GMH's music-posting thread

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  • incidentally, an interpretation of the first movement that doesn't communicate that emotional intensity -- including, occasionally, by denying commonly-done tempo changes that feel tempting but would "let out steam" if they were to happen -- is something i'll criticize as inappropriately lacking intensity.

    yep, this is one of those pieces I feel quite strongly about.
  • edited 2016-05-09 00:09:53
    I have this file in my music folder called "Magnesium.mp3".

    It's not properly tagged.

    All I know is that it is a chiptune thing with a nice beat to it.  Uses deeper register notes and sounds a bit demonic.  In E-flat minor.
  • edited 2016-05-09 00:11:23
    It's funny how I think of this as sounding like a JRPG villain character or battle theme, while I would bet you my housemate would just start dancing to this without a second thought.

    So here you can have a mental picture of this crazy guy dancing to this as if it weren't anything, meanwhile I'm casting twisted black magic and globs of dark purple are emanating from my hand.

  • [20:32:13] <GMH> the irony is that
    [20:32:13] * GMH is now playing: "over-ridleydeathL"
    [20:32:15] <GMH> this track
    [20:32:19] <GMH> flows very nicely into:
    [20:32:23] * GMH is now playing: "over-ridleyL"
    [20:32:52] <GMH> thanks to the first one being in C mixolydian/major and ending on a G chord
    [20:33:06] <GMH> it's like, you have this ritual choral music
    [20:33:09] <GMH> and then Ridley bursts in
    [20:33:20] <GMH> (Ridley's theme is in C phrygian/minor)
  • This picture appeared in my inbox.

    image

    I had a glimpse of the top half of this picture first and I thought it was a very colorful piano until I scrolled down further.
  • "Machine Memory" from A Witch's Tale definitely has a pained saidness to it
  • like, a feeling of frustration
  • edited 2016-05-10 16:07:34

    one star, one flower: The Chant
    two stars, two flowers: The Tension

    three stars, three flowers: The Focus
    four stars, four flowers: The Confidence
    five stars, five flowers: The Encounter

    six stars, five flowers: The Action
    seven stars, five flowers: The Danger

    eight stars, five flowers: The Struggle
    nine stars, five flowers: The Fear
    ten stars, five flowers: The Sacrifice *
    eleven stars, five flowers: The Curse *
    twelve stars, five flowers: The Apocalypse

    * I'm not sure about these two yet.
  • it's a shame that no one's orchestrated Kosenko's Passacaglia in G minor Op. 19 #10 yet

    should i put it on my list of things to do?
  • edited 2016-05-16 11:24:59
    transitioning from B major chord (I) to C# minor chord (ii) by going through a C minor chord

    #strangeharmoniesfromvoiceleading


  • Partway through this song I forgot that this was a Spanish fandub of a Japanese song and thought it was a natively Spanish-language song.

    :D
  • edited 2016-06-10 19:00:56
    things that are in the same key

    "Machine Memory", the legendary sixth dungeon theme from A Witch's Tale


    Stanchinsky's Sonata in E-flat minor

  • edited 2016-06-10 19:12:17
    things that i am able to do

    youtube video loads
    score is shown
    music begins
    i look at score
    "that's not the right interpretation at all! fuck you"
    close video
  • I wonder how much Sakuraba's other soundtracks sound like his work for Golden Sun, especially rhythmically and melodically
  • i am saddened that there seem to be no orchestrations of liszt's dante sonata
  • edited 2016-07-06 20:06:41
    sometimes a cover with not-the-best singing can be a really refreshing experience because you can hear a different voice singing it and it's a different experience and you can feel a new set of emotions in it

    also it's heartening to hear people carrying on Ritsuko Okazaki's work, becoming her voice and singing her music


  • edited 2016-07-21 16:56:21
    Oh, Tachibana is playing a fifth, D-A, that's why she plays that first A in "My Soul, Your Beats" with her fourth finger.

    (this is at the very beginning of the Angel Beats OP.)
  • Ernesto Lecuona - San Francisco el Grande
  • edited 2016-07-31 18:39:28
    twelve grain cerealism = when your breakfast always must contain maize, rice, wheat, barley, sorghum, millet, oats, rye, triticale, buckwheat, fonio, and quinoa, in a specific order.
  • edited 2016-08-01 04:31:01

  • edited 2016-08-03 21:25:52
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solo_keyboard_sonatas_by_Domenico_Scarlatti

    This list includes both Kirkpatrick and Longo catalogue numbers, and cross-references them.  The list can also be sorted by any of the catalogue numbers.

    This is a very, very important list.
  • Y'know that feeling when you listen to music that isn't very satisfying but you just can't get it out of your head because it's so catchy?

