WAG Spin off on most abhorred music.....

[Flyaway]

My vote for worst goes to level 3 flute. There is a note in that version that was not made for human ears.

I physically jumped the first time I heard that version at a meet. I thought the track got stuck. What the?!

 

[wandrewsjr]

I physically jumped the first time I heard that version at a meet. I thought the track got stuck. What the?!

Yep. I say a little prayer at the beginning of every meet weekend, "may every level 3 choose piano."

 

[mommyof1]

I physically jumped the first time I heard that version at a meet. I thought the track got stuck. What the?!

I thought the same thing and was so impressed that the little gymmie kept going, completely unfazed. Then it happened again for the next kid, and the next...

 

[e'smum]

lv 3. hands down. but i got to skip level 5 other than one meet. so there's that.

 

[GymMom4]

No, its more like creepy clown music

It's hilarious to me that so many of you say that. Even my daughter said that the level 5 song was like creepy circus music.

 

[Aero]

Never heard the level 1 or 2 music.

As somebody with experience in composition and production of music, I find the level 3 music almost physically painful. Even if I'm willing to ignore how much I hate the composition of the track, the production is inexcusably awful. The instruments sounds like it's played on a cheap radioshack keyboard, with not even the slightest effort given to the dynamics of the instruments. A moderately-skilled producer should be able to make those instruments sound better, even without spending any money on samples or effects. As is, you can hear the piano sample looping, the violin is barely even recognizable as a violin, and I've heard better-sounding flutes in 90's Nintendo games. I strongly suspect that whoever recorded and produced that track had literally never never touched any sort of audio workstation before.

The old floor music (the music used from 2004 to 2012) is an excellent point of comparison. While it may still have been annoying after hundreds (or thousands) of listens, the production quality was significantly better. Live instruments were used for most of the parts, and even the parts I suspect of being computer-sequenced are done well enough that they sound like real instruments played by a real human. I can honestly say I kind of liked the old Level 6 music (the vaguely-spanish sounding one). It had a dynamic piano part, and a tastefully-subtle classical guitar (both of which I'm pretty sure were recorded by actual human musicians). It had humanity, even a bit of emotion.

But the current level 3 music? Completely dead. Every piano note is at the same volume, and you can blatantly hear the samples looping at some points. Zero attempt at any sort of dynamics or expression in either the violin or the flute. And some chords near the end where I honestly can't even tell if the instrument is supposed to be an accordion or a string quartet; repeated notes at exactly the same volume with not the slightest trace of humanity or dynamics of any sort. I mean, the entire reason string quartets (or accordions, for that matter) can be so compelling is that they can be spectacularly expressive, and hearing either instrument (or synthesized versions thereof) sound so dead and lifeless makes me almost-irrationally angry.

They could have made a thread on the OCRemix forums or KVR audio forums asking for a producer, and I bet somebody could have done a better job with this track in under an hour, and probably wouldn't have charged them more than $100 for the job.

As someone who has been involved with composing music and using DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) for about twelve years now, as well as going to school for it, I totally agree!
Even if the quality of the instruments used was of the highest caliber, the composition itself is just so bad. I really, really hope USAG comes up with something better in the next cycle.
I seriously could literally create something better within an hour or two. For something that is so prominent and repeated for countless times at thousands of meets, they could've done a much better job with the music!!!

 

[mommyof1]

It's hilarious to me that so many of you say that. Even my daughter said that the level 5 song was like creepy circus music.

I have always wondered why USAG purposely chose scary clown music for L5. I think one of our team moms has finally stumbled upon the answer--upon hearing the L5 music for the first time, she remarked that it sounded like a creepy music box. So perhaps USAG intended it to be some sort of delicate, graceful music box thing and it just went terribly wrong.

 

[duyetanh]

I have always wondered why USAG purposely chose scary clown music for L5. I think one of our team moms has finally stumbled upon the answer--upon hearing the L5 music for the first time, she remarked that it sounded like a creepy music box. So perhaps USAG intended it to be some sort of delicate, graceful music box thing and it just went terribly wrong.

I must admit, I am curious about the old level 5 *stripper* music. Anyone have an old link around?

 

[profmom]

Here ya go. I only listened to the first two seconds to avoid PTSD.

 

[duyetanh]

So my tween LOVES the old level 5 music! She says it kicks butt over the creepy clown. Lmao

 

[ladybird]

Here ya go. I only listened to the first two seconds to avoid PTSD.

Oh my goodness, I totally get it now!

 

[sce]

So my tween LOVES the old level 5 music! She says it kicks butt over the creepy clown. Lmao

Well, she is probably too young to get that it sounds like stripper music.

 

[3rd_time_around]

So my tween LOVES the old level 5 music! She says it kicks butt over the creepy clown. Lmao

Except that it is what now is Level 4. The old level 6 music, which is level 5 now, had a little Spanish flair to it.


So if this were used today, Level 5 would be using it.

 

[3rd_time_around]

Then at the 4-year mark of the 8-year cycle, they came out with this gem:


I think I prefer the clown music to this travesty.

 

[profmom]

Yeah, I had forgotten that one, GAgymmom. We used the slightly Spanish-flavored one. It was nice after the stripper music. I liked the other L5 music much better.