djpretzel Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 Yea - a lot of time has passed and i've gone through some self-improvement and the judges panel seems to have shifted so i figured i might have a shot. Remixer Name - k-wix Real Name - Dustin M. Kulwicki Email - k-wix@buckeye-express.com Website - http://k-wix.no-ip.com Remixed Game - Megaman 2 Game Song - Bubble Man's Theme Remix Title - Spiked Ceiling Bubble Bop Comments - Lots of Synth experimentation, I love all things megaman and always wanted to do a mix of the song. Honestly severly doubting it will make it, but willing enough at this point to put issues aside and give it a try due to the newer judges. _Links to Song_ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 This is taken from my VGMix review of the track. The intro had some groove to it. The synths & beats were really generic-sounding and lacked power despite the volume. The track was already too loud and disorderly from the get-go. The quick original transition section from :42-1:02 seemed absolutely meandering & random; no real melody or direction to speak of right there. Some decent ideas from 1:04-1:11 as you used the skeleton of the source tune over some original material, but it dropped out very soon after. The original work from 1:11-1:53 dragged on for a long time. The low phasing sound coming in at 1:25 really sounded out of place; heard some clashing notes with your synth lead and that low phasing synth. May wanna transpose it upward. Getting to 1:53-3:04, everything was absolutely unrestrained and messy on the production. I could barely pick apart the various sounds from one another as they all mashed together. The beatwork got totally obscured, for example. 3:05 had the lead synth go higher up the register with similar ideas as before, though some new twists came in from the composition side. Again, parts like 3:33-3:45 seemed completely random with the string of notes you had there. I can appreciate the freefrom nature of that stuff, but the execution doesn't work as well as the idea. The source tune is in there, but, overall, was used only sparingly in any meaningful arrangement sense. Most of the stuff I heard was wholly original, and even some of the permutations of Bubble Man's theme started going into very, very liberal territory. On the production side, there was way too much low-end here and the sounds were all cluttered together. The best comparison I can think of offhand for a remix that does a good job in a comparable style is Lix's electronica cover/mock-up of "Will of Silver" from Legend of Heroes 6 that he recently released, "Affect of Silvery (Skyward Pulse Mix)." It's available from his homepage, http://www.levolution.info. The sounds are bread-and-butter trance/electronica sounds, but his production is a lot better here, which is why those sounds don't hold him back. Admittedly, they have a lot more punch that the ones used in "Spiked Ceiling." The mastering in Lix's is way cleaner here; it possesses noticeable bass presence but also has loads of attention paid to defining the high-end for a relatively sharper sound. The track is still loud and powerful, but the volume is lower than yours. Lix's texture is still very full, with a good amount of reverb and airyness, yet you can hear the separate parts that make up the piece much more distinctly, which I can't for yours. That mix shouldn't be put on any sort of pedestal; rather, I felt it was a good recently released mix to compare with regarding production. This one needs a lot of work to realize its potential. I know Dustin was disappointed to read my review of his mix, but that was my honest assessment. Honestly & objectively speaking, it was all potential and not execution, which is why my review unfortunately has nothing positive to say. I appreciate anyone being willing to give OCR submissions a shot again, but just because the panel has changed over time doesn't mean it'll necessarily be an easier ride. You've still gotta be able to adequately bring it with arrangement, performance & production, and on that level it really doesn't matter what the make-up of the panel is. Sorry, bro. Gotta swallow your pride and keep improving. Looking forward to hearing more of your stuff, though, Dustin. I thought your Kid Icarus & Punch-Out!! mixes were a lot stronger, but this felt like a step backwards. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 well quite frankly, i hope that wasn't targeted at me this is far from your best work. if you were trying to convince me that you thought it was, i'd call you on it. there are some extremely good experimental ideas in here and stuff that i wholeheartedly back you in doing... especially since the source is such a predictably arranged one (i haven't heard very many truly innovative bubble man remixes) but you, man... you went and pulled the full 180 extreme... and made it nearly inaccessible. there are stretches of synth work here that remind me of ray manzarek's organ work for the doors. the intro is insta-win... but this track just doesn't sound right. it tends to start off on a recognizable theme or path and then suddenly just jump off of it and into the bushes, offroad for a bit and then just hop back on the path again at a non-predictable time. i feel particularly bad when judging another's experimental work because its far more difficult to ascertain purpose and intent fairly when dealing with something that is experimental even to its creator... but i'm not gonna tip toe through your ego - i'd assume you knew i was being genuine with you and that i, as a fan of your work, don't think this is indicative of what you can offer. you know this was experimental for you so that's that. sorry bro but NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 also just for the record larry - i don't think he meant that the new judges would make it an easier ride. i think he was only implying that new tastes and visions coming into the panel would shake things up a bit. which it does and has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny B Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 I definately dig some of the arrangement ideas here. It is indeed very interpretive of an over-covered theme. While the musical ideas are fairly solid, the sound quality is very lacking. I get very tired of the "WAAAAAOOOO" synths, and every synth that comes in sounds derivative of the same patch. It's almost like every part was composed and put into a variation of the same tone generator, and then minor changes were made to each machine. The percussion is about as basic OOM-TSS as it gets, and the only thing that ever consistently goes off of a whole-note rhythm pattern is the lead, and some harmonies. There are some rhythmic patterns in the mix, but nothing more complex than the standard syncopated trance riff. This track needs dynamics, instrumental variation and rhythmic diversity. Nice arrangement ideas however - that part is passable. Til the butta matches the pork - NO -D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 also just for the recordlarry - i don't think he meant that the new judges would make it an easier ride. i think he was only implying that new tastes and visions coming into the panel would shake things up a bit. which it does and has. Absolutely. Also, I just wanna clear up that my comment in my vote was more about Protricity being ousted rather than anyone who came on board. A lot of hostile people were willing to at least give OCR another look once they found out he was no longer on the panel. By saying that the panel isn't an easier ride nowadays, I didn't mean to imply that anyone among us gladhands YESs or that friends get lenient looks at their material. Like you said weed, and what I SHOULD have said, is that while I appreciate and agree with the fact that the panel looks different and more open these days, I don't think that makes it an easier ride. I think anyone that submits a mix, in this case it happens to be Dustin, should be bringing a fairly complete package of arrangement, production & performance. Even with this group where a lot of OCR non-regulars have a noticed a better attitude, you need a strong product to fare well when it's time for your mix to hit the panel. I believe that's a general standard that won't change regardless of who was, is, or will be on the panel. Sorry for not being clearer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The wingless Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Ah bubbleman, we hardly knew thee. I appreciate the effort in trying to make this well-worn song different. But even *I* have some trouble in advocating some of the quantum-liberties given with the source material. My biggest beef is that, if the middle section had more to do thematically and melodically with the original source, I'd be much more into this piece. But as it stands, it's an odd original-new-original format that doesn't work for me. The entire middle section could be used for something better and, I can't believe I myself am saying this, more familiar. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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