Tangerine's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Missouri (3)]

I can't believe I never reviewed this! I had thought I reviewed all of your songs. Well anyway, I'm here now, so let's do this! For your first published song, this is actually pretty good; however, it does have its flaws. I feel like this song suffered a little because it felt a little like it was a bunch of different things fighting to be the primary melody. It just overall felt very messy and unorganized. Most things didn't feel like they played into each other and that it was a competition. I might be a little too harsh because I'm grading this to your today's standards and this was made a year and two months ago. To give credit where credit is due, the transition at 1:59 was a great transition. It felt smooth and effortless and overall worked really well. Overall, this is not a bad song in any way. I actually quite enjoy listening to it, but I feel that it can really easily be outshined by your later work and overall be forgotten.

50Steaks responds:

I’m glad to see someone acknowledge this song, because in the end, it was kind of important. It taught me transitions, as you mentioned, and it taught me sidechain. Unfortunately those two things alone do not make up for the fact that this song is otherwise terrible, with basically no structure to speak of and it’s practically two songs in one. I hope you having reviewed this and Arkansas puts the release of Iowa into perspective.

[South Carolina]

This is such a happy and cute song! If you were going for a happy feeling for the state, you certainly conveyed it. I agree that your recent songs did seem like they took a lot of effort and would probably drain your energy quite a bit. I think it's very important to sometimes make smaller songs for the fun of it sometimes. I feel that everything in this song plays into each other really nicely. The melody sounds happy and rewarding, and the percussion is upbeat and gleeful.
41 out of 50 states! You've really been working hard at this! You're honestly really close to your goal and I wonder what you will do after you've reached it. I've been thinking about what you'll do as a grand finale to your 50 states adventure and I thought it would be cool if you do a giant mashup of all 50 states into one song. It might be one of the biggest projects you've worked on for Newgrounds but I think it would be really cool!

Anyway, I love the song. Keep up the great work!

50Steaks responds:

Yeah I’ve thought about making just a giant mashup, but then I thought it would be simply too long to try and combine everything into one song, that sounds like an hour long song; I purposefully stray away from something that long simply due to time. Another option is to just combine all of my personal favorite of my songs, including SoundCloud releases, into one big medley. Keep in mind it also has to fit the final state, whatever that’ll be.

[New Mexico]

I really like this! I love it when you take old songs and remix them with a sort of modern feeling to them. I agree with what Battermilk said, the change from a more acoustic feeling to a more electronic version was a really cool feature of the song. I feel like you executed the feeling of the song very well. I do have to say, there are some points in the song (usually the parts with the main melody) where the harmony gets a little too discordant; however, there is one point ( 2:25) where I think the discordance works really well with the elevation of the music. I really love the simplistic style of ending you decided to go for with this song. I feel like going into silence with echos really works well after this giant climactic section of the song. I do have to say, this song does fit the state (I'm assuming it's like Mexico) much better than the previous version of it. I think remixing a song from a Spanish composer was a really good idea. I really like the song and I think you did a really good job on this.

I'd also like to add that I apologize for not being as active on Newgrounds as I usually am. I've been really busy and haven't had as much time as I would have wanted. For the past month, the only real-time I've had was late at night when I was tired. Things are starting to clear up and I'm going to continue being active on Newgrounds.

50Steaks responds:

Well I just awoke to 15 notifications, all of which were reviews from you. I find this ironic since I feel like I already put too much value on your reviews specifically (they tend to be more fleshed out than anyone else’s, and I think I have taken most of your feedback into consideration). Yeah this time, the dissonant harmony was done intentionally to elevate feelings of tension until the final moment, with the key change right at the end. I’m very happy to hear that this song fits its Mexican roots, and I have begun to vary my outros in my more recent music, rather than just yet another fade out.

