At 11/9/06 06:17 PM, PiePie wrote:
SineRider - SineRider's Christmas Epic (original)

Very basic nothing special I found that you could have done more to this song to make it better. It had potential still it is an ok song just needs to be worked out on some major spots.

Yeah, I'm suprised I got 2nd place

At 11/9/06 06:18 PM, BLACKNOISE wrote: BlackNoise - The First Sled Ride 48.5 62 83.5 24.8 TOTAL 54.6

...what judge gave me a 24.8? Jeez, did they try to be dicks this time around?

XBrav - Christmas Time - Presents! 42.6 37.2 52.5 86 TOTAL 54.65

Kinda strange... that 86...

Congrats DavidOrr!

Here's the sig. I hope it's all right.

Thanks Piepie

is there a complete rundown of the results available to view anywhere yet?

or will they be posted on this thread?

So which entry out of Milkmandan and DavidOrr came first, these two entries had to be close!

also does anyone know where mine came by any chance?

i tried to refrain from asking, wanted to listen but couldn't grrrr

At 11/9/06 06:27 PM, Metalcan wrote: Congrats DavidOrr!

Here's the sig. I hope it's all right.

Man that's awesome. Great job Metalcan.

At 11/9/06 06:27 PM, Metalcan wrote: Congrats DavidOrr!

Here's the sig. I hope it's all right.

awesome well done David ! nicely done!

At 11/9/06 06:31 PM, speedmetalmessiah wrote:

At 11/9/06 06:27 PM, Metalcan wrote: Congrats DavidOrr!

Here's the sig. I hope it's all right.

Man that's awesome. Great job Metalcan.

Thanks man.

Well, Congrats to everyone who participated in the MAC, i guess its time for everyone to move on over to the MRAC - November Contest lol

At 11/9/06 06:42 PM, HouseMasta wrote: Well, Congrats to everyone who participated in the MAC, i guess its time for everyone to move on over to the MRAC - November Contest lol

I concur. Get a move on, Rucklo. November is wasting away lol.

At 11/9/06 06:49 PM, MusicalRocky wrote:

At 11/9/06 06:42 PM, HouseMasta wrote: Well, Congrats to everyone who participated in the MAC, i guess its time for everyone to move on over to the MRAC - November Contest lol

I concur. Get a move on, Rucklo. November is wasting away lol.

im talking about MRAC NOVEMBER CONTEST

At 11/9/06 06:50 PM, HouseMasta wrote:

At 11/9/06 06:49 PM, MusicalRocky wrote:

At 11/9/06 06:42 PM, HouseMasta wrote: Well, Congrats to everyone who participated in the MAC, i guess its time for everyone to move on over to the MRAC - November Contest lol

I concur. Get a move on, Rucklo. November is wasting away lol.

im talking about MRAC NOVEMBER CONTEST

sorry. it's a one letter difference. but yeah that too (which i will not be participating in) lol

My reviews...don't kill me please ;)

Deflektor76 - Christmas is for everyone

First of all, pretty good samples...they sound fairly realistic, something which is an absolute necessity in a classical piece, which a lot of NG artists haven't figured out yet. The piece is nice, well-composed and performed, but I can't help feeling a little dissapointed by it...you have the makings of a fantastic build up, but the piece never climaxes. It almost becomes a bit lethargic because of this anti-climax. I recognize that you've divided it into several movements, but there still needs to be some kind of buildup/letdown within the movements themselves. That having been said, this is a very relaxing and well written piece...I listened to it several times, very nice!
83.0

SineRider - SineRider's Christmas Epic

Very nice intro...a familiar style for a lot of christmas music, but the original melody and inter-mixing of different chime tonalities is brilliant. Even when the synthy instruments come in, it maintains its immersion. I have to say I had a bit of an eyebrow raise when those over-used vocal synths came in, but when the percussion began, the harshness was dulled a bit. Really, this a very good piece, rather anticlimactic, but I feel that it's acceptable due to the gradual build of the different instruments. Great work...perhaps use some samples that blend better, but otherwise well done!
85.4

Stealth-Annihilator - March Of The Elves

Well, I can't really say this is Classical, first of all. More like early 80's cinematic...but enjoyable nonetheless. The synths are harsh, but squelchy enough to be cute. The interweaving of the synth and the chimes is very impressive and original. THis is a well put together song, but I have to say it feels a little shallow...just not enough different tracks and harmonies to make it feel truly epic...though it definitely has the potential to be! Great work, overall!
72.8

