Xenon Odyssey

as of this post, you're in the lead anyway...

Oh wow, I'm sorry dude; I did a back-to-back listen of Hill Top and your tune (which I was doing with the tracks at the beginning but then stopped as I went along since I was thinking 'I know these tunes'), and you're totally right; majority of your tune is Hill Top, albeit slowed significantly and enough to make me not even catch it when I listened the first time around. Really sorry about that! But like I said, repeating all of that stuff without varying it up somehow can be draining to listen to, so keep that in mind the next time you arrange something, and don't be afraid to deviate a little into your own writing; they just helps bring new blood and/or freshness to an otherwise known tune that people enjoy. Plus, it always helps to practice practice pratice, even when it comes to writing and arranging music. It something I still have issues with today, a year after getting a bachelor's in music composition (but please, don't take my word as the end all be all; I learn stuff routinely every day from different websites including OCR. One can never stop learning). Glad you guys enjoyed the write-up! Sorry for any bruised egos, but then again, you should have expected it if you joined the compo anyway!

So I wrote up some reviews for the first round...I hope to crush all of your egos and make you spend the night with a tub of Ben & Jerry's and The Notebook. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Magellanic - Proxigean Tide Intro felt too disjointed from the rest of the song; a kinda abrupt transition. The solo synth and drums at 1:36 felt too naked to a degree; some pads or something crescendoing there would have made the section not stick-out so much. Other than that, pretty nice; I don't know Tidal Tempest nearly as well as I know Star Light, but it seemed like you had more of the Light than the Tempest (as if I'm one to talk). AkumajoBelmont feat. DiGi Valentine - Pandemonium At 1:50 the piano seemed a bit delayed with its attack, but I don't know if that was intentional or not. Overall, solid arrangement, with the sources nicely intertwined. Only gripe would be its kind of repetitive and doesn't vary too much from the initial beat. SuperiorX - Liquid Hot Magma I don't really understand the transition at 0:47, but I guess it works. The naked bass could have used something to compliment it or something; felt like it needed more to me. I really like the pads at 1:37; it fills out the section up to 2:08 really nicely. I don't know if it's my declining hearing, but it seemed like it was panned to the right. Having a stereo panning between the right and left could have really given a full effect to it. Bass is kinda loud at 3:16. Again, I'm not too familiar with the Sonic CD soundtrack, but it sounded like more Lava Reef than Quartz Quadrant (and again, like I'm one to talk about equal source usage). Mr. L - Lumitron Quandrant Love the bass and drums! You've got some really nice sounds in this; I really dig the soundscape. The section at 0:44 is really really busy; I can't really tell what's going on with all the different parts. At 1:52, it sounds like you delayed a bit with the melody of Lava Reef and that threw you off of the beat until 2:08. Also, there wasn't really any changes to accentuate the melody. It sounds like most of the instruments are at the same volume, so when more than one plays together, it's like a fight for who gets the attention. And I didn't really feel a sense of direction with the mix; it was, to me, aimlessly wandering overtop of the b 'n d to try and weave something out of the sources. Like I said about Akumajo, it was kind of repetitive too; there were a couple of times you could have changed it up to keep it interesting, rather than riding the beat throughout the song. This kind of reminded of a cake from one of those design competitions...it looked (sounded) nice, but it was mostly frosting (nice instruments) and not much cake (arrangement structure). The RexAsaurous - NightCapped The pads at the beginning are kinda soft...I don't know if that's because of my ears though. The bass transition at 0:37 is kinda weird...I think it's because of the decrescendo and crescendo; it supposed to be an anchor but it sneaks in rather than establishing dominance. Transition at 0:55 is unsettling too, but I believe that's because it's only a half bar, rather than a full one or two bars. Also, I didn't really hear too much of Casino Night 2-player...just during 1:30 to 1:41, but again, whom I'm to critique about that? Rexy - Just Like College Don't know where the voice clip comes from...inclined to believe it was AoStH. The lead at 1:18 is kind of soft...feels like it and the strings were battling for attention. I liked the way you went back to the Genesis samples from the intro, 1:44 with the bass and 2:10 with the drums. Also at 2:10, the same lead is there with a solo, but I feel