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

I feel just a bit bad that I didn't vote last week (WEEK 74), but my enjoyment of most of the tracks was roughly equal. Furthermore, there was nothing that really stood out as dominant, besides perhaps "Battle with the Devil", but that is a Mitsuda track, and was poised to win anyhow. WEEK 74 was overall more enjoyable than WEEK 73, but I feel this week (WEEK 75) raises the bar even higher.

3 point(s) :: Hotdog Storm (Game Rip) - Stage 5
HotDAMN! This is just awesome. A sweet shmup melody that's part Jun Ishikawa, part Sotaro Tojima, and even a little Nobuo Uematsu. The instrumental harmony is great. I love the bass lines, the sound of the lead synths, and even the rhythm of the drums. I've already listened to this about 50 times since I first heard it (Wednesday morning). If the rest of the soundtrack is even half as good as this, I'll need to pick it up pronto. Darkcomet72's "Stage 5" streak holds true, as this is the best SotW surprise I've had in a while.

Apparently Fumito Tamayama & Shigenori Masuko also worked on Socket and Shinseiki Odysselya 2, as well as some other games. I've begun listening to these soundtracks, and will post my impressions later...either here or in my journal.

2 point(s) :: The Flintstones (SNES Game Rip) - Sound Test Music 05
Technically, this track should win because it's a SNES track and it's my nomination. But facetious technicalities aside, I could not put this above the glorious new discovery that is "Hotdog Storm - Stage 5".

"Sound Test Music 05" is a track which is best served in a dim and relaxing environment. The melody is slow, but good, and the instrumentation strikes a pleasing balance between SPC and MOD. It's a chill, meditative track, and thus it's also going to be at a disadvantage when one is "actively" listening to the music. It does not come as any shock to me that some people will be turned off by this. On another note, I could have cut off the "loop" occupying the second half of this MP3, but I prefer the length that it is...due to the mood of the track.

One of the contributing factors to choosing this track for nomination (as mentioned in my explanation that I gave in the BATTLE 09 thread) is how this track sounds like the polar opposite of what one would expect from a Flintstones game. It's a bit of a diamond in the rough. From what info the SPC set over at SNESMusic.org gives me, this track wasn't even used "in-game"; rather it exists solely in the Sound Test, guarded by a most peculiar bird. It is then my guess that this was an original composition, slyly inserted onto the cart as to publish and share this work with a savvy few. And I do say I find myself quite savvy when it comes to VGM.

1 point(s) :: The Seventh Seal (PC Game Rip) - Air City - The Path To Knowledge
The instrumentation can be a bit shrill, but the melody, while not very complex, is too pleasant and memorable to dismiss. The first couple of times listening to this, I thought I could pass on awarding it my remaining point, but the tune would eventually keep popping up in my mind. Further listens Sealed the deal. A very nice track all in all.

Maple Story (Game Rip) - Above the Treetops
This was my second choice for receiving the remaining point. I like the instrumental style of this track, but I eventually decided the melody didn't justify its length. The melody jumps around a lot, and while it's never bad, it's only really interesting at a few points. Once again, this is a very nice track, but I felt "Air City"'s clean-cut melody was more captivating.

Carnaval - cool voice
The melody reminds me a bit of "LOW TENSION ~ HI POSITION" from the Marusa no Onna album (a track which I have been considering nomination for quite some time). Anyway, the melody is good and memorable, but also a bit short. The instrumentation is dope, however, and keeps the entire package fresh. Not one of my favorites this week, but still a great track, and one that probably could have earned points from me had it appeared with a different set of competitors.

LA-MULANA (Game Rip) - Mr. Explorer
Let's set things straight. This is a good track, but it pales in comparison to "Stage 5". The rhythm is too static, and the melody is much more simplistic. The melody of this track actually reminds me of one of my many melody concepts that I think up during the day, mixed with a bit of Mega Man 4 for taste. Now obviously I can't complain about those ingredients -- which is why I still think this is a good track -- but my analysis stands.

Master of Monsters - Yellow Robe
Baroque style = Good, but not original
Melody that plays from 1:05 to 1:29 = Fucking win
Synth chorus leads in second half of this track = Fail and AIDS

Tales Weaver OST - Till the End of Infinity
I like ESTi, but this track is basically just a driving beat with a super-simplistic melody arranged a few different ways and a bunch of improv notes thrown around. It has layers of flavor, but much like the KFC Famous Bowls, it all turns into mush. I'll stick with other offerings instead.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Darkcomet72

For Kaleb, and anyone else interested in the Hotdog Storm gamerip, I've uploaded it to Sendspace (lol). You can get it here. Enjoy!

Awesome, thanks! Giving this a quick listen ATM, and Stage 1 is very good (even though it's a bit short).

How ya doing, buddy?