Board 8 > [VGMC] d26: A Beautiful Song vs Albireo Lake, HITSUGI vs New World Order

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to today's topic for Video Game Music Contest 12, a tournament of the best tracks from games, as decided upon by you, the voters.

Links:
Bracket - http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=469506
Contest info - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lzzbpDP2whgvOTN2XHETfWg79IyPs01jdwIQu_L2C7k/
Discussion and results thread - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/76419785
Main bracket playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9O9mntH1RFBXCwz0vAKZg8V0rnrKHsE
Side bracket playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9O9mntH1RFI-vkdyFa8-bXzbFLMLl1X

Rules:

- Listen to both of the songs. Links have conveniently been provided for both songs. Even if Song A is your favorite of all-time and Song B is from a series you hate... Listen. To. Both. (If I have suspicions your vote is not based on a fair and impartial preference, it will be disqualified.)
- Obvious contest rules apply (no alts, one vote per person, no rallying, etc.).
- Please make your voting options clear, rather than burying them in text.
- Each set of matches lasts 24 hours, even if the new one isnt up by then.
- Always vote on the versions of the song provided, not versions from different sources.
- If you know ahead of time that you're not going to be around and you want to vote in advance, post your choices in the discussion/bracket topic.
- Please do NOT post tallies/score updates in the middle of the match, as this has a tendency to directly influence matches.
- You don't have to vote in all the matches, but it'd be cool if you did!

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Match #1:

Nier Automata - A Beautiful Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMKskuvJTcs" data-time="

Blue Reflection - Albireo Lake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGc_nmG4NXk" data-time="

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Match #2:

Phantasy Star Online 2 - HITSUGI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwEcy3IOYqc" data-time="

Granblue Fantasy - New World Order

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpVxreT7NPU" data-time="

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Side bracket:

Theresa - benign spirit of the autoclave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukALJT8AKG8" data-time="

World's Scariest Police Chases - Menu Theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kam8XAeDvVU" data-time="

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Easy vote form:
A Beautiful Song / Albireo Lake
HITSUGI / New World Order
benign spirit of the autoclave / Menu Theme
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Beautiful Song
New World Order
Menu
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Albireo Lake
New World Order
Menu Theme

Maybe I'm just tired of NieR music after last contest, but Beautiful Song didn't do much for me.
NWO is one of my favorite discoveries of this contest, cheesy vocals and all. HITSUGI is neat too.
Menu Theme would've been better without the voiceovers but I don't know what to make of its opponent so it gets an easy vote
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Nier Automata - A Beautiful Song
Granblue Fantasy - New World Order
Theresa - benign spirit of the autoclave
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A Beautiful Song
New World Order
Menu Theme

Albireo Lake is meh, it feels like it could have been very good but didn't really get there. Nier Automata's style is enjoyable. I didn't have a really strong feeling about either in the second match, but I generally liked the vocal style of New World Order, so I put my vote there. Eugh the side match, dislike both.
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Nier Automata - A Beautiful Song
Granblue Fantasy - New World Order
Theresa - benign spirit of the autoclave
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Nier Automata - A Beautiful Song
Phantasy Star Online 2 - HITSUGI
Theresa - benign spirit of the autoclave
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...Day 26? I know I haven't been here much, but I could've sworn I'd checked less than a month ago. I was really hoping not to miss the nomination phase...

Strong day we've got here.

Albireo Lake
New World Order
benign spirit of the autoclave
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A Beautiful Song
HITSUGI
benign spirit of the autoclave

I generally like Nier: Automata's music style, but this is one of the weaker examples imo. It feels like the vocals are slightly to passive for the type of song it seems like it should be based on the instruments. The male vocal line in here is pretty though. Albireo Lake is okay. Both songs are fine, but I'm not incredibly big on them either.

HITSUGI another song I don't really feel much about one way or another, and I don't really have anything to say about it. New World Order is somewhat better. ...or so I thought I'd say, but then the vocals started. The beginning of the song gives off this nice ancient ruin sounding RPG vibe, but these vocals really feel uninspired to me. Even later in the song the parts without vocals are pretty good, but man these vocals are really a dealbreaker.

