Song of the Week - WEEK 193 Voting/WEEK 194 Nominating
 

Song of the Week. 175 Weeks and counting.
Week 193 Voting is closed.
Week 194 Nominating is closed.

Results:
1). [21] Neotokyo - Annul
2). [20] Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
3). [14] dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4)
4). [10] Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's-
5). [8] Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash
6). [6/6] Choukou Gasshin Xardion - Ending
7). [6/4.5] Sing!! Street Fighter II Instrumental Version - masked narcissist [BALROG]
8). [5] #ModArchive Story (Game Rip) - Music Madness - Part 1

Tracks:
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Choukou Gasshin Xardion - Ending
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4)
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: #ModArchive Story (Game Rip) - Music Madness - Part 1
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Neotokyo - Annul
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's-
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Sing!! Street Fighter II Instrumental Version - masked narcissist [BALROG]

Voting Rules:
Voters must distribute 6 points among the 8 nominees, giving points to at least 3 songs, giving no song more than 3 points, and giving no more than one of their choices 3 points. Possible ways of voting include:

Notes:
Please remember to upload your nominations to the SotW server! Uploaded noms mean a faster, smoother SotW experience for everyone. Server information:

Week 194 Nominating:
The Nominations Queue can be found here.
The rules for nominating can be found here.

Here's a regular week nomination:

* Album Title: .hack//G.U. GAME MUSIC O.S.T.2
* Artist: Chikayo Fukuda
* Track Title: Blue Sky Town DolòDona
* Source: http://vgmdb.net/album/4216
* File Location: Nominations folder
* Disc Number: 1 (of 2)
* Track Number: 5
* Catalogue Number: VICL-62289~90
* Year: 2007

And votes for this week:

(3 points) Neotokyo - Annul
Terrific, terrific piece. Couldn't help but check out the mod's trailer. Very nice.

(2 points) Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash
Nice upbeat track. I really like how it flows.

(1 point) dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage4)
Very promising with some very cool sections. But development can be odd at times. A bit of waste.

Special mentions for Aion.

My previously mentioned nomination reinstated:

=== Kaleb.G ===
* Album: PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK
* Artist: Hideaki Kobayashi
* Composer: ---
* Disc #: 1 of 1
* Track #: 02
* Track Title: Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
* Catalogue Number: N/A
* Year: 2005
* Additional Info: I finally found somewhere to buy this awesome album. Too bad it costed a fortune.
* Source: N/A: Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst Episode IV Sound Track - VGMdb, #gamemp3s
* File Location: nom folder

This will be for week 196 so it doesn't clash with Yuletide (unless you wanna bump me up to week 194 ;}).

Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World Anybody who's read even a handful of my SotW posts shoudl know that this is the sort of thing that does it for me every time. Piano, ghostly vocals, great melody--it's all there. I can't beleive they left this off the official OST, but it was worth combing through all 4GB of the game rip to find.

Choukou Gasshin Xardion - Ending Nicely dark and textured music, even if the melody leaves a little to be desired.

dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4) Mixed melody is right. I was really digging the piano intro, but the song becomes a lot more conventional after that. It does pick up after a bit, though it never really finds an equilibrium.

Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash Eh.Grungy guitar and electro-organ don't really do much for me. Even the cowbell can't add a lot of interest.

#ModArchive Story (Game Rip) - Music Madness - Part 1 I like the melody and structure, but this chiptune sounds seriously out of tune, like the recording was screwed up or something. It's also not looped with a hard cutoff, and I think I noticed some volume artifacts too.

Neotokyo - Annul Interesting, with trance-style electronics set against slightly bizarre children chanting and vaguely operatic moaning. The vocal effects are neat, but I'm not sure how much they can carry the rest of the song.

Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's- I didn't experience the United States 70's, but this sounds close enough I guess.

Sing!! Street Fighter II Instrumental Version - masked narcissist [BALROG] Never really cared for the whole Street Fighter thing. This vaguely latin piece does at least have a good beat and keyboarding, though.

Good week. There was something to like about almost all the music.

The Point Spread
Aion - 3 pts.
Xardion - 1 pt.
DAI-OU-JOU - 1 pt.
Neotokyo - 1 pt.

Om Nom Nom
* Album Title: EA Playground Game Soundtrack
* Artist: Darrell Brown
* Track Title: Buggin' NB
* Source: EA Playground - VGMdb
* Disc Number: 1
* Track Number: 1
* Year: 2008

An interesting week, but even the top tracks never reach the highs I was hoping for.

(3 points) Neotokyo - Annul: This one's a moody little number. Love the heavier bass elements in this. The voicework in the piece ends up being a plus, though I was in doubt about that listening the first time through.

(2 points) Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World: Definite elements of Star-Stealing Girl in here. Very lovely piano and orchestral work. The whispering voices effect is only tolerable at its lowest volume, and I'm glad it fades out halfway through.

(1 point) dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4): An interesting pastiche of elements (and a little piano to boot). Like all the tracks this week, it never seems to fully hit its stride.

As for the rest:
Frankly, there have been better versions of Vega's theme (and I've practically heard them all), but masked narcissist has redeeming qualities. Mysterious elements and some judicious string synths make Ending a decent track. United States 70's retains the feel of the spy themes of the era, but it's a little too scattershot. My main beef with Organ Smash lies with its sample selection. Music Madness simply isn't my cup of tea.

Voting:
3 Points: Neotokyo - Annul
2 Points: Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
1 Point: dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4)

Looks familiar...