    I have that problem right now with Claude Debussy's "La soirée dans Grenade".
  • https://www.reddit.com/r/classicalmusic/comments/36sh36/magischmeisjeorkests_youtube_channel_got_shut_down/

    magischmeisjeorkest (lit. "magical girl orchestra" in Dutch) was a Youtube channel that was best known for its uploads of whole large-scale classical pieces -- like, full symphonies and other orchestral works by Shostakovich, Schubert, Khachaturian, etc. -- plus some sort of anime art (plus the video description) as the still image to go along with the video.

    Sadly, I've saved none of its videos.  This happened after I've recently started saving basically everything of interest, not just unique things of interest.
  • I love how it tonicizes B minor then suddenly and dramatically flips it back to a B major chord as the dominant of E major.

    This is Domenico Scarlatti's Sonata in E major, Kp. 380 (a.k.a. L. 23).
  • edited 2016-08-10 23:13:10
    This is not a very convincing interpretation.



    But sometimes listening to what seems to be a poor interpretation of a piece can lead to a greater understanding of it, or perhaps more ideas about how to interpret it.

    While this interpretation isn't convincing, that's the way I put it -- it's "not convincing".  Not that it's "bad".

    Maybe this is related to my unwillingness to judge works or presentations of creative media as outright "bad" or "good".  Rather than seeing them as "there's only one way to the best", I see it as strongly dependent on one's vision of what a work ought to be like.  There's often consensus on that vision, but the popularity of one vision doesn't necessarily mean that that's the only vision that brings people satisfaction.  We only use "good" and "bad" as shorthands to represent our level of satisfaction.
  • edited 2016-08-11 18:04:00
    This is very different from what he wrote in the score.  FYI this is Lecuona playing his own music.


  • The Titanic movie's famous "award bait" song sounds like something Inori Yuzuriha might sing.
  • Ritsuko Okazaki's "Serenade" has an almost absurdly long outtro, on paper...but when you listen to it, you realize it's the most beautiful outtro you've ever heard.
  • edited 2016-09-10 01:47:37
    I prefer the original Jade Penetrate version of "White Beelzebub" over the Jade Penetrate Black Package remix version of the same track.

    The "brighter"/"sharper" sound of the original version brings out the bass accents much better when they occur.
  • edited 2016-09-15 01:10:58
    Mendelssohn has two piano trios: the Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49, written in 1839, and the Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66, written in 1845.

    No, actually, he has three.  He wrote a piano trio in C minor in 1820.  It was not published with an opus number, and is performed far, far less than the other two.  He was 11 years old at the time he wrote this.  Like the other two trios, it has four movements, and here they are.





  • Mendelssohn's music has a readily appealing harmonic language that is somewhat similar in its function to pop harmonies.  I wonder what structural similarities it has, if any.  I think part of this has to do with preceding dominants with non-tonic chords (i.e. supertonic, subdominant, and/or submediant).
  • edited 2016-10-03 19:29:25
    I guess for some reason I don't feel "saturated" by these sorts of pop harmonies yet, so I still find them desirable.

    Of course that doesn't mean I don't get tired of fripSide's sound after about three songs, but still, overall.  I still enjoy the world being brightly colored, even in music.
  • edited 2016-10-08 02:19:07
    I figured it out.

    For the final battle against Dracula:

    First form: Dance of Illusions.  This is just because it is classic.  It's splashy, it's iconic, it's grand, and it actually fits the relatively straightforward and well-known first form pretty well.

    Now, either we have only one form, or we progress onto a second form.

    Second form: Banquet of Madness.  This is a Dracula theme that has very thick instrumentation.  This part of the battle needs to be chaotic and messy, in keeping with the music -- it's not the clean and straightforward affair that the first form is.  It's also very intense -- it has the panic of AoS's final phase music but far more grandeur, it isn't monotone like Black Banquet or Concert of Another Dimension, and it's more chaotic than Order of the Demon.

    But after an intense and intensely chaotic battle, we can't just end it there.  Dracula is going to try one more time.  But this time we've had enough of his bullshit.  We're gonna kick his ass.

    Third (final) form: Heart of Fire (AoS version).

    We need something triumphant.  I would have used Simon's Theme but it's in a different key, and is hard to harmonize correctly.  Vampire Killer 2002 (or my custom version of it, VK2K5) is already used in The Colosseum.  There isn't really another battle theme that has anywhere close to this feeling.  Proof of Blood is grand but not triumphant, plus it's very much associated with a long and tedious battle.  The Vampire's Stomach and the HC final battle theme are both not triumphant enough, too chaotic, and too short.  And so on.

    Heart of Fire's AoS version (with better instrumentation of course) is a passionate, difficult struggle, but a very meaningful and motivated one.  Dracula no longer fills you with fear.  You control the situation now and you will defeat him.

