Digital Coma

. . . So djp wasn't kidding about waking up in the middle of night in cold sweat and tears. I'm going to give a shot at creating a dramatization of the sequence of steps that led to this marvel. - Download midi of Sky Chase Zone - Open FruityLoops - Load midi - Copy and paste notes into default samples and 3xOsc - Turn channels on and off to create an illusion of originality - Export to mp3 Well golly gee, I came darn close to the same thing! If I wanted to give any credit at all to the perpetrator of this sorry travesty, I'd say that a "minimalist hip-hop feel" was intended, but I won't, because this is ripped garbage that's worse than the original itself. NO By all means, feel completely free to make liberal use of the rejection form for submissions in this camp. This includes stuff that's been on the panel in the past and that's there now. If you know something's going to get thrown out right away, don't send it our way. We need to get rolling with these floods of mixes; let's not waste time deliberating obscene material on which not an iota of visible effort has been exerted.

Even your friends or family could tell you this wouldn't pass. C'mon. NO

Sorry, but this is too similar to the original to be acceptable. This is primarily a piano piece, and there is insufficient rearrangement with the notation and progression and little variance of the instrumentation. But this wouldn't pass with flying colors as a remake either. The piano sample is much too synthetic, too "fake", especially when it acts as the effective bass - it's not convincing at all, and is further compounded by bad notes at :40, 1:03, and 1:12, which repeat after that bit loops, and 3:02. The tinker bell percussion is basically the same as the original's. And at 1:53 comes an awkward pitch shift that draws negative attention to itself. The strings, which replaced the choirals, are the mainstay of this mix, well-done there. Besides that and the short intro, I can't see how this differs from the original. NO

Just about note for note the same as the original. I recommend that in the future you submit actual rearrangements. NO

Sounds realistic enough: satisfying guitar samples and beautiful drum work, great production, but this is not a ReMix: it follows the original too closely with practically no rearrangement, which is simply not acceptable given the repetitiveness of the original. Pretty cool otherwise, I'm sure the Minibosses would be proud! NO

Very catchy with a sort of reggae-ish feel, well-used turntable and chromatic percussion, and high production quality - unfortunately, it's basically the tune of the original repetitively sequenced without the counter-melody and slapped onto pre-fabricated drum loops. The emotion is present, but the arrangement and content is lacking. It would probably be easier to plump this up by making it shorter. As for the ending, if you're not satisfied with your own submission, what do you expect us to say about it? Since you asked, try going off on that last note with an accompanying cymbal. For now: NO

Whoa there! That bassline is a no-go: it's cluttered and mega-dissonant, ruining this mix. It becomes tolerable only after the leads cut in, since they clip and become a distraction. The drum loop is simplistic, the samples are dry, and the overall sequencing is very repetitive. Normalize the bass with the leads, clean up the samples, and give this some life. NO

Not too much of a remake, as the instrumentation (namely, the guitar and flute) follows the original quite similarly, albeit with a toned down tempo. The sleigh bells lead off very predictably, and soon becomes overkill with the loop droning on throughout most of the mix. The cut at 1:41 is too abrupt, bringing the entry of strings that create a "churchy" touch, but are too prominently awkward along with the bells. The choiral pads flow nicely in the background, but could have been more noticeable. It'd be cool if you could liven this up with juxtaposing leads and maybe even a solo, because the product just feels boring, although I suppose you could say that's partly due to a present lack of holiday cheer. I'd actually be curious to hear this without the sleigh bells and as a deliberately ambient / mellow piece. But for now: NO

You made sure this fit your handle, huh? Nifty synths with neat DSP, but there's a clear overuse of the drum loop, the sound sits dead in the center channel for the most part, and there's no cohesive structure to the composition. It's like a bunch of sounds were thrown together for fun. Quirky, but needs a good deal of tinkering to be enjoyable. NO

At its best, it's got a kickin' feel, but the rest falls short. The intro-ing plucked strings have some odd delay feedback going on with a follow up drum line that smothers the lead with a beat that doesn't coincide. A little later (~ 0:52) the mix's groove potential comes through with the flute and smooth drum work, but unfortunately doesn't last long as some stiff, plastic choral pads blare until 1:48, after which enter distracting panned snaps that sound like they're clipping, melodic repetition, and a mediocre ending. I can see the lotus in the mud, but it needs some work to blossom into something neat. NO

