Rocco's Score Sheet

SPC6 has officially set a new bar for quality in a Sample Pack Contest. My old method of scoring entries would be useless, as all fifty-one of these would fall between 70 (or so) and 100; there would be not enough variation to make any difference. So when seeing my numeric score, please keep in mind that the curve is a bit different this time around (for me anyway). The enjoyment factor of the entries as a whole was astronomical compared to that of previous SPCs. With very few exceptions, there are no entries that I would call below-average in this bunch. Period.

Apologies in advance for whatever drivvel comes out of my keyboard as I'm commenting. In order to comment substantially on all the entries, it has to be mostly stream-of-consciousness. This accounts for some of the more ridiculous comments.

EDIT: After having scored all of the entries now, I will say that I had immense difficulty scoring the top fifteen entries. They are all SO GOOD. Basically, the difference between each individual entry is weighted less in this scoring system than the difference between tiers of entries. If your score is 86-100 you killed this contest. Killed it dead.
________

SCORES:

1999 or 2012: 67/100
A Song for My Cat: 92/100
Akira Yamaoka vs Ken Ishii: 44/100
Alleyway in Chinatown: 73/100
Aqua Aura Pura: 74/100
Aya Hirano's Megaton Punch: 90/100
Bad Tekno: 71/100
Candy Rock Jam: 99/100
Cloudtrip: 96/100
Corruption of the Tune: 52/100
Cyberdemon Boogie: 58/100
DanielDellaCocco: 77/100
Deep Throat Tengoku: 64/100
Doctor Mars: 79/100
Everybody Wants Overcalculated Scientist Orgasms: 59/100
Extra Antler Velvet: 80/100
Gateway to Happiness: 62/100
Go Go Power!: 65/100
Green Grass: 87/100
How to Open a Can of SPC: 49/100
I sneak up and hitcha in the crotch: 91/100
King of the Crypt: 76/100
Legend of Sample Pack Compo: 54/100
Martian Lab at Midnight: 93/100
Medium Zero: 68/100
Mr. Huffletuff's Kitty Cat Cosmic Escapades: 100/100
No Bananas for Deborah: 50/100
Nobody Wants Overcalculated Scientist Orgasms: 86/100
Omnious Abbey: 72/100
Our Heliocentric Garden: 94/100
PRUNEAU: 66/100
Riding the Duckdragon: XXX/100
Seven Proxies: 51/100
Slick Venus: 95/100
Spaz Premium: 78/100
Tarot Pharoah: 53/100
Ten-Chan Looks Like Joey Wheeler: 47/100
Tertiary Jump: 88/100
The Incredible Cat Mincer: 75/100
Tidal Chamber: 98/100
Trop Glop Flop: 63/100
TV Surfer: 60/100
U.B. Funky: 48/100
Untitled: 97/100
Way Out - No Way: 69/100
We Hate the 1998 Wave: 61/100
Welcome to SPC 6: 70/100
WHAT THE @#$%!!: 89/100
Whippin' Good: 55/100
WorldJ: 45/100
Zen You Reach Ze State of Completeness: 46/100
________

COMMENTS:

1999 or 2012
Comments: Those Brahms hits only sometimes work cause, see, they're only major chords. For any other use, they sound out of place. That's all I can find to really critique on this one, except for a general overuse of the central percussive form. Interesting breakdown near the end.  Well, OK, it wasn't THAT near the end. You do keep it interesting, but it still runs a little long. Throughout, there's good sample manipulation, good panning effects, decent instrumentation... But goddamn if that diminished 7th chord buildup at 4:17 is not the cheesiest thing I've ever heard! XD
.
________
A Song for My Cat
Comments: A study of chimps in caring captivity found that they much more enjoy videos of other chimps than movies involving humans. Also, chimps and orangutans who have learned sign language (and have vocabularies of 100-200 words) are able to disinguish between other monkeys and their human "parents". So maybe your cat appreciates this gesture after all! (She probably still won't put out, though). I really love the chords and the ethereal, melodic meows. The effect is transcendant, but not quite soaring. It's a good place to be. 

