Song of the Week - WEEK 87 Voting/WEEK 88 Nominating
 

Week 87 Voting is closed.
Week 88 Nominating is restricted.

Week 87 Voting
The rules for voting can be found here.

Results:
1). [17/12] Ridge Racer 64 (Game Rip) - Cruise Control
2). [17/10.5] Madara Mouryousenki - Ones of Serenity (Town Theme)
3). [15/12.5] Nekketsu Oyako (Sega Saturn Red Book Audio) - Mega Tokyo 2064 - Outer City Road
4). [15/9] Sega Simulation Best ~Advanced Daisenryaku Original Soundtrack~ - Opening
5). [14/10.5] Kameo: Elements of Power (Game Rip) - Trainer Cave
6). [14/9] Project Sylpheed Original Soundtrack - Operation Nebula Blaze
7). [8] Out Run Europa - Main Theme
8). [2] Namco Game Sound Express 2 - Burning Force - Sarinuka Sands (2nd Day)

Tracks:
Kameo: Elements of Power (Game Rip) - Trainer Cave
Madara Mouryousenki - Ones of Serenity (Town Theme)
Namco Game Sound Express 2 - Burning Force - Sarinuka Sands (2nd Day)
Nekketsu Oyako (Sega Saturn Red Book Audio) - Mega Tokyo 2064 - Outer City Road
Out Run Europa - Main Theme
Project Sylpheed Original Soundtrack - Operation Nebula Blaze
Ridge Racer 64 (Game Rip) - Cruise Control
Sega Simulation Best ~Advanced Daisenryaku Original Soundtrack~ - Opening

Week 88 Nominating
The Nominations Queue can be found here.
The rules for nominating can be found here.
A list of previous nominations can be found here.

Here is the link to the corresponding thread at the other forum:
- Soundtrack Central

Pimpage
The "Best Chiptune Contest" has begun! Round two now open for voting!

3pt: Project Sylpheed Original Soundtrack - Operation Nebula Blaze (8.5)
I absolutely love this theme, because of the amount of energy placed in the melody and the notes. The song reaches a complete climax and continues to build over and over. It sounds like a sort of energetic departure or passage from some sort of town or facility.

2pt: Kameo: Elements of Power (Game Rip) - Trainer Cave (8)
The melody is done extremely well, with the simplicity of the string plucks making the instrumentation close to perfection. The only part I'm slightly peeved by is the voice in the background that never changes, which keeps going like HEEEYYYAAA.

1pt: Nekketsu Oyako (Sega Saturn Red Book Audio) - Mega Tokyo 2064 - Outer City Road (7.5)
This song seems like an interesting mix of the old Megaman type themes with different instruments by itself. Throughout the theme, I'm left thinking that the melody could just go further. The song keeps bridging to new sections, but doesn't reach a that last amazing end that I absolutely have to listen to. However, the melody by itself is already pretty strong, so it's still a high vote.

Ridge Racer 64 (Game Rip) - Cruise Control (7)
This song has some really sweet ambience compared to a lot of the other ambient songs I've heard in the past. The notes and the phrases continue to slightly change, enticing me towards this song.

Sega Simulation Best ~Advanced Daisenryaku Original Soundtrack~ - Opening (7)
The song initially starts off kind of boring, but slowly builds up to something that's suitable for me. It's also this weeks jazz theme, and it's the type of jazz that I personally like.

Madara Mouryousenki - Ones of Serenity (Town Theme) (6.5)
This song seems like it's trying to achieve a type of peaceful song that has some Asian influences in it, but the melody itself isn't amazing enough to really entice me, because after I listen to this song, the theme really isn't that stuck in my head. I will say, however, that the instrumentation is something that I do like.

Namco Game Sound Express 2 - Burning Force - Sarinuka Sands (2nd Day) (6)
I do feel that the instrument used to create the melody is really distinct and original, but when the song is really note bashing for a majority of the song, I don't feel that this is a right pick for me.

