[SotW] Song of the Week - WEEK 143 Voting/WEEK 144 Nominating

Song of the Week. 125 Weeks and counting.
Week 143 Voting is closed.
Week 144 Nominating is restricted.

Results
1). [26] BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO!
2). [24] Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3
3). [17] Swept Away - Before Dawn
4). [9/6.5] Vampire Savior The Lord of Vampire - FEAST OF THE DAMNED
5). [9/6] The Treasure of Usas (Game Rip) - Mohenjo Daro (Stage 5)
6). [8] Putty Squad (SNES Game Rip) - Dr. Sushi's Laboratory of Terror
7). [5] VAGUE2 - S (from AIR 'summer lights,' AIRness 'summer lights -AIRness-')
8). [4] SPIKEOUT Battle Street Original Sound Track - Bad guys ~Here Comes The Area Boss~

Tracks:
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO!
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Putty Squad (SNES Game Rip) - Dr. Sushi's Laboratory of Terror
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: SPIKEOUT Battle Street Original Sound Track - Bad guys ~Here Comes The Area Boss~
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Swept Away - Before Dawn
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: The Treasure of Usas (Game Rip) - Mohenjo Daro (Stage 5)
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: VAGUE2 - S (from AIR 'summer lights,' AIRness 'summer lights -AIRness-')
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Vampire Savior The Lord of Vampire - FEAST OF THE DAMNED

Notes:
If you are a member at more than one of the forums in which this event is being held, please nominate and vote in only ONE of the forums. You may, however, comment in the threads at any of the other forums.

Week 144 Nominating
The Nominations Queue can be found here.
The rules for nominating can be found here.

Here is the link to the corresponding thread in the other forum: Soundtrack Central

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Just wanted to point out that one of the nominators from this week also had a track up for voting last week. i.e., the queue is running pretty dry.

So if you guys feel like nominating some music, that would be fantastic.

Most amazing jew boots

So uh yeah, if you could get those noms in on Sunday that would be greeeaaat...



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

=== Kaleb.G ===
* Album Title: Excite Truck (Wii Game Rip)
* Artist: Kenji Yamamoto, Masaru Tajima
* Track Title: Nebula
* Source: a game rip I found online, also GameFAQs
* File Location: nom folder
* Disc Number: 1/1
* Track Number: 11
* Year: 2006

Most amazing jew boots

I forgot to nominate somethin' the last week, so...

• Composer: Yoshiyuki Sahashi (Arranged by Yoshiyuki Sahashi & Tetsuo Ishikawa)
• Album: Poporogue Original Soundtrack
• Track Title: The Magic of the Moon, Majestic Dream - For Those Who Chase Dreams
• Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
• Track Number: 19
• Catalog Number: SVWC-7009
• Year: 1998
• Source: SVWC-7009: POPOROGUE Original Soundtrack - VGMdb

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Kaleb.G

=== Kaleb.G ===
* Album Title: Excite Truck (Wii Game Rip)
* Artist: Kenji Yamamoto, Masaru Tajima
* Track Title: Nebula
* Source: a game rip I found online, also GameFAQs
* File Location: nom folder
* Disc Number: 1/1
* Track Number: 11
* Year: 2006

I'm pretty sure this was featured in last year's BSC, though it's possible that it was eliminated during the preliminaries.

Still, are we cool with it then? I am but I'm just pointing this out since I've always wondered if BSC participation was a barrier to future SotW nomination.

Most amazing jew boots

I'm personally cool with it. I was just about to bring it up, just to clarify. It did get bumped out in the preliminaries, so all the more reason to allow it!

FELIPE NO

If it went a bit further I might've objected, but I really don't remember that track at all, so I'm fine with it as well.

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

I'm in favor of Nebula because every second is brainmeltingly awesome.

Also because prelims from last year's BSC is fine with me.

How ya doing, buddy?

Nice week.

