Monobrow

I can't sleep...and here I am in the review forums for some reason. So anyway, this is the remix I've been listening to tonight. I really love the True theme, along with just about every other song from the Silent Hill series...but this is by far my favorite. That being said, this mix really does capture the soul from the events transpiring when that song was playing in the video game. I know this mix is a bit old now, and some things that were alright when it first came out come off a little more dated and cheesy (the choir just a bit, and the really simple drums)...But a lot can be said about keeping everything really simple in terms of focusing on what's the most important, which in this case, is the piano..(and even though the sample seems really bare bones, it still comes off as rather realistic) The way the other instruments accompany it is just right as well...And I love the key changes, and the silent pauses between new phrases in the song. But my favorite part of this song is most definately the very ending from 4:00 on...and especially the notes at 4:15, 4:25, and 4:33 (and here I wish this chord progression could have been drawn out just a little more somehow...but ah well) Anyway, maybe now I can rest. heheh

I liked this though...But I do agree that your originals are better.

hehehhe I listened to this tonight for the first time in a long while and I just want to say that I still enjoy it as much as I did when it first came out. Yup.

Okay, after a short talk with Arek, I am just going to say that even though I've been on a pretty long hiatus, I still plan on finishing my song. I'm also glad to see that others have been working on their stuff all along. Me? Well I left all my samples/files at my parent's house, and being really busy at school, haven't had any time at all to work on anything, but I have a three week break coming up next week, so I plan on getting it done then. Anyway, glad this project is still coming along. Edit: Hock seems to have the same schedule as me...I know how it feels, man.

More than just a japanese web-hosting company, Ygg Drasil is another name for "The World Tree"...which is where the web-hosting company most likely got their name. A variation is Yggr Drasil, in reference to Odin's Steed. The World Tree is sometimes referenced as a labyrinth structure, (ever read House of Leaves?), as it's roots delve down into the earth...yeah ya know, a never ending void in the earth, a maze, and there are also references to it being an aware entity, sentinent, etc... When you put a reference like that in Silent Hill, which is full of references, it makes perfect sense. You can also look up Ygg Drasil in mythology, etc. I am now interested in finding out which door in the mall has this written on it, and what is behind it...I guess I will have to play again because I never noticed it, or maybe I just forgot.

Yeah, SH2 has rain in the alternate hospital after you wake up after the boss battle. I always thought that with the snow in SH1, it showed some sort of supernatural force at work, ie. how supposedly when a ghost or supernatural entity is around, the tempurature drops rapidly etc. And yeah, I would love it if they brought snow back. I wish they had somewhat in SH3, it would have been fitting, out of any SH games where it would happen again.

It's an interesting character relation chart, but a few have been published before. I don't want to undermind your work, but a character relation chart for characters up to SH3 was printed in the "Lost Memories: Chronicle of Silent Hill." The link can be found on translatedmemories.com as part of the translation of the Konami Official Strategy Guide. This character relation chart was also available on the official website (which is no longer available). Also, in the Brady Games version of the Silent Hill 4: The Room strategy guide, a pull out post was published at the end of the guide which featured, on the back, a character relation chart featuring characters up to SH4. I have a copy the guide that I'm tearing apart (not literally) in order to scan the images as a digital copy. I'll try to post an image once that task has been completed. Yeah, actually I know about LM and their relationship chart, but I was just bored...and as of yet, I don't feel there is a totally complete chart out there that doesn't leave some connection out or such, (to me at least), and so I was just messing around, because even though I know all about the connections, it's still tough to think them all through...and so I was like, hey, I will use MS paint and make myself a chart for no reason. I'd be interested in seeing your Brady Games strategy guide chart though. What I'd really like to see is something published very in-depth about all of the characters, with their own page or two, and lots of pictures, and somehow shows how they are connected, etc. That would be really damn cool. Lost Memories was great, but I want more By the way, is there a Silent Hill encyclopedia website out there? (not a faq, I hate faqs) By the way, I recently played the Tecmo title: Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly. And when playing it, I noticed just how (even though I'm a real wimp) not scary anything really is anymore since playing Silent Hill. There was really nothing very frightening. (Although there were some stuff was a bit cruel and gruesome to think about((broken neck woman, though that really didn't phase me)) But overall, there were only two moments when I jumped a little bit, because of shock value, but besides that, I just lumbered around the game, appreciating the atmosphere, and getting annoyed at how many times I had to revisit houses. But what I really started to notice was how Fatal Frame 2(although I never played the original title) really borrows heavily from the Silent Hill series in terms of some camera angles, and even the graininess...Sometimes while playing, I could have sworn that I was playing a Japanese black haired Heather who just runs around like a pansy instead of Fatal Frame's Mio, and some of the rooms in those Japanese houses were so Silent Hill-like (really broken down and damaged, even if understandably so ((ghost town))), it even became a distraction somehow because I began comparing the two games. But I will say this...Fatal Frame's battle system is pretty damn cool (although sometimes annoying), and the idea behind taking pictures of ghosts is even cooler. And the traditional Japanese atmosphere was something new to me. (But the story was bleh, and the music was really repeditive) One thing that stuck out though, I'm not sure when Fatal Frame came out, but the enemy, Kimono box woman REALLY reminds me of Cynthia from SH4. Someone borrowed heavily from someone else in developing their hair-in-face-floating-low-hanging-female-character design. Anyway, it's strange to think about how even a wimp like me, who pauses my Silent Hill games for hours at a time because I can't get the guts to open a door or fight a nurse in Brookhaven hospital because of that breathing sound she makes (SH3), can play through Fatal Frame without barely flinching.

