Song of the Week - WEEK 86 Voting/WEEK 87 Nominating

Week 86 Voting is closed.
Week 87 Nominating is restricted.

Week 86 Voting
The rules for voting can be found here.

Results:
1). [25] Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version)
2). [15/11.5] Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For
3). [15/10.5] The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert
4). [13/8.5] Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5
5). [13/8] ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen
6). [13/7.5] Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception
7). [11] DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6
8). [9] Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7)

Tracks:
Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For
ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen
DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6
Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5
Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7)
Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception
Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version)
The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert

Week 87 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!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Time to begin...

"What the World is Wishing For": Very pleasant melody and instrumentation, although I'm usually not sold on vocals in game music. Perhaps overdoing it on the upbeat aspects, though (I prefer uplifting/inspiriting songs--yes, I see a difference).
Championship Tennis title screen: Charming, but somewhat bland to me. Probably a combination of short cycle and the choice of instruments for me...
"Burning Road" (what are you doing putting "Boss 6" in as well?!): This would be a prime example of what I mean by "inspiriting". Probably the most "heroic" of our choices today. (I'll let the other reviewers put forth more neutral reviews...)
"Thunder Storm": {sigh} I'd probably like this more if the instrumentation were better. Too electronic in the wrong ways?
"Fierce God": A more brooding kind of inspiriting, I'd call this. I can actually see it used as a stage theme for a vertical shmup (badlands/enemy base approach setting). Could use a more pronounced melody, though.
"Tokyo Conception": I really like the way the movements are set up in this. A steady progression from calm to grim...
"Dreams Come True Someday": I doubt I'd have been able to tell that this was game music, rather than standard classical, had I heard it on a radio--a good thing for RPG music. Wonderful ambience.
"A Bird Crossing the Desert": To be honest, I didn't like the calliope (?) in the first movement all that much. I did like the second movement, though, although it's still a bit slow-moving.

Final tally:

2 pts.:
"Burning Road"
"Tokyo Conception"
1 pt.:
"Fierce God"
"Dreams Come True Someday"

And now, my Week 87 nomination...

Artist: Motoyama Atsuhiro
Game: Battle Bakraid
Title: "Battle Logic"
Disc number: 1 (of 1)
Track Number: 27
Catalog Number: SGCD-0008
Year: 1999
Source: http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=SGCD-0008

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For The latest inductee into the Unneccessarily Long Name Club. It's got Japanese singing, which I hate, but done in a slightly more classical and less J-Pop style, which I hate somewhat less, and the instrumental backing is quite good.

ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen I know I've thrown the label around lately in the BCC, but I can't think of a better descriptor. This song is painfully generic, and doesn't really bring anything memorable to the table in terms of melody, rhythm, atmosphere, or instrumentation.

DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6 Darius II, originally called Ochus and often surnamed Nothus (from Greek νοθος, meaning 'bastard'), was emperor of Persia from 423 BC to 404 BC. The preceeding factoid was more interesting than the song it's attached to, which is servicable but bland shmup muzak.

Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5 Hmm, Stage 5. Wonder who nominated this one? The melody's quite nice here, though I don't much care for the intentionally out of tune interlude which follows. If the melody had been allowed to flower and grow without the out of tune bit, it would have been great; as is, it's pretty much a wash.

Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7) More like Wussy Pansy Kitten God. Why do these tracks with grand names like "FINAL BATTLE WITH LORD OF ALL CREATION" tend to be so bland?

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception I never really know what to expect with these SMT tracks and their digital devilry. This piece has an interesting progression from a standard piano rhapsody to something more menacing and electroinic. I generally love the organ, and organs combined with electronics often equal sonic sex. But the song had a jarring break between the ominous buildup and the organ, and another between organ and electronics, and finally ended just as it felt like the music was finding its footing.

Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version) Not a proper Suikotune, according to the nomination information. A very lush and almost Golden Age piece that avoids some, if not all, of the terrible orchestration problems that so regularly plague Japanese orchestral arrangements. It's very consistent without being too bland, which is refreshing this week.

The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert I always picture Olivia Newton-John as a neon Bluthimation when I see Xanadu tracks, which makes them far more disturbing than they ought to be. I was hoping that this track would offer some energy and creativity, but was surprised to find it so low-key and, well, limp.

A simply dreadful week, especially in comparison to the quality we've been enjoying in SoTW of late. Points were hard to award, since none of these will be entering the 'ol playlist. It's a dark day when a track with Japanese singing makes it into the spread, but here we are.

