*NO* Diddy Kong Racing 'Monster in the Headlights'

[Chimpazilla]

Contact Information

ReMixer name: Neifion

Real name: Mathew Kong

E-mail address:

Website: https://soundcloud.com/kekopro

UserID: 51727

Submission Information

Game arranged: Diddy Kong Racing

Arrangement name: Monster in the Headlights

Song arranged: Haunted Woods

Composer: David Wise

System: Nintendo 64

Developer: Rare

Publisher: Nintendo

Date published: 1997

Original song link:

Of all the great music from DKR, Haunted Woods has always been my favorite. I used to park myself somewhere on the track and just listen for a while! When I decided to take on this song, my first thought was to slow it down and make it into this really creepy orchestral waltz. I scrapped that pretty quick and ended up with something akin to a retro sci-fi/horror/big band/orchestral/electronic hybrid; basically a Frankenstein.

For the beginning, I drew on a lot of things that scared me as a kid: Are You Afraid of the Dark, Tales from the Crypt, etc. Lots of minor trills, string runs, creepy pianos, and even a hefty jump scare. When the theremin and timpani appear, I wanted to convey a trudging feeling, like some possessed person dragging their body to the edge of a cliff. There's a moment at the precipice where you hear the wind howling, and then as they fall the beat kicks in.

The jazzy band mixed with electronic and orchestral elements was inspired by the retro style of Michael Giacchino. I wanted it to sound like an updated Twilight Zone episode. So on the jazz side there's pop brass and vibraphone and sort of an old school surf beat, and then you have the orchestra and synths filling it out.

Anyway, this was a lot of fun, and whether or not it passes, I hope you enjoy it!

Edited May 20, 2015 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Chimpazilla]

Starts off very slow, the first minute is very sparse and also very quiet, not going much over -9db, but I like the change to 3/4 and the creepy atmosphere. The string shrieks are quite good, in fact the string sequencing is quite good throughout the mix, as is the brass when it briefly appears at 2:22-2:34. I like the spooky synth lead. Source well represented.

The drums starting at 1:48 are pretty bland and autopilot, but their minimalism is appropriate for the feel of the mix. I feel like the mix could stand to have been mastered just a little bit louder overall, mainly because I find the intro too soft, but the track does have good dynamics overall.

I like it! Slightly understated, but spooky fun.

 

edit 5/19/15:  Listening again.  Weak drums are weak, the other Js are right, it's a dealbreaker.  Let's get a drum upgrade, better sounds and some more varied writing as well.

NO (resubmit)

[Flexstyle]

Sheesh, awfully morbid song description there!

 

Love the atmosphere, and fantastic use of the instruments to really convey a feeling. That bassoon, especially, was a nice touch in the beginning section. Dunno why it stood out to me, but it did.

 

When the electronic drums kick in, they sound a bit too hollow, and the song overall could have really used a better touch to convey the jump in energy--just doesn't really feel full enough in the spectrum to hit that feeling. This isn't really enough to kill the vote for me, but it IS enough to be a bit jarring.

 

Similarly, the sequencing of the instruments is obviously sequencing, but it's not *too* obvious, and again, shouldn't really kill the vote.

 

Gonna go ahead and pass this one, although I can see it going either way.

 

YES

[Emunator]

This is a very cool stylistic homage that really doesn't get touched on very often, I think this is something that listeners are really going to appreciate. It's a smorgasbord of horror-soundtrack tropes that's arranged in a very clever way. I love the instrumental variety here, as well - you utilize a lot of sounds that aren't often heard in remixes. It's all very fresh. Diddy Kong Racing gets way too little love, too, so it's wonderful to see more people tackling this excellent soundtrack!

 

My only real gripe with this track is the weakness of the drum kit. I absolutely get the style you were going for with that section, but the weakness/simple riffs of those drums make that section feel somewhat underwhelming. I really can't justify rejecting such an otherwise-strong arrangement on that merit alone, but I do feel like it's a weak link that's worth pointing out. Mastering the track with more compression might have also helped there.

 

Other than that, solid stuff! The mixing gets the job done and the one real gripe that I have doesn't significantly detract from everything else you've gotten right with this arrangement!

 

YES

[Palpable]

Whoa, those drums are weak sauce. I know all the other judges mentioned them, but with three YESes, I was expecting something not that bad. To me, it was very distracting and it took me out of the moment pretty hard. There were a few other issues that hampered my enjoyment of the track, including an energy drop in the first drum section, a disjointed feel between the drum sections and the non-drum sections, and some issues with the instruments not sounding like they are in the same space. Let me elaborate a little bit on those points. The first half of the song is pretty sparse and ominous, going for more of a creepy movie vibe. When it breaks into the drum section, it's more of a Monster Mash fun Halloween vibe. You've got some instruments that carry over, and I can even see other people digging the contrast, but it was jarring to me, especially because the drum section starts off so weakly, with only the thin synth melody and the drums and pads. At 2:22, when the cinematic strings are brought back, they sound like they are in a different space to me, like a different song is playing over top yours. Again, this is contributing to an overall uncohesive vibe to me. I liked many of the ideas here (especially that string run at 1:15 - that's sick) but it never felt like a fully cohesive piece. Improving the production might be the only fix you need honestly, but as it stands, it's not gelling for me.