Out Run Europa - Main Theme (6)
First of all, this song is recorded in mono, which suggests that there's an issue with the rip, since this type of theme doesn't deserve mono. However, besides that, the shouts and noises at the beginning before the actual theme absolutely bug me.
*EDIT: ok, I was mistaken about the fact that the song could have been in stereo, but in truth, I still don't like the melody that much.

NOMINATION!

I'm surprised that no ones actually nominated any of the songs from either the asian or celtic albums from Genso Suikoden. They're some amazing themes that I've enjoyed for a long time:

Artist: Dif-Ref
Album: Genso Suikoden Music Collection ~Celtic Collection 2~
Title: Touching Theme
Disc number: 1 (of 1)
Track Number: 09
Catalog Number: KOLA-036
Year: 2003
Source: http://www.gamingforce.com/audio/gfa-albums.php?id=897

The Commodore 64 only had mono sound. Ripping it in stereo would only serve to bloat the file size (although I'll admit to forgetting about this while making C64, NES, etc. rips plenty of times :().

I can only nominate one track at a time. But yes, I've held a track from that same album in reserve for nomination. I've never been sure how well it'd go over, though, so other tracks always seem to supercede it in priority.

Surprisingly, the one you picked is one I never considered for nomination. Different strokes, different folks, I guess.

Kameo: Elements of Power (Game Rip) - Trainer Cave I was really surprised they didn't include this kooky gem on the OST (lord knows there was plenty of room). My nomination combines a terrific melody, sprightly instrumentation, and some off-kilter vocal color into some nice QUIRKIN'. Though I am admittedly biased.

Madara Mouryousenki - Ones of Serenity (Town Theme) The melody's okay here, but the instrumentation is more than a little...odd. Asian-style overblown violin plus heavy backbeats plus saxophone (!) equals a truly strange melange.

Namco Game Sound Express 2 - Burning Force - Sarinuka Sands (2nd Day) "Note bashing" pretty much sums this one up.

Nekketsu Oyako (Sega Saturn Red Book Audio) - Mega Tokyo 2064 - Outer City Road A racing track, judging by the title. It's not bad, just predictable, hitting racing genre mainstays like a line of orange safety cones.

Out Run Europa - Main Theme The BCC seems to have generated some interest in the C64. The fact that sound like this was wrung out of the C64's chip is really remarkable; I just wish they'd done more than string together a bunch of 80's pop tricks and SFX for the meat of the track.

Project Sylpheed Original Soundtrack - Operation Nebula Blaze Not sure what to expect here, but this track was a nice surprise, with decent melody and a nicely heroic sound to offset its techno beats. Very solid, enjoyable track.

Ridge Racer 64 (Game Rip) - Cruise Control Racerly ambiance. Not without its charms, but wore out its welcome after awhile.

Sega Simulation Best ~Advanced Daisenryaku Original Soundtrack~ - Opening fairly good melody and associated development, though there's a bit more drumloopery than I'd like.

A major improvement over last week. First and second place were easy to award, but third was harder.

The Point Spread
Kameo - 3 pts.
Sylpheed - 2 pts.
Madara Mouryousenki - 1 pt.

Nomination
Name: Intro Theme
Album: Ragnarok Online 2 (game rip)
Artist: Yoko Kanno
Track #: 1
Disc #: 1
Catalog #: n/a
Year: 2006

I uploaded the song to the SoTW server already before switching to a new nom. Can re-up if neccessary.

You obviously didn't bother to do research. This is a brawler akin to Final Fight and Double Dragon.

Yes, my comment indicates that I was just going by the title. No need to get offended; you have to admit that it's not an unreasonable conclusion.

The least you could do is google it before making any misinformed comments. It takes seconds to do so. Your comment just drags it down further. By curiosity, what does that track remind you of to say that it's predictable ?

