Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXG9IkbEmz8&hd=1
So, what I have learned fairly recently, and isn't too hard to tell for anyone here I imagine, is that I like Armored Core's music. Particularly that of 4 (and For Answer.) I'm not sure Mr. Adam is better than Thinker or Panther, but I really like chanting vocals usually, and this has them! It also has a bell, and I like bells too! My, it's like this is just full of things I like! There's more I could praise here (like every instrument really) but I think we'll just wrap this up here.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
tbqh the best thing about this is something you didn't mention at all, which is the drums. The chanting is sort of hit or miss... though really that implies that it's more variable than it actually is; it's more like "more or less okay most of the time".
5.5/10
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"You're childish. What are you getting? Are you getting strawberry? Ha! That's such a childish flavor, only children eat strawberry."
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYjYCaqshjE&hd=1
You act as though payback makes you a noble man, is that a fact?
Haha, this song. I have no idea. I legit have no idea.
It's pretty funny though. It's a villain song and it has been well-established that villains get THE BEST SONGS, mainly because you never hear heroes singing songs that just relentlessly mock their enemies and hype up themselves, do you? In this particular case, the speaker takes exception with... a lot of aspects of the hero, but mostly the fact that he's a philistine, which is hilarious because PROTIP if your song is named "Philistine" you should probably be able to pronounce "philistine" correctly. And "sword" for that matter. (This protip is directed more at the song's composer/vocalist than the character in question.) Also, I think part of the reason I like this song is because it has a lot of swearing, and it's just so out of place/unnecessary, and for some reason I find that great.
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"You're childish. What are you getting? Are you getting strawberry? Ha! That's such a childish flavor, only children eat strawberry."
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybq_waDfyDI&hd=1
So, having been playing Skyrim a bit for the first time in a while (anything to forget the ending of Mass Effect 3) I've been reminded of the quality of some of its songs. Mostly its vocals pieces. One They Fear is probably up there as one of my favorite battle themes (technically I think it's classified as a boss theme, but to me that just means "Dragons" since I don't know how/if the game classifies other encounters) in the game. It's just really great IMO. I especially like the male vocalist, and I'm pretty sure the lyrics are all in Skyrim's constructed language (this is definitely true for the Main Theme, and may be true for the others) however, even the quieter section with the female vocals (I think, the lighter vocals at least) is great, mostly because of the whispering that's present. The song just projects a lot of "power" IMO, even though I'm not sure that makes any sense! My favorite section is probably 0:41 - 1:09, but as I said before the whole thing is great, and I also like how it winds down for the end.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXS3XZwPaEk&hd=1
The main theme of Chozo Ruins, though for whatever reason I never associated it with that. The only time I really noticed it was when it kicked in immediately after boss music ended, which meant that I basically thought it was the "got a major power-up in the Chozo Ruins" theme. In fairness(?), I feel like it works damn well for that purpose, even if it wasn't intended. The focus on percussion and on creating a really nice beat makes me think of... I dunno, walking away, explosion in the background, that kind of thing.
But obviously that wasn't what they were actually going for here, which is why there are also intermittent sections that are more atmospheric or mysterious, as is befitting the Chozo Ruins. These aren't my favorite sections, but they're still really good, mostly because of that... electric whistle is all I can really think of to describe it (2:17 and 2:52, for example). It's probably one of my all-time favorite instruments/effects, but the only place it shows up with any frequency is in Metroid Prime's music. Shame, that.
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"You're childish. What are you getting? Are you getting strawberry? Ha! That's such a childish flavor, only children eat strawberry."
Liberal Arts Major
Yeah, that version doesn't do that. That said, I still find it pretty unremarkable. Since it no longer is actually causing me pain, I will relent slightly and say 4.0, because the driving force in pushing me under that was the whole sound bouncing back and forth like that, and with that gone I can no longer claim that.
The King of Fighters XIII - Diabolosis
This is all right I guess. I mean, it's definitely above average, but I don't know if it's all that much past that. 5.5.
No More Heroes 2 - Philistine (Duel Against Ranked #4: Margaret)
At first I wasn't liking this, but it recovers quite nicely. 7.0.
Metroid Prime - Chozo Ruins
I'm half tempted to devote the entire content of this to you not associating this with the Chozo Ruins! Man, like half a second in and I'd make that connection! That whistle is pretty cool though, though I'm not even sure it's my favorite part of the song at that time. That's a good section though. That said, the song really needed to spend more time there. It doesn't, and so it suffers. 5.0.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlDaPnHXl_o&hd=1
The other song from The Seventh Seal I've heard. It's pretty close with Melody of Aqua for me in terms of what I like more. I suppose Rhythm of Red is a bit notable in that I kind of feel like it incorporates a fair amount of elements that I tend not to like so much... and manages to make it work for me. It also has elements that I do typically like, and so it's probably not a surprise those are my favorite sections. I mean parts like 1:19 - 1:38, particularly that part that starts playing in the background there. I really like that section. I'd also be pretty remiss not to comment on the guitar, that's very solid obviously, I don't think I'm really needed to point that out.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6go687cYWMg&hd=1
I wonder how many people will hate me for posting this? I first heard it when azuarc was making his VGMusic of the Day rankings. The vocals are strange, yet they appealed to me in some odd way. I bet my opinion is in the minority there, it does not seem like something that would be very popular. Still, ever since I heard it, I liked it, so here I am to represent it in all its weird glory.
