it was longer. Injury starts out the song with two of the track's eight layers; the beatdrop (or "uberbass") and the hihat (cymbal ticks for the musically illiterate). At 0:14, the hihat speeds up and is accompanied by the drum loop and the bassline. At 0:28 the harmony bar comes in. The song doesn't actually "start" until 0:57. Injury gives you nothing but intro to build up anticipation for almost a full minute. After the intro, she doesn't let you down. The main melody comes in along with a VERY faint 2ndary buzz. At first I thought it was part of the melody, but closer scrutinization revealed it to be a seperate entity. IMO, it only reinforces the melody. It does not hurt, it supports (of course, maybe there's nothing there at all and I'm hearing things again). With a lead off from the drums, the section which I'll call the ".nsf closer" begins at 1:25. It's not some ultra technical term. It's just something I came up with to seperate part one of the main melody from part two of the main melody. 1:39 marks the introduction of Circuit Breaker's best friend, the piano. The main melody and it's friends fire up again, but this time with the piano tapping in 5 notes at strategic locations and then retreating to a barely audible backround location. At 2:08 the .nsf closer enters once more and the piano leaves, but not for long. Transition is important folks. Without transition, you leave your audience dazed and confused as to how you got from point "A" to point "B." Circuit Breaker and Injury say to hell with transition. At 2:22 comes the most beautiful part of the song. I'm not just tossing that word out either. It's beautiful. It's so beautiful that I'm not even going to describe it. Sure I could, but I won't. You'll just have to hear it for yourself. Believe me, the first word out of your mouth will be "whoa!" After a 43 second hiatus, the main melody comes back with it's techno friends at 3:05; relatively halfway through the track. This is when the song is at it's climax. You've got all eight layers. As told to me by Injury herself, you've got: Layer eight could be obtained by counting the hihat seperately (I actually count nine now that I think about it!). I know, it's nit-picking. But when you're at climax, isn't more always better? Injury shows her sympathetic side by allowing you to catch your breath at 3:33. Here you get the drums & hihat, the bassline, the beatdrop, and that buzzing 2ndary layer (see! you thought I was crazy, but it was there the WHOLE TIME!). The star of this portion is the ambience. Well, up until 3:47 when Injury adds what I call the piano teaser. It's so...damn. I'm gushing. It's a little 14 second improv on the ivory. It's subtle, but it's the centerpiece. Does that make sense? After that, the ivory does it's rendition of the main melody. That and the ambience and the piano teaser. It's simply amazing. From 3:33-4:30 is definitely my favorite part of the song. The piano, the ambience, and the hihat stick around to perform the .nsf closer (@ 4:30) in conjunction with the beatdrop and a set of strings. 4:58 signals the beginning of the end for Circuit Breaker as it's final piece is laid to work. Call it the sequel to 2:22. That being said, I will not tell you what it is, only that I think it sounds better than it's predecessor. That's saying alot. At 5:27, the song begins to fade out, ends at 5:55, and leaves with 4 seconds of silence to try and digest what you just heard, rounding out at 5 minutes and 59 seconds. So sit back; dig, while we do it to you in your eardrums. She certainly does. The penetration of Injury's sounds into your ears, stimulating your tympanic membranes with a rising action and resolution of near equal length coupled with an almost minute long climax and a four second silent afterglow...how can you not beg for more? This is a beautiful piece, but beyond that, it's an OC Classic. This is one of the pieces you hound someone to download upon their first visit to Overclocked Remix. It's 10 slices and deserves every single one of them. Special thanks to Tacoriffic for creating the title. Circuit Breaker. This is one of those tracks you always wished would be remixed, but only in capable hands, lest it be screwed up. Injury takes a 40 second song and stretches it almost 9 times it's length. It doesn't suffer from length at all. It ends at the right time. You kinda wish it was longer, but you know it'd be screwed up if it was. Fandamntastic, unbelievable, unnotlistentoable. An OC classic. Period. Folks, these opinions are just that. I ain't a remixer. I'm a listener. But if you've been a regular visitor to the message boards since July 10th of 2001, you already know that. Please, listen to this track more than once before you make your own opinions. Listen to it through decent speakers. And keep comin' back. Kudos to Injury. Well done m'lady. Well done. P.S. On a personal note: Starla, the fade starting at 5:27? YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW SIGNIFICANT THAT IS TO ME! The only other person here who would have the slightest clue how important/big that number is to me would be "ahmyleg." Still I had to mention it cuz I almost flipped out when I noticed. Thank you x 1,000,000. That is SO FUCKING COOL!