________
Akira Yamaoka vs Ken Ishii
Comments: I aint gonna lie. This is incredible. Nothing about it doesn't suggest it was professionally produced, except for those few moments when I can actually recognize a sample from the pack. That is a bad thing, no matter how perfect the final product is. You're obviously extensively skilled with your tools. I don't mean this as a dig on your creativity AT ALL. Hell, I have NO IDEA how most of this could have been achieved. It just isn't in the spirit of the contest. Rather than score zero points, I assigned a score that is one point below the otherwise lowest score I gave. This way, I won't absolutely cripple this entry in case others don't share my view.
________
Alleyway in Chinatown
Comments: "Don't eat me, don't eat me. That would make me sad. Don't eat me, don't eat me. I'd taste very bad." And then some very questionable singing girl usage and a Death Bell? Just where in China is this? lol.   Oh, okay, then comes some better singing girl. I'm not sure how this didn't get old. It's the same thing over and over, but you kept it fresh with intersting stuff. I'm not even going to comment on the ending. Wat? XD

________
Aqua Aura Pura
Comments: Man, you  had a great little riff going before that chord progression starts. I just can't agree with the chords for some reason =/ Kudos on not trying to mask the beatboxing and just letting the lip snare stand out in all of its mandibular glory.

________
Aya Hirano's Megaton Punch
Comments: Totally out-of-place kitties, but it adds to the cuteness. Heeey! Nice job with the Death Bell. I got a similar sound out of it for my unfinished entry, and it took a surprising amount of EQ work. And you even looped it?? (kinda badly, but WHATEVER). The choped up singing sample is just too much good. It's too good. Ace. 

________
Bad Tekno
Comments: I didn't think you knew what the hell you were doing until 0:30. Had to go back and relisten to the first part! I think too many people relied on the samples that had premade chords for the harmonic structure of their entries. This is one. That ending is stupendously amazing. The "doo" sample is horribly looped, but still hilarious. Sounds like a redneck chipmunk.

________
Candy Rock Jam
Comments: 0:10 literally made me jump. I was having trouble describing this piece in musical terms, so I resorted to word association. What came out was "Jelly Camel." (Not to be confused with Rocket Camel, I guess?) THe vocal sample looping didn't impress, but is easily overlooked (That shit was HARD). Lovin the melody and progression and counterpoint and basically everything else starting at 1:35.

________
Cloudtrip
Comments: Not sure the title is fitting, but that kind of analysis is what you get for naming it something thoughtful! Hahaha! Best use of the Brahms hits, and this is one of the last entries I'm listening to. (Definitely better than my own). Lovin the slower section @ 2:50. And all of the rest of it, really. This is really nice. The intro to this piece is a good example of how a back-and-forth harmonic motion can work well with an actual melody to lead into a more diverse part of the music. Everyone else take note for great justice!

________
Corruption of the Tune
Comments: Hahahaha! bagel. bagel. bagel. bagel. Well-done, that. The tune isn't currupted at all, just those horrendus chords! No one should have used the Stravinsky Saw. NOBODDY :)

________
Cyberdemon Boogie
Comments: That is a cool little riff with the looping guitar noice. Could've stood being used a little less, or at least not so prominently for so long. Great percussive sounds, I gotta say. Great lead at 1:13. Why didn't that get used more? It would've been great if it had taken off on a melody there.
________
DanielDellaCocco
Comments: Har. Cockin. Knew it was you at 0:07. Thank you for at least capitalizing the C. The other day I talked to a guy named Denis on the phone. I would've gotten fired had I taken a picture of his account, so no photo evidence, sorrah. I hope you'll put this on 8bc, and I hope it gets some good attention, cause it's really pretty well-done. Your melodic use of the bondage groan is spectacularly funny.

