Funkypotat0's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Carol of the Trolls]

Oh, balls yo...

I had completely forgotten about the helium choir... I downloaded it and forgot to bust it open. Anywho, great use of the sounds in there.

And methinks Carol of the Troels might be a more fitting title. :P You should also consider submitting it for their worst song competition too while you're at it.

sorohanro responds:

YES !!! you're right.
... .... .... submitting.

[Nervous Tic Remix]

I do say my good sir...

...That this is pretty bangin'.

~Production
This is the finest piece of yours I've heard in terms of actual production quality. All of the parts come together in a fine balance of tonal and sonic qualities. The piano compliments the techno style melody you got going on; the bass is thumping just enough in my head to get a fine sense of the head-bobbingness of the piece. And most importantly, nothing sounds out of place or 'funny', which often is a problem, and often is nearly impossible to achieve.

~Listenability
The piece has a certain feeling about it that just seems... musical? For lack of a better term. The piece speaks to me of something that should have happened, or perhaps is a criticism of a person. I dunno, it's an exceedingly strange feeling, and those are the two impressions I got out of it. I bet this would sound fantastic if the techno melody were replaced by a true instrument, guitar or violin or something to that effect. But in its current state, it it still a highly enjoyable, head rolling piece.

~Genius
What can I say? Another fine example of your cross-style abilities. It is another seamless blend of styles in a fine way. All of the parts work together quite well. As I've said before, balance is the ultimate good in creating music, and you've not fallen short in that regard.

~Creativity
Top notch, despite the fact that it was based on a remix of another song. Oh well, sometimes you have to just redo something in your own style. Indeed, we all do this all the time in our music - we take what we have learned from our listenings and apply it to our works, but sometimes we just take a bit more than usual, such is the case here.

~ Comparison
Another fine example of what you've been making. Not much else needs to be said here.

So overall:
10/10
9/10
8/10
8/10
And another fine piece in your lineup, so that's +10 brownie points, and +5 points for style. :P

Final impressions:
YOU MUST TEACH ME HOW TO CREATE THAT PIANO SOUND. I've been wondering how to make such a fine sound for quite some time, and if I learned how to make it, well that just might make my month.

Do I smell another winner? 9/10

[Spamspamspam]

My head just 'ASPLOUDED

BOOM! Alas, brains all over my walls. Oh well.

Since it is spam after all, I don't think I can do a full review for this, so I'll be a tad more brief. :P

~Production
Yeah, I'm no master here. It sounds alright, the electric guitar sounds a bit out of place and unnatural, but there's only so much you can do about that short of plugging in your own electric guitar.

~Listenability
I can see some crazy 8-but game flashing in front of me with this. Seriously, this would make a kickin' loop for some racing game, or a minor boss fight in a Mario type game.

~Genius
Its genius can be described in one word, SPAMSPAMSPAM.

~Flair
It's like a DnB track with this kind of tempo, except kinda lacking in both D and B, but meh. :D
I don't know if I could fall asleep after listening to this, it shall linger in my mind for quite some time.

~Tilt
Is his crazy side finally coming out? Will he be forced to see a shrink? Is this truly representative of his life in general? Why am I asking questions like a cheesy Soap-Opera cliffhanger? The answers and much more upon listening to more music. :O

8/10 yo, and 5/5 f'sho.

~FP

thatbennyguy responds:

Thanks for your really cool reviews Funky p. You have been a pleasure to listen to. Spamspamspam spamspamspam spamspamspam. I <3 u.

Benjamin

[Snoopin' Doopin']

Certainly quite strange - yet still enjoyable

Despite being experimental, it still has a certain amount of enjoyment that can be derived while listening to it, which is uncommon for such a genre and style.

~Production
Once again, slightly muddled for my taste, but I think now that that is how you create the final product, and that my taste is just a bit different. I can't say much else in this regard since I am by no means a master of mixing and producing the nature of sounds. Perhaps consider having a sound that is more 'forward' by EQing slightly differently, or something, iuno how to do that exactly. =\

~Listenability
Well I definitely wouldn't put it on my music player, but I think it's very tolerable for experimental. The chords are rough, brusque, rude, yet fitting. The bass complements all the parts nicely, and lays down a solid bass line. Personally I think it's a terrible song, BUT I don't include my own personal tastes in my reviews, I merely try to make them as helpful as possible.

