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Author Comments

I wish I had more time to work on the lyrics (they're SUPER cheesy and half-improvised) and the mix and re-record the vocals so I could get a better performance in which I sing in tune /all the time/, but isn't the time-limit part of the reason why NGADM is so cool?

This ended up being a pretty big project with about 60 tracks, which is many more than I've ever worked with. It was tricky to get the mix sounding decent, but I still worry that it's a little crowded and certain elements aren't sitting quite as well as I'd like them to.

If anyone has a good recommendation for a free de-esser, that'd be great because mine clearly doesn't work very well.

Good luck to all of the competitors!

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TaintedLogic

2017-07-17 12:31:15

I like the cute, 80s funk vibe at the beginning. The vocals sound super clean and clear in the mix. The space you left in the mix at 1:01 right before the chorus was really well-done. Unpopular opinion: the synth at 1:23 didn’t quite fit the mood of the piece very well. Despite the melody itself, it had an ominous tone that didn’t vibe well with the bouncy and upbeat vibe of the rest of the piece. The lyrics, despite your self-deprecation in the description, are actually pretty good. Down-to-earth and relatable, if a little cliche. My favorite element of this piece is how you had a nice full texture during the breakdown/bridge of the piece (2:02), and then you treated the refrain at 2:17 as a breakdown instrumentation-wise. That seem weird, I know, but it was actually a very refreshing structural detail. I did think you went a little overboard with the reverb on the chords towards the end. When one chord bled into the other, it even sounded slightly eerie, which - again - I don’t think you were going for. Still, overall this is a fantastic piece. You just put most of the pop music on the radio to shame. Keep up the good work, McGorilla42! ;)

9.5/10

McGorilla42 responds:

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my submission, TaintedLogic. I'm so grateful to you and all of the rest of the judges for all the work you're putting in to facilitate this competition. All the positive response and honest, helpful criticism has been wonderful. I'll try to make my next piece better!

midimachine

2017-07-17 02:20:35

SPITFISH is a good free de-esser
this is a good free song
ggwp

McGorilla42 responds:

Thanks for that recommendation, midi! I decided to ask my parents to buy me the Waves Gold Bundle for my birthday while it was on special because I am an impoverished musician who can't afford his own plugins and it includes a de-esser! :)

gg no re

etherealwinds

2017-07-13 09:15:01

This is such a solid track. I can hear this playing on the radio. I'm getting a bit of a Mika vibe from this track which I'm happy about. It's so nice to hear a fresh track that's so well done. The mixing is really nice too. There's something about this track that to me, sounds more like a demo of a great pop song, rather than the finished radio version you would hear, and I can't put my finger on it. I'm trying to work out if the drums are sequenced, or played live?

Seriously though, this is great! I'll keep sharing it around and thanks LunacyEcho for showing this to me! You got yourself a new fan.

McGorilla42 responds:

Gosh, more positive reception for this song. Thank you so much. I think the reason it doesn't sound super polished and isn't radio ready is that my mixing skills aren't too amazing yet and also, my equipment is incredibly basic. There's a picture of my "studio" (read: bedroom) near the bottom of this page: http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1420137/2 So my acoustics are horrid, I don't have any fancy plugins and I'm still learning and trying to get better with each song.

As for the drums - they're definitely sequenced but I tried to create a natural-ish sound with pseudo-overhead "mics" (just a track with all the drums on it, EQ'd with some reverb I think?) :) Glad it sounds vaguely convincing!

Thanks again, etherealwinds! You're yet another great composer on this site so hearing positive words from you is motivating :) Keep well!

LucidShadowDreamer

2017-07-13 08:35:06

Wow, a friend sent this to me too, and I'm loving every second of this! I hope you do well, since I want to hear more from you in the future :)
Great work!

McGorilla42 responds:

Hey! Thank you so much, Lucid. I've listened to your stuff before and it's fantastic, so your words mean a lot :) Whether or not I make it through, I'll keep posting music and I hope you listen and enjoy it!

Spadezer

2017-07-11 22:29:18

I love it. I will download it and sing along with it in my car.

McGorilla42 responds:

Hey, Spadezer. :) Glad you enjoyed it so much. I've disabled downloads but perhaps I should open those up if you want it. Otherwise, shoot me a PM and I'll email it to you :)