________
Deep Throat Tengoku
Comments: 0:28 sounds like a man choking on his own mucus. Disgusting, but brilliant. More great use of the high-octave Death Bell I hear? It's cleverly hidden by all the high-energy things going on, but this is another case of overreliance on premade chord samples. Though there is other good stuff going on harmonically, like 1:34. So you're forgiven :)
 
________
Doctor Mars
Comments: Aww, too short! Cool beat, very late-Eighties, early-Nineties. I can almost see a lanky white guy in a zoot suit and a 6" tall tower of hair dancing around like an idiot. It's good music, though. He can only blame himself for his ridiculous behavior and warped self-image.

________
Everybody Wants Overcalculated Scientist Orgasms
Comments: I can't immediately find the beat, which is cool. I wanted to hear a more cut-up singing girl sample. Utterly unconvincing Brahms use until the transition @ 0:48. Lovin the "duet" just after that. So this is the singing girl sample being played against a repeating tepestry of 7th chords. It would've hit me harder, I think, if the looping chords were built from something less staticky-sounding (and looped more smoothly). 

________
Extra Antler Velvet
Comments: I see Emo elves skating around sullenly at the North Pole while the Clauses have to arrange the festivities themselves, and Mrs. Claus can't bear to see the reindeer go out in the cold without velvet mufflers around their antlers. Santa objects, pointing out the laughable misconceptions about reindeer anatomy that her suggestion betrays, but he knows that she is his only source of booty (aside from some of the elfettes, but only in rare cases when their diminutive little bodies can handle his comparatively mammoth south pole), so he complies with his wife's whimsy. The reindeer 
didn't get a say in the decision, and don't want to go out looking like 
life-sized mantlepiece decorations, so they go on strike until Mrs. Claus 
relents and removes the antlermuffs. Now they're left with all this extra 
antler velvet.

________
Gateway to Happiness
Comments: This could pretty accurately be called a "soundscape." Most of the work seems to have been done in the creation of instruments (and instrumentation) rather than in the construction of a developed piece of music. It's mostly ambient, and doesn't reuse themes or ideas. Because of the lack of compositional variety, I will admit that it dragged on too long for my taste. To me, this is just as disappointing as being too short. I can't fault you for anything technical, though. You did a great job creating an aural tapestry. I came away from this desparately feening for a major triad. XD

________
Go Go Power!
Comments: Another case of really interesting effects and mixing without a lot of musical direction. It didn't take me anywhere, but kept me interested enough somehow. I do take issue with those arps in the beginning. I can't tell if it's the looping or the rhythm, but it just sounds sloppy. Granted, it's no cakewalk creating authentic-sounding arps in a piano roll (if this is how yo did it). Most other instruments in here are great. I especially like the "bass snare" you created. It's kind of like a timpani, I guess? 

________
Green Grass
Comments: Happypants. There is virtually a tropical drink melting in my hand. Despite it being totally formulaic, it displays really good mixing and instrument creation, especially the percussion.

________
How to Open a Can of SPC
Comments: Ogod. That intro "chord" AUGH! Cool effect, but wow is that unpleasant. The arps that come in at 0:09 remind me of the opening of Imogen Heap's "Little Bird." Like a lot of SPC entries, this consists of a beat, some chords that flow back and forth, and a few interesting effects on top of it all. Not terribly engaging, but far from unpleasant overall, but ugh, that intro gave me a headache. ;)

________
I sneak up and hitcha in the crotch
Comments: There is no sneaking anywhere in this song. It's all crotch hitting, all the time. Excellent kick drum. The transition at :32 was good, but the one at :45 was ace. (How do you have two transitions within thirteen seconds and it still sounds believable?). I haven't started scoring yet, but this is gonna be top 5 or so, I can tell already. I wanted it to be longer!

