Song of the Week - WEEK 54 Voting/WEEK 55 Nominating

Week 54 Voting is closed.
Week 55 Nominating is restricted.

Week 54 Voting
The rules for voting can be found here.

Final Result:
1st: Nobunaga's Ambition: Haouden - Blue Whitecaps
2nd: Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins
3rd: Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4

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 55 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

----

I just realized Mo0 hadn't made the voting thread here, so here you go. I apologize.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by CHz

I just realized Mo0 hadn't made the voting thread here, so here you go. I apologize.

Thanks a bunch. I would have done it again, but I don't want to get beaten down for being an impatient whelp. Voting to follow momentarily.

EDIT: Behold!

Blast Corps (Game Rip) - Cromlech Court Good luck indeed. Never played the game, though it was in the forlorn N64 section of our video store for ages. The tune treads the line between melody and trance, with sections of melody and others dominated by repetitiveness. The melodic content is enough to be satisfying, though. Downloaded, and edited to remove "Good luck."

Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (Game Rip) - Tiberian Sun Map Theme Very militaristic, as to be expected, with march-style percussion and Top Gun-style guitars. Rather short, and I wish the melody were more pronounced, but solid nonetheless. Downloaded.

Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4 Some interesting synthy stuff going on here, though the piece as a whole is rather repetitive, with what melody there is often submerged by the repetitive bass line and synth effects. Would be better if it has a strong, consistent melody rather than just snatches.

Nobunaga's Ambition: Haouden - Blue Whitecaps Nice oxymoronic title. Very sprightly piano work throughout, although the fiddle seemed a bit off to me at times. Once the guitar kicks in, the piece loses most of what had made it unique up to that point, and becomes essentailly a loungy piece. If the piece had stuck with piano/synths/fiddle, I could see myself really enjoying it. Downloaded (maybe I can edit out the section I don't like).

Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins Best game name ever. I bet it's not even a hentai game, either. This really reminds me of something, but I can't quite put my finger on what. It's a servicable synthy melody, with some light jazz and funk elements thrown in.

Tekken 3 arcade soundtrack 001 ex - Forest Law Sounds like some Megaman stuff from the post-NES era, which almost always means I'm indifferent at best. That's the case here; worse, the showy and rather annoying synth effects dominate the piece more and more as it progresses.

The Curse of Monkey Island (Game Rip) - "A Pirate I Was Meant to Be" My latest nomination. I wanted something that was appropriate for the general April Fools season, and I found it in the criminally underappriciated "Monkey Island" music. Unlike some of the "silly" songs we've had on SoTW before, this one's humor comes entirely from its witty lyrics and deadpan delivery. It's sort of like dueling pianos, only with dueling singing pirates as hero Guybrush Threepwood tries to get his barbershop quartet pirate crew quit singing and get pirating. Who knows if this'll strike a chord with anyone, but I hope it at least brings a smile to your face. Bonus points to anyone who identifies Haggis McMutton's voice.

Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme Mmm, synthy goodness. I wish the tune stuck with the synth melody line more consistently, since it fits in better with the drum machine than the guitar, though the guitar does pretty much behave itself. And let's not even talk about the sax. Downloaded (again, maybe I can edit it).

Not a bad week, overall. God only knows what'll win.

The Point Spread
3 pts - Arrrrr. (home field advantage, yo.)
1 pt - Blast Corps (Semper Explosivis)
1 pt - Tiberian Mid-Afternoon
1 pt - Duke (Nukem)'s Theme

There's nowhere I can't reach.

This week is fantastic, with the best variety I've ever seen in SOTW (which is not saying much, because I've only been here since week 30).

Only one track I didn't like this much this week.

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

3 pts: Nobunaga's Ambition: Haouden - Blue Whitecaps
2 pts: Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins
1 pt: Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme.mp3

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

Seems like Mo0 is as MIA as I am.

That's my excuse covered

I was speaking idiomatically.

Quick reviews, one or two lines each, as I've got things to do for the next several evenings.

Cromlech Court - Decent synths, although nothing unexpected. The melody's a little nonexistent, relying upon some trance effects for substance, which leaves me on the unsatisfied side.

