[SotW] Song of the Week - WEEK 114 Voting/WEEK 115 Nominating

Song of the Week. 100 Weeks and counting.
Week 114 Voting is closed.
Week 115 Nominating is restricted.

Week 114 Voting
The rules for voting can be found here.

Results:
1). [20] Persona 2 Batsu Punitive Dance - Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~
2). [19/15] Double Dragon (Neo Geo CD Red Book Audio) - Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)
3). [19/10.5] Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Premium Arrange - Jungle
4). [18/13] Savage (Commodore 64 Game Rip) - Intro
5). [18/10.5] Phantasy Star Collection — Sound Collection I - Field Medley
6). [10] SKYGUNNER Original Sound Tracks - Merveilleux ~ Setting Out (Bonus Track)
7). [8] Z.O.E. - Zone of the Enders Original Soundtrack - KISS ME SUNLIGHTS - Opening Theme
8). [7] Gradius IV Fukkatsu Original Game Soundtrack - Gaia

Tracks:
Double Dragon (Neo Geo CD Red Book Audio) - Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)
Gradius IV Fukkatsu Original Game Soundtrack - Gaia
Persona 2 Batsu Punitive Dance - Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~
Phantasy Star Collection — Sound Collection I - Field Medley
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Premium Arrange - Jungle
Savage (Commodore 64 Game Rip) - Intro
SKYGUNNER Original Sound Tracks - Merveilleux ~ Setting Out (Bonus Track)
Z.O.E. - Zone of the Enders Original Soundtrack - KISS ME SUNLIGHTS - Opening Theme

Notes:
If you are a member at more than one of the forums in which this event is being held, please nominate and vote in only ONE of the forums. You may, however, comment in the threads at any of the other forums.

Week 115 Nominating
The Nominations Queue can be found here.
The rules for nominating can be found here.

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

Jam it back in, in the dark.

OH SNAP!! Epsilon vs. Shanks! This calls for some X vs. Zero BGM!

Will vote soon.

Next nom:
Artists: Yuko Komiyama, Akemi Kimura
Album: Rockman X8 Original Soundtrack
Track Title: Gateway
Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
Track Number: 23
Catalog Number: CPCA-10115
Year: 2005
Source: CPCA-10115: Rockman X8 Original Soundtrack - VGMdb beta

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme) is freakin' awesome! Groovy, good sound, great melodies, plenty variation, altogether excellent. Super long without getting boring, too!

Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~ isn't exactly what I expected of it, but it's got a certain charm. I really should play some of these Persona games... Jeroen Tel is one of my all-time heroes, although I can't say Savage is my favorite by him by any means. Still, good enough for a point, as is the smooth and classy KISS ME SUNLIGHTS. It uses one of my favorite progressions at some point... But I don't think it's "blow-my-mind" awesome.

I actually liked pretty much every entry this time around, Jungle was neat and barely missed the mark. If I was in that kinda mood I would've definitely given it a point or maybe even more, but right now I'm more into "traditional" game music.

So that makes...
3 points - Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)
1 point - Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~
1 point - Savage
1 point - KISS ME SUNLIGHTS

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

(3 points) Gradius IV Fukkatsu Original Game Soundtrack - Gaia
(2 points) Savage (Commodore 64 Game Rip) - Intro
(1 point) Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Premium Arrange - Jungle

I'm loving that Savage awesomeness.

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

2 points : Phantasy Star Collection — Sound Collection I - Field Medley
1 point : Persona 2 Batsu Punitive Dance - Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~
1 point : Double Dragon (Neo Geo CD Red Book Audio) - Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)
1 point : Gradius IV Fukkatsu Original Game Soundtrack - Gaia
1 point : Savage (Commodore 64 Game Rip) - Intro

I was speaking idiomatically.