NOMINATION:
 

• Artist: Jarrid Mendelson
• Album/Game Title: Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun Soundtrack
• Track Title: Pharotek
• Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
• Track Number: 02
• Catalog Number: N/A
• Year: 1999
• File Location: http://gh.ffshrine.org/song/576/2
• Source(s): http://www.mobygames.com/game/window...ian-sun/trivia, http://www.answers.com/topic/command...atinum-edition, http://www.altpop.com/stc/reviews/cacts.htm

EDIT: Jarrid Mendelson credited as the artist/composer. Thanks to Rimo for the correction.

This week was pretty cool. Lots of synth nominations, it seemed.

Kameo: Elements of Power (Game Rip) - Trainer Cave: Somewhere between the usual tribal rhythms and standard oriental melodies lies this track. This is the sort of nomination that screams "safe", as it manages to be predictable while still possessing no glaring flaws. I can't say I was awed by "Trainer Cave" but it was still enjoyable.

Madara Mouryousenki - Ones of Serenity (Town Theme): The beginning is rather uninspired, having that standard "sleepy town" vibe that's found in pretty much every B-list RPG in history. But the tempo picks up and some better synths come in to improve it a little. These aren't quite enough to avoid that "cookie-cutter" feeling, however. A little less predictability would work here.

Namco Game Sound Express 2 - Burning Force - Sarinuka Sands (2nd Day): This one sounds like just about every other "filler" track I've ever heard in the arcades. Nothing distinctive to it, really. Sorry, but it's rather forgettable.

Nekketsu Oyako (Sega Saturn Red Book Audio) - Mega Tokyo 2064 - Outer City Road: There's a slight "MegamanX" flow in this one. Could be the metallic-sounding guitars and reverbed synthy-bits, likely. It's an okay track, standing out slightly more "Sarinuka Sands", though not a whole lot more.

Out Run Europa - Main Theme: I had high hopes for this track, since Jeroen Tel is usually dependable. Unfortunately, the new-wave sound sampling is more annoying than anything else, especially in mono. If the title didn't indicate otherwise, I'd think that was a poorly recorded and unreleased track from an "Earthworm Jim" game. I'm as nostalgic as anyone but the erratic nature of all those sampling hits overwhelms the melody too much for me to really get into this piece.

Project Sylpheed Original Soundtrack - Operation Nebula Blaze: Yeah, this is pretty much the 300 lb. gorilla of Week 87. I downloaded this album one day before arch_slayer nominated this track and had only just become acquainted with its awesomeness. Had he not picked it, I surely would've done so myself soon. I came into this week knowing that "Operation Nebula Blaze" would be the track to beat, and so far, it still is. Great nomination.

Ridge Racer 64 (Game Rip) - Cruise Control: Somewhat lacking in the forward melody department, but the meat and bones of the track - it's ambience - is pretty good. Sometimes I can appreciate that mechanical, industrial vibe and it works here. Pretty decent.

Sega Simulation Best ~Advanced Daisenryaku Original Soundtrack~ - Opening: Okay, that synth-vocal at 2:00 is freakin' weird. Kinda threw me off. In the end, this track is merely okay. It doesn't do anything wrong but it didn't particularly excite me either.

Guess I'll throw down some points:

3 Points: Project Sylpheed Original Soundtrack - Operation Nebula Blaze
2 Points: Ridge Racer 64 (Game Rip) - Cruise Control
1 Point: Kameo: Elements of Power (Game Rip) - Trainer Cave

Operation Nebula Blaze is, hands down, the best track this week, in my opinion. I was hoping something could compete on its level, but it was a difficult mountain to overcome. But if it wins, and it should, it'd be a well-deserved victory.

Here's my next nomination:

* Album Title: The Sword of Xuan Yuan 4: The Black Dragon Dances and the Cloud Flows (PC Game Rip)
* Artist: Wu Xin Rui & Zeng Zhi Hao
* Track Title: Four24
* Source: http://www.mobygames.com/game/window...i-yang/credits
* Disc Number: NA
* Track Number: NA
* Catalogue Number: NA
* Year: 2002
* Note: Chinese hanyu pinyin names of artists used.