Tiberian Sun Map Theme - I've found a collective term for pieces of this nature: "Campaign" tracks. As I've said before, I'm not much on militaristic music, so this doesn't do much for me.

Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4 - Light and a little fluffy. It's got a lot of atmospheric goodness but I think the repetition causes it to fall slightly toward being average.

Blue Whitecaps - I. LOVE. THIS. TRACK. For me, this ranks alongside such personal SotW favorites as "Quiero Voar", "Amaranth", "The Future (Voyage)", "Pop Station - Track 4" and "Freedom", which is the highest praise I can offer. It's wonderful.

Ruins - The SNES usually sounds kinda tinny, but this track avoids the curse somehow, making it one of the best SNES tracks I've ever heard. The melody is clean and catchy. A good track.

Forest Law - Tekken music has always come off as being quite genre-generic to me, the ultimate achievement in background tempo filler. "Forest Law" has more personality than most Tekken tracks, but this isn't really saying a whole lot.

"A Pirate I Was Meant to Be" - It's funny and I enjoy a good sea shanty as much as the next guy, but within the context of SotW, this comes off as something of a novelty nomination, one that I have a hard time taking seriously. The mitigating factor here is that, if you remove the voices, there's not a whole lot underneath.

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

Bonus points to anyone who identifies Haggis McMutton's voice.

I'm guessing that you mean the one with the Scottish accent, no? I don't know names, but, bless me bagpipes, that's definitely "Uncle Scrooge McDuck"'s voice actor.

Duke's Theme - Not too bad. Reminds me somewhat of 80's power ballads at times but this isn't necessarily bad. At least the guitar doesn't become overly self-indulgent and is rather interesting at most times. But the saxophone desperately needs some tuning and that's gonna keep it from earning more than one point.

6 Points 3 Points - Nobunaga's Ambition - Haouden - Blue Whitecaps
2 Points - Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins
1 Point - Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme

An average week, but at least I got one song I absolutely love and a couple which are solid enough to keep.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Best: Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (Game Rip) - Tiberian Sun Map Theme
2nd: Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins
3rd: The Curse of Monkey Island (Game Rip) - "A Pirate I Was Meant to Be"

FELIPE NO

One thing I HATE about this week was the order of the songs I was forced to listen to them in. I think that was a main determining factor on where the points went. That said, I always listen to MY song last.

The Curse of Monkey Island (Game Rip) - 'A Pirate I Was Meant to Be'
I think it was bad luck that this song came up first on the randomizer. What would seem like an awesome closer to a week (and it is the closer for most people)(just like Game Over from last week), this song is all classical kinds of hilarious. In all seriousness, I'm a bit more open to vocals then I have been before, but the problem with this song is that it's too dependant on the lyrics to make an impact. The instrumentals are cool, actually, sometimes the rythym deteriorates making it pretty confusing. The lyrics are fantastic, though. It has that old-school sense of humor that I miss. And Pirates. PIRATES.

Tekken 3 arcade soundtrack 001 ex - Forest Law
Oh nice. I completely forgot the music in the game, and listening to this again didn't bring back any old memories, but who cares. This is a pretty powerful song with powerful beat action addictive. Too bad very few are this accessable to music like this like I am. More on the song, it keeps my face flat with power of an iron frying pan. The smooth synths give it a more lighthearted and epic feel. The beat gimmicks work well, though they would seem awkward in mid game, not that I remember. This is awesome, great to spazz out to

Nobunaga's Ambition - Haounden - Blue Whitecaps
Wow. This song is pretty awesome. It easily has the setup for a very awesome mood. I just hope the nominator didn't nominate this just for the instrumentation alone. At the same time, I hope that the Powerful Cello (That better be a Cello, I suck with instrument identification) isn't the basis for what seems to be the winner of this week, as well as the composer. As for the song, it's great, fantastic frantic chord progressions. The Solo part dragged on because it didn't use the same progressions for half of the song, which is a shame. 2:36 is awesome as well, so relaxing and full of WIN. The ending is very cool, though kinda odd. Great song.

Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4
Hmm... that's odd... I don't have "Stage 4" tacked on to the label of my soundtrack... Oh well. MY LEAST FAVORITE STAGE TRACK from the game is still fantastic. Listening to this right after the previous song, this gave me goosebumps of yes. Err... it has everything a trademark Namiki Piece has, and it is that reason that many people find him monotonous. WHO CARES. EVEN BETTER CHORD PROGRESSION than the previous song, anyway. It carries a nice ambience, but that's all it really does, so that's why is gets pressed back a bit. UNTIL 1:18 the melody comes up with vigorous force and that great progression that I was talking about comes up. Let us do it the win this time.

Command & Conquer - Tiberian Sun (Game Rip) - Tiberian Sun Map Theme
HOLY SHOOT This brought back memories, which is odd because I never played this game before. It brings back memories of when I used to listen to this type of music ALL THE TIME. I felt so rich with energy listening to this, and there is honestly not much else to say about it. The shortness can be overlooked; it doesn't loop. I love the way the guitar accompanies melody at 0:27, although it gets a bit weaker as it constantly progresses, which is a shame. Good song, could be better.

Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme
Eh. Only song I didn't like. Just boring. I did like the guitars at 0:36, though, with that fwoopy synth in the background. The sound effects in the background actually give this piece some cool character. The solos were okay, nothing to write home about. *cough*


Blast Corps (Game Rip) - Cromlech Court
Of all the songs nominated this week, THIS ONE DESERVES THE MOST RESPECT. I never played Blast Corps either, so I had no idea what to expect. This song has so many things going against it at first glance: when the synths kicked into gear, I almost cringed. I thought it sounded PAINFUL. Almost everything sounded... erm... an octave higher than it should be. The melody was odd, and the bass line was hilarious. The beat isn't much, though the industrial clinks and the "kch kch sckh" sound is pretty cool. At 0:19 the bass line mimicks the melody almost to the T; it sounds so dull. With all this negatives, I thought I would never listen to this song again.

This has been my most played song of this week. I don't know why, but I came to the conclusion that this song is addictive as crack. There's something about it that just screams "listen to me again". As I listen to it more, I start to get accustomed to everything about it. It's really odd, but this is a very brave and unique nomination, and I'm glad it's here. I would be very happy to see this song win this week, even though I'm not giving it any points.

EDIT: Okay, I gave this 2 points. This song is crack.

Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins
Spanky's Quest is probably one of the first VGM soundtracks I ever loved. I was 5 years old when I got this, and have been addicted to the music since. If you don't vote for this, you're basically dissin my childhood.

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

Fortunately this week's tracks were good choices. As a Toshinden fanboy I wanted to give it 3 points, but I finally decided that there was too many good tracks that didn't deserve to be abandoned. So I'll save my Toshinden love for my next toshinden nomination (which sounds more like Zuntata, so I think that it can do better here) (oh, and before you ask, yes, I'm a complete Zuntata ignorant ^^U), and I'll make a 6 hit combo here.


Nobunaga's Ambition - Haounden - Blue Whitecaps

Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme

Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins

The Curse of Monkey Island (Game Rip) - 'A Pirate I Was Meant to Be'

Blast Corps (Game Rip) - Cromlech Court

Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4

Note: I was also going to nominate "Blue Whitecaps", isdapi you suck!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

<3 Points> Command & Conquer - Tiberian Sun (Game Rip) - Tiberian Sun Map Theme
It's my nomination this week, and it's just a great and underappreciated C&C song in my opinion. It was shamefully forgotten on the Tiberian Sun Soundtrack, and I thought it deserved a lot better so I nominated here. The song is that much more awesome when heard in game as you're being briefed for the upcoming mission. Too bad the game itself wasn't very good.

<1 Point> Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme
I like a good guitar melody. The Sax player seemed to make some mistakes, but I'm fine with that, as it made it feel more "live" for me. If I hadn't nominated this week, this would probably get the top spot in my vote.

<1 Point> Nobunaga's Ambition - Haouden - Blue Whitecaps
Smooth, and enjoyable. I really liked the guitar from 1:20. I didn't like how the song ended though.

<1 Point> Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins
I just noticed that it's from SNES, wow. Being an avid SNES player, I didn't even know. Fun song to listen to.