1 point: Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
1 point: Choukou Gasshin Xardion - Ending
1 point: dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4)
1 point: Neotokyo - Annul
1 point: Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's-
1 point: Sing!! Street Fighter II Instrumental Version - masked narcissist [BALROG]

what the hell is going on in music madness oh god my brain (is that section starting at 0:27 where the volume gets softer for absolutely no reason intentional)

I really ought to listen to that Xardion arrange album some time (I have a nomination from the original game audio planned, after all).

Nomination:
Album/Game Title: Far Cry (PC Game Rip)
Artist: Thomas Baertschi
Track Title: Menu Music
Year: 2004
Source: Game credits, IGN
Notes: It's sadly the only track in the game that is more than a one minute loop

The score to Aion is wonderful, and Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World is a solid choice to nominate for SotW. It's exceptionally poignant and has a strong, epic film sound to it. The only drawback for me is that it tends to be a bit static at times, though to the song's credit the emotion is sustained throughout on a very palpable level.

In an unfortunate case of circumstance, Choukou Gasshin Xardion - Ending just doesn't come across as particularly engrossing after the Aion offering. Tanaka almost always gets the benefit of the doubt from me, but I'm afraid this here piece doesn't do anything for me.

Not being familiar with any dodonpachi music (:O I know!), I didn't know what to expect from dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4). Can't say I came away from it impressed, nor did it leave any impression or melody with me. It's a well produced track with a slick sound, but isn't really my style.

So my face after listening to Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash was something like O_______+. It's incredibly chaotic, incredibly messy and a huge turnoff. I can see why some people would like this one, but it definitely ain't my cup of tea!

#ModArchive Story (Game Rip) - Music Madness - Part 1 borders on the annoyingly ridiculous, but I can appreciate the quirk going on. I mean, only a little bit. But enough to put this one in the green rather than the red.

I'm still unsure whether or not I truly like Neotokyo - Annul as a piece of music, though I can't deny there's something entrancing about it. I've listened to it a few times and have deduced this: after listening, I find myself feeling empty (-); but I also find myself wanting to go back for more (+). I guess both can be attributed to the isolated and somewhat neurotic nature of the track. Whatever it is, it's interesting and can't be criticised for being too tame or predictable.

Catchy, catchy, catchy. Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's- has been stuck in my head ever since I first heard it. It has an awesome sound you don't encounter too often, and some wonderfully slick instrumental choices. I love the jazz flute at 1:21 in particular. All in all just a really entertaining, highly accessible tune that's a great "go to" when you want something succinct and upbeat.

Sing!! Street Fighter II Instrumental Version - masked narcissist [BALROG] has great stomping percussion (which made me like the track in the end), but the melody and "latin" vibe just gets lost for me in the storm that is the coarse and crude keyboard lead. The track isn't as melodically potent as I would like, though it's (i.e. drums) still OK.

what's the POINT of a cup of tea without style?

3 points: Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's-
2 points: Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
1 point: Neotokyo - Annul
then the rest (too hard to rank 'em this week)

An 'eh' week. Top three were very easy to pick for me, and the rest were just clumped in a pile together, which not much separating them. Let's just say they weren't my cup(s?) of tea.

2 points: Neotokyo - Annul
1 point: Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
1 point: Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash
1 point: #ModArchive Story (Game Rip) - Music Madness - Part 1
1 point: Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's-

I'd have nominated something like Tor's Theme or 3 Cans Later from Iji, far better representations for the soundtrack.

(3 points) Neotokyo - Annul
Dreamy, reflective, intense, and epic.

(2 points) Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's-
Really nice 70's rock with jazzy elements! I have a soft spot for that type of sound.

(1 point) Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
Magnificent and soothing piece which instills peacefulness with grace.

Stick - Choukou Gasshin Xardion - Ending
Snakes - dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4)
Snakes - Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash
Stick - Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's-

2 points ~ Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
1 point ~ Choukou Gasshin Xardion - Ending
1 point ~ dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4)
1 point ~ Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash
1 point ~ Sing!! Street Fighter II Instrumental Version - masked narcissist [BALROG]

Very good nominations this week. Couldn't find more points to give to neotokyo :/

(3 points) Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
(1 point) dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4)
(1 point) Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash
(1 point) Neotokyo - Annul

3 Points: Sing!! Street Fighter II Instrumental Version - masked narcissist [BALROG]
2 Points: Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's-
1 Point: #ModArchive Story (Game Rip) - Music Madness - Part 1

3 points: Music Madness - Part 1
1 point: Organ Smash
1 point: Ending
1 point: Annul
Just Missed: -United States 70's-, Mixed Melody, The Still, Sad World, masked narcissist [BALROG]

Not the best week, but certainly one of the most interesting I'd say. Everything vied for a point, though none for 2.

It's really cool to see Kinuyo Yamashita apparently becoming more active, so it really saddens me when I remember I wasn't a big fan of her in the first place.

Question: Any more slots remaining for the 2nd <60 second week?

3 points: Mixed Melody
2 points: The Still, Sad World
1 point: masked narcissist [BALROG]

Short vote. Just came back from Chicago.

Voting is closed and nominations are restricted!

1). [21] Neotokyo - Annul
2). [20] Aion (Game Rip) - The Still, Sad World
3). [14] dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU [arrange album] - Mixed Melody (Stage 4)
4). [10] Scarlett Reservation Special CD - -United States 70's-
5). [8] Iji soundtrack - Organ Smash
6). [6/6] Choukou Gasshin Xardion - Ending
7). [6/4.5] Sing!! Street Fighter II Instrumental Version - masked narcissist [BALROG]
8). [5] #ModArchive Story (Game Rip) - Music Madness - Part 1

I'm going to announce something related to this in the next thread.

(the answer is yes)

Ooh, so close! Ah well. Anything with "Tokyo" in the name is pretty much guaranteed to win on the internet anymore, amirite?