Song of the Week - WEEK 76 Voting/WEEK 77 Nominating

Week 76 Voting is open.
Week 77 Nominating is open.

Week 76 Voting
The rules for voting can be found here.

Tracks:
Armored Core 3 Silent Line Soundtrack - Lapse of Time
Divine Divinity (PC Game Rip) - Whispers From A Council Past
FOR BRIGHTER DAY ~ Phantasy Star Universe Original Sound Track - The Last Story
Gungrave O.S.T. - An Ulterior Motive
Lost Passage Perfect Arrange Album - Ruined Heart
Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete - Field To Tomorrow
MegaMari - Marisa no Yabou (Game Rip) - Izayoi Sakuya Stage
Space Channel 5 Original Soundtrack - Mororina - The Elegant Coward

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.

Divine Divinity (PC Game Rip) - Whispers From A Council Past was originally in OGG format. The original file has been uploaded to the extras directory.

If The Last Story doesn't work on your default media player, try another one. It didn't work in my WMP.

Week 77 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


Figured I'd get this up, since it's already Monday night. I hope that's ok.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Drakken

If The Last Story doesn't work on your default media player, try another one. It didn't work in my WMP.

That's odd...The one I upped was from the gamemp3's release.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Artist: Noriyuki Iwadare
Album: Grandia 3 OST
Track Title: Sabatal
Disc Number: 1
Track Number: 11
Catalog Number: TRCD-10048/9
Year: 2005
Source: RPGFan

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

Originally Posted by Drakken

Figured I'd get this up, since it's already Monday night. I hope that's ok.

<grumble>

Time was, we'd wait until Tuesday night to preempt Mo0 in thread creation. You young whippersnappers are too damn impatient; if a song is worth voting for, it's also worth waiting until orion_mk3 gets back from class for :biggrin:

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

This worked well last time, so let's see if we get a repeat performance.

WE NEED A HECKUVA LOT MORE NOMINATIONS RIGHT NOW

Look, I'll start!

• Artist: Hideyuki Fukasawa
• Album/Game Title: Chaos Legion Original Soundtrack
• Track Title: I can hear the shriek (Stage ~Cave~)
• Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
• Track Number: 12
• Catalog Number: CPCA-1072
• Year: 2003
• Additional Information: I promise I'll get back to "normal" nominations next time.
• Source(s): http://chudahs-corner.com/soundtrack...alog=CPCA-1072

I was speaking idiomatically.

Armored Core 3 Silent Line Soundtrack - Lapse of Time
I like the phrase that Lapse of Time is based around. I feel that the somewhat abnormal rhythm that starts around 50 seconds into the song increases the quality of the track. Because the track doesn't sound repetitive and builds up in an interesting fashion, ultimately, it's something that I'd like to hear.

Divine Divinity (PC Game Rip) - Whispers From A Council Past
This is an intriguing ambient piece. I understand why the nominator decided to select the track. There seems to be a pseudo-melody that starts towards 1:25 that is doing quite well. On nice speakers, the reverberations of the waves are what make this song pretty good.

FOR BRIGHTER DAY ~ Phantasy Star Universe Original Sound Track - The Last Story
I suppose it's unfair that I've listened to this track 15 times in the last week, but it speaks to the quality of this song. Compared to IDOLA Strange Fruits, this song is significantly more agressive. But I think it's the instrumentation behind the song that makes me think this song might be better than IDOLA. There's not so much that it's overwhelming (you can hear every instrument clearly), and the song has a very distinct melody. My favorite section comes in at 1:30 and is the main melody. It doesn't follow the same path as other tracks, which is really interesting. I don't think the game does this song justice either; I beat the final boss before this track even half finished playing: in 1 minute.

Gungrave O.S.T. - An Ulterior Motive
We switch to Jazz style in this track, and the melody is something that I could dance to. The problem is, however, the same bass line repeats over and over, and that starts to bug me after a while. If we change the rhythm in the background, then this song would probably match the others.

Lost Passage Perfect Arrange Album - Ruined Heart
Nice modern chords. It's almost like a new age piano composer combined with debussy trying to evoke a very interesting image. The piano player does a very nice job in making the image of the song come out. Unfortunately, I have less taste for modern piano composers. I'm sure other people will like this song more than me, however.

Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete - Field To Tomorrow
I think the thing I can say about this song is that becomes slightly worn out after a while. It's like placing a too obvious melody in the front of you: listen to it 6 times in a row and it becomes boring. Besides that, it's still a good song. The different instruments combine to make an interesting piece.

MegaMari - Marisa no Yabou (Game Rip) - Izayoi Sakuya Stage
It looks like another week where every song is a totally different style. I really like the solo towards the beginning of the piece and the development of the song in the middle. The track reminds me of something from Castlevania, personally.

Space Channel 5 Original Soundtrack - Mororina - The Elegant Coward
That's an unexpected opening into a interesting background theme. I really dig this theme. It's slightly light and seems to incorporate familiar themes that we've all heard of before. But it does so pretty well, and the key changes and rhythm changes only make this song something I'd like to listen to again.


I already said that my vote was going to be kind of one sided this time around. I feel that one track just dominates all the rest:

Final Vote:
3pt: FOR BRIGHTER DAY ~ Phantasy Star Universe Original Sound Track - The Last Story
1pt: Armored Core 3 Silent Line Soundtrack - Lapse of Time
1pt: Divine Divinity (PC Game Rip) - Whispers From A Council Past
1pt: Space Channel 5 Original Soundtrack - Mororina - The Elegant Coward

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by AWACS Eagle Eye

WE NEED A HECKUVA LOT MORE NOMINATIONS RIGHT NOW

OKAY! Sheesh!

Artist: - Ronnie Montrose
Album - Mr. Bones Soundtrack
Track Title - "In This World"
Disc Number & Track Number: 1-6
Catalog Number: 697-124 145-2
Year - 1996
Additional Comments - A Vocal Track, With Chops
Source: http://chudahs-corner.com/soundtrack...=697-124+145-2

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by AWACS Eagle Eye

• Artist: Hideyuki Fukasawa
• Album/Game Title: Chaos Legion Original Soundtrack
• Track Title: I can hear the shriek (Stage ~Cave~)
• Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
• Track Number: 12
• Catalog Number: CPCA-1072
• Year: 2003
• Additional Information: I promise I'll get back to "normal" nominations next time.
• Source(s): http://chudahs-corner.com/soundtrack...alog=CPCA-1072

Of all the Chaos Legion songs.....you have odd taste.

My nomination is forthcoming. Trying to decide between a bunch of different possibilities. Among them The Incredible Machine 3, Halo 2 (one of Incubus' songs ), Sudeki, Kameo, Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, and Sword Maniac. Oh, and an old DOS game. And Age of Mythology.

Initial listen points to a really good week, btw. That's something I don't say that often.

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

Originally Posted by AWACS Eagle Eye

This worked well last time, so let's see if we get a repeat performance.

WE NEED A HECKUVA LOT MORE NOMINATIONS RIGHT NOW

It worked (and apparently it won't let me post a message less than five words, which this disclaimer has now taken care of).


Artist: Stuart Ross
Album/Game Title: Space Station: Silicon Valley
Track Title: Fun In The Sun
Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
Track Number: 22
Year: 1998
Additional Information: I only have it in 64th note format. I imagine it will have to be converted to mp3.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Drakken

Of all the Chaos Legion songs.....you have odd taste.

Honestly, I'm kind of glad that you got in your nomination of Welcome to the darkness ahead of me; the Chaos Legion OST is one of my all time favorites, and one of my big worries about nominating I can hear the shriek was that people would think it's representative of the soundtrack when, really, it's one of a kind.

Also, I quote myself from the past:

Originally Posted by AWACS Eagle Eye

I can hear the shriek, a.k.a. "CHz's most favorite VGM vocal track of all time."

Yes, I'm crazy, but everyone here should know that already.

I should bring my old sig text of "I have bad taste in music" back.

Originally Posted by Chuckster

Additional Information: I only have it in 64th note format. I imagine it will have to be converted to mp3.

Yeah. There's still no Mac version of 64th Note, so I can't do it myself.

Double Post:

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

OKAY! Sheesh!

Artist: - Ronnie Montrose
Album - Mr. Bones Soundtrack
Track Title - "In This World"
Disc Number & Track Number: 1-6
Catalog Number: 697-124 145-2
Year - 1996
Additional Comments - A Vocal Track, With Chops
Source: http://chudahs-corner.com/soundtrack...=697-124+145-2

Oh also, meant to say "f'in win."

