[SotW] Song of the Week - WEEK 102 Voting/WEEK 103 Nominating

Song of the Week. 100 Weeks and counting.
Week 102 Voting is closed.
Week 103 Nominating is restricted.

Week 102 Voting
The rules for voting can be found here.

Results:
1). [30] Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble
2). [16/11] Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth
3). [16/9] PUZZLE BOBBLE • GEKIRINDAN etc. ~Welcome to the Karuland~ - WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5/A.D.4580)
4). [11] Energy Breaker Soundtrack ~ Game Sound Legend Series - Radiance of the Sky
5). [10] TAIKO: Drum Master (Game Rip) - Dragon Spirit
6). [9] Magical Drop 3 - FINAL BATTLE (Fortune)
7). [7] Magical Chase (Game Rip) - Kouri ja nai no yo! (4th Seal)
8). [3] Planescape: Torment (Game Rip) - Main Title

Tracks (links):
Energy Breaker Soundtrack ~ Game Sound Legend Series - Radiance of the Sky
Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth
Magical Chase (Game Rip) - Kouri ja nai no yo! (4th Seal)
Magical Drop 3 - FINAL BATTLE (Fortune)
Planescape Torment (Game Rip) - Main Title
PUZZLE BOBBLE • GEKIRINDAN etc. ~Welcome to the Karuland~ - WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580)
Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble
TAIKO Drum Master (Game Rip) - Dragon Spirit

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 103 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.

• Artist: Konami Kukeiha Club
• Album/Game Title: Gradius III / Konami Kukeiha Club
• Track Title: In the Wind
• Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
• Track Number: 01
• Catalog Number: KICA-1001
• Year: 1990
• Additional Information: Something I had on my nom queue for a while now.
• File Location: http://gh.ffshrine.org/song/704/1
• Source(s): http://www.chudahs-corner.com/soundt...alog=KICA-1001, http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=KICA-1001

S'pose I'll vote, as I'm online after a long weekend off.

Energy Breaker Soundtrack ~ Game Sound Legend Series - Radiance of the Sky Recently, I decided to try and seek out some more Yasunori Shiono, since I loved his work on Lufia 2. This track is one of a handful he contributed to Energy Breaker, and it has a breezy, folksy charm to it that I enjoy a lot. The violin and guitar parts are personal favorites, and the harmonica's no slouch either.

Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth I've generally liked the Suikotunes I've come across, though there are always a few odd ones. This piece, which sounds like something Dave Grusin might write, is a nice piece of jazzy saxophonin' which goes down smooth. Not what I was expecting, but not bad either.

Magical Chase (Game Rip) - Kouri ja nai no yo! (4th Seal) Wow, this is one hell of a chiptune (long, too--over 5 mins!). I've always had a soft spot for chippies, and this one impresses by building an impressive melody and rhythm with its limited technology. There's a fair bit of variation for its length, though things do start to drag eventually. At half the length, this would have been all but perfect.

Magical Drop 3 - FINAL BATTLE (Fortune) I'm not sure if this is technically a chiptune or not, but it's not bad. It's a little loud and chaotic at times; I feel like there's a terrific layered sound buried in there that a better arrangement could unearth.

Planescape Torment (Game Rip) - Main Title Having nominated two tracks from this game myself (and, depending on how you interpret the data, having both of them place), it's pretty obvious that I love the game and Mark Morgan's terrific score. This robust performance of the main theme, which is woven into nearly all the game's music, is a terrific combination of percussion and brass (and I nearly nominated it myself more than once).

PUZZLE BOBBLE • GEKIRINDAN etc. ~Welcome to the Karuland~ - WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580) The first real dud of the week; an aimless collection of electronica with little more than a beat to make it hang together. Some parts are nice on their own (namely, where a stong melody comes in), but as a whole it fails to live up to its potential.

Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble Another entrant in the "aimless electronica" genre, without much cohesion. The lack of a strongly melodic section makes it suffer in comparison to the similar What's Inside.

TAIKO Drum Master (Game Rip) - Dragon Spirit Decent if unspectacular rockish track. It doesn't do anything new or interesting, but it does old and somewhat tired things rather well, and there's a nifty "string" melody buried in there.

I thought this was going to be the week to end all weeks until that spate of weak tracks at the end. Still, impressive selection.

The Point Spread
Radiance of the Sky - 3 pts.
Wind and the Earth - 1 pt.
Japanese Gibberish (4th Seal) - 1 pt.
Main Title - 1 pt.