~Genius
The genius here lies not in the actual music, but in what you attempted to do - you tried something experimental, outlandish for your usual style possibly, and as a result, you have tried to broaden your horizons. I must give immense props for this, and it can only make you a better music maker as a result. I encourage you to continue to diverge from your comfort zone. Now, for the genius of the song itself, it has a fine balance of the introduction of parts, how the new parts sound, and how they are explored as tonal combinations. This aspect of balance is the most important for music that has similar parts coming in and out.

~Flair
Well, certainly very 'out there' and it definitely diverges from my ordinary scope of listening, so I can't help but to remember it. I'll be sure to ever hit this up again if I feel the need to be edgy or odd in what I listen to. :P

~Tilt
Hmm, I was hoping for more of what I had heard before, but I can't have all desert in my musical meal, I gotta eat the veggies too sometimes... It still remains a fine addition to your line of music though.

Production 7/10
Listenability: I won't score this, it wouldn't be fair to the score.
Genius 9/10
Flair 8/10
Tilt 8/10

So that's 8/10, but my own personal score would be 5/10. However, that's purely personal preference, so I'll just average the two, thus 7/10

Final thoughts: Keep on experimenting, branching, and challenging yourself to make different music.

~FP

thatbennyguy responds:

Yeah. For your information, this is my own verdict for the song: experiment tried, experiment failed, much learned. I also learned a whole lot from this review, in which you were very friendly to this song :) Thank you.

Benjamin

[Fine, Be Like That]

Sold from the first seconds

Review 2...

As a first impression of listening, it's got a very high quality intro, and thus I'm stuck on it.

~Production
The quality of the sound, especially the guitar, is top notch. It's a very crisp little bugger, and it stands out nicely from the other, slightly more cloudy instruments in the background of it. It appears and reappears for a more prominent role at good times, and such is a testament to the quality of its sound. I do wish a few other parts could have a slightly fatter sound, like the piano in the middle on top of the drum beat, but hey, that's just me.

~Listenability
Argh, I'm obscenely jealous. Not only have you created a solid theme, and solid progression of chords, mood and feel, but you have created quite possibly one of the most catchy pieces I've ever heard (seriously). This is approaching that one Fireflies song from Owl City in terms of catchiness. Sigh, if only I could create something so pleasing to the ears and so inspiring.

~Genius
What can I say, you've got me beat here, and on that note, you've beaten quite a few other people I must say... There is a certain quality in the music in its diversity of moods, development of the theme, and the transitions. But, in my opinion, the finest part is the balance of the song. Balance is something that I concentrate the most on in my productions, be it balance between low and high, foregrounds and backgrounds, loud and soft, natural and synthetic, whatever it may be. You've managed to balance many things very well, and then balance more upon it. Imagine, if you will, making a tree of balances that don't fall out of balance (weird imagery there).

~Flair
Once again, another stunning example of the usage of the blending of styles, and it certainly has an air of being some of the most creative stuff that I've heard.

~Tilt
Perhaps I sense a trend of the music you've been making, but I'm not sure, I must listen to more. Methinks that I'll be quite pleased to continue listening after this.

In order of categories
8/10
10/10
10/10
9/10
9/10
Looks like a 9/10 overall to me, plus 5/5.

Final thoughts: oooo, baller status yo. Consider doing more with the section beginning at 3:12 though, that could be even more brilliant for sure.

~FP

thatbennyguy responds:

Thanks for your creative instruction and vivid imagery. You are amazing. Oh, and thanks for baller status. Much appreciated, must mean a lot. Will guard with life.

Benjamin

[Carol of the 'Grounds]

Smooth and Greasy - and Good Too

So I saw your post on the audio forum about your new rating system. I loved it so much, I thought I would give it a try with some of your own works.

~Production
Not a terribly string point of this piece, the strings sound a tad muddled, and the piano has a strange click that precedes every strong beat near the beginning. Not sure if this was intentional or not, but it serves to diminish the quality. And I should note that the loopability of this leaves a little to be desired, but it could just be that it was simply short - short enough for a loop.

~Listenability
Now I have to wonder about this portion too. It's rather difficult to make out the actual Carol of the Bells theme or inspiration in this. But beyond that, it could sound good as the background to some sort of dark Christmas song or track. I consider this to be more of a background than a foreground song. Background being good for playing with a flash game in front of you, or as something to concentrate with, and foreground is something for critical listening and appreicating.

