OCR00014 - Tetris (GB) "Slavic Roots"

[Joe Redifer]

Tetris 'Slavic Roots'

djp's take on the Tetris music is quite interesting. When it first starts out you feel as if you are in Afghanistan or some other middle eastern country. Then the percussion starts and you feel like you are back in the good ol' USA where we have drums! Throughout all of this it still has a Russian flavor to it. The only thing I don't really like is how it ends... It sounds like djp is passing the melody out of his ass or something. Amusing!

[mDuo13]

Good, but not outstanding. Probably my favorite version of the Tetris theme on the site. The twangy strings (which somewhat remind me of Bubble Bobble 'Hillbilly Rodeo', also by djp) don't sound too good by themselves, in the intro, but once the techno beat kicks in and the groove starts movin', this mix's quality meter jumps up a couple of notches. I like it, and the best part of it is that unlike several tetris remixes on the site which build off the gameboy version of the theme, this one doesn't include it at all!

[Benjamin Briggs]

Future self edit: Jesus, I was a n00b.

-chth

[PassivePretentiousness]

Ug. I'm not a fan of this one. This must be djp's turn to mess with a classic theme terribly and screw it up just for the sake of it... jk, djp.... NO PLEASE DON'T EAT ME WITH UR PRETZEL POWERS!!!... uh.. more specifics... the actual "Russian" instruments are unbeliavably annoying and only detract from the song :vomit: . The techno stuff is decent, but that's a dime a dozen around here. I guess if you spend enough time listening to it, you'll get treated to some fun effects at the end. But then you'd actually have to realize that you're spending a large amount of time in your life trying to find out what's good in a remix of a tetris song. You could just get a regular hobby instead , but I think we've all been down this road before. 3/8

[typhoidmary66]

sounds like a balalaika- its just a bit too dramatic ;; heh i dunno. good effort

[Terance]

This is indeed the best tetris remix on the site. It's original for once *runs* ;

[Eagler]

First post, whoo. n.n

This one is pretty good, I thought, I like the foreign feel to it. I'm going to listen to it while I'm writing about a town in something I'm writing that is considered very ethnic, it'll work well for that. So, I have uses for it, heh. Overall pretty good, but I wouldn't just listen to it as background music if I wasn't doing anything else, really only for inspiration - which is good in itself.

[Impassioned Havoc]

The first time I listened to this track, I didn't really like it. But I gave it a second chance, and now it's one of my favorite remixes on the site. The balalaika is good, although a bit weak at the beginning, and it picks up nicely once the tecno comes in. And the solos are awesome. The sheer creativity behind this earns it a really high grade. Good work, djp!

[mCee]

Actually, i've been partial to this since I first heard it.

I like the combination with the more traditional sounding balalaika, and the techno combined to make an extremely awesome sounding video game song sound even better still

[Kye-U]

I just love 00:36

and 00:50

I'm a techno-freak

Good job DJPretzel!

[Sleepy Emp]

Hehe, this is nice! Great style! Some of the sections are really very Russian-sounding

[thething.exe]

IT very good... I wonder whats the orginal thingy. And u noe wat made me get this... i was watching the simpsons(thats rite 'THE SIMPSONS')... and these is a episode where homer buys all this junk from McBain and must fit it in his Car, so he say :"This is where all the time on the acarde pays off"(or something like that but funnier) and then it plays "this" music(the orginal) and homer fits everything in the car... except him so McBain Takes him home.lol I said all that i must have gotten carried away...lol

[ESHbyESH]

Initial impression:

Not impressed. I don't like the fact that you are leaving a prefectly lovely harmony by the wayside.

Second thoughts:

It IS melodious and well-orchestrated, so it's got that going for it, but I still am irked at the harmony choices.

[Corporal Eschebone]

Certainly among the best of DJP's early works. The blending of instrumental and electronic is pretty good, and being the sucker for the traiditional Russian sound that I am, I can't help but like this.

[okami_chi]

I have to applaud this re-mixer for style, inventiveness, and the ability to take on a hard to re-mix song and make it into something that doesn't drive people bonkers as they're trying to fit tiny blocks into tiny spaces... i found this one quite enjoyable as a mix between accoustic and random techno beats collided well to make an old video game tune something that would make the game's original designers happy... the beginning starts out with a slow intro, but soon afterwards picks up pace to the driving beat behind it (it actually reminds me of belly-dancing music), yet the Russian instrument sound remains strong without and is not wiped out by machine noises which is a definate plus in this case... so if you have ever played Tetris and you haven't heard this one... then you need to...

