This page continues the titles produced in my second creative burst of the year, which carried me through to Spindizzy2, below. Then I hit a very lengthy dry patch - lack of time more than anything else. It was over three months before I gave the year a rousing finish. Between November 10th and December 7th, no less than 9 pieces of considerable variety were completed. That's almost 40% of the year's production - in one month. You would have to say that the 3-month break had more than recharged my batteries! By now, a pattern had started to develop - About 1/3 of my works were headed for the favorites list (which was growing increasingly congested); about 1/3 were favorites of other people; and about 1/3 were almost but not quite up to the quality of the other two categories. It wasn't often that both groups agreed on the quality of a given tune, but when they did, the tune was Immensely popular. Over the course of 2001, almost 6250 people had visited the site. In 2002, despite the long periods of low productivity, that increased to more than 6660. (For the record, if the webhost had stayed up, 2003 was going to be even bigger; extrapolating from the figures for the first 8 months, the total would have been well over 8100 visitors through the course of the current year - and about 11500 in 2004. Not only were the number of visitors growing, the rate of increase was rising! It was that encouragement that led to the spurt of production that ended 2002, and began 2003.... that and the encouragement of making some really good-sounding music! # Name (Length) Size Download Links Comments       143 Soulwind (5:58) 60K This was inspired by a Saraband by 1980s supergroup Sky (no relation to the band currently using that name). It's a slow piece, with a swirling melody. This piece works as well on the SB-Live as it did the Awe-32. 144 Spindizzy2 (Cat's Virtual Remix) (3:09) 54K Cat Jefferson is one of the regulars on the Free-The-Midi range of Yahoo Groups. I was unhappy with the original Spindizzy (previous page) and couldn't pinpoint what was wrong. She suggested that it sounded like the drums were on 1-3 of a 4/4 beat. The suggestion was incorrect, but it prompted a remix of on the drum pattern and a few other tweaks. Spindizzy2 is the result. That said, the first version has it's fans too.... 145 Chances & Choices (7:29) 92K This about serendipity and how a deliberate choice and an instinctive choice can combine to produce an unexpected result. This sounds pretty good on the SB-Live as well. 146 Striving For Redemption (5:25) 48K This was named when the tune was half-finished, unlike most of my works (where that's the last thing I do), and the name had a marked influance on the development of the chorus. It had been a while since I had done one of "cinematic" character studies, and this seemed a good piece to use in that way. The story is that of a man with a guilty conscience, who begins working to redeem himself in his own eyes; but nothing ever seems enough, and the escelating attempts to make up for an indiscretion long-forgotten by everyone else become more harmful than the original mistake. This was inspired by a combination of events in three different TV shows - an episode of Law & Order, an episode of Law & Order - Criminal Intent, and an episode of an Australian TV Police Drama, "White Collar Blue". The drums need a major reworking in this piece to get them right for the SB-Live, but otherwise this sounds fairly good. 147 Chorale (6:04) 113K The intro sequence of this tune sounds incredibly naff, but it just doesn't work without it. This was originally going to be called 102 angels, a sequel to 101 Angels (2001 page 4) but the evolution of the tune led it down a different path. This needs a slight remix to sound it's best with the SB-Live but it's fairly good even as it stands. 148 Oaks & Acorns (5:57) 63K "From small Acorns, Mighty Oaks Grow". I wanted a simple melody (the Acorn) that I could interpolate into a melody of more substantial proportions over a number of "passes" or iterations - a little bigger and more complex each time. As it happened, I came out with 2. This sounds great on the SB-Live, only a small remix needed. 149 Song Of The Executioner (9:41) 89K I always thought that the job of being the Headsman would have been one of the more difficult and emotionally traumatic positions one could have. This piece attempts to capture the essence of a man who could never fully reveal himself; the loneliness and self-sacrifice needed to so completely surpress himself to the needs of a higher authority. It doesn't sound quite as sweet on the SB-Live, though moments have a greater poignancy. A remix could well be better than the original. 150 Razors (1:46) 26K This is the heaviest of metal - at least on the Awe-32 - and as sharpo as the implement for which it is named. On the SB-Live it's pretty pathetic, the guitars sound too much like bagpipes. I don't know if this can be rescued, either. 151 A Call To Arms (The Theme Of Heroes) (1:59) 26K I've given a page elsewhere on this site to the soundtrack for the Fantasy adventure campaign I run. This is a title theme for a superhero campaign that is another hobby of mine (currently inactive while I work on finalising the sixth generation of the rules). It sound peculiar on the SB-Live and will need a major remix to sound reasonable on the new soundcard. 152 If You Like This Song, Tell Your Friends (4:38) 78K A little self-promotion never hurts. This was intended to be a light, melodic piece that would offend no-one and sound reasonable on just about everything. Listening to it now, on the SB-Live, it almost succeeds - there's a gunshot effect that shouldn't be there. 153 Fluid Dynamics (13:22) 144K An easy-listening epic - because someone (who should have known better) commented that it couldn't be done. The title derives from the fact that the dynamics of the piece rise and fall gently and regularly, rather like waves. This sounds better on the Awe-32 simply because of differences in the Organ patches; and the use at times of tubular bells, which are just apalling on the SB-Live. If I can get those problems fixed, something I'm not all that confident about, this song will sound wonderful. Even without that, this tune is extremely easy on the ear, even beautiful. Relax and let it carry you off. A real high water mark on which to end the year.