tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28381807751597738042024-03-13T21:35:20.715-06:00Lost In the MusicI take a listen to Video Game soundtracks and given my thAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.comBlogger188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-19182670416133731562014-05-20T14:12:00.002-06:002014-05-20T14:21:57.383-06:00Chrono Cross OST: A Lost in the Music Review<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has taken me a very
long time, but I am now ready to forgive. For too long there has been
so much anger and hatred in my heart that it was turning me into a
bitter, jaded, hateful person. However, I have learned that I simply
have to let go of my anger as it was holding me back. This past week,
I have finally forgiven Chrono Cross. I have come to terms and have
accepted that the game is part of the series and while I cannot
forgive to what they have done to my favourite characters, I can
acknowledge that because of the time wimey bullshit nature of the
series, there are probably several alternate worlds where the Kingdom
of Guardia and the main characters did not fall to Porre. As usual I
will not be looking at the entire game, but simply looking at the
music.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like Chrono Trigger,
Chrono Cross' soundtrack is rich and diverse with each track well
suited for the each part of the game. Time's Scar, much like the
original game's opening theme invokes feeling of adventure and
heading into the unknown while Another Termina seems to take its cues
from port towns in the Mediterranean giving it a festive vibe. Much
like its predecessor, the music in Chrono Cross has the world feel
like a living breathing place and it is sad knowing that these days
the music that comes from Square Enix seems not to be as good and
that they put graphics and voice acting above story and music.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is music like this
that makes me wish that at times, gaming wasn't this big industry.
Aside from indies, it seems that the love developers once had for the
games is gone and the only thing they care about is the almighty
dollar. As someone who has been gaming for almost 25 years, seeing
this trend is rather depressing. Yes there are exceptions on occasion
such as the Mass Effect series but those are too few and far between.
</span></div>
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</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favourite
songs in the game would have to be fan favourite The Girl Who Stole
the Stars, the theme song to the character Kid. The track is a stark
contrast to Kid's persona. She has a passion for adventuring and
loves lifting things from other people. Kid is an outgoing person
with a zealous personality, but the track would belie that as it is
more introspective and thought provoking. Witht he character, its
gives a great dichotomy as the music reflects her inner persona. On
the outside, the young woman has a mischievous streak and a penchant
for trouble while inside, she is quiet and morose.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />While Kid does
display some of the more annoying qualities that almost every teen
female jRPG character exhibits, this track seems to showcase that she
has some depth. Not even Final Fantasy is immune as several of its
teen characters are more obnoxious and lack the depth that Kid has.
For a really awesome cover of the track, I would suggest checking out
the <a href="http://year200x.bandcamp.com/track/chrono-cross-star-stealing-girl" target="_blank">cover</a> from Year 200x's latest EP, World of Ruin.</span></div>
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</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I am still not a
fan of several aspects of the game, I do have to acknowledge that the
soundtrack is just as good as the originals and Yasunori Mitsuda does
a fantastic job replicating the feel of Chrono Trigger's soundtrack.
This is a must have for any fan of video game music. You can find the
album at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chrono-Cross-Soundtrack-Yasunori-Mitsuda/dp/B000058A81" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.ebay.ca/ctg/Chrono-Cross-Sony-PlayStation-1-2000-/3011" target="_blank">Ebay</a>. I would highly encourage you to buy the
album as it is a great example of what Square Enix Music used to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-25738435471482027512014-05-15T16:56:00.000-06:002014-05-15T16:56:07.657-06:00History Repeating: Red by The Megas ~ A Lost in the Music album review<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This has
been a good week for music. Not only has The World Is Square released
their latest album, but The Mega's have also released their latest
album, History Repeating: Red, the epic conclusion to their History
Repeating duology.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">History
Repeating: Red continues its trend in performing the songs from the
perspective of the Robot Masters but this time the story is more
focused on Megaman's wayward brother Protoman. I love how the
perspective shifted to give Protoman his moment in the spotlight.
Instead of delving more into how Rock feels about being a hero, we
learn what drives Protoman and why he is angry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The album
is divided into two parts with the first 5 songs involving the
remaining Robot Masters as well as Rock's faithful companion Rush.
However with The Red Song, the overall tone of the album turns dark.
This is where Protoman makes his debut and instead of music, you hear
the sound of robotic footsteps rushing down the streets while a
familiar musical note plays in the ground. The entire piece has no
dialogue, but it is easily one of the deepest parts of the story.
Megaman is looking for Wily's 9<sup>th</sup> robot and in his search
this single tune keeps following him. The last 20 seconds of the song
is nothing short of amazing as you can visualize Rock stopping in his
tracks as Breakman stands high above him. Their eyes for a brief
moment before the latter robot blasts at him sending the younger
robot flying back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Normally
I am not fond of bands splitting a song into two parts, but this time
I am willing to make an exception as The Red Song as it sets up the
climactic battle between the two characters. The following song I Am
Not Breakman is an introduction to the character itself while The Red
Song is merely the set up for the two characters to confront each
other.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest
of the tracks are nothing short of brilliant. Make Your Choice is a
track that Protoman offering his younger brother a place by his side
as he helps secure robot domination for Dr Wily. His reasoning is
that as a robot, they will never be accepted as equals amongst the
huiman population and that only through Wily will they achieve their
dreams. Obviously Rock doesn't believe that and strives for peace,
but is reminded that as long as the two sides are fighting, there
will be no peace.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following
Make Your Choice is I Refuse (to Believe) and I am guessing it
depicts Protoman confronting Dr. Light and how that he should move
past the betrayal and work with Wily again. The second part of the
song is Rock confronting his brother and using his own arguments
against him, by stating that they have the capabilities to make their
own choices and that they are not bound by coding. The only thing he
has to do is let go of his anger.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally
we have Melody From the Past, the last song on the album which is
sung from Protoman's perspective. He has come to terms that he was
abandoned in favour of Megaman and that he will hold no ill will
towards either of them. He even sings that if he was in Megaman's
place he would have acted as his younger brother would have. It is a
great way to end the album</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
tracks that focus on Protoman gives an insight to how the robot
perceives his lot in life. Where his brother Rock has a family to
support him in his heroics, Protoman has nothing. He is a loner who
believes that his father rejected him for a newer son. In the song
I'm Not the Breakman, Protoman speaks on how he felt Doctor Light
betrayed him. He sees this world that his father built and he hates
it. There is so much more to Protoman's story that The Megas have
created that it would be criminal for me to spoil it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you
are just getting into The Megas I would hold off on getting History
Repeating: Red until you have listened to History Repeating: Blue. I
suggest this because previous album sets up the bands version of the
Megaman 3 story. You can find the albums on The Megas <a href="http://themegas.bandcamp.com/album/history-repeating-red" target="_blank">Bandcamp page</a>.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">History
Repeating: Red is a great album and I love how The Megas have given
all the Robot Masters their own unique quirks but the real joy in
this album is how band has crafted Protoman and his story. They
turned the aloof robot into a dark and hateful character, wanting
vengeance on his “father”. I am curious as to where The Megas
take their rock opera from here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is
Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.</span></div>
<br />