2 Points: Nekketsu Oyako (Sega Saturn Red Book Audio) - Mega Tokyo 2064 - Outer City Road
2 Points: Sega Simulation Best ~Advanced Daisenryaku Original Soundtrack~ - Opening
1 Point: Project Sylpheed Original Soundtrack - Operation Nebula Blaze
1 Point: Ridge Racer 64 (Game Rip) - Cruise Control

None were too special actually.

Wow, judging from your votes, you guys have a terrible taste in music IMHO. Eh, then again, seeing as the last SotW have been disappointments to me, I guess it's to be expected.

Mediocre week. Nothing spectacular other than my nom and I'm not being biased at all.

(1 pt.) Nekketsu Oyako (Sega Saturn Red Book Audio) - Mega Tokyo 2064 - Outer City Road
(1 pt.) Out Run Europa - Main Theme
(1 pt.) Ridge Racer 64 (Game Rip) - Cruise Control
(3 pts.) Sega Simulation Best ~Advanced Daisenryaku Original Soundtrack~ - Opening

I'm nominating:

=== Kaleb.G ===
* Album Title: Dragon Valor (Game Rip)
* Artist: Nobuhiro Ouchi, Ayako Yamaguchi
* Track Title: Brize Forest
* Source: Rimo, and checked by myself also
* File Location: http://host.kg13.com/music/Dragon%20...e%20Forest.mp3
* Disc Number: 1
* Track Number: 08
* Year: 1999

Nomination:

Game: Freespace 2
Song: Ending Score
Year: 1999
Source: I'll upload it in a moment. Found on some FS2 website out there. http://www.sendspace.com/file/zgu6h0
Impressions: The song is odd in a way but is very very fun and electrifying in a way. Almost intoxicating. It is split into three distinct parts, too.

Brize Forest was nominated in the BSC' 05 :P

Nom time! Hopefully this one will be a killer...

Artist(s): Barry Leitch
Album/Game Title: Immortal
Track Title: Utopia
Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
Track Number: 15
Catalog Number: RMCD001
Year: 1999
Source(s): http://www.gamingforce.com/audio/gfa-albums.php?id=2641

No one appreciates greatness. :(

Anyway...there's a song from Atelier Iris Eternal Mana 2 that I've wanted to nominate for awhile. What do people think about that? Has the Atelier series reached its limit here, or would an AIEM 2 nom still be OK?

True, but I'm okay with it, because Brize Forest didn't advance past the first round (I think). Besides, we just had a second-rounder from last year in last week's batch.

This song is epic. Nice one.

Nomination:


Uplink <Karsten Koch> - The Blue Valley

The soundtrack for Uplink was a mix of various tracker music by different artists. The original S3M file of The Blue Valley is available here. I've not been able to get my hands on a MP3 version.

I, myself, was considering a nom from an AI game and it had never once crossed my mind that the series, as a whole, had been overexposed. There's plenty of work to be heard within its breadth, so I say to go for it.

Alright then. Unless other people object...

Album: Atelier Iris ETERNAL MANA 2 Original Soundtrack
Track Title: Gentle Breeze and the Earth
Artists: Ken Nakagawa, Daisuke Achiwa
Track #: 7
Catalog #: KDSD-10007~8
Year: 2005
Source: GMR
Location: My comp
Comments: Not sure if this could take first, but I absolutely love the mallet percussion in it.

Nomination!

Artist: Toshio Kajino, Mari Yamaguchi, Yasushi Ikeda
Album/Game: Area 88 (SNES Game Rip)
Title: Front Line Base
Track #: 4
Year: 1991
Source: http://snesmusic.org/v2/profile.php?...selected=14083

The SNES version of Area 88 got an OST last year (one of the best albums of '06, too), Capcom Music Generation Area 88 Original Soundtrack. I've uploaded the track off the CD; lemme know what you think.

Depending on the other entries, for me that has a high chance of doing well ;)