[Dollas n Diamonds]

does nostalgia have to be a good feeling? cause i can't think of one

[Prismy]

Sent.

I did really badly this round.

[Yvess]

Originally posted by Dollas n Diamonds

does nostalgia have to be a good feeling? cause i can't think of one

not at all times
for me, nostalgia makes me realize how I wish to have stayed in the past rather than the present

[Penk]

Sorry to do this to you guys, but could I have an extension until tomorrow? I'm going to be out all day today and I won't have any time at all to finish my entry.

[Capital B]

My essay is less than 200 words, but I included some lyrics at the very end that bring the whole thing slightly over 200 words. Is this ok since it's the lyrics? I remember seeing somewhere in where that lyrics don't count. If it is a problem, Pedro you can just erase the lyrics and the whole thing fits in the words count.

[igor]

Originally posted by Capital B

My essay is less than 200 words, but I included some lyrics at the very end that bring the whole thing slightly over 200 words. Is this ok since it's the lyrics? I remember seeing somewhere in where that lyrics don't count. If it is a problem, Pedro you can just erase the lyrics and the whole thing fits in the words count.

Not a problem for me.

[Pedro]

Originally posted by Penk

Sorry to do this to you guys, but could I have an extension until tomorrow? I'm going to be out all day today and I won't have any time at all to finish my entry.

oh, i didn't see this. Next time please let me know via PM (and a lil' earlier) so I can take action before. I just sent another PM with the deadline. I guess the update will only happen tomorrow then

[Bloomers]

Alright. Sent!

The song's a bit of a 180 from the others I've used. I tried as hard as I could to clearly get my point across, but it's surprisingly difficult to communicate your nostalgia. Hope I did well

Looking forward to the entries!

[Penk]

Originally posted by Pedro

oh, i didn't see this. Next time please let me know via PM (and a lil' earlier) so I can take action before. I just sent another PM with the deadline. I guess the update will only happen tomorrow then

Sorry

[Dollas n Diamonds]

Oh my gosh thank the lord Penk you saved me

Iv'e been sick all day and just recently got up again im still hunched over while typing this but anyway

im like half way done so im sure i can finish by tomorrow, im not giving up that easily lemme go grab some ginger ale

[Kavish]

Originally posted by Capital B

My essay is less than 200 words, but I included some lyrics at the very end that bring the whole thing slightly over 200 words. Is this ok since it's the lyrics? I remember seeing somewhere in where that lyrics don't count. If it is a problem, Pedro you can just erase the lyrics and the whole thing fits in the words count.

Normally quotations count towards the world limit. Some contestants wrote 240+ or 270+ in the personal round, which was unacceptable. But if it's a little over 200, then it's not a big issue.

[Dollas n Diamonds]

I lost everything

[VDK]

Tonight or nah?

[Dollas n Diamonds]

Im done but Taylor nation snatched the links off daily motion

FOUND ONE

[Pedro]

Missing theREALslimSHADY entry. If in 10-20 minutes I dont have it, he is eliminated

[SailorMoon]

Pedro did my youtube link send? I think I forgot to add it

[Prismy]

I think I forgot to send a YouTube link for one round but Pedro didn't say anything anyway.

[Pedro]

---

Welcome to the seventh season of ATRL original game
Choose The Album, Then a Song

---

Welcome to the fourth round!

Similarly to last round, we start this one with some bad news. One of you did not deliver his entry on time and because of that is eliminated! Say goodbye to theREALslimSHADY. He was playing with Coldplay's "X&Y". But before him, we had to say goodbye to two contestants. Here's their participation cards and the last comment from the judges:

Originally posted by igor

I don't understand why you were eliminated, your entry this round was great for me. I'm sad to see you leave, I was excited to rediscover Spirit Indestructible, it's a good album, long time I don't listen to it!

Originally posted by Inner Insanity

I love Nelly. :-( I've only heard one or two songs from The Spirit Indestructible so I was hoping I'd get to hear it out with this game. I liked most of what I heard from your entries. You were also kind of in the middle a lot, so I hope this makes you a better player in the future.

Originally posted by Element

I am really sad to see you leaving so early! I was excited to listen to Nelly's album, as the songs you introduced were really good. I think that your essays were a good starting point, and in future seasons, if you add more to them, you will do very well. Thank you for playing!