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<br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-64131283276052117622014-05-12T10:24:00.001-06:002014-05-12T10:24:35.200-06:00Stay a While and Listen by The World is Square ~ A Lost in the Music album review.<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After months of waiting, it has finally been released. I have not been this excited for an album since the OCReMix album Of Balance and Ruin. No this is not the OCReMix Final Fantasy V-2 album (seriously guys where is that?) but instead it is the second album from one of my favourite cover bands. The World is Square has finally released its second album, Stay A While and Listen and it was defiantly worth the wait. </span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stay a While and Listen is an album I have been waiting a long time and it completely blew my expectations away. While they are primarily a Square Enix cover band, it does appear that they are branching out by covering a track from the cult classic Grandia II for the Ps1 and Sega Saturn. Another positive about the album is that it covered tracks from Square Enix that you normally don't hear covered such as Shop Theme from Final Fantasy Tactics, Zozo's Theme from Final Fantasy VI and the aforementioned Grandia II.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another positive mark for the album is that it is an acoustic album. Instead of using electric guitars the group opted to go unplugged for this album and I have to say it is incredibly enjoyable. As much as I enjoy the sounds of the aforementioned instruments, there are times I wish for something softer and more relaxing such as acoustic covers.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are many great tracks on the album and as I have said before many of them are tracks that artists tend to overlook. One of the tracks that stand out to me (at the time of this writing) is the groups cover of Scars of Time. When I first heard this track, I was curious how the group could keep match the intensity of the original track. However instead of trying to match the original, they turned it into something unique. The World is Square's rendition of the song is far more subdued then the original. I do find it a bit weaker only because Scars of Time was Chrono Cross' intro theme and the accompanying movie, while starting off slow, showcased the intensity of the game. That is not to say the remix track is bad, it just underwhelms the original.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another great track on the album would have to be the cover of Under the Apple Tree from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. Many people lambaste the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and while I tend to ignore most of the media from the series I will defend Crisis Core as a great action RPG for the PSP. One of the great aspects about the game was the music which was far more subdued, in comparison with the original games medley of instruments. The World is Square's cover of Under the Apple Tree is a wonderful way to end Stay A While and Listen. The group captured the song's essence perfectly in this cover making it easily the best song on the album. This track is quite possibly my favourite on the album, which is hard to choose because the album has many great tracks on it.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are familiar with Crisis Core, you know what happens after this song plays. If you are not familiar then I would suggest playing the game. This is a bait and switch song and just when you think you are done with the game, it throws you one last boss fight.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are wondering if you should get the album, I would say yes. While they didn't offer anything truly ground breaking on this album, they did cover a few overlooked tracks from the vault of Square Enix. I do hope that the group continues this trend and add more unique tracks to their repertoire. I would love to hear the groups take on tracks from Dragon Quest, the Seinken Denetsu series or even a non S-E title such as the Lufia series Lunar or Breath of Fire. This group is incredibly talented and I would love to see more from them.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can find Stay A While and Listen on their <a href="http://theworldissquare.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a> page.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-25894473239440933512014-04-17T14:24:00.001-06:002014-04-17T14:24:30.305-06:00One More: A Compilation Album for the Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are times that I
get embarrassed at the geek culture on the internet. This is usually
following someone or some group making the news because they decided
to “improve the image” of their particular fandom, only for it to
blow up in their face and make them look like total buffoons. Then,
instead of leaving the spotlight, they bask in it and complain how
they were misrepresented.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More often then not
however, geeks are willing to do damn near anything to help those in
need. Some will donate time and money while others will start
charities. Then there are musicians who will work together for a
compilation album where the proceeds go to fight diseases. Today on
Lost in the Music, I will be focusing on the album One More. This
album is a compilation album of different artists from all sorts of
genre's in support of the Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation and
Vasculitis Foundation of Canada.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One More is a
compilation album much like an OCReMix album. Each artist brings
something unique to the album and it combines both mainstream music
with indie chiptunes and game covers. You have music from lyrical
funnyman Brentalfloss on one track while one other track is from
Toronto rock group You Handsome Devil performing one of their own
hits. There is enough variety on this album that you will find
something to like.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One More is a
triumphant example of what happens when groups and artists of all
different genre's of music come together for a common cause. Disease
knows no bounds and for a performer, Pulmonary Fibrosis is a career
killer.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">There
are many great songs on this album and I suggest you buy it. Not only
will every sale go towards the Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation
and the Vasculitis Foundation of Canada, but you will also experience
new performers. This is a great way to be exposed to bands you </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">haven't</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> heard of.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All proceeds from One
More goes towards Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation and
Vasculitis Foundation of Canada. You can purchase the album over at
<a href="https://diannaronald.bandcamp.com/album/one-more" target="_blank">bandcamp</a>.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-72995458917310978102014-04-14T10:13:00.002-06:002014-04-14T10:15:44.294-06:00Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shellshocked from OCReMix<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was younger,
aside from video games, one of my youth passions were the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles. I built Ninja Snowmen, had the toys, colouring
books and my dad even made me wooden Sai's, Bo Staffs and Swords.
But no nunchucks as my parents thought they were too dangerous. I
even played the occasional Turtles game such as the Manhattan Project
on the Nintendo and Fall of the Foot Clan on the Gameboy. I even got
to try the Arcade beat em up on occasion.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sadly, I never
really got to play the Super Nintendo game, Teenage Mutant Ninka
Turtles: Turtles in Time when I was a younger because there were no
dedicated game stores near my home and the game itself was a bit of a
minor rarity in my region. So I never really got to play the game
until the advent of emulation. The game is an enjoyable beat em up
and I know I would have loved the game even more growing up.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reason I am talking
about Turtles in Time today is because the good artists over at
OCReMix has released their 47<sup>th</sup> album; Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles Shellshocked.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do have to comment
about the way that Shellshocked starts off. Instead of a basic song,
remix group Alan Grant and the Velociraptors (made up of OCReMix
veteran DusK and newcomer Brett Martindale) begins the track Heroes
in a Half Shell as someone channel surfing before settling on April
O'Neill of Channel 6 News describing the events that start the game.
After that quick bit of expository dialogue, the actual track starts.
The song is a cover of the original 1980's intro theme and while it
is not an exact replica as the original, the two still do a great job
covering the nostalgic track.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are plenty of
great songs on the album and the artists covering the tracks do a
great job. I think one of the best songs on the album would have to
be Viking Guitar's cover of Bury My Shell at Wounded Knee; Trail Dust
and Turtle Wax. The song starts off as a homage to the old spaghetti
westerns before picking up and it works wonderfully.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The album is great, but
I have two minor issues with it. The first issue is that they seemed
to be favouring heavy metal covers. I have no problem with metal
music and the people here did a fantastic job, I just wish there was
a little bit of variety. There are tracks that utilize different
genre's at first, but soon move into the metal genre. Again I must
reiterate that I like album, I just wish that there were a few more
genre's present.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other issue is far
more minor compared to the first and that is I would have loved to
have heard someone cover Vanilla Ice's infamous Ninja Rap. There is
probably some legal reason why they didn't but I still think it would
have been a nice easter egg.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aside from those two
issues, Shellshocked is a wonderful album and a breath of fresh.
Between this and OCReMix's Bubble Bobble album, I believe this will
be a great year for the artists over at OCReMix</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are a longtime
fan or new to the Ninja Turtles, you should give it a listen. You can
find the album at <a href="http://shellshocked.ocremix.org/" target="_blank">shellshocked.ocremix.org</a>.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-23645968192820762962014-04-07T10:42:00.003-06:002014-04-07T10:42:55.815-06:00We are Error by Year 200X: A Lost in the Music Review<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago,
I was lamenting that I was having difficulty finding groups who go
against the grain and cover more obscure video game tracks. While I
enjoy the various covers from Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda and
Megaman, I find that they start to blur together and there is very
little difference between the various artists.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As usual, someone will
mention a new band on twitter and I will more often then not check
them out and see what they offer. That is how I came across the band
Year 200X and their album <a href="http://year200x.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-error" target="_blank">We are Error</a>, released back in August 2008.
