Song of the Week - WEEK 75 Voting/WEEK 76 Nominating

Week 75 Voting is closed.
Week 76 Nominating is restricted.

Week 75 Voting
The rules for voting can be found here.

Tracks:
Carnaval - cool voice
Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5
LA-MULANA (Game Rip) - Mr. Explorer
Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops
Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe
Tales Weaver OST - Till the End of Infinity
The Flintstones (SNES rip) - Sound Test Music 05
The Seventh Seal (PC Game Rip) - Air City - The Path To Knowledge

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

Week 76 Nominating
The Nominations Queue can be found here.
The rules for nominating can be found here.

Here are the links to the corresponding threads at the other forums:
- Soundtrack Central
- Chudah's Corner

Note: The nomination queue is starting to look a bit thin again...don't forget to nominate early and nominate often!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I hope to get in again, but first: What's the status of Phantasy Star music? My ideal nomination is from Phantasy Star Universe, but I can always get more obscure if need be. I think this soundtrack hasn't gotten enough notice myself.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by GoldfishX

I hope to get in again, but first: What's the status of Phantasy Star music? My ideal nomination is from Phantasy Star Universe, but I can always get more obscure if need be. I think this soundtrack hasn't gotten enough notice myself.

Well, Tricktrack Part 2 has been in SoTW, if I recall correctly, which seems to indicate that no one has a problem with it.

I would personally love to see more Phantasy Star, simply because it's awesome

EDIT: Vote time!

Carnaval - cool voice This tune is incredibly annoying to me--sounds like everything is out of sync thanks to poor arrangement, and that's a pet peeve of mine.

Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5 Hmm, I wonder who nominated this one? It's not bad for a paleosynth chiptune, and it's got a nice rhythm, though I wasn't feeling the melodic parts.

LA-MULANA (Game Rip) - Mr. Explorer More synthiness. It's decent enough, though it doesn't really wow me. I'm strongly reminded of something that I can't quite put my finger on though.

Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops I've liked what I've heard of Maple Story so far; I'll have to get the rip one of these days. The piano, acousitc guitar, and woodwind parts are all highly attractive and melodic, while slightly jazzy, though I really could have done without the instrusive synth percussion. Is that a thumb piano I hear, though? Bonus points to any song that can sneak that instrument in.

Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe Harpsichord! There's another instrument that can be quite a treat if it's done right. This piece has a lively part for it, though it does meander a bit at times. The non-harpsichord bits are much worse, with subpar synth and a comparative lack of energy.

Tales Weaver OST - Till the End of Infinity Some interesting choices in this one; the misleading beginning with birdsong (!), opening up into full-on synthiness complete with church bells (!!). I wish that the song stayed in one place longer, though, to give the various elements time to develop. Interesting but inconsistent and slightly weird.

The Flintstones (SNES rip) - Sound Test Music 05 A vaguely new age piece that's not without its charms, even if it wears out its welcome after awhile--there simply isn't enough material to justify its bloated length. It certainly doesn't sound like anything I'd expect from the Flintstones, that's for sure.

The Seventh Seal (PC Game Rip) - Air City - The Path To Knowledge My nom, a town theme from an obscure Chinese RPG which was partially scored by Yasunori Mitsuda. This isn't one of Mitsuda's pieces, though--it's his Chinese co-composer, and it's a lovely, delicate thing. The low strings offset the chimes very well, and the woodwinds that take up the melody are uniformly excellent. I've been meaning to trot out some noms from this game for a while now; chances are you'll see more of 'em in the future.

Not a bad week, though a bit of a let down from last time.

The Point Spread
Seventh Seal - 3 pts.
Maple Story - 2 pts.
Master of Monsters - 1 pt.

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

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

I would personally love to see more Phantasy Star, simply because it's awesome

Quoted for truth.

I'm fine with PSU right now, but we actually started a discussion at the end of last week about possible waiting periods for new albums; Save This World was released in September and For Brighter Day in October, so this actually provides a neat little jumpstart to the discussion.

Waiting periods for new albums? Give 'em three months to better ascertain their obscurity? Six? Kaleb, Drakken, and orion mentioned okayness with the idea in last week's thread, so it'd be interesting to see if anyone's actually opposed to waiting periods of any fashion.

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

I think I was out of the loop, but my position would be that it be better to give newer releases more exposure than waiting to see if they do really become too popular. The reality is that it doesn't happen to a large number of albums...Katamari would be an exception (I would even dispute that, since it seems as many people HATE that music as ones that love it), any well known past NES/SNES ones are obvious (sup Megaman/Castlevania), Mitsuda/Uematsu's main works are painfully obvious exceptions, Ace Combat is debatable (it's relatively unknown musically outside of Gamingforce).