like it could have been louder; the bass and drums almost drown it out until it starts going higher in octave. There's a really high frequency at 3:02...I don't know if that was a sound effect or not. Good change of pace at 3:53; I was starting to worry this would be another constant-tempo track! Overall, I think you squeezed out all the possible ways you could put those two sources together. My only complaint there would be, aside from the solo, there wasn't much original material, and thus it made the mix feel a little homogeneous throughout. DusK - Tails Visits Green Hill Zone Man, I really don't have anything to say about this. Good sound, great arrangement. Love the chord at 2:27. I guess one nitpick could be the chords could have been a little softer when combined with the lead, and maybe a different timbre (I don't know squat about guitars though, so take that as you will). Main Finger - Seraphim Factory The stutter at 0:58 is awkward, especially since the bass makes me thinks it's about to go into a half-time feel. Key change at 1:12 didn't sound too hot; the transition into it could have done a better job leading into it. Other than that, fantastic stuff; loved the choir sample at 2:08 and all the change-ups throughout. Jakesnke17 - Chaotic Chemistry The progression at 0:54 doesn't really work for me with the melody; it doesn't seem like it fits together. The stutter at 2:10 seems weird, like there needed to be more to make it work, or not be so abrupt. There didn't seem to be a climax either...after a point it just coasted until the end. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it was kind of disappointing there wasn't a high point to top of the mix before conclusion. Aside from those, good stuff, nice sounds. PixelPanic - Spring In The Hills I felt the intro was a little long; you could have probably introduced more instruments at once than you did. The chord lick is nice, but having it constant until 2:08 makes it grating to hear after a while, especially with no variation in sound or notes. The organ/rhodes seems to be panned to the left mostly, but I can't tell if that's just my ears or not. The drop to just lead at 3:06 didn't really do much in terms of changing the pacing or having a tension-release effect, since there really wasn't anything built up in the first place. Overall, this mix was sparse, but not in the good way; there could have been more instruments, or the instruments present could have been doing more. The pacing was sluggish and not very Sonic-like, and there wasn't enough going on to compensate for this aspect. The arrangement also left a lot to be desired; as in addition to the slow tempo and minimal instruments, nothing was really happening to ensure the listener's attention. I didn't hear too much Hlll Top either, but that could have been disguised in the chords which were very static and didn't change too much besides the obvious. Phonetic Hero - Groovin' on the Hilltop When the melody comes in at 0:04, I think there's like an extra note or something, but I get thrown off. I don't know if it's a compliment or a complaint, or I guess take it as you will! Only issue I have is at 1:28-1:30 and 1:38-1:40, the bass and the Spring Yard lick don't really go together; it sounds like they wanted to do two different things, and the result didn't really mesh very well. Otherwise, quite excellent; great groove, solid arrangement, the whole shebang! Hakstock - Restoring The Groove The synths that come in at 0:28 have some phasing thing going on that doesn't sound too hot. I think it may be the release or something; maybe the doubling with the guitar? I can't quite put my finger on why it doesn't good. Aside from that, this was really nice; very cool use of the sources. Oh, yeah, the ending could have gone on for like two bars longer or so; it felt kind of abrupt. Amphibious - Aqueous Vibe Why did the guitar start to decrescendo at 2:13? By 2:24 I can't hear it over all of the other instruments. I don't really have anything to say about this; great arrangement, great sounds, good times, albeit on the short side. Benjamin Briggs - Trash FM What's that smell? Smells like CA$H Xenon Odyssey - Unda PRESH-SHAH So, where's the Aquarium Park? I heard the melody briefly at 0:27, and then at 0:59 and 1:31, but that was it. Otherwise, a glorified cover of Hydro Shitty Act 2 (no Act 1 love?) with a bunch of spastic references thrown around (actually, I'd call the whole thing spastic); I think I heard Star Light, Ice Cap, Lava Reef Act 1, Sonic 2 Race Results, Lava Reef Act 2, Marble, and Turquoise Hill. The soloing is alright but the backing didn't seem to change much. What's with the sudden halt at 1:44? Plus, you just rehash the beginning at the end, albeit it with a different lead. Oh, and real mature at the end there. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Too bad I don't have ice cream; looks like Captain Morgan will have to do!