Normally I try and cover a band's most recent performance, but
considering that the group has only the one album, with a new EP to
be released later this month, I thought I should give them a chance.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starting off the album
is a cover to the Megaman 3 Intro theme and at the start of the song,
the group decided to use sound effects from the game as a lead up to
the main song. Honestly this was a bad idea because I find that they
are more of a distraction and a mess then anything else. The rest of
the song is a nice rock cover of the track, but the chiptune portion
is a bit of a mess. However, that part of the song is less then 20
seconds and the rest is a great cover.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Followed by the Intro
Theme is a cover of The Moon from Ducktales. Its a good cover and one
of the better covers of the track I have heard in a while. I consider
this track the spiritual successor to CarboHydroM's 2004 track Duck
Side of the Moon. The Moon is a fun arrangement of a classic track
and it is my belief that Year 200X did a great cover of a beloved
track.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I said at the start,
the rest of the album covers tracks from games like Journey to
Silius, Contra and even the much maligned Metal Gear. All the tracks
follow the same basic music formula and while I myself enjoy rock
arrangements of classic video game tracks, there are people who would
find it boring. However I do say to give Year 200X a chance as they
decided to cover music that barely, if ever got remixed.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, given that all
the tracks are simply rock remixes, I can't really add anything else
to this review as after the first few tracks, you know what to expect
from the group. What I truly wish they would have done is added
lyrics to the songs they covered. I feel that it would give the group
their own unique sound. Again I am aware that this album is from 2008
and at the time, adding lyrics was uncommon, but I feel that Year
200X could have made it work. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad
album, but it does fall a bit flat.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do wish I had come
across Year 200X a lot sooner as the group is talented and I do enjoy
their music. However, because these days Video Game cover bands are
so prevalent, I do hope that the group decides to follow The Megas
route and star adding lyrics to their tracks. There is a bit of irony
in me saying this as 6 years ago, I would have balked at the
suggestion of lyrics added to a cover.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can find Year 200X:
We Are Error on their <a href="http://year200x.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-error" target="_blank">bandcamp</a> page.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next time I wish for
something new musically, I think I will for Act III from the
Protomen.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-68421505530179836132014-03-31T10:16:00.001-06:002014-03-31T10:41:25.792-06:00Final Fantasy X OST: A Lost in the Music Review<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final Fantasy X gets a
bit of a bad rap these days. While it is not the best game in the
series, it is a fun game. I enjoy Final Fantasy X for many of the
characters, the evolution of the battle system (for a time) and of
course the music. Personally, I enjoyed the music. Not to the extent
of Final Fantasy IX, but it is still a good soundtrack.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final Fantasy X was
also the first game in the main series that didn't have Nobuo Uematsu
as the main composer. Instead the job was split between himself and
two others; Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano. Honestly, I found their
work on the game's OST to be good for their first time. Many people
grief about how some songs seem out of place (mostly pointing at the
heavy metal Overworld track) and incorrectly blaming the new
composers, failing to realize that it was Uematsu who composed the
track.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be perfectly honest,
Overworld is not a bad track. It is a very western piece of music
that you would hear in a shooter, not a jRPG so perhaps that is why
people complain. It is not bad as a song, but as an opening music
track, it kind of fails. I am aware of what they were trying to do
and it works somewhat, but the way the destruction of Zanarkand is
spliced with a game of Blitzball, I find it incredibly awkward.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the opposite end of
the spectrum we have the Hymn of the Fayth track which is one of
Uematsu's best tracks in the series. The song is more akin to a
church choir and as such has a haunting beauty to it. When the music
begins to play, you can't help but sit back in awe. This track plays
a key importance in the game and when it plays outside of the
temples, there is something important happening. Normally I chastise
a song for being short, but Hymn of the Fayth is the exception to the
rule. Had the track been longer, it would have lost its impact on the
player. For an excellent cover of the track, I suggest checking out
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAr-D8xyeys&feature=youtu.be">Lauren Liebowitz</a> (Of the video game coverband The Returners) rendition
of Hymn of the Fayth. She does an excellent cover of the track and
captures the haunting essence of the song.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you compare the
Final Fantasy X OST with other games in the series, it finds itself
in the middle. It's not as good as other games, but when you compare
it to games such as Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy Mystic
Quest, then it is a you find that it is still a good soundtrack. The
Final Fantasy X OST is not a bad soundtrack. Its main problem is that
parts of it truly weigh down the quality of the OST while other parts
are fantastic. There is very little middle ground.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-55519761965720997542014-03-20T08:36:00.001-06:002014-03-20T08:36:59.489-06:00Club Kong by hal-c: A Lost in the Music Review<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last month hal-c, along
side DJ Cutman's Gamechops Label released the album Club Kong, a 6
track EP featuring a small sampler of music from the Donkey Kong
Country franchise. Sadly, do to life issues I never really got a
chance to sit down and listen to the album until now.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I went into the
album, i was expecting a strictly electronica album but that changed
with the first track; Welcome to Club Kong. I was greeted with a
wonderful jazz remix of the track Jungle Hijinx from the original
game. The style of music complimented David Wise's original and I
find it that jazz is well suited for the Donkey Kong Country OST.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not all songs are jazz
however such as the cover to Aqauatic Ambiance, Swept Away. The track
is more of a trance/electronica mix, but it works well with what
hal-c is trying to do with the album. Swept Away is not a track you
dance to but instead you simply sit back and relax. The track isn't
thought provoking like other pieces of music I have covered in the
past. Swept Away simply allows you to sit back and not think.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the down sides of
the EP is that it is so short. Coming in at only 6 songs, this song
barely scratches the surface of the entire collection of songs from
the series. I would have loved to hear hal-c take on the popular
Gangplank Galleon, Jib Jig or Rockface Rumble. The 6 songs are not
bad by any means, but it leaves me wanting more.
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the cooler aspects
of this album is that it emulates the feeling of being at a small
night club at a resort. You can visualize brentalfloss (who
introduces the album) as a Kong dressed in a tropical shirt
introducing hal-c to a crowd of laid back simians enjoying an evening
of drinking and entertainment. Had hal-c add banter between him and
the crowd during song changes, I think it would have added to the
overall atmosphere of the album.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I have stated, my only
real complaint about the album is just how short it is. Club Kong
comes in at 6 songs and while the music is incredibly fun to listen
to, I feel they could have added a couple more songs to make it
longer. Maybe add a couple tracks from Donkey Country Country 3. I
would love to hear what hal-c could do with the music from the game.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aside from that minor
issue, this is still You can purchase the album on <a href="http://www.loudr.fm/release/club-kong/w7TTP">loudr.fm</a> for 5
bucks or you can stream the soundtrack for free on <a href="https://soundcloud.com/gamechops/sets/halc-club-kong">soundcloud</a>.
Despite the albums length, I do suggest that you purchase the album
as it is a solid EP.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I love the music
from Donkey Kong Country, I fear that it is starting to get too
overdone, much like music from Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda and
Final Fantasy. However, hal-c's take on the music is unique enough to
warrant Club Kong a pass. I would love to hear more albums done in
this style, treating it as a live performance done in a small club.</span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-78441966612063222942014-03-13T10:14:00.001-06:002014-03-13T10:14:10.282-06:00Presenting: The Returners<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the benefits of doing this is
how often I come across new bands. Sometimes a person on Twitter will
suggest me a band or else I will hear of another band from another
artist. There are also times where a singular artist is working with
a few bands and they make a mention of it. That is how I came across
the video game cover band The Returners.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be perfectly honest, when I heard
the name of the band, I feared it was another Final Fantasy
coverband. However, after listening to their songs, I was grateful
that of the 6 songs they have, only one of them is a Final Fantasy
cover. They also covered Ecco 2: The Tides of Time, Lufia and the
Fortress of Doom, Metal Gear Solid and even the Phantom of the Opera.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I had to choose one song from their list, i believe it would be their cover of Lufia and the Fortress of Doom. Both the Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda are great, but the Lufia track seems to have a heavier emphasis on the excellent keyboard/synth and flute work.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only downside in reviewing the band
is the amount of music they have released. All of their music on
their bandcamp page is from one of their live shows and while I enjoy
it and it showcases their talent, it also is incredibly limiting
considering they don't have much else. I still highly suggest
listening to their work on Bandcamp.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So my opinion on The Returners?