DavidOrr - Christmas Eve

There is one word that may best describe my feelings about this piece - O.o Wow...this is an extremely richly orchestrated piece, perfectly composed, well planned out, and just plain fun to listen to. The overall emotion alternates between playfulness, triumph, and wistfullness. The quotation of several of our favorite old-school tunes doesn't go amiss either ;) You amaze me sir. Have a santa cookie.
94.1

SadSpoon - Santa DnB

This would be an EXTREMELY impressive dnb loop if it wasn't for two things - first, the drums are a bid midi-y, but that's nothing new, and not a major problem. The thing you need to get rid of is the jingle bells line. Sorry, man, but this tune just wasn't cut out to be a christmas selection. Take out the carol and expand on the amazing theme you have going, and it'll be fantastic...but in good faith, I can't say that it really works for me as a christmas tune. Well done, anyhow, and keep composing!
67.2

attemptedperfection - Greensleeves

Hmm...what WOULD you call this? I guess it is industrial of a sort ;) In any case, I have to say the smooth wave on the melody contrasts beautifully with the glitch drums and bassline, and the distorted kick rolls that come in later on remind me of thom yorke..good shit. However, I really don't think the interlude works that well with the midi-like panflute. Take that shit out, don't try to make it pretty, just let it be what it is - some messed up, distorted greensleeves! Excellent work.
81.9

xlash - Snowman Dance

FIrst of all, nice tones. Very cool diz-sine, relaxing but energizing all at once. In fact, the melody overall has great potential, though the cadence is rather uninteresting and predictable. The harmonization is also impressive, and at best, these two elements work together very impressively, especially with the echo effects. However, at worse the two are obviously not written very well. Some of your chord changes just don't make sense, and kind of ruin the otherwise AMAZING atmosphere of the tune. You've obviously got the talent, my friend, but now it's time to step it up and get the necessary knowledge - work on your music theory, remake this, and you'll have a real classic on your hands.
60.8

RyeGuyHead - In The Woods

What amazing ambience. The woodland sounds blow my mind, and are perfectly integrated into the ambient synths. The chime-synths and piano fit well together as well. This is almost like a mix of New Age and Breakbeat, and i think I'm in love. Everything is incredibly well done, the progression, harmonization, and cadencing are all beyond compare. If this weren't a christmas competition, you'd be getting all tens. However, there's really not a lot related to the season in here...I've heard christmas music played in this style, but that's about the only connection. So sadly I'm putting you down slightly for that. But in all honesty, I have no real complaints on this piece. it's simply amazing *downloads*
90.0

josh-tamugaia - Christmas All Along
Okay, I have to say first that this is an impressively constructed piece...all the theory is sound and it sounds good. But you need to spend a lot more time assembling it. Better effects, better mixing, and better samples are all required. I don't think there's much more I can say than that - no matter how good the composition is, midi will ruin it every time. :( Good work, get yourself some better software to work with if that's the problem! Good luck!
47.7

MrPariah - DJ Santa's dance club
Great kick, first of all...subversive to an extreme, it's blowing my mind. That's where the happy tale ends, though. This is SO bland. It's one melody line, and it sounds almost random. I'm sorry, but that just doesn't cut it. If you spent more time throwing in more tracks and creating different sections, it would be a different story, but right now it seems there's little effort put into this. Just take a bit more time, and always ask yourself "can I do more?" If you do that, you'll have a real great piece on your hands!
30.2

Hey LJC, why have the scores I gave been rounded to whole numbers?
Anyway, I'll post the reviews shortly.

At 11/9/06 07:11 PM, Triskele wrote: ...and the distorted kick rolls that come in later on remind me of thom yorke..good shit.

Thom Yorke is not usually the first name that comes to mind when I think of Christmastime... and to be honest, I'm not exactly sure where you're coming from... but I'll take the compliment nonetheless; thanks! (I'm a big fan of Thom :D)