Originally posted by Kavish

Originally posted by igor

Once again you're leaving early. I think V is such a generic album, but it has some nice songs in it, I wish you would've stayed longer. Better luck next time.

Originally posted by Inner Insanity

You were kinda playing in the middle so far this game. Your entries were never bad, but were never exceptional and I think that's what landed you here. I can't wait to see how you improve from this next time though.

Originally posted by Element

I am surprised that you are out, especially because I actually understood your choice with "Sugar". You will be glad to know that your entries actually made me listen to "V" in full for the first time, and it is actually an awesome album! I love most of the songs, and I would have loved to have seen your interpretations of them in the future. Thank you for playing!

Originally posted by Kavish

I guess we are ready for the entries!

---

T H E R U L E S
For six seasons this game had its ups and downs and to make sure the 'downs' part won't happen again, I had to create a set of rules. So if you're signing up, this means you agree to:

1. DURING THE VOTING PERIOD, YOU'LL HAVE TO CAST YOUR VOTE (OTHERWISE YOU'RE PENALIZED);
2. YOU CAN NOT ASK FANS/FRIENDS TO SAVE YOUR ALBUM;
3. THE JUDGES HAVE TO BE FAIR. IF YOU DETECT BIASNESS OR UNFAIRNESS, LET ME KNOW.

---

T H E J U D G E S



1. igor
2. Inner Insanity
3. Element
4. Kavish

---

R O U N D

---

T H E E N T R I E S

1. VDK - Little Mix - Salute: Little Me

Originally posted by VDK

High school was rough. I remember kids were mean and opiniated and I was taught to always allow the bigger person finish first before speaking, and trained well in the art of bottling things up. So growing up listening to pop music, people just didn’t get it and they called me all sorts of names and did all kinds of things. I remember this one instance when all the boys in my class were walking back after break, and one of them turned to me and said, “We don’t walk with f^gs, go and join the girls”. The rest backed him up.

Last year, I graduated and got into college but all those scars didn’t heal. I realized then the extent to which all those things they did really affected me and I got more and more depressed and introverted. When Salute dropped and I heard this song…it all came back AT ONCE, the lyrics said everything and it was a big part of my wake-up call. August this year, I started therapy in a community center and by October I was out. Listening to the song now, it’s a reminder of who I was and how much I’ve grown.

2. Penk - Kimbra - The Golden Echo: Carolina

Originally posted by Penk

Years ago when I was between the ages of 9 and 12 my family and I would go on road trips to various places such as San Diego, Reno, Las Vegas, etc. for my sisters' volleyball tournaments. When my sister had to leave for college these trips stopped, and I haven't traveled anywhere since. When I listened to Carolina, I was instantly reminded of the long drives and scenery I witnessed back then. Called by Kimbra, "the road trip song I always wanted to write", this sunny Fleetwood Mac-esque ode to traveling encapsulates the exact feelings I experienced. I had never traveled at all in my life before I started going on these road trips, and it was a whole new experience getting to see all these new places. Carolina is more of a metaphor for any place you want to get away to for whatever reason, and this song evokes the nostalgia for those breezy sunny day drives and the late rainy nights we stopped at dinky diners. The sounds of children laughing at the beginning and birds chirping at the end only add to the nostalgiafest, and makes me think fondly of those times.

3. Dollas n Diamonds - Taylor Swift - 1989: You Are In Love

Originally posted by Dollas n Diamonds

No proof, not much
but you felt, enough

Anyone who has ever been in love can appreciate the delicate detail of "You Are In Love". To me, this song invokes vivid images of a rosy naive past now stained with regret and locked away but when the gentle melody breezes through my mind I allow myself the vulnerably once again as I play it back.
Like the pages of a book scattering sporadically in the wind the lyrics take me from the nights he would insist on driving me home even though my house was not even a minute away, to when I ran away from home devastated and he found me, took me home with him and made me breakfast the next day. Through the flurry there is one constant chapter: the summer of 2009.
It was not quite midnight and we were sitting at picnic table drinking coffee talking about his new girlfriend and he asked me if i ever had one and i said no and he was like "don't worry about it, honestly... Its not all they say it is" followed by "you're amazing, anyone would be lucky to be your girlfriend.....or boyfriend" this will echo through my mind forever and even though it's bittersweet now, I'd never want to forget these moments.

