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OCR01702 - Mega Man 2 "Nuclear Flash"


djpretzel
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I was wondering where this one went, I remember liking it in #ocrwip.

Though some of the synths are a bit too plain for me in terms of style and sound the rest is absolutely to my liking. The surf guitar part is probably the coolest part of the remix, it's just such a nice touch.

The piece has some energy to boot and the guitar playing is sweet, overall good remix guys :)

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Yes, it does suck. Lots of good ideas, poor execution. It was more like a "ta da! Here's a weird blend of genres that we are hoping will make this song good!" sort of thing instead of a "ta da! Here's a really good track that just so happens to combine a bunch of genres!" sort of thing.

Not that the song was terrible or anything. It just sounds like an experiment in genre combining that didn't really work out.

I am getting deja vu, have I seen a critique around these boards with similar wording/idea?

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The piece was bleh.

It was basically a hodge-podge of the main melody played in a bunch of different genres. Some of the renditions sound alright, but it just seems that it was a bunch of different styles smashed together and some of them just sound out of place.

Those of you that know me know that I can't stand music with lyrics, unless the musical composition supercedes it. (I have kept a few tracks with singing in there...) But another genre that is beginning to get on my nerves is the so-called "symphonic" or neo-classicist style. Like, so many melodies have been put to this style that it now sounds cheesy to me. I hear something that starts out with this kind of "soundtrack"-y feel and I go "oh brother... not one of these again..." They tend to be long, drawn out, and boring, because you ALREADY know the tune, (we ALL know them, we've played these games in our childhoods), and you just sit there waiting for the rest of the tune to come out. It's almost painful to listen to.

That's what I felt like at the beginning of this piece. But I always listen to the whole piece, (sometimes clawing at my ears), just to say that I "heard the whole thing" and so I can give the piece a fair chance.

Luckily the genre changed, and I was like, "cool, it was just an intro," but then the genre just kept right on changing. 3 minutes and 52 seconds of "gee, I dunno what I should stick to..." There were some neat things here and there, but on the whole, I felt like I was left with blue-balls at the end.

Then again, there's only so much you can do with Flash Man's stage music. In my opinion, even in the original Nintendo rendition, after the introduction it's really quite boring and goes nowhere. I think the tracks I liked the LEAST in MM2 were Clash Man's and Flash Man's stages. MAYBE Heat Man's stage too. Can't stand too much repetition...

Don't take it to heart. You can't have ALL good reviews you know.

Don't give up!

:-P

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Dyne said:
I don't know what you're smoking, or if you're just tonally deficient
Dyne said:
Now you're entitled to your opinion, however,

Hm. "You're entitled to think what you want, I'm just going to insult you over it."

As to your full comment - I've actually given this another listen all the way through just for you. No joke.

And my verdict remains the same. They keep building up to something at the end of each phrase for the first and last quarters of the song, but each time it lands somewhere uninteresting. The surf rock part was completely random and unnecessary, ultimately hurting the whole song. I didn't like the hip hop section, either - and really, I think I could have enjoyed either of those parts if any of the other sections had been developed thoroughly at all and taken their time to lead into the less related genres. But unfortunately, everything was extremely rushed and it jumped from one idea to the next before a single one of those ideas had time to be fully expressed.

The production, on the other hand, is meticulous and well done. The guitar parts are well played (as you might expect since everyone here has a boner for guitars (which isn't necessarily a bad thing)) and the MUCH too short synth solo about a quarter of the way through is killer.

And I do listen to the music for the music - when I feel there are problems, I say so. Simple as that.

LuisX said:
I am getting deja vu, have I seen a critique around these boards with similar wording/idea?

I would imagine so.

KogeJoe said:
The piece was bleh.

It was basically a hodge-podge of the main melody played in a bunch of different genres. Some of the renditions sound alright, but it just seems that it was a bunch of different styles smashed together and some of them just sound out of place.

EDIT: This was still unproductive, and my attempts to hide behind crap like "when I feel there are problems, I say so" were disingenuous and inflammatory. I'm sorry.

Edited by oakthielbar
I was an asshole
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Wow nice song guys!!! I LOVED it so when I read that you were inspired by Pendulum I knew I had to go on iTunes and listen to that group! :P

I ended up buying the album Hold Your Colors and I can't wait for their new album (May 12th) -- it sounds even better!!! (You can get a mini-mix of the album on their official website!)

SO thanks for making a mix that I'll listen to for all my life (you rule!) AND for making me discover a new group that rocks!

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The surf section doesn't "ultimately" ruin the song. It's probably the most enjoyable section of the song BECAUSE of how random/unexpected it is*.

