OCR01225 - Xenogears "Pillar of Salt"

[DJ Pili]

I like this piece! The music, the lyrics... Good for slow bellydancing. I've never seen biblic passages on a non-religious song, let alone a ReMix made from a song of a videogame; I found this interesting, especially when the passages are sung in one of the Bible's original languages!

[YearXero]

Can't say I'm surprised with this one. Excellent work, beautiful piece that should have played in the game. the songs are not religious in any way, but this particular one would not be out of place... anyone who's played the game may know what I'm talking about. I love this song, I get anxious when I hear the intro while playing the OCRs in the background while playing RagnarokOnline (the BGMs get a little old after a while...) 30/10 on the [cloudsNashes] scale

[Dionyseus]

5/5 camels, it almost beats Israfel's Lesser Kerubic Patchwork as my favourite desert remix. http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR00871/

[Randvek]

Star does it again. This remix is positively jammin'.

[MisterBiggler]

I grabbed this song a few days ago, and didn't like it too much, but I couldn't deny that it was well made. So I listened to it again. I don't know, maybe I was just in the mood to hear something else last week and that would explain why I didn't take to it because I am loving it now. It's really epic, a song that belongs in a movie, perhaps a death scene or a hero's last march -- that's what I see when I hear this. I think I'm gonna have to play this game now.

:: sprints to local EB Games ::

[DCAlexis]

The title of the song "Pillar of Salt" definetely caught my eye when looking through Star Salzman's list of remixes (you've got to love his work). I listened to the song and was amazed by the Middle-Eastern sound and lyrics to it. I started reading the comments from djpretzel and noticed the lyrics to the song were posted. The Old Testament verses sung in Hebrew shocked and impressed. I haven't played Xenogears, although I'm curious to find out whether those verses in there were random or had an actual meaning in the song. I give this a 9.5/10.

[Taran]

if you've never played Xenogears, I STRONGLY recommend that you visit your nearest Funcoland or Eb Games and see if you can find a copy. Ebay should have a few, but its rare to find one in mint conditiion, and should you find one, it might set you back a pretty penny.

However, the game is one of the most critically acclaimed RPGs of all time, and is WELL worth the money should you find a copy. The US version had to actually be toned down due to some heavy religious references, hence the artist's inspiration to use the Old testament verses in his piece (I'm assuming).

I've said it once, and I'll say it again, this is one of the best remixes on the site. Few remixes are able to capture the epic feel of their games quite like this one did.

Taran

[Canto]

Agreeing with the above poster, Xenogears has possibly the best soundtrack on the PS1 (yes better than any FF or Chrono), and in my opinion is the best RPG ever made. Finding copies is difficult but very worth it, translation is rough, but the extent of the game and its messages are fantastic. It nearly wasn't released in the US because of the religious imagery and criticism it contained.

Oh, and this mix is awesome.

[Blake]

Bumping this thread. For anybody who hasn't heard this yet, DOWNLOAD IT. Epic.

[avaris]

Bumping this thread. For anybody who hasn't heard this yet, DOWNLOAD IT. Epic.

dido, this track is sick. star has done some really "unique" things with this mix. The roger troutman like vocals in this are friggin awesome.

[Darkflamewolf]

Has anyone translated the lyrics yet to this song and what it means?

[watkinzez]

Has anyone translated the lyrics yet to this song and what it means?

Under the lyrics tab on the writeup page. Every second line is a translation; the latter verses quote the Bible.

[ph0sphorousgobu]

gbuuh....wow. Let's see if I can shape coherent words long enough to say some stuff.

I've always been a fan of Star remixes. They're awesome, really. This one, however, takes the cake and is my personal favorite Star remix.

I've never played Xenogears, nor have I heard any of the music (with the exception of a couple of midis people used in their RPG Maker 2000 games). I don't care, however, because this mix can hold its own ground. The lyrics and vocals are amazing. For me, religious texts make awesome lyrics (Like "Beast and the Harlot" by Avenged Sevenfold, those lyrics are based on the book of Revelation). And when lyrics are in another language, I'll usually like them even more. As DJ Pretzel said, Star mixes are like worlds unto themselves. This one evokes all sorts of vivid imagery, especially the first time I read the lyrics sheet while listening. And I already like middle eastern music, so that's another boner point. This is an incredibly dramatic piece that reflects what the lyrics/religious scripts they were taken from were hinting at. The fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? There could be no better stage for such a dramatic, almost apocalyptic sounding piece.

I can't piece words together so good right now, so I'll shut up. This mix is amazing, everyone should hear it at least once before they die, 10/10.

