PenguinSam's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Carol of the Bells X-mas]

Crazy!

So, when I first started listening to this and heard the "Greensleeves" at the begining, I was thinking, "Greensleeves and Carol of the Bells? I did something like that." Of course, you made something completely different and a lot more energetic than what I did. :P

And dang, this is just insane! I wasn't expeting to hear electric guitars from you, at least not like this! Dude, this was just crazy!! :D

Thank you for sharing this with us here on newgrounds, it is most excelent!

<PS>

Gravey responds:

Thanks a lot bud. Really glad you enjoyed it. :-)

-Gravey-

[[RAC5] Anansi Stories]

Hehehe!

This just made me smile!! Such happy sounds a cheery melody!

Though I must say, that middle section from about 1:15 to 2:00 did seem a little off to me. Something about the melody there bugged me, and I'm not quite sure what.

But as an overall, it was a great piece! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Cool luck in RAC5!

4/5 8/10

<PS>

jkap1 responds:

Thanks for the review! It was definitely a challenge for me to try to keep things happy and cheery. I'm also not used to trying to write real-ish, non-electronic-sounding music, and I almost always write beat-first instead of melody-first. So I'm really glad you used those words to describe the piece as that's exactly what I was going for!

Not sure what to say about the middle section. It started as an improvised keyboard solo which I then went back and tweaked a bit after recording it. But I wouldn't be surprised if the notes of the lead line don't make 100% sense theory-wise. Hopefully it was just maybe a bit too funky/bluesy, but not too "out" to the point that it would become a distraction. I just liked the way that synth sound fit in over the other sounds and had fun playing & re-playing over top of it. (Personally I like that part the most FWIW).

Thanks again for the review. I've been really impressed by the other entries I've heard so far, yours' especially. And when I hold my 'happy little ditty' up against these brilliant, majestic compositions, it makes me cross my fingers hoping to just make the final round. But good luck to you as well!

[KKS|Chorale]

Soothing

This is really a wonderful piece! The intoduction was incredible, simply said. And the sounds that you used were very ambient and soothing really.

I have one real complaint. It gets really repetitive. I feel like this piece was mostly the same chords repeated over and over again starting at about 1:00 where the orchestral instruments are introduced.

If I were to make improvements onto this piece, I would use different chord progressions to add variety. I would use chords that were in the introduction and new one that weren't introduced yet. Maybe even add a key change or modulation.

Its a very soothing piece, which I love, but it gets boring very quickly. Keep up the amazing work!

4/5 8/10

<PS>

KKSlider60 responds:

Thanks for your review ^^
I didn't want to release this actually, that's why it's got this "bonus" status. I think it is kind of uninspired too, and frankly I got much better ones.
Have a nice day buddy, long time no see =D
KKS

["4'33"]

I don't think you understand

If you really wanted to post 4"33' here, first you should have said that it is your rendition of John Cage's masterpiece. You clearly say "this is not mine" and yet you post it anyway?

Secondly, the beginning ruined the whole thing! There should be NO SOUND AT ALL coming from this track, and yet there was something at the beginning! The reason John Cage wrote this piece was to have the listener take in their own surroundings, and each to his own hear their surroundings differently! That noise, whatever it was, ruined it for me.

You probably should have identified the times that each of the 3 moments ends and starts.

Oh, and on a side note, I wish the newgrounds player didn't say that this was 4:34 long, because your audio is only 4:33. I support you that way.

Also, would applaud you for being daring enough to post this on Newgrounds. It takes some real guts and musicianship to do that. You, however, post this in disgust. Why would any musician do that?

Now, I do love this piece, but you clearly don't understand what this is about and can't seem to appreciate it either. So, I can't give this a high score because of the lack of understanding, which is most evident at the very beginning.

This does not have the same spirit and John Cage put into it, in fact it has quite the opposite. Because of that, because you didn't post this in a way that honors the most innovative modern composer, I give you no credit at all.

<PS>

P.S. Now, if you wanted to hear good things from me, this is what you should have done.