(originally posted Feb 03, 2002 6:28 pm) =========================== Hot Stuff (Sonic & Knuckles) =========================== by Malcos. You may remember him from such remixes as Sonic the Hedgehog 2's "Mystic Cave" and Chrono Trigger's "Broken Pendulum." Everyone has a unique voice when they speak. If you're an artist and you're lucky, this carries over in your work. This applies to remixers as well. You know a Jivemaster track when you hear one. You know a McVaffe when you hear one. You know an AE when you hear one. You know a JAXX when you hear one. Malcos is no different. You know a Malcos track when you hear one, and this is definitely a Malcos track. If you're not a fan of Malcos' work, then "Hot Stuff" is unlikely to change your mind. But if you are a fan of Malcos, then jump on board for a 7 slice track. In this Lava Reef Zone ReMix, the first 11 seconds set the pace; that is smooth, melodic, easy-going kinda. You get the feeling that if it was slowed down a little, the tempo is reminiscent of early 90's West Coast hip-hop. These 11 seconds are filled with the original theme's secondary melody and improv from Malcos. Next he brings in the ticking drum loop along with the song's bassline. At 0:22, Malcos doesn't waste anytime getting to song started. He trades him improv in for the zone's main melody and fierce paced drum loop. The quick tempo of the drums and laid back pace of the support melody don't neutralize each other, but rather compliment. How? I don't know (maybe I should learn a little more about music theory). At 0:45 Malcos follows SEGA in dropping the support layer for a few seconds to concentrate on getting the bridge across. Once you've crossed the bridge, you got someone on the other side to meet you. Or should I say someones because at 1:08 the remix seems to start over, this time with a choir of "ahhhhhhhhhh..." voices backing up the intro. The changes are subtle this time around, but that's okay because the ahhhhh choir brings a sort of air of freshness to keep the mix from getting to repetitive and stale. At 1:35, Malcos adds something that you're only likely to catch 3 or 4 times unless you're really listening for it. Hell, I didn't even notice until I was writing this review! It's nothing really big. Just a quickie effect. You'll hardly notice it, but when you do, you'll be surprised how often it pops up throughout the rest of the song. What is it? I'lllll neverrrr teeeeelllllll. When the bridge comes up for the second time (@ 1:52) he drops the drum loop but only for ten seconds, after which he picks it back up to lead you into the beginning of the original theme (not the beginning of the mix, mind you), where he drops it again. At 2:25, it returns only to be dropped for the bridge again at 2:38, only to return again at 2:48. As tedious as all of that sounds in text, it actually makes the last minute of the song pass much quicker than you'd think. It's a good technique. Well...at least I think so. At 3:00, Malcos begins to fade the song out and loses the bassline, the ahhhhhh choir, and the 2nd melody layer. Our buddy, "the hyper drum loop" rears his head a few times throughout the last 11 seconds just to let you know he hasn't went anywhere. This is a good mix of the Lava Reef Zone. Initailly I had set for 8 slices on this mix, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Something was...wrong. I realize what it is now. It's the drum loop. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing really wrong with the loop itself and it's totally appropriate for this mix. My problem is that it sounds too similar to the drum loop used in Sonic & Knukles' "Dirty Beta", (9 slices) which is also by Malcos. It made me feel like it was...kinda/slightly processed. Like it was formulaic. Now I know that's not 100% fair since it's only in those two songs of his and not 50,000,000 others, but it still bothered me a little and that's why it lost a slice. Regardless, this is a ReMix worth getting. Malcos, if you're reading, I hope you use a different loop for your next project. That's a good drum loop, but you don't want to wear it out to soon. Folks, these opinions are just that. I ain't a remixer. I'm a listener. But if you've been a regular visitor to the message boards since July 10th of 2001, you already know that. Please, listen to this more than once before you make your own opinions. Listen to it through decent speakers. And keep comin' back. Kudos to Malcos. Well done, sir. Well done.