My first Five Reviews

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for the Song "the Purest of Winters"
First off, im proud to have been selected to review your song for the Contest. the song flows extremely well and it has the rich, full sound of a Christmas Song.
Ok, onto the downsides. the timp roll should have had one more note, so that it would fall on beat one of the next measure, to give it a kick.
the buildups and breakdowns are simply beautiful. it has everything i would ask for in a Christmas song. the ending however didnt suit me too well, i was hoping to a major cliffhanger ending, where you built it up and then just cut it off to let the echo carry on for a second or too.
the instruments you chose fit very well, as one would expect from Reason lol. the piano "hits" at the end didnt sound right, and kind of stood out.
anyway, this song has been the most enjoyable to listen to of the songs ive reviewed. i saved you for last because i had a feeling this would happen.
ok, break down of scores.
Adjusted MAC Overall Score 95.3

this is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for the song "SineRider Christmas Epic"
Overall, the song has a nice flow. its very laid back - its got a lot of the Christmas elements in it - bells , piano, and strings. the song was a bit on the short side however. the chorus pad was nice.
instead of the piano, i was hoping it would be a French horn. that would make the song kick ass as a Christmas song. the contrasts of volumes were very nicely done.
i think this songs has the stuff for a great Christmas song. my only beef is the piano. i wish it were a horn and the ending. it was kind of abrupt and out of nowhere. i dont know if youre going to resubmit it, but theses are some things to think about.
the beginning bells should be brought up more gradually though.
Overall MAC Adjusted Score 88.4

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for the song "March of the Elves"
overall, it was an ok piece. it sounded flat; there was no contrast, no mixer qualities, and possibly no mastering. the bells were a nice touch, but the song was just lackluster in general.
the drum snares needed to be mixed up a bit more and there are no kicks. no bass either. the ending cut off, which is fine for NG or looping, but not for the MAC Contest. thats another thing that needs attention.
the gong also doesn't fit into the Christmas scheme and to be honest, besides the bells, i would never guess this was meant for Christmas.
Adjusted MAC Overall Score - 61
the song needs to undergo more work. a lot more work.

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for your Song "This is Christmas."
First off, congrats on making a Vocal Song. i enjoy hearing some lyrics in NG.
ok, onto the review
The piano at the beginning was too loud an obnoxious for my liking, it needs to be work on.
secondly, the main voice was drowned out by the piano and the whole song. it needs to be brought out desperately as i had a hard time of hearing him. the guitar also distorts the song a little when it comes in.
the instruments you used were all fine, but you need to master the volumes. the piano was WAY too loud along with the guitar. i couldn't hear the main vocals so thats going to slaw me to not give you a higher score.
im assuming you made up the lyrics, so thats pretty sweet.
and as a Christmas song, year i could see myself listening to this if you finalized it.
Adjusted MAC Overall Score - 85.3
this song would have been SO much better if the volumes were worked out.

this is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for A world so cold.
the start things off, i didnt expect vocals. major props for that and it will probably give you the edge... but lets not rush ahead hear.
the song is slow; something good for Christmas as itll help relax you in front of a fire.
The vocals were drowned out in some parts, but its ok i guess as i could still hear him. He was also off key in certain areas, but hey, this is NG, so no biggy. The 2 singers added a good contrast. the guitar was a nice effect too.
I really dont have much else to say. the song was meant to be a vocal/guitar piece and it delivered.
Adjusted MAC Overall Score 82.3

The Last 5 that i did.

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for your remix entitled "Greensleeves."
I was going to give you a higher score, but then you threw in the techno synths and that just destroyed the mood for me >:( lol
anyway, lets start with positives. The song was pretty damn good for a remix, ive never heard it done like this before. the main melody at the beginning should be brought out more though, it can be hard to hear it in some places. remember, NG doesnt have Equalizers...
the flute part was like a curve ball into my brain. it reminded me of Robin Hood, but it was a very nice breakdown to new instruments. it was a nice tough though, but the techno part after. it just doesnt fit AT ALL. next time, reconsider the choice of your instruments. Organ, flute, then techno synth? doesnt fit, see?
i was expected a heavier Kick too when the snare came in and not just toms. maybe lower them an octave each to give more depth.
i also noticed no bass, but thats ok, i dont think this song needed one.
As a Christmas Song, i have to say yes [duh] as its remix of Christmas songs.
overall, i enjoyed it except for the Godforsaken techno part.
Adjusted MAC Overall Score - 79
it not being an original costs you points since all the others im reviewing are originals [as far as i can tell]