First of all, you should have said that this was your rendition of John Cage's 4'33".
Then, you should have told us the meaning of this piece, why it was composed, and what the listener should experience.
And of course, you should have communicated that you appreciate the piece, or better yet, like it.

Xorberax responds:

Nope. You just take crap and try to find a way to think of it as good.
Also, if I wanted to hear my surroundings, I would do that right now. That's not music, that's listening to your surroundings. Duh!

[A Young Mind]

:')

Tears of joy man. I am so glad that I decided to listen to this song after so long.

This really gives life into curiosity, and potential. There is just this air to the song, so optimistic, yet mysterious in a sense. And the bells, oh the bells! I can't tell you how much I love the bells!

This song has just taken a special place in my heart. The message that you put into it is something I try to live by.

Tears of joy! :')

<PS>

Bosa responds:

Thank you! Although the message and song is outdated, I'm still glad you enjoyed it all!

[lost tomb]

You got something working for you!

I hear a LOT of potential in this song, it just has this really neat atmosphere going on.

Now, I do have a recommendation or two.

In the section that starts at about 1:07, the high frequency that moves up is a great addition. However, it would be better if as soon as it reaches its peak it were to come back down. It would really keep the momentum moving, which this could really use.

Through the section that starts at 2:17, the little "sparkles" that you add (sorry, I couldn't think of what else to call them) and fade out are quite nice as well. However, I think that to keep the momentum moving you should have the "sparkles" fade back in when they can't be heard so that we get this sort of continuous up and down motion.

Also, the song as a whole sounds very empty. You could really use just, well more meat to the texture of the piece. Most of the time you have one or two voices, so add more! A great way may be to emphasize the chord progression by, well, playing the chords! Maybe have some ominous strings or pad or something the chords, that would be nice. I mean, you just need to add more! In the parts where there are no drums, add some cymbals or something. Whatever it is, ADD MORE!!!

You really do have something good in the making, but it could be so much better! Do your best and good luck in the contest!

<PS>

p.s. Yes, I am competing as well. ;)

cowdog2 responds:

hey thanks alot man. I was hearing the other songs in the competition and i realized i was WAAAyYY out of my league at making techno. YEah i should of done alot more to this song but i didn't really have alot of time to work on it. I kinda just threw it together in like 2 hours. I was looking around and i saw that other people worked on their pieces for days, and let me just say...totally badass material around.

Well thanks for the review brah.

[Opaque Shards]

Uniquely Awesome!

Oh man, I have never heard anything like this before. It was a completely new experience as a listener.

You're gonna give me a run for my money in the RAC!!!

<PS>

P.S. I'm your polar opposite compotition.

Kirbyfemur responds:

Wow i'm liking this feedback, it must mean i'm doing something right xD
I hope you do great as well!

P.S. I know about the polar opposite thing, lol I listened to your entry and saw the description. Hopefully i'll get to review your submission pretty soon =3

[Russian Waltz No.2 in Em - RAC]

Oh wow!

Man, you had to choose E minor, that's a soft spot of mine!

I can't truly complain, it has a perfect authentic feel to it, and everything just fits together.

Although, you may want to see if you can let the last chord hold out until it fades instead of just cutting it off, I just find that a bit bothersome.

But other than that small thing, it's absolutely excellent! Good luck in the contest, it's nice to have great competition!

<PS>

Darkmaster603 responds:

Yea, I'm about to fix that. I had to cut it short because I was trying to fit a movement in there and ran out of space, but I forgot to re-lengthen the final chord.

Thanks for the reminder and the review, good luck in the competition!

[The Empire's Gates]

Just PERFECT!!!

I LOVE THIS!!!! I can't complain at all! It explains the scene you described for MSC1 perfectly!

I don't have much to say on this one. Keep up this amazing work my friend! And thank you for participating!

<PS>

SFaPiL2 responds:

Thank you sir... both for the awesome score AND for your awesome thread ^__^.