I appreciate an outlandish tune. I'm usually the first to give praise to an atonal, catchy ditty or rhythmically flubbed beat that has certain amusingly peculiar elements. But when a mix gets to the point where the lead carries the melody through the same damn loop 46 times (including the fade-outs and the octave shifts), it's gone beyond all extremes. The original is monotonously dreary to begin with, but to exaggerate its faults to such an extent is crossing over the line of eccentric into exasperating. We judge the remix, the end product we are given, not its source of inspiration. Regardless of the result, extra points should not be awarded simply on the basis of remixing a nasty track, or conversely, an appealing one. That said, I love how the crackling backdrop textures complements the tumbling drumline. Although the string lead annoys me to no end, it commands my attention from 2:21 to 2:42 when it's giving a one-fingered salute to the original with a dark, ominously boppin' tune, unlike during the sequencing before it. If the short-strung melody wasn't repeatedly hammered into my skull, there would almost be a certain perversely enjoyable quality to the chaos. I'd really like to see these highlights made more prominent and consistent. But as it is now, it's more of a canary in the gutter. NO

Quintessential background muzak. Keep in mind that in the world of trance, the issue of repetitiveness is practically a moot point: the genre itself embodies lengthy melodic reiteration. Now whether that's boring or appealing is a subjective opinion all together. This mix, although not revolutionary, is not so garden-variety as to not do trance justice. I found the intro to be sweetly fresh, segueing into a raving, captivating synth rhythm accompanied by distinct drums and choral pads that don't overwhelm the leads, with breaks for the strings, piano, and flute. Stereophonic, sonically thorough, and a fitting backdrop beat. And it gets my thumbs up for a decent title. YES

I agree with analoq. If we can pick what we want to vote on, we might as well get something from a game that hasn't been touched yet. In any case, I find what Disturbed's done with Tyrian much more interesting than his take on Kraid, due to superior playing, the tranquil mood accentuated by the strings, and the length of the piece. YES to Tyrian

I don't dig this. The leads sound too synthetic and empty for an orchestrated arrangement, like the musical equivalent of styrofoam (exhibit A: brass at 3:15 - 3:27). The arrangement is like a skeleton of something greater, leaving the listener with a feeling of being gypped. As for the instrumentation, I found it to be rather dry and shallow, simply not doing justice to an orchestral medley of Final Fantasy 6. The end-product suggests that you need more practice with orchestrated compositions, or that you didn't give us your best effort. Like shoe polish without the shoes. NO

Like Daniel said, there's little to no rearrangement of the melody, the breaks in between, or the transitions. It's basically the same tune with an added drumline. The samples are also too close to the original instruments, and lack any depth to them. And on top of that, the volume on the bass is too high, at the point where it's close to ruining the chirpy, uppity feel that this piece was intended to convey. The "je n'sais quoi" that the others have said this lacks is probably an original interpretation and sense of singularity. Make it your own. NO As a special note to Nex, I apologize on behalf of the panel for the immense amount of time this mix has taken to get a decision after getting through the queue (almost two months on the panel). Because the judges couldn't access the Angelfire URL you gave us, Rob Saunders hosted this while he was still a judge, but after he resigned he accidentally took it down before we could make the final decision. However, this wasn't something that couldn't have been helped; one of the judges could have contacted you to acquire the mix. These things happen, but in the future, I myself will try my best to make sure that this sort of unnecessary delay in the judging process won't occur again.