[North Dakota]

It's ironic how you made a pretty notable song for an unnotable North American state. I do feel like you conveyed the feeling of being lost in the cold with the beginning. I'm not too sure what the landscape of North Dakota looks like so I just imagined you're lost on this endless road. When I first listened to it, I felt like the drum kick really worked after the initial feeling because it resembled a sort of feeling of hope. Almost like if you were to stumble across a peaceful and friendly village. At 01:23, I feel that the melodic transition into the melody could be a little smoother. It feels slightly forced and discordant. Perhaps, if you only keep one note there instead of two, it might feel a little more natural and bring a much more smooth and clean transition into the next idea. 02:13, this drop is fantastic. It's perfectly timed and set up. This loud section with cymbals smashing (at least I hope their cymbals) and notes singing to this beautiful quiet piano section. I'm not sure if this was the drop you were talking about in the description. I don't see a problem with it and in fact, really like it. I like to imagine that this section represents you realizing that the "village" you thought you found was just an abandoned gas station. All the excitement and hope drain out as the soft piano kicks in. 2:50, I don't really know what to say here. It's just fantastic and gives an uplifting feeling. I really like this section and I feel that you did a really good job here.

50Steaks responds:

Thanks for the long and thorough review— yours were always my favorite lol.
By “drop” I didn’t mean a literal drop of energy in the song, I meant the opposite: a climax of a song, an emotional peak of intensity. It’s used in electronic music of almost any type and I have been using it in 95% of my songs. The part I was saying was hard to listen to over and over is 1:50 because of the lead instrument. I do think it’s the worst part of the song. Of course, the second drop is my favorite part, and I’m sure you’d agree. I think the melody I came up with, combined with the key change, helps bring variety and a sense of closure. Also, at 2:57, I bring in some harmonic notes that, if you’re listening carefully, is a second melodic idea. There’s nothing special to say about the outro, just a standard Steaks outro. Also, I really like your interpretation, but instead of a never ending road, I was imagining being lost in a cold, harsh forest with nothing to see and on the edge of life and death. That mood never really changed in the end, but there was a spark of hope at the first drop, when the character thought they found a building, but it happened to be a group of rocks, at the end dying in peace and hopelessness.

[Wisconsin]

Woah sorry there! I didn't see that you uploaded a song. I'm two songs behind! I really like this remix. I feel that you mixed the structure really well! You made different sections flow into each other very well. For some reason, I really love classical music in a more electro style. Due to this being a remix, I can't really comment on anything to do with the melody (Even though I wouldn't really have anything to say about it). I really like the ending of this song. It's a nice slightly abrupt ending to something very jumpy and exciting. 00:42, I really like this transition. Going from chords to sudden soloistic part really works well. I had never actually heard this piece before this; I actually really like it. Well done on staying true to the song but putting a little of your own style into it. Great remix!

50Steaks responds:

Haha yeah, I sometimes just don’t get notifications when you upload, so I have to periodically check. This one was interesting; I had a feeling nobody would have heard masaniello overture by an obscure composer, so I thought I’d bring the honestly really catchy melodies into the modern ear. The outro is actually my favorite part now, I just love the way the different melodic instruments combine to form a much richer sound. I’ve moved on from pure supersaws, adding in more instruments to prevent too much repetition. Probably the pivotal moment of this song is the 16 measure chords that slowly change keys. This song literally goes from G minor to D major, then D minor, then back to G major for the rest. Each time the melody changes, so does the key. That’s a lot of key changes; I’m proud of the way it all turned out though.

[Not Alone]

It's a very cute song! It has a nice and happy feel to it. I really like the bass drop you did at 00:51; however, I do have a couple of things I want to mention. The chords you use in this piece feels a little messy and change too much. Perhaps if you were to tone the chord changes down a little then it would sound much cleaner. I like how you have separate sections in the music. It really helps to tell a story. I have to admit, the sudden change at 02:26, was a little sudden. I would recommend cleaning it up a little bit and giving it a better transition. Throughout the song, I could hear a couple of places when notes clash. A good rule of thumb is to avoid excessive use of 2nd intervals (What I mean by this is playing an A and a B then a G and an F right after each other). The big takeaway from this comment is to refine your transition and chords. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the song. It has a nice cute melody which I like. Well done!