Wonderful group with such amazing potential. The fact they cover
tracks other then the Big 3 is amazing. While I do enjoy their
medley's of Final Fantasy VI and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past,
it is their other songs that really what makes them stand out.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This group has just started and they
already impressed me. I hope to hear more from them in the future. If
you are interested in listening to them, check out their debut/live
album on <a href="http://thereturnersvgm.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp.</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the
music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-39496908956979071812014-03-10T12:46:00.001-06:002014-03-10T12:46:03.283-06:00Top 5 Classic Game Soundtracks (NES & SNES Edition)<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I grew up in the 16 bit era. I cut my
teeth on the original Nintendo, but it was the Super Nintendo that
first got me into the culture. It was a time where the games had
evolved to be more complex affairs. The graphics, the plot, the
music, all improved with the advent of the Super Nintendo and the
Sega Genesis. However I am not going to preclude tracks from the
original Nintendo as they have some great tracks. One problem is that
there were countless great tracks that often overshadow many gems.
Even I am guilty of that. So today on Lost in the Music, I will be
doing a top 5 game albums of the oft remembered games. As usual this
list will have one game per franchise.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5: Star Tropics 2</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are some people who absolutely
hate this game and think it shouldn't exist. They argue that
everything that was great in the original was dumbed down and
stripped away for the sequel. I will agree that the second game does
have issues but I will defend the games music. There are a few tracks
that can be overlooked, but for the most part, the music on Star
Tropics 2 is fantastic.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I love with Star Tropics 2 over
the original is that each area has its own unique music, unlike the
original where they used the same tracks for each of the islands.
While the cities themselves may have had unique music, the dungeons
themselves, save for the final one, were all similar. Star tropics 2
however had unique music for each of the area's you visited as well
as the dungeons.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4: Sim City (SNES)</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love sim games. That feeling of being
able to build and create is immeasurably fun. Sure the SNES Sim City
is old and has features missing from its PC brother, but damn is it
not still fun. For many kids, this was their first foray into this
genre of gaming.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Normally the music in these sorts of
games is nothing to spectacular but SimCity stands out. As you go
further along in the game the music gets more complex, similar to how
a city grows. It stands as as an interesting dynamic that hasn't been
used in many other simulation games.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3: Yoshi's Island</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yoshi's Island sold a ton of games but
these days, it is not that well known when you compare it with other
Mario games which I find odd as the full name of Yoshi's Island is
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Of course the success of Yoshi's
Island prompted its own spin off which seems to be more recognized
then the original.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love the music from this game and I
feel that it marked the change in Kondo's style. I found the music to
be far more appropriate for the game itself. There is a greater sense
of adventure in the overworld maps while cave themes have that
feeling of mystery and excitement. Compared to Super Mario World;s
music which I found basic and bland, Yoshi's Island was a breath of
fresh air.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2: Dragon Warrior 1</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I think Dragon Warrior, my mind
always takes me back to when I was a child. As I have often said,
Dragon Warrior was my first foray into RPG's and at the time, I
didn't understand what to do and would wander around fighting
monsters. These days. That is called grinding, but I digress.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Music from Dragon Warrior was great
because at the time, I was used to the Music from Mario and Legend of
Zelda, which for the most part existed as background noise. The music
from Dragon Warrior however felt integral to the story. With the
world map theme, it showcases just how alone you are in the world. No
one is brave enough to assist you in your battle against the
Dragonlord. The caves were creepy on the surface and the deeper you
went, the more ominous it became. The only bright spot in the world
were the towns. No monsters had yet attacked them and the people were
able to feel safe for the time being. You never got that Mario or
Zelda.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1: Illusion of Gaia</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have talked about this track so much
that I cannot add anything else that I haven't said before. Simply,
it is a beautiful track from a criminally overlooked game. More
people need to experience Illusion of Gaia. At a time where
Squaresoft was dominating the 16 bit RPG's, this small game was
proving that games could deal with adult situations in a respectful
way. Suicide, alcoholism, slavery, these were all touched upon in the
game and aside from Final Fantasy VI, I do not know if any other game
from this era visited these themes.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a real shame that the Soul Blazer
trilogy (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma) never got the
same amount of care and attention that Dragon Warrior/Quest and Final
Fantasy have received. They are phenomenal stories with solid
gameplay and powerful, emotional music. To me, this would be a great
way for Square Enix to gain back its fans it has lost over the years.
By paying attention to games that are not Final Fantasy and Dragon
Quest and give them the same attention.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is my deepest wish that artists in
the arranging community takes a listen to some of these tracks and do
a remix of them. I would love to hear what some people can do with
these under appreciated tracks.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-78339430906210443022014-03-06T12:53:00.001-07:002014-03-06T12:53:27.752-07:00Waxing Lyrical: Beware the Forest Mushrooms by Yoko Shimomura<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These days it's common to see Mario and
his friends going into different genre's of games. From the classic
platformers to kart racing and even participating at the Olympics.
However it wasn't always like that back on the Super Nintendo. The
portly plumber was either platforming his way to success or else he
was karting with his arch nemesis. That changed when they worked with
Squaresoft and made Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. This
was also the first time someone else had done the music. Instead of
Koji Kondo, it was Yoko Shimomura as the lead composer.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have consistently enjoyed Shimomura's
work as she always knew how to get the player immersed in the game's
world. I consider her one of the best composers in the business
alongside Nobuo Uematsu, David Wise and Yasunori Mitsuda. However, I
still often question why the team chose her and not Koji Kondo or
Nobuo Uematsu.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Super Mario RPG remains one of my
favourite Mario games to date and one of the main reasons for this is
the music from the game. The music is a perfect blend of fun
adventure and action with some tracks adding an element of mystery or
nervousness into the music. So today on Lost in the Music, I will be
focusing on my favourite track from the game, Beware the Forest
Mushrooms.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love this track so much as it evokes
the feeling of exploring the woods as a child. Hopping over fallen
tree's and searching for hidden treasure, it makes you feel like you
are on an adventure. In the game, no one knows what to expect in the
woods. Even the villain comes as a surprise. That's what makes this
track great. Whereas areas like Star Hill, Bean Valley and Barrel
Canyon, you know what to expect there. The Forest Maze on the other
hand, you didn't know what to expect within dark woods aside from
some villain firing arrows into the neighbouring town.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beware the Forest Mushrooms in my own
opinion is the single best Mario song out there, surpassing Dire Dire
Docks and Koopa Road. It is a classic in every sense of the word. If
you yourself are a fan of the original, I also highly suggest
checking out Waltz of the Forest by Christopher “kirbopher”
Niosi. It is a fantastic remake of an already fantastic song. You can find the video on his Youtube <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_q9y5vSIrw" target="_blank">page</a>.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the
music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-14477423441468497072014-03-03T09:24:00.001-07:002014-03-03T09:24:25.590-07:00Sonic Generations OST: A Lost in the Music review<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Growing up, I loved the Sonic the
Hedgehog series as I used to read the comics and watch the original
cartoon all the time. However I rarely played the games as we were a
Nintendo household and we could only have one console in the house at
the time. When my dad got our first modern computer one of the games
he got with it was the Sonic 3 & Knuckles Collection. Sadly that
and Sonic R were my only Sonic experiences on a console.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until I finally picked up Sonic
Generations. While it wasn't a complete nostalgia blast for me,
listening to the re-imaginings of the songs that I was familiar with
(namely Sky Sanctuary and Sonic R) made me smile. I don't mind modern
versions of classic songs provided that they are done properly. Even
if they changed the style of the song, as long as it was done well, I
don't mind.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An example would be the remake of the
Sonic R main theme. I am not going to lie, I enjoy the original track
because of how cheesy it is. There is absolutely no emotion in the
singers voice. Now with the remake, the song is more of a
techno-dance track. The song and lyrics are still cheesy, but I feel
it works for the game. I highly doubt the original track would have
worked here.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What makes the music in Sonic
Generations fantastic is that there are two versions of each song,
much like the original games, except this time the music is based on
which Sonic you are using. Using the Classic Sonic, the songs are
more akin to the originals while using Modern Sonic has a much more
modern feel to the track.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The music in Sonic Generations is
fantastic and while some purists might argue that remakes don't work
for the levels, I disagree. The music, like the stages themselves
have been updated for the modern era and in the updates, things
change. I am familiar with the old music and when I compare it to the
new work, I can honestly say that the modern versions are superior.