Rating: 6.5/10
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr6kUgO3Aqk&hd=1
Also heard this referred to as Tibet Salvation, which I think is a better name, but I'm not sure if it's official so whatever. This one has been on my radar for a while, but I've bounced back and forth on whether I even like it or not. It has a lot of elements I like: for one, that background chatter. Just like in Dulles Airport, I think that's my favorite part of the song, and it works strangely well with the more ominous foreground vocals. I also like a lot of the instrumentation, especially at the beginning.
...I'm conflicted though because I feel like the song gets worse as it speeds up/gets more intense. Normally I think I'd appreciate the variety, but I feel like it just causes all the elements start running together and not playing as nicely with each other. I definitely like the first half or so, though; it's really only the second half that's in question.
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"You're childish. What are you getting? Are you getting strawberry? Ha! That's such a childish flavor, only children eat strawberry."
New Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoeXZEjg9sI&hd=1
I have watched Mai-HiME, but I need to get around to Mai-Otome. Mai-HiME is a fun watch, and while it has a lot of flaws, I liked it for what it was. Anyhow, that is beside the point. This apparently only plays in the Playstation 2 game based off Mai-Otome for its opening. The first minute made me think the entire thing was going to be really, really awesome. Then it hits the minute mark, and... well, it remains awesome, but it is a downgrade from the previous part. Oh well, I still like it a lot. Just be warned that there is a fairly startling change at that point.
Rating: 7.5/10
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Liberal Arts Major
What I hate is how here I am, all up to date and current and now in less than 23 hours I somehow am 5 songs behind. I hate that more than I do this song. And I don't like this song either. 3.5.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sbk-oSrnkQ&hd=1
Another one of my favorites from ME2, but definitely not on the level of Suicide Mission or Tali. Unlike those two, The Illusive Man sticks mostly to the same thing and while it does add things in and changes things slightly, you don't have the massive shifts the other two had, presumably because this acts more like a true character theme and not a mission theme. I especially like the effects here, though everything is fairly good IMO.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PT_EBzBj0I&hd=1
I have no idea what Sky Gunner is, nor do I know whether it is "Skygunner" "Sky Gunner" or "SkyGunner" since everything I have looked at spells it differently. What I do know is that this is a lovely track. Surprise surprise, I attribute that to the vocalist. My only complaint is that I wish it was a bit longer. To be fair though, this is one vocal track that still manages to be good even if it is a bit shorter than what I am used to.
Rating: 7/10
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
It really is becoming challenging for me to come up with any kind of commentary at all at this point. I've just kind of run out of things to say for the most part. I mean, I like vocals in general, so I don't think it's too shocking I like this. There is one section around the middle where the vocals go away for a bit and I think that's the weakest section of the piece, but eh...
...Ah, right, my write-ups don't include ratings, I'll need to check that. Okay, there we go! 7.5.
I wish all days were this easy to rate! >_>
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc7evTrULxk&hd=1
So, this is a pretty neat piece from Suikoden. Much better than Gothic Neclord Battle. Seriously, I still don't know what I was thinking that day! I especially like La Mer when the vocal effects come in, but even without that, it's still a good piece, that just brings it up even further for me. I think this is another case of a song having stuff I usually don't like, but handling them so well that I end up liking it, so that's nice! Because, while you might find it hard to believe at times, I usually do like to like music!
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
As a side note, my other consideration was ironically posting La Mer, so I don't know what's with me and xp having the same ideas.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tHPqIb6Px4&hd=1
Well disregard my previous post. Instead you can have this opening, which is not as good but is still above average. I would put more effort into this operation but on account of being depressed at my incompetence, I just grabbed something from my list of potential candidates. This has anime opening written all over it, but I like anime openings, so yeah.
Rating: 6.5/10
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
This is okay, I thought I was going to like it more based on the beginning, but it drops off for a while before recovering. It does recover, but I think it might not be enough. 6.5.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRlNumSt-wA&hd=1
So, this is a pretty neat theme IMO. While it has vocal-ish effects, they are not my favorite part of the piece. That would be... I dunno, I guess you could call it the beat. Actually, I'll try to be more helpful and say it's stuff like the first twenty seconds of the piece. Though, in general it's just pretty good, IMO.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J74VeBurE8Q&hd=1
The original version of Super Sonic Racing is a trash song (this may or may not be an unpopular opinion). Luckily, Sonic Pinball Party exists, which means Sonic Pinball Party's soundtrack exists, and it is largely composed of remixes of songs from other Sonic games (and also a few miscellaneous Sega games). And its rendition of Super Sonic Racing is actually good, probably in part because at no point is everybody super sonic racing, with their feet right on the ground.