(originally posted Feb 03, 2002 6:28 pm) ================================================ Engineer Cid {Factory Mix} (Final Fantasy VI) ================================================ by Matt Pollard. You may remember him from such remixes as Xenogears' "TransientSands~Dazil" and Tekken 2's "Irish Diva." ____________________________________________! ^Insert profane expression of fatigue above^ Maybe I'm trying too hard, but this review has been a bitch to write. I can only imagine what it was like to actually MAKE the song. This is my...fourth? Yeah, about my fourth attempt at actually writing the review for this mix. Every time I think I've got it locked, my brain cross-wires and comes up with some discrepancy that causes me to freak out, "Jerry Maguire style." So please, please, please, bear with me. And above all, download the song cuz it's worth nine slices. I first heard "Engineer Cid (Factory Mix)" via a download from Mr. Pollard's webpage (it hadn't been posted as an Overclocked ReMix yet). I heard it and thought it sounded cool, but I didn't really pay it much mind. At the time I was drooling over an original composition of his (I think you know which one, Matt) and I more or less put thoughts of his Cid remix on the backburner. When I saw it posted I thought, "Hey, don't I have that?" I'll tell you the truth. After downloading it 2 months ago, I haven't REALLY been focused enough to review it until now. I've "heard" it. But I never listened to it and dissected it until as recently as this week. So here goes... *WARNING* The following contains a crapload of acronyms. Those with epilepsy or short attention spans might want to steer clear. As I said, Matt gets nine slices on this one. He's created this song using a technique that's at it's best when it's not done a million times over, which is using soundfonts from the actual game or sampling the actual game music (similar in respects to Tetris' "Tetris Ultimix", Mega Man II's "Ending Trance Reality, or The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past's "The Goddess Appears (Trinity)"). Here, Matt uses Final Fantasy VI soundfonts to rearrange "Save Them!," "Terra," "Devil's Lab," from FFVI and "Hey Cid!" from FFIV. That's why this is in the "borrowed" section. He "borrowed" the actual sounds from the game! The first 7 seconds is the bass line from "Hey Cid!" (HC) coupled with a funky/jazzy cymbal loop and the pressing and banging sounds found at the very beginning of "Devil's Lab" (DL). Fair warning: excessive bobbing of the head to the cymbal loop may result in whiplash. Matt fills in the other 7 layers of HC and keeps the percussion of DL going throughout the length of the 3 minute 49 second song, only pausing occasionally. At 0:40 he loses all but a single layer of the HC portion and keeps the horns going with an original piece. The cymbals and DL follow him throughout. You'd swear his original portion was really in the game. At 0:56 comes "Save Them!" (ST). With the first nine notes, you'll hear a lonely sounding violin (still accompanied by DL), afterwhich the horns and drums decide to pay a visit. At 1:15, Matt's back with HC and DL again, but this time with a couple of backround horns popping up now and then to make sure you don't get bored. 1:39 sees our first usage of Terra, but it's only usage of the first five notes. Don't let the notion of five notes fool you. Those notes are backed up by 2 or 3 horns in addition to the horns you were already getting. Unable to control his own inevitable head bobbing and sensing the utter kickassédness of the remix he's creating, Matt Pollard goes into his second original piece with a FFVI bass guitar as his friend at 1:48. Sure. DL, the cymbal loop, the violin, and the HC horn are still playing, but you're not paying them any mind (at least I wasn't). It's the bass who owns your ears for the next 16 seconds, but the fact that all of the other components are still playing only makes the 16 seconds kick that much more ass. Matt adds his original piece from 0:40 to the fray and (at 2:20) takes you home to the bridge. What's the bridge? Try a another 16 second bass line, this time with DL being the only additional element. Do not fret. Pollard pulls it off without a hitch. A couple of hungry drums pitch in towards the end and lead you back (@ 2:36) to where the song first started: DL, cymbal loop, and the HC bass line. What follows after 2:43 is a repeat of where the remix was at 1:15 (think of it as a saved state, for you emulation folk), eventually fading out at 3:49 to the tune of Terra, and the end of HC. I swear I wish this was an SPC. I almost thought it was an converted spc! Hell, it even loops like an SPC! Matthew, Matthew, Matthew...you've done it again. Nine slices. For those that have YET to listen to this ReMix, ignore everything I've written about it because I don't do it proper justice. Just remember...NINE SLICES! Folks, these opinions are just that. I ain't a remixer. I'm a listener. But if you've been a regular visitor to the message boards since July 10th of 2001, you already know that. Please, listen to this more than once before you make your own opinions. Listen to it through decent speakers. And keep comin' back. Kudos to Mr. Pollard. Well done, sir. Well done.