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

Getting my points in early this time. Considering how early in the week it is, I might end up listening to the songs some more and changing my mind, but this should be pretty close to my final thoughts.

The three standouts, each getting 2 pts. each:

Dragon Spirit - My nom. A short but sweet rockin' tune. As usual with songs I know from rhythm games, my enjoyment of it is probably enhanced a bit by actually playing it in the game.
Radiance of the Sky - This was pretty nice.
The Wind and the Earth - Solid jazzin'. Not the best I've heard, but still much more enjoyable than most of the other songs.

FINAL BATTLE was good, even if it sounded a bit generic (I'm a sucker for that opening drum beat, though). 4th Seal was solid, not spectacular. They both warranted some point consideration, but considering this week had three tracks that I enjoyed more than the rest, a point for each of them wasn't possible.

Main Title was simply standard fare, and WHAT'S INSIDE and assemble aren't my thing. assemble was probably the best of the three, as it actually had some decent parts amid the drum loops.

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

Energy Breaker Soundtrack ~ Game Sound Legend Series - Radiance of the Sky: - A decent track, with a warm style that's reminiscient of Maple Story's "Above the Treetops" (which did quite well, I recall.) Though not quite as uplifting as the MS track, "Radiance" is still enjoyable.

Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth: It's hard to call this track a standout since it's so purposefully laid-back, but it has definite moments. The somewhat unusual backing helps the jazziness feel more unique.

Magical Chase (Game Rip) - Kouri ja nai no yo! (4th Seal): Orion's comments for the other "Magical" track made me consider this piece: this would probably be excellent as an arranged track also. Right now, it's competent and fun but the melody is one that almost suffers for having been laid out with such chiptunish samples. This is a left-handed compliment though, since only good tracks should be arranged in the first place.

Magical Drop 3 - FINAL BATTLE (Fortune): What is a man? A miserable pile of sec-what? This isn't Castlevania? Fooled me. Which is to say that it's at least written well enough to be convincingly like one of the resident juggernauts of the chiptune era. The intro and the drumbeat are pretty awesome.

Planescape Torment (Game Rip) - Main Title: "Annah's Theme" has become one of my all-time favorites from SotW, so my hopes were high for the Main Title. In a weaker week, this would have a very realistic shot at gold but I do think it's being outshined by some more unconventional and noteworthy nominations. It's still good for what it is and does but that may not be enough.

PUZZLE BOBBLE • GEKIRINDAN etc. ~Welcome to the Karuland~ - WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580): This is really...bizarre. I'm totally down with the spacey sound effects and samples, but there are a few elements that were irritating. The drums weren't very original and there was this repetitive "dripping" noise throughout that didn't add any worthwhile substance. The good plus the bad left me feeling rather neutral towards this one.

Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble: Ooooh, trancy goodness! Thick layering and an impressive feeling of building toward something grand. It's neither depressing nor annoying and has a lot of strong variations. I thought Yack did mostly guitar-oriented pieces. Maybe I'm wrong but if not, it's great to see him switch it up and stay solid. I like this track a lot.

TAIKO Drum Master (Game Rip) - Dragon Spirit: Why does it seem like every nomination with "dragon" somewhere in the title has a substantial amount of rockin'? I don't mind at all but it does seem peculiar. Anyhow, this track is only okay for me. I admit to being a fan of "generic" guitar and it's out in full force here but there's unfortunately some strong competition this week.


Get to the Points, Oblio!

2 Points: Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble
1 Point: Magical Drop 3 - FINAL BATTLE (Fortune)
1 Point: Energy Breaker Soundtrack ~ Game Sound Legend Series - Radiance of the Sky
1 Point: Magical Chase (Game Rip) - Kouri ja nai no yo! (4th Seal)
1 Point: Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth


This was a really good week. I enjoyed every track in some way and was disappointed by none. There was a wide range of variety too. Great nominations, everyone!

I was speaking idiomatically.

Very good week this week. Figuring out points was tough.

2 points - PUZZLE BOBBLE • GEKIRINDAN etc. ~Welcome to the Karuland~ - WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580)
2 points - Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble
1 point - Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth
1 point - Magical Drop 3 - FINAL BATTLE (Fortune)

Also, nominators have been lacking in amount lately.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

2 points ~ Taiko Drum Master
2 points ~ Magical Chase
1 point ~ Magical Drop 3
1 point ~ Energy Breaker

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

I thought Yack did mostly guitar-oriented pieces. Maybe I'm wrong but if not, it's great to see him switch it up and stay solid. I like this track a lot.