Well some parts of this Police Chase song are decent, but all the talking police bits pretty much mean I'm going to dislike this. This Theresa song is a very mycro-esque song, but I actually kind of like it? It does some pretty neat things especially towards the end. I wouldn't say it's great, but it might be the only song I can definitively say I like today. (Ok probably I like the Nier song also)

benign spirit of the autoclave > A Beautiful Song > HITSUGI > Albireo Lake > New World Order > Menu Theme

Really weak day overall. Probably the weakest of the contest so far.
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Albireo Lake
HITSUGI
benign spirit of the autoclave
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A Beautiful Song - ABS isn't one of my top Automata songs, but it's definitely great. Vocals and instruments are the full package. All the enthusiasm for Albireo Lake during the nom phase greatly confused me. There's nothing wrong with it, just doesn't seem that special.

New World Order - Yay PSO music. This isn't as good as the PSO1 tracks I've heard though. NWO has some awkwardness, but it's good parts are pretty great. Woo.

Have to go to bed, so I'll save the side match for tomorrow...
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A Beautiful Song
New World Order
benign spirit of the autoclave

Albireo Lake
New World Order
benign spirit of the autoclave

I'm really not feeling A Beautiful Song. I'm really not a fan of either of the two non-Sayonara Blue Reflection songs and I'm amazed I'm voting for Albireo Lake here.

PSO2's soundtrack is amazing... And HITSUGI isn't exactly a standout track in it. Still, I didn't expect to take NWO over it even then, so it has to be said that NWO did in fact exceed my expectations.

... no comment on that side match.

A Beautiful Song
New World Order
Menu Theme

A Beautiful Song
New World Order
Menu Theme

Albireo Lake
New World Order
Menu Theme
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A Beautiful Song
New World Order
benign spirit of the autoclave
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Albireo Lake
HITSUGI
benign spirit of the autoclave
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TsunamiXXVIII posted...

...Day 26? I know I haven't been here much, but I could've sworn I'd checked less than a month ago. I was really hoping not to miss the nomination phase...

Nominations started on March 1st, iirc. I put up a topic 2 weeks prior as a warning. I still manage to miss entire series that have been going on for months on this board, though, until I find it in the last couple days.

Albireo Lake
New World Order
Menu Theme

dat bottom option. Only one song today I actually like, though.
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A Beautiful Song
New World Order
Menu Theme

benign spirit of the autoclave - Menu Theme is stupid.
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A Beautiful Song
New World Order
benign spirit of the autoclave

I feel the novelty factor of Menu Theme would've worked a lot better if the song was half the length.

Also, welcome aboard @TsunamiXXVIII
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Albireo Lake
HITSUGI
Menu Theme
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Albireo Lake
New World Order
menu theme i guess

p.s. is there a track from Granblue Fantasy that does the other half of the tarot?
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Blue Reflection - Albireo Lake
Phantasy Star Online 2 - HITSUGI

Theresa - benign spirit of the autoclave
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Nier Automata - A Beautiful Song
Granblue Fantasy - New World Order
Theresa - benign spirit of the autoclave
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From ed:

if new world order was an instrumental i would likely vote for it easily, but those vocals complicate things
i guess it's less the vocals and more the...production quality on them?
Votes:
A Beautiful Song
HITSUGI
benign spirit of the autoclave
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Beautiful
New
Spirit
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Albireo Lake
New World Order
benign spirit of the autoclave
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A Beautiful Song
New World Order
Menu Theme
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Nier Automata - A Beautiful Song
Granblue Fantasy - New World Order
World's Scariest Police Chases - Menu Theme
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Albireo Lake
New World Order
Menu Theme

This was a weak day indeed, saved by one great song and another awesome song.

-First match: This was a really hard match, but not for the good reasons... Both songs are pretty weak, honestly. ABS is, aside from the nice traditional NieR chanting, your usual generic "EPIC PIECE OF MUSIC" (note the quotation marks), with some portuguese-sounding vocalist on the background. Albireo Lake is, on the other hand, more chill and groovy (reminds me a little bit of Persona's[?] background music, for some reason... I don't know).

-Second match: HITSUGI is nice and upbeat, and it has an interesting use of instruments, but sadly that's all it has going for it. New World Order saves it with its nice rock an--"Whoa... this has vocals?" Hmm... it certainly would've worked better without the 90's vibe of the male vocalist, but the female one's a little bit more decent -- it does things that make it sound better with vocals, but other parts (along with the male singer) where I sure have just preferred the instrumental song as is.

And now here comes the really interesting match... The very reason for which I came here...

