ReMix:Final Fantasy VIII "Shine Tonight" 4:14
By Poolside
Arranging the music of one song...
"Fragments of Memories"
Primary Game: Final Fantasy VIII (Square , 1999, PS1), music by Nobuo UematsuPosted 2010-04-16, evaluated by the judges panel
As a reminder, April is "Support OCR" month, where we ask you to donate whatever you think is appropriate to help support the site. We've raised just over $885 so far this month, which is down a bit since last year, so hopefully more folks will chip in!
But hey, as much as we love doing this and appreciate all the help we can get, we do realize that there is in fact more to life than VGM (gasp!). There are other, much larger causes out there to support, and one of the best & most important is research towards developing a cure for cancer. This is Josh Whelchel's first posted mix here on OCR, but many of you may know him from his appearance at MAGFest earlier this year and his work as an indie game composer on games like The Spirit Engine 2. There's a lot to say about this FF8 pop/vocal mix (which is actually by Poolside, a group comprised of Whelchel and Melinda Hershey), but I'm gonna give Josh the stage for just a sec to talk about Songs for the Cure:
"Aquaria Composer Alec Holowka and I are both on a cancer fundraiser this year called the "Indie Music Cancer Drive," which last year featured Mustin, Big Giant Circles, and 2D Boy's Kyle Gabler (World of Goo, anyone?) as well (who may come on again in 2010). Please check it out at www.cancerdrive.org."
Well, it's 2010, and you can check the list of artists out for yourself at the URL provided - I think you'll see a lot of familiar faces! $10 for the downloadable album and $18 for the physical is really a good deal, because you know what? Even if you're a cold-hearted misanthrope with no philanthropic or even personal interest in the cause, this is still great music by amazing artists. Hopefully that doesn't describe you, and you both appreciate & support curing one of modern man's greatest enduring afflictions, but it's nice that the music for this fundraiser easily stands on its own - check out the tracks and hear for yourself. There are very few people I know who haven't been touched by cancer in some way in their lives, and Josh has made it easy for all of us to chip in towards finding a cure by attaching a great collection of songs to donations.
Right then; while it's a great cause *and* great music, and I'm personally optimistic about a cure being found in our lifetime, the whole topic CAN be a bit of a downer. That's where this bubbly Final Fantasy VIII pop anthem with generous amounts of auto-tuning comes in to brighten your day. It certainly brightened mine - while I'm sure those who are opposed to vocals and/or auto-tuning in their free VGM ReMixes might not be thrilled, I think a lot of folks will dig it. I instantly thought of Vinnie, since he and diotrans form Flickerfall and make some good upbeat pop themselves. He writes:
"Fun as hell. Pure ear-candy. The melody gets relegated to being the supporting piece, but it's still there the whole time. I wouldn't be surprised if this song gets some haters on account of it being chipper Autotune pop, but fuck 'em. OCR needs more unabashedly cheery music. YYYYYES"
Vinnie's droppin' the F-bomb, so you know it's ON. But wait - let's hear from the artist himsef. Josh explains the track's origins:
"Poolside is a project I started a few years ago as a way to express a more mainstream sound that I enjoyed, but it quickly became an electropop-mirror of what I was doing compositionally. When Melinda joined on the Poolside project we wrote a few songs together, but nothing has quite "shined" like this one, and I think that is mostly due to its genuine and heartfelt spirit - instead of singing about dancing and having a fun time, I poured my pen into a feeling that was very real and very, very strong. Naturally, this song fell into place from there.
Taking the song "Fragments of Song" which was originally in 3/4 to the more mainstream 4/4 opened it up to some interesting and catchy melodies and I think we were really able to take advantage of it, as well as using the time modulation as a reason to add our favorite "glitch" sound. Production-wise we are sort of looking at a combination of 3OH!3 and one of those more modern rock bands, like Boys Like Girls or Owl City. I also think about all of those songs that become hits on the radio that have samples of other previously popular songs and wonder, how cool would it be if VGM did that, too?"
As long as it doesn't result in Timbaland-gate part deux, I'm all for it. Usage of auto-tune and stutter are definitely over-the-top, but it's part of the uber-cheer and gung-honess that goes with the territory. You can either shrivel back in dourpuss dismissal of "trite" effects OR (preferably...) roll with it and bask in the glory of maximalist major-key bliss. Jovette Rivera comes to mind as another ReMixer who puts together tracks that sink or swim on one's ability to get over one's self and enjoy some super-enthusiastic pop without overanalyzing things. When the key modulates up for another repeat of the chorus at 2'43", this time w/ Melinda joining in on vocal counter-melody, you're certainly either with 'em or you ain't - it's not the type of music you can listen to half-heartedly.
Personally, I had a lot of fun, and am looking forward to hearing more from Josh. Check out the mix, check out Poolside, and most importantly, check out www.cancerdrive.org.
Discussion
on 2017-10-12 06:18:38
I don't like lyrics in vgm tracks. I don't like auto-tune regardless. Probably why I skipped this track when it was first released.