Hmm, well I just made this little chart tonight for no reason...I didn't really feel like typing everyone's names out (this comp only has MS paint for imaging), so I just initialled them instead...But I put some clues as to who is who. It is very interesting to see who is linked together and exactly how. After reading into it, it's funny just how connected all of the characters in the series really are. Anyway, if anyone wants to take this and make their own version (and hopefully better) for no apparent reason just like I did, go right ahead...And as for the small links between Andrew and the other people, I only included that because of his cult ties and the Wish House. *by the way, what sect created the Wish House? I can't seem to remember...I could probably look it up...but I'm done with this thing anyway...I probably left some people out too.* So that's just a bit off. And I linked Joseph Shreiber with the cult line because of his article. (not sure what sect that was about either, but you get the picture) http://img58.imageshack.us/my.php?image=silenthillfamilytree3nl.jpg enjoy the mspainty goodness.

Hmmmm...I can feel the musical creativity definately, and he has some great skill, not many people can pull this sort of thing off. But as for me, I wasn't feeling any "heart" in this...Whatever though, I guess it's just not my style...For some reason, it just felt like there was no depth...even the bass feels like it's lilting around with the flutes, ha...Maybe I'm just too cookie cutter. Nice work though...Even if I don't really like it, I do appreciate it. Edit: Just for the record, when I meant "no depth" I didn't mean musically, I just meant in terms of sound spectrum in general. (to my ears anyway)

I think I agree here, I also think the melody of the piano right before :02, then again at :05 and so on, sounds a little fake. (at that point, no other really...the piano overall is pretty nice) It's the progression of those notes or something. This may be a bit too early in the mix to say this, but lowering the volume on one or more of those three notes (preferably the 1st and 3rd) might solve the problem quick. I am thinking of what it would feel like to play those notes on a piano, and I wouldn't put the same amount of pressure on those keys...it doesn't sound or feel natural to me. So anyway...That's just nitpicking. It sounds pretty nice so far...makes me wonder what you plan on doing next with this.

No way they sound like high quality MIDI (high quality MIDI sounds like all of my entire collection of works I've ever done because I have done everything 100% in MIDI) - but maybe they aren't really bad, they need a fair amount of mastering, I think, mostly EQing to have every instrument cover its distinctive frequency range to make it sound less "soupy". No offense here, just want to help out PS: But I really don't think the flute sounds better than the one I used... I believe it was you who ranted about the bad quality of my flute sound, right? I don't like a flute sound if it gets too "airy" (and even a pan flute doesn't have to sound airy, listen to the one I used)... Oh yeah, and if you want me to record your track with the instruments I use, I can do it for ya as soon as I'm back in Bern! I got all the General MIDI instruments and thousands more Hmmm, no I don't think I complained about your flute, I think I said something about you fixing a chord or something in your earlier version of your WIP, but I never said anything about your flute. That was someone else. Anyway, I guess I was being a bit too gracious in saying light's mix sounded like high quality midi...When I think of quality myself, I think of most raw midi as not-very-good:-the-stuff-you-hear-on-web-pages-that-you-can't-ever-seem-to-turn-off-in-an-endless-loop-of-not-quite-believable-samples-that-make-you-want-to-kill-people kind of music, and for someone as inexperienced in this as him, I am just saying that doesn't help his cause. His was better than normal, from what I am used to hearing at least, which is why I used the phrase "high quality" Anyway, some good EQing could help, but I think better samples would be easier on him at this point, and better ground to start on. I'm not at all ruling out midi being used, though I tend to stay away from most gm libraries (personal preference, and I hate going through them), they do have their strengths, just like any other type of sample/sound/etc. As for your samples, Usa...I thought most of them were very nice, and you filled out your ranges nicely as well...It also helps that your mix is so light-hearted, to go with said samples. So huh...so far, I really haven't had any real complaint about yours. light, I will get back to you...on better suggestions...Though you can try someone who is listed to help you on the front page of this forum...I'm not very good at explaining things like this. A good tip I can give you though is, you just have to really listen to the samples you use and then listen to some good quality music, and compare...try to get the closest to a "fuller" sound as possible...Then you can go back, and when you EQ, you can take away frequencies from the sample that you don't like/need/or get in the way of other samples. You just really want to balance your song...if you have a bass, it should have a different frequency range than say, that "airy" piccolo. In your song...most of the instruments seem to sound way too much alike, hence why I said there wasn't much depth to it. Hope that helps.