Just wanted to pop in and gloat. Song of the Week is now in the top 10 Google results for song of the week (without quotes) and top 5 Google results for "song of the week" (with quotes). Song of the Week is also the #1 Yahoo! search result for song of the week (with or without quotes). We're fucking legit!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

3 points: Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Premium Arrange - Jungle
2 points: Z.O.E. - Zone of the Enders Original Soundtrack - KISS ME SUNLIGHTS - Opening Theme
1 point: Double Dragon (Neo Geo CD Red Book Audio) - Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)
Close: Phantasy Star Collection — Sound Collection I - Field Medley

Field Medley was only close because I'm a big fan of PS2's "Silent Zone" thanks to GrayLightning's mix of it, "Dezoris Winter". Should have stuck with Silent Zone too, the rest wasn't much to speak of.

Funny week in that I already heard my top 2 tracks years ago, so all that was left was figuring out my 3rd. Persona 2 was half-decent, the rest were meh IMO. Even the Double Dragon track was spotty.

FELIPE NO

Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~ 2 points
Intro 1 point
Gaia 1 point
Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme) 1 point
Merveilleux ~ Setting Out (Bonus Track) 1 point

How ya doing, buddy?

3 Points: Persona 2 Batsu Punitive Dance - Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~
1 Point: SKYGUNNER Original Sound Tracks - Merveilleux ~ Setting Out (Bonus Track)
1 Point: Phantasy Star Collection — Sound Collection I - Field Medley
1 Point: Savage (Commodore 64 Game Rip) - Intro

~Burn With Passion~ is filled with the sort of character and richness that I love. There's a very heated intensity to the rhythm and the instrumentation is very unique amongst VGM. The Persona albums always have some oddly flavorful tracks.

"Merveilleux ~ Setting Out" was lighthearted without being dull. "Field Medley" had a lot of interesting variations throughout and that kept me interested; the middle part is particularly nice. "Savage" isn't Tel's best work but damn if I don't like sidtunes anyhow.

"Kochinda" was a bit too erratic and "ching-chongy" for me to get into. "Gaia" wasn't long enough to develop fully. I heard the whole Z.O.E. soundtrack before and passed on it; "KISS ME SUNLIGHTS" is the sort of vocal track that's a dime a dozen. "Jungle"...well, just no - it felt like a rejected Katamari track and I didn't like it at all. Sorry.

Also, can we pretty much call a moratorium on Phantasy Star nominations at this point? I think the whole series has crossed the obscurity threshhold.


Also - Nomination

Album: Royal Blood
Artist: Midori
Track Title: Opening - Elan's Theme
Track No.: 1
Year: 1991
Catalog Number: KECH-1015
Source: GMR Online
Notes: I've been sitting on this track for far too long. It deserves attention.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

You know, it's interesting you nominated that. Midori is a two-person team consisting of Yoshiyuki Ito and Masumi Ito, who are husband and wife. Masumi Ito, meanwhile, composed "KISS ME SUNLIGHTS" which was arranged by Hikaru Nanase and performed by Heart of Air (a unit comprising Masumi Ito and Hikaru Nanase). However Hikaru Nanase is actually just an alias of Masumi Ito, which means you've nominated a track by an artist whose vocal work you just panned

There's nowhere I can't reach.

That is ironic, I'll agree. I don't dislike the melody of "KISS ME SUNLIGHTS" - the off vocal track isn't bad at all - but I'm not a fan of female Japanese singing. From a Western perspective, it is often shrill and difficult to differentiate one from the next. Perhaps the Japanese feel the same about our female vocalists.

Besides, many composers that I generally dislike still manage to make one or two tracks that I don't mind. Kenji Ito is like this; I find much of his work dull and overly traditional, but I liked what he did on the Rogue Galaxy Premium Arrange album. A lot of a composer's appeal may well depend upon the games for which they're composing. Kenji Ito does a lot of Square/Enix work and they demand very romanticized, traditional pieces, whereas I enjoy progressive material far more. When he's allowed to work outside the Squeenix box, it's very apparent and I like it.

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

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

Also, can we pretty much call a moratorium on Phantasy Star nominations at this point? I think the whole series has crossed the obscurity threshhold.