    Besides, I haven't found any other place to use it yet.  So this would be it.  It would be an appropriate callback to both one of the most dramatic moments in the series as well as to the first game, as the music for the final phase of the final boss.
  • edited 2016-10-22 20:48:18
    Posting here the English version lyrics for the opening theme of Kiddy Grade, "Mirai no Kioku":

    Every planet has a twinkle-
    Never let me forget.

    Everybody's keeping secrets-
    I don't wanna go back.

    Let's get together now,
    you and I are not alone.
    Give me the holy land.

    I'm hanging on, to a distant memory.
    I feel so lost.  Oh, tears of stars.
    I see myself drifting from the past,
    As I shine on into the future.

    Out of the fog, I've chosen a puzzle.
    The pieces fit within my heart.
    So I became aware of the change,
    And this city took on a new form.

    If I could just melt away these scars I want to forget,
    With the red of the sky, and a painful kiss.

    Fate and Fake is everything.
    What is important, oh won't you please tell me!
    Love and Pain will revolve,
    In the very same reflection of space and time,
    They shine!

    I've taken the lyrics directly from the English dub subs (which are actually the English dub's entire script, unusually, rather than just "signs and songs").  Kiddy Grade is also one of the few series that actually got its opening and ending themes dubbed, by which I mean they were entirely re-performed with a new singer and new instrumentalists.  I think Stephanie Nadolny, best known as the voice of Goku, sang the English version songs.

    The song was originally written and arranged by Fumiki Iwasaki, the lyrics by Mika Watanabe, and the original vocalist is someone identified as "Yuka" (and apparently signed to Victor Entertainment).

    In the fourth line, the English dub subs say "I don't want to go back", but the singer clearly enunciates it as "I don't wanna go back", so hence I wrote it that way.

    I'm posting this here since Google seems to only bring up one search result that has these lyrics.  And I think these are really meaningful lyrics, and I'd not want to see the internet forget them.
  • edited 2016-10-22 21:01:35
    And since I posted that, why not also the beautiful and poignant ending theme of Kiddy Grade as well, "Future":

    Come on, let's go.
    There's no looking back now.

    It's just like this.
    Any direction will do now.

    I don't want to dream at night,
    If it feels like I'm dreaming.

    I've only had a single wish from the stars that fall down from the sky.
    Would you please grant me strength enough that I not waste away and die?

    While I wander down this road that continues endlessly on and on,
    The only thing I can do to get there,
    Is just walk along.

    Again, taken from the English dub subs.  I turned a period into a question mark since it seemed more appropriate.

    This song was originally written (words and music) by Jun Morioka, of a group called Little Viking.  It was arranged by Yukio Sugai and Little Viking, and Little Viking (or Jun Morioka herself, rather) was the vocalist.  (Apparently it was also signed to Victor Entertainment.)  Despite the beauty of this song and its single B-side ("Oyasumi", or "Good night"), it seems that the group or at least the branding didn't last long after this.  Morioka seems to have gone and married a Swedish architect named Jonas Elding, and taken on his surname, and is now known as Jun Elding.  Her homepage is here: http://www.junelding.com/ .  She also seems to have some variety of YouTube uploads.

    Stephanie Nadolny, as far as I know, also lent her voice to this English version.

    Both the opening and ending themes had their English versions arranged by Carl Finch, which I guess means he was responsible for coming up with the instrumentation to make the songs' accompaniments sound like their original versions.
  • Apparently the French version of Kiddy Grade has a French dub of the theme songs.  I guess that's appropriate.
  • edited 2016-10-29 20:24:04


    This song reminds me of John Zeroness's song "Meteor".



    Sorry about posting one without English subs, but it has Lia herself singing (rather than her vocaloid voice IA).
  • edited 2016-11-05 01:15:07
    Ragnarok is a long-running franchise of Korean origin, most famous for its MMORPG, Ragnarok Online.  It also spawned an "offline" fangame which I think was made by Japanese fans.  It's called Ragnarok Battle Offline, and it even got an official release.

    All I know about the Ragnarok franchise is from watching the show and RBO's soundtrack.  Below is what I'm guessing the game is like based on the soundtrack, whose tracknames I've reproduced immediately below.