[TomahawkMan]

Oh I love the demasiado drama in this song. It would be right-perfect for a Tetris movie. Hahaha, i can just see one of the actors playing Tetris skillfully with all kinds of kickbacks and drops against the villian to save his girl.

*ahem*

At first when it's just the balalaika, the way it goes looping back to a whole chord and then a broken one gives me the impression of the Czech word "robot" or "to drudge". Quite and interesting mix when the guitar, bass and drums kick in. Aside from those, can anyone tell me what kind of synth that is in the background? It reminds me of the Yuu Yuu Hakusho soundtrack or maybe just any early 90s anime.

[lady zelda]

Love this! It starts out slow and majestic like a Medieval dance and then bam you just get drawn in and you can't stop bouncing up and down in your seat. So catchy and the shifts and slight modifications in mood really keep you drawn in. Definitely party material all the way to the end. Keep it up!

[Frictional Antidote]

While I feel the choice of instruments is good and overall flow of the song goes along nicely, it doesn't stand out to me as excellent. Perhaps the fault is in the original melody written by the original composer. I do enjoy the rather original twist put on it. Not going to go on my favorites list, but it is good.

[Audity]

This remix was made that long ago? I thought it'd be at least a little later. Um, everyone who's liked it pretty much said all my thoughts. Middle section leads very nicely into the ending. Also some other nice lead-ins.

[marcsan]

hi there...

the first time i heard this song with that instrument, it sounded almost the same like

that settlers sound.. lollll

but anyway the song sound cool

greetings from the netherlands

[Nightmare_104]

This song is great but at the begining it almost feels like i'm playing zelda, dont ask me why.

but overall the feel of this song is cool.

[SomeCrazyGuy]

My, this isn't too bad of a mix, if you ask me... It starts at a good speed, and continues at a pace that keeps the listeners' attention, which I've found to be a feature lacking on some of the other remixes I've heard that otherwise would have been at the top of my list. The implementation of the instruments you chose was well done, nothing taking too much notice, nothing being too subtle to bother with. This song is a good example of how someone can take even the most recognizable theme and make it their own... An excellent mix by any standard, great work!

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'Slavic Roots' Tetris (NES), By: DJPretzel:

93% ~~~ A

Great (90-93% Range)

=====

(But on a side note, and one I suppose goes for some other games who use already existing music in their titles... I find it almost funny that a song, originally with a choral section used [Коробе́йники/Korobeiniki] in a Russian song, had to be made usable through midi-grade sound [Therefore, lost all vocals], which then became available in the version best known to Americans [Music A, I believe], then unwittingly 'remixed' into altogether different and almost completely original arrangements that conform better to that societies current musical desires. What once was a song about peddlers is now a catchy song without vocal meaning [Yes, a bit more to both sides of the coin, but that is the basic idea of what the results are]! I'm just glad they chose more classical pieces to base their BGM on, as Tchaikovsky and the Red Army Choir [Yes, I am aware that Tchaikovsky didn't write this particular song and that the Red Army Choir was only one of many who performed this song] liek totly roks mi soks1)

[OceansAndrew]

ok, pretty generic starting sounds, and a sampled balalaika?! Does anyone else not see the disparity here?

Though the production is super dated on this one, there are a few stand-out moments, most notably the strong counter melody writing, and the super crunchy distorted sound that appears near the end. There is a pretty nice solo section as well, but I think DJP has moved on to bigger and better things.

[Crulex]

The beginning makes me think more Medieval than Slavic, but then it picks up speed and I totally hear it. I like how it has a nice bit of upbeatness while trying to infuse a bit of that cultural flavor into it. Not fond of the very end, but that's probably cause I'm wearing headphones when I listen to this. It just sounds like it's too sharp with those buzzes, but I'm not all that bothered by that since it's not there for too long. Overall, fantastic work!

[Tables]

This reminds me of those... what are those things called, Animusic? One of those.

Or the Crash Bandicoot soundtrack, they have a similar sound sometimes.

I really like how you expanded outwards from the familiar melody while still hanging on to it at its core. Lots of neat little details and samples, some of the directions are uh confusing but a lot of it works in an eclectic sense. Also I think I've already said this but dang you know your way around a solo and that's awesome.