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

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.

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.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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.

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

This is a pleasant surprise. The voting had been very divided all week. I never keep track of points, just trends, and I was expecting perhaps a third place finish - if I got lucky. I expected Field Medley to make a final lunge at victory, and it may have if the last minute voters had come on strong.

Thanks to everyone who threw even a single point at my nom. Sometimes slow and steady wins the race.

Originally Posted by Kaleb.G

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!

I was thinking about this when looking at the official SotW site the other day (not the wiki). Since it's appearing in Top 10 searches, there might be a higher incidence of curious traffic. For that reason, I feel as though the site could use a bit of embellishment. At the very least, stray visitors might like to know what they're seeing without having to find a small wiki link first.

I wish I were a skilled web-designer, else I'd volunteer to make improvements myself. But perhaps someone else is, or one can be found. The SotW site could use a bit more flourish, IMO.

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

I wasn't complaining. I was suggesting. Anything to attract higher exposure is worth consideration.

Perhaps Encephalon can be convinced to do something. I'll talk to him.

I was speaking idiomatically.