Okay...I just listened to this for a few minutes, and my first comment is that your samples are pretty bad. Most of them sound like high quality midi to me. This makes your song lack a lot of depth, and I really couldn't get into it. I can feel your "style", but as for the sample quality, it really isn't good, and that takes away from your song. I also remember the original version of this song to be very exciting and adventurous, and so far, yours has a very flat and shallow feel to it. (especially your percussion and bass) I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but I think that if someone says something now, and heads this off from the beginning, it would save you a lot of wasted time and energy. I know my WIP needs a lot of work as well, so I don't think I'm perfect or anything, but the sample quality was really irking me. So I suggest you look on the net for some nice high quality samples, try hammersound, or sf2midi.com, or darkesword's site, etc. You can also try searching google for .sf2, etc. Get some decent soundfonts. For now, that's the best tip I can give you. You just need to make your WIP feel more dynamic, and better samples (or at least trying to make the ones you have have more range) would be a good way to begin. It has potential, which is why I felt the need to comment

Very well done, Monobrow! I really enjoy your WIP, especially the spaciousness of the sound! Keep it up And, for mine, I just upped the first WIP of the second part, and oh yeah, got a chord wrong in the first one, this is fixed now, as well...Enjoy! Thanks...yeah I usually do stuff that has a huge amount of stuff going on...so I tried this for a change...To keep it simple, but not overly boring. I just hope I can end it in a way I'm happy with. I'm trying to go for some notes being off...as if a child was playing it...though some parts of the song have a more mature sound to them. I'm about half and half here... About your WIP: I did notice how the chord was wrong in the first WIP actually, but I just took it as "artistic" license or something...Nice to hear it the way it was in the original though. I am liking what I hear so far...it certainly has a light and carefree style. Maybe that in itself just rubs your friend the wrong way...I myself like it. Edit: The pause with the guitar is fine too...it just reminds the listener that this is a light hearted kirby mix...I myself think this mix is just the right tempo...it leaves enough time for each instrument to be explored in their little way, then in the silence of the guitar transition, the next instrument jumps in. It expresses simplicity, I guess. I also like that violin instrument...it's very charming, especially when it goes a tad off key. For some reason, it makes me think of Sim City...strange...but anyway, nice.

Edit: Oh cool, badges

Okay, this is my wip for the save point...it's a piano lullaby thingy...I need to refine my piano mastering a lot, and do some things about a couple of parts...ESPECIALLY 0:59...I may need to tone down on the reverb a tad too..but anyway, this is just basically me putting notes down. http://www.tindeck.com/audio/my?loc=3rz2r-Monobrow_%20-_%20KirbySuperStar%20_-_%20Savepoint%20Lullaby.mp3

Very cute, Usa, I like the guitar strumming a lot. I have my own WIP in the works...gonna be a sort of lullaby-ish piano thing. Anyway, good luck.

Question: About how long should we be aiming for with these tracks? A couple minutes? And each track is a chapter? And to each chapter, you will set in some kid friendly theme story of each stage? Should we just wait then, for the exacts of the story, and then start working on the music, etc? What is the workflow going to be like, is my general question, I guess. I guess for my chapter...Kirby goes into peaceful place and saves his game...that's...well that's pretty simple. Anyway, I've got some stuff done. That's about it. Oh and, IF I manage to make any time, I could help you with artwork, probably later on...I'm actually better at that than music. So we will see I guess.

Count me in Edit: I'd love to do the save area song, I have something in mind already...anyway, I will give it a try.

