Song of the Week - WEEK 74 Voting/WEEK 75 Nominating
 

Week 74 Voting is closed.
Week 75 Nominating is restricted.

Week 74 Voting
The rules for voting can be found here.

Final Result:
1st: an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
2nd: The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
3rd: Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood

Notes:
If you are a member at more than one of the forums which this event is being held at, please nominate and vote in only ONE of the forums. You may, however, comment in the threads at any of the other forums.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood was originally in PSF2 format and is different from the OST version of the track. The original file has been uploaded to the extras directory.

Week 75 Nominating
The Nominations Queue can be found here.
The rules for nominating can be found here.

Here are the links to the corresponding threads at the other forums:
- Chudah's Corner
- Soundtrack Central

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Co-opting orion_mk3 here, but it's late and I wanted to get the threads up tonight.

I'm going to try my hand at a nomination... I'll put my votes in later.

Never too late to join =)

Artist: ESTi
Album/Game Title: Talesweaver Original Soundtrack
Track Title: Till the End of Infinity
Disc Number: 1
Track Number: 1
Catalog Number: MJCD-20071
Year: 2006
Source: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=MJCD-20071, gamemp3s release

Okay, someone must have left me out of the loop. I didn't get a PM saying that the tracks were up, and they weren't in the directory when I went to bed.

What gives?

When'd you go to bed? I sent you a pm notifying you they were ready at 11:24 PM (Eastern).

I went to bed around quarter after--I must have just missed it.

Compared to last week, this week is super. All the tracks were good and OMG I'm first to vote.

AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet - Track 5
Love the melody here, plus the orchestration with the different strings & brass. Sounds quite epic, like John Williams-epic.

an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
It's Mitsuda, and with a good deal of instrumentation and celtic elements. A pity it doesn't go a whole lot of places.

Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood
Great. Another beautiful, haunting melody about wooded areas. Just my thing. Though short and doesn't have much of a variety, it's still a fine mood piece.

SEGA Touring Car Championship - Sonic Drive
Shifting gears into a faster-paced, techno track. Decent but pretty run-of-the-mill techno. I liked Floodlight heaps more, btw.

Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous
Slowly builds up some tension and kicks in halfway through. I guess it works well within the game, but still an ok listen.

Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish
For a bit there, I thought Tarja Turunen were at the vocals. It does sound like her. Anyways, this a beautiful vocal piece, even it hardly does anything that hasn't been done before.

The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
Oh yeah, I remember this tune! From years ago, spending long hours at arcades. And this sax arrange makes it even groovier. Awesome sax+guitar noodle combo as well.

Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force
This has a very chiptune quality to it. I felt it deserved a point at least, but it went and started looping.


Points Spread

(2 points) AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet - Track 5
(2 points) The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
(1 point) an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
(1 point) Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood

AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet (Red Book Audio) - Track 5 Interesting melding of electronics and orchestra here, with an omnipresent pulse over synth instruments. At times, the pulse and the rest of the song seem out of synch--they're not, though poor musical choices in the orchestral section still make it seem like they are. The instruments sound a little tinny at times, too. Still, the piece is interesting and rather unique, and definitely more good than bad.

an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil This OST was about as Celtic as Mitsuda has ever gotten, as the Irish pipes forefronted here demonstrate. As a Celt myself, I tend to like 'em, and the wordless vocals and slight electronic acoutrements accentuate this. Then again, I'd expect nothing less from the master.

Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood This is a terrific ethereal piece, the kind of thing that melts me like butter whenever I hear it. The instruments are a little tinny/synthy at times, true, but the melody is divine, and the leading woodwind part...damn. Bonus points for frequent and excellent harp usage.

SEGA Touring Car Championship - Sonic Drive A definite change from the tracks before it, this is pretty much your standard hyper-repetitive techno trance piece. It's not as bad as it could be, and there's a modicum of variation, but I found myself bored before it was half over.

Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous Sounds vaguely piratey, with a bit of a lit to it, but it's far too long before the brass come in, and when it arrives, it doesn't do too much. It's not until the strings come in that the track livens up into a decent shanty. It's quite a nice bit of swashbucklery when it's at full steam though.

Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish English singing! How I've missed you. Infinitely better than the yowlery that a Japanese version would have delivered, but more than a little blasé until more instruments and singers get added at the end.