F'in win.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Is Granado Espada still viable?

Artist: SoundTEMP
Album: Granado Espada Soundtrack CD
Title: Supercooled Girl
Track: 5 (disc 1 of 1)
Year: 2006
Source: http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=none0257

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

Wha...? I didn't expect to be up so fast... Then again, I wasn't watching the nomination queue too closely last week. O-kay. Will get to cracking on a new nomination.

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

I'll throw up my nom now, just in case anyone's got a problem with it, and vote when I get back from work.

Artist: Mitsuhiro Kaneda
Album: STELLA DEUS BGM ReArrange Album
Title: Planet She
Track: 8

I was speaking idiomatically.

More into the mix.

Artist: T's Music
Album: Gate of Thunder (Red Book Audio)
Track Title: Dark City
Track Number: 8
Year: 1992

Uploaded.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I've decided! (I think...)

Album: HALO 2 Original Soundtrack and New Music Vol. 1
Artist: Incubus
Track Title: 2nd Movement of the Odyssey
Track Number: 11
Catalog Number: SE-2013-2
Year: 2004
Source: GMR
File Location: Drakken's comp

This is a bit of a weird one. It's not a Marty O'Donnell song, but rather, something made by Incubus specifically for the game's soundtrack (as an "inspired by" song, I guess). Because of that, I think it should be ok; not many people have heard the non-Marty stuff on the cd.

The piece itself is, as the title suggests, part 2 in a 4-part "odyssey." It could be called progressive rock with an added bit of randomness. I've grown to enjoy it.

FELIPE NO

Here's my next nom... hopefully it will received better than Rose Garden and Sonic Drive.


Artist: Saitama Saishu Heiki
Album: N/A
Track Title: Ultimate Destroyer
Track Number: N/A
Year: N/A
Source: http://ssh.ne.jp Look for bw_ud.zip

Additional info: This is a remix of "Blast Wind" from Technosoft Game Music Vol. 7 Reincarnation.

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

Originally Posted by Drakken

I've decided! (I think...)

Album: HALO 2 Original Soundtrack and New Music Vol. 1
Artist: Incubus
Track Title: 2nd Movement of the Odyssey
Track Number: 11
Catalog Number: SE-2013-2
Year: 2004
Source: GMR
File Location: Drakken's comp

Frankly, given the huge exposure that Halo 2 has had--and the sales the album posted--I don't think any song from either OST is going to be obscure enough for our purposes.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This week was rather divided. Half the songs were pretty darn good. The other half, I really didn't care for. I suppose the law of averages makes it a, well, an average week.

Lapse of Time - This track is a decent example of why I'm not fond of "military" themes. If I had to describe the sub-genre in one word, I'd most often use "monotonous". Lapse of Time begins with a dark, heavy-handed instrumentation and, well, never really goes anywhere with it. This is, sadly, the case for a lot of tracks like this. The whole thing feels like a missed opportunity for more.

Whispers From a Council Past - Much like "Lapse of Time", "Whispers" suffers from being too bland, while also being fairly aimless in its progression. The panning effects are very nice, but there's not enough musical substance to really make them stand out as anything more than a mixing gimmick. It's a bad sign when I wonder when the track is going to hurry up and finish.

Last Story - More brooding pseudo-militarism. It's got some chops when it comes to the percussion line, but the same line hints at being a tad too derivative from "IDOLA - The Strange Fruits". The rest of the track is competent if you like that sort of thing, but there are very few dark tracks that capture my interest. "Last Story" isn't one, unfortunately.

An Ulterior Motive - Snazzy and jazzy. It's got that right blend of sultriness and up-tempo charm that earns my respect. The trumpets are sexy and it really picks up when the piano is introduced. There is a very minor issue with repetitiveness here and there, but not enough to interfere with its enjoyability.

Ruined Heart - If Pablo Picasso were a pianist, and was asked to compose a track for a SimCity game, this would be the result: an odd, rather cacaphonous blend of aural beat poetry and seething rage over his inability to reach the pedals at the piano's base (Picasso was really short). It's strange, REALLY strange. One one hand, I like the experimentation. On the other hand, it's pretty much ear rape.

Field to Tomorrow - Noriyuki Iwadare really doesn't make anything that's unflowing and unlistenable, so this track's quality is absolutely no surprise. I wouldn't rank it as his best work, but it's a quaint tune, nonetheless.