(3 points) BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO!
(1 point) Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3
(1 point) SPIKEOUT Battle Street Original Sound Track - Bad guys ~Here Comes The Area Boss~
(1 point) VAGUE2 - S (from AIR 'summer lights,' AIRness 'summer lights -AIRness-')

Artist: Chris Hülsbeck
Album Title: Immortal 3
Track Title: Turrican 2
Disc Number: 1 (of 2)
Track Number: 5
Catalog Number: AKCD002~3
Year: 2006
Source: AKCD002~3: Immortal 3 - VGMdb

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I may be biased, but Bangai-O GO! sounds pretty freakin' great to me right now. What a fun game! The sound quality isn't the best, but the song is really fun, so I can't complain too much. It's the kind of stuff I would make.

Neo Contra just seems like a failed attempt at a SSH track. I guess it's hard to measure up to such greatness, and this track certainly doesn't.

Putty Squad is a cute track, very Amiga once it gets going a bit, which unfortunately takes a while. It's not too bad, but a bit too minimal for me overall.

The start of Bad Guys really reminds me of some Outrun Coast2Coast track, but this track isn't quite as cool, and the little snippet of melody that the track possesses is too weird for me.

Before Dawn is a pretty typical piano piece. I don't think this really brings anything new to the table, and if I'm going to listen to piano pieces (which is rare in itself), I'd rather listen to something by Chopin or Ravel or something. It's not bad, just not really spectacular either, and that's kinda what I need for a piano piece.

Mohenjo Daro is a great NES piece. The only complaint I can have about it is in the drums, which are... not there for some reason? I miss them. But other than that, this is a funky chiptune, the way I like 'em.

S is... not very good. An obnoxious remix of a great track, it's almost insulting to the original. Shame on you, ZTS! it started out good, too ;_;

Thankfully, the last track this week comes to save the day--Feast of the Damned is one of my favorite tracks from Vampire Savior (after War Agony), great track with really interesting elements and a great sound. I've often used this track as inspiration when I wanted to make something creepy and unusual.

Votes~
3 points - Vampire Savior The Lord of Vampire - FEAST OF THE DAMNED
2 points - BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO!
1 point - The Treasure of Usas (Game Rip) - Mohenjo Daro (Stage 5)

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

Correction: Treasure of Usas is a MSX2 game, and one that has some of the best PSG music around. Thanks for the point though, surasshu. And by the way, please don't spare me your noms. =)

Might as well nominate too.

• Album Title: Vigilante 8 (N64 Game Rip)
• Artist: Alexander Brandon
• Track Title: Dreamland
• Source: VGM Rush - Games - Vigilante 8, Game Credits for Vigilante 8
• Track Number: 08
• Year: 1999

Votes to come at a later time.

So, I'm thinking of nominating a song from the game Neon FM: Dance Radio, but the game hasn't been released yet. I'm actually not sure when it will be released, if it all. It was in beta testing in 2005, then canceled when "90% complete". It was supposedly re-opened a year and a half ago, but then has been without any updates or news since. The music is just a rip from the beta, so it hasn't had any kind of soundtrack release either. I'm not sure how this would work with the waiting period issue, because though there's a good chance the game will never actually get released, I don't think it is officially canceled either.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I once nominated something from the demo version of a game before the full version was released (and I'm pretty sure the full version still hasn't been released yet), so I clearly don't have a problem with this.

(Week 112 - Force Majeure (Game Rip) - title)

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Draconis

Correction: Treasure of Usas is a MSX2 game, and one that has some of the best PSG music around. Thanks for the point though, surasshu.

Ooh, nice! Explains why I never heard of it I guess, I just assumed it was a super obscure NES game that made use of the VRC6 expansion.

Quote:

I'm pretty sure the full version still hasn't been released yet

CHz, you are correct--still in development hell~

FELIPE NO

That's another reason I'm glad you're with us, surasshu; you've got an in on the biz

I'm fine with the devhell nomination; we've had noms from canceled games before, and that sounds like more or less the same thing.

BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO! This one's a lot of goofy fun! I was really taken by its quirky sound, and the synth quality actually helps build that atmosphere. Excellent all around.

Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3 Takes a long time to do anything interesting, and isn't particularly notable even then. I expected more from something with such a venerable name.

Putty Squad (SNES Game Rip) - Dr. Sushi's Laboratory of Terror Some nice beats, and it later builds up to a satisfying (and distinctively Amiga) sound.

SPIKEOUT Battle Street Original Sound Track - Bad guys ~Here Comes The Area Boss~ At times this has almost a faux Bond sound to it. Not without its moments, but also annoying in many places.