The Point Spread
Counterfeit Suikoden - 3 pts.
Thunder Schizophrenia Storm - 2 pts.
Ar tonelico ~ That Girl Who Sings Beautiful Songs at the End of the World ~ ORIGINAL SOUND VERSION LIMITED EDITION SOUNDTRACK VOLUME 1 - What My Precious World Should Be Wishing For At This Moment In Time: Heroine's Theme (Arranged Version Remix Track) - 1 pt.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Eh, I had been hoping that my nom would finally be in the SotW this week, but I guess one more week...

Decent week.

(1 pt.) Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For
(2 pts.) ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen
(1 pt.) DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6
(1 pt.) Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5
(1 pt.) Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7)

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Nomination!


Game/Album: Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 (Gamerip?)
Artist: Allister Brimble
Title: "Girls Like Spice"
Track Number: 7
Source: http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1922

Notes: I presume this track is from a gamerip, as I can find no evidence of an official album release. You will either love this track immensely, or you will loathe it. I can sense no middle ground possibility.

Points will come later.

Additional Spam:
Okay, time for some reviews and points.

Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For - One of the more tolerable vocal tracks of late. The tribal feel improves its quality and the perils of using J-vocals are mostly avoided. Reasonably good track.

ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen - This is upbeat and all, but I still find myself neither liking nor hating this track, which leaves ambivalence. I guess it'd be playful in-game. On its own, it's unremarkable.

DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6 - I dunno. I'm not particularly feeling this one. Mentally, I recognize its merits but it's not grabbing me. I feel as though the individual elements are present but they're not coming together within the song to create something more. The tinny sound quality wasn't helping either.

Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5 - A lotta notes going nowhere. Parts of the middle section were fine but they were accompanied by off-key sections that felt weird. The lack of any conclusion disappointed me a little.

Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7) - (Laughing at Orion's comment) If you ignore all pretenses given by the title, it's not a terrible piece. The problem lies in the synths, which come off rather flatly. Given better recording techniques and a kick in the tempo department, this would be a fairly good track.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception - This is far too grim and raw for my senses, which seems to be the case for most MegaTen tracks that I've heard. The ending here is startling and abrupt, and it gave me a mild chill. I understand that's its full intent, but this also doesn't mean I'm obligated to enjoy the sensation.

Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version) - My nomination. As I stated when nominating this, it's actually from an arranged album based upon the old NES game, Bandit Kings of Ancient China, which is a KOEI title, not Konami. This track has been near or at the top of my playlist for almost a year now.
The progression begins subtly as it ebbs into a stronger, yet introspective movement before finishing with an uplifting key change into the triumphant conclusion. The mood is exotic and evokes a strong sense of China's historic pride. As far as I'm concerned, this track represents everything SotW set out to find: it's quite obscure, masterfully done, memorable and an extremely satisfying listen. <3

The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert - I downloaded this album two weeks ago and noticed this track. For me, it was little more than a novelty, as I found several stronger tracks on the album (one of which went onto my "possible nominations" list.) A.B.C.t.D. gets better as it progresses, but it still doesn't build itself into anything of high notability.

So let's do the points dance.

3 Points: Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version)
1 Point: Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For
1 Point: Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7)
1 Point: The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert

I was speaking idiomatically.

Outstanding week.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception - 3 points

My nom. holla I've been thinking about throwing a Nocturne track into the mix here, if it turned out to be eligible even, for the longest time. Had a list of potentials and Tokyo Conception was never on it until right before I nominated the track. The build up to the payoff to the climax hits hard no matter how many times you've listened to it. The piano at the beginning of the piece starts off with a bit of a sad tinge, but shortly segues into something more hopeful with soft building strings accompanying. As it lulls you in, the progression gives slight hints of foreboding creeping into what was to be uplifting from the initial melancholy introduction. Each switch of emotion is swift, but not so quick that you miss it. The piano notes strike harder, the strings carrier a deeper sound and are now very pronounced. It doesn't matter anymore if you were drawn in or if you kept weary. Either way, you've been carried to just where the piece wants you. The scales climb to their peak. Then this happens.

Warning: Actual Game Spoiler :

YouTube Video

Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version) - 2 points

I'm sticking by my nom, but I'll admit, this is unquestionably taking the week and will be one of the first winners in a long time that I can truly say logs in the annals of SotW history as top tier, alongside company such as To The West, Southern Twilight ~ Dance on the Cape of Good Hope, Carpe Diem, and the like.