= The Others =


Blast Corps (Game Rip) - Cromlech Court
Oddly catchy song. Reminds me a bit of Donkey Kong Country, then again, not really. It was a tough call between this and Spanky's Quest, as they're kind of similar.

Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4
I personally don't really like these kind of cosmic, out-of-this-world songs.

Tekken 3 arcade soundtrack 001 ex - Forest Law
Heavy guitar, some effects here and there. Not a very good melody though.

The Curse of Monkey Island (Game Rip) - 'A Pirate I Was Meant to Be'
Quoted from the song at 0:08: "This is just ridiculous." It's not a bad song really, could easily fit into any Disney movie.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Tough week. Many songs I like and not enough points.

(3 points) Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4
My first shooter nomination and a personal favourite from the soundtrack. Many thanks to whoever nominated "The One Who Is Always In the Forest" during one of the BSEs. "Shinju Heading to the Forest" and aforementioned track from the same album would probably have been better choices but I like my current nomination too much. Maybe next time. Unlike most other shooter tracks I've heard, "Like the Night of the Falling Stars" struck me as being rather refreshing due to its atmosopheric stylings and interesting choice of instruments. The percussion was a big draw for me for instance. While the "melody" might be a bit on the slow side in the beginning, it's one of my favourite aspects of the song.

(1 point) Nobunaga's Ambition - Haouden - Blue Whitecaps
It took several listens to warm up to this but it paid off. Great for easy listening.

(1 point) Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme
I like how this manages to retain the stylings of music so often associated with samurais and stuff. Overall a very nifty track.

(1 point) Command & Conquer - Tiberian Sun (Game Rip) - Tiberian Sun Map Theme
The percussion is definitely reminiscent of Dune2000 and Emperor: Battle for Dune, which isn't surprising since Klepacki worked on those games as well. The melody is good but it doesn't get the chance to develop sufficiently.

And the rest...

The Curse of Monkey Island (Game Rip) - 'A Pirate I Was Meant to Be'
Very, very tempted to give this a point. The lyrics were definitely humorous and entertaining. Also liked the whimsical melody. Which reminds me, maybe I should finally nominate that somewhat off-key vocal song I've been saving up. "Well, gee, I feel a little guilty now."

Tekken 3 arcade soundtrack 001 ex - Forest Law
Not a bad song but somewhat overshadowed by other songs this week. Nice use of electronics.

Blast Corps (Game Rip) - Cromlech Court
A pretty nice track. I liked a good number of sections but some were a bit out of place, I felt.

Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins
Very, very tempted to award this points as well. The melody is rather good and full of quirky goodness.

And my next nomination:

Album/Game Title: Discworld: Noir (PC Game Rip)
Track Title: When You Met Her
Artists: Samael the Vampire
Composer: Paul Weir
Year: 1999
Source:http://www.mobygames.com/game/window...d-noir/credits
Miscellaneous information: This was originally from Grawl's rip. The original track from the rip was longer but was essentially made up of two separate songs (one vocal and one instrumental) so I decided to split the two. There's also a German version of the song.

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

Originally Posted by Elorin

Album/Game Title: Discworld: Noir (PC Game Rip)
Track Title: When You Met Her
Artists: Samael the Vampire
Composer: Paul Weir
Year: 1999
Source:http://www.mobygames.com/game/window...d-noir/credits
Miscellaneous information: This was originally from Grawl's rip. The original track from the rip was longer but was essentially made up of two separate songs (one vocal and one instrumental) so I decided to split the two. There's also a German version of the song.

:biggrin:

There's an OST of Discworld Noir, and it has this song as a standalone track. I don't know how it compares with the game rip since I don't have the rip (the CD track's length is 1:22), but I can upload it somewhere for you to compare and see if you want to nominate it instead.

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

(3 points) Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme
Instant bliss. This track is right down my alley with the upbeat synth, the kick-ass guitar solos and the cool sax solo at the end. Sure, the sax is no Masato Honda (Former T-Square sax player) but it was still very enjoyable and didn't detract from the piece in any way. Not since week 48's first place finisher (DDR - Soul House) have I come across a track new to me that I have taken such a liking to. This one definitely gains the



Other tracks to have gained that honour include week 40's "Apidya - The Pond" and week 13's "Bio Hazard Special End Title". Not many but that's partly because many of the other top-notch tracks weren't new to me.

