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OCR01305 - Super Metroid "Dirty Sam"


djpretzel
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i am sorry, but this remix had me doin some salsa moves almost.

what do you mean almost? i got up and shook what my momma gave me.

no seriously, though. this one is as captivating as cerebral rose jam only in a different genre. i don't even know how to categorize this one. but i love the "dirty" fuzz-i-fied drums there at the end. the organ break is pretty fun as well. the bongos/congas are a great beat, as well. i like the cross-panned/stuttered/lead as well. this is highly enjoyable. recommended. nice work, Mr. Star.

*EDIT*

upon reading the judges decision per this remix, I've noticed that the judges seemed to disagree a bit on this particular remix. just my two cents, but this is an example of a song where i really didn't mind the repitition at all. it seems certain judges don't like that. i personally believe that some people don't mind getting down and rocking a groove for more than 3 or 4 minutes. As long as the groove kicks yo mamma's ass. It certainly did mine. :)

Again, that's just my US $0.02

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I'll agree with vig, as usual. This is one of the most non-intuitive songs I've ever heard. Seems the only reason it passed is due to the usual 'groove' bias. Hard to believe that any simple drum loop could be so groovy that it justifies looping virtually nonstop for 6 minutes on the same key with minimal changes on ye old metroid title theme. One redeeming quality is perhaps the break at 1:00. Its certainly a good direction this song could have taken to be more interesting. unfortunately it dies off quickly. Reappears later (loop) and dies again. A multitude of problems upon that; delayed strings show yet again that good samples still require a discipline of skill or they just sound bad. I will say the loop loop loop nature of this song is fitting as the standards here appear to loop loop loop downward in a spiral to oblivion.

There’s no justification here. Marc Star is WAY WAY better than this. A great example would be one of my all time favorite ocremixes 'Wild Arms RosettaRefrain OC ReMix' towards which this doesn't manage even the same realm of quality. Or of course 'Final Fantasy 8 Fantasy Rush OC ReMix'. No dice here.

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I'll agree with vig, as usual. This is one of the most non-intuitive songs I've ever heard. Seems the only reason it passed is due to the usual 'groove' bias. Hard to believe that any simple drum loop could be so groovy that it justifies looping virtually nonstop for 6 minutes on the same key with minimal changes on ye old metroid title theme. One redeeming quality is perhaps the break at 1:00. Its certainly a good direction this song could have taken to be more interesting. unfortunately it dies off quickly. Reappears later (loop) and dies again. A multitude of problems upon that; delayed strings show yet again that good samples still require a discipline of skill or they just sound bad. I will say the loop loop loop nature of this song is fitting as the standards here appear to loop loop loop downward in a spiral to oblivion.

There’s no justification here. Marc Star is WAY WAY better than this. A great example would be one of my all time favorite ocremixes 'Wild Arms RosettaRefrain OC ReMix' towards which this doesn't manage even the same realm of quality. Or of course 'Final Fantasy 8 Fantasy Rush OC ReMix'. No dice here.

You know, I was sitting here listening to the remix for the first time and thinking to myself "Prot is out of his mind." But now that I'm 4 minutes in, I realized that he's on the money here. It's mostly a bunch of beeping on a drum loop. Now, don't get me wrong, I suck at drums and hate sequencing my own with a passion, but I wish there had been more of the breakouts of strings and electric piano, because that part made me very happy. The whole thing has a great groove, and I can bob my head to it, but it just doesn't have much to hold my attention after 3 minutes.

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Having a fairly split vote on the mix certainly indicates that some aspects should be better, but as for cherry-picking an argument like "groove bias" just because this passed, it's bullshit. Groove-type tracks aren't a shoe-in here. Though they generally encourage debate, some submissions are taken, and some are not.

Several issues criticizing "Dirty Sam" on 1) the level of source arrangement, 2) the reliance on beats to make the track, and 3) repetition were also levied on "Drop and Roll", yet many of panelists who voted on both were on different sides of YES & NO.

"Groove bias," Ari says. Judgez luv tekno 2! I'm not the one who voted on tefnek's first mix with...

Protricity]Bitchin style. How can I not say

YES?

well, lets see.

Nothing wrong.

Wow, this fucking rules!

GOOD JORB

If you wanna criticize the panel on groove bias, the least you could have done back when you were on it was to not write flimsy votes that LOOK like groove bias. Pick your battles when you actually have a case, Ari. Don't be such a hypocrite.

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I seem to post reviews only on controversial pieces ...

Yes, technically the piece is repetitive, with the groove beat omnipresent except in a few places. However, once you let the song loop for a while, the beat almost melts into the background, letting the minimalist lead melodies reveal themselves. The groove is an important component of the piece, but it still plays merely a supporting role.

What I don't understand is how people can rag on this and yet there exists a significant portion of hip-hop and rap built on a repeating 2-bar loop. I understand that these artists layer on soul and some slick rhymes, but the difference lies in the intended atmosphere of the song, not in its quality.

This piece is groove based. And it's damn good. Props to Mr. Star.

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I don't get this. I listened, I tried, and there are some cool sections thrown in throughout the mix. Too bad most of it is dominated by an incredibly minimalistic groove with a synth that isn't even interesting (more annoying than anything else). It's probably true that the claims of repetition on the panel were overexaggerated, because there are slightly different things going on in different places to accompany the basic groove.

Still, this comes off as a very underwhelming arrangement. Doesn't a groove require the section being repeated to be somewhat interesting in the first place? I can see this mix still "working" as a groove, but not how it is right now, and not for over 6 minutes.