The take on Id's theme is exponentially more attractive than the metal-mouth play of Grahf's. The loud, rugged breakaways are grungy to the max, with little redeemable sonic value to them. During the brooding, pensive sections, the panned instruments are fresh in their singularity, and the drum work is decent (except when it clips), but the shallow sharpness of the shredded guitar with Grahf's theme, along with the utter lack of any anchoring bass, is just a plain turn-off. And those vocals ... cute. This drags on for far too long; you need to find a point at which you can feel satisfied stopping with some sense of climax. The high-pitched, piercing squeal from 5:00 to 5:06 is not exactly the best way to end a piece. There are solid ideas in this mix, but their execution leaves much to be desired. NO

Well, I've been listening to this for the past half an hour, as foreground and background music, on headphones and on speakers, but I still can't bring myself to pass it. It's got very groovy ideas for sure, but the package seems lackluster. The Frog theme a la flute, a repetitive bass loop, and some percussion tagging along. The synth lead sounds sticky and faint, like static in the sound, if that makes any sense, and the floating bass is washed out and messy. I'm enjoying the style and mood of the sequencing, but not the remix in its entirety... Listening from 2:43 to 3:09, I could honestly mistake this for a work in progress. I think the instrumentation could use some reworking, the exceedingly dissonant sections some clearing up, and the end product some remastering, because my gut instinct says that there's still much to be improved here before this smooth take on the Frog theme can be posted. NO

The plucked and distorted guitars complement each other well to meld into a panic-driven, caustic, wailing wreck that Silent Hill so distinctively emotes. The guttural bass line hammers the feel further, and the drum work is noticeable enough to push the piece along during the softer sections, but not so striking as to be overpowering. The ID3 comments say this is remastered, and that's certainly apparent. A very nice play on the original. YES

With the instant recognition that the Tetris theme has, you had better do something damn amazing as a remix to get any attention. And this doesn't cut it. While the sequencing of the lead is well structured, it becomes stale almost immediately with little to no rearrangement or fresh interpretation. The overpowering drums, though striking in their rambunctious flavor, are at times not even in sync with the lone melody, and the shaker/snare panned to the left is too prominent. Add more layers, try a different lead here and there, get different beats, and spice this up. It's just plain boring. NO

I agree. This is a solid meat and potatoes, sweet as saccharine 'tronica track. The drumline is catchy and the synth lead complements the piano. I especially enjoyed the percussion from 2:59 to 3:12 and from 4:41 to the end. Good stuff. YES

The sax sets the upbeat mood of the mix, but at times is so loud that it drowns out the piano. As for the piano, its playing is best when it's in motion; the notes are a bit basic at the breaks in the melody. But the arrangement is quality, the samples are sonically clean, the tune is catchy, and we haven't had a Lemmings mix in ages. Why is this bringing up memories of PBS cartoons... YES

The massive reverb is obviously stylistic, so I won't nitpick this on that point. But the choral pads are just plain overdone; along with the ambient FX they drown out the counter melody. And I'm not keen on that prolonged high-pitched sound in the background from 2:52 to 3:19. The problem with this much ambience is that the stereo field is stretched too thin; there's not enough of an anchor to the sound. The ending could have been more climatic, I feel like an amnesiac when it's over. The synth melody is tight and cohesive, containing definite potential, but the mix doesn't feel passable as it is now. NO

The chiptune and synth leads are dull and the bass is very simplistic. The transitions are too rough: the panned synth from 1:51 to 2:13 really irks me when it fades in while the lead fades out, resulting in complete atonality. I understand where you’re going with the chiptune samples, but they’re cut and dry and unpleasantly piercing. At the end, the explosion with the ditty following it sound completely out of place. This needs a lot of work. NO

Starting off the mix right off the bat with the obligatory Kefka vocals seems banal, but that's a minor qualm. An upbeat tempo is maintained throughout: this is the musical equivalent of doing a 50 yard dash, going straight from the beginning to the end with nary a pause or variation in between. Perhaps this was intended to create a sense of rush, but in this way the melody gets old fast. A soft, spooky background synth jumps in with noticeable feedback, and gets irritating halfway in. The wooden-sounding clapper and the drum line are repetitive until the piano slows down, at which point the drums sound dry and hollow. I'd have liked to see another instrument take lead at one of the midsections. Mix it up more, add some different leads. And I believe I heard a jitter at 1:07. NO

The question is are the riffs simply ripped from different levels and slapped over a drumloop, or were the original riffs the inspiration? I'm a little confused by the way he worded his explanation, and I'm not familiar with the game either. I'm holding off my vote until this is clarified.