Yes the original tracks are great to listen to, but I personally
prefer the remade music for Sonic Generations. You can easily enjoy
all the unique versions of the songs as they all do something
different.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love the music from Sonic
Generations, but the one strike against it is trying to purchase the
actual soundtrack. It can be bought on iTunes for $9.99 but that is
it. No other digital distributor has the album for sale. I don't use
iTunes because much of the time, the music I want is not available in
Canada. So until Sega decides to start using multiple online venues
to host the music, I will be stuck with lower quality Youtube videos.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am Daimo Mac and I am lost in the
music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-47356547594310507392014-02-27T12:05:00.001-07:002014-02-27T12:05:03.499-07:00I still live.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I apologize for my lack of updates last few weeks as I have not only been sick, my new computer's power supply has died so i am waiting on my computer guy to contact me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am so very sorry for the delay and I didn't want to ring in my 2nd anniversary like this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, that being said, I can let you know on what else is going on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Several years back I worked on a sprite comic and I ended when I realized that sprites are such a limited medium and I wanted to do so much more. However the world stayed with me and for the longest time, I tried to make the comic happen. I even tried it as a short story, but knew that i worked well as a visual medium. Fast forward to late last year where I finally found an artist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I will not go into details on what the story is, but it is a return to the comic I started many years ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Secondly, I have always wanted to do let's plays, but I realize that for the most part they have been done to death, so I am trying an experiment involving one of my favourite games from the SNES. I cannot go into too much detail now, but if all goes well, I should have my first episode up in September.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be back to reviewing one March, come hell or high water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-31440538762436476262014-01-28T10:30:00.005-07:002014-01-28T10:30:57.937-07:00Mental Health Awareness.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I normally don't use this space as my own personal platform, but I feel today I will be breaking my own rules to talk about something that needs to be said.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mental Health is a serious issue and affects 1 in 5 Canadians. If you have a close circle of friends, chances are that one of them suffers from this and they don't tell you. Mental Illness is a silent killer and many times people are unaware that their close friends and family don't have it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-InyEmL8UfCk/Uuflq_y9b4I/AAAAAAAAA30/34P-x7IPaj0/s1600/Stigma.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-InyEmL8UfCk/Uuflq_y9b4I/AAAAAAAAA30/34P-x7IPaj0/s1600/Stigma.png" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If People Treated Physical Diseases like Mental Disease: Author Unknown</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why? It is due to the stigma attached. There are thousands, if not millions of people who believe that Mental Issues is simply a frame of mind and ignore the symptoms and people reaching out for help. This of course is counter-intuitive and only reaffirms the feelings of those affected.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I suffer from Mental Issues and I am lucky that I have friends and family to help me through my dark times. Their have been times I have wanted to end it all, but have had friends come in and stop me. Words can hurt people, but they also help. taking an hour to listen to someone can do alot of good and you may save them. I owe it to my friends like Alex, Brandon, matt and Erik for being their when I needed them the most. My friends stop what they are doing and help me and I have done the same.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their is no shame in talking about your issues. If your friends choose not to listen, then they aren't real friends. People often joke and tease that "real men don't talk about their feelings" but that is complete and utter tripe. Mental sickness' affect everyone and by saying that (x) doesn't talk about it showcases just how close minded people are when it comes to mental health. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You are not alone. If you need help, their are countless organizations that can help you. For more information, visit the <a href="http://www.cmha.ca/" target="_blank">Canadian Mental Health Association</a>. There is no shame in asking for help, no matter what public opinion is.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Wil McKerracher and I am not lost to the world.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-61971044003198396912014-01-25T15:34:00.003-07:002014-01-25T15:34:18.985-07:00In Memoriam: Justin "JewWario" Carmical<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Jnt5aKHbNw/UuQ7eAw7MwI/AAAAAAAAA3k/uX8ZxjFvMjI/s1600/JE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Jnt5aKHbNw/UuQ7eAw7MwI/AAAAAAAAA3k/uX8ZxjFvMjI/s1600/JE.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I met JewWario back at
MAGfest 9 a couple years ago and I was humbled by what a great and
generous man he was. He, like many internet personalities, was a very
humble, down to earth guy and he truly cared for his fans. He was a
warm, personable man and always made time for his friends and fans
alike.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">J-Dub had earned the
moniker, Mr Rogers of the Internet for being one of the warmest,
kindest people and that moniker was well earned. If you were in need
of help, he would be one of the first people to ask what was needed
so he could help. He was undoubtedly the nice man I have ever met and would do anything to help someone.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the coming weeks,
there will be much speculation on the events of what happened and
people are going to ask why and that is normal. However, I ask that
you all remember to be respectful to those affected.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Through JewWario, I was
able to meet one of my closest friends and I am forever grateful.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God speed Justin, you
are gaming with the angels now.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-77883772549426206502014-01-23T18:58:00.003-07:002014-01-23T18:58:42.229-07:00Waxing Lyrical: Sim City SNES<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The SNES had a lot of
great games on it. They had magnificent games such as the Final
Fantasy series, Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Super Metroid and
people often think back to these games for the system and its music.
However, there are some songs that are great but never get any
attention and one of them is the music from the SNES Sim City.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In between the
platformers, RPG's and sidescrollers, I have always enjoyed Sim games
and the SNES Sim City was no different. However, this game falls
under the “Civilization Effect” where as a young child I was too
impatient and made very bad decisions which resulted in losing a lot.
Like Civilization I would get angry and leave in a huff, only to
return a few days later with a renewed vigour.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike Civilization,
every time I returned to Sim City, I was always greeted with the
wonderful title screen track. The track itself is a great little tune
and showcases what to expect for the game, however it is not the
track I wish to focus on today. The track in question is the one when
you start building your city.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are two reasons I
love The Village track. The first reason is because the track reminds
me of my childhood summers. On the rainy days I would either read
comics or play video games and on the the warm sunny days I would
play outside where my yard turned into a fantasy world filled with
monsters I had slay.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other reason why I
like this track is because it instils a feeling of freedom. The goal
for the game is to simply build your dream city any way you want it.
If you wanted to build an island city, you were free to do so.
Anything you want to do in the game, you were free to do. That game
offered an immense amount of freedom.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is what I love
about this song. While other songs invoke that feeling of freedom,
Sim City was one of the few games on the system to allow full freedom
to do what you want.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I started Waxing
Lyrical I wanted to focus on the songs of my youth and and for the
most part I feel I have accomplished that goal. There are still
countless tracks from my childhood that I wish to cover in more
detail.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-48914673669221960362014-01-20T11:15:00.000-07:002014-01-20T11:18:55.419-07:00An Introduction to Peter Crowley<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stories can be told in
any medium, be it comic, game, or movie. However there is one medium
that is rarely touched upon when it comes to story telling and that
is music. Yes I know the existence of rock operas and musicals, and
while I enjoy them, sometimes they aren't what I am looking for.
There are times where I want music to base a setting on and make my
own story. Yes you can interpret the rock albums any way you want,
but in the end, it doesn't really matter as there is an already
established story.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I was browsing
Bandcamp this past weekend, I came across an artist that goes by the
name Peter Crowley and decided to take a listen to his work. When I
went to his page I was amazed by how much music he had available to
stream. I immediately began with his original stuff and as I listened
to his work I could imagine creating stories in the worlds he
created. Soon I began to go through his entire discography, creating
unique stories for each album.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arguably, Peter
Crowley's work could be up for interpretation as he himself has
created his own story within the music. However, much like hal-c's
and Miearth's When Late Becomes Early, you can make your own story
based on the music itself. There is no lyrics to tell you what the
story is. All you have is the music and the title.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like many performers,
his first albums are arguably his weakest. They are still good, but
you cannot compare them to his later work. Going through his entire
discography, you can tell how much he has improved, even of the
changes are subtle. Perhaps sometime in the future I will go through
and review each album on its own as they warrant a proper review.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love this sort of
instrumental work. It can tell you a story without needing words and
relying solely on music. It is difficult to perform and do it right,
but when it does, it works beautifully.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can find Peter
Crowley's music on his <a href="http://petercrowley.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">bandcamp</a> page.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am Daimo Mac and I am
lost in the music</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"><i>Due
to personal issues, the updates will be a bit shorter then normal.