(originally posted Dec. 15, 2001 05:51 PM) =========================================== Frozen Knuckles (Sonic the Hedgehog 3) =========================================== by Rayza. You may remember him from such remixes as Shinobi's "Rayza Shinobi" and Metroid's "You Be Illin'." When I saw Sonic 3 for the first time, I was at a friend's house and the Ice Cap Zone was the first one he showed me. Sonic snowboarding? Cool! And that theme is kick-ass! Well newsflash: it still is, and Rayza does it justice. 9 slices. The intro threw me off. It sounds like Warren from "There's Something About Mary," but Rayza has already pointed out that he downloaded that soundbyte. We don't know who it is and in the end, it really doesn't matter. You get a reversed echoed "SAY-GUH!" The music starts at 0:11 with a synth harp. As soon as I heard the first few notes, I knew this mix was tight. Rayza starts with a gradual build of layers reminicent of Act 2 of the Ice Cap Zone. At 0:39 the main melody kicks in accompanied by furious techno drums at 0:46. The song plays just fine and dandy when at 1:06 Rayza adds an electic piano to the mix. This is one of those tracks you could play in a dance club and get away with because no one would be the wiser. Well only if no one noticed the sfx of Sonic jumping and collecting rings (@ 1:18 and 2:01 respectively). Screw them if they do notice because I like the inclusion. I've said it 1,000,000,000,000 times. It's difficult to include sound effects in a song and not have it sound forced. The bridge (1:20-2:02) is built from Rayza's teasing you with the first 3 notes of the Ice Cap melody. Close your eyes and picture the backround of Act 2. Are you chilly yet? The second part of the song adds another synth instrument to the fray after which at 2:58 (and some techno drum climaxing), the song fades out with the same single layer in came in on (which I think was an excellent choice and a great way to end the mix). I think one of the coolest things about this track was the fact that the soundfonts sound SO MUCH like the original. I don't mean ripped from an emulator. I mean like the actual Genesis. Maybe it's just me. Inanycase, this is one of those songs you get even if you've never heard the original. 9 slices, unnotlistentoable. How about that! I got through the whole review without once mentioning McVaffe's Sonic 3 "Ice Capped" remix. I mean almost everyone else mentioned McVaffe's Sonic 3 "Ice Capped" but did I? Noooooooooooooo. I didn't think it appropriate to compare McVaffe's Sonic 3 "Ice Capped" remix to Rayza's Sonic 3 "Frozen Knuckles". I mean sure, McVaffe's Sonic 3 "Ice Capped" remix is good, but if I want to review McVaffe's Sonic 3 "Ice Capped" then I'll have to put McVaffe's Sonic 3 "Ice Capped" remix in it's own thread. Right? I wanted to do the review without once saying ANYTHING about McVaffe's Sonic 3 "Ice Capped." And I did! Not once in this ENTIRE document did the words "McVaffe" or "Ice Capped" come up and I think I shou... oops. sorry. Folks, these opinions are just that. I ain't a remixer. I'm a listener. But if you've been a regular visitor to the message boards since July 10th of 2001, you already know that. Please, listen to this more than once before you make your own opinions. Listen to it through decent speakers. And keep comin' back. Kudos to Rayza. Well done sir, well done.

(originally posted Dec. 15, 2001 05:51 PM) ================================ Team Gato (Chrono Trigger) ================================ by Dale North and Mustin. You may remember Dale from such remixes as Chrono Trigger's "HiVoltage" and Super Mario RPG's "Funkfucious". If you're familiar with Mustin, then you probably know his work from such examples as Super Mario Bros. 3's "La Samba de Agua" and Street Fighter Alpha 2's "Sakura's Cherry, Blossom." 10 slices. Right off the bat, I'm gonna say it. TEN FUCKING SLICES! The Gato theme lasts about 9½ seconds in the actual game. Dale and Mustin stretched it to over 5 minutes. Five minutes, ten seconds to be exact. I love this mix. It's one of my absolute favorites. It's sick, it humorous, it tells a story, it sounds like an idea from a vault deep in the back of my deranged mind. The first 30 seconds sets the atmosphere of a talent show or a Vegas lounge or something of the sort. The announcer introduces the "team" and your met with a lone flute slowly playing the Gato theme. It's got a Japanese feel to it. I can see some guy dressed in traditional womens robes (as women weren't allowed to act in traditional plays) moving his limbs in a Taelon-like flow. At 0:50 the flute gets a little backup with some violins (forgive me, I know shit about music and I know that these fucked up instrument descriptions are butchering the song, so bear with me!) and bass from another flute. At 1:21 the humor starts. It knocks you the hell out of your sanctuary of inner peace created by the beautiful rearrangements of the previous 51 seconds and forces you to laugh while simultaneously