(2 points) Nobunaga's Ambition: Haouden - Blue Whitecaps
I've heard this track before from "The Best of KOEI Vol. 5" which is a great collection of KOEI tracks that I would recommend to anyone else who enjoyed this piece. This track has a nice melody, lots of variety in terms of instrumentation and it all flows so well together. My favourite part was the jazzy guitar section in the middle. The only other stand-out track this week.

(1 point) Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4
I really liked the spaced out feel from the first minute of this track. The synth, bass and drums do a decent job of carrying on the melody from there but then it just loops again. Like many other tracks, this one could have been so much better if developed further. The arranged version of this track from the same album was slightly better as it was faster paced and had a bit more to it than two loops. I liked MintJam's arrangement of this track the most but even it was average by MintJam standards.

The rest of the entries were all average aside from monkey island which wasn't really a serious nomination.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by CHz

There's an OST of Discworld Noir, and it has this song as a standalone track. I don't know how it compares with the game rip since I don't have the rip (the CD track's length is 1:22), but I can upload it somewhere for you to compare and see if you want to nominate it instead.

There's an official soundtrack?!?! Okay, I need to get the entire album from you. Will send you a PM to try to make some sort of arrangement. There's probably not much difference between the rip and OST versions of "When You Met Her" (track length seems about right) unless the OST is a German release.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Lot of people seem to be on board with the group here. I wasn't entirely too keen on the week. A lot to say about my own nom, pardon the otherwise brief comments if you would.

Blast Corps (Game Rip) - Cromlech Court

Originally Posted by Darkcomet

Of all the songs nominated this week, THIS ONE DESERVES THE MOST RESPECT... This has been my most played song of this week... this song is addictive as crack... I would be very happy to see this song win this week.

Originally Posted by Darkcomet

I'm not giving it any points.

Let's high five now, the two of us.

I've been bleakly honest recently; I'm running out of ideas. I don't download so much new vgm anymore and when I do I'll be damned if I have the time to give it a proper listen. It's not that I don't enjoy what I enter into this event, but I hear some of the most amazing works out of SotW usually sitting on a level my arsenal can't touch. The pride over some of my last few nominations has not entirely been beaming. Cromlech Court is somewhere between.

Like Darkcomet said, Court has so much going against it at first listen. N64 synth, not the highest quality rip, voice artifact from the game sitting there at the beginning, abrupt ending. All generally off putting. Despite the sound quality, nothing here comes close to breaking the mold. Nothing all that exciting here. I'm not sure why either, but this song demands my attention from the get go. It stands out when by all means it shouldn't. It's an alluring contradiction to have to try and pin down exactly why you like something, the particular qualities that grab you are elusive. You listen over and over, again and again.

I think what it is about this track is that it's deceptively mellow, underneath it's up tempo, spacey, colored lights sound, this piece ultimately contains a calming atmosphere. Many different elements, none of which are too heavy making it hard to get tired of.

I didn't nominate this thinking it'd win, but after hearing Court's company this week, honestly speaking, I think this deserves to place.

Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (Game Rip) - Tiberian Sun Map Theme

Sorry, militaristic brass is not up my alley.

Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4

Falls a little flat for me after the lengthy but decent intro.

Nobunaga's Ambition: Haouden - Blue Whitecaps

This is what I'm talking about. How am suppose to compete with this shit. Where do you people find this stuff?

Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins

Very enjoyable, this could fit into a number of other games and series with music I'm fond of. Namely, this reminds me of something out of Sonic. I definitely like it enough to give it points. But I'm not going to. If that makes any sense.

Tekken 3 arcade soundtrack 001 ex - Forest Law

The gimmick effects are slightly neat. How this track is stretched out to nearly 4 minutes is beyond me, though.

The Curse of Monkey Island (Game Rip) - "A Pirate I Was Meant to Be"

"Ooh, that was a good one!"

"No, it wasn't."

Actually, this put a smile on me my face and held my attention more than most tracks this week.

Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme

These solo heavy tracks have a fifty fifty shot of sticking with me. This one just didn't. Might sound funny from someone who entered in a sax jazz track just recently, but as soon as the horn started blaring I knew this wasn't a contender for me.

