Posted 2010-10-08, evaluated by djpretzel

Even with his nearly-omnipotent beard, I question whether Stevo is now or ever has been a bad enough dude to rescue the president. From ninjas. Fortunately, the answer to that question has no bearing whatsoever on our enjoyment of his music; in this case we've got a mellow GT3 rock jam that lead-foots the pedal after the first minute (cue the Fast & Furious guy: "I need NOS! I need NOS!!") and - complete with patented car acceleration sounds, lest their be any ambiguity that a beast is being unleashed - things get heavy. Bortz writez:

"This MIDI-rip is dedicated to my dead girlfriend's homeless daughter. Plz accept.

....

What, that didn't guarantee an auto-accept?! OA LIED TO ME! Getting down to seriousness, this is a two-part attempt on Moon Over the Castle, the theme song for the Gran Turismo series in Japan. It's no secret that KyleJCrb is an absolute fanatic over this song, as he constantly brings it up everywhere all the time. It's because of him that I learned the song on guitar, and ended up using it for an arrangement in a One Hour Compo round. I refined the entry from that OHC and put an mellower acoustic-electric intro. It still ends up being a rock arrangement of the song, but a different enough style of rock that I feel would allow this arrangement to be valid. The source should be audible besides the original bridge section. Just for fun, I attempted to use a few racing sounds during some transitions, which gives some more intensity to them. The intro's lead guitar was an aesthetic choice to sound sort-of old, rustic, worn but still a bit airy and distant. Other than that, I don't think there's much else to say."

Way to go, man - you just needlessly offended an entire demographic of MIDI rippers with homeless ex-girlfriends' daughters. For shame. Aforementioned car sounds actually DO work pretty well; it can often be a gimmicky move, but in this instance it feels manly and testosteronderful. Gran Machismo 3... Beard-Spec? Sure, why not. I personally would have preferred a return to the tranquility of the intro towards the end, bookending the jammier bits with mellower pontification about the philosphical nature of driving very expensive cars very quickly, but Stevo definitely captures the thrill of the race and keeps the energy level at or above 99 for most of the mix. Nice filter sweep at 3'11", a segue to the lead guitar going all wah up in our business, which always makes baby Shaft smile.

Great mix, sir; I'll have to rectract my previous uncertainty as to your presidential rescuing inadequacy and instead assert that indeed, you appear to possess the requisite badness.