asking, "What the fuck?" Team Gato is booed and they move on to a 44 second boy-band rendition of the theme starting at about 1:44. The sad thing is, Dale and Mustin produced a 44 second snippet of what sounds like a "boy band love song" that sounds a HELLUVA lot better than real boy band love songs! It's beautiful! Unfortunately, the audience doesn't agree and they receive more boos. At 2:34, the Remix moves into it's R&B stage, complete with mandatory telephone interlude. You've got the blindly-in-love, hoplessly-addicted-to-your-body gullible female, and you've got Gato; a smooth, laid back, southernplayalisticfunkycadillacmuzik type playa. At 3:05, the lyrics start. My favorite part of this section has got to be the soft electric piano/xylophone type thingy that appears starting at 3:09. Okay, so I'm sick. But three words: Hoe, Lee, Sheeit. After being booed and jeered three times, Team Gato decides at 3:47 to go to plan D. Gangsta rap. After being properly introduced with "Uh-oh. Here comes trouble!", you're left with 10 seconds to recouperate from laughing and to wonder what Dale and Mustin will do next. **CAUTION** Do not drink milk while listening to the last 73 seconds of the song. It is guaranteed to come through your nose. Apparently, Snoop Dogg and Master P were Team Gato all along. They recite the Chrono Trigger lyrics, but after a little adlibing, "Snoop" breaks into a freestyle at 4:35 and ends it with a piece of MC Ren's verse from "Fuck tha Police." They even censored it for the kiddies! (except for "Beeatch!") A record scratches, the crowd is pissed and the MC orders them off of the stage. Joining "Water Warning Remix," Dale North and Mustin's "Team Gato" is another of the select few that shows what OC ReMix is all about. This is arguably the most creative and inventive song on the site thus far. Why? They made a play out of it, dammit! It takes a 9 second song and makes it over 34 times longer with ZERO sacrifice on quality. It's just...it's really fuckin' good work. Hell, there's stuff I didn't even cover. The handsome basslines, the top notch production quality of all four skits, how you don't get bored once. Okay, now I'm rambling and there's another song to get to. In summary...10 slices, fandamntastic, unprecedented, unbelievable, unnotlistentoable. An OC classic. Period. Moving on... Folks, these opinions are just that. I ain't a remixer. I'm a listener. But if you've been a regular visitor to the message boards since July 10th of 2001, you already know that. Please, listen to this more than once before you make your own opinions. Listen to it through decent speakers. And keep comin' back. Kudos to Dale North and Mustin. Well done gentlemen, well done.

(originally posted Nov. 29, 2001 02:04 AM) ======================= Dirty Beta (Sonic Crackers) ======================= by Malcos. You may remember him from such remixes as Street Fighter II's "RyuInterpretation" and Mario Is Missing's "Break Yo-Self Foo!" Before SEGA abandoned this project, their music guy took a cue from Koji Kondo on SMW and created a central theme from which almost every other song in the game is derived. 8 slices. With a theme as short as the SC theme (in the neighborhood of 17 seconds in the actual game) it's difficult to stretch it to over 4 minutes ("Dirty Beta is 4:11). Malcos makes up for this with well placed additions and subtractions of layers. You don't have time to get sick of the melody...Malcos has already moved on. And by the time you would normally start to grow weary, Malcos KICKS YOUR ASS with a lightning quick transition from fast paced dance to smoove groove (complete with thumpin' bass line) around 2:22. I love it. I couldn't stop listening to it. The only thing...I repeat the ONLY thing that kept this from getting 10 slices was the bass line after 2:22. Don't get me wrong, if you've got a pair of twelves in your car, you'll feel it. The problem is that with the hip-hop feel of the song after 2:22, I kept expecting the bass to thump more frequently in certain places. Like, there's one thump, but subconsiously I was expecting 2 or 3. That's it! That's the only reason. Come to think of it, Malcos gets another slice. 9/10. Excellent. Please if you listen to this, DON'T listen to it on your computer. Play it through speakers that APPRECIATE the value of bass. What's that? You can't find "Dirty Beta?" That's cause it ain't been posted! "Dirty Beta" is a factory direct ReMix, which means it can only be obtained from Malcos himself. Malcos is definitely up and coming. Unnotlistentoable. Folks, these opinions are just that. I ain't a remixer. I'm a listener. But if you've been a regular visitor to the message boards since July 10th of 2001, you already know that. Please, listen to this more than once before you make your own opinions. I didn't appreciate "Dirty Beta" until I listened to it at least 3 or 4 times. Listen to it through decent speakers. And keep comin' back. Kudos to Malcos. Well done sir. Well done.