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Tournament: ATRL's Next Top Member | Fin. Thanks ya'll.
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 34,846
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Literally didn't know Cupid was a mod until yesterday
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 10/17/2011
Posts: 20,487
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There was an announcement and everything.
I think the new rules and open registration overshadowed me.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 34,846
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Oh I saw that pinned thread "ATRL Welcomes New Mod" or something along the lines of that. No tea no shade but I just didn't care enough to enter the thread. I'm glad it wasn't an awful member tho
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Member Since: 9/4/2012
Posts: 23,263
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well...
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 57,339
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bey_Rihstan
Oh I saw that pinned thread "ATRL Welcomes New Mod" or something along the lines of that. No tea no shade but I just didn't care enough to enter the thread. I'm glad it wasn't an awful member tho
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There was another new mod announced?
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 21,143
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I'm either hiking again today or going into the city, I haven't decided yet. If I'm in the city I'll stop in after elimination and say hi to the loser.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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Quote:
Originally posted by Citrus
I'm either hiking again today or going into the city, I haven't decided yet. If I'm in the city I'll stop in after elimination and say hi to the loser.
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You should probably go hiking. The forest is your natural habitat
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Member Since: 9/1/2013
Posts: 5,014
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can this start already plz thanks 
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