    101 rbota ~ opening logo.mp3
    102 sajin no kanata he ~ op theme full chorus version.mp3
    103 afternoon days ~ an example of a quiet afternoon ~ bar.mp3
    104 the beginnings of an adventure ~ character selection.mp3
    105 the legend of the eternal wind ~ map selection.mp3
    106 sky-blue melody ~ stage 1.mp3
    107 happy blue rabbit ~ theme of eclipse.mp3
    108 initial g ~ stage clear.mp3
    109 crossing the scorched ground ~ stage 2 desert.mp3
    110 wriggling underground ~ stage 2 underground.mp3
    111 absolute power ~ theme of maya.mp3
    112 sanctuary of the sleeping dead ~ stage 3.mp3
    113 be careful! ~ stage 3 large boulder.mp3
    114 mischievous fox child's reckless run ~ theme of wolyafa.mp3
    115 jungle strike ~ custodians of the deep forest ~ stage 4.mp3
    116 super big brother and me ~ theme of orc hero.mp3
    117 waterside creatures ~ stage 5.mp3
    118 deep blue ~ the mythical seabed ~ stage 5 deep sea.mp3
    119 messenger from the deep sea ~ theme of deviace.mp3
    120 the ancient magical city ~ stage 6.mp3
    121 running shadow ~ theme of doppelganger.mp3
    201 labyrinth suite ~ stage 7.mp3
    202 queen's advent ~ theme of mistress.mp3
    203 devil's enchantment ~ theme of baphomet.mp3
    204 somehow, someone remembers ~ stage 8.mp3
    205 last battle ~ theme of brainwashed kafra.mp3
    206 beat pandemonium!.mp3
    207 morning star ~ ending theme full chorus version.mp3
    208 an adventurer's requiem ~ game over.mp3
    209 proof of experience ~ result.mp3
    210 good night ~ name entry.mp3
    211 the shooting star of twilight ~ afternoon days ~ an example of a quiet afternoon (esti arrange) .mp3
    212 despair ~ running shadow (mintjam arrange).mp3
    213 the passionate magic you cast ~ ancient magical city (bermei inazawa arrange).mp3
    214 labyrinth suite alt ver (masashi yano arrange).mp3

    Tracks 211 through 214 are just remixes so they don't say much about the game.

    What does say a lot about the game, though, is the stage and boss tracks.  Just from looking at this it seems relatively obvious that you have stages followed by bosses, whose names are relatively obvious.

    Stage 1 is almost a typical sunny day plains starter stage, and the boss is named Eclipse.

    Stage 2 is probably a two-part stage, one part on top of a desert and another part probably in a cave, and the boss is named Maya.  That name feels vaguely familiar but I can't place it in the series lore.

    Stage 3 probably takes place in a cemetery-type setting and ends in a chase scene probably reminiscent of the giant boulder in Freedom Planet, followed by a boss battle against the mischievous Wolyafa, who does appear in the anime series.  Based on the music, the battle against Wolyafa might actually be another chase or otherwise high-speed battle.

    Stage 4 takes place in a jungle, and uses the music to invoke a sort of "jungle natives" feel.

    Stage 5 is another two-part stage, this time water-themed, starting at the seaside and later going to the depths.  The boss, Deviace, has a theme that seems like a combination of the Thermal Base theme from Freedom Planet with a high-speed chase component.

    Stage 6 is probably set in, well, an ancient magical city, or the ruins of such a city.  The theme has a bit of a melancholy tone but also a refreshing "second wind" sort of feel.  If the game does this right, this might be a bit of a breather stage compared to the previous one.  The boss is Doppelganger.

    Stage 7 is the penultimate stage, but the music sets it up to sound like the final stage, curiously.  It's got an epic orchestral part to it which later gives way to a trance part that's reprises the orchestral instrumentation to add some emotional color.  This stage has two bosses -- Mistress and Baphomet.

    Stage 8, which is the actual final stage, might be a surprise final stage, considering how much Stage 7's music sounded like a final stage, and how Stage 8's music sounds...rather odd for a final stage.  It's jazzy, something I'd expect for a Stage 2.  It might take place in some sort of crazy alternate dimension...perhaps one that feels a little colorful and party-like.  The boss is Brainwashed Kafra, who is probably the final boss.

    If I ever get a chance to play this game I'll see how much of these guesses are correct.



    My favorite track is Crossing the Scorched Ground ~ Stage 2 Desert, though Labyrinth Suite ~ Stage 7 and Jungle Strike ~ Custodians of the Deep Forest ~ Stage 3 are also quite nice.
  • edited 2016-11-05 01:23:56
    It's kinda funny how I've been meaning to go watch that Infinity Train video for a while now but I'm in the middle of listening to the Freedom Planet soundtrack which is taking precedence over watching the video.  So the video is in queue after I finish listening to this.  lol.

    I could stop the music just to watch the video and get it over with, but that would interrupt the music!  Priorities, y'know?
  • Yes, I do similarly get a little annoyed when people close episodes of things in the middle of their ending theme, and worse yet, in the middle of a phrase within the ending theme.
  • The soundtrack of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin was worked on by Michiru Yamane and Yuzo Koshiro.  Unlike the collab in OoE, the soundtrack actually labeled each track as being from one or the other composer (presumably primarily).

    Let's see how well I can tell the difference between Michiru Yamane (whose work I'm familiar with from other Castleavnia games) and not Michiru Yamane.

