JosephMcGregor's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The path to Miniblind]

Once again-

-very nice drums, very random "melodies", although I would say this is certainly better than Squint. The guitar part is actually not bad, but there is no flow, no logic, no sense of melody really. What are you trying to say with your music? What story do you have to tell? Why should we listen to you, what makes you so special? I mean I'm not literally asking you those questions, just kind of something to keep in mind when you write songs in the future. Also, if you do not learn piano, at least try to recreate songs you know well on fruity loops; that way it may give you a better understanding of musical theory which you can apply to your own music. Or just ignore everything I say and call me a flaming asshole! It's your call.

Zerok responds:

Yeah, I was planning on trying to cover some songs when I got some time.

Don't be hard on yourself: These kind of reviews are exactly what aspiring artists like myself are looking for. It's nice to get compliments, amusing to get flames, but actual advice is where it's at.

[Squint]

Interesting...

Your sense of rythym really comes through in this peice, the drums sound great, unfortunately that's about the only positive thing I can say. I would suggest if you seriously wish to pursue music or at least just fooling around with fruity loops or whatever program, you should learn piano. It will help you to understand melody/harmony relationship, instead of just plunking in whatever notes don't sound horrible. Improvement is much needed but certainly not impossible; you're already halfway there. Hope this isn't discouraging, I look forward to seeing new music from you soon

Zerok responds:

No, not discouraging at all. Like I said in the other response: The constructive criticism is appreciated.

I don't know if I'll go as far as actually learning how to play the piano well, but I've been thinking of investigating sheet music and whatnot. I've always been a procussionist, so melody is definitely something I need work on.

Thanks. =)

[Static Pulse]

Very Interesting

Great synths, especially that "wiping" sound, I love that. The more I listen, the less sense the harmony parts make, but that is cool cuz then they just become more like percussion parts. Great groove, good work

Marshmallowcrew responds:

Thanks! I'm pretty new to this, but I really like DnB. I'm a little worried that they need to sound darker, but oh well. Thanks for your feedback.

[Dial-Up Sucks]

Excellent!

Now THIS is a good piece. Great synths, they all fit together perfectly, nothing too weird or out of place, at least from the rest of all the weird out of place synths, so it works together. I LOVE the cheesy trombone sound, in any other case I would have wanted to kill someone for using that crappy fake trombone sound, but its just so... Necassary in this song! I don't even know why. The only thing I would say is i would have liked maybe a stronger beat when the drums first came in, but it is still awesome, and excellent ending! Great work man

JonH2O responds:

Your not the first person to say that about that trombone thing..And noone can really put their finger on why. Maybe because it's not the direct form of attention..it's jsut kind of a filler for the dial up noises and stuff. same tones? That's kinda how I see it. And yeah, I agree about the intro to the drums. Does seem weak now that it's pointed out..thanks for pointing it out dude...I'll take that into consideration. :)
Thanks for the review dude, it's so fucking sweet you like it.

[Little Black Cat]

Nice

Once again in your music I find a sense of relaxation, and simplicity. In many authors this spells disaster, but you seem to pull it off succesfully. This song is very simple, but not so simple as to be too empty or lacking, creates a very nice groove. Well done

Gillenium responds:

I prefer to focus on the hooks instead of just layering and layering and layering and boosting the tempo. Glad you enjoy!

[(Gillenium) Ants in Blue Gel]

Very Nice

Nice relaxing, pleasing synths. It was perfect once the drums came in, along with the addition of the droning minor 6th in the background spliced with the occasional held major 6th certainly made for some interesting crunchy harmonies. Good work

Gillenium responds:

Gracious. I just wanted to make a good, haunting, relaxing song. Glad you liked it!

[Silver Rain]

Nice work

Very good use of church organ sounds, effective drum beat, interesting chord changes. My only real criticism is against the guitar sound, it seems a little out of place, but that's just my opinion. Anyways, great track, hope to hear more from you soon.

[Funky Monkey and a Drum]

Yeah...

Certainly a little repetitive, which is not always a bad thing, except in a case in which the part being repeated becomes steadily more annoying every time, especially in its shift from major to minor b9, very... interesting, at best. Although I doubt you did that on purpose. Anyways, maybe try different synth sounds, as those xylophones are making me want to kill people, but good effort.

[Still Under the influence]

Nice,

Hmm, very interesting, good use of sound effects, but the actual "beat" is a little lacking I think, strong bass would help, as well as "logical" harmony/melody, which both appear to be absent. Anyways, this is still a nice track, good work, catchy drum beat

LJCoffee responds:

Thanks for your feedback. I'm not certain what you mean by a "logical" harmony/melody though - standard chord progressions can feel a little formulaic don't you think? - and they've all been done before - I'm experimenting a bit with more dissonant arrangements - some of it works out well, some of it doesn't...

a five for originality though - that hurt a little... I didn't realize that I was stumbling where so many others have tread before...

Oh well again... some will like it some won't I guess...

Thanks again. I do appreciate the feedback.

[Sad Faic]

Not bad

Hmm, this is a nice sad piece, nice use of rain effect in the background, my onlt real criticism is that it is very simple, which can be good, although it does tend to get boring after a while. A good job anyways

toxicbomb responds:

Thanks. Your citicism is appreciated :)