A lot of his work is done in the style of "assemble". I just think the guitar-based tracks have a higher nomination rate. I recommend taking a listen to this album, the Border Down albums, or Metal Black -The First-.

How ya doing, buddy?

I'll give 3 points to Assemble first off, that piece of music stood very long in my top favourites.
Dragon Spirit 1 point.
Puzzle Bobble-What's inside: 2 points


EDIT:

Radiance of the Sky:

I'm not too fond of the harmony of this song, it seems too simple.

The Wind and the Earth:

I like jazz, but this is the kind I don't like. Cool jazz with a very good melody though, but without any good exotic harmony underneath it which is the most important in jazz imo.

Kouri ja nai no yo! (4th Seal):

It started very difficult, this song. Then the melody introduced itself and I wasn't impressed. Melody and harmony-wise.


FINAL BATTLE (Fortune):

First off I don't like rock, then I hear it's too generic in harmony. I keep bitching about harmony, I know, but I just want interesting songs that have a special feeling or creativity in it, which isn't present in this song. Innovation!

Main Title:

Very cool percussion! The melody isn't that interesting. But it at least got my attention. At 1:20 there was a rather interesting melody line. The song really doesn't go anywhere though...

WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580): I like the effects here, very cool. sounds like Assemble and Yack music/Nakano music. Certainly gets a nomination.

assemble: The strength in this piece is especially that he comes up with an entirely different theme after two loops of the first theme, which gives this special feeling of joy. It also breaks the attention so much. And that new melody is just superb and completely different from the first melody. I'm talking about that blurry melody, it's like walking on clouds.

Dragon Spirit:

Very cool. Get's a vote because it uses an interesting chord progression, the ones that I like very much. VI major to V minor and back.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by katchum

I'll give 3 points to Assemble first off, that piece of music stood very long in my top favourites.

Surely you can be bothered to distribute your remaining points, yes? Simply popping in to vote for a favorite smacks of Ace Combatism

How ya doing, buddy?

2 points: Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth
2 points: Magical Chase (Game Rip) - Kouri ja nai no yo! (4th Seal)
2 points: Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble
Would have surely given points in any other week: WHAT'S INSIDE, FINAL BATTLE, Main Theme

Really good week this week, yes. Best we've had in a while.

I've had the Stage 5 theme from Contra 3 stuck in my head for a while, and since songs I nominate have a tendency to leave my playlist for a long while after it makes the rounds, I'm interested in nominating it. Would it be eligible? I know how popular the NES tracks are, and Contra 3 is by no means obscure, but it's one of the more neglected tunes from the soundtrack.

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

I sure couldn't hum it from memory. And while Contra is a popular series, most romanticized tales of its glory come from the first two games. Contra 3 on the NES was considered by some to be a bit of a klinker.

I'd say it's easily obscure enough.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Contra 3 was SNES...You're think of Contra Force, maybe (NES has Contra, SuperC and Contra Force, SNES had Contra III)

And yeah, definitely no obscurity issue there. Only track I'd take issue with would be the jungle theme from Contra 1, which is like the Super Mario Brothers 1 theme to me....

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Now that I have too much free time, I have to get back into this!

3 points - Magical Drop 3 - FINAL BATTLE (Fortune)

Just the right amount of epic that a Final Battle song should have IMO.

2 points - Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble

After all that build up at the beggining, I was a bit let down with the follow up at first, but in the end it was a overall good tune.

1 point - Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth

This is the kind of laid back tune that I can stand to listen to more than once. Glad to finally run into a Suikoden song that I actually like for once!

--- Nomination ---

Game: Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Artist: Yoshito Hirano
Track: Jake's Theme
Track #: 1
Year: 2005
Download Link: http://www.advancewars.net/downloads...akes_Theme.mp3

FELIPE NO

Alright, cool. To make an official nom:

Album: Contra Spirits (Contra III: The Alien Wars) OST
Artists: Miki Yanagisawa, Masanori Adachi, Tachihi Iwase
Track: Hell Messenger (BGM 5)
Track #: 9
Cat #: KICA-7604
Year: 1992
Source: http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=KICA-7604
http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/503
Also: http://snesmusic.org/v2/profile.php?set&selected=14184 labels the tune as "Nesting in the Sand". I have no idea where that came from. I prefer the OST version (the only track I prefer, because of a satisfying click at the beginning of the tune)

Most amazing jew boots

(3 points) Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth

(1 point) PUZZLE BOBBLE • GEKIRINDAN etc. ~Welcome to the Karuland~ - WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580)
(1 point) Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble
(1 point) Energy Breaker Soundtrack ~ Game Sound Legend Series - Radiance of the Sky

Jam it back in, in the dark.