________
King of the Crypt
Comments: Great panning on the NES arps in the intro. They could've used some variation leading into the next section, though. Very appropriate Death Bell usage. You came up with a good instrument for the solo at 1:10, but the melody is underwhelming; doesn't seem like it knows where it's going. It might be the lack of harmonic variation in the chords underneath (It sounds like the same 2 or 3 playing back and forth). There was also no build up to the repeat of the main idea. I didn't realize I was re-hearing material until several seconds into it. Great filters near the end. 

________
Legend of Sample Pack Compo
Comments:Wow, this is epic. Very much like Gateway to Happiness, It rather drones on after a while. I like this one more, though. There's enough going on to make the repetition enjoyable. The effects at 3:02 are great. Is that the Death Bell? Awesome. Okay, now five minutes in, I realize I may have spoken prematurely. This has almost zero variation after the 2:00 mark. It gets hard to hear the same neve- ending series of two chords for 4.5 more minutes. If this were half as long, it would still be pushing it. Nothing in it is bad or distasteful. It just keeps going without changing.

________
Martian Lab at Midnight
Comments: What is it with Egypt in this contest. I don't know about Mars. With the cats meowing together in some sort of rtualistic unison, and the Middle-Eastern scale in the solo at 0:27, I can't help but think of Pharaohs, Mummies, and black magic. I also wonder whose midnight you're talking about here. Mars's? There's a clash in some of the parts at 1:06, just briefly. Aside from that little hitch, I love the solos, the guitar was used really well, and the bass and percussive sounds are ace-and-a-half. Best ending of any entry.

________
Medium Zero
Comments: Vamp vamp vamp vamp ad infinitum. There are some very inventive uses of the samples going on here, but DO something MUSICALLY with them. This back-and-forth business gets really frustrating when it's the primary means of harmonic development in like half of the entries. Sorry, Author, for taking this out on your entry. I promise your score doesn't reflect this opinion any more than anyone else's entry does. This entry isn't even the biggest offender. It's still quite listenable, and that Brahms hit is a great touch. Changes it from an Egyptian Punk feel into a Spanish bullfight overture. A really interesting touch.

________
Mr. Huffletuff's Kitty Cat Cosmic Escapades
Comments: If I may...

<qualo> oh my god cosmic kitty
<qualo> 100/100

I'm inclined to mostly agree. There's nothing wrong with this. Minor gripes would just be that the lower frequencies in the Death Bell should've been EQ'ed out. It sounds out-of-place in its current form. Okay, so gripe. Not gripes. THe FM Bass usage is the best I've heard so far. I'll be surprised if I don't end up giving this top marks. Great progression and development. I love it all. The cat sounds (though they would be silent in space) sound just like I'd expect a cat flying through space to sound. That sentence was deceptively difficult to construct!

________
No Bananas for Deborah
Comments: Yeah, it's about time people stopped submitting premade jazz chords as samples. It doesn't sound bad on its own, but when the majority of over 40 entries use them for their fundamental chord structure, it gets hard to tell them apart. Inventive use of the banana sample anyway. Who is Deborah?

________
Nobody Wants Overcalculated Scientist Orgasms
Comments: The rest of this piece is just too cool to abide that unlooped (or badly looped) pad that begins right away and continues throughout. Everything else is right on! Lovin the melodies. Hate the ending. What was that? COPOUT! hahaha! XD

________
Omnious Abbey
Comments: Not "Ominous?" Possible typo aside, I can't decide if the unaltered use of Death Bell is a good or bad thing here. It could've used some (more) reverb, I think. Everything is well-done. Very atmospheric, good ear for the chord buildup at 0:52, but the individual notes were overly loud to my ear. And what? That was a buildup for a rock beat? I did not not not see that coming. Except for the similar chord pattern (can't really say progression), the two sections are completely dissimilar. It wasn't exactly a smooth or believable transition.