Yeah, it was pretty evident that I just threw the ending together after the skid sound effect...oh well; I knew I didn't really have a chance, and after finally listening to the mixes, it's pretty much confirmed! Bonus points for anyone who can point out all of the little shout-outs I sprinkled in there besides the two main sources. Also, .nsf for anyone who wants it can be found over on the FamiTracker forums: http://famitracker.com/forum/posts.php?id=3524 Yes, VRC6 in FamiTracker...we retro up in diz bitch.

play in traffic wait, this isn't the sonic thread...happy birfday yo!

I had a glorious idea, but sadly I didn't get to finish it in time after getting drunk and not being as productive as I should have been. So what did I do....I MADE A CRAPTASTIC ENDING AND FINISHED THAT BITCH!! B-BOY BRIGGS I'LL MEET YOU IN THE VOTING ARENA YOU SMELLY WHORE!! ohgod it's 5AM what am i doing with my life

So...are you asking for covers in the style of chiptunes, or original songs? You mention both, but you say you want a video game song for the final piece, but nowadays not all chiptunes are video game music, just as not all video game music is chiptunes. I'd just like to clear up some confusion.

Since nobody likes Batman (or, at least the music that represents him), Tarrasque has given us our theme for this month, which is Non-Famous Composers! He wrote up this long list of people who don't qualify, so it basically boils down to indie games and obscure titles. Of course, there are games like Ducktales which are eligible, since nobody is sure who did the music! But I digress. The bonus is the Wilhelm Scream! Use it in your mix for those juicy +2 points. AND, there's an XO's Challenge this month! If you make a Nico Nico Douga style remix using only the Wilhelm Scream as a sound, you'll get +4 bonus points, extra voting points (amount to be determined from number of entries), and a custom forum title (obviously at OLR, not here)! More info can be found in the thread at OLR.

It sounds like that's what they were trying to execute, but clearly they didn't want to put bad music into a commercial game (since FM can get rotten pretty quickly). Time for a Ristar hack where the music actually makes it difficult to face that boss!

I will ensure my track is of .

I haven't done shit. Clearly, it's time to procrastinate!

I'd give them a voice lesson for a complimentary hot dicking. I enjoy the fact, however, that in the description, the 'production' company says they took no part in the creation of the song; they only shot the video, yet it's the only video they have uploaded... Hot problems = no talent?

Yeah alright, let's do this. 1. Hydro City Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3) 2. Secret Base Zone (Sonic Advance 1) 3. Jungle Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog SMS&GG) 4. Turquoise Hill Zone (Sonic Chaos) 5. Flying Battery Zone (Sonic & Knuckles)

As a composer that hasn't done jack-all since I graduated last year, this speaks to me deeply.

With OneUp bringing us a spectacular NES mash-up, he also gives us our theme for this month: BATMAN! Any game that the caped crusader has starred in is eligible, from the 8-bit to his most recent outing in Arkham City! And the bonus this time is a little different: basically, you draw you own original Batman villian, and you'll receive the bonus. You can attach it as album art so we can all see it (or send it to me with your remix and I'll attach it), and then we'll have two voting categories this month! One for the music, and one for the drawing! Haven't really decided on a prize for the drawing category, but we'll figure something out as we go along. Sound cool?

*fap fap fap* I enjoyed these beatz

http://olremix.org/remixes/498 Couple more here: http://neminem.zapto.org:4095/mashups/

http://olremix.org/remixes/537 Except for everything I submitted it appears. Figures. Also MOAR SEEDERS FOR THE TORRENT I'm runnin' at like ~200kb/s right now.

Our mash-ups are better.

oh good i needed my shit taken down from there anyway what garbage

http://maps.google.com/?t=8&utm_campaign=8bit

I think it was more along the lines of 'my music means something to me, and i hate when people don't understand this meaning and attempt to degrade it by using lyrics i don't approve of.' which is valid, but at the same time it comes across exactly as bleck's statement. some might find the standard 'club bangers' to have more of a meaning than deadmau5's music, and others might not see any meaning in either. all down to perception.

I have a degree in Music Composition! I now live with my parents while trying to find a stable non-music job that will help me pay off the giant debt I dug myself into because that's how cool I am. Also doesn't help that I won't be able to use music to support myself because I'm a lazy shit, although I'm still trying to figure out if I'm truly the problem or if other factors are involved (i.e. environment).