(3 points) Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth
(2 points) TAIKO Drum Master (Game Rip) - Dragon Spirit
(1 point) Energy Breaker Soundtrack ~ Game Sound Legend Series - Radiance of the Sky

The various Genso Suikoden arranged albums have all been appealing to me and Wind and Earth is jazzy goodness to my ears. Dragon Spirit was another nice track that appealed to me instantly due to it's somewhat rockin' nature and it being an arrangement of one of my favourite original old school tunes. Radiance of the Sky has that relaxing RPG town feeling that is just so easy to listen to. Too bad it's a bit short as I was left wanting more just as it began to loop. The rest of the tracks were all pretty decent as well.

Originally Posted by katchum

WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580): Can't get you to play, sorry.

At least download the mp3 link and give it a listen. I'm also having trouble playing the odd embedded track in the opening post in Firefox 1.5 and IE6. I think it has to do with apostrophe's being present in the filename.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

3 points: assemble - This is kinda the only one that actually caught my attention this week.

2 points: Dragon Spirit - Classic tune, good arrangement. Extra points for being darn fun to play in-game. Although I have to admit I'm still partial to virt's arrangement of this tune.

1 point: FINAL BATTLE (Fortune) - Nice and energetic ditty. Makes me want to play Magical Drop again.

Runner-up: The Wind and the Earth - Where would you even play a track like this in an RPG that wouldn't sound completely and ridiculously out of place? Are there elevators or waiting lobbies in Suikoden III? That said, I wouldn't mind hearing this in a real elevator.

Nomination
Artist(s): Phil Vachey
Album/Game Title: Little Big Adventure (Red Book Audio) (aka "Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure")
Track Title: Hamalayi
Disc Number: 1 of 1
Track Number: 7
Catalog Number: None
Year: 1995
Additional Information: This is actually a really cool game and I recommend tracking it down if you can.
Source(s): ID3 tags and MobyGames

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

After further listening, I'm revising my point spread! Just want to make a note of it here so CHz sees it and can revise the voting archive accordingly.

It was 2 pts. for Dragon Spirit, 2 pts. for Wind and the Earth, and 2 pts. for Radiance.

I'm now dropping Radiance down to 1 pt. (still really good, though!), leaving Wind and the Earth at 2, and giving Dragon Spirit 3 points.

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

Nomination time!

Artist(s): Noriyuki Iwadare
Album/Game Title: Radiata Stories Arrange Album
Track Title: Song of Freedom Fighters
Disc Number: 1 of 1
Track Number: 6
Catalog Number: KDSD-00063
Year: 2005
Additional Information: This isn't the OST version of "Song of Freedom Fighters," but rather a ragtime piano adaptation for the arranged album.

I was speaking idiomatically.

3 points - Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble
2 points - PUZZLE BOBBLE • GEKIRINDAN etc. ~Welcome to the Karuland~ - WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580)
1 point - Magical Drop 3 - FINAL BATTLE (Fortune)

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

2 Iwadare songs next week, I guess.

Artist(s): Noriyuki Iwadare
Album/Game Title: Gyakuten Saiban 3 OST
Track Title: Shibakuzou Toranosuke ~ Swinging Zenitora
Disc Number: 1 of 1
Track Number: 23
Catalog Number: CPCA-1089
Year: 2004
Additional Information: Remake comes out for DS this week, and it's gonna rule!

FELIPE NO

Quick vote:

(2 points) Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble

(2 points) Planescape Torment (Game Rip) - Main Title

(1 point) Energy Breaker Soundtrack ~ Game Sound Legend Series - Radiance of the Sky

(1 point) PUZZLE BOBBLE GEKIRINDAN etc. ~Welcome to the Karuland~ - WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580)

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

3 points: Senko no Ronde -Sound Tracks- - assemble
2 points: PUZZLE BOBBLE • GEKIRINDAN etc. ~Welcome to the Karuland~ - WHAT'S INSIDE (BGM 5-A.D.4580)
1 point: Genso Suikoden III Music Collection ~Rustling of the Wind~ - The Wind and the Earth

God bless you "assemble". Yack's easily my second favorite VGM musician behind Tim Follin. That was the only good one this week. Dragon Spirit arrangement was extra weak compared to virt's. Scary how close my opinions are paralleling a miscreant like David Hsu, who plays the piano with a bag over his head and postures to kidnap Martin Leung. Thems the breaks.

Jam it back in, in the dark.