This is a MAC Oct Christmas Review for your song Snowman Dance.
Ok lets start things off with the positive features. the main theme was pretty good and the song flowed well. the breakdowns were nice, as they offered a little variety. the drums kept it going throughout most of the song too.
Things you need improvement on.
First off, the guitar just doesn't sound right here, but i guess its about preference. it also peaks at some places.
th breakdown with your synth and guitar would soung so much cooler if you used the filter and some panning effects. i would have enjoyed it more.
Your song was also all treble. Bass is needed badly to give it some contrast. running bass lines would work really well here.
lastly, the end cuts off in order to have it loop back to the beginning. while this is ideal for flash, or even NG in general, as a regular song, its a nightmare. a nice breakdown to the ending would be nice.
and as a Christmas Song, it has a lot of potential, but it just doesnt cross the boundary of being a full blown Christmas song.
Adjusted MAC Overall Score - 76

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for your Song Christmas All Along
Overall, its not a bad song, but there are a lot of problems to be worked out. First, i dont think you used the mixer at all. theres no contrast between instruments. No reeverb, filters, panning, anything. that will cost you dearly, as it makes the song sound very flat.
The opening bell theme was pretty cool and i think you should have incorporated it into the song towards the middle or end.
The piano sample youre using, along with the strings are trash - pure and simply. you can tell you used crummy samples when the notes when higher, they got shorter. you desperately need to get more VSTs or master the hell out of it.
The ending was another let down. i was expecting the bells again or something. just one note from the bass isnt going to cut it with this.
And Lastly, it doesnt really have that Christmas feel, besides the bells and the shaker...

This is the MAC Oct Christmas Review for your song entitled "The First Sled."
I have to say, right off the bat, i was impressed on how it actually sounded. Very nice choice of instruments.
Ok, time to the nitty gritty. The piano volume lowered significantly when the notes were higher up in the octave scale. why is that?
As for a Christmas song, its one of those songs thats almost there, but just cant reach it. if you added Christmas Bells or Regular Bells in certain parts for contrast, i think it would give the song the perfect Christmas feel.
the last thing that bothers me it the ending. i was hoping for something other than a fadeout. maybe some chimes or a big build up or even a fade out as a whole song with all the instruments still playing...
Overall, i think its a worthy submission for the MAC Oct Christmas one.
Overall Adjusted MAC Score 83.5

Ok Heres the MAC Oct Christmas Review for your song, DJ Santa's Dance Club.
Overall, it was a very plain piece. There was basically a main synth, a drum kick, and bells [+chimes at the end]. The song would have sounded better with some counter melodies from strings or even a running walk with bass.
Another thing that annoyed me was the fact that the main melody was on the upbeats of the song. i think the song would have sounded much better if they were on the downbeats with the kick and instead, put the bells on the upbeats.
The Chimes at the end were a very good touch, however, its not enough to keep the listener interested.
Adjusted Overall MAC Score 60.1

Metalclan, I love the sig! As always, very well done :).

Reviews by Teh Tang

DISLAMER

You are probably going to think I'm pretty lame for giving very harsh scores and comments. This has a bunch of reasons.
I was kinda disappointed in the overall quality of the submissions I was given to judge, they often seemed thrown together in a hurry, or with a "it's Christmas so I'm guessin prolly anythin goes" mentality. Both do NOT amuse me, especially when there's $250 at stake and the subject is very clear. You want to win so you work your fucking ass off, if you don't, you don't want to win.

In any other case I'm very generous with my comments because the Audio Portal is a place to grow and become better (or become any good) at music with the help of more experienced people. I have benefitted largely from that, to the point where I could start having others benefit from me.
But this is a contest and therefore I did not care about the constructive criticism. The question was: "Is this good?" and sometimes it really, really wasn't. :)

I fifened them all though. Anyway, here goes, first five:

MILKMAN-DAN
THE PUREST OF WINTERS – 42.6
Originality – 6.8
Clarity/sound quality – 9.4
Diversity – 7.6
Effort/skill – 8.0
Catchiness/appeal – 4.0
Overall – 7.0

Well sounding, but quite poorly constructed, the actual composition is really generic, it relies a lot on orchestration for its impact. Lack of a clear lead makes it drift past easily.
The clarity of the mix is near flawless, except for a few parts where the piano sounds a bit too sharp.
Christmas-feel, sure. Bells, sustained strings, all in order, it reminds me of the music used in Coca Cola commercials. Sweet and sentimental. That is a perfectly legitimate interpretation of Christmas, but certainly not the only one imaginable.