Izayoi Sakuya Stage - If I hadn't been told otherwise, I'd immediately think this was an OCRemix of some Mega Man chiptune that I didn't know well. It's pretty cool. It's also a little short, especially when you consider that it basically loops itself at the halfway mark. But I definitely don't hate it.

Mororina: the Elegant Coward - My nomination for this week. Why is this track awesome? It has some excellent progression values, for starters. It introduces a soothingly upbeat string melody as its base, then systematically reinvents that theme with increasing urgency, as it builds to climax. The instrumentation is smooth and the beat is infectiously fun. "Mororina" also has a very distinctive mood: it's whimsical, yet also quite tense, even aggressive. It finishes up with an epic, samba-esque climax for a very satisfying conclusion. A great, great composition. <3


POINT SPREAD

3 Points: - Space Channel 5 Original Soundtrack - Mororina - The Elegant Coward.mp3
2 Points - Gungrave O.S.T. - An Ulterior Motive.mp3
1 Point - MegaMari - Marisa no Yabou (Game Rip) - Izayoi Sakuya Stage.mp3


Kinda hit and miss for me, but there were a few keepers. I don't expect every track to be amazing, so 50% is solid enough.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Dammit.

I promised my next nomination after ICHTS would be "normal."

I promised. 14 posts up, even. I even figured out exactly what it's going to be.

But listening to Morolina got me thinking about Space Channel 5, and then I remembered how awesome the final boss battle is.

And now I've been listening to Blank TV: Ulala Support Chant for the past hour.



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

Originally Posted by AWACS Eagle Eye

Honestly, I'm kind of glad that you got in your nomination of Welcome to the darkness ahead of me; the Chaos Legion OST is one of my all time favorites, and one of my big worries about nominating I can hear the shriek was that people would think it's representative of the soundtrack when, really, it's one of a kind.

feel no fear Stage is the best track on the OST. Why lie.

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

Ok, my next nom will be:

Album: Tokimeki Memorial 2 OST Vol 1
Disc: 2 of 2
Artist: Metal Yuki, Atsushi Sato, Nories Miura, Hana Hashikawa, Sayaka Yamaoka
Track Title: Meeting With You ~ Happy Ending (Instrumental) => This is the original version of the song, it's not a vocal song without vocals
Track Number: 38
Catalog Number: KMCA-34~35
Year: 1999
Source: http://www.chudahs-corner.com/soundt...g=KMCA-34%7E35
File Location: I'll upload it to the FTP server today, but not now.


EDIT: By the way, can I ask you if you know wether Nories Miura and Norikazu Miura are the same person?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Viva la nominación!

• Artist: James Hannigan
• Album/Game Title: Republic: The Revolution Original Soundtrack
• Track Title: Blood Brothers
• Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
• Track Number: 7
• Year: 2003
• Additional Information: Yet another "vocal" track, to go along with CHz's and Crash's.
• File Location: http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/4184/53742
• Source(s): http://www.soundtrack.net/soundtracks/database/?id=3817, http://www.music4games.net/Review_Display.aspx?id=10

I was gonna go and nominate a vocal song just because everyone else was, but while searching for a good one, I got distracted by another song, and just decided I should nominate that instead.

Artist: World Sequence
Album: Pop'n Music Instrumental Best
Track Title: DRAGON DANCE revision-2
Disc Number: 1 (of 2)
Track Number: 5
Catalog Number: Not sure
Year: 2001
Sources:
-CD info: http://www.gracenote.com/music/album...07aef706a.html
-Artist info: http://vjarmy.com/wiki/index.php/Seiya_Murai
-Song: http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1753/789

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by ikkei

EDIT: By the way, can I ask you if you know wether Nories Miura and Norikazu Miura are the same person?

GMCL says that they are! (first entry on the page)

Great resource for this kind of thing if you don't mind the walls of Japanese text.

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

Originally Posted by AWACS Eagle Eye

GMCL says that they are! (first entry on the page)

Great resource for this kind of thing if you don't mind the walls of Japanese text.

Wow, thanks. Miki Higashino composed the music for the Ninja Turtles? That's great to know :P

I finally uploaded my nom to yousendit, as now I don't have any FTP leecher installed: http://download.yousendit.com/A97770507A9B171E

Jam it back in, in the dark.