Making up for it though. Been on repeat eight, nine times now? Just so ... cheerful. Can't help but smile.
on 2015-04-15 01:17:35
I actually don't mind the autotune here. The 2:43 mark was rather unexpected of a shift though.
on 2014-11-15 13:27:05
This song transforms even my most shitty day into something more bearable. Nice glithcing effect all around. Vocals are so pretty, but chorus is most epic. Especially when they sing "Shine toniiight". I almost cry. Sweet tune.
on 2013-03-06 22:27:49
I don't think I've commented on this, so here goes:
I freaking love this song so much. If I had a top 10 list on OCR, this would easily be in the top. There's just so much to love about it. The autotuning works very well IMO, and the way it's written (along with the rest of the song) is absolutely brilliant. This arrangement is great, and this song has great production values on top of that. I get annoyed whenever vocalists seem embarrassed or whatever of their lyrics and try to put their vocals in the back of the song, but this song has nothing to be ashamed of. The singing is great, the lyrics are great, everything's just great.
It's cute, catchy, and cool. I hope Poolside has more stuff like this put up on OCR soon. Thanks for this song : D
on 2012-08-18 20:01:45
Pretty bouncy and happy, with nice glitchy vocals. Poolside has a great harmony between them, which, considering the use of autotune and other technological voice stuffs, that's a damn good feat. I am grateful for the lyrics tab at times though. But yeah, this song really picks up halfway through. Catchy and really fun to listen to, and about the only thing I could nitpick about is that I wasn't fond of the quick ending. Poolside is made of win.
on 2011-06-11 01:45:54
Between this song and Forever, Young Rachel, I've developed a love of Poolside.
So I just bought the CD. Can't wait to listen to it. Also can't wait for their next remix.
on 2011-06-05 13:31:37
I've listened to this song so freakin much that I surprised myself by noticing that it's ever so slightly different than the version on the Children of the Summer CD at the 2:41 mark.
(PS: this song is fantastic)
on 2011-03-31 17:29:20
By the way, I seem to have fallen in love with this song. It's so friggin' awesome! ^.^
on 2011-03-31 16:06:12
Posted a "MAKING OF" this remix on my blog which has eight full drafts leading up to this final version.
on 2011-03-20 11:00:46
Like it a lot. The intro sounds as though you could turn it in a dubstep mix pretty easily, heh.
on 2011-03-16 17:37:37
This song has me asking, "Should I like more pop songs like this, or do I only really like it because the source is from a videogame?" I don't normally enjoy listening to stuff like this (speaking to the voice effects more than the upbeatness), but I find myself putting this on repeat, like, way more than I thought I would.
I definitely like how the melody from FFVIII is actually used as a background, with original stuff laid on top. It's something I want try to work into my stuff more, making original bits more prominent in an arrangement.
I also really like the female vocal at 3:12. It just sounds so...clean, and pure, sung out after the denseness of the material immediately prior to it.
Just a really well-written and well-performed (produced) song. Great stuff!
on 2010-11-06 11:12:54
Now this is how you make a pop song. It's...heavenly.
How can you not LOVE something like this?
Sources Arranged (1 Song)
- Primary Game:
-
Final Fantasy VIII (Square
, 1999,
PS1)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
- Songs:
- "Fragments of Memories"
Tags (7)
- Genre:
- Pop
- Mood:
- Happy
- Instrumentation:
- Singing,Synth,Vocals: Female,Vocals: Male
- Additional:
- Lyrics > Lyrics: Original
File Information
- Name:
- Final_Fantasy_8_Shine_Tonight_OC_ReMix.mp3
- Size:
- 7,189,010 bytes
- MD5:
- f59b1ea12bc7b65f49f4968ca5848d2e
- Bitrate:
- 223Kbps
- Duration:
- 4:14
you know what i need,
some time away to get some air
i just can't stay
you know what i think,
i oughta be chasing my dreams, but you're bringin' me down
i've lost my way
she's like the stars above
you know she'll burn in your heart forever
she sings her song and she will
shine tonight
she'll light up the whole sky like fire
when her heart sings out, she'll know
you know what i miss,
those days they were just you and me
they've got me holdin' on to those fragments of my memory
oh girl (oh boy), you know what i wish,
that you were missin' me and longin' for my kiss
she's like the stars above
you know she'll burn in your heart forever
she sings her song and she will
shine tonight
she'll light up the whole sky like fire
when her heart sings out, she'll know
and then she'll see, she's never been so sure
she wipes away the tears that set her free
and i can see, you'll never be that sure of me
so wipe away your tears and we can be
like the stars above,
you know you'll burn in my heart forever
so hear my song and we will
shine tonight
we'll light up the whole sky just like fire, you and me
so sing your heart out, baby, please
(you say you lost your way, but i'll never leave your side
you got me tangled, but you know i want you mine
you say you lost my way, boy, you say you lost my way
look to the sky and you'll see me shine
we'll light the sky ablaze and sing our song they'll hear
our voices carry on our passion, it knows no fear
and when you say you just don't know
you'll look and you'll see me)
like the stars above,
you know you'll burn in my heart forever
so hear my song and we will
shine tonight
we'll light up the whole sky just like fire, you and me
so sing your heart out, baby, please
you say you lost your way, but i'll never leave your side
you got me tangled, but you know i want you mine
you say you lost my way, boy, you say you lost my way
look to the sky and you'll see me shine
we'll light the sky ablaze and sing our song, they'll hear
our voices carry on our passion, it knows no fear
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