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Having a fairly split vote on the mix certainly indicates that some aspects should be better, but as for cherry-picking an argument like "groove bias" just because this passed, it's bullshit. Groove-type tracks aren't a shoe-in here. Though they generally encourage debate, some submissions are taken, and some are not.

Several issues criticizing "Dirty Sam" on 1) the level of source arrangement, 2) the reliance on beats to make the track, and 3) repetition were also levied on "Drop and Roll", yet many of panelists who voted on both were on different sides of YES & NO.

"Groove bias," Ari says. Judgez luv tekno 2! I'm not the one who voted on tefnek's first mix with...

Protricity]Bitchin style. How can I not say

YES?

well, lets see.

Nothing wrong.

Wow, this fucking rules!

GOOD JORB

If you wanna criticize the panel on groove bias, the least you could have done back when you were on it was to not write flimsy votes that LOOK like groove bias. Pick your battles when you actually have a case, Ari. Don't be such a hypocrite.

Not sure why this is on someone's review thread. Nor am I sure why it is at all relevant. Tefnek's druming was varied and superb, a completely different story. Attacking someone on a review thread is inconsiderate towards the artist. Stay on topic.

As for my opinion towards the groove, I think its apparent that somewhere near half the people who have thus spoken are remotely to completely agreeing with me. Stating your opinion is fine. Attacking someone elses is not, especially when they are certianly not the only ones of that mind etc.

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While I voted NO on this song, there are good points that I really did enjoy, such as the string/rhodes section, as well as the overall texture of the song. Wonderfully executed, Marc. :)

As for this review thread, Ari, using an artist's review thread to make a jab at the panel with an accusation of bias, as well as a jab at site standards, is also disrespectful to the artist. Review the song, not the site, please.

Any further discussion pertaining to 'bias' and 'spiraling standards' should be carried out via PM or IM. This goes for everyone.

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I loved this one, but that one instrument that's hard-panned to the right really did bug me, as I'm listening on headphones. I hope it doesn't ruin too much of your creative vision that I opened it up in Cakewalk and then saved it as mono? I made sure to put in a note to that effect in the id3 tags (so hopefully people will notice the change if they get it off my computer somehow).

Other than that, I really couldn't care less about what the disapproving judges said - yes, it's repetitive, but so's the genre from which songs like this come. It works well, I thought.

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I don't know, I use these large, ear-engulfing headphones, but the pulse going on for most of the song panned right didn't bug me at all. In fact, I thought it added to the piece quite a bit. Maybe it's because I never have the volume very high? Eh, anyway, yeah, I like this. It's one of those tracks that just sort of rolls along, never getting too intense and never fading so much as to make one lose interest.

To tell the truth, I haven't actually just sat here and concentrated on doing nothing but listening to this piece. It really isn't that type of song, though, it's not something you would actually focus on much. To me, it's more of one of those loop-in-the-background-an-unspecified-number-of-times-while-you-concentrate-on-other-random-tasks songs. For example, I've listened to it 21 times so far. I probably wouldn't listen to it on its own, but it's good to loop and just... listen to. Over, and over, and over.

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Wow, so much controversy. I speculate that what happened here was a backlash against minimalist style (which, curiously, few of the persons attacking this mix have mastered). That being the case, I have to say something in the song's defense. Stating that the drum beat loops "virtually nonstop for 6 minutes" (I won't name names) not only reveals a prejudice against the song but is false (we could call it a lie). The drum loop in question plays for a combined 190 seconds of the song. What does that make the other 180 seconds? Yes, that's right! Something different. Half the song is different, which is more than I can say for many other loop-heavy mixes that have been accepted without so much as a blink of an eye.

Now, about the remix. I really enjoy the weighty feel of the pulse. It's very tangible, as are many other elements, including the muff-distorted drums at 2:10 and 4:36. The "Item Room" theme was great at 1:54, and the 8-bit bass coming in at 2:26, genius.

The repetitive nature of the song is what makes it stand out from many mixes that try to "go somewhere" but end up being convoluted and difficult to sit through. It's a minimalist piece that fits the style of the music that inspires it. Thank you Marc Star, I'll be the first to say it.

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Mmmm I love the beat this song gives, I think it sounds good that it repeats and then broken up by different songs. I hardly scratched the surface of this game, so hearing all this is quite good, moody and grooving along. A bit like the groove I get from hearing Rosetta Refrain.

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Wow, so much controversy. I speculate that what happened here was a backlash against minimalist style (which, curiously, few of the persons attacking this mix have mastered). That being the case, I have to say something in the song's defense. Stating that the drum beat loops "virtually nonstop for 6 minutes" (I won't name names) not only reveals a prejudice against the song but is false (we could call it a lie). The drum loop in question plays for a combined 190 seconds of the song. What does that make the other 180 seconds? Yes, that's right! Something different. Half the song is different, which is more than I can say for many other loop-heavy mixes that have been accepted without so much as a blink of an eye.

Look up the definition of 'virtually', and then realize that those who tend to be against 'mastered minimalist' songs also tend to be against loop-heavy mixes that are passed in a blink of an eye. Beyond that, I stated that the other '180' seconds, which isn't really that much was a great direction this song should have expended upon further. If you look at marc's other songs (which I adore) you'd find far more melodic expansion, far more change and creativity, and far less blatant repetition. And finally, instead of controversy and offense, certain people in here should just realize that those of us with this opinion are only displaying an opinion. That’s it. There is never a right or wrong with music. So please end the attitude and combative nature in the review forum, and just review.
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Yeah guys, Prot's right, only he should be allowed to criticize someone else's opinion in the process of making his own, the rest of you just stick to stating the facts.

Anyway, I enjoyed it. That's about all the analysis I feel like putting into music.

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