DARKSIDE_555
A WORLD SO COLD – 50.4
Originality – 7.6
Clarity/sound quality – 8.0
Diversity – 7.3
Effort/skill – 8.6
Catchiness/appeal – 5.4
Overall – 7.4

Largely atmospheric in the simplicity. Nicely arranged, well-played, good build-up that maintains the solemn feel is starts out with. Lyrics aren’t exactly Shakespeare, but coherent and you’re a German son of a bitch so it’s all good.
A big drawback are the vocals. Very forced high notes, bland phrasing, off-key a lot of times and overall just too much implied power that didn’t really come across. Bad_Man did a much better job on speedmetalmessiah’s submission, I’m afraid.

SUPERBOWSERBRO
MIRRORS IN THE SNOW – 18.2
Originality – 6.7
Clarity/sound quality – 5.1
Diversity – 5.0
Effort/skill – 4.6
Catchiness/appeal – 3.3
Overall – 3.5

Intro annoyed me. Too much attack on the piano and too sloppy in rhythm. It picks up a little afterwards, rhythm remains sloppy (metronome!) but the synths are kinda nice. Unfortunately, nothing really happens after that eardrumtearing synth interlude. No dynamic changes, no lead melodies, nothing but some slow arpeggiation. The atmosphere is okay but it narrowly classifies as music, really.

XLASH
SNOWMAN DANCE – 27.7
Originality – 6.8
Clarity/sound quality – 6.5
Diversity – 4.0
Effort/skill – 6.0
Catchiness/appeal – 4.5
Overall – 5.0

Yay! A lead! Praise for that, and for the good beat, anti-praise for the fact that it doesn’t lead anywhere. The intermezzi are significantly weaker than the main thing, and again I’m really missing some dynamic build-up. This idea could have taken much further, but as it is now the first 10 seconds tell me all there is to tell.

CORNANDBEANS
CHRISTMAS GROOVES – 60.6
Originality – 8.3
Clarity/sound quality – 7.3
Diversity – 7.0
Effort/skill – 8.5
Catchiness/appeal – 7.8
Overall – 7.8

Very cocky song, in a good way. This is composing a song people: you harmonize a melody, invent a bassline and make up a way to arrange the chords, then decide whether it needs percussion.
In this case, it did. Drums are fine except maybe for the fuzzy snare but that will be up to taste probably.
Nice little changes to maintain some diversity, though the parts without the main lead are weaker and slow down the song. Otherwise good job.

I was extremely harsh compared to many of my previous judging adventures. Please, do not be offended by your score or my comments in any way, I seriously think that all of your songs were truly great : D

-If your offended, I apologize, you guys are great : D

On with the show!!!

Deflector76

+Good atmosphere
-Sound of piano is rigid in the beginning, but the other instruments help to blend in later, not so bad : |
+Kinda oriental-like Christmas, certainly different
+Good melody
-Percussion didn’t blend as well as it could have with the tambourine
+Progression well developed
-The wind chime felt staggered, make it more flowing, moving.
+Nice ending
+/- kinda familiar sounding to age of empires, but not entirely.

Overall: 62.7

Deflektor, I see you improving soon, dig in man, you're getting closer everyday working your best at this.

MaestroSorrow

+Interesting vocals : )
-One of the lower pitched vocals were hard to understand
+Great ending.
+Main progression is good
+An interesting twist to Christmas, evil santa.
-Song didn’t develop into anything big.
+Good use of effects
-Drums not the most appealing thing there is.
+A solid sound

Overall: 60

-MaestroSorrow, I'm sorry to say, that I seriously do not think this is the best you can do considering many other pieces that you've created that really express better feeling and quality than this. A commendable effort at something creative though : D

MusicalSerenity

-The vibes…or that starting instrument, electric piano being my second guess, it seems too distorted in the beginning, it gets better though.
-Piece is too short
+Very professional sound for what you have
+Interesting builds, I love them
+Appealing progressions within all the instruments
-The fade out wasn’t a good idea, just keep it the same main volume the whole way through the song to give the song a strong ending.
+Great feeling of Christmas, best so far!

-MusicalSerenity, yes, your christmas feeling was one I was diggin', keep it up!

Overall: 65.3

DavidOrr

+Cool beginning
+A good solid, remember able melody that comes through the piece in different varieties.
+Great sound and feeling for Christmas!
-Your little interlude of Santa sneaking through houses is nicely done, but it doesn’t seem “that feeling”, more of Santa flying from house to house.
+This feels like a suite to me with the three different main parts.
+PERCUSSION!!!