Now, the first 35 or so seconds, with heavy percussion and (EXTREMELY FAKE) trumpets are... okay, but that section of the original Super Sonic Racing is the worst part of it and I think that truth extends to this remix, too. The part most people would immediately identify as Super Sonic Racing starts at 36 seconds, and it's there that the real strengths of this remix come out. ...Oddly I feel like when it goes back to heavy percussion/fake trumpets later on, it works a lot better, even though part of that is just the loop starting.
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"You're childish. What are you getting? Are you getting strawberry? Ha! That's such a childish flavor, only children eat strawberry."
Liberal Arts Major
Pfft, as someone who is very good at this (and yet also so very bad) I immediately identified this as Super Sonic Racing, none of this "wait until 36 seconds in." I'm also going to say this isn't as good as the best vocal version of the song, which I think is legitimately pretty good, and I'm also disappointed you did not bring everyone's favorite genre of music to this topic - Sonic Vocals. (Everyone's favorite.) Still, I do like the non-vocal sections of Super Sonic Racing but I don't think the GBA does it much justice. Which is unfortunate, because again, I do like this song. 5.5.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bw6RAwfGHc&hd=1
I've always found this hymn very interesting in terms of "how much I like it." It's basically divided into two sections for me (or three if you get really picky, maybe even four.) The first three minutes or so are pretty excellent, IMO. Then it spend almost all of the remaining time trying to see if it can get me to dislike it, and it becomes a pretty fascinating battle between the section I like and the section I don't to see which impression I'm left with. Ultimately, I still like this hymn, because the majority of the hymn is great, including an absolutely excellent (IMO) section at 2:07 - 2:37. But then at around 2:52 it starts heading in a very different direction, one I definitely do not like as much, though it still has its moments even there.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0kqwEbkSag&hd=1
I have no idea.
This song is super weird and I could see people disliking it rather easily! It starts off with a weird section that I'm not even sure how to describe. I'd say it's electronic, but it doesn't seem... electronic enough for that? I think it's trying to be dark and mysterious and creepy, but I'm not really feeling it, except to the extent that I'm pretty sure that's what they were going for. And then, in complete contrast to that, it goes into a section with strange (possibly gibberish) vocals. I'm not sure what I get out of those, except that I don't think they match the mood of the rest of the song, but they're also the reason I keep listening to this piece. The whole duality angle kind of reminds me of Here I Come from .hack//G.U., which is nice, though otherwise I don't think the two have much in common.
I still have no idea.
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"You're childish. What are you getting? Are you getting strawberry? Ha! That's such a childish flavor, only children eat strawberry."
Liberal Arts Major
...Huh. This is... something. 4.5.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cETvfG1j48&hd=1
So here's a song I like a lot for its atmosphere (and percussion.) The vocals are... actually probably among the weaker parts of this piece, IMO. Think it may have been better off without them, but what do I know? That said, I'm not entirely sure if my issue is with the vocals specifically, or if I just feel like the piece tries to do too many things at once there and it's just the vocals that are the last straw (and provide a convenient way to mark what part of the piece I'm talking about.)
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9NGkeltj8A&hd=1
Ranking topic VI: Son of the ranking topic. Luigi's Theme took home 37th place, though now I feel like I underranked it, but oh well. In any case, CG7 got to post her silly Latin flair ranking topic song, and now I get mine. I have no idea why Luigi got a theme like this, though.
He's Italian.
He's not even Spanish.
One thing I really like about this is the clapping, which basically works as the percussion for the piece. It's a cool effect, and one that makes the clapping a not-obnoxious addition like it could have been otherwise. The stringed and brass instruments are neat too. Overall it has a lively, urban outdoorsy kind of feel, which I guess is appropriate for a soccer game.
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"You're childish. What are you getting? Are you getting strawberry? Ha! That's such a childish flavor, only children eat strawberry."
Liberal Arts Major
This is kind of neat, but not great or anything. Not bad though, so that's good. 5.0.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfg2fk0R97s&hd=1
So, I/O is, as far as I can tell, a VN. And Fragment is the OP for I/O. That's a lot of abbreviations there! Although, I can't be sure I/O is actually an abbreviation in this context or not! Fragment is just pretty great all around, IMO. The instrumentation is great, and I predictably enough like the vocals, and it just all works together quite well. Plus, besides all that, it has effects I enjoy!
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?