The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme) Another sea change, this time in the form of guitar and sax funk. A bit 1985 for my taste, but good enough for what it is.

Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force Synthy, synthy, synthy. Not bad, if more than a little cheesy at times. This sounds kind of familiar--is it an arrangement?

Excellent week all around. More than makes up for the horror that was Week 73 (*that* should have been our Halloween lineup).

The Point Spread
Dark Chronicle - 3 pts.
An Cinnamon Bun - 2 pts.
Serious Sailor Sam - 1 pt.
AEGIS - Just missed

AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet (Red Book Audio) - Track 5 Bah, terrible. The weak point in an otherwise fantastic week. Does anyone else feel like the composer just decided to grab a bunch of random instruments, compose four different songs, and then overlay them on top of each other?

an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil - The clear winner of this week, imho. Interesting from start to end. The Celtic vibes are reminiscent of Xenogears: Creid... not that this track needs that as a crutch. Far from it - its a gem of a unique color. I'm having a hard time finding something to criticize...

Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood - Decent, but not something I'd notice in game, or listen to out of game. The... viola? violin? whatever the non-harp string instrument is does an excellent job, but the flute and clarinet could use more variation.

SEGA Touring Car Championship - Sonic Drive - Got bored 2 minutes in on the first listen, and repeated attempts have only worsened the effect. Just not my type of song, I guess.

Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous - Pretty enjoyable, overall, though the sound of the trumpets almost ruined it for me. However, I decided not to count that against the song because I tend to be oversensitive where trumpets are concerned. A bit of a late bloomer (it doesn't reach its climax until 2:35, more than 3/4 of the way in), but its not bad while it lasts.

Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish - A very good song; held my interest the whole way through, and I was a bit disappointed when it ended, despite the four-and-a-half minute length. The background complements the vocalist extremely well. The only complaint I have (and it's pretty minor) is that I wish the background vocalists were easier to hear.

The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme) - The sax is really carrying this song... well, the bass guitar isn't bad, either, but everything else is sub par. This doesn't stop the melody from shining through, though, and all in all, it was a fun listen.

Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force - Not the song I would have chosen from rocking heart, but good, nonetheless. My favorite part was the little piano solo near the halfway mark; I wish it was longer. Also, the percussion/bass line are pretty repetitive, but since everything else changes so rapidly, I didn't notice that until a few listens.

*~Point Distribution~*
3 points - Battle with the Devil
2 points - Wish
1 point - Saxophone Storm 2

-Nomination-
Artist: Michiru Oshima, pentagon
Album: ICO ~Melody in the Mist~
Track Title: ICO -You Were There-
Disc Number: 1
Track Number: 16
Catalog Number: SVWC-7117
Year: 2002
Source: chudahs-corner.com/soundtracks/index.php?catalog=SVWC-7117

Seems like there have been plenty of Shadow of the Collossus nominations, but almost nothing on ICO. If this song was featured before the forums wipe, I apologize.

Also, my username is mispelled in the nominations queue... nothing urgent, but I dislike the connection with the detestable Kingdom Hearts character.

Just one from SotC, but nothing from ICO to my knowledge.

Sorry. That's not the first time I've done that, and I haven't even played Kingdom Hearts. :(

Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force: Full of fun melodies, the piano (or synth piano >.>) was fun to listen to. I thought the "synth" style fit with the song great.

The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme): The Sax was done pretty good, but the guitar/drums got old, maybe if they had a bass instead (they had one, but it was too hard to hear). I would have liked a more simple collection of instruments, I.E. Sax, bass, and some mild drums. But what do I know?

Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish: Wow, great song. Although, I didn't like how the vocalist bounced her notes at the end of a phrase (for lack of a better way to put it, I hope it makes sense). The overall instrumental touch was good, the percussion was well done, but it was hard to hear (for better I think).

Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous: This song seemed kind of scripted, kinda like the songs made from some computer programs (the programs are programed to generate music themselves). Luckily this kind of song usually sounds good. I'm not saying the composer was lazy or bad, it was a great song (especially towards the end).

SEGA Touring Car Championship - Sonic Drivef: My least favorite song so far, very boring. Although, it could be a lot worse. Not much to say about this one.

Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood: lol, this is the place where I stopped playing Dark Cloud 2, anyways. The song is pretty good, I like the relaxing feel to it too.

an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil: My favorite so far, it's also my own submission. I've always liked Mitsuda, and this song certainly lives up to his title.

AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet (Red Book Audio) - Track 5: Reminds me of some type of Christmas song. I don't like it very much. It's not HORRIBLE but it isn't one that I would keep for listening to later.

Battle with the Devil: 3pts.
Wish: 2pts.
Rainbow Butterfly Wood: 1pts.

Great week, I'll keep most of the songs, and I might finish DC2 sometime, heh.

A much, much better week, compared to last. The Addam's Family track was fun, but it really doesn't hold up to most of the past winners.

Track 5: This is what I'd call a "bread and butter" track. It's not particularly inventive; in fact, you could find music like this in many games. But it's done well enough and there's no part that makes me cringe. High point: the subtle, yet effective drone-pad swells along the bassline. Low point: slightly muddled orchestration. Still, pretty nice though.

Battle With the Devil: It's Mitsuda; we know the man can compose. 'Battle With the Devil' is a serviceable piece. I wouldn't say that it particularly stands out amongst his body of work, but on its own, there's nothing wrong with it. A bit dark for my tastes, but it's not a dirge and there's certainly enough variation to keep my interest.

[minor rant mode]

Although, to be rather blunt, I find it difficult to award Mitsuda tracks more than a single point. With other composers, you could hear this level of quality and be impressed, even surprised. But for Mitsuda, it's almost expected. It's another day at the office. And that's a left-handed compliment to the man, I suppose. Yet, it's pretty much become a knee-jerk reaction to hear a Mitsuda track and say "Yeah, it's good." I feel this diminishes other tracks and places them at an unfair disadvantage in the context of a contest, like SotW.

While "Battle With the Devil" may be worthy of more points, I feel it's my duty to maintain some equality in the matchups. If everyone gives BWtD a point, then it will place and will have done so very fairly. I can live with that.

[ /minor rant mode]

Rainbow Butterfly Wood: I have this album and have listened to this particular piece several times, evaluating its merits for future SotW nominations. It's one I always keep in the back of my mind, just in case, but has never really felt like anything that I had to bring to public attention. RBW is lighthearted and soothing, but it also runs a little on the dull side. It makes very good studying music, yet it also leaves me, and many listeners I'd imagine, with a bit of a "been there, heard that" feeling. =/

Sonic Drive: This is only okay. I like the faster pace, but I do find it to be terribly predictable. Not that repetition is bad - I've a track in mind for future nomination that's extremely repetitive, yet fascinatingly mesmerizing - but here, it's just coming off as being your standard, run-of-the-mill, in-game techno. I've heard worse. I've heard better.

Continuous: 80% of this track is simply not for me. I'm not insulting the piece, as I can tell that it's otherwise fine. My tastes in music just aren't very compatible with "Continuous". Sorry.

Wish: This is one of the better vocal tracks I've heard here in SotW. The first half of the piece seems to drag a little, but at least it comes around in the latter parts. I had to listen to it several times, but by the end of the last hearing, it had grown on me tremendously. I do find there to be some interesting, almost Mediterranean, influences going on. The spanish guitars are lovely. Although this isn't something I'd listen to every day, it's still rather impressive, overall. I wouldn't mind seeing this track place, as it's got a lot of character and is rather different from past winners.

Saxophone Storm: A fairly nice groove, with some added guitar bonus. Sure, it's got a retro cheesiness to it, but as an 80s child, I've got a high tolerance for this kind of pointless, musical posturing. The beginning section's definitely the strongest point, as the latter half tends to meander a little more than I feel is truly needed. Still pretty cool, though.

Battle Force: Ah, the synth entrant in this week's mix. (Seriously, there's been virtually no "genre overlap" this week.) The music is nice but there's something about how the music is nice but there's something about how the music is nice but there's something about how the music is nice but there's something about how the music is nice but there's something about how the music is nice, but oh yeah...looping. I don't hate looping, really. But when there's strong competition, it becomes a factor in the voting. It's a solid track but Battle Force doesn't thrill me enough to earn points in this, a very strong week.

Pointalicious!

2 Points: AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet (Red Book Audio) - Track 5
2 Points: Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish
1 Point: The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
1 Point: an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil

Thank god there was a strong rebound from last week. The variety was excellent.

AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet (Red Book Audio) - Track 5
For me, this is actually a pretty good song. The melody has a certain tiny unsynchronized rhythm to it, done on purpose (and a few people probably don't like it). I feel that this track therefore is a bit more unique, even though each "phrase" by itself probably isn't special.

an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
I'm agreeing with Crash Landon here. I feel that Mitsuda probably dominates a lot of composition (he still is my favorite composer), and I think that I'd like to hear other people, so I'll stay at the one point mark.

Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood
I feel that this piece has potential, but never reached it. It's peaceful in a different way from other composers, but the melody continues to loop over and over. It needs to reach some sort of bridge or conclusion.

SEGA Touring Car Championship - Sonic Drive
Extremely repetitive. Unfortunately, repetitive techno is often bad (even though it's not ALWAYS bad... like Wangan Midnight 2). This track just isn't compelling.

Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous
The first 15 seconds are a bit boring (I think a single phrase or two before the addition of instruments would be cooler). But when it does build up, this song becomes quite nice. Personally, I'm in for the two phrase reptition instead of the four phrase through this entire song, though.

Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish
Shes a pretty sweet singer. The melody and instrumentals combine to make for a song that is vote-worthy. I think the spanish/mediterranean influences and the spanish guitar in the background separate this song from others.

The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
It's an interesting groove. I kind of like it, even though I'm an extremely melody-based person. This song actually had to grow on me first =) (I joined game music collecting after the initial KoH craze).

Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force
This is one of the songs from this album that I don't like as much as others. I mean, it's synthy of course, but I feel that there needs to be something a bit more in the melody... especially for a Wild Arms melody.

2pt: AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet (Red Book Audio) - Track 5
2pt: The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
1pt: an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
1pt: Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish

Oh, yeah, no problem. I've just had a few people make the mistake before... probably wouldn't even have brought it up if you hadn't misspelled it in that particular way.

Although this track's never been heard in SotW, I'm positive that it's been in previous BSCs and that it did moderately well. I don't know what everyone's feelings on this are, but I'm under the impression that we try to avoid repeating BSC noms.

That was my impression as well. It's a great song, and would probably clean up here at SoTW, but ICO has very strong community support here at GFF (remember the "ICO Appriciation Club?"), and the same holds for its soundtrack.

Yeah, "ICO -You Were There-" is pretty well known and hardly counts as obscure. The ICO soundtrack might not be as popular as Shadow of the Colossus (now I know for certain after BSC 2006) but it still has a following here (which includes myself).

Not sure when I can get down to voting this week. *sigh*

Are you both mad? Christ people, the beauty behind the selection is the many variations it makes on a battle theme the was 48 seconds long in game. There is NO LOOP in the song. The bombastic introduction makes return appearances that lead into more variation. Pay attention.

Oh, and Battle Force was the only good track off of Rocking Heart, the rest was pretty mediocre.

The only good track? I'd personally rank Leave it to Me, and This Burden is the Weight of Life, This Meaning is the Reason to Live, above Battle Force. Then again, I'm not a very good judge of rock...

As for my nomination, I wondered if it might have been on the BSC before, but I thought I might as well try it. I didn't find anything after a search of the site for ICO, but that's not surprising with the forums wipe less than a year ago.

I'll change my nomination as soon as I find a suitable replacement... the only other song I'd consider from ICO is Castle in the Mist, but I'm not sure I want to attempt it.

A nomination approaches!

Artist: Takayuki Aihara
Album: Carnaval
Track Title: cool voice
Disc Number: only one
Track Number: 03
Catalog Number: TTRC-0030
Year: 1997
Additional Information: Takayuki Aihara's solo album. Special thanks go out to shylph for sharing the album a few months ago in the Takayuki Aihara thread here at GFF.
Source: VGM World

Castle in the Mist was in last year's Best Song Contest. I don't remember how well it did, but I think it was one of the highly seeded tracks (that is, there were quite a few that nominated it). It's definitely a track that I have a lot of exposure to, and it's probably fair to say that the same is true for other SOTW participants here at Gamingforce.
Not sure how well known ICO's soundtrack would be at places like Soundtrack Central or Chudah's Corner, though.