SoloSurvivor332 responds:

Thanks a lot! Rlly appreciate the feedback :)

[high pitched demon summoning]

This sounds like the type of thing you'd hear in a random cursed scratch game. Like, each time you eat an apple, the screen gradually turns redder and redder. The sounds of the damned slowly start getting more and more violent as the volume increases. The more you play, the more you realise a reflection of yourself in the game. The game then zooms out and the apples which you once ate, now are in the pattern of your face. Tracking your every movement. You hear your phone ring. The screen turns completely black as the colour red darkens. The sounds of the damned screaming in your ear. Your fight or flight reflexes kick in as you pick up your phone. You hear this deep demonic voice telling you to go outside. You take off your headphones but somehow you still hear the screams of the damned. As you stumble towards your front door, your vision begins to blur. You open the door and you can barely make out the image of a man. You hear a loud bang and you feel a sharp pain in your chest. You've just been shot. You collapse to the floor and lay there as your life flashes before your eyes. Soon after, you're blinded by a bright white light. You wake up in a chair surrounded by a bunch of scientists. One of the men tells you that you have been awoken from your simulation because someone wants to speak with you. You are hesitant but you leave the room to meet this person. AS you enter a room, you see a man with no eyes. The screams start to play up again and you become lightheaded. The man with no eyes walks over to you to inform you about your extended car warranty.

You know that relatable moment? Just me? Ok... Nice sound effect though.

RosieUV responds:

how have i only just found this

[figures dentist music]

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Zone18069 responds:

WAAAAAAAAWEWEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Iowa]

This is a very nice song. I really like the use of contrasting low notes throughout the song. It's something that I haven't seen you use much and I feel like you used the low notes great here. They really bring depth to the song and makes the song feel richer as a whole. I really like the piano solo in the middle of the song. I'm very sorry for taking so long to respond to the song. I didn't see it initially until I went on your account and saw it there. I can really feel the Halloween vibes from this. Honestly, I feel like this is your best song yet. The general theme and feel of this song are great. It's very different from your songs in terms of style and range. My favourite of your songs constantly changes because you improve production and general musicality in every song. I really love the use of distorted and mangled notes towards the end of the song. It was a giant surprise and it made this piece sounds a whole lot better. You ended the song off phenomenally. Overall, I really love the song. I look forward to what you make next!

I just have a quick question; what are you going to do once you do every state of the US? Will you find a new naming scheme or will you just start making songs without any correlation with one another?

50Steaks responds:

There were just so many subtleties I wanted to include with this one. I’ve at this point had five chances to remake the melody from early July of 2020, so I wanted this to live up to how I thought the best Missouri would sound like. What I accomplished exceeded my expectations: this atmosphere is really what I wanted from the beginning. At the final climax, 3:57, the distortion goes away and you can hear the song clearly one last time. It was almost like the peak of the Missouri melody. On top of that, what I did with the low notes as you said is I gave them a ton of bass and no high frequencies and did the opposite for most of the other instruments. This produced a gritty, slightly distorted sound that I adored and still left enough room to not sound messy. As for the pitch bending at the end, I felt it was the most appropriate ending for a Halloween song such as this.
What do I plan to do after I’m done? I talked about this in a news post a few months back: essentially I joked about making a song for every country. Honestly there are close to 200 countries currently on this planet, and some of them I know absolutely nothing about so that wouldn’t really work that well. Another option is to just post random songs, but I was kinda planning to just have this account be dedicated to the series as a sort of piece of internet history, and to release more songs would only bloat what’s already there, if that makes any sense. In other words, 50 songs for 50 states; I could just as easily make an alternate account to post future songs on if I were to go the route of posting random songs with no correlation. At this point I haven’t decided which, or a third option to start making songs on cities, which would also be difficult. Another option I see is to make songs on Canadian provinces, but I can’t tell you two differences between Saskatchewan and Alberta. This issue is even a problem right now as I struggle to see if I can make two songs for North and South Dakota when they are practically the same thing.
A long review deserves a long reply lol. TL:DR I am surprised you thought this was my best as always, although I did put a lot of effort into sound design. For the future I don’t know but am considering making a second account.

[The Amiable]

Very soft and relaxing piano. Very nice! I really like the shift in tone at 00:29. It adds a good flavour to the music.

BigBoyGotRefund responds:

Thank you (: