Song of the Week - WEEK 196 Voting/WEEK 198 Nominating
 

Song of the Week. 175 Weeks and counting.
Week 196 Voting is open.
Week 198 Nominating is open.

Tracks:
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: eXceed 2nd -VAMPIRE REX- ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK - Shock!!
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (Game Rip) - Tinliner
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Mother 3 (Game Rip) - Let's Ride the Train! (Extended)
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: oblivion - Homesickness -reunion
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Sonic Wings 2 - America Stage
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: The King of Fighters '99 Arrange Sound Trax - Psyco Sonic Trip (Psycho Soldier Team)
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Touhou Hisoutensoku ~ Chase the Enigma of the Superdreadnought Guignol (Game Rip) - the Grimoire of Alice

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:
Week 197 is 60 Seconds of Heaven 2: Electric Boogaloo! Nominations are full for it, and normal nominations will resume on Week 198.

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

Week 196 Nominating:
The Nominations Queue can be found here.
The rules for nominating can be found here.

Alright, let me be the first.

(2 points) oblivion - Homesickness -reunion: I'm going to assume those are fireworks and not gunshots at the beginning and ending of the song. A tad cliched but very sweet, an obvious embodiment of the "Homesickness - reunion" vibe.

(2 points) eXceed 2nd -VAMPIRE REX- ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK - Shock!!: Mmmm, let me eat this delicious synth work up with a spoon. Fun action theme.

(1 point) Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (Game Rip) - Tinliner: Probably wouldn't get a point on its main classical melody alone, but the rambling xylophone (is that the instrument?) underneath it all really adds a playful element to it.

(1 point) PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-: It's certainly got the PSO sound, and enough downtempo foreboding elements (descending strings, swirling vocal synths in the background) to make it something unique. Like the violin as well.

Nomination:
Album/Game Title: Lucidity (PC Game Rip)
Artist: Jesse Harlin
Track Number: 6 (in my rip that is)
Track Title: Twilight Farm
Year: 2009
Source: Game credits, some lucasarts blog

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1 Point - Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (Game Rip) - Tinliner: uplifting song with traces of epic
2 Points - oblivion - Homesickness -reunion: very warm song that captures the unresting feelings of an imminent reunion
1 Point - PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-: Phantasy Star is always good one or the other way for its trademark nostalgic, spacy atmosphere
1 Point - The King of Fighters '99 Arrange Sound Trax - Psyco Sonic Trip (Psycho Soldier Team): needs a while but the later part is quite absorbing
1 Point - Touhou Hisoutensoku ~ Chase the Enigma of the Superdreadnought Guignol (Game Rip) - the Grimoire of Alice: the constant piano runs make it very gripping and catchy
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Is... is that THE Masanori Adachi? Of Super Castlevania IV fame? Or just some doppelganger who somehow managed to amass some serious skill? Because, although I have reservations on the sound quality, Tinliner is top class.

Hell yeah it is. He works at Vanpool now, along with Taro Kudou, the other composer of SCIV fame. Tinliner is a sample I extracted from an interview with him and other composers/sound team members who worked on the game, so I'm assuming it does sound better in the game (because it would be impossible to sound worse).

• Album: Red Alarm (Game Rip)
• Artist: Ken Kojima
• Track #: 6
• Track Title: Boss 2
• Year: 1995
• Additional Info: Ken Kojima 1/3
• Source: Release Information for Red Alarm, game credits

Nomination! I've been so busy over the holidays that I forgot to renominate!

Album/Game Title: Super Robot Wars OG Original Generations Original Soundtrack
Artist: Takuya Hanaoka
Track Number: 7
Disc: 1 (of 4)
Track Title: ICE MAN
Year: 2007
Source: LACA-9094~7 | Super Robot Taisen OG: Original Generations Original... - VGMdb
Additional Information: Takuya Hanaoka has personally confirmed with me that he composed ICE MAN.

Pretty nice selection of tracks this week. Assigning points was kind of difficult.

(2 points) PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-

(2 points) oblivion - Homesickness -reunion

(1 point) Sonic Wings 2 - America Stage

(1 point) Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (Game Rip) - Tinliner

Special mention for KOF.

Some more points:

1 point ~eXceed 2nd -VAMPIRE REX- ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK - Shock!!
1 point ~ Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (Game Rip) - Tinliner
2 points ~ PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
2 points ~ Touhou Hisoutensoku ~ Chase the Enigma of the Superdreadnought Guignol (Game Rip) - the Grimoire of Alice

Voting was pretty hard

<<2 points>> The King of Fighters '99 Arrange Sound Trax - Psyco Sonic Trip (Psycho Soldier Team)
<<2 points>> Touhou Hisoutensoku ~ Chase the Enigma of the Superdreadnought Guignol (Game Rip) - the Grimoire of Alice
<<1 point>> PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
<<1 point>> oblivion - Homesickness -reunion

(3 points) The King of Fighters '99 Arrange Sound Trax - Psyco Sonic Trip (Psycho Soldier Team)
(2 points) Touhou Hisoutensoku ~ Chase the Enigma of the Superdreadnought Guignol (Game Rip) - the Grimoire of Alice
(1 point) eXceed 2nd -VAMPIRE REX- ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK - Shock!!

3 points: Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (Game Rip) - Tinliner
1 point: PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
1 point: Sonic Wings 2 - America Stage
1 point: The King of Fighters '99 Arrange Sound Trax - Psyco Sonic Trip (Psycho Soldier Team)

I have a lot of favorite parts of Tinliner, but my absolute favorite parts are those two short phrases near the end of the loop where (almost) every note of the melody is played by a different combination of instruments.

The other train theme was one of my favorite non-battle themes from Mother 3. I do like this one too, though.

2 points: Tinliner
2 points: America Stage
1 point: Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
1 point: Let's Ride the Train! (Extended)
Just Mised: Homesickness -reunion

Really enjoyed this Mother 3 piece in particular for some reason.

Holy crap, how has news of this calibur gone mostly unnoticed? I'm assuming Vanpool isn't very active?

Does this interview have other music samples, and if so, where can I see it?

3 points: Touhou Hisoutensoku ~ Chase the Enigma of the Superdreadnought Guignol (Game Rip) - the Grimoire of Alice
2 points: PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
1 point: eXceed 2nd -VAMPIRE REX- ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK - Shock!

Wow. That is probably the best Touhou song I've heard in a while.

OI! VOTE.

Yeah, they don't do a whole lot, and not a lot of it is released overseas either. The Wikipedia article is as good a source as any on them, I guess.

Adachi and Kudou left Konami to join Love-de-Lic some time in the 1995-1997 area. There they did part of the soundtrack to Moon, as you know. Love-de-Lic kicked the bucket in 2000, apparently, and they both went to Vanpool, one of the splinter companies that LdL split into, where they've been ever since. As far as I know, Kudou hasn't done any sound work since Moon, and has instead mainly been a designer and director. Adachi's kept busy with sound work, though. He composed an unspecified number of pieces for Coloball 2000, did all of the sound for Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, composed (but didn't arrange) the theme song to Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times, and did some sound effect design for Little King's Story. I'm probably leaving stuff out but oh well.

YES I'M A NERD, GUYS, I KNOW THAT ALREADY. MASANORI ADACHI DESERVES IT, THOUGH, BEING ONE OF THE HOLY QUADRUMVIRATE OF THE THELONIOUS MONKEES AND ALL.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0908/sound/index.html

The composers are the top row of people, and the red triangle buttons play the samples. Left is Adachi, middle is Kiyoshi Hazemoto, and right is Tomoko Sano. I wouldn't say the other samples are bad, but they're not in the same league.

2 points: oblivion - Homesickness -reunion
2 points: PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
1 point: Mother 3 (Game Rip) - Let's Ride the Train! (Extended)
1 point: Sonic Wings 2 - America Stage
Just missed: Shock!!

Great week to start off the new year with lots to enjoy, although I'm sorry for the delay in getting my votes in. It couldn't be helped, what with it being Christmas (you know, January 7th, the REAL Christmas) in addition to no internet access throughout the weekend.

3 points: Touhou Hisoutensoku - the Grimoire of Alice
2 points: oblivion - Homesickness -reunion
1 point: eXceed 2nd -VAMPIRE REX- ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK - Shock!!

3 points: oblivion - Homesickness -reunion
2 points: The King of Fighters '99 Arrange Sound Trax - Psyco Sonic Trip (Psycho Soldier Team)
1 point: Sonic Wings 2 - America Stage

Below average week by my standards, save the zts track which is absolutely fantastic. (shall hopefully think of a nom by this evening) And here's a nom:

Nomination #31

Composer: bassy
Album: High-Tension Princess Comedy Original Soundtrack~Music of Utopians~
Track Title: Star Port Nocturne
Track Number: 5
Year: 2007
Catalog Number: N/A
Additional Information: Don't let the soundtrack title fool you, this piece is far from convoluted and comedic! (Though does have the utopia thing going for it I guess)

3 points - PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
2 points - Touhou Hisoutensoku ~ Chase the Enigma of the Superdreadnought Guignol (Game Rip) - the Grimoire of Alice
1 point - Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (Game Rip) - Tinliner

Voting is (finally, I know right) closed!

1). [16] PHANTASY STAR ONLINE Blue Burst EPISODE IV SOUND TRACK - Nostalgia in Solitude -PART1-
2). [15] Touhou Hisoutensoku ~ Chase the Enigma of the Superdreadnought Guignol (Game Rip) - the Grimoire of Alice
3). [14] oblivion - Homesickness -reunion
4). [10] Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip (Game Rip) - Tinliner
5). [9] The King of Fighters '99 Arrange Sound Trax - Psyco Sonic Trip (Psycho Soldier Team)
6-t). [6/5] eXceed 2nd -VAMPIRE REX- ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK - Shock!!
6-t). [6/5] Sonic Wings 2 - America Stage
8). [2] Mother 3 (Game Rip) - Let's Ride the Train! (Extended)

I'm glad you guys have good taste in music. =}