Also, I enjoyed everything on rocking heart. It's easily one of my favorite arrange albums~

Anyway, I'll hopefully find the time and incentive to pop back in the thread later to vote and comment on the tracks. Sounds like this will be a fairly nice week, judging on the comments so far.

Yeah, Castle in the Mist was in last year's BSC and it advanced a few rounds.

My bad. Well, maybe "looping" was a poor choice for words. I did note the variations before, even though they were quite minor. The track was wholly repetitive for me, as the same intro and other passages were being repeated over the course of it. Still, it's a good track that I went back to listen to more than once. Unfortunately, as Crash Landon said, this is a good week with some strong competition.


Regarding my next nomination (and with all the discussion going on about what is considered nom-worthy), I went and took a closer look at the rules and it said something about doujins and such not being qualified. Well, the game my nom's from is an amateur/fan game. Does it still qualify? Just wanted to make sure.

The doujin distinction is only for artists; if it's a song that was composed for a game, then it's eligible, whether the game was professionally released, fan made, etc.

CHz (AWACS) nominated "Airwaves", a track that was used in a Flash game.

So there's plenty of room to maneuver.

Seconded.

I actually have to say Battle Force is one of my lesser favorites from the album. While variation is great, I feel that the variation this arrangement has is nothing exceptional (that is, if the variation is not simply superfluous).

I'm gonna award points now, but I don't feel like writing out comments now. I'll just say that there wasn't anything really spectacular this week that stood out. Most stuff felt on a pretty even level, though it was all varied stuff. A decent week, I guess.

1 point - an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
1 point - Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood
1 point - Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous
1 point - Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish
1 point - The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
1 point - Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force

Yay 1 point for everyone!

Okay, let's try this again. Sorry for the inconvenience.

-Nomination-
Artist: Tsuneo Imahori
Album: Gungrave O.S.T.
Track Title: an ulterior motive
Disc Number: 1/1
Track Number: 16
Catalog Number: VICL-60845
Year: 2002
Source: chudahs-corner.com/soundtracks/index.php?catalog=VICL-60845

Eh, I apologize for the fuming. I have to stop keeping expectations for my noms, but when I have them and they fail miserably I take it kind of hard. From comments, it seems like the field is strong, so whatever the front runners are probably deserve it, although I've yet to have time to listen to everything yet. I'll just shut my trap until I do.

Granted, I've only gave the album a single listen, but Battle Force was the only track on the disc that made me stop and take notice. As for the rest, they made me wish that I was listening to the originals.

Ok, I took a minute off PSU to post this real quick:

3 points - The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
1 point - an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
1 point - Aegis: Guardian of the Fleet
1 point - SEGA Touring Car Championship - Sonic Drive <--- This kind of music gets too much hate here.

Vexxon: correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Gungrave O.S.T. an anime soundtrack, not a game soundtrack?

There is a Gungrave game as well as an anime, though I suppose we'd best be sure that the music is original and not recycled from the anime.

The game actually spawned the anime.

From the the wikipedia article on the gungrave anime:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gungrave_%28anime%29

Here are links to the soundtracks for the anime:
answers.com/topic/gungrave-uno-righthead
answers.com/topic/gungrave-o-s-t-2-lefthead

And here is the link to the video game soundtrack:
chudahs-corner.com/soundtracks/index.php?catalog=VICL-60845

(you'll have to copy and paste them into your browser since I still can't post links)

As you can see, though all three soundtracks are composed by Tsuneo Imahori, each song is mutually exclusive, and indeed, the video game came first, so there is no chance of the songs from the game even being based on the songs from the anime.

(2 points) an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil: And I'm docking a point because it's Mitsuda. A real fave of mine from Tsugunai (and for those interested, there's a second track with this theme in the game. Not surprisingly, it's called The Devil, and it's a delightful down-tempo rendition of the theme without the manic bagpipes or whatever those are).

(2 points) Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous: Lovely buildup. The second half of the song is the best part.

(1 point) Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood: It's there, it's lovely, and like everyone else said, it doesn't blow you away. That's a point.

(1 point) AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet (Red Book Audio) - Track 5: I'm agreeing with everyone -- it's a little messy, but it's also quite purdy.

AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet (Red Book Audio) - Track 5
What regards orchestra, this one is 2xslightly above the average, forgettable kind. It actually maintains the same structure (some good parts some bad parts), but does everything a bit better.

an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
Good or bad sign, I immediately recognized Mitsuda. In my opinion, this is him on autopilot. He did a good job glueing several single melodic parts together, but it's too obvious and he has been more intuitive before. The atmosphere is well done though.

Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood
It's a bit short, but doesn't fail a note for me, so I guess this is my winner. I don't really have anything else to say about it.

SEGA Touring Car Championship - Sonic Drive
I like this track allright. The beats in 1:11 are cool for example, otherwise it's a repetitive affair. Not that I personally mind repetitiveness, but then it has to sit and stick. It was not sitting in a bad position, but it didn't stick so much.

Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous
While the first half bored me, the second half (kind of) made up for it. I am not sure how to rate this track. Even if the second half is good, it's still standard march music with a monotone triumphant direction.

Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish
"Unusual" is the word I would use. The song flows but doesn't flow at the same time. The emphasis of certain parts sometimes disrupt the natural flow, at the same time makes it "unique" though. Another track that borders on well done, but doesn't quite deliver it.

The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
I am kinda allergic to long saxophone parts, so the first half isn't so much my cup of tea, but it actually was better than I thought. There is this single melodic line, that's quite catchy and reminds me of some shooter + the second half is actually good.

Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force
I didn't remember so much about this track, but it probably had the most variety out of this week. Is it composed by Naruke? Yeah, because there were some emphasis parts, that doesn't sit well with me again, but the piano run was sleak.

Pizza Delivery:
Hueg Pizza: Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood

Small-Size Pizzas:
Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish
The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force

I really thought the seven other tracks didn't differ so much from quality, but so shall it be.
EDIT: now that I have read the other comments, I'd just like to point out that I didn't think at all that his week was better than last.

Hmm. Well, in light of that, I'm considering changing my nomination. Yeah, kinda fell out of love with my current nom before it went up. Happy Beach is still nice, mind, but lately I've been listening to ZX Tunes (which I'm going to assume is taboo for being Megaman related, though if not I'd nominate the completely-awesome Trap Factory in a wink) and this catchy little gem:

Megamari: Marisa no Yabou <Aki Yamani & NKZ> - [07] Izayou Sakuya Stage

Pending acceptance and verification that ZX Tunes is off-limits, I'll post a link to it shortly.

Very nice week! Not much time so on to the points:

(2 points) Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi - Wish
I fell in love with this song when I first heard it in a very beautiful CG sequence from Rygar (the PS2 game) with just the first two verses performed a capella. Ever since, this song has always been very stunning to me. The lyrics could have been a touch better but those vocals and the great accompaniment more than make up for it. Special mention must definitely be given to the guitar.

(2 points) An Cinniint - Battle With the Devil
Admittedly, "Battle With the Devil" is a guilty pleasure. Very nice, especially the sublime piano solo that plays the theme from "The Devil". The ending before the loop is also great atmospheric stuff.

(1 point) AEGIS Guardian of the Fleet - Track 5
Nice mix of electronics and orchestra work. I have a weakness for songs like these so quite hard to not overlook this song, especially since it makes for a good listen with its rousing and uplifting melody.

(1 point) Dark Chronicle (PSF2 Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood
Very pleasant and serene. Was hesitating about giving it a point but relented; the melody is too beautiful to pass up.

"Continuous" just missed.

EDIT: Just changed my point distribution.

Feeling kind of morose this week so decided to nominate this:

* Album: Divine Divinity (PC Game Rip)
* Artist: Kirill Pokrovsky
* Track Title: Whispers From A Council Past
* Source: http://www.mobygames.com/game/window...vinity/credits
* Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
* Track Number: 24
* Catalogue Number: NA
* Year: 2002

Have uploaded the .ogg file to the ftp; will convert to mp3 at a later time.

Izayou Sakuya Stage is short, but sweet. Gotta love the organ. :D

I recall two MM tracks previously being in SotW, Esperanto from RTRZ Physis (placed second in Week 63) and Steel Massimo from RX Command Mission (didn't place in Week 14, even though it's boss). We tend to be a little warier on new releases, since an album's not having been heard only because of a recent release date doesn't necessarily imply obscurity, but ZX Tunes might be fine. Depends on how many other people have heard this one (I personally have only heard a couple of tracks from it, and not Trap Factory).