Seconded. I think I called for a ban on PSO soundtracks before, but at this point, it would be nice to have all PS soundtracks banned, arranged or otherwise. They've had enough exposure here; people are certainly aware of them now.

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

(3 points) Phantasy Star Collection — Sound Collection I - Field Medley
(1 point) Double Dragon (Neo Geo CD Red Book Audio) - Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)
(1 point) SKYGUNNER Original Sound Tracks - Merveilleux ~ Setting Out (Bonus Track)
(1 point) Persona 2 Batsu Punitive Dance - Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~

I definitely, definitely do not have 'Jungle' fever.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I've been considering a nomination from Phantasy Star Gaiden, a Japan-only Game Gear side game no one's heard of/played/listened to. In fairness, it's only really a weak consideration, but I don't want to see the game banned simply because it has "Phantasy Star" in the name when I think it more than meets eligibility requirements.

Note: this is not a joke. I am not trying to be difficult.

Note: okay, I am. I don't like blanket "this whole series should be banned" proclamations because a lot of them have overlooked installments that aren't particularly well known. "Everyone knows Sonic music" is not the same as "Everyone's heard the music from S1-3&K, the Adventures, CD, 3D, R, Rush, Secret Rings, Spinball, 360 version, and so on god there are a lot of these, but I guess there are a bunch of weird handheld ones like Sonic Labyrinth and Sonic Triple Trouble and Tails Adventures that no one really knows. And let's not forget the best soundtrack in the series, that of the horrible Mario Party knockoff, Sonic Shuffle." Let's not get carried away and say that every member of a series with high profile games must be high profile. We should certainly take a close look at nominations from those series, perhaps closer than usual, but let's not throw them entirely off the boat.

Note: I have supported and still support a ban on PS1-4 and PSO/U.

Note: I am definitely going to nominate something from Sonic Shuffle unless someone can honestly make the case that its music is well known.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I agree, I think it should be on a per-game basis. Except Final Fantasy, maybe.

EDIT: re: post below, seems fair enough!

FELIPE NO

Banning series is a nice, simple shorthand. People have successfully challenged it on a case by case basis before, so there's nothing really new about any of that. If you really want to nominate something that has a popular series name attached, just make your case and be done with it.

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

That's what I did with the 'Rockman Complete Works' track. By any other standard, conventional Megaman games would be way too popular. But exceptions almost always exist.

A general ban is what I had in mind. Weirdo tracks can be dealt with per case. But it should just be understood that it had better be pretty damned obscure before you even try.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, depending on how my track places, PS Collection 1 may be eligible for banning, anyway. This is the second track from it nominated, and the last one placed. However, say someone wanted to nominate something from Phantasy Star adventure on Gaiden (I'm sure the track would do lousy, but assume for the sake of argument,) would that be too well known?

Anyway, doing my part to get PS Collection banned.

3 points - Field Medley
2 points - Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~
1 point - Gaia

How ya doing, buddy?

OK, my suggestion was too broad, I agree. What I'd actually like to see banned is any of the older console Phantasy Star games in the main series, along with the Phantasy Star Online games and Phantasy Star Universe.

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

I liked a bunch this week, but none of them really stood out to me as keepers.

2 points: Burn with Passion
2 points: Kochinda
1 point: Gaia
1 point: Intro

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

3 points - Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Premium Arrange - Jungle
1 point - Double Dragon (Neo Geo CD Red Book Audio) - Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)
1 point - Savage (Commodore 64 Game Rip) - Intro
1 point - Z.O.E. - Zone of the Enders Original Soundtrack - KISS ME SUNLIGHTS - Opening Theme

I was speaking idiomatically.

I'd prefer to say "X, Y, and Z are banned" over "all of X is banned, unless you can make a case for something." The former just seems more intuitive to me, but if more people want to see it the second way, that's cool.

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

Banning series is a nice, simple shorthand. People have successfully challenged it on a case by case basis before, so there's nothing really new about any of that. If you really want to nominate something that has a popular series name attached, just make your case and be done with it.

