ReMix: EarthBound 'See Sixty Funk'

Download MP3
3,783,634 bytes, 3:56, 128kbps

• Trade-in your Games or Anime DVDs!
• OC ReMix Shirts & Merch
• Games:
  • DS | GBA | GC | PS2 | WII | XBOX | 360
  • Imports & Pre-owned
• Anime:
  • DVDs & Merchandise

So, the more observant amongst you may have noticed some visual changes to the site that were made yesterday - detail pages for ReMixes, games, systems, composers, publishers, songs, and ReMixers all now utilize the same ReMix listing/grid, which is paginated and allows sorting by most columns. Though some preferred the old method of listing everything on "one big page", the newer paginated grid not only unifies the site but does present a lot more information than was previously available. To help offset the new need to paginate to find games that don't appear on the first 50 mixes of certain letters, I'm working on a search function in addition. The more controversial change, and sadly the one that somehow provoked enough overreaction and disrespect to warrant a number of bans, however, was the introduction of the site's sidebar to our forums. Keep in mind, this is the same sidebar that's been present on the site for ages, just... not on the forums. While I'll be working on a means for users to selectively minimize it, it will forever remain a mystery to me how 130 or so pixels worth of horizontal space suddenly became jihad-worthy. There'll be a number of additions and modifications as we roll into summer - I'd have to waited to debut everything simultaneously, but maintaining two versions of the site was becoming burdensome, and even without the search and other bits, I feel like the changes pushed yesterday make the site far more consistent and unified, which was the intent.

Switching from controversy to controversy, Mazedude's latest raised a lot of the same questions amongst the judges panel that a mix of Shnabubula's which was rejected did. Specifically, both mixes make heavy usage of "chiptunish" elements that strongly resemble the native sound generation capabilities of the C64 and NES consoles, respectively. Now, OC ReMix hosts MP3 arrangements for a reason: half of the mix evaluation criteria takes into account production, which is understood to include mixing, sample usage, instrumentation, and a whole bunch of things likes panning, processing, etc. that often get lumped into "mixing" or "production" as well. In other words, the sonic side of things, as opposed to the arrangement itself. Happily, and unsurprisingly, both Chris' and Sam's mixes were quite strong in the arrangement arena. But both presented a quandary for the judges panel, as both intentionally utilized a soundset that was quite limited in scope. Ultimately, the only real consensus reached is that I think all of us would prefer ReMixers submit pieces that use a wide palette of appropriate samples, and not attempt to emulate the sound of game systems. I'd tend to think the original composers, had they had more advanced tools to work with, would have taken advantage of those tools, and while emulating the sound of old consoles and computers certainly evokes strong nostalgic currents, such imitation is hard to reconcile with the purpose of the site. That being said, the mix evaluation criteria are still the mix evaluation criteria, and both pieces faired well on one side of spectrum.

In the end, Mazedude's Earthbound mix (from the Bound Together project) played around enough with panning, processing, and manipulation of the SID-like timbres that, when weighed in combination with the menacing arrangement, a thin majority of the panel were persuaded. Yes, we take these things seriously, and yes, had neither mix passed, Chris and Sam BOTH would still be amazingly talented fellas, who knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they put these pieces together. That doesn't change the fact that any submission which intentionally limits its sound palette or aims for a chiptunish feel will most likely face an uphill battle on at least one half of the mix evaluation criteria. But enough context... Mazedude's piece takes Suzuki's almost non-descript original (which doesn't describe many of his works) and turns it into a menacing, ominous, C64-injected synth-funk jam. Shariq gets jiggy with his vocabulary:

"...we shouldn't be accepting mixes that intentionally limit themselves to outdated sound hardware and use that limitation as an excuse. Where is that in this mix? There is no hardware that this particular piece is limited to. Mazedude didn't intentionally set out to write a hardware-perfect C64 tune, or whatever it is. The fact that he is, quite-creatively, using chiptune sounds, should not be the reason that this piece should be rejected. There's filtering, there's panning, signal-processing, etc. The texture is grungy and old-school, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's full, and the balance is right. The sounds work together. There's synergy (my word of the day)."

A debatable statement overall, perhaps, but it'd be quite hard to imagine a stock C64 producing something that sounded verbatim like this piece, that's for sure. It's still not Mazedude's strongest work, but you really need to listen to the original - I think the plodding, evil, overbearing approach to the arrangement he took, regardless of the sounds, was totally appropriate, and there's enough texture and depth that the relatively lo-fi quality didn't strike me as a hindrance. The deal-maker for me personally was the funky and devilish time-signature tomfoolery that starts at 2'21" - this isn't your father's Oldsmobile. Syncopation shenanigans aside, the bass here is gigantic; reminds me of Kelis' 'Milkshake' in that regard. For some reason, a lot of people seem to hate that song, but you just gotta respect the massive, detuned synth bass that the Neptunes conjured up for it, and Mazedude has a similarly girthy low-end presence, here, no euphemisms intended. I don't think this sets a precedent of "chiptune mixes" being posted at OCR any more than rejecting Sam's piece set a precedent that they'd be instantly rejected; rather, I think it illustrates the priorities and criteria at play, how they can be measured against for almost any type of music, and how decisions can be reached as equitably as possible. I'm thinking most people are gonna dig what Chris has cooked up, which is infused with C64play without being confined to it.

― djpretzel