    02 Name Entry
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    03 Birth of War
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    04 Invitation of a Crazed Moon
    My guess: -- (I saw this answer before I could make a guess)
    Actual: Yuzo Koshiro

    05 The Looming Threat
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    06 OPERATION VK
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    07 A Small Prayer
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    08 VICTORIAN FEAR
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    09 Piercing Silence
    My guess: Yuzo Koshiro at first, but then leaning toward Michiru Yamane, so I'll go with Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    10 Silent Prison
    My guess: very very Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    11 Jail of Jewel
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    12 DESTROYER
    My guess: at first I was going to say Yuzo Koshiro but then I changed my guess to Michiru Yamane
    Actual: YUZO KOSHIRO

    13 Hail from the Past
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    14 Chaotic Play Ground
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    15 The Gears Go Awry
    My guess: -- (I knew the answer beforehand, though I originally thought it was Michiru Yamane a long time ago)
    Actual: Yuzo Koshiro

    16 Dance of Sadness
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: YUZO KOSHIRO

    17 Meeting of Destiny
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    18 The Hidden Curse
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    19 Gaze Up at the Darkness
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    20 Faraway Days
    My guess: Michiru Yamane (though mainly because it shares a melody with Silent Prison)
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    21 Bloodlines Bequeathed
    This track is actually remixed from the Dracula X first level theme, so the question in this case isn't who wrote the music but who arranged it.  It also uses a motif from a Symphony of the Night remix of that same track.  Akira Souji, Keizo Nakamura, Tomoko Sano, and Mikio Saito are credited with the Drac X soundtrack, and Yamane wrote Symphony's soundtrack.
    My guess: Michiru Yamane probably got credited for this
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    And holy shit this track actually gets way cooler late in the track.

    22 Bad Situation
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    23 Great Gate of Darkness
    This track is duplicated from Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, where Yamane wrote the entire soundtrack.
    My guess: --
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    24 Sandfall
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    25 In Search of the Secret Spell
    This track is a remix of Michiru Yamane's own work for the game King's Valley 2.
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    26 Crucifix Held Close
    This is a remix of "Cross Your Heart" from Haunted Castle.
    My guess: -- (I already saw who did this)
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    27 Behind the Gaze
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    This sounds very reminiscent of the Demon Guest House track from Dawn of Sorrow.

    28 Iron Blue Intention
    This track is a remix of the track of the same name from Castlevania: Bloodlines, which is Yamane's work.
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    29 Esquisse of Violence
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    30 Thirst for Blood
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    31 Overture
    This track is a remix of the track of the same name from Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.  Hidenori Maezawa, Jun Funahashi, Yukie Morimoto, and Yoshinori Sasaki are credited with the soundtrack for that game.
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    32 Banquet of Madness
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: YUZO KOSHIRO

    33 Awakening from the Nightmare
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    34 The Night Flows
    My guess: I can't really tell, but I'm going to guess Yuzo Koshiro, and this one time that I'm guessing Yuzo Koshiro probably means it's going to be Michiru Yamane
    Actual: yep, it's Michiru Yamane

    35 Portrait of Destiny
    My guess: Michiru Yamane
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    36 Game Over
    My guess: Michiru Ya...ehh, this track is really really short and hard to tell anyway.  Let's go with Michiru Yamane.  I can be wrong one more time.
    Actual: Michiru Yamane

    37 Simon Belmont's Theme
    This track is a remix of the theme tune from Super Castlevania IV, originally written by Masanori Adachi and Taro Kudo (a.k.a. Souji Taro).
    My guess: Michiru Yamane?
    Actual: YUZO KOSHIRO, DARNIT
  • my favorite tracks:

    Invitation of a Crazed Moon
    VICTOREAN FEAR
    Piercing Silence (maybe)
    Jail of Jewel
    DESTROYER
    The Gears Go Awry
    Gaze Up at the Darkness (maybe)
    Great Gate of Darkness (a repeat)
    Iron Blue Intention (a remix)
    Overture (a remix)
    Banquet of Madness
    Awakening from the Nightmare (short as it is)
    Portrait of Destiny (maybe)
  • So I went and watched a speedrun of Ragnarok Battle Offline.


    It's a beat-em-up, and a relatively simplistic one at that, though apparently also quite well-made and well-received.  The characters are all SD and it's almost like they "wasted" a really epic soundtrack on a game like this...but hey, sometimes you play the game just because the music is just that darn good.

    Stage 1 is indeed a sunny day plains starter stage.  The boss is a giant bunny, named Eclipse for some reason.

    Stage 2 is desert stage and then you get sucked in by a giant sand worm.  The boss is fought underground; "Maya" is a giant insect.

    Stage 3 takes place underground as well.  You do fight undead, and occasionally the screen gets dark, however it doesn't take place in a cemetery.  (The only cemetery that appears in the game is at the end of Stage 6.)  There is a giant boulder chase, but it's much less exciting than Freedom Planet's...though you get to break the boulder yourself.  The boss is indeed Wolyafa, though it's a conventional boss, not a chase boss.