Overall: 82.4

-DavidOrr, it's obvious you've put a lot of work into this, congrats on the MAC6 win ^_^

SadSpoon

-Need extension
-Jingle Bells interlude common…
+Nice use of it though!
+I like the bass instrument used, very appealing
+Nice breaks
---Your main problem that this is so short. You otherwise have the talent to make this better---

Overall: 58.1

-Sadspoon, you've got lots of great elements here, just learn to extend your ideas and really sell the show you're putting on with this musical creation : )

Fr3kn

+Funny sound FX
+A comical twist on Christmas obviously seen.
-Some of the distortion was kinda out of place, but was otherwise okay!
+Main progression slightly annoying, though you do take a lot of good things to elaborate it.
-Maybe more assassin feel than there was?
-Bass drum weird at first, but it mixing in then shortly into the song.

Overall: 71.6

-Loved you style mate ; ) ASSASIN LOLZ!1!1!!!!!111!!!!one!!!!!1!1!!1!!!!1!!!

RyeGuyHead

+Awesome sound FX, best ones so far!
+The sheer ambience feeling was just amazing
-Christmas feeling not AS present, but it’s a fingerprint that’s there.
-Some weird spots within the song crackle for some reason or another.
+The build was very nice : D
+Strong progression, chords.
+Made me think “redux manger scene?”

Overall: 86.7

-This was seriously my favorite song out of the submissions I had to judge because of the sheer creativity behind this piece, excellent job : D

Grumbleduke

+A great piece to remix, a great choice, I love this melody : D
+ Nice instrumentation, arguably as good as a lot of the regular classical artists
+Still video gamish
-Not entirely your piece, but a good mix!
+Great FX
-A little too short, maybe you could have made your own little interlude of the sort?

Overall: 79.8

-Grumbleduke, I like the style you take with your music, awesome job. Whenever I listen to a piece by you, I can easily tell it's yours!

Spikrodd

-Not a really solid Christmas feel.
+Catchy melody
-Too bad the melody is overplayed
+Good use of instruments
-Really repetitive, instrumentation changes in drums only

Overall 51.8

-Keep working at it Spikrodd, I know you can do better : )

Sytrus

+A futuristic Christmas, really nice
+Great melody and progressions
+Nice fx
-Somewhat repetitive with the composition, but instruments change around
+/- Okay melody
-Concepts could be expanded more

Overall: 76.3

-Sytrus, I remember when you were starting out, you’ve gotten pretty good man : )

Thanks to all those who competed, your songs maybe my day : )

\m/_SuperDrummer146_\m/
\m/_Rockin Your World!_\m/

And the other five:

BLACKNOISE
THE FIRST SLED RIDE – 61.6
Originality – 8.5
Clarity/sound quality – 9.0
Diversity – 7.0
Effort/skill – 7.5
Catchiness/appeal – 7.8
Overall – 7.6

Nice and quaint this one, a little Moby-esque. Piano lead is well done, but the real treat is the double-time that is introduced by the drums. Nice use of delay makes the track resemble a comfortable jacuzzi, however, this analogy is completed by the fact that it is very constant, and therefore, repetitive.
Production-wise this is among the best I’ve heard this MAC, only things are that it’s a bit overhi-hatted and the bass, with its smooth syncopation, should’ve been a bit more prominent.

STEALTH-ANNIHILATOR
MARCH OF THE ELVES – 11.4
Originality – 6.0
Clarity/sound quality – 6.0
Diversity – 4.0
Effort/skill – 4.3
Catchiness/appeal – 2.0
Overall – 2.5

This did not work because it comes across as sounds thrown together totally randomly, and there may not be any cringeworthy dissonance but there certainly isn’t anything that clings to my mind. It’s just a bunch of synths nagging on, over a repetitive snare. And some bells, because it’s Christmas.
In this case, there really is a prominent lack of theoretic skill (and I know that the majority of the AP could not tell me what a tonica is if their lives depended on it) and more importantly, lack of feeling how to ‘channel’ your inspiration thus that it results in a coherent song.

SPEEDMETALMESSIAH
THIS IS CHRISTMAS – 65.0
Originality – 8.5
Clarity/sound quality – 8.5
Diversity – 7.8
Effort/skill – 8.3
Catchiness/appeal – 7.8
Overall – 7.9

Interestingly weird tune, with cool samples and a Faith No More (Angel Dust era) type guitar solo. Drums would’ve been obsolete so good thing you left ‘em out. Composition is simple but still unpredictable at times, and the arrangement is pretty diverse while coherent. Would’ve benefitted from a little more contrasts though.
Vocals are decent, still needs work as far as the “storytelling” is concerned, but 95% is perfectly in key, thankfully. This actually turned out to be my favorite entry (of the ones that I reviewed, mind) because it is original in nature, undeniably Christmassy, and withstands several listens.