The orchestral intro is well-done, too.

But when the guitars drop out, I don't really like the lead synth at all (needs to be accompanied with something more gritty, or rather have the entire sample be different). Then, leading it up to the bright cheerful lead sample, that's a good sound and I like it, but I think it's too lonely for too long (kind of a minor nitpick, since the next section uses it along with that Pendulum-style section).

Mainly, I think most critics really would like to see the song more fleshed out. It suffers from the syndrome I have with making music, where I have sections of music only last for like 8 measures. With longer duration and a somewhat-better mixing of sounds to give things a fuller meaningful feel in certain places, this would be quite perfect.

Certainly it's extremely important for people to enjoy what they truly like hearing and express that, rather than let nostalgia take them over 100%. It's very natural for people to compare OCRs with retail songs (production or otherwise), and love and nostalgia for games can overshadow that a little. Sure it may be a little harsh sometimes. ...But there's quite an abundance of people out there who will think it's the best remix ever, as well.

For me, I wouldn't mind if every song created from now on was a mix of genres, because there's already been so much stuff done in familiar territory. (Doesn't mean it always has to be hardcore and 'fun'; it could be super meaningful, too.)

*Though I may have a bias 'cuz I know this super-cool dude who really likes fun works like this, and I'm reminded of him every time something like this comes up.

...I wonder how great this would sound on expensive and colorful car stereo system. The final heavy section really made me wonder that. With all the negatives and double-thought out of the way, it's actually quite nice to just sit back and enjoy it. And yes, Pendulum is good. (offtopic: Speaking of cool contemporary artists like Pendulum... Robot-O-Chan, the song not the mediocre [imo] album, by Prometheus is one of the most enjoyable and well-written songs I've heard lately, along with Ribbon on a Branch by Younger Brother.)

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Yeah I'm totally feeling the "Blood Sugar" pieces in there from Pendulum in this mix... aww so sweet. I've been listening to this remix since it was first posted and man.. still love it! There needs to be more remixes like this.

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Words can't describe how much I loved this mix. While I agree that it's more of a sampling of styles than anything else, I think that that's this mix's greatest strength. It doesn't give the listener any time to get bored and constantly keeps them on their toes. It's probably why I can listen to it over and over and over again and still keep this silly ass grin plastered on my face the whole time.

Thanks for a fantastic mix!

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The first thing hinting at Pendulum as a source of inspiration is the very long intro; not exactly something I like, but it's okay.

The bassline is great, as are the high-energy parts of the song; you really nailed the Pendulum style. Simply great. I felt that the surf guitar was a nice addition; its part is only short, but sweet.

The one thing that really irks me is the breakdown from about 2:00 on; it's just too long.

tl;dr version: more energy, less intro and breakdown.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Great stuff, but am I the only person that didn't hear the voice clip? I must have listened to this song about 15 times now and I have yet to hear the voice clip. Oh well, great song either way. I really like the surf guitar, btw; comes totally out of nowhere and kicks bunyuns.

Haha I was looking for a voice clip for a while too, but then I reread the description: a "melodic" quote from the old Megaman cartoon theme song. I guess that means he slipped in a part of that song randomly into this song here (at what I believe is that part between 1:59 and 2:03).

Don't worry, I got confuseded too.

Oh and I have to comment... uh, wow. Listening to 'Showdown', Pendulum must like Megaman or something, wow. Either that or Metallica's Seek And Destroy.

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This mix freaked me out at first - it came up in my playlist, thought "Hmm, not bad ... don't recognise it though." Yet, I can't say I was entirely surprised to see both Zircon and Sixto on it.

I'd like to say I particularly like the "Surf's Up" reference mid-track. I think it's "Surf's Up" - it has a distinctly surf-rock feel. All in all, a definite keeper.

But then, I think everyone knew that - it was made by both Sixto and Zircon.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
Haha I was looking for a voice clip for a while too, but then I reread the description: a "melodic" quote from the old Megaman cartoon theme song. I guess that means he slipped in a part of that song randomly into this song here (at what I believe is that part between 1:59 and 2:03).

Go listen to the intro to the old Mega Man cartoon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvhFfFg1EtI&feature=related

They say "super fighting robot.... MegaMan!" Only about 100 times, lol. Between 1:59 and 2:03 is where he put the "melodic quote." You should recognize it as the notes behind the the words.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

This mix, the intro especially, reminds me of how in action movies during the climactic explosion time slows down and leaves the heroes running in slow motion in front of a giant fireball that's about to consume everything.

One can almost feel the heat while listening to this mix.

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