    Stage 4 takes place in...a forest I guess.  Doesn't feel like a jungle.  They did give the Orc Hero boss some fancy headwear and armor I guess.  The boss isn't too exciting though, sadly.

    Stage 5 indeed starts at the seaside, but partway through the stage the water actually comes up and overwhelms the screen -- and while you're underwater for the rest of the stage and now have to fight fish, the background doesn't change.  The boss isn't a huge underwater machine that's chasing you (nor are you chasing it); it's actually just this tiny though powerful creature.

    Stage 6 is really dark and seems to take place in what might be underground ruins or a cave.  The boss is indeed a doppelganger.

    Stage 7 isn't a labyrinth.  All the stages are just linear beat-em-up stages separated into areas.  Rather, you suddenly start back at the castle in the sunny day plains, but now as you go into the field the enemies are mostly insects and are far stronger.  You fight Mistress -- a queen hornet, basically -- as a mid-boss.  Then you go into a forest, and the boss is actually someone I suddenly now remember from the anime series -- Baphomet.  Needless to say, he is quite strong.

    Stage 8 is indeed unusual, but not in the way I expected.  It takes place...back in town, in fact.  Monsters have overrun the city, though the sun is still shining because lol.  Your gameplay though is actually a boss rush -- rematches against all seven stage bosses you've already fought!  (The game does have a stat increase system though, that you can take advantage of after every time you finish a stage.)  Mistress doesn't make a reappearance.  And your final boss is...a possessed maid.

    The game doesn't really take itself seriously at all, haha.  Sometimes you run into background scenes of player-character parties who have run into trouble and trying to fight off the monsters, or even complaining about new RO players.

    Also, the female swordsman is a familiar design.  That's because I've played Eternal Senia, where the two main characters are drawn Ragnarok Online.  Senia herself is based on the female swordsman, purple hair and orange-brown clothing with flower designs and all.

    Anyway, this looks like something that would probably be best enjoyed with a knowledge of Ragnarok Online, but is probably still pretty fun even if you don't know it.

    Well I guess now I can check off a third piece of "unexpected" contact with the Ragnarok franchise (after the anime series and Eternal Senia).

    And come to think of it, the volume of manhwa someone randomly gave to me once is actually the very first creative work that spawned this whole Ragnarok franchise...

    Also I hadn't seen much of Kennyman666 for a while...but I remember that name from hanging out on Metroid2002.  Good to know he's still doing cool stuff.
  • How a typical Mozart theme-and-variations works

    theme:

    open the door
    get on the floor
    everybody walk the dinosaur

    variation 1: adding more notes

    open two doors
    get on two floors
    everybody walk two dinosaurs

    variation 2: putting the melody in the left hand

    The door was opened.
    The floor was gotten onto.
    The dinosaur was walked by everybody.

    variation 3: triplets

    open door
    get on floor
    all y'all walk dinosaur

    variation 4: changing the format a bit

    open(door)
    get_on(floor)
    message("everybody",walk(dinosaur))

    variation 5: minor key variation

    don't open the door
    don't get on the floor
    everybody walk the dinosaur

    variation 6: back to major

    we're glad we opened the door
    we're happy to get on the floor
    everybody loves walking the dinosaur

    variation 7: slow and ornate

    With his hand on the doorknob, James opened the door slowly.  It creaked open little by little, and revealed a new world before his very eyes.
    He immediately felt an impulse.  He obeyed that impulse, got onto his knees, and then lay on the ground.
    After doing so, he instructed all his men to take note of the prehistoric "terrible lizard", the dinosaur, that was before them, and to attach to it a leash and take it on a walk through the neighborhood.

    variation 8: the triumphant finale

    Open the door!
    Get on the floor!
    Everybody walk the dinosaur!
    The door was opened...
    people got on the floor...
    people began walking the dinosaur...
    And they all had a great time!
  • How Prokofiev writes theme-and-variations:

    theme:

    open the door
    get on the floor
    everybody walk the dinosaur

    variation 1

    Microsoft's flagship product is the operating system called Windows.  Of course, it's proprietary and closed-source, so we'd like to draw contrast with that.  We'll be opening "Doors".
    The floor function returns the greatest integer equal to or less than the input.
    A common slang among political observers to refer to voters who used to vote reliably Democratic but are very conservative and almost always vote Republican these days is "Demosaur", comparing them to dinosaurs.

    variation 2:

