Round 3, Pairing 7: "The Extreme (FFVIII)" vs. "Vamo' Alla Flamenco (FFIX)"

[Dave]

I told you that things were about to get tougher! Vote wisely (http://www.squareenixmusic.com/uematsu.php).

[TheShroud13]

It's gotta be "Vamo. . ." for me. I've always liked "The Extreme", but "Vamo. . ." has more personality, and never bores, unlike that intro, and some of the less exciting parts of "The Extreme".

[Dark Cloud]

Vamo for me. As I quote from a previous round where Vamo went against Mystery Chain.

"Vamo'. Alla. Flamenco. Period. No question about it. No doubt about it."

[migglie]

This was an extreme choice. ;) Vamo's all well and good. Indeed, enjoyable but ultimately failing in originality. My vote goes to the rather delightful antiphony of delicate melody and bounciness in the Extreme. It's got that 'villainy' air about it, which is always welcome in a final boss situation. The pacing (if I can say that) is a bit off mind. Still, I'd pick it over Vamo. Neither tracks are absolutely golden however.

[Totz]

Let me ask you this, then! This is how you gotta think:
Vamo x Dancing Mad. What do you vote for?
Extreme x Dancing Mad. What do you vote for?

Then you vote for the piece that would defeat Dancing Mad. It will be a slice of the cake, ragazzo.

[Zhetty]

I love "Vamo' Alla Flamenco"... but "The Extreme" too... Oh lamentations, this is a painful choice.

"The Extreme" for me. It ranges from beautiful (with it's opening guitar/piano, and the harp/piano later), creepy, unsettling, and epic atmosphere, even in its 'boring' intro. Vamo is very nice, but "The Extreme" makes me feel a lot more by the time it's over. So eh.

[Scherzo]

Ahhhhh . . . really tough choice here.

After last round's disorganized "Dancing Mad," "The Extreme" is like a soothing balm. The buildup from the mysterious opening is eerie and incredible, and when the piece gets going, it both pumps me up and makes me want to soar. Oh yeah, and the transition back into the loop? Flawless. This is what a final boss theme should sound like.

"Vamo'alla Flamenco" is also a definitive work. Simple, elegant, and superbly orchestrated, it still gets me moving, even after I've heard it and its various incarnations 100 times.

Both pieces are so good, I really don't want to vote against either of them. If no one objects, I'll wait until this round gets going, and vote for the underdog, so that more firmly decided minds can duke it out.

[Nathan Black]

*Cough* The only part about Extreme I like is the arp synth that appears twice in the song.

Vamo? Vaya!

[Black Mamba]

Vamo' all Flemenco, with its fancy spanish name, has so much flava'. The acoustic guitar makes me wanna take the next plane to Spain and just dance, mind I probably would if I wasn't so damn poor. ;_;

The Extreme has... percussion. Nice knowing you :tpg:

[TheShroud13]

*Cough* The only part about Extreme I like is the arp synth that appears twice in the song.

Vamo? Vaya!

Are you talking about that one part where it plays a nice big chord, and then the synth shreds upward, it hits another big chord, and then shreds downward all Yngwie Malmsteen style then hits one more big chord and they shred upward in harmony? We may be thinking about totally different things, but the moment I just described is my big money moment in "The Extreme".

[Nathan Black]

Actually, I think that's exactly it. Wait, no, the part I'm talking about is the section -just- before that.

In general, Extreme fails to move me. I guess that's because I relate it too much to the FF8 story, which I think fell flat all over the place. I almost wish they'd ended it at Greiver.

[TheShroud13]

I'd have been satisfied if they ended it at Ultima Weapon. It's a shame "The Legendary Beast" wasn't in this competition. (At least I don't think it was)

[insertnamehere]

I voted for valla. Like i have said before extreme in my opinion is the worst ff battle theme it is so boring even when it picks up where's the good melody???

[Jared]

Gotta be 'The Extreme'. I love this piece like few others. Though Vamo is a long time favorite, nothing can match 'The Extreme' to me.

[Resk]

Oooooo, a very tough pairing, but I'm going to have to go with 'The Extreme.'

[Don]

I went with the Extreme. This was an incredibly difficult decision to make however. Both hold a special place in my heart.

[Neo Locke]

Gonna have to go with The Extreme... yes, Vamo is great. Yes I think it deserves to go through to the next room. Unfortunately random pairings are the devil, and only one can go on.

So where's my decision coming from?

Simple... listening to Vamo a million times gets to be quite grating... yet The Extreme, I always find to be a pleasant listen, no matter how many times I've heard it.

[Stryfe]

I'll go to flamenco, thank you!

I love catchiness, and Vamo' Alla Flamenco is...the epitome of catchy. o/` I also love rhythm, and I adore the rhythmic claps, castanets, strings, winds, everything. I even love the simplistic opening.

You'd think the thousands of times I've heard it playing Chocobo Hot & Cold two or three times through would drive me to hate it, but no. It has lasting power. I can get tired of The Extreme pretty easily, and the opening is still too boring. The instrumentation also seems a bit synth-heavy to me, even though it probably isn't. It doesn't even have a melody you can sing. D: (or should sing. :|)


And I love the Vamo' Alla Flamenco piano collections song, too. Then again, it's harder to find songs I don't love in the collections than ones I do. o/`

[Chris]

I agree with Shroud that "Vamo" has more personality and flair overall. I also find "The Extreme" pretty cheesy in an undesirable way in places, so I have no objections to seeing it die in this late stage.

[McFate]

'Tis a horrible pairing. Both tracks are great. I'll vote for The Extreme though, because as I said earlier, it's one of the battle themes I'd like to see win the competition.

[Stryfe]

Are you talking about that one part where it plays a nice big chord, and then the synth shreds upward, it hits another big chord, and then shreds downward all Yngwie Malmsteen style then hits one more big chord and they shred upward in harmony?
Actually, I think that's exactly it. Wait, no, the part I'm talking about is the section -just- before that.

Can I get time markings for these two things? D:

[TheShroud13]

Mine is at 3:04 and 5:16.

Nathan's I'm not entirely sure of, I'll let him post that one up. Maybe 2:59?

[Brittany]

I have heard both themes over and over again and I am still not tired of either... though I like The Extreme better. I'm not sure of why I do either. Maybe because it seems to hypnotize me every time I listen to it. :)

[Queen_Garnet]

My vote goes to Vamo Alla Flamenco! I just love it, it's a cooool theme! Great piece!!

[Nathan Black]

2:46 and 4:57. When the left-panned synth gets all trilly.

[Dave]

The results are in:

Vamo' Alla Flamenco (FFIX) 52.08 % (25)
The Extreme (FFVIII) 47.92 % (23)

[Black Mamba]

Yes! Just by a hair, but its still through!

[Jared]

To quote good ol' Darth: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

My favorite to win is gone. :(

[Kaibigan]

Woah! The Extreme lost?! :(

This is a sad day indeed.

[McFate]

Yikes. :( <sigh> Can't win 'em all...

[Zhetty]

Ouch.

Poor Extreme. You had a good life, you did. Then Vamo' came from behind and pushed you down a cliff. Sad day for me.

[TheShroud13]

You know what they say, "If you can't dance the flamenco, you suck and get voted out."

[Nathan Black]

But can Vamo' best the all-encompassing power of THE MONTH OF MAY AND ROSES?!!?

[Don]

Of course it can. Vamo >>>>>>>>>>Rose of May