Point Spread

3 points - Nobunaga's Ambition: Haouden - Blue Whitecaps

2 points - Blast Corps (Game Rip) - Cromlech Court

1 point - The Curse of Monkey Island (Game Rip) - "A Pirate I Was Meant to Be"

Originally Posted by Darkcomet

this is a very brave and unique nomination

Oh ho ho . Just you wait.

Album/Game Title: DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA ~Avatar Tuner~ 1 & 2 Original Sound Track: Integral
Track Title: Five Years Before
Track Number - Disk 4 Track 16
Composer: Shoji Meguro
Year: 2005
Source: GMR
YSI link: http://s29.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2...U0VQND9SZEQW2G

Ahaha, everyone's gonna hate it.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Dr. Uzuki

I've been bleakly honest recently; I'm running out of ideas. I don't download so much new vgm anymore and when I do I'll be damned if I have the time to give it a proper listen. It's not that I don't enjoy what I enter into this event, but I hear some of the most amazing works out of SotW usually sitting on a level my arsenal can't touch.

I feel exactly the same way--perhaps moreso, given the disconnect between my music collection and the sort of thing that usually wins SoTW, as well as my own self-imposed "Western Only" rule. It's gotten to the point where I'm eyeing $1 games at Goodwill, wondering if they might have Redbook and be good SoTW contenders.

Originally Posted by Dr. Uzuki

Ahaha, everyone's gonna hate it.

Maybe it's the point you gave my nom this week talking, but I find that song to be pretty good once it gets going. Puts the "digital" in "digital devil."

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

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

as well as my own self-imposed "Western Only" rule.

That seems awfully short-sighted.

RELENT TO THE JAPANOPHILES

I should nominate more Western music. I think there are only one or two tracks in my big list o' upcoming nominations by Western composers; otherwise, it's Japan all the way down.

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

It's gotten to the point where I'm eyeing $1 games at Goodwill, wondering if they might have Redbook and be good SoTW contenders.

The desire to explore the unknown has been a driving force in human history since the dawn of time.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

I feel exactly the same way--perhaps moreso, given the disconnect between my music collection and the sort of thing that usually wins SoTW, as well as my own self-imposed "Western Only" rule.

Thirded. I'm running out of stuff because I don't download enough obscure stuff. I'm in a Catch 22 of triviality: the good stuff I have would be berated for not being obscure enough, while the obscure stuff I have has been taking a critical beating.

What's even more amazing is that I feel these past few weeks after the restart have been the most consistent yet. I know there was some new blood, but I'm amazed that people are finding tracks of such good quality.

On to the voting:

(2 points) Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4: Love the instrument selection and ethereal feel. Especially enjoy it when the backbeat kicks in. The melody could be better, which is why it doesn't get three points.

(2 points) Nobunaga's Ambition: Haouden - Blue Whitecaps: When Kanno does this jazzy-type of work, she's golden (unlike her J-pop stuff). Feelings are matched with Night of the Falling Stars: love the instruments (plinking piano = love), wish the melody was a bit more addictive. Nonetheless, this is great, great stuff.

(And if I could give these tracks 3 points each, I would).

(1 point) Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme: Yeah, the instruments are fake, but it's solid mid-90s synth.

(1 point) Tekken 3 arcade soundtrack 001 ex - Forest Law: My nomination, and I'm glad it was severely outclassed by other tracks this week. The Tekken 3 Arcade soundtrack as a whole is solid and consistent. This happened to be one of my favorites. The gimmicks work, and the synthy guitar riffs and baseline add a hint of groove and edge to a track that doesn't cleanly fall into any one category.

The rest (which are really just as good as these last two): Cromlech Court is a favorite of mine from Blast Corps, poppy and light but still working in the game. Tiberian Sun Map Theme would place for me in weaker weeks, even with its traditional militaristic elements. Ruins is a groovy joy too. As for "A Pirate I Was Meant To Be," it's got humor in all the right places, and the music it works with is more enjoyable than I thought. Every track was good this week.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

3 points. Nobunaga's Ambition - Haouden - Blue Whitecaps

2 points. Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins

1 point. Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by CHz

That seems awfully short-sighted.