Fair enough. Enough people probably will (and should) hear ZX Tunes on their own accord that it doesn't need a spotlight to make it known. I'll leave it that Trap Factory is a damn fine listen and go instead with the equally-fine Sakuya.

You filthy heathens.

THREE points of righteousness absolute: Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force

A respectable 2 points: Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish

The best of the rest, a track that's doing much better than what should be winning even though it's suffers from all the same complaints as my nom but has way better sound quality, hmmm - The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme) - 1 point

The other five were meh.

Seems like the rule of thumb on MM music has been to only accept tracks from little-known side games in the franchise. If ZX Tunes is going to accompany a major new release and will likely be featured in an av/sig week, I'd oppose it. I'd also be against it if the music in any way remixes previous MM tunes.

But if you're confident the game is and will remain obscure in the series along with its music, I see no problem.

Fine.

(2 points) Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish
(2 points) Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous
(1 point) an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
(1 point) Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood

3 points: an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
2 points: The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
1 point: Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood

"Battle with the Devil" is one of the many source tunes for one of my favorite OC ReMixes, "Static Wonderland". Check it out if you liked that track.

That's a pretty awesome mix. Reminds me of Masashi Hamauzu's SaGa Frontier 2 score in several places.

Voting is closed and nominations are restricted!

1). [23] an cinniùint - Battle with the Devil
2). [17] The King of Fighters '96 Arrange Sound Trax - Saxophone Storm 2 (Yagami Team Theme)
3). [16] Dark Chronicle (Game Rip) - Rainbow Butterfly Wood
4). [15] Symphonic Poem Argos no Senshi Original Soundtrack - Wish
5). [9] AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet (Red Book Audio) - Track 5
6). [7] Wild Arms Music the Best -rocking heart- - Battle Force
7). [6] Serious Sam II (PC Game Rip) - Continuous
8). [3] SEGA Touring Car Championship - Sonic Drive

I had a feeling it would go this way. Battle With the Devil isn't really Mitsuda's best work, in my opinion. It's decent but I know I've heard better. Fair is fair, however, and the track made it here on its own.

I'm personally disappointed that "Wish" didn't squeak into 3rd place. I thought it was one of the better true vocal tracks SotW has seen.

I was torn on Wish. I thought the vocals were particularly good, but I wasn't feeling the instrumentation. I liked the first minute of the song more than the remaining three and a half, to be honest.

Ironically enough, I was feeling the instrumentation, but not the vocals for "Wish." In any case, I voted most appropriately given how the results turned out. It should end up that way every single week!

lol, I thought I was the only one who plays the game (since it's pseudo-Touhou). I actually don't remember much of Sakuya's Stage, but it's always different in contests like this. Personally I found Reimu's Stage to be most memorable.

Megamari is a Mega Man clone as the name suggest, but it features Touhou characters, and the music has really nothing to do with Mega Man.

Whoa. I thought I remembered there being a 6-month waiting period before nominating songs from new games/soundtracks, but I can't find anything about that in the rules. Good to know.

And Battle with the Devil was my top pick this week. It was an ok week. I just never got around to getting my votes in.

I don't think we've had any rule like that before, but it might've been discussed at some point. I remember a while back David Deluxe wanted to nominate Zero from the Ace Combat Zero game rip, but Kaleb put a hold on it until the soundtrack came out in order to gauge popularity, so maybe you were thinking about that too.

This time around I also missed the votation, I am becoming really lazy with the time.

I'm not too satisfied with the results, as Wish is one of my favorite vg vocal songs ever, and AEGIS nearly was the only obscure track. Anyway, this was an enjoyable week.

Seems like a waiting period would be a good rule of thumb in many cases, if not an "official" rule. After all, look what happened to Zero in the BSC--it was in the top 16.

Correct. Well, that and the fact that there was no need to use the game rip version when the OST would be coming out so soon. The OST version is easier to keep tabs on, because it's official.

Yeah, I agree. It's hard to judge a piece of music as being obscure when it just came out.

Look at Katamari Damacy for a perfect example. The OST came out in May 2004 and wasn't that big, but by October (after the U.S. release of the game) everyone had heard of it. Of course, in that case, the popularity of the music hinged on the game itself.

Regardless, a waiting period sounds like a good idea to me.