________
Our Heliocentric Garden
Comments: Heliocentrism is the way to go. Your attention to the subleties of the mix sets this apart from most of the other entries. Even if there isn't a single, powerful melody, there is direction in the bass and chords. The solo at 0:55 is not unfittingly spastic, though it doesn't seem to follow any real progression. Perhaps paired with the chirping metallic/radio sounds behind it make it seem more coherent by comparison. However you do it, I have no qualms at all. In fact, this is quite nice.

________
PRUNEAU
Comments: "Where does the Ocean Go," by Yoko Kanno. This sounds like it in the intro. Nice job with the percussion patterns. The beat is constant and somewhat repetitive, but more than interesting enough to remain engaging. I gotta say, though... there's not much content here. It plays some beats, makes some effects, and ends :(

________
Riding the Duckdragon
Comments: This is mine. Made in a weekend. I don't remember how. The project file has literally become incomprehensible to me.

________
Seven Proxies
Comments: Y'all caint handle mah FAHRWALL! Great banjo emulation (that was intentional, right?) The chords all make sense, and none are out of place, but the invention aspect is somewhat meh. The effects and mixing are good; it's just the chords that lack umph. Sorry for the nontechnical critique. It's just a matter of personal taste, I'm afraid.

________
Slick Venus
Comments: Gotta me SMH. How did SMH get on my Veegeemusics? It's the only legit use of the Bagel sample so far. Grats on that. Thank you for keeping the samples recognizable and still managing to get some some solid, decent, accessible music out of them.

________
Spaz Premium
Comments: Nice job murdering the samples. It's no Spaz Discount, but it's a fitting tribute. Only appropriate use of the "What my music" sample. Not much going on here except for percussive masturbating. It's still fun to listen to though. Good layering of subtler beats, too.

________
Tarot Pharoah
Comments: Intentional play on "Pharaoh?" Good job evoking an Egyptian theme. I didn't like the beginning at first, but it starts making more sense to me about 20 seconds in. The section from 0:37-1:15 is my favorite part, but also good job on the vocal melody and the hits near the end.

________
Ten-Chan Looks Like Joey Wheeler
Comments: You barred no holds in slicing up the vocal samples, that's for sure. The beat and chord structure are a bit too repetitive to stand alone as a piece of music. I blame your heavy reliance on the Brahms sample for your chords. I guess I'm just not hearing a lot of musical content. It's all percussive sounds and percussive use of the chopped-up talking samples. ("What time is bagel" did make me laugh, though).

________
Tertiary Jump
Comments: Lovin the beat, lovin the percussion in my left ear (for some reason. I usually hate that.) Great use of the Village People drumloop (that's what it sounds like anyway hahaha!) You made 7th chords out of the Brahms hits. Holy shit. You win all of my internets.

________
The Incredible Cat Mincer
Comments: Needs some quantization, but when things start going at 0:18, it starts to seem less important. Great immediate turnaround at 0:37, but right after that, it NEEDS a more constant beat. It's like the motor of the cat mincer has gotten encrusted in rust, and needs a good oiling, and the operation slows and jumps and is just generally sluggish. There are lots of ways to skin a cat, but mincing one needs to be done by the book. (Ogod, sorry)

________
Tidal Chamber
Comments: Excellent atmosphere, and perfect title (no pun intended). You've perfectly evoked the serenity of an undisturbed oceanic ecosystem. I am in love with this. I can't even say what I like best about it, although it's probably the clicketty, bubbly sounds in the background throughout. 

________
Trop Glop Flop
Comments:Aw, man. I loved the madness this starts with, and I love the first two hits at 0:29, but then it doesn't go anywhere! You set yourself up perfectly for a modulation and soaring melody line, and then just reverted back to the chord right before, same beat and everything. :( I almost REALLY REALLY liked this, but now I just really like it ;) Quite good sample usage, btw.