[SwordBreaker]

I've been meaning comment on this remix for quite some time since Arabic is my first language. Your singing and choice of languages are wonderful, Star...very melodic and haunting. Your Arabic singing is mostly an Egyptian accent with a hint of Moroccan. That is to say, the lyrics and the way you say some words are typical Egyptian-style (e.g. ragani, gani, and gadeed...in traditional Arabic and some accents, these words with the letter "jeem" are typically pronounced with "j" sounds instead of "g") while the way you sing them is kind of different from that...like I said a hint of Moroccan accent somewhat. It's not broken, in fact it adds a very haunting effect. Can't quite put my finger on it, but I actually prefer the way you sing it over a typical Egyptian song. It's just that I didn't quite get what you were saying until I read the lyrics, which is normal. Of course, the other parts are as just as haunting...makes me wish I understood Hebrew...you seem quite fluent in that. I'm wonder how fluent are you in Arabic?

As for the remix itself, well "Premonition" is perhaps my favorite track in Xenogears, so I'm glad you went with this one. Very nice electronic-based upbeat track compared to the rather ambient original song. The sounds are mostly aggressive, yet in the same time ambient with the violins, darkbua (Arabic drum a.k.a. Tar), and other Middle-Eastern instruments in the background.

Excellent job, Star. This is one of my favorite videogame remixes ever.

Edit: Going to nitpick the Arabic-to-English translation a bit. The final Arabic verse...I can't find a word which literally translates to "left" in the English translation. The word "ghiba" doesn't actually mean "left"...it's a term for people who speak badly of other people behind their backs..."verbal/spoken backstabbing" as people say. There's also another meaning to the word "ghiba", which is close to the actual translation written on OCR--"absence"..."Baad ghiba=after a period of absence". "He left" in Arabic translates to "Baad ma rah", or "Baad ma sabny" (After he left me), or "Baad thahabihi", etc...different accents use different words, the middle example is closest to Egyptian yet the final example is the proper Arabic one.

Hope that helped.

[leilock]

I am by no means a musical expert, but all the same this track should be listened to and appreciated by anyone that frequents this site. I have been listening to OC tracks for 3 years now, this being one of my first downloads. I STILL listen to this track with as much enthusiasm and goosebumps as the first time. It is truly epic and makes one feel like they are at the center of a storm of energy. Bravo Star!

[HoboKa]

I forget whether or not if I've posted on this song. But man this one is right up there with Invertibrate Retreat (if not better). 9999/10

[Liontamer]

Just listened to this one again after cruising through some past material. It's certainly not to insult any of the other mixes on OCR, but yeah, epic's right on this one. We don't have too many mixes that are this grandiose. Great work per Star's usual.

[Jaybell]

You know what? I am punching myself in the face for not listening to this beforehand. Holy dang ol' balls.

There's not much more to be said that hasn't been. DJP summed it up quite eloquently in his writeup. This is more or less the definitive epic remix.

Love the vocals, also!

[MechaFone]

Awesome. Epic. Granduise <-word? bah) Absolutely breathtaking and incredible. Some of Star's songs I like, I love most, and this one, I LOVE. Go check out his other works which are oh-so-notable.

[Sam I Am]

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WHOA:shock:

This is the stuff! Sometimes when mixes use non-Western instruments, it can be gimmicky and fake. This flows so well and melds the styles and timbres effortlessly. Just great.

[Forderz]

That throaty noise right at the end sounds so WRONG. Otherwise, 10/10.

[Polo]

Collectively, the instruments produce a stream of arid imagery (desert, sand, mirages) alongside the Middle Eastern vibe, and it's more effective when ones like the glittery sweeps at 1:14+ can delve into both single-handedly. Simultaneous church bell+drum attacks punctuate the tension in such a way that I'm flooded with the urge to look to the heavens for either fire raining down or a floating tower, whichever deity machination comes first. 3:46-4:34 casts a sympathetic light on the condemned cities (the strings get so high-pitched they practically shed a tear), then it pulls back in time to mark the moment Lot's wife turns into sodium chloride (the drum boom at 4:30).

A fervently pious narrative, both in words and music.

[yosefu]

Very nice vocals and lyrics. The instruments that you used gave me the idea of arabic music, Great job.

[WhiteMembou]

A music class I had in college asked that we bring in a 5 minute piece of music to play for everyone. The point was to share different views and styles of music and express what the music meant to us. This remix was one of three I considered using for that class, and the only reason I didn't use it was because I couldn't express my connection with the lyrics. Besides that, I found it to be a powerful and moving piece. Thank you for the memory.

[42]

Bluntly, this mix frightens me on many, many levels. Every time I listen to this, I have to stop and follow along with the lyrics. This feels so authentically Middle Eastern; I kinda wish we'd see more ethnically inspired mixes.

I like how DjP described this: "worlds unto themselves"

Admittedly, I've always liked the image Dazil, City of Burning Sands, has invoked, but this mix takes it and goes crazy with it.

It reminds me a lot of Greek mythology describing how petty and jealous gods can be (although I do have some objections of using Biblical versus to paint this picture though).