Sorry about that.</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-30219692326376169782014-01-13T12:24:00.001-07:002014-01-13T12:24:07.125-07:00Waxing Lyrical ~ Just Communication by Two Six<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past weekend a
friend of mine tweeted a YouTube video with no description and
without thinking I clicked on it to watch. The moment the music began
playing, that familiar wave of nostalgia washed over me. The track in
question is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpMieFLC404" target="_blank">Just Communication</a> from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing anime.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in 1998, I was
very ignorant when it came to anime. The only one I remember watching
when I was a youngster was Samurai Pizza Cats and that was it. So by
the time I got around to shows like Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing,
they had already been established in North America for some time.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So why Just
Communication? What is it about that song that takes me back to that
era? Much like Head Cha La, Just Communication was when my youthful
writing began to evolve. Ever since I was a child I had always
expressed curiosity towards Japanese culture, but living in the
middle of nowhere meant that my access was rather limited. When my
English relatives emigrated to Canada, they brought with them what I
had been looking for. Up until that time, I was used to American
cartoons which for the most part were more or less animated
vaudeville. Anime was something completely different. There was a
greater emphasis on story over comedy and in some cases, characters
could have been killed off.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While Head Cha La is
what I listen to when I wish to escape the pressures of being an
adult for a few minutes, Just Communication is one that reminds me
that I have grown up, I cannot cling to my childhood. Although the
lyrics mean something completely different, it is the tone of the
singer and instruments that has me face my age.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has been years since
I have first watched Gundam Wing. Like Dragon Ball Z, it too inspired
my creativity back when I started getting serious in my writing. The
idea of space combat pitting giant robots against one another struck
a chord with me. This is a show that treated its audience with
respect which sadly, many cartoons in North America at the time were
lacking. The anime that came over showcased that cartoons could deal
with adult situations in a proper way and did not dumb it down for
its audience.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know whether to
applaud or condemn my friend Kelly for today's article. On one hand,
she had me think back to when I got into anime, on the other hand,
the song she chose has been stuck in my head all weekend.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-70606702203570181092014-01-09T10:52:00.001-07:002014-01-09T10:52:05.626-07:00Forever Famicom DLC 3 from k-murdock and Megaran: A Lost in the Music Review<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The dynamic duo of nerdcore has reunited once again to finish off the album that made them stars. Kyle “k-murdock” Murdock and Raheem “Megaran aka Random” Jarbo have joined forces once more to put the finishing touch on the last piece of “DLC” bringing their first collaboration to a close. I am of course talking about Forever Famicom: DLC 3.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starting off the album is the song Yoshi, which sampled the Training Course theme from Yoshi's Island. In the game, the track gives off a that feeling of excitement when you start the game. It is a new Mario adventure but instead of playing as the portly plumber, you instead are playing as his faithful sidekick. The song is far more exciting then any other starting track from the Mario games.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The song Yoshi represents a couple of things. First off, it represents k-murdock and Megaran reuniting to finish off their first big collaboration. While Training Course is the start of a new adventure, the track is one stating that the two are back together. Megaran's lyrics start off with a brief shout out to the father of Nintendo Hiroshi Yamauchi who passed away last year. It is incredibly subtle, but it works here as Yoshi is more about the accomplishments of the singer. It can be argued that the song is nothing but Megaran gloating about his accomplishments, but it goes a bit deeper then that. Specifically he is singing that it has taken him some time to make it this big, that he wasn't an overnight sensation. Like any good artist, he had his moments of greatness and moments of failure. </span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another great song on the album is the third track titled One Bad Day. When I saw the title and the game I was curious of what it was about. After a few moments it hit me. Megaran had adapted The Killing Joke into a 5 minute track depicting how the Joker became to be. All the major plot points from the book is in the song and coupled with k-murdock's wonderfully mixing makes this track great. The two of them were able to do what other writers have never been able to; pitying the Joker. Not even the book which the song is inspired from is capable of doing that.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forever Famicom DLC 3 is a fantastic album and a definite purchase for fans of Nerdcore. Not only does it finish off the album, but it also showcases how far the two have come in their fields. Megaran's lyrics have become much more fluid and has a more storyteller feel to it while k-murdock's sampling and mixing has improved to the point that the tracks sampled feel wholly different from what they were. Added with the collaborations from other Nerdcore artists, it makes this album a real treat</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This album is a great way to start 2014. You can purchase Forever Famicom: DLC 3 on their <a href="http://megarankmurdock.bandcamp.com/album/forever-famicom-dlc-3" target="_blank">bandcamp</a> page.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-16732283092879296392014-01-06T11:32:00.002-07:002014-01-06T11:32:55.998-07:00Borderlands 2 OST: A Lost in the Music Review<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I
love Borderlands 2.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The
comic style visuals, the beautiful world, the wonderfully over the
top villain. Everything about that game is great. As usual, I will
not be talking about the core gameplay itself, but instead I will be
talking about the music instead.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">At
its core, Borderlands 2 is a western game. The character(s) main
objective is to kill the man who wronged them and during their
journey they become allies with a group of like-minded people who
also have been wronged the villain. However, what truly reflects this
genre is the music, namely the title theme Short Change Hero by The
Heavy.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Short
Change Hero sets the tone of game the moment you hear it. The song
itself sets up the game perfectly with the chorus:</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i><span style="color: white;">This
ain't no place for no hero.<br />This
ain't no place for no better man.<br />This
ain't no place for no hero<br />To
call "home."</span> </i></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The
chorus establishes what sort of world Pandora is. It is a
inhospitable, cruel land that breaks people. The people who try to
make a living on the planet become broken and spiteful. They lash out
at those who would help them and become hateful and violent towards
anyone and anything. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">What
about the other music in the game? Like Short Change Hero it helps
with the mood of the game. Instead of establishing the mood however,
it maintains that feeling of loneliness and desolation. When you are
not in the main hub city of the game, you are completely alone in the
world. All the allies you have are back at the hub city and rarely,
if ever come to lend you a hand.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Borderlands
2 also gives a reason of why the main character even has music to
listen to, even if it a fanon theory. The main radio the protagonists
uses to contact people can also be used as a music player. Now why
would someone need a radio whilst travelling? To alleviate the
loneliness is my answer. I understand that when travelling you need
to keep your wits about you and need to be focussed on your
surroundings, but you can still do that with music playing.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Music
can be used to help keep people focused on the task at hand providing
it is not overwhelming and complicated. The overworld music of
Borderlands 2 is more simplistic which would be preferable when
travelling. You can be focused on your surroundings and still have
some form of music in the background to keep you company.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Borderlands
2 is lonely game and is much more fun played with friends. However
the music remains some of the best I have heard in this past
generation of gaming and when Borderlands 3 comes out, I do hope that
Gearbox keeps the cowboy motif. Western games are starting to grow on
me and I want to get to know more about the world that Gearbox has
created.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">If
you are interested in the soundtrack, you can purchase it off of
iTunes or Amazon.</span></span></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">This
is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-76904427122773601852014-01-02T10:36:00.002-07:002014-01-02T10:36:29.464-07:00Songs of Future Past: Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Growing up, Legend of
Zelda: A Link to the Past was one of my favourite games in the Legend
of Zelda series. Being as I was only 5 when I first played the
original Legend of Zelda and never understood the gameplay, or the
puzzles and The Adventures of Link was too hard for me. However, A
Link To the Past was just right for me. The world of Hyrule had never
looked so ideal to me and I spent many hours exploring the 16 bit
world. There would be other games in the series that would take my
attention for some time, but I would always return to A Link to the
Past.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Playing through A Link
Between Worlds was great. While some locales have changed slightly,
the world was more or less still the same. Kakariko Village was still
a sleepy little town, where nothing exciting happens, The Lost Woods
was an ancient, mystical place and Death Mountain was still a bastard
to navigate correctly.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The music in this game
are all orchestrated remakes from the original game and nearly all of
them are fantastic. Unlike the original game, this music is all
orchestrated and the team used it for great effect. One of the prime
examples would be the remake of the Dark World overworld, now called
Lorule Overworld. The added violin work really gives it a unique
sound when you compare it to the original track. The original Dark
World theme was great as it was more military-centric which was ideal
given that Ganon had used his power to take over the Golden Land.