Swept Away - Before Dawn I'm putting together a piano compilation, and this year has been full of good candidates. This is an affecting, quiet, and morose piece that impresses quite a bit. Admittedly, I'm easy to please when it comes to keyboarding, but I still dug it a lot.

The Treasure of Usas (Game Rip) - Mohenjo Daro (Stage 5) A pretty good adventure-style chiptune.

VAGUE2 - S (from AIR 'summer lights,' AIRness 'summer lights -AIRness-') This felt like it was heading in an interesting direction with its combination of light vocals and 8-bit bleeps. Then it had to go and trash all of that in favor of mindless zombie trance with a less capable vocal mixed in. Disappointing.

Vampire Savior The Lord of Vampire - FEAST OF THE DAMNED Some interesting organ and synth bits give this a light faux-Gothic feel. It loses a lot of cohesiveness in places, and is painfully short, but still rather interesting.

The Point Spread
Uh Oh Bangai-O's - 3 pts.
Swept Away Swept Away Swept Away - 2 pts.
Feast of the Damned - 1 pt.

Nomination

• Album Title: Speed Racer
• Artist: Winifred Phillips
• Track Title: Thunderhead
• Source: Composer's Official Site
• Track Number: 03
• Year: May 9, 2008

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

Nom:

Album: In the wake of Doshin, The Giant
Track Title: All Along the Bardo Island
Artist: Tatsuhiko Asano
Track #: 03
Catalog #: ZMCX-1055
Year: 2000
Source: VGMDB
Comments: From the N64DD game. "Yellow Giant" got a lot of consideration as well.

Originally Posted by Epsilon

Artist: Chris Hülsbeck
Album Title: Immortal 3
Track Title: Turrican 2
Disc Number: 1 (of 2)
Track Number: 5
Catalog Number: AKCD002~3
Year: 2006
Source: AKCD002~3: Immortal 3 - VGMdb

Turrican 2's music is some of Hülsbeck's most well-known work, and he's a very well-known composer (and a very popular/successful one among the SotW crowd). Plus, there have been two songs from this album nominated in the past. With all that, I'm inclined against this track.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, last week when I asked if Hülsbeck noms were not allowed, Crash responded in the following form.

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

I'd hope not. I don't think any composer should be patently banned from SotW.

By the same token, Huelsbeck is one of the composers whose work I grade on a stricter scale now that his work has proven to be of consistent quality. So even though I hope to see more Huelsbeck nominations now and then, the demand for excellence has been raised, I'd say.

That's why I nominated this. I'm not familiar with Hülsbeck's work, so I didn't know Turrican 2 was that popular. As for the album, well, only one nom from it has placed, so it doesn't meet the rule where the album is ineligible yet.

Anyway, I guess I'll switch my nom to this then.
Artists: Jan Zottmann & Fabian Del Priore
Composer: Jan Zottmann
Album Title: Immortal 2
Track Title: Rain
Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
Track Number: 15
Catalog Number: AKCD001
Year: 2002
Source: AKCD001: Immortal 2 - VGMdb

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Fine, you guys convinced me. After a huge nominating hiatus, I'll get back on the horse and take one for the team because that's the kind of stand-up guy I am (plus, no one groups cliches like I can).

Two questions:

1. Did we have a policy on new soundtracks coming out (I'm thinking of Soma Bringer, Mitsuda's new album)?

2. What's the policy of newer versions of popular franchises? I want to nominate something from the latest Katamari game, but obviously the original Katamari is super well-known around here. Thoughts?


[First Edit]

Here are my vote totals. I like these top four:

(3 points) Swept Away - Before Dawn
(2 points) BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO!
(1 point) Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3

Just missed: The Treasure of Usas (Game Rip) - Mohenjo Daro (Stage 5)

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

I think that there is a 6 month waiting period for new albums (so I'd say early October and you'd be good to go!). I could be mistaken, though. (I'm all for Soma Bringer though!)

As for your other question, I'm not sure. I haven't heard much Katamari so I wouldn't care, personally.

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

Regardless of the waiting period, it's not like Some Bringer is some off the radar soundtrack. I mean, it's a new full Mitsuda OST.