To be fair, I have considered expanding it to "non-Japanese" rather than just "Western," which would allow stuff from China, Taiwan, and Korea. Of course, I know of next to nothing from those places, but oh well.

I'm sure my self-imposed rule will fall one day, but until then, I like to think of it as promoting diversity, since 90% of SoTW content is going to be from Japan no matter what.

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

I'd say more 80% myself.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Uploaded "When You Met Her" yesterday. Personally, I wish I had more time to play Taiwanese games (they're quite popular over here). Some of them have pretty good in-game music (at least the traditional and strategy RPGs) and would certainly make interesting SotW entries. I'm thinking of nominating one after "When You Met Her" has had a chance to take a beating. :P

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

<3 points> Nobunaga's Ambition - Haouden - Blue Whitecaps
I wanted to nominate something from KOEI for the sake of the variety, and certainly to exhibit a skillful composition of Ms. Kanno. I love this piece by its incredible and varied instrumentation, as well I love the atmosphere that evokes. It's the definition of easy listening done masterly.

<2 points> Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme
I'm not too fond of this one, and however I give two points. This is due to that the rest of nominations are mediocre. In fact, the final sax solo is the only one worthy of attention (and the guitar solo too).

<1 point> Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins
It sounds like the perfect music for a platform game. The main inconvenient is its repetitive structure but I can stand that because the tune is dangerously catchy.

FELIPE NO

Week 54 is almost over and if the queue stays the way it is, I'm due for another nomination next week so I might as well toss another track into the mix. Kind of absurred since it would be my second nomination in three weeks but I see some regulars ahead of me that have yet to nominate so I don't expect that to happen.

* Artist: Ikuro "Amadeus" Fujiwara and the Xanadu Rockalight Orchestra
* Album/Game Title: All Over Xanadu
* Track Title: The Resurrection of Dragon
* Source: http://www.gmronline.com/info.asp?CatNumber=BY30-5170
* Composer: Takahito Abe
* Disc Number: 01
* Track Number: 02
* Catalog Number: BY30-5170
* Year: 1987

I'll upload it and update the wiki.

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

Blast Corps (Game Rip) - Cromlech Court This track was quite nifty and I couldn't detect any flawed parts, yet I seem to have a memory problem with this one. Seems like a good stage theme or so. (1 Point)

Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (Game Rip) - Tiberian Sun Map Theme It's actually quite well cut out for the short time. But even having played this game so much, this theme never stuck out. Beyond its game context, it remains an average military theme in my opinion.

Mushihimesama Original Sound Track - Like the Night of the Falling Stars - Stage 4
I am a shooter-player myself, therefore I think I have a special kind of appreciation for these tracks. It always should be 50% ambient and 50% melodic or so, as to not distract from the game too much. This tracks does this perfectly. It doesn't have a too developped melody, but a quite interesting spacy ambience, which I am a big sucker for. I liked Life Stream from FF VII for example. If anything of the Mushihimesame soundtrack is approximately like this, I need to check it out. (2 Points)

Nobunaga's Ambition - Haounden - Blue Whitecaps I like this track fairly, but I was having again a memory problem. It showcases great instrumental sound and a nice relaxing atmosphere, still I felt a definite statement was missing somehow. (1 Point)

Spanky's Quest (SNES Game Rip) - Ruins Spank the monkey's quest or what? It's got a catchy and fun melody, but some lines were used quite too often (methinks, without touching on someone's childhood lol).

Tekken 3 arcade soundtrack 001 ex - Forest Law It's the same ambience/melody mixture as with Mushihimesama, but I wasn't so interested in this particular atmosphere. Also, I thought some of the breaks felt rather disruptive. Sometimes they work though.

The Curse of Monkey Island (Game Rip) - 'A Pirate I Was Meant to Be'.(1 Cookie)

Toshinden Retake & Remix - Duke's Theme Contrary to some people here, I thought the first half was the most engaging and best. The later half is dominated by improvisation, which has, like Dr.Uzuki pointed out, a 50/50 chance of success. Well, it wasn't failure or anything, but it doesn't quite reach what I liked in the first half. (2 Points)

Jam it back in, in the dark.