TJA
CHRISTMAS MAGIK – 54.7
Originality – 7.8
Clarity/sound quality – 8.0
Diversity – 6.8
Effort/skill – 8.0
Catchiness/appeal – 6.9
Overall – 7.4

A song in which there is a lot to discover, at first I thought it was completely boring (also because the overall volume is so low), but it revealed good stuff, nice intertwining synths that come and go, syncopating to an extent that I couldn’t tell exactly where the first beat of the measure is. It does go on too long though, without significant indications that I should keep listening. Of course, I did, because I’m a judge of teh MAC6 October.
I really think the beat is way too soft in the mix, it gets totally clouded by the “schgoo”, “schwi”, “schga” etc samples, which, otherwise, are a great idea.
The ending is a disgrace though.

GRUMBLEDUKE
SKULL CASTLE FESTIVITIES – 66.0
Originality – 8.8
Clarity/sound quality – 7.5
Diversity – 7.9
Effort/skill – 8.1
Catchiness/appeal – 8.5
Overall – 7.8

As much as I hate the Megaman music, this puts a smile upon my face. It’s short and sweet, it builds up nicely, and has found a very original balance between orchestral and synth samples. Good, sparse use of percussion as well.
You made the slight mistake of using a major instead of a minor chord in the “B-section” however, which makes me cringe when it hits that one clashing melody note.
That aside I enjoyed this very much.

At 11/9/06 07:47 PM, WinTang wrote: Hey LJC, why have the scores I gave been rounded to whole numbers?

Actually, they weren't - I exported an html out of Excel and the decimal just isn't being shown dur to an error in the formatting...

I've posted a new htm that shows the decimals - same file name and all so the link will still be good.

Here's the link again just in case anyone missed it

At 11/9/06 09:06 PM, LJCoffee wrote:

At 11/9/06 07:47 PM, WinTang wrote: Hey LJC, why have the scores I gave been rounded to whole numbers?

Actually, they weren't - I exported an html out of Excel and the decimal just isn't being shown dur to an error in the formatting...

Yeah but Milkman-Dan's 42.6 became a 43 and DarKsidE555's 50.4 became a 50...

At 11/9/06 09:10 PM, WinTang wrote: Yeah but Milkman-Dan's 42.6 became a 43 and DarKsidE555's 50.4 became a 50...

If you look at the list now it should all be better... it was just a formatting problem - the cells were not wide enough to accomodate the extra decimal place and so the numbers just got rounded off... Up in the case of the .6 and down in the case of the .4 that's just how the worksheet works. I didn't notice it until after it was posted up there...

Either way - the MAC results were not affected in any way -

I hope that helps clear up the confusion about the decimals. I'll try to pay more attention to that in the future.

If anyone would like to challenge the scores then that's cool too - There is actually a system in place to deal with that - if you're interested in challenging or questioning the results, just ask and I'll be happy to give you the information that explains how the judging and the final scores work.

hmm, I see the problem here.

Guys the judging this time around was very awkward, and non uniform.

On one hand we have WinTang

I was kinda disappointed in the overall quality of the submissions I was given to judge, they often seemed thrown together in a hurry, or with a "it's Christmas so I'm guessin prolly anythin goes" mentality.Both do NOT amuse me, especially when there's $250 at stake and the subject is very clear. You want to win so you work your fucking ass off, if you don't, you don't want to win.

MilkMan_Dan - THE PUREST OF WINTERS – 42.6
DarkSide - A WORLD SO COLD – 50.4
SUPERBOWSERBRO - MIRRORS IN THE SNOW – 18.2
XLASH - SNOWMAN DANCE – 27.7
CORNANDBEANS - CHRISTMAS GROOVES – 60.6
BLACKNOISE - THE FIRST SLED RIDE – 61.6
STEALTH-ANNIHILATOR - MARCH OF THE ELVES – 11.4
SPEEDMETALMESSIAH - THIS IS CHRISTMAS – 65.0
TJA - CHRISTMAS MAGIK – 54.7

Total points awarded: 392.2

And then we have somebody like Triskele

My reviews...don't kill me please ;)

Deflektor76 - Christmas is for everyone - 83
SineRider - SineRider's Christmas Epic - 85.4
Stealth-Annihilator - March Of The Elves - 72.2
DavidOrr - Christmas - 94.1
SadSpoon - Santa DnB - 67.2
attemptedperfection - Greensleeves - 81.9
xlash - Snowman Dance - 60.8 notice hos this is 33.1 more then WinTang's scoring
RyeGuyHead - In The Woods - 90
+

What amazing ambience. The woodland sounds blow my mind, and are perfectly integrated into the ambient synths.