Originally Posted by Epsilon

Well, last week when I asked if Hülsbeck noms were not allowed, Crash responded in the following form.That's why I nominated this. I'm not familiar with Hülsbeck's work, so I didn't know Turrican 2 was that popular. As for the album, well, only one nom from it has placed, so it doesn't meet the rule where the album is ineligible yet.

Anyway, I guess I'll switch my nom to this then.
Artists: Jan Zottmann & Fabian Del Priore
Composer: Jan Zottmann
Album Title: Immortal 2
Track Title: Rain
Disc Number: 1 (of 1)
Track Number: 15
Catalog Number: AKCD001
Year: 2002
Source: AKCD001: Immortal 2 - VGMdb

Hey, I'm only one dissenting opinion. If no one else objects, your Hülsbeck nom may be fine.

I was speaking idiomatically.

BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO!: This is decent. The bubbly nature and smorgasbord of synth FX give the melody some extra mileage. I found myself liking the sparse bass samples and really wish they'd been given more time to shine. Oh well, the rest is solid stuff.

Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3: The meaty guitars instantly grabbed me, and then I was dunked headfirst into a techno-grunge pool of joy. The bass section is rich and satisfying, but the synth section directly afterward is absolute gravy. This sort of rockin' track isn't popular with some of the VGM community but goddamn, do I love it! An excellent discovery!

Putty Squad (SNES Game Rip) - Dr. Sushi's Laboratory of Terror: The melody is serviceable but the samples are a bit lacking. I didn't care for the staccato feel that much, especially when it became the same note sequence over and over and over and over and over and over and over...I wanted to like the flow but just couldn't quite get myself into that zone.
It's definitely not the worst SNES track out there though. I just think it could use some polish before I fall completely in love.

SPIKEOUT Battle Street Original Sound Track - Bad guys ~Here Comes The Area Boss~: More rockin'! Following the Neo Contra track in the same vein is hard though. "Bad guys" tries valiantly, it really does. In other weeks, I'd give it better praises but it doesn't have quite the innovative charm of "Mission 3." It's still a good track but it was taken to school by a similar, better track. Bad timing.

Swept Away - Before Dawn: A couple weeks ago, I played a Flash game called Music Catch and was instantly enamored with the delicate, ebbing progression of this wonderful piece. It was an absolute perfect fit for the game and I found myself playing for hours just to listen to the score. It's almost timeless.
(You owe it to yourself to try the game too. The full version allows you to import your own music. The in-game music from Monty On the Run is quite a challenge.)

The Treasure of Usas (Game Rip) - Mohenjo Daro (Stage 5): This is nice. I'm in the camp that believes chiptunes really need several layers to be good. Fortunately, Mohenjo Daro is pretty deep in sound (despite a lack of drums, as surasshu pointed out.) It's becoming harder and harder to find new, well-made chiptunes. Can it compete with other tracks this week? I like to think so.

VAGUE2 - S (from AIR 'summer lights,' AIRness 'summer lights -AIRness-'): You know, I was totally feeling this piece until it became a J-pop-ish dance track. The chiptune intro, followed by the light, airy vocals, that part was fantastic. I felt it building up to something quite uplifting and serene. I was almost holding my breath. But it came out in a bit of a disappointed huff when the drum track kicked in. There were positive elements within the track but I felt the OMG DANCE REMIX quality sort of ruined what otherwise held tremendous potential. Oh ZTS, why?

Vampire Savior The Lord of Vampire - FEAST OF THE DAMNED: Kind of all over the place, isn't it? My mind tells me I should like this more than I do. I guess my chief criticism is that a lot of it feels as though it's been done before, and with more pizazz.

Point Spread
3 Points: Swept Away - Before Dawn
2 Points: Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3
1 Point: The Treasure of Usas (Game Rip) - Mohenjo Daro (Stage 5)

This was an above average week, for sure.

Nomination!

Game: Tiny Tank (PSX Gamerip)
Composer: Appaloosa Sound Team
Track Title: SNOW08
Track Number: 9
Additional Notes: I don't know how accurate some of this information is, particularly the track title. I'm going purely by the ID3 tags on this one. I'll upload the song to the FTP.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

Nomination!