For me, SOTW has never been about absolute obscurity...I think it's more a consideration so we don't see a lot composers/franchises/works we've all seen a million times in the past.

Uh yeah...My stance: No waiting period for new albums. Better to get em the exposure to become overpopular than to wait and see if it actually happens on its' own (since it rarely does).

Edit: 2 cents worth from the other thread: I have no issue with ZX Tunes either. The only Megaman music I'd be afraid to let in would be the main series (MM1-6 for the most part). The series has become painfully niche and I feel a lot of the music has gone unnoticed for a long time now.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Guara Bobelo's sax line at the beginning is also featured in "cool voice" this week. More proof that GB is a copy-paste effort.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Darkcomet72

Guara Bobelo's sax line at the beginning is also featured in "cool voice" this week. More proof that GB is a copy-paste effort.

Yeah, I noticed that too. Certainly makes you think differently about songs.

And I have no problem with ZX Tunes being allowed. I'm only familiar with the NES MM stuff and Battle Network.

How ya doing, buddy?

Man, I was gonna say that Master of Monsters song sounds really familiar... then I realized I had downloaded a bunch of soundtracks this morning for the video game music quiz and Master of Monsters was one of the ones I listened to (granted, it was the Genesis version, so it was a chip tune, but it's the same song).

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

Quote:

My ideal nomination is from Phantasy Star Universe

Ok, I'll have to look elsewhere for my next source of nomination.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Might as well throw the nomination up. I can change it if need be. I'll throw some votes up in a day or two.

Track: The Last Story
Album: For Brighter Day: Phantasy Star Universe OST
Composer: Hideaki Kobayashi
Track: 19
Disc: 1
YSI Link: http://download.yousendit.com/23C56CE679806183

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Yes, more Phantasy Star!

I don't quite oppose to waiting periods on new albums. As long as it's not from a really popular franchise (like FF) or composer, I don't see why not.

And not a bad week from my initial listening.

3 pts. - Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe
2 pts. - Maple Story - Above the Treetops
1 pt. - Seventh Seal - Air City

SS and MS are really close; I may end up changing the order.

Comments & next nom. to come later?

EDIT: Ended up switching SS and MS.

How ya doing, buddy?

Is the master of monsters track from the ps1 MoM game?

http://www.audioatrocities.com/games...ters/clip1.mp3

Votes:

3 points: Eliot Spitzer for Governor
2 points: Carolyn McCarthy for House of Representitives
1 point: Hillary Clinton for Senator

Spoiler:

Joking. Here it is for real....

3 points: Maple Story
2 points: Carnaval
1 point: Master of Monsters

I was speaking idiomatically.

This week is wonderful! I'm forced to do a 6 hit combo

Carnaval - cool voice
Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5
LA-MULANA (Game Rip) - Mr. Explorer
Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops
Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe
Tales Weaver OST - Till the End of Infinity
The Flintstones (SNES rip) - Sound Test Music 05
The Seventh Seal (PC Game Rip) - Air City - The Path To Knowledge

I liked all the songs, but I won't give any points to the red ones. The green and yellow ones will go with one point, even if the green ones are prefered.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by KyleDunamis

Is the master of monsters track from the ps1 MoM game?

http://www.audioatrocities.com/games...ters/clip1.mp3

Nope, it's from the official soundtrack for the Genesis game (believe it or not!). It features the 9 original Genesis songs as well as 9 arranged versions (of which this is one).

FELIPE NO

3 points: Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops
1 point: Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe
1 point: Tales Weaver OST - Till the End of Infinity
1 point: The Seventh Seal (PC Game Rip) - Air City - The Path To Knowledge

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

Carnaval - cool voice - I really enjoyed it. The first 20 seconds or so seemed a bit off at first, but after a few listens, I didn't mind at all. The piano is my favorite instrument in this, but I liked all of them (except the synthy sounding pipes used as an accent to the percussion). The style of the song remains consistent throughout the song and it changes enough to keep me entertained... This is something I'll be keeping for a while.

Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5 - meh, it's nothing special. There are parts I dislike, and parts I dislike less... and that's about it.

LA-MULANA (Game Rip) - Mr. Explorer - Better than the hotdog storm by a fair margin, though it still doesn't deserve a point. The melody is kind of intriguing, but the repetitiveness put me off.

Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops - Really good... for the first 3 minutes. After that, I find myself getting bored. Nevertheless, the bright piano and the flutes compliment each other really well, and there wasn't anything I can truly say was done poorly... I just wish that it would cut off maybe a minute or so before it does.

Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe - Another interesting track. While not utterly breath-taking, it's worth at least a few listens. Has a bit of a mysterious air going for it... I liked the strings and the harpsicord, but not the other instruments in the background.

Tales Weaver OST - Till the End of Infinity - My favorite this week - the fusion between pop and traditional Japanese is really cool. Though relatively short-lived, I feel that it maintains just the right amount of momentum throughout the song... I was never waiting for it to end, but I wasn't disappointed when it ended either.

The Flintstones (SNES rip) - Sound Test Music 05 - So-so. It never caught my attention... but I don't hate it. Don't know what could have been done to improve it, so I'll stop.

The Seventh Seal (PC Game Rip) - Air City - The Path To Knowledge - This one would have gotten a point in most other weeks, but this week had so many I enjoy... so this one kind of got left in the cold. It's a pretty track, but a little too simple for my tastes. No real flaws, but it doesn't have the spark of some of the other tracks.

*~Point Distribution~*
2 points - Tales Weaver OST - Till the End of Infinity
2 points - Carnaval - cool voice
1 point - Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops
1 point - Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

Well, Tricktrack Part 2 has been in SoTW, if I recall correctly, which seems to indicate that no one has a problem with it.

I would personally love to see more Phantasy Star, simply because it's awesome

O RLY!?

Nomination:

Game: Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II
Track: IDOLA Have the Divine Blade

I'll post more info along with points tommorow.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Quickie reviews this week.

cool voice - Largely irrelevant comparisons to Guara Bobelo aside, this isn't bad. A little jumbly at parts, with the syncopation skipping around, yeah. It's still fairly easy on the ears though.

Stage 5 - Dunno why, but I like this. It's pretty cheery for a chiptune. Parts of it sound very much like the deckbuilding music from "Pokemon: the Trading Card Game" for the Gameboy Color. Same composer, maybe?

Mr. Explorer - It's okay. Doesn't grab me as much as Stage 5 did. But it's cool to see some chiptune representation again.

Above the Treetops - Walks that fine line between "light and soothing" and "dull and uneventful". Ultimately, I think it comes out on the good side of that dichotomy but I think it needs just a little more "pep".

Yellow Robe - Harpsichord is always pretty cool but the rest of the track didn't accentuate the harpsichord in a way that I found to be particularly interesting.

Til the End of Infinity - Uplifting, but with more vibrance and creative elements than "Above the Treetops". On the downside, I wish the recording quality had been better, as it sounds rather compressed.

Sound Test Music 05 - It has some decent electronic ambience, but at 6:23, I feel like a lot of its charm prematurely wears out its welcome. It would be much stronger if its length were cut by a third or half.

The Path to Knowledge - It's peaceful, but it also feels rather sparse. I like the mood and what it does with the synth chimes, but I think it's lacking in something that would otherwise elevate it from "good" to "great".


I really haven't developed any loyalties to one song, so it's gonna be an even distribution this week.

3 Points: Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5
2 Points: Tales Weaver OST - Till the End of Infinity
1 Point: Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops

A solid week. Yay for getting some chiptunes back into SotW!

EDIT: Hotdog Storm - Stage 5 has surprisingly grown on me and I'd like to see it earn a place that I feel it deserves. I've altered my point spread accordingly.

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

cool voice - I also think this song is a bit too jumbled. I don't find as much inspiration in this song as others

Stage 5 - I'm not that huge of a fan of chip tunes unless the melody is extremely cool. For me, this song is somewhat interesting, but not enough to warrant a vote.

Mr. Explorer - I'm also not wowed by this song. It's an interesting phrase, but I think the single idea is overused. It's pretty decent, but not enough for a vote.

Above the Treetops - Hmm, this isn't a bad of a song. It somewhat reminds me of Ragnarok Online (but it's Korean of course). It's a slightly relaxing track with an obvious melody.

Yellow Robe - You'll have to excuse me for my distaste in Bach. I feel that it's a bit too mechanical for me. I'm sorry about that =)

Till the End of Infinity - Ah, my nomination. I'm starting to like a few other tracks in the soundtrack a bit more than this one, but I feel that Till the End of Infinity represents the OST as a whole... nice and Korean. It's strange, this song sounds exactly like an eroge opening to a ecchi game.

Sound Test Music 05 - Ahahaha, obvious western influence. That sequence of notes makes me feel high. If I had a stick of crack, this would be perfect =). But it does become repetitive after a while. That's the only only problem

Air City - The Path To Knowledge - Yeah... this track doesn't exactly sound like Mitsuda. There's a certain more Celtic element that Mitsuda uses in his songs. But this song is still relaxing and sweet.