________
TV Surfer
Comments: I initially laughed at the bagel rhythm, but it became overused for my taste. Make a joke, and let it lie, I say. (Cause like, it's not like it actually makes a good percussive sound). I do like the overall ominous atmosphere. It's very rhythmically repetitive, but what's here is good.

________
U.B. Funky
Comments: Lovin the bass & percussion going on here, but WAY WAY overusage of the pretuned pad. You get exactly one chord out of that thing (albeit in different registers). Ooh, but lovin the arps at 1:55. Maybe should've been further in the background though?

________
Untitled
Comments: Oh, what a freaking copout. NAME THIS POOR CONTEST ENTRY. It doesn't even have a number! So. Initially, I loved the vocal sample usage in the beginning, but I only wanted to hear it a little bit. Everything else? Ace. That hit at 1:20... HOW!? Oh, wow, and 1:32, 1:40 great stuff. The orch hit gets a little out of control, and then it thins out too much... Darn it! Tell me you bring it back! ...Okay good. Excellent sounds. Excellent. This is so much win. 

________
Way Out - No Way
Comments: Man, just what I needed after listening to all of this fast-paced audio wankery. This is really chill. I like it. Ow, okay, well it does get a little loud and flat there near the middle, but thank you for bringing back the chillax. Pretty simple, but pleasant, nonetheless.

________
We Hate the 1998 Wave
Comments: Ambiguous pad is ambiguous. Ergh, it clips. The pad clips, booo! (Sorry, that was mean. I know it was tricky to loop a lot of these). It really takes a while to pick up, but I enjoy it a lot more starting at about 0:50. I love the FM sound you got out of the 8-bit sample. Unless that was the FM Bass at 0:52 heh. Once again with the beat+vamp+effects formula, though. Taken saparately, each section stands as interesting music, but as a whole, the piece doesn't progress anywhere. It sits and stews. That can be cool, too, though. I'm just comparing it to all the other entries.

________
Welcome to SPC 6
Comments: Same author as above? I like this one better. More interesting percussion. And great, abrupt transition at 1:20. Cool ending, but out of place in this entry. Should've been a separate piece.

________
WHAT THE @#$%!!
Comments: Oh, wow. Horror music! Good  stuff! Only original-pitch Epic Cymbal use so far. Is that the Stravinsky Saw? Did you actually manage to use it well? Ooh, and nice slower section!  OOOH and an 8-bit Baroque bit, too? Ogosh! and a contrabassoon! (nevermind the bad looping) I like where this one goes, even as disjointed as it is.

________
Whippin' Good
Comments: Haha funny, he makes sexy noises. Great bass going on here (better than mine). Now stop bringing back the bondage scene :( It's annoying. Great percussive sounds, I gotta say. That chord at 0:30 could have been like four different things and still sounded good. What happened? THe breakdown at 2:01 was great. Love the falling bassline. This is one entry that I thought overstayed its welcome. If it were half as long, I would say the length was appropriate.

________
WorldJ
Comments: Kudos to you for entering the contest. My suggestions for improving this piece, and for developing compositionally in general, is to not rely on real-time note entry until you learn more about music theory or gain a better ear for music in general. It's clear that you have some idea about how you wanted this to develop, and that will be much easier to bring to fruition through a more micromanaged entry method, like pointing and clicking on a piano roll (It's how I still do it myself). I also want to point out, from an instrumentation standpoint, that the bass drops out entirely at 1:35. The melody is promising, but except for a few places (:48-:52 is one example), there doesn't seem to be any coherent music going on to support it. I don't know what key or at least chord you're trying to express. 

________
Zen You Reach Ze State of Completeness
Comments: I'm gonna be honest. Some of these samples are horribly looped, and the thing drones on and on without so much as deviating once from the same two chords. I can't listen to the whole thing through at a respectable volume because it literally induces pain. Granted, I have very sensitive ears. But still. At least it is coherent and well-enough executed. It just doesn't do enough things to justify an almost 3 minute length.

________