    From Middle English dore, dor, from Old English duru ?(“door”), dor ?(“gate”), from Proto-Germanic *durz, from Proto-Indo-European *d?wer- ?(“doorway, door, gate”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian Doore ?(“door”), West Frisian doar ?(“door”), Dutch deur ?(“door”), Low German Door, Döör ?(“door”), German Tür ?(“door”), Tor ?(“gate”), Danish dør ?(“door”), Icelandic dyr ?(“door”), Latin foris, Greek ???a ?(thúra), Albanian derë pl. dyer, Kurdish derge ?(der), derî, Persian ?? ?(dar), Russian ????? ?(dver'), Hindustani ????? ?(dvar) / ???? ?(dvar), Armenian ???? ?(du?), Irish doras, Lithuanian durys.
    From Middle English, from Old English flor ?(“floor, pavement, ground, bottom”), from Proto-Germanic *floro, *florô, *floraz ?(“flat surface, floor, plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh2ros ?(“floor”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh2- ?(“flat”). Cognate with West Frisian flier ?(“floor”), Dutch vloer ?(“floor”), German Flur ?(“field, floor, entrance hall”), Swedish flor ?(“floor of a cow stall”), Irish urlár ?(“floor”), Scottish Gaelic làr ?(“floor, ground, earth”), Welsh llawr ?(“floor, ground”), Latin planus ?(“level, flat”).
    From Ancient Greek de???? ?(deinós, “terrible, awesome, mighty, fearfully great”) + sa???? ?(saûros, “lizard, reptile”). Coined by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1842.

    variation 3:

    15 16 5 14 20 8 5 4 15 15 18 7 5 20 15 14 20 8 5 6 12 15 15 18 5 22 5 18 25 2 15 4 25 23 1 12 11 20 8 5 4 9 14 15 19 1 21 18

    variation 4:

    Receive $8 off 2 adult entrées.  One coupon per customer per visit.  May not be combined with any other offer, coupon, discount or promotion.  Not valid with limited time offers, daily specials, catering orders, Kids Eat Free program, or for alcoholic beverages.  Coupons cannot be duplicated and have no cash value.  Tax and gratuity excluded.  Offer valid only for dine-in and TueGo, only at participating locations.  Excludes Guam, Hawaii, Manhattan, airport and international locations where customers open the door, get on the floor or walk the dinosaur.

    variation 5:

    打開道門

    恐龍

    variation 6:

    Go back to the song from which these lyrics came.  Write new music to the song.  Excerpt the snippet where these lyrics are sung.

    variation 7:

    Imagine a picture of an apple.  Now imagine a very long joke involving a cuil.  Remember Betsy and Martha?  Well, of course you don't, because actually they were two talking horses named Biff and Tiff.  At some point  Biff and Tiff each got married to talking dogs, named Jake and Tapper.  (Get it?  "Jake Tapper".)  They also worked in the entertainment industry but it was based in Ave Maria which opened no doors for them and they were eaten by a giant swamp monster named Mosquitoes.

    "The end."  That's what he said!  Such an idiot, he even voted for Patrick Star in the primary!  You were supposed to invest in Adidas stock instead of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 futures, you dolt!  We're still doing a cuil joke, I think.  I'm not sure anymore.  I mean I had to do chores today.  Washed the dishes, cleaned the toilet, and got down on all fours to wipe the floor.  Can you imagine a more breakneck pace for binding plutons to the Earth's crust?

    Geologic time is an interesting thing since it involves dinosaurs.  We don't really think that much about how old dinosaurs really were.  I mean, it's rather hilarious that in Chrono Trigger the Sun Stone gets powered up for 65 million years and it's still not ready but after just another 2300 years it is.  Must be a really good timepiece.  Too bad everybody who could recognize its usefulness would be dead unless there were a time machine.  This timepiece would start off when people were walking dinosaurs and finish up after the administration of President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mother Brain get done with killing off most of the humans.

    theme, reprise:

    People opened the door.
    They got on the floor.
    And everybody walked the dinosaur.

    And they all had a really good time.

    The end.
  • I love this joke.  I also love the second movement of Prokofiev's 3rd piano concerto too much.
  • edited 2016-11-20 09:38:50
    keys of a bunch of J-pop songs I like
    the stuff in brackets are just my attempts at finding some other way to categorize/organize them; that's not done yet at all obviously

    Spoiler:
    C major
    ALL IN ALL
    Down by the Salley Gardens
    Goodbye Happiness
    GO->Love & Peace
    futari no sekai
    Fuyumidori
    himawari
    Hoshizora no Oinori
    Hoshizora no Yurikago
    Kowarekake no Orgel
    meguriai
    propose
    Strobo Nights
    Sugao

    C minor
    Aoi Tori
    Endless Song
    Euterpe [sullen]
    Cruel Angel's Thesis [emotional]
    It's only the fairy tale
    Just Tune [speedy, intense, jagged]
    Kiseki no Ring
    late in autumn
    LSP Sympathy
    Mighty Body (AA-Chino) [speedy, intense, cool]
    Real Force
    Savior of Song
    The Clear Blue Sky
    Zettou Ame no Habakiri [Japanese, intense]

    C#/Db major
    Afternoon Repose
    Canvas
    Tune the Rainbow

    C# minor
    Another Grey Day in a Big Blue World
    Meteor [flowing, picturesque]
    Meteor Light [demonic,
    Take a Shot [emotional]

    D major
    Irony

    D minor
    Canta per me
    Over the Limits
    SECRET AMBITION
    Silver Sky
    The Distance

    Eb major
    Brave Song
    CHANGE!!!! [enthusiasm, colorful]
    decay
    Kono Namida wo Kimi ni Sasagu [comfort]
    Omoi wo Kanadete [joy, bittersweet]
    READY!!