~Genius
I have to give high marks here, especially since you have something I simply cannot do - you mixed styles pretty damn well here. The piano, the strings (cello I believe) are of the classical styling, yet the thumping bass and few embellishments add a techno touch. Certainly something I could never do in a million years, so well done there.

~Flair
Well I'm not entirely sure about how you use this category in your own reviews, but methinks that it's about how memorable something is, and the flair that accompanies it, or, in a few words, how creative it is. Well in this regard, I have to give you props too, for the reasons mentioned above. It has a unique blend, it's a twist on an old classic, and it's definitely a slight and welcome divergence from the norm here on NG, that's for sure.

~Tilt
I assume this is a section for bias that may be present in a review, and I have a fair bit. I like the style since it is somewhat similar to my own (classical), and it's a welcome relief to my ears. If you were to make more music in this style, I would certainly flock to listen to it.

In order
6/10
6/10
8/10
9/10
And for fairness, I probably ought not to score tilt quite yet.

So that's about 8/10 if my math is right; and I'll throw up a 5/5 because I always roll like that. :P

Final: Quite good, I hope you win the pseudo-contest thingy they got goin' on.

I hope I haven't butched your system too much here.

~FP

thatbennyguy responds:

Thx FP you're using my system better than I am haha! Ah well, very constructive criticism. Thanks for being very supportive! I will soon review your songs! I will follow your pointers!

Benjamin

[Paranoia_Agent [Box-Killa]]

That's a fine sound you got thar

Very smooth, very cool sounding, and very fitting for the funk genre. The balance between the highs, lows, foregrounds and backgrounds is perfect.

However, some of the drum parts around 2:10 to 2:30 sound a little out of the overall feel of the song. Plus, I think the guy who commented previously was onto something, the drums are a bit too striking to my ears, perhaps chill them a tad to match the song a bit more.

And the... sound that always comes in after the piano from 2:30 to 3:00 (for lack of a better term) sound a little out of place sometimes. The idea of that 'echo' effect is great, but the execution of notes leaves a little to be desired.

But other than those things, everything else sounds quite fine. Like I said, the balance is very good, you kept the feel going quite well and let it flow in an appropriate fashion.

Oh, and ARGH, you made it in under 4 hours >.<... The things I'd do to be able to write a minute of final product an hour... mumble mumble...

~FP

Box-Killa responds:

lol, when ever I actually come up with ideas for songs i make the song super fast. Thanks for the review :P

[Dj Niamek | Awaken]

Ah, you got me.

That was 5:29 of my life well spent.

There are a few things here and there that one doesn't typically hear in a trance song - makes it very fresh and pleasing to my ears, especially after going through a million plus one stereotypes around here.

I can sense a very fine balance in all of the parts, high to low and everything in between, and the polyphonic depth is something I've not heard in a long while.

Not only that, but the whole feeling is one of something inspiring and head bobbing at the same time. Achieving both in one song is definitely something to be proud of.

You got me in a trifecta, 10/10, 5/5 and a download. Well done, f'sho.

~FP

[The Perspective (reach)]

Props, yo

It's one thing to make music and pour one's heart and soul into it, but it's another thing entirely to suffer through pain while doing it, in your case, strep.

Now it says all work done by you - that just makes it all the more impressive, and indeed, it doesn't sound too far off from what I might hear on the radio. No small feat for a solo venture.

I can't offer much in the way of suggestions other than to say keep doing what you're doing, it sounds absolutely fantastic and of a quality that one rarely hears around these parts.

And I should point this out before some troll makes a comment just to say it: streptococcus is a bacteria, not a virus. :P

~FP

LupeGarcon responds:

Dude, a lot of people have been giving me props about the quality. I guess I do better than i thought. This is what i do, all i do outside of school and work. The writing is easy, the only thing I ever have problems with is the drumming. I'm not a drummer. At all. But I try. Thanks for the compliments, man. -chris-

[Medieval (Orchestrated)]

Ah the memories...

I knew I've heard this damn tune before...

Well done on remixing it, did you get the notes all by ear? Or did you have some sheet music to base it off of?

Clerkius responds:

I used sheet music based off of the original MIDI, and then got to work on re-assembling the notes with real instruments. It's harder than it seems, but it's well worth the effort when the final product is like this! ^_^

Thanks for the feedback!