You're a machine, Mazedude! One more I love you Anyway, I am very happy to see another great Earthbound remix...It has always been one of my favorite games... It's strange, but I never expected anyone to remix this song, because of the chord progression and just how off everything in the original track really is, in rhythm and key. What Mazedude did is take a battle song that is (to me) one of the most annoying ones to listen to, and expounded on it tenfold (aiyee, I used the word tenfold), but still managed to give it a great and funky beat, and make me listen to it over and over just trying to grasp at what is exactly going on. Good job, and it really does capture the spirit of Earthbound. Thanks.

I'd love to give this a try...I will be out of school for summer break soon...so I will have plenty of time to work on whatever's left on the list. Hope I'm not too late.

I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm very happy that the lyrics were in a language that I don't understand. I can just more fully realize the soundscape. Also, I think the language sounds more beautiful. An African language might have made it even cooler, though. Still, I'm very impressed with the whole ensemble of atmosphere. I wholeheartedly agree here. I have come to appreciate songs where I cannot understand the lyrics...Sometimes I don't want to think about what someone is saying, I just want to get the jist of what they are evoking...They become a part of the song, atmospherically. I use one of my favorite Japanese-sung songs, "The Real Folk Blues", as an example, because it has the exact same affect on me...I can't understand what is being said, but I am into the singer's voice, and the emotions she is evoking with her music accompanied by the background...I don't care how it is pronounced in "her" language, as long as it sounds good to me. Later, if I really dig the song, I will start to wonder what those lyrics really mean...the same goes with so many other songs sung in different languages. The lyrics and the music are sometimes so set apart, (especially in another language) that neither can be directly associated with each other when interpreting a song, and yet how they sound, in reference to the mood of the song, and what they make you feel, leads to the listener determining what and how those lyrics they heard, mean to them in the end. (whew) I also have to say that I am glad this was insta-posted...I was wondering what happened to it after it was in the WIP section. And to pixietricks, I'm glad you combined the ohh ohh's with your main vocals at the end of the song...I was waiting for that. I am sure this was a difficult piece to arrange, and I'm also sure many people who have tried to tackle it have given up, or just not made the cut, because the song is practically meant to be one big beautiful annoyance. I like how this mix was kept simple, and to the point, and I beg to differ about the climax...I feel there is one...it's right at the end of the song, where everything that's been there previously comes full circle...Not everything has to be plain as day to be "good", to me at least...I agree that is all just a matter of taste. Anyway, if I had a hat, it would be off to you, for this inspiring and original piece, that sets itself apart from so many others on this site.

Or Monobrow rite? Haven't listened to this mix in quite a while...Had to whip it out...Shael, I love how you say the word "groin".