Point totals:
3 pt: Till the End of Infinity
2 pt: Above the Treetops
1 pt: Air City - The Path To Knowledge

And i'll also add a nomination. This time, its an EXTREMELY rare track that made me go "holy shit, where did I find this a few years back."

Track: Unpublished Tune (Arranged Ver.)
Album: Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children Perfect Sound Tracks
Composer: Shin Kouno, Achilles C. Damigos
Track: 43
Disc: 1
Catalog: FSCA-10157
Info: Chudahs
Link: http://download.yousendit.com/984A2ACE4CD41651

How ya doing, buddy?

This was a much better week than the last couple, I think. And there was nothing particularily bad this week either. A couple really good tracks are going to have to get snubbed, which is a shame. (Sorry Tales Weaver)

My points for now, though there is a possibility of a change.

2 points - LA-MULANA (Game Rip) - Mr. Explorer
2 points - Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe
1 point - Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5
1 point - The Flintstones (SNES rip) - Sound Test Music 05

The LA-MULANA song was probably my favorite this week, but it was bumped down to 2 points because I wanted to give the Hotdog Storm song a point too.

I was speaking idiomatically.

3 points - Carnaval - cool voice
2 points - The Flintstones (SNES rip) - Sound Test Music 05
1 point - Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

cool voice-Definitely smooth jazz. I'm not completely in love with it, but like most tracks of this ilk, it could grow on me. I hear nothing in it that reminds me of Guara Bobelo.

Till the End of Infinity-This is the kind of music I usually like, but I'm not sure if it's the instruments or the melody...It's not really making the connection. Doesn't really seem dynamic enough, despite the two sections.

Yellow Robe-I dig the organ melody, but the rest isn't so hot. Alternates between great and lukewarm quite a bit.

Sound Test 5-Rather dark for a Flintstones track. This reminds me a lot of a Follin track. The SNES-guitar is backed quite nicely. My favorite thus far, easily.

Air City-It's pretty and has some melodic bite, but a little TOO peaceful. I appreciate what it does, but I don't feel drawn to it. I probably wouldn't notice it ingame.

Stage 5-Hrm...I like it as it goes on, but too much of it is jumbled to the point of being irrelevent. A chiptune I can pass on without losing too much sleep.

Mr. Explorer-Had a feeling I'd enjoy this as soon as it came on. Gets very good and the melody is quite memorable. Might be a winner...

Above the Treetops-Starts out as a Chrono Cross B-side, but gets more interesting as it goes on.

So let's see:

3 Points-Mr. Explorer
2 Points-Above the Treetops
1 Point-Sound Track 5

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

I would personally love to see more Phantasy Star, simply because it's awesome

For me it's the opposite. I really like Phantasy Star, and the new game as well as the soundtrack are really amazing me... but I'm sure most people have listened to Phantasy Star before, even though it's not considered a Final Fantasy or Zelda type of game.

But, I'm ok with it... I'm just saying, I'm looking for tracks I haven't heard of that are awesome.

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

Carnaval - cool voice
A good jazzy piece with a cool piano melody. Those constant, nonstop marracas were a major turn-off for me though.

Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5
A really good chiptune that has started to grow on me, even if certain parts drone for a bit around the loop point. It does sound like something you'd hear on a GameBoy.

LA-MULANA (Game Rip) - Mr. Explorer
My nomination! I was hooked the first time I've heard Mr. Explorer. I liked how the synths sounded and how it managed to give off this cool South-American vibe. It's the first tune you'd hear in the game, and it really set you up for some grand adventure.

Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops
Maple Story does have some good music, from the little time I've spent on there. This was one of my favorites, especially when it picks up halfway. I was thinking about nominating more good tracks from this game sometime.

Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe
The organs were nice, but there's hardly much of anything else.

Tales Weaver OST - Till the End of Infinity
This track sounded mostly Jpop-ish. Without the bad vocals. Not exactly my favorite.

The Flintstones (SNES Game Rip) - Sound Test Music 05
An ok ambient piece. Still quite lengthy and repetitive. And uneventful. It should be, as it's hiscores music.

The Seventh Seal (PC Game Rip) - Air City - The Path To Knowledge
Peaceful, and very fitting for a town theme I'd guess. Love the chimes.

And in the end...

2 points: LA-MULANA (Game Rip) - Mr. Explorer
2 points: Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops
1 point: Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5
1 point: The Seventh Seal (PC Game Rip) - Air City - The Path To Knowledge