ReMix:Mega Man 2 "Bubbling Adrenaline" 4:58

How 'bout some MM2 + MM10 electronica from TheGuitahHeroe?? I should say so! Jamison writes:

"This was my second round entry for the GRMRB 2011, for which I had to mix Bubble Man (my robot master) and Pump Man (Starphoenix's robot master). Unfortunately, Starphoenix was unable to finish his mix due to time restraints, so I won the round by default. But yeah, this was probably what I consider to be my most creative mix out of the four I made for the competition. I wanted something really different for this one, and the first thing that popped into my head was '7/4 time sig.' I was surprised by how well it worked with the trance atmosphere I had going. This is definitely my most liberal mix ever, so I'll provide a source
breakdown for this one :P"

Quite a strange arrangement! Leads are awash in verb and not particularly prominent in the mix to begin with, and the melody is painted with trace outlines, almost like an echo of the source tunes. It's rather trippy, at once both strange and familiar, and not entirely dissimilar to a feeling of deja vu. So many of TGH's mixes have been so direct & accessible (not bad things) that this is a pretty dramatic deviation that makes you work a bit more to discern the arranged material. Or you COULD just sit back, relax, be assured that it's in there, and disappear into the milieu. I like OA's decision on this because he grapples with it in a way that I think many listeners will, too:

"Definitely a creative choice to change the time signature, and for the most part it works. The changes to the melody make it feel constantly familiar but definitely altered, almost to the point that i'm not exactly sure how to evaluate this. I enjoy the track even though the melody is more subdued and not terribly catchy, though I think it's more like a backing track than a more actively listening track. The Pump Man source seemed more marginalized and obscured than Bubbleman, though that may just seem that way to me due to source familiarity. But I could hear sections where it was woven in, and throughout, there seems to be a lot of source use, but it's very, very altered.

Overall I think the source use is consistently there enough to be dominant, though it may be my brain filling in the gaps from hinted phrases, and the production is balanced and on-point. It's a strange call, but I am feeling that this one leans toward a yes."

It's almost like the audio equivalent of an optical illusion, where your mind insists on "filling in the gaps" as Andrew says and completing the motif. A lot of arrangements employ similar mechanisms, but it stands out here more than usual, and basically defines the piece. Interesting, unexpected stuff from Jamison that breaks form a bit but delivers something peculiar & memorable in the process.