Game: Tiny Tank (PSX Gamerip)
Composer: Appaloosa Sound Team
Track Title: SNOW08
Track Number: 9
Additional Notes: I don't know how accurate some of this information is, particularly the track title. I'm going purely by the ID3 tags on this one. I'll upload the song to the FTP.

Here's some more info:

Composer: Attila Héger, Zsolt Galántai, László Dürer Molnár, Tibi Bakter Sallai

The track title comes from the sound test. While it could be thought as being associated with a snow level, it isn't in fact since the game uses the music randomly. There are actually 12 tracks labeled as "SNOWXX" in the sound test, which is rather deceiving as far as representative or original titles are concerned.

Cool nom by the way, from an obscure game with neat music!

FELIPE NO

BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO! was really fun. Nothing outstanding going on, but some of the melodies and instrumental breaks are awesome. Yeah, this is one of those songs that are just great to listen to; definitely a point or two right here. (Also, for NON)

Well Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3 was kind of lame, but then 1:32 came along and kicked my apathetic ass. A shame the rest of the song doesn't lift to that section's standard; then again, if any piece had that much awesome in it, the world would probably implode or something.

Based on title, this track wins the entire SotW. As for Putty Squad (SNES Game Rip) - Dr. Sushi's Laboratory of Terror's music, well, it's definitely not as interesting/awesome. Some of the beats are good, but the melody's kind of weak. However, 2:15 is pretty damn cool and "amusing" for lack of a better word. Also 6 minutes is way too much.

I don't have the most affable relationship with Shinji Hosoe's music (actually, SuperSweep music in general), so my hopes for this SPIKEOUT Battle Street Original Sound Track - Bad guys ~Here Comes The Area Boss~ track are slim. And whaddaya know, I dislike this track as well. Pretentious noodling, insubstantial sound; nope, sorry nom.

As far as pretty, sentimental piano tracks go, Swept Away - Before Dawn is pretty solid. The melody's poignant and memorable, and the piano work (I think) is pretty good (like whatever the hell's going on at 2:15). (And wow, I swear I heard the FFVII main theme in there somewhere (2:52?))

The Treasure of Usas (Game Rip) - Mohenjo Daro (Stage 5) has such a warm, accessible sound to it. <3 Some of the melodic developments are pretty cool, some are kind of lame and predictable. On the whole, yeah, it's a pretty mixed bag but the chiptune sound --> +respect.

Oh my god what the hell. The opening to this song, like other people have noted, was gorgeous. Why couldn't that style have been maintained throughout? ;_; The remaining 7 minutes butcher a perfectly wonderful song. Bad, VAGUE2 - S (from AIR 'summer lights,' AIRness 'summer lights -AIRness-'), bad!! (although I do admit I like the super-fun-happy-crazy finish around 7:25..)

Vampire Savior The Lord of Vampire - FEAST OF THE DAMNED is an interesting piece, isn't it? Kind of smooth, with a malevolent gothic undertone...not bad overall, but nothing in particularly grabbed me.

Dr. Sushi's POINTS of Terror

2 points: BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO!
2 points: Swept Away - Before Dawn
1 point: The Treasure of Usas (Game Rip) - Mohenjo Daro (Stage 5)
1 point: Putty Squad (SNES Game Rip) - Dr. Sushi's Laboratory of Terror
5th: Vampire Savior The Lord of Vampire - FEAST OF THE DAMNED
6th: Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3
7th: VAGUE2 - S (from AIR 'summer lights,' AIRness 'summer lights -AIRness-')
8th: SPIKEOUT Battle Street Original Sound Track - Bad guys ~Here Comes The Area Boss~

Not bad, not too great either. I made an awesome revelation (dr. sushi; contra's 1:32 etc) and a rather heinous one (summer lights ). A mixed bag of sushi for sure~

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

1 Point + BANGAI-O SPIRITS Audio Collection Plus - Bangai-O GO!
1 Point + Neo Contra (Game Rip) - Mission 3
2 Points + Swept Away - Before Dawn
2 Points + VAGUE2 - S: Seems like this track garnered a lot of disapPOINTments. I for one really like the whole chaos and unusual mix of elements in this track.

Jam it back in, in the dark.