Song of the Week - WEEK 51 Voting/WEEK 52 Nominations

It's Monday evening, and us impatient types are still aching for a voting thread. So here is is, in stopgap/counterfeit form, reproduced from MoO's previous voting thread and the links from the SoundtrackCentral voting thread. Sorry if I've overstepped any bounds in doing this, but I really want to vote.

Week 50 Voting is closed.
Week 51 Nominating is restricted.

Week 51 Voting
The rules for voting can be found here.

Tracks:
Armed Police Batrider (Game Rip) - ST5 Chasing Gang's Need Speed
Clockwork Knight ~ Pepperouchau's Adventure - Never Say Die!
Jak X - Combat Racing (Game Rip) - Track 5
MERI+DIA ~Maria Diana~ Original Sound Track - All charges
Orchestral Game Concert 3 - Hanjuku Hero 'Divertissement ~ The Fourth Movement'
Peter Jackson's King Kong - The Official Game of the Movie (Game Rip) - Ann's Theme
Phantasy Star Online Original Soundtrack - After the Story Part 2
Wander and the Colossus ~Roar of the Earth~ Original Soundtrack - Revived Power ~Battle With the Colossus~

Week 52 Nominating
The Nominations Queue can be found here.
The rules for nominating can be found here.

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.

Here are the links to this week's corresponding threads at the other three forums:
- Soundtrack Central
- Chudah's Corner
- Slightly Dark

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Armed Police Batrider (Game Rip) - ST5 Chasing Gang's Need Speed As an English major, let me be blunt: THAT APOSTRAPHE IS WRONG! PLURALS HAVE NO APOSTRAPHES! AAAAGGGHHH! Now that that is out of the way; this track is a pleasant bit of elevator music that's jazzy but not ambitious or spectacular in any way. Its synth is fine, though, and it fits in well with the jazzy section of this week's entrants, setting the stage for an epic orchestra v. jazz deathgrudgesmackdownmatch.

Clockwork Knight ~ Pepperouchau's Adventure - Never Say Die! Very similar to the last piece, except that the synth is better (perhaps even live), and the performances are more lively, especially that percussion break. A little too loungy and improvisational for my taste, but pretty solid as far as lounge jazz acts go. Reminds me quite a bit of Grim Fandango, actually.

Jak X - Combat Racing (Game Rip) - Track 5 Jak is racing now? Who knew. This track has faint guitars, and drum loops, but little else. I never thought I'd say this, but could we have the guitars a little bit louder, please?

MERI+DIA ~Maria Diana~ Original Sound Track - All charges Jazz of the Week™ continues. This kind of jazz is like rap for me, in that I find it had to tell different tracks apart (though it's unlike rap in that I actually enjoy it on occasion). This track has a stronger melody than the others, I think, and that's what gives it the edge, despite its middling synth.

Orchestral Game Concert 3 - Hanjuku Hero 'Divertissement ~ The Fourth Movement' The sprightly xylophone/marimba sections of this song are absolutely delightful. It makes for a very witty, knowing sound that is strongly reminiscent of slapstick comedy or perhaps eggs, given the song's pedigree. The slower sections are a bit of a drag, though, since they lack the melody and focus of the main sections. It sounds like classical music, yes, but the kind of classical music I like.

Peter Jackson's King Kong - The Official Game of the Movie (Game Rip) - Ann's Theme My very own nom. Ann's theme is very lush and strongly romantic in the classic sense, with warm strings and piano deftly evoking an angelic, innocent figure. The melody is passed from section to section, carrying with it a feeling of longing and subtle tragedy. Then fully developed, the melody slightly resembles one of the themes from David Arnold's "Independence Day" score, slower and more melancholy, before fading off into a delicate piano finish. This track, and virtually all the other tracks from this game, are available for free online--the interpretation of this theme in "Between Two Worlds" is especially recommended.

Phantasy Star Online Original Soundtrack - After the Story Part 2 This is an old, familiar favorite, one of the strongest tracks from the abridged Phantasy Star Online OST. It's also a very string-based track, though more melancholy and less delicate. The buildup and string payoff in the middle is excellent, though the track drags a bit at the beginning.

Wander and the Colossus ~Roar of the Earth~ Original Soundtrack - Revived Power ~Battle With the Colossus~ A powerful orchestral track that weaves a great melody through a full set of variations and some sweeping instrumentation. The song has a vaguely Celtic feel at times, but is strongly triumphant for most of its length. The clanging metal perfectly accents parts of the song, reinforcing the potent brass and strings. If there are other songs like this on the OST, I need to go out and find it NOW.

A great week, overall. There was only one track that I couldn't stand, the rest being almost evenly divided between the orchestra and the jazz ensemble. I can't predict which way the vote will go this week, but there are some strong entrants.

The Point Spread
3 pts - King Kong (home field advantage, yo.)
1 pt. - Colosseum
1 pt. - Egg Hero OGC
1 pt. - Phantasy Phtar

There's nowhere I can't reach.

In response to _DH_'s potential nomination, I have to side with the dissenters. Influence is a tricky thing to measure, and also largely subjective; a person or group's influence on music is a wide-open concept.

John Williams has influenced a generation of composers, and his themes have been incorporated into every major Star Wars game by noted game composers. Is "Duel of the Fates" therefore elligible for SoTW? I like the song, but the answer is "no."

Danny Elfman wrote the theme for "Fable," his dark musical style has influenced many other composers, and his themes have also been incorporated into video games. So, can I nominate a song from Oingo Boingo, his old rock band? Again, I think everyone would disagree.

I can't fault _DH_ for wanting to put music he likes into SoTW, but this particular case is too much of a stretch for me.

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

Originally Posted by Mo0

Your winner for this week:

(22) Wander and the Colossus ~Roar of the Earth~ Original Soundtrack - Revived Power ~Battle With the Colossus~

Second place:

(20) Clockwork Knight ~ Pepperouchau's Adventure - Never Say Die!

Third place:

(18) Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Game Rip) - Ann's Theme

Color me surprised! I was sure my nomination wasn't going to place. In fact, I see a lot to like in these results: both jazz and orchestra are represented, and close to one another in the overall point spread.

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