It's really annoying trying to get perfects. For some reason, when I hold the asdf keys (or 1234), the game randomly spits out a mistake or releases the key midway. It's nearly impossible to get a perfect on most of the songs because of this. I have a perfect in "Moon bars and Mentos" yet still only gold in "In Your Eyes".
This game is a whole lot better with infinite lives. It's not really the type of game that should penalize for dying, and the introduction of ghost mode is made moot by the fact that it can not be used to get the badges.
It's much easier to get the 99 problems badge if you expand the width by a block on each side. You may not be able to keep the side open, but a wide base lowers the center of gravity of the tower, making it easier to keep the tower stable.
I was able to get the 99 bricks badge with a height of 496. It would have been lower, but I narrowed the tower in the last 20 bricks, and I had my last piece (a 1x4) sticking up.