The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert - 1 point

Bringing up the rear of my massive bias and a real quality nomination is this low key oddball. It spans a bit of a long running time to provide not all that much content, but the style and sound is a great meeting of quirky and sleek that ends up embedding itself in my good side.

Just missed:

DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6
ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen
Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For

All three very good tracks that could of easily earned my points in a less competitive week.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

(2 points) ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen
(2 points) DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6
(1 point) Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7)
(1 point) The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert

An ok week. The rest of the tracks were fine, but didn't appeal to me/wasn't into their mood. Ar tonelico missed out, even though it was nice. Tokyo Conception took its time to build into something remarkable, but then it ended. Thunder Storm; sounded cool, even if it was ultra repetitive. And that Suikoden track sounded ultra cheesy, though I predict it could be winning this.

I really agree that this week was kind of weak. Hopefully next week will be better =)

2pt: Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For (7/10)
orion, you're wrong about this song in a minor way: there actually isn't any Japanese in the song. I have a feelnig the song was trying to achieve an african twist with an upbeat melody, and it actually does a pretty good job at it. Then again, I'm one of the few who don't have a natural bias towards vocal game music.

2pt: Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version) (7/10)
This sounds like Hisaishi, honestly, and doesn't really resemble the Suikoden series at all. However, that's probably an advantage in this case, the song is very well orchestrated, and it's something that I'm attracted to. My only actualy complaint are the drums that appear in the end. They seem somewhat faded and not strong enough in the background there (probably an issue with recording quality).

1pt: DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6 (6.5/10)
This song would become so much better if the quality of the rip/recording wasn't done so horribly. It is certainly attractive in terms of the melody, but I really had to turn my volume up by about 4 notches (which is house shaking for other songs)

1pt: Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5 (6.5/10)
I basically second Crash's comment on this song.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception (6/10)
This song freaks me out in a really scary way. I understand that was probably the intent of the song; however, it's not a reason me to vote on the piece. I vote based on whether I'd want to listen to it over again, and the abrupt end really scared me away =(

The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert (6/10)
This song starts to get boring after a while, although I'm somewhat fine with it.

Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7) (5.5/10)
Meh. Besides the horrible sound quality, I don't really feel the melody is all that attractive. It doesn't sound completely original either.

ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen (5.5/10)
In terms of a song, this is ok. However, it really fails to catch my ears, and I basically forget the melody after I listen to it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Let's try this nominating thing again. I honestly don't think I or anyone else nominated something from this game:


Album/Game Title: Ridge Racer 64 (N64, Game Rip)
Track Title: Cruise Control
Disc Number: 01
Track Number: 06
Additional Information: All I have is a rip.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

3 points - ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen
1 point - Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5
1 point - Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception
1 point - The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert

I'll come up with a new nomination later.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Chuckster

Let's try this nominating thing again. I honestly don't think I or anyone else nominated something from this game:


Album/Game Title: Ridge Racer 64 (N64, Game Rip)
Track Title: Cruise Control
Disc Number: 01
Track Number: 06
Additional Information: All I have is a rip.

If it helps, this track is also in Ridge Racer DS since it's a remake.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Fierce God (Battle BGM 7): Just So-So. I'd find this song fun to battle to. Not a song that would earn any points most the time, and this time isn't an exception.

THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5: Just So-So (again...). This one has a slightly fun mood to go along with. Although, with that melody comes the "Meh" feeling, therefore no points this round.

Tokyo Conception: :-) This has been one of my favorites for a while. I really need to get MegaTen III. I love the way this song builds up, and ends. Very cool. Just recently Shoji Meguro has become one of my favorites (before then I didn't have a huge selection of his music). Great song. Can't wait until I actually hear it in the game ...

What My World Is Wishing For: Decent, not the best from Ken Nakagawa. The vocals are decent, I don't like the overall melody, the uh, Circus melody. The melody from the vocals isn't bad. Decent, had lots of potential but didn't use much of it.

Title Screen: Fun song. I always enjoy listening to these, but not on a regular basis. The song is cool, but doesn't have a certain change, or progression that I would like. Towards the end of the song, I'm already slightly sick of it, not bad overall though.

Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version): A 'slow' beggining, which isn't necessarily bad. Kind of boring, until you can start to follow the melody, then it is slightly cooler. I don't like the intermediary, drawn out parts, they should have been changed or taken out completely. Decent, which seems to be the theme this week.

BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6: Yet again, Decent.