4. Yvess - Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin: Fall To Pieces

Originally posted by Yvess

5. holyground - Lorde - Pure Heroine: 400 Lux

Originally posted by holyground

This song describes the feelings about being with a friend/lover and the things they do. It may sound a bit pointless, but it evokes the carefree feeling I get when being with friends.

The blithe feeling is perhaps the happiest feeling I have had (until I find true love maybe) and that is usually when I'm out with my friends. We do everything together and spend so much time with each other in school and when hanging out. When I hear this song, I think about all the little things, like bantering during class, chilling after school, talking trash or doing nothing. These memories piece into my childhood and teenagehood which is a memory that I really feel for.

Similarly, this song details a couple of vignettes of hanging out. These images describe the feeling of friendships perfectly, emanating a liberating feeling, like we have the world to ourselves. To be nostalgic is to want to go back to a certain happy point in the past, and my teenage years is the place and 400 Lux is the soundtrack that takes me back.

6. SailorMoon - Britney Spears - Oops!... I Did It Again: Lucky

Originally posted by SailorMoon

This is a story about a girl named Jillian...
The peak of my relationship with my high school best friend is related to this song. Jillian and I were inseparable and as we both graduated the same year, our lives took very opposite directions. I struggled with college for four or five years due to underlying issues and she went on to complete school and is heading back to pre med. During these times I tried to accomplish certain things that otherwise would've redeemed me as "Lucky", I moved to LA, I had a boyfriend for a year, I worked at a huge company but I always felt unlucky due to her accomplishing more than I. The song Lucky represented us, I was so caught up in competing that I lost sight of my happiness and tell me, what happens when it stops? I just always felt Lucky represented those internal feelings I had, I was fronting I wasn't lonely, that I wasn't unhappy, that everything was great. To this day our relationship is still aflame, and as I've progressed with school and I'm following her path into pre med, she has set and inspired me after all the bullsh!t, but damn do I feel oh so lucky.

7. Luigi - Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope: Got 'Til It's Gone

Originally posted by Luigi

8. Starships - Miley Cyrus - Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus: You And Me Together

Originally posted by Starships

H A N N A H
M O N T A N A 2


"You & Me Together "
_____________________________


"It's you, and me, together."

When I was in elementary school I was legit obsessed with Hannah Montana. I would talk for hours and hours whenever I find a girl that likes the show too. I found my (now former) BFF throug Hannah Montana. She was everything a girl could ask for, she was the Lily to my Miley.

One day, we were watching a movie and that movie had 2 best friends that had a "special song". Me and my best friend were like "how come WE dont have a song?" And after hours of searching, we decided this song would be ours.


"I'm always on your side."


Fast forward to finals week of school, we would get out of school together and I would call her mom to beg her to have my best friend sleep over at my place.

When we are finally home, we would turn on my Wii, put this game in and lose ourselves as we dance to You & Me Together. Then go steal my older sister's ice cream from the freezer. Pull an all-nighter watching High School Musical..then fall asleep on the couch.


"No one, no one, NO ONE, could ever change us."


Funny looking at it back now, we are no longer best friends, and all these sweet memories are just that, memories. It kills me to know I won't be able to relive them. Whenever I listen to this song now, nostalgia strikes me harder than ever. I don't just miss my best friend, I miss that phase of innocence, you know? That phase where you couldn't care less about your financial state, nothing was stressful, where you didn't have to work your ass off, where no one mattered whenever you wanted to do something. So on and so forth.

9. Prismatic - Katy Perry - PRISM: Double Rainbow

Originally posted by Prismatic

Double Rainbow is a song that makes me get filled with nostalgia.

Flashback to when I was in primary school, my parents were always caught up with their jobs and the only person I could approach was my grandmother. Everyday, she will make breakfast for me, walk me to school and buy me candy to make me happy. The memories I have created with her will always be etched in my mind because those were my most jubilant days as a kid.

Even though Double Rainbow is in the context of a lover, I personally dedicate this song to my grandmother. She is my double rainbow, a person who understands me completely and is so dear to me. Now when I listen to this song, I will recall the times I had spent with grandma as a kid, when I was carefree and joyful.