So why was he given a rating so high for a song that had nothing to do with Christmas? If Wintang had reviewed this, RyeGuyHead would have recieved a MUCH lower score, after all, according to WinTang, this is a contest with a prize, if he wanted to win, he would have worked to the theme, am I incorrect?

josh-tamugaia - Christmas All Along - 47.7
MrPariah - DJ Santa's dance club - 30.2

Total Points awarded: 651.7

As you guys can see, the range is ridicuelous. I mean Triskele awarded nearly twice as many points in total then WinTang, because their mindsets were incredibly different. WinTang was out to criticize more harsher then usual because he felt that this was a serious contest, while Triskele wanted to support the contestants as much as he could. Triskele's second lowest score given, is pretty much the average for WinTang's.

This messed up voting and judging system has resulted in some very... very unexpected results.

No offense to you SineRider, but I do not see your song as second place worthy, BlackNoise SHOULD NOT have been 15th place!!! DarkSide555 at 12th!? On what grounds? It doesn't sound christmassy? It's too sad? Then why is RyeGuyHead's tune even IN the contest, it doesn't contain much if any form of christmas to it! (Don't get me wrong RyeGuyHead, I love the song, but in all honesty... christmas?)

Many deserving people, got really bad scores, any many who didn't got very high scores, because the judges were dispersed, and their mindsets were too different. HouseMasta and WinTang both championed the notion that the contest must be handled with maximum criticism as it has a real prize, while the other judges i've seen thus far did not think the same.

just LOOK at those scores?!

The Scores

attemptedperfection - Greensleeves(cover / remix) 79 38.4 82 70 67.325

Pretty big dip don't you think. Clearly the person who left the 38.4 was in the mindset to criticize heavily, while the others were not.

Lets take a look at another one.
fr3kn - The Assassians Christmas 71.6 39.4 50.8 93 63.8
This one is interesting, you've got a range of 39.4 to 93... uuuh... problem much?

If you look at the columns of those scores (I am assuming each column represents a judge?) you will see a pattern.

1, 2, 4, 8 and , 9 columns were harsh judgers
The rest were fairly lenient.

So the problem today wasn't the system to disperse the work, but the judgers themselves. There was not enough foundational rules to judging, far too much personal biasm and personal direction was involved, which frankly messed up the contest in great quantity.

Am I alone to think this?

At 11/9/06 09:57 PM, MaestroRage wrote:

Am I alone to think this?

No.

Yea, you've got a point.. but I really can't complain, I only got one relatively low score. Some song's scores were just ridiculous. I mean, come on. Give Sadspoon some credit, at least his song was christmas themed.

we could always scale the scores for each judge according to their highest and lowest scores... that might make things slightly more fair... even then, judging is a matter of opinion, and different people are going to have different opinions about any given song...

but don't you see, there in lies the biggest fault! It's even worse the AP top 5, because it's not random!

Lets say each song got one judge.

Now lets say the judge DavidOrr got for his track really didn't like classical, and thought his song too generic, and gives it 50.

Now lets say another person got a very lenient judge "lolz, we're all here to learnd!" and gives that person 80.

Was this fair?

If judges are to have such a wide range of direction, then either one of the two things must happen.

1) every judge must judge EVERY song, so that all the harsh judgers will mingle with the lenient judgers.

2) Judges must be be objective together! A set of rules, basic instructions telling them "If the song has this + 1, if the song has that + 2, etc etc"

I realize that the first step is unrealistic, we can't possibly have every judge review 20+ songs, in my contest we tried this... it failed... horribly.

We COULD try something along the lines of two, but that will require some form of training, and some fairly high level of knowledge concerning music amongst the judges.

Are those all the reviews? Didn't see one for mine ><

on another note, the score page has been updated, and looks much more different then when I was writing that, most points still apply :P