-Third match: "benign spirit of the autoclave" sounds creepy and ominous... Something you'd hear from a horror film, maybe. Then it transitions to something more pleasant to the ears where, while still sort of atonal in a not-so-good way, it makes you embark on a nice musical journey with... and open ending? A "to be continued..."? On the other hand, we have WSPC's Menu Theme (is that its oficial name? I don't know, but I think it is). Ah... this song. I freaking admire this piece of music; it has an extremely good use of synth-guitar (or whatever it is; but yeah, synths!) and percussions. It's a rock song like very few I've heard in my life, with an epic-tense feel accentuated by the voiceovers (and yes, I know that some people, including my own brother, would've preferred the song without them, but I just think they make the song sound way cooler and intense [I mean, the moment you hear: "MAN DOWN! One man down, get over here now!", or: "We are now under fire! We're getting out of here! I repeat, we are now on the run!", you know that the thing just got real]); the only thing missing from the song in the link is the very last voiceover, which says (once all the music is done): "Good! Now back up, do a one-eighty, and speed back to the start." That's just the cherry on the cake, like saying: "The song is now over, but let's go back and 're-enjoy' the journey". Who would've thought that such a song would come from a game made by FOX Interactive of all things?

Menu Theme >>>>>> New World Order >>>> HITSUGI > Albireo Lake > A Beautiful Song >>>>> benign spirit of the autoclave

MycroProcessor posted...

Menu Theme...police are stupid and should all go to jail.

55dxzxzxc

Oh, Mycro! I expected way more from you!... I'm disappointed (I wanted to see a nice, long, analytical write-up from your part). Also, I think that statement doesn't make sense.
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Albireo Lake
HITSUGI
benign spirit of the autoclave

I first heard A Beautiful Song during one of the earliest NieR: Automata gameplay demos and thought it was really cool in context, especially the way the boss's phases synced with the music. The NieR series's use of music in general is really effective-- A Beautiful Song is pretty melodramatic in a way that I might have found kinda silly but here it fits wonderfully with the overarching aesthetic. As the very first NieR: Automata track I heard, I have a soft spot for it.

As a standalone song I think it's enjoyable enough. It makes up for a fairly unadventurous melody with great arrangement, some cool use of vocals, and a couple of neat moments.

My enjoyment of Albireo Lake starts with the rhythm played by the piano, which is just super captivating to me, and the way it interacts with the various other elements of the track, from the repeating figure of the high synth in the background to the synth chords playing just off-beat to the stuttering synth that starts at 0:26 and does something crazy at 0:32. All this in the first 40 seconds! The opening melody stubbornly refuses to resolve into the tonic at the end of any bar, which is something I've always liked, and makes what feels like the 'chorus' of the track more rewarding to get to at the end. Constantly interesting and unpredictable, but never really discordant; a central idea that frames the track but doesn't get boring; cleanly-produced sounds with a myriad of textures; little details to keep repetitions fresh. It just feels well-made and thought-out.

HITSUGI doesn't have the addictive piano rhythm of Albireo but is maybe even more interesting in progression. More cool, well-produced synths, drum patterns that refuse to repeat themselves, a relentless energy throughout. The part at 1:49 randomly makes me think of ice-based Mario Kart tracks. I think some people will find the constant parallel fourths of the violin to be annoying but I'm pretty okay with it. Just a lot of fun to listen to.

New World Order has a pretty killer opening, I think, but I don't think the vocals are very good (they don't feel especially confident in a track that seems to demand it), and whenever they come in the track stops doing interesting things a lot of the time! The vocals are clearly the centrepiece when they come in but sit a bit low in the mix. I think this is a pretty good track otherwise-- but that's a pretty large caveat.

There's something weirdly compelling about benign spirit of the autoclave (cool title), from its atmospheric opening to a progression that draws me in even if I don't quite understand how it works. Something about it really makes sense. It's not atonal, but I can't really trace what it's doing. It's something that I definitely want to revisit.

Menu Theme is not something I want to revisit. It's a rote repeating guitar riff (not entirely fair-- a different lead synth makes an appearance later, and some of the accompaniment shifts around) overlaid with police radio and sirens. (Pretty literal interpretation of the theme, here, though I guess it's a menu theme.) It's this for three minutes! If this had more to say I might actually find some of the production interesting but it's just "I'm a POLICE THEME rawwwr" the whole way through.

A Beautiful Song ~ I like both of them, but this one just has an epic feeling that the other doesn't. I could write to this one.

New World Order ~ Epic until the vocals. Still, better than the other one, which felt like it took forever to start and never went anywhere when it did.

Menu Theme ~ if I can tune out the radio call nonsense, it's really awesome :D

a beautiful song
new world order
benign spirit of the autoclave
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Blue Reflection - Albireo Lake
Granblue Fantasy - New World Order
World's Scariest Police Chases - Menu Theme
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