 

NO (resubmit)

[Nutritious]

Pretty solid arrangement work here. Clear connections and personalization in style and writing.

 

Was really digging the vibe in the first half.  However, I've gotta agree with Palp on the drum kit being a major issue.  It's both distant in the soundfield and lacks any sort of punch.  The bass synth underneath it doesn't have much presence either (especially in high freqs), so it's not helping to support the song much at all.  It's really an odd contrast to be hearing high quality orchestral writing and samples juxtaposed with frankly lackluster drums and synths. 

 

I felt like the transition to the drum section wasn't as much jarring as just feeling unpolished and underwhelming.  I'm ok with the contrasting mood of the second half, it just needs to be more effectively put together.  Really good start here, but the second half needs some love with the drums and synths.

 

NO resubmit, please

[zykO]

yeah this is total resub territory.

the good. genre is on point. you accomplished exactly what you were saying you were trying to as far as harkening back to old school horror and surf vibes; totally strikes me as something i'd hear in a bruce campbell flick. that's awesome. also feels like something that i'd want to play team fortress 2 on halloween to lol all the while watching the incredibles (there's a lot of giacchino in this, good call). the trilly horns are a nice touch. the arrangement is cool in the way cool 80s kids were cool, rockin airwalks and ripped jeans; love it. plenty of the source here, no qualms with me. the ending is a satisfactory tie-in and wrap up for the track.

now the bad. the kit is indeed way too weak. i understand the stylistic choice especially given the genre you're goin for but that doesn't necessarily mean it has to be brittle as a dandelion. don't bring it out TOO much but certainly bring it OUT, give the drums some life and you're well on your way to making the second half of the tune much jumpier. the first half of the track does take a while to load but then again, who am i to judge lol ZYKO AIN NO JDG DAFUQ. i personally love the slow cook, rollin intro but it might take too much time to develop for some, less patient, listeners. strikes me more as scored music, perfectly workable if there's something to watch along with it. and again, i feel your film score homage here. 

i'm all about this tune but it does need a little more TLC before it's ready to roll. do this and gloriously joyous terror will be stricken into the hearts of many an unsuspecting videogame nerd

RESUB

[DragonAvenger]

Yeah, gonna agree with the NO's here; the drums are the weakest element by far, but I felt like a lot of the track was really mechanical as well. Some of the string samples stand out the most to me, but overall I felt like there could be a lot more humanization to many of the parts. It might be a bit of personal taste there, so grain of salt with that. 

 

I found the contrast between the two parts to be charming, though I can see Vinnie's crits on the two sections being a bit too jarring to each other. Aside from that, I think the arrangement is a lot of fun, and I'd love to hear this one spruced up a bit!

 

NO (resubmit)

[Liontamer]

I needed at least 123 seconds of overt source usage within a 4:06-long piece for the source material to be dominant. There was a lot more stuff based on the chord progressions and some liberal interpretation, but since I didn't count all of that, I had to timestamp this for more upfront connections just to be sure for myself.

 

:07-:14.75, :56.75-1:01.5, 1:09-1:18, 1:20.75-1:27, 1:39.75-1:44.25, 1:59.75-2:24, 2:25.5-2:26.5, 2:28-2:29.5, 2:32.5-2:33.75, 2:45-3:02, 3:07-3:38.5, 3:40.25-3:42, 3:47-4:00 = 123.25 seconds or 50.1% overt source usage.

 

Opens up hauntingly, with theme first referenced at :07. Piano first used at :26 is rigid, though that's mitigated a bit by the way it's produced. Nice increase in the intensity at 1:02 with some cinematic strings.

 

Oh, damn. Yeah, the drums at 1:48 are pretty weak...

 

OK, so listening through until the end, the beat repetitively drones from 1:48-3:40. The drums are simplistic, static, plodding, boring, lifeless, all of those things. They just drain energy out of the piece, and I think the YES votes are smoking something, because it's a dealbreaker flaw. Palpable's also right that the beats aren't cohesive with the other instruments.

 

More sophisticated, varied, fitting beats would work wonders here. It's too bad, because the arrangement is otherwise creative and employs a lot of effective instrumental changes for the melody; if the same attention to detail was shown for the backing writing as was shown to the leads, this would pass with no problem.

 

Also, from 3:07-3:41, the string articulations sound very unrealistic and exposed in places, so it's not just DragonAvenger's personal taste, it does need work. Anything you can do to give those strings more realism would be great; you may just need to make them sound less dry.

Good stuff so far, Mathew. The opening scary movie stuff was epic and on point, but the presentation after 1:48 has to get more consistent; the main issue, IMO, is that the beats at 1:48 shouldn't function like a glorified metronome, and it undermines the dynamics and creativity of your foreground writing.

 

NO (resubmit)