I really miss those days a lot where I had no worries in life. And of course, I miss my dear grandma too.

10. MusicLoverDude - Carly Rae Jepsen - Kiss: Tonight I'm Getting Over You

Originally posted by MusicLoverDude

Tonight I'm Getting Over You takes me back to the atmosphere and memories of my middle school and high school dances. In middle school, these dances were my escape route from all the crap I was going through at the time. In high school, they were the events I looked forward to the most because they were like a mini-version of a nightclub to me. I was always the first guy on the floor at 7 PM, always getting into the middle of dance circles, and always ready to dance with people. I branded myself as "bisexual on the dancefloor" because I didn't care if I was dancing with guys or girls, I just wanted to have fun. I was known as the life of the party and I even managed to get free drinks at some dances. They are days I truly miss and this song brings all those epic memories back to me.

11. Bloomers - Baroness - Yellow & Green: Stretchmarker

Originally posted by Bloomers

My album saw me through a dark period in my life when I was sick and withdrawn. It was a confusing and difficult time overall, but it really wasn't really that bad on a day-to-day basis. Physically, I couldn't do much of anything, so I spent most days lying down and listening to music as I daydreamed or self-reflected. I used my down-time to not only discover and explore music; but also to reflect on myself as a person and grow. Those long vacation days are gone now, never to be experienced again, but I am grateful for them and the person I am because of them.

"Stretchmarker," makes me nostalgic for those days. The song is a mellow pastoral instrumental on the final stretch of the album. It's a breath of fresh air on a tumultuous album, one that takes me back to that calm, mellow state of mind where I want to put my hands behind my head, lie back, forget about my troubles, daydream, and take it easy. Now, I don't always have the time to do all that, but the song takes me back to those peaceful dreamy days.

12. Already Gone - Sia - 1000 Forms of Fear: Fair Game

Originally posted by Already Gone

For this challenge I chose "Fair Game" because I feel it's somehow relating to my past and present too. It's my feeling of wanting to give up on some of my fake friends like when I feel that too much is too much. Sia says that she can't control her man. Well, I was controlled for oh so long by my friends, always making what they wanted to and not having my own freedom. I have wished we all played a "fair game" and just be friends, speak about anything and stuff, but I became like a slave and that's not okay. Even though it's a bit of a counterexample, it reminds me of those moments and I wish people would understand my feelings too and not just their need to control. However, in the end of the song, Sia comes to the conclusion that she wants this man to give her a lesson. I don't want to tell anyone, anything, I just wish my friends would realize this and not just laugh whenever I criticize what they did to me for a bit. I hope they'll care about me more in the future and they'll play a "fair game".

13. Capital B - Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill: Head Over Feet

Originally posted by Capital B

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was 8, maybe 9 at the most, parked on the couch in my childhood home. Flicking through the television channels like usual, I suddenly came across something unfamiliar. Something strange and enchanting. A woman against a simple black background. Singing. Playing a harmonica. I remember stopping, watching - I couldn't label it at the time but I remember feeling instantly so intrigued. It was like I had stumbled upon something I wasn't supposed to see but instantly connected with. Looking back at this moment, I now understand in full clarity that this, my first exposure to a music video, was the start of a lifelong love affair with popular music. The video is question was, of course, Alanis Morisette's "Head Over Feet". This early moment of nostalgia is one that I have always remembered in perfect clarity. It opened my eyes to the world of music and it's ability to connect with me on a deep emotional level. Music is now a vital part of my life. It's interesting revisiting this song, which lyrics speak of falling in love with a person - and interpreting it a slightly different way: the moment I heard this song and fell in love with music.

14. Pedro - Shakira - Shakira.: 23

Originally posted by Pedro

*Indigo + Italic = Vote Accepted

VOTE OFF 3, SAVE 2
REMEMBER: Read the essays, listen to the songs and BE FAIR.

DEADLINE: December, 19th
COUNTDOWN

*Thanks to Element for creating the beautiful layout.

[Element]

I can not believe there are only 14 left already.

[rl231]

Pedro, what's the theme of the round this time? It's showing the Alors on Danse thing