ReMix:Super Mario Bros. "Mario Likes Thorazine" 4:14

By Shnabubula

Arranging the music of 2 songs...

"Game Over", "Overworld BGM"

Primary Game: Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo , 1985, NES), music by Koji Kondo

Posted 2007-07-12, evaluated by djpretzel


So, I'm back from Aruba... rested, relaxed, somewhat tan. Had a blast: good food, great weather, beautiful place. At one point on the plane ride back Anna was playing New Super Mario Bros. on my DS and I was rockin' some PSP Ridge Racer. I've had the DS awhile but the PSP is a recent acquisition, and I'm definitely loving it; Nintendo obviously has a much larger market share, software library, and the innovation of the whole two-screen/touchscreen angle, but the PSP has some games that truly make you forget you're playing a handheld at all in terms of production values. Different systems, different appeal - fanboys will be fanboys, but I like them both. Speaking of New Super Mario Bros., Shnabubula's here with a brilliant string arrangement of... Old Super Mario Bros. Apparently Mario is fond of antipsychotic pharmaceuticals; Sam offered little to explain the mix title in his very brief submission email and has been rather scarce lately... I wish him the best, as I know he's been having some personal issues. Obviously, this is one of the most well known themes in video game music, so it's fascinating to see what an unconventional arranger like Sam does with it. The chamber music feel is definitely going strong, with beautiful attention to articulation and also very discrete panning to keep the individual "players" separate. I honestly can't tell 100% if these strings are real or not as of my writing this; if they're real, the recording is amazingly isolated and pristine. If they're fake, which I'm leaning towards, then I'm really interested in how the variety of traditionally tricky articulations has been handled so gracefully. Sam's never had lackluster samples, but this would represent a new echelon for him. Regardless of the timbral etymology, what matters is that they sound great. The arrangement, furthermore, plays to the strength and malleability of the instrument. The piece is generally more accessible than much of Sam's oeuvre, but due to the limited, real-world instrumentation as opposed to any lack of complexity in the base composition. Perhaps the thorazine in the title alludes to the mix segueing between lighthearted and serious tones, which is handled effortlessly and seems not schizophrenic but simply varied. This is a quintessential example of the complexity that can be applied even to relatively simple and well-known source material; it should serve as an excellent and approachable example, due to the maturity and source notoriety, of the limits to which game music arrangement can be taken with a more formal approach in mind. Here's hoping Sam's doing okay; his talent continues to shine even in his online scarcity, and this mix should win him even more admirers.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2023-09-04 18:05:48

Damn, this is classy as hell and I'm kinda in love which the slight changes and articulations all over the mix. When the mix speeds up, that's when the ReMix goes over the edge from really freaking good to downright awesome.

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OA
on 2009-12-08 09:41:35

Super nice use of mixed articulations to really bring this one to life. It's a step above most of the stuff people would hear on OCR, and in addition is a great arrangement of possibly the most recognizable game theme.

Super nice stuff.

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Marmiduke
on 2009-09-09 09:53:29

Definitely my favourite mix of the infamous Mario tune on the site, and is just as great as Motoi Sakaruba's darkened arrangement of the track, of which this mix shares a slight resemblance despite being much quicker and lighter in tone. But I digress...

This is the sort of music that polarises listeners (it is Shnabubula, after all) but as always, I drink it all in. I love music that interchanges and tries to wrestle free from any sort of constraint. There's a fantastic sense of unpredictability in most of Shnab's work, and I think above all else, an extremely high level of quality.

The amount of material he's extracted from a source tune I usually perceive to being ruined in the transition to realistic instruments is astounding. I can't fault this, and even if I could, I'd be too intimidated to. One of the most artistically competent, yet wholly accessible, on the site. More is always needed.

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penguindf12
on 2009-08-25 12:53:50

I love the part where it suddenly swings into quintuple time. This is really detailed music - I'm jealous!

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Streets of Rage bum
on 2008-08-22 17:16:22

i don't usually post a reply on mixes that alredy have 4 pages of critique, but just had to say, GREAT MIX. The sound was something that i can see even the classiest and royal listeners of symphonies would buy a ticket to check it out in concert!

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DrumUltimA
on 2007-10-26 11:50:38
Having seen the amazing movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest yesterday once again, I can only come to the conclusion that part of Schnab's inspiration for this mix, or at least the slower/softer parts, (and the name seems to confirm that) comes from the muzak that was played by Nurse Ratched for the patients. Eitherway, everything I could say about this mix has already been said, so I'll just say it's an amazing piece.

hahah actually shnab is just crazy

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Tensei
on 2007-10-25 10:00:22

Having seen the amazing movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest yesterday once again, I can only come to the conclusion that part of Schnab's inspiration for this mix, or at least the slower/softer parts, (and the name seems to confirm that) comes from the muzak that was played by Nurse Ratched for the patients. Eitherway, everything I could say about this mix has already been said, so I'll just say it's an amazing piece.

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herograw
on 2007-10-03 03:59:27
Suberb, of course. Not that I expect anything else, of course.

...incidentally, I'm slightly creeped out by the way everyone keeps saying 'We miss you!' and the fact that Shnabubula's last forum post was in March. Is he okay?

of course!

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hjalfi
on 2007-10-02 09:51:57

Suberb, of course. Not that I expect anything else, of course.

...incidentally, I'm slightly creeped out by the way everyone keeps saying 'We miss you!' and the fact that Shnabubula's last forum post was in March. Is he okay?

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vici_ruthless
on 2007-09-16 13:20:53

brilliant and inventive! this beyond creative take on the smb theme is truly sublime. its woozy complexity really showcases the talent behind it. give me more!

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Monobrow
on 2007-09-14 03:53:47

:/

Maybe Thorazine doesn't like Mario

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LongeBane
on 2007-09-14 00:21:51

Thorazine is supposed to be a sort of sedative, that slows down the processes. BUT the song is all backwards! Looks like thorazine isn't working for someone. I should write a life novel about that.

I wished it was more like valentine since it goes on hi pitched for too long. Those articulations just jab at my ear. I don't care how real they're supposedly supposed to sound. I guess I just have a bias towards these things.

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454Casull
on 2007-08-13 20:37:31
because it may not be Mastered. Check my thread in the community forum. I offer free mastering to any remixers' songs to be submitted. Just for OCRemixers though. Otherwise I charge actually money. Like the kind that they accept at Taco Bell or Del Taco.

I hope by "mastering" you don't mean compressing.

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Benjamin Briggs
on 2007-08-06 16:06:49
because it may not be Mastered. Check my thread in the community forum. I offer free mastering to any remixers' songs to be submitted. Just for OCRemixers though. Otherwise I charge actually money. Like the kind that they accept at Taco Bell or Del Taco.

uhhhhhhhhh

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Mr. Fox
on 2007-08-06 15:34:48

There is a rare sense of sophistication and elegancy in this piece. One of Shnab's finest in my opinion.

Sam, wherever you are´hope you are Ok, don't forget to drop a line when possible.

Cheers!

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo , 1985, NES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Game Over"
"Overworld BGM"

Tags (2)


Genre:
Classical
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Strings
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Super_Mario_Bros_Mario_Likes_Thorazine_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
6,190,546 bytes
MD5:
86ed03d7cdd3dcc4ce7ff21b95a866a1
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
4:14

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