A Bird Crossing the Desert: :-)

~~~POINTS~~~

3 pt ---> Tokyo Conception
2 pt ---> Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version)
1 pt ---> What My World Is Wishing For

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

There's been many a good group of nominations in SotW these past weeks. I regret not getting around to voting, but I guess part of the reason for that was the difficulty of assigning points in those weeks. The fact that I'm actually getting around to it this week might just mean it's a slightly weaker batch to me, but it's still far from terrible. On to the comments and voting...

I don't typically enjoy vocal tracks very much, but What My World Is Wishing For is an interesting exception. I love the African style of the track, and the vocals add to it in a nice way (as orion mentioned, they're hardly J-Pop-esque, which is probably a plus). It helps that the melody is pretty catchy, and the short duration keeps me from getting sick of it too quickly.

Title Screen has a nifty melody, but is infected with the terrible unmemorable melody virus. Then again, other songs this week have more acute conditions of the same disease, so it's excusable. The melody is a pretty fun one, so it's hard to say no to this track.

The first half of BURNING ROAD is more of a miss than a hit for me, although it has its good parts. It's good, but nothing special. The latter part of the track, however, is another story. After the TARGETS APPROACH around 3:00, the melody takes a turn for the awesome. You could say that I only really like half of this track.

THUNDER STORM strangely reminds me of a Follin track, but I'm not sure why. However, I guess the resemblance isn't strong enough, because I don't like it all that much. It also suffers from the unmemorable melody disease, coupled with a composition that's difficult for me to get into. It's just too haphazard, for lack of a better term.

Fierce God suffers the most acute manifestation of the melody disease this week. I actually like that I can follow the melody quite easily, but the tune itself doesn't do all that much for me.

I like the slow, gradual progression of Tokyo Conception. It's just a shame that once it seems to start developing into something awesome, the ending approaches rather swiftly. I wonder if it's the first part of two connected tracks that were separated on a soundtrack, or something. Anyway, it certainly kept my attention, but I was expecting a lot more from it.

Dreams Come True Someday is good. Like... Really good. It develops smoothly into a very powerful track. Orchestrated tracks like this are sometimes hard for me to get into, but this one grabbed me rather quickly. I have no complaints.

A Bird Crossing the Desert features a light, upbeat, catchy melody that's also very enjoyable. In that way, it's like the ATP Tour Championship Tennis track: not the most memorable, but impossible to pass up. The duration is also rather long for this type of track, but I never grow tired of listening to the song while it plays. The melody develops gradually, although it never reaches something vastly different from its original form. I love it, in any case.

2 Points ~ Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version)
2 Points ~ The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert
1 Point ~ Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For
1 Point ~ ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen

I was speaking idiomatically.

3 points - Ar tonelico
2 points - Saiyuki
1 point - Great Maho Daisakusen

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Ok, I will remember to vote this week!!

(2 points) The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert

(2 points) Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For

(1 point) ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen

(1 point) Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version)

I also remembered to do song research, too. Thanks to CHz and co. for covering when I "AWOLed". :P

And Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Most amazing jew boots

Some more points here :

3 points ╩ Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version)

1 point ~ DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6

2 points ┼ Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

3 points - Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7)
2 points - The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert
1 point - DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6

Next Nomination:

Album: The King of Fighters '96 Arranged Sound Trax
Title: Seoul Road (Team Korea Theme)
Additional Info: I don't know the other stuff, but I can upload it if needed.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For
Instantaneously it has reminded me of Yasunori Mitsuda's Xenogears Creid, an album which I love. I really like the ethnic instrumentation, the composition is also good but hackneyed. The only one that I can't stand is the singing, it sounds too artificial.

ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen
Well, I can't say anything bad about it but neither I can say something good. Typical background music used for accompanying a screen. It's not quite noteworthy but it's solid enough, and has a catchy melody.

DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6 (1 POINT)
This is Zuntata, I hope something more creative. The first half of the track is pretty standard shoot 'em up music, but fourtunately after the fade-out and the melody becomes a frenetic whirlwind of energy. It's a pity that the only interesting section is so brief.

Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5
Great Maho Daisakusen? What's that, another shump? Anyway, this track is much more messy and busy than the previous one. Of course that is diverse, almost as much as chaotic. The structure of this one seems random, and the transitions between different sections are abrupts. Not my cup of tea.

Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7)
Hey, I watched an anime called Saiyuki, it was very mediocre. I remember nothing about the music in the anime so I can't compare. This track is the kind of battle music that tries to create tension and little more. The melodic content is scarce and uninteresting and I swear that the drum kit plays one of the more boring rhythms than I had listened.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception
From what I have read the Shin Megami Tensei series distinguishes itself, musically speaking, by hard techno and rockin' music. The sad piano line, the crescendo strings and the ominous pipe organ isn't exactly what I expected to hear, but it is a good surprise. The closing techno beats are a bit out of place but I don't care.

Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version) (2 POINTS)
Suikoden - The Divine Oath (aka Bandit Kings of Ancient China) is a quality album, an underrated gem. I think this track is the instrumental version of the vocal one of same title, and particularly not one of my favorite tracks. Even so, it's nicely done, excellently orchestrated and with a smooth development. Yeah, objectively, it's the best of the week but not my personal choice...

The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert (3 POINTS)
...Cause this is my personal choice, guess it, my nomination. The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION is other of those underrated gems no one seems to mention anymore. ABCTD is a peculiar and distinctive piece of music with a palette of sounds really exquisite. Its vast and rich soundscape is the essence and raison d'etre (reason to be) of this wonderful arrangement.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I didn't like this week much either. Could be the choice of tracks. Something just did not sit right with me.

(3 points) Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception
(1 point) Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version)
(1 point) DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6
(1 point) Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Voting is closed and nominations are restricted!

1). [25] Suikoden - The Divine Oath - Dreams Come True Someday (Orchestra Version)
2). [15/11.5] Ar tonelico ~The Girl Who Sings at the End of the World~ ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - What My World Is Wishing For
3). [15/10.5] The Legend of Xanadu SUPER ARRANGE VERSION - A Bird Crossing the Desert
4). [13/8.5] Great Maho Daisakusen Original Soundtrack - THUNDER STORM ~ Stage 5
5). [13/8] ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Game Rip) - Title Screen
6). [13/7.5] Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne Original Soundtrack - Tokyo Conception
7). [11] DARIUS II -G.S.M.TAITO 4- - BURNING ROAD (underground theme) ~ BOSS 6
8). [9] Saiyuki Original Soundtrack - Fierce God (Battle BGM 7)

I noticed we've been a little low on votes the past few weeks (although we had more this time than the last two weeks). Would it be more convenient if we opened and closed voting at different times? For example, maybe pushing everything ahead a day and going from Tuesday->Monday instead of Monday->Sunday.

(R.I.P. Thunder Storm ;_;)

How ya doing, buddy?

'Grats to the winner; even better that it was my personal favorite this week

Originally Posted by CHz

I noticed we've been a little low on votes the past few weeks (although we had more this time than the last two weeks). Would it be more convenient if we opened and closed voting at different times? For example, maybe pushing everything ahead a day and going from Tuesday->Monday instead of Monday->Sunday.

No, I don't think that would help much, given what I've seen over the last few weeks. Let's not forget the flood of people who posted about not having time to vote after our two week long SoTW's ended. It seems to me that people get confused whenever we screw with the timeline too much.

My guess for the diminished participation of late is that midterms are just around the corner. If things get really desperate, we can always resort to more advertising and PM's.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Skyknight

Artist: Motoyama Atsuhiro
Game: Battle Bakraid
Title: "Battle Logic"
Disc number: 1 (of 1)
Track Number: 27
Catalog Number: SGCD-0008
Year: 1999
Source: http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=SGCD-0008

Who are you and why do you have awesome taste in music

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Yes! 1st and 2nd back to back. And the 1st place is a Suikoden track, too. That Suikoden nom came back to haunt me.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

'Grats to the winner; even better that it was my personal favorite this week

No, I don't think that would help much, given what I've seen over the last few weeks. Let's not forget the flood of people who posted about not having time to vote after our two week long SoTW's ended. It seems to me that people get confused whenever we screw with the timeline too much.

My guess for the diminished participation of late is that midterms are just around the corner. If things get really desperate, we can always resort to more advertising and PM's.

Yup, that's about the size of it...And that's not counting papers too.

Doesn't mean I can't nominate though...

Album: Wild Arms Vth Vanguard Vol. 1
Track Name: Seeking the Blue Sky
Track Number: 3-03
Composer: Noriyasu Agematsu
Year: 2007
Upload: http://download.yousendit.com/67F07C8318FC8CB0

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

OH come on =/ everybody knows that song from Wild Arms Vth Vanguard -_-

Oh well =) it's a good track.

Jam it back in, in the dark.