ReMix:Zombies Ate My Neighbors "The Curse" 5:19

By Christian Pacaud

Arranging the music of one song...

"Curse of the Tongue"

Primary Game: Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Konami , 1993, SNES), music by George Alistair Sanger, Joe McDermott

Posted 2006-07-04, evaluated by the judges panel


Last but not least, with very little time to go here on the East coast, we have our fourth mix of the day, making it "four for the fourth" - an excellent marketing gimmick, were we actually trying to sell anything. I don't really think of OCR as a particularly "American" website - one of the best aspects of running it over the years has been getting to know people from all over the world, and seeing them come together for a common purpose. I'd actually like to work on opening things up more, whether that involves translations of site content into other languages, etc. Nevertheless, myself and many of the judges are American, and from the limited stats I get, I'd guesstimate 60-70% of the site's visitors are as well. So, for the remaining 30-40%, thanks for bearing with us during our day of patriotic zeal and non-sensical explodifying of multicolored doodads; we mean well.

Mr. Pacaud sends in a mix that isn't really as polished as his previous efforts; this is ostensibly an intentional decision on his part, but that doesn't mean the judges can't critique it along those lines. I didn't find the production overly problematic because, while it was unpolished, the performances themselves were organic and quite musical, but it's definitely going to be a subjective thing that hits certain people one way and others another. It's sort of like... garage rock meets Castlevania, for lack of a better simile. If you want metrically immaculate, pristine, and tightly sequenced ZAMN coverage, Protricity's been there and done that, but that doesn't mean the game's score doesn't leave room for alternate interpretations, like any good text should. Cpac got rhythm, lead, and wah guitar, acoustic kit drums, pipe organ, harpsichord, and electric bass going on. I actually think I would have preferred the mix steered away from the heavier side of things, went for slightly cleaner production, and aimed for the Steely Dan feel that 2'54" evokes, but it's still cool that the ReMixer can blend in jazzier compositional elements into a rock piece as such. Jesse writes:

"the bass could afford to be more pounding in my opinion. from a creative perspective, this isnt really my cup of tea. However it's very solidly composed. Plenty of ideas expressed, good performance. The track is quite creative, lots of liberties that work out quite well. In my opinion this is very solid material, and well above the bar."

So, I guess my take would be that this isn't Cpac's slickest or most cohesive mix, but it still displays most of the traits that make him one of the most exciting mixers on the scene, being a willingness to try riskier arrangement ideas coupled with heapin' helpings of live instrumentation, and is definitely worth your time. Happy 4th of July!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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metalsnakejuice
on 2009-09-24 02:53:37

This melts my face when i listen to this. everything about this rocks:-P

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Marmiduke
on 2009-06-27 02:44:33

Awesomeness abound. Great mashup of creepiness and pure badassery. In that regard, its very ZAMN.

The guitar clarity is what I enjoy most about this, I think. I'm glad the distorted route wasn't taken. I tire easily of distortion, and with a mix that is this length, it's important that everything sounds as pleasing as possible to maintain consistent interest. I'm unsure about the wah portions though, sometimes I thought they fit, other times I minded them. But they are small portions, and they are easy to tolerate.

And I have to mention the harpischord and organ, for this mix would not be the same without them. In future, all mixes lose marks for not having harpischord and organ in them. Love it. The ending is exspecially cool.

It's a really good tune, this, and although it does hop around all over the place, it always makes sense to me. And that's important. I haven't been big on this for a long time, but now I am really starting to like it. Nice one.

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OA
on 2009-03-17 17:35:42

Nice lead tone for sure, the harmonized parts are nice, and the changeups are good as well. I think a little more bass in most of the sections would have made things gel a bit better, but overall I was feeling this one. The blast beat is a bit lol, but I think blast beats in general are lol, so it is what it is.

The wah'ed lead is a little loud too, but it's in their briefly and doesn't really detract.

I'm loving the harpsichord flourishes, and though i think the kit sound is a little too raw, it still sounds good.

I overlooked this one when it first came out due to not being familiar with the source, but i'm glad I finally got around to rocking; this track is excellent.

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evktalo
on 2007-12-11 06:39:48

Wonderfully rough and dirty.. Don't like that loud wah-wah guitar line, but otherwise it holds together well. Versatile sounds! I definitely enjoy the roughness of the guitars blended with the organs. Most of the time the "band" sounds sound more like a garage band than a home studio effort, which is good.

--Eino

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i heart robots
on 2006-07-30 22:56:15

ZAMN rocks your face off! As does this track, excellent guitar and harpsichord mix. I give it 5 silver bullets.

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PriZm
on 2006-07-17 01:14:04

Way to go, Frenchie.

The harpsichord makes me lol.

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KyleJCrb
on 2006-07-16 23:30:09

I'm a bit slow to this one. My face is officially rocked. Chaotic sure, but it's splendid chaos. Very fun to listen to.

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Dafydd
on 2006-07-15 00:59:26

A bit chaotic for me.

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Crabsmasher
on 2006-07-14 19:43:48

A very cool mix! A bit long for me, but still fun to listen to.

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Dhsu
on 2006-07-11 17:26:45

Kudos of course go to the composer for the ingenious setting, but credit still goes to everyone's favorite French-Canadian for making it so utterly ROCKIN'. :)

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CPacaud
on 2006-07-11 17:21:42

Well, to be honest Mr. David H. Sue, all credits goes to the Fat Man for that. Just checked the wikipedia entry and the melody is note for note the exact same thing as in the game song.

Oh well, should've just shut up and take credit. :twisted:

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Dhsu
on 2006-07-11 12:41:06

Wow, I never played the original, but a few seconds into the remix, I thought I heard something familiar. I checked again and sure enough, the melody was unmistakable...the haunting notes of the Dies Irae. An unexpected but nonetheless creative setting for a classic tune. Good work, Jean-Luc Pacaud of the U.S.S. Enterprise...more Gregorian chants should be played on electric guitar in my opinion. ;)

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Cerrax
on 2006-07-07 12:53:44

This a great remix in terms of style and flair. Live guitars rocking out one of the coolest songs in ZAMN. Great job.

And Blind Hornet, I think this is just a case of having different philosophies about remixing. I'm not trying to stir up nostalgia or evoke the original feel, quite the contrary in fact. I'm trying to create something new based on the original music.

QFE. That's what remixes are supposed to do. If you want to hear the original, GO LISTEN TO THE ORIGINAL!

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CptWillard
on 2006-07-06 21:33:18

I agree with Blind Hornet... however, it was interesting to listen for which parts were more "faithful" to the original songs. Not bad, (pretty good, actually) but not what I personally look for in a remix.

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ktriton
on 2006-07-06 16:10:06

Absolutely!

Consider which is more of a tribute: an arrangement that is more or less similar to what the original composer has already created or an arrangement which acknowledges that the original ideas were brilliant enough to take in a different direction.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Konami , 1993, SNES)
Music by George Alistair Sanger,Joe McDermott
Songs:
"Curse of the Tongue"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Organ
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Zombies_Ate_My_Neighbors_The_Curse_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,192,298 bytes
MD5:
6165202c3054a7d203dbd19a7b8c3d34
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
5:19

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