    D#/Eb minor
    Absolute Soul [
    Synchrogazer [intense, speed, jagged]

    E major
    GO MY WAY!!
    Kirarekirari [bright, intense]
    Niji no Ressha [joy]
    Planetes [bittersweet, contemplative, sad]
    Serenade [bittersweet, parting, contemplative]

    E minor
    Go to the top
    Mugen
    Starry Heavens
    Yume wa Nando mo Umarekawaru

    F major
    Anata no You Desu [contemplative]
    Blue Field
    Haru da Mono!
    i
    Letter Song [bittersweet, contemplative]

    F minor
    Burst The Gravity
    Hoshi to Hana
    TRY UNITE!

    F#/Gb major
    Puzzle
    Tenjochiki

    F# minor
    Chiisa na Hoshi ga Oriru Toki
    I'll believe
    Kindan no Resistance [jagged]
    MEMORIA

    G major
    Fay
    For Fruits Basket
    Sakura no Ki ni Narou [contemplative, happy, nostalgic]

    G minor
    Agape
    Asu e no Brilliant Road
    ETERNAL BLAZE
    Forever [intense, motion]
    fortissimo -the ultimate crisis- [intense, lyrical]
    Nevereverland
    Shangri-La [intense, lyrical]

    Ab major
    Kyoukai no Kanata
    Shigatsu [contemplative, lyrical]

    G#/Ab minor
    EXTERMINATE
    Face The Beat
    Level 5 -Judgelight- [intense, lyrical]
    Snow Flakes Love (?)
    only my railgun [intense, lyrical]
    Owari no Sekai Kara
    Wishing

    A major
    Daisy
    Dear
    Yuzurenai Negai

    A minor
    Beginner [military,
    Cherry blossom season [Japanese]
    Itsuka Tokeru Namida [lyrical, plain, sad]
    Little Match Girl
    the world

    Bb major
    1st Priority [happy]
    Believe×Believe
    into the Sky ~Kaze no Kesshou~ [
    kogarashi no hodou wo, hana no saku haru wo [lyrical]
    The Earth's Final Confession
    Yakusoku (Chihaya Kisaragi) [emotional, happy]

    B major
    Aitakatta [joy]
    Hajimari no Kaze
    Life is Like a Boat
    Tsubomi ~Future Flower~

    B minor
    Black + White
    Future [sad, contemplative, lyrical]
    Gekko no Ken
    Sacred Force
    Time after time

    Multi-key
    Aishiteru [C# minor, E minor]
    Asuiro [C major, E major]
    Avalon Blue [D minor, E minor]
    Endless Tears [F minor, D minor]
    Gyakkou no Flügel [G minor, G major, E minor]
    Ichiban no Takaramono [F major, A major]
    Inferno [Bb minor, B minor, C minor]
    Innocent Starter [C major, G major]
    Jibun REST@RT [E major, C#/Db major]
    Lights and anymore [D#/Eb minor, F#/Gb major]
    Lost in Thoughts All Alone [C# minor, D#/Eb minor]
    Magia [C phrygian, C minor, D minor]
    My Soul, Your Beats! [B minor, C# minor]
    Pop Step Jump! [F major, Ab major]
    Only your Friend [A major, F# major]
    Rain of Love [D#/Eb minor, F#/Gb major]
    Reboot [C major, A major]
    Rinrei [B minor, C minor, D minor]
    Shikkoku no Sustain [G minor, E minor]
    Shining Days [D minor, B minor]
    Sleepless Night [D minor, C minor]
    So far, so near [C minor, A minor]
    Sora ni Mukou [Eb major, E major, F major]
    Sayonara I Love You [F minor, G#/Ab minor]
    True Blue [Bb major, G major]
    Waiting for the Rain [B minor, G minor]
    Yakusoku (Nana Mizuki) [Eb major, C major]

    undetermined (or undetermined official) key
    Makkura Mori no Uta [C# minor?]

  • edited 2016-11-25 01:32:26
    I should actually separate them into columns for Intro, Verse 1, Refrain 1, Verse 2, Refrain 2, Bridge, Verse 3, Refrain 3, Outtro.

    Spreadsheet time!
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