With Lorule Overworld, the music instead became a more twisted
variation reflecting how the land of Lorule was slipping further into
chaos.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the soundtrack, I
did find one hiccup and that was with the Lorule Death Mountain
Theme. In the original game, Death Mountain was Ganon's throne. From
his tower, he overlooked all of the land in which he ruled with an
iron fist. The music reflected that as the track was one of a
military anthem. Listening to this, you knew who ruled the land. With
the track from A Link Between Worlds, it felt out of place. Lorule is
not a place of military order, but anarchy. People don't care and are
willing to do anything to survive. It is the very opposite of Ganon's
brutal regime. I personally believe the track would have been better
removed from the game, or used during the final dungeon.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last track I want
to briefly touch upon is the games version of the Hyrule Overworld.
It is fantastic. It marks the return of the classic theme in a
wonderful way. This is a new adventure in a classic world and the
music reflects that. Everything has stayed the same, yet everything
has also changed. The map is the same, but certain locations have
shifted over the years. However, it is still the same world that many
people, myself included, got lost in growing up. The orchestrated
theme for Hyrule Overworld is so wonderfully perfect for this game
that it easily trumps the originals.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So which is the better
of the two soundtracks? While I am normally a sucker for nostalgia, A
Link Between Worlds did such a great remake of the original A Link to
the Past's music, I have to give my nod towards the new game. As I
stated, while I am not too fond of some of the song remakes, the rest
of the album is so great that the original sadly pales in comparison.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a fantastic
soundtrack and it bothers me that Nintendo has yet to release the
album. I do wish that more big companies would release the games
accompanying OST.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-23023963815670468522013-12-23T11:51:00.002-07:002013-12-23T11:51:23.171-07:00Top 10 albums of 2013<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2013 was a great year
for music. Artist's such as DJ Cutman produced single tracks almost
once a week while halc produced 6 unique albums while also submitting
work to OCReMix for its various album projects. Then there is MegaRan
who not only performed over in Japan for 10 days in the month of June
while also making 3 EP's based on suggestions from people as well as
collaborating with Mister Wilson to make a Sonic/Megaman crossover
album to coincide with the Archie Comics Megaman/Sonic Crossover.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then finally there was
one of the bigger albums of the year from OCReMix; Of Balance and
Ruin. After a brief hiccup, OCReMix released their Final Fantasy VI
album to thunderous praise.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, 2013 marked the
year that Smooth McGroove captured audiophiles attention with his
weekly acapella tracks. He was one of biggest breakout stars this
past year.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, 2013 also
marked the year that Zelda Re-orchestrated disbanded and shut down
the site. After 10 years of performing together and covering nearly
all of the OST's from the series, the group behind ZREO decided to
call it quits.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~~~~</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10: Kirby's Dream Band
~ Kirby's Dream band</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kirby's Dream Band was
a decent album when it came out and I still enjoy the music, but the
issue of it not being a strictly Kirby album still sticks with me. I
do enjoy the album and their covers of many classic Kirby songs are
great, but some of the more memorable songs such as Marx's Battle and
02 Battle are missing. Instead we have music from Cave Story, Sonic
and Chrono Trigger on the album, which I feel is out of place.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't get me wrong,
their renditions of the songs are great, I just feel that they could
have added more songs from the Kirby franchise. I still enjoy this
album despite that one glaring flaw.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9: Sonic CD: Temporal
Duality ~ OCReMix</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sonic CD was the final
album from OCReMix this year. Before this year, I rarely touched upon
Sega franchises as I did not have any of the Sega consoles growing up
so I wasn't exposed to the Sega franchise. That being said, I did
enjoy the album a lot. As a bonus, being as I never played Sonic CD,
I was not aware of the schism between the fans regarding the North
American and Japanese Music.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seeing as OCReMix
covered both versions of the music, there are a lot of duplicate
tracks here, and normally I would decry, but given the differences in
the music, I let it slide. In allowing the duplication, it allows two
artists to interperet a song their own way, so I applaud OCReMix
here.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8: The Blast Processors
~ The Blast Processors</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back at Con Bravo this
year I had the chance to discover a new band who focussed solely on
the Sega side of things. Unlike most bands, The Blast Processors are
more then a group of musicians. They are characters who deliver a
story, much like the titular Protomen. To me, that is what makes The
Blast Processors unique.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a group you
have to catch live as they are fantastic. As I said before, lead
singer Master System has the potential to be as good if not better
then the Protomen's lead singer Raul Panther. You have to support
these guys.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 The Eevee EP ~ OC
ReMix</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am a bit of a Pokemon
fan. I grew up with the original Pokemon Red/Blue and watched the
original anime up to the first movie bit afterwards I fell off the
bandwagon. As I said before, with Gen IV, I started to get interested
in the series again, but it wasn't until Gen VI that I once again
became a Pokemaniac. While I was a bit disheartened that there was no
Pokemon related album released by anyone this year, The Eevee EP
scratched that proverbial itch.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The EP was only 9 songs
long and covered only a handful of tracks from the series, each song
in associating itself with Eevee or one of its Eeveelutions. It was a
cool little gimmick that worked well with the album. As a fan, aside
from the Pokemon X/Y OST, this was the only real Pokemon related
project released this year and I admit I was disappointed. With Gen
VI rebuilding the franchise, this would have been a great year for a
Pokemon fan album of any sort.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 World 1-2~ Koopa
Soundworks
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">World 1-2 by Koopa
Soundworks was and still is a great album to listen to. While some
artists covered the usual Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy Music, there
were also different music covered. Not only that, some of the bigger
names in the industry covered tracks for this album including Austin
Wintory, the Emmy Nominated composer for Journey to renowned Japanese
composer Keiji Yamagishi. The amount of talent on this album is
amazing.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 Milky Way Wishes ~
OCReMix</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kirby is one of the
better franchises that Nintendo has. In one minute, you are a pink
ball of unknown origins with the ability to copy his enemies fighting
a penguin with an ego, the next minute, you are fighting along side
an fairy against the embodiment of nothing who has decided to rip its
eye out and bleed on you as an attack.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Kirby games can be
hardcore.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This album was an
absolute blast to listen to as it took me back to an era when my
brother and I would play multi-player Kirby Super Star with my kid
brother. Together we would end DeDeDe's reign of mild terror in
Spring Breeze, stop DynaBlade from wrecking havoc in Dreamland,
prevent Meta Knight from enslaving the world, collect all the
treasure in the Great Cave and finally end the feud between the sun
and the moon. That game was a real blast and this album was a real
nostalgia trip.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 The Image of Cool ~
nickelPUNK</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I reviewed The
Image of Cool, I found it to be a breath of fresh air inbetween all
the dubstep and nerdcore I was reviewing at the time. It was a fun
and funky electronica/chiptune album.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Image of Cool, save
for a couple of songs, is a party album. This is the disk you play
when you feel like dancing, be it in a club or at a house party. It
gets you moving and makes you want to dance all night and damn the
consequences.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 When Late Becomes
Early ~ halc and Miearth</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of all the albums halc
released this year, I always come back to When Late Becomes Early. Of
all of the albums that halc produced this year, this one album is so
unique, so perfect that it draws you into its world. As I wrote
before, this is the album for the everyman of a cyberpunk world. Not
the angst ridden hero, or the corrupt business man.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As silly as it sounds,
When Late Becomes Early is a track I find myself listening to when
travelling on a train during a rainstorm. It allows my mind to wander
and I often find myself imagining I am that everyman in halc and
Miearth's cyberpunk world.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 Twilight Symphony ~
Zelda Re-orchestrated</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I said earlier, this
was the year that Zelda Re-orchestrated called it quits and
disbanded. However, instead of fading away silently into history,