When has it happened before that we've said an entire series was ineligible and later an obscure member from that series was let in? As far as I can remember, there's only been one time that we've specifically banned an entire series, and that was Wild Arms a little while back. Everything else like Final Fantasy has just been implied because, well, it's FF. Come on.

These sweeping bans just seem to me to be a recent occurrence that have yet to be challenged, but please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm definitely thinking we should be keeping track of these on the wiki somewhere.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by CHz

When has it happened before that we've said an entire series was ineligible and later an obscure member from that series was let in?

Well, there was that Zelda/Mario big band piece, and Crash's Megaman track, and even my own Children of Mana nomination depending on how you interpret it.

But that's not really very important; I'm with Crash as far as the issue is concerned.

FELIPE NO

(3 points) Double Dragon (Neo Geo CD Red Book Audio) - Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)
(2 points) Savage (Commodore 64 Game Rip) - Intro
(1 point) Phantasy Star Collection — Sound Collection I - Field Medley

Good week, although some songs were not exciting from my point of view.

"Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)" is my nomination, and like the majority of people do with theirs, I assigned 3 points to it. Not without reasons; I love the sound, its upbeat joyful nature, and the melodies, while simple, are quite neat, especially the catchy flute lines. Plus, I have a soft spot for traditional Asian elements. Slightly repetitive though, but the variations help cover this.

"Gaia" is underdeveloped. It started to get interesting at some point, but then it ended. Too bad...

"Akachochin Shiraishi ~Burn With Passion~" caught my attention from the start. Good sound, tight mixing, and latin nature. But, what turned me off was the guitar, which I found was not well performed and mixed in perfectly. The player sure wasn't burning with passion, in my opinion. The melodic elements as a whole were, while decent, not exceptionnal and thrilling. Still a good song, but the flaws I see ranked it lower than other entries this week.

"Field Medley" is a good arranged track, mixing synth and guitar quite well. However, I found the tune to be slightly cheesy (mainly the first half), but since it was created in 1993, this is somewhat an excuse.

"Jungle" is a bit too synthetic for me. I'm aware that all electronic music is actually synthetic, but I consider this kind of sound to be even more. The heavy low frequencies are actually making me feel unstable physically, which I also felt while listening to the Internal Section soundtrack. I can however recognize the qualities of "Jungle", yet I won't be its biggest fan.

"Intro" is wacky and catchy, like almost all of Jeroen Tel's work. Very Art-of-Noise-ish, which is a style I dig. It indeed might not be his best composition, but it sure is far from being the worse.

"Merveilleux ~ Setting Out (Bonus Track)" brings a softer side to this week. Merveilleux? Je ne crois pas que cette pièce soit assez belle pour être digne de cet adjectif, mais elle détient quand même une certaine qualité allant dans cette direction. All in all, good theme as far as evoking a sense of splendor is concerned, but not among the greatest creations in this category.

"KISS ME SUNLIGHTS - Opening Theme" is unfortunately venturing in a corner of my tastes where a huge bias exists against sweet Asian songs. Every time I hear a song of this kind, I can't help but think about all those people obsessed with Japan or other Asian countries that base a rather important part of their personalities on anime (or games with a similar style) elements and, while being in exaltation in front of videos, pictures and music that are reminiscent of child attributes, they feel the whole world gravitates around this geographic region. I'm generalizing and even exaggerating a bit, but this is not completely out of nowhere and when it comes to this subject, I'm sadly not into it. By contrast, "KISS ME SUNLIGHTS" is actually not a song I'd consider to be among what I despise the most, as described above. It's in fact a nice song, with excellent backing music. Still being an Asian song and not as captivating as other nominations this week, I couldn't give it any point.

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

3 pts - Field Medley
2 pts - Intro
1 pts - Kochinda (Rebecca's Theme)

Outside of Field Medley (one of my favorite all-time arrangements), I found this week very...weak. Intro was okay, but that last spot is still kind of iffy.

And yes, games (or individual pieces) and not entire series' if we're deciding bans please. I have to agree with the Phantasy Star selections proposed though.

Jam it back in, in the dark.