Very interesting ifrit...I completely agree with what you said about Heather...Here's what I've always felt about Konami's characters, and the way they portray then. The one major thing with Konami's SH characters I have noticed throughout the series is just how every day and human they look, even when they are trying not to look so. They have flaws, and they are all vulnerable. The thing that attaches people to the SH characters in general is just how vulnerable and human they really all are. Take Mary/Maria for instance. Mary is a representation in Silent Hill 2 of not just "homeliness" (though she certainly is homely), but of "girl next door/loving wife/earthy" woman that would make an ideal wife. She has an angelic presense in the home video, wears cotton pink, puts her hair up, and doesn't seem to care all too much about how she looks, which is what probably drew James to her in the first place...Her attitude towards life, the way she carried herself. She was the epitome of "good", "nice", and had a carefree and calming nature before she got the disease. Konami made sure you saw this. They made sure that Mary's presence, even if she turned out to be some ghastly ghost bitch from hell, was always a bitter-sweet and even strangly comforting reminder that she was there somehow, and was James' loving-but-dead wife. She wasn't made up, and that is exactly why most people probably didn't feel threatened by her letter...they just didn't understand, and were confused for most of the game...searching for her to find answers to why the hell James was there. Maria on the other hand, she was the one that most people distrusted. Even James had a wary nature (albiet a bit lusting) towards her. Konami also made sure that most people looked towards Maria with a bit of distaste, because she wasn't "real" (on many different levels) in comparison to the real Mary. She had a mask of makeup on, she seemed contrived from the start. Protecting her was an annoyance, like she was using James, they even made sure she was always in the way by having her follow you around. She pleaded to be taken care of, yet her nature begged otherwise...like she was some how "taking care" of you, in a not so nice sense...She begged to be...well, not slapped around, but certainly no knightly and moral guy would go for her. Yet, before the elevator, you had become at least mildy attached to her personality, and you certainly didn't want what happened to her to actually happen...Suddenly the game tone changed, and James realizes what he has lost...and in that, he realizes that he didn't do his job, and that the sleazy clothes and attitude were just a strange and contradictory cover for Maria's character, and she did need his help, she was telling the truth. Which reminds James all over again of his loss of Mary in the first place...Maria's real and suddenly huge vulnerability hit their mark dead on, even if a bit too late for her...and gave the player the resolve to continue on to the prison and labyrinth, after the seemingly endless hospital. So Mary isn't the bad guy, Maria isn't exactly the bad guy...Who is the bad guy? James?...After some subtle, and less than subtle hints, you start to realize that what James is going through is very and horrifically personal...and horribly twisted. Jame's personality gets darker, more resigned, and without having any answers from Maria, the player numbly continues through the game with a sense of dread and confusion...yet enough resolve to want to finish and figure out...well why he is there...What did he do to deserve this? ? When I first played SH2, I thought of James as a sort of Harry clone, in his vulnerability, in his less than telling personality...but as the game progressed, he didn't seem so vulnerable, he seemed more and more able to do impossible things that just didn't make any sort of sense. But while Harry, for most of the game of SH1 seemed strong and resolved (albiet confused), James seemed numb and "not quite right". Harry is the dad lifting a car up for his kid to climb out from under after a car wreck. He's the type of guy that will do extraordinary things out of love and a need for survival. Which is probably why Heather commented in SH3 about his self-realization that he was the "strongest man in the world"...So when you find him murdered...it feels like it is a different Harry, not the original Harry Mason...a more embittered guy...not as confused...more cynical...Konami seems to want it to feel this way...Yet, when you read his memo pad...you also finally realize who he was behind the super-human-yet-vulnerable guy in SH1...he just loved his daughter...he still didn't understand everything entirely...but he was selfless enough to live with everything and take care of Heather for almost 20 years. James is different. In an act of what his psyche felt was self-preservation, James murders his wife. He isn't willing to take the torturous feelings her living in her agony cause him. His corrupted solution, and following denial in a way, are just a twisted base (and all too human) reaction to pain. He looks like a bigger man than Harry in build, in how he carries himself...but it takes the entire game to get to the point of how he really differs and that he is freakishly shattered inside. When you finally get to 302, you can only really feel a numb anger and sadness towards him. The reflection shot in the men's room in the beginning of the game tells it all. You look at him so much differently the second play through. I think though, that it is really cool how James finally takes a stand in his last Pyramid Head fight...he finally gets his resolve to end it and confront his demons...and that is exactly what the town needed from him. Maria dying all over again is horrible, but becomes inconsiquential...and no longer holds power over James. It is like the town throws her in there as a desperate afterthought. This is why, if you get the Maria ending, it feels as if James is settling on second best, and everything is still bitter-sweet, (heavy on the bitter)...Nothing feels resolved. Moving on...Laura isn't the sweet and innocent kid...she's a brat...she calls Eddie real names I've heard bratty kids call people. Lisa is nice and in need of someone to help her, yet the way they designed her made the player and James feel a tad "mistrusting" of her, in the same way as Maria, and for good reason. Claudia had that mad-woman-with-a-british-accent thing going, but she still looked like some pasty middle-aged woman that had just slapped on a black dress...she vaguely reminded you of Dahlia (though a little bit...calmer and more freakishly ethereal)...and was exposed to be a semi-real person, unlike Dahlia (who is just a crazy old bitch) Eddie and Angela? Well we've all seen/know people like them in looks and personality, and even in story. (except they probably haven't killed anyone yet) My point is? (if I even really have one) These characters are all too human...Even pouty-lipped Heather and BOOTILICIOUS Cynthia (sorry)...You can bruise them up, give them a lot of make up, give them freckles and blood stains, leather jackets, etc... but overall...they have this really human quality to their design added onto or even despite all of that and a personality that not many other games can give a player. No matter what they look like, Konami knows how to combine looks and story to really show just how vulnerable and human each character is. Enough white text? Whew that was long... Yay Silent Hill.

Just thought I'd post here with my new sig, just for the hell of it. Me loves honeyc...I mean Silent Hill.

I got the impression that he was looking through the eyes of Mary as she was being rolled on a gurney through the hospital (both because the view is that of a ceiling rolling rapidly by, and also her voice calling his name) that served as a sort of mind trance intermission of sorts for him to be transported to the Other hospital. I'm pretty sure that this is also a sort of nod to the movie, "Jacob's Ladder", (don't want to spoil the movie for you, so that is all I will say). The Silent Hill team seems to really use a lot of material from this movie in their games. I always thought of SH as a sort of tribute series to the horror genre, compiling some of the best horror concepts ever created into one series. And the product is breathtaking, to say the least. But now SH has evolved into its own new special horror concept, revitalizing the horror genre in its own unique way. Hopefully the movie will continue this.