they released their final album Twilight Symphony, an orchestrated
tribute to Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This album was nothing
short of fantastic and listening to it still gives me goosebumps. The
ZREO team took an already great album and gave it their own unique
spin. I still love their version of Ilia's Theme. While it is not as
emotional as the original, it still manages to get to me.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God speed to you Zelda
Re-Orchestrated.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 FF6: Of Balance and
Ruin ~ OCReMix</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is it any surprise that
Of Balance and Ruin would take the number 1 spot this year. Of all
the albums released this year, FF6: Of Balance and Ruin was the one I
was looking forward to the most. This album was a fantastic treat and
easily one of the best albums put out by OCReMix to date. There are
so many great songs on the list that I find it impossible to list
them all, but my top three from the album would have to be A Fistful
of Nickels by zircon, XPRTNovice and Jillian Aversa and The
Impresario by Tommy Pridini and Jake Kaufman and The Endless Stair by
Argle.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The three songs listed
are merely a sampler of what the album has to offer and despite some
minor hiccups, this is still a solid album and easily the best album
from 2013</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~~~~</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This indeed has been a
great year for music and here's to 2014 being even better. To my fans
have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. I will be back
January 2<sup>nd</sup>.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo mac and I
am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-45396029670039244282013-12-16T12:38:00.003-07:002013-12-16T12:38:47.015-07:00 Year End Heads Up<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello readers</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is the years end and normally I have a top 10 list ready for you, but this past few weeks have been incredibly busy for me due to the holidays approaching.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, I will have a list for you Friday.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other reason I have been busy is because I have finally secured an artist for a webcomic job that I have been working on for a long time.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does this mean that Lost in the Music is ending? No. This does not affect Lost in the Music in anyway what so ever. More details to be released later.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-61638026558467613102013-12-02T12:34:00.003-07:002013-12-02T12:37:15.596-07:00In a Snowbound Land: A Lost in the Music Editorial<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It may come as a
surprise to many folks that as a Canadian, I do not like winter. The
short sunless days coupled with the long dark nights wreck havoc on
my psyche and I just plain don't like the cold. However, songs that
invoke the feeling of winter get a pass as they seem to have a more
mystical, tranquil sound to it. So today on Lost in the Music, I will
be taking a listen to In a Snowbound Land fom Donkey Kong Country 2
well as a couple of the tracks remixes.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The original version of
In a Snowbound Land is fantastic. While it is not as enjoyable as
Stickerbrush Symphony or Kannon's Klaim, it is still a great track.
This is a song that you play when you simply want to relax. The work
for the day is done, you've had dinner and at that moment everything
is right in the world. This song is perfect to listen to late at
night on Christmas Eve. Snuggled on the couch with a loved one as all
the lights are save for the decorations, it is so ideal.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the more
well known renditions of the track is Us Monkies Together which comes
from the OCReMix album, DKC2: Serious Monkey Business where the
Flickerfall duo, diotrans and Palpable, make this song more for the
child at heart. The one who loves tobogganing down hills, making
snowmen and getting into snowball fights with their friends. One
thing unique about the song is that it is sung in Mandarin and not in
English and for many it would be the excuse to turn off the song. I
think otherwise and find diotrans vocals to be perfect for this song.
I am sure the song would have worked in English as well, but
personally I think it would lose some of its charm. You can find the song on <a href="http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02078/" target="_blank">OCReMix</a> or on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zpwG8XtuaA" target="_blank">YouTube.</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next remix on the
list is one not found on OCReMix, but on Youtube. In searching for
remixes of this song, I came across this one version whose artist
simply wished to make this song with more realistic instruments. The
song is incredibly simple, but that is what I like about it. This
remix is more tranquil then the original and as silly as it sounds
works best as background noise as I feel it allows the listener to go
into deeper thought. Perhaps it could allow them to reflect on their
past or start removing the dreaded curse that is writers block. Its
simple and great. If you are interested in the track you can find it <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOrXXqTBa9o" target="_blank">here</a> on YouTube</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a Snowbound Land is
still a great song and I feel is more under represented within the
remixing community. While it is not as ignored as some tracks, it is
still often overlooked for the more popular tracks such as
Stickerbrush Symphony and Forest Interlude. I am aware that some
songs don't get the remix treatment which is a shame because there
are countless great songs out there waiting to be discovered.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I do not like
the season, I do love In a Snowbound Land as it rekindles my inner
child. It makes me want to go outside and go sledding or build a snow
fort and pelt my friends and family with snowballs and afterwards
watch a movie while sipping hot cocoa. You can do these activities as
adults, but it is not the same. I would make the claim that this song
is more suited for the Christmas season more then anything else.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is such a perfect
song for the holiday season.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Daimo Mac
and I am lost in the music.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838180775159773804.post-3485252733674578672013-11-28T11:09:00.001-07:002013-11-28T11:09:48.577-07:00Sonic CD; Temporal Duality by OCReMix: A Lost in the Music Review<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OCReMix is one of the
busier groups around. This year alone they have produced 11 albums
for the fans. From the much lauded Final Fantasy VI: Of Balance and
Ruin to their first commercial release, For Everlasting Peace; 25
Years of Megaman, it seems that OCReMix doesn't know when to stop.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apparentally OCReMix
was courting some controvery among the fans with this albums release.
As I never owned a Sega CD growing up, I had no idea there were 2
different soundtracks for the game. So instead of appeasing either
side, the artists behind Temporal Duality decided to cover both
versions. This wouldn't be the first time the OCReMix team has
covered two soundtracks as they covered both the GBA and SNES
versions of Donkey Kong Country 3 when they released Double the
Trouble.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I have often stated,
I know very little about the Sonic series when it comes to music. I
am mostly familiar with Sonic and Knuckles, but that was due to it
being the first PC game I ever played. So going into Temporal
Duality, I didn't know what to expect.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 43 songs, like all
OCReMix albums, there is a wide variety of musical genre's. You will
find chiptune artists such as halc laying down a beat for his partner
Sir Joradnius providing a rap for the Japanese version of Whacky
Workbench, or Garpocalypse and SuperiorX making an electronica
variation of the North American Collision Chaos.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With 43 wonderful
songs, it is hard to choose one over the rest as they all bring
something great. Magellanic and PROTO-DOME do a rock/jazz cover of
Sonic Boom while OCReMix Overlord DJ Pretzel provides a
techno/chiptune fusion of the North American Stardust Speedway track.
I did notice that some tracks had a couple of releases and normally
that would be a mark against it, but this time, each song was unique
enough that I could give it a pass.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, there is one
issue I have with the album and it is more of a personal one and can
seem petty. With the song A World in Motion, DusK's cover of Sonic
Boom, I don't mind what they have done with the song. Infact they do
a great job. However, I find myself missing The Blast Processors
rendition of the song. In my opinion, DusK can't match the intensity
of Master System's vocals as the latter has almost reached the levels
of Raul Panther III from The Protomen.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I must reiterate that
DusK is a good singer and I did enjoy his rendition of the song. I
just feel that there is room to improve.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As much as I love bands
such as The One Ups, halc and Smooth McGroove, when OCReMix puts out
an album, I feel it is something special as they give the listener so
much variety and in turn, can expose the listener to new music that
they might have overlooked. That is why I enjoy the music from
OCReMix.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can download Sonic
CD: Temporal Duality from their <a href="http://soniccd.ocremix.org/" target="_blank">webpage</a>.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To my American readers,
Happy Thanksgiving. This is Daimo Mac and I am lost in the music.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06074598888654344271noreply@blogger.com0