Israfel

In my experience, the theory, keyboard, eartraining etc. tests are strictly for class placement and don't affect your acceptance into the school. More prestigious schools might be different, though.

Actually, when I was a composition/theory major my concentration was in guitar.

Right, definitely. Music comes first, then the theory. And this is why unless you're trying to mimic a certain style, theory offers no rules for composition.

I've never understood the reluctance some musicians have wrt studying theory. They say that compositional rules will just stifle their creativity--but theory doesn't offer any rules for composition and it can only harm one's creativity if you let it. Based on the discussions I've had, I tend to think that most of the anti-theory types don't really understand what the point of theory is; they seem to confuse a largely analytical tool for a compositional one.

I have this irrational but completely compelling desire to chuck Windows and move over to the Mac. Now, on the music side of things the software I'm looking at is Logic--probably the Express version given the cost. Would I likely be happy with this? Is it pretty decent software? Anybody have any experiences, or horror stories, about Logic that they can relate? I mostly just need it to have good sequencing capabilities, but I'd be interested in hearing about anything that it does particularly well or poorly.

That sounds basically right to me, Walan. Gendisc is about "ocremix, games, music, anime, and related topics" and off-topic will moderated discussion about everything else. I imagine certain elements of unmod (some of the picture and post-padding threads, mainly) will simply not be allowed on the site anymore.

The ability to turn off images and sigs is enough to make me happy with the change.

A pocket radio 2 Wii games (Rayman and Trauma Center) An ESV study bible hardback copies of two CS Lewis books (Mere Christianity and Screwtape Letters)

30gb iPod video +$25 music card 2 Lucky McGee horror movies, The Woods and Sick Girl Whiskey Flask Coffee Press Clothes

Great site, been visting it for most of those 10 years. I've ripped many a midi. For any who cares, around 1999 or so I did a bunch of midi mixes that I posted on vgmusic.com using the screenname "The Minstrel." And I also, for some strange reason, released a transciption of a piece from the NES Wizardry under the name Robin Crusoe. I've released music using a ridiculous number of names--I'm sneaky like that.

Well, it's official; I'm completely out-of-the-loop. I haven't even heard of Big Giant Circles. The remixing community has passed me by. [/sniff] Anyyyway, congrats to both of you. But having been a judge myself, I don't envy y'all one bit.

In my experience, it's very hard (if not impossible) to do character development/exposition in a horror movie without sacrificing atmosphere. True horror (in my opinion) is only acheived by immersion--by sustaining an appropriate atmosphere. And this is difficult when the tension is constantly being lessened in order to further the plot or develop the characters (and to the extent that Silent Hill does this, particularly with the Sean Bean plot, I think it loses its effectiveness). But part of this comes from my underlying philosophy that horror movies should be less like stories and more like rides. Not surprisingly I think that games, where you often go hours with no exposition getting in the way, are the best medium for horror.

Well, in my case, I couldn't care less that it's based on game. I watched it as a horror film, not as a "video game movie." But anyway, here's a post I did on another forum that explains why I like the film. I assume you'll disagree with my reasoning, but that's fine.

I'm sorry for the few fans who somehow came away thinking this was a good movie. (Most critics hate it for a reason you know) Yeah. Nothing sucks more than seeing a film you like. Oh! how I envy the viewers who hated those two hours instead of enjoying them. I wonder, are people watching films these days with an attitude of "entertain me, I dare ya. I betcha can't"?

Actually, from what I understand the screenings were strictly up to Sony and not something that Gans was in control of.

I watched it a second time and I gotta say, I really love this film. The things that bothered me the first time around, while still the film's weakest aspects, just didn't distract me much on the second viewing. I tend to have a very visually oriented approach to appreciating horror movies--to me, horror films are less about plot and characters (indeed, I think focusing on these elements can weaken a horror film) and more about experiencing a nightmare world; they're not stories, they're rides. And for people with my aesthetic, Silent Hill is a truly amazing experience. I've seen lots of horror films and this may go down as one of my favorites.

Saw it, generally liked it. I thought the dialogue, acting, pacing, and plot were all mediocre to bad, and it was too long, and the Sean Bean plot feels tacked on... But-- it just looks and sounds so great. The first half in particular has a few fantastic scenes and the end climax is just beautiful. It's kinda like Suspiria, to me. It's so good and so bad all at once. Objectively I think it's a fairly bad film, but as a genre work it's good, imo. Not top-tier or anything, but quite good. Probably like a 7/10 for me.

There are a few reviews out now, and I think I have a decent handle on what to expect. It sounds like it's going to be a good genre film but not something that mainstream critics will like--in much the same way that High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes, Saw I/II, Wolf Creek etc. (all films I loved- I'm a horror junkie, ) were generally well regarded by horror fans but received in the 30%-50% range at rottentomatoes. When it comes to horror films, it's usually best to stick with reviewers who specialize in the genre--and the horrorchannel review gave it a 4 1/2 out of 5, so that's a good sign. If you like horror (and/or the game series) I can get the impression there's a good chance you like this, otherwise it's probably a miss.

Hey peeps--here're a few more clips: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/player.jhtml?launchedFrom=/overdrive/ Just click the movies tab- contains a few interviews, behind-the-scenes, and clips from the film. http://www.silenthill-lefilm.com/site.html The official French site. Check out the 'photos et vidéos exclusives' link for deux clips (dubbed) from the movie as well as a version of the Starz feature avec des sous-titres français. http://movies.aol.com/movie/main.adp?tab=trailers&mid=23424&ncid=AOLMOV00050000000025 edited clip from the film Just less than a week now, folks.

... I'm sorry, but that's hilarious. From now on, whenever I count rhythms, that's how I'm doing it. doo-doo-pow! ding-dang-snuh! ding-dicha-zinga-zong-doo-dah! aaaaaand repeat!

Great stuff from one of my favorite mixers. I don't really think this should have been a controversy, but then, I think Espergirl (a Shnabubula chiptune; don't think it was ever submitted) is probably ocr-worthy too, so I'm apparently coming at this issue from a different angle.

That may very well be true in many cases, I don't know. To me, though, it would be at least partly indicative of an undervaluation of composition. If someone can do the composition of a mix in a couple of hours then unless that person is a genius, he's probably greatly shortchanging the process. Composition, good composition, is darn hard. It really ought to be given more attention, IMO.

It's launched now, btw.

This is a compositional tour de force, no doubt about it. Like many of his other works, Sam masterfully borrows from contemporary jazz and classical musics while at the same time demonstrating an ear for accessibility. It's hearing the music of up-and-coming composers like Sam that persuaded me away from pursuing a career in music- there's just no way I can compete. You rock, Sam, keep it up.

Yep. This was actually written right after watching Glass' "Einstein on the Beach." Glad some of you guys enjoyed this. It is rather old, and in hindsight there are quite a few things I wish I had done differently, but still, on the whole I think it worked out okay. Incidently, this and Greater Alchemic will almost certainly be the only older remixes that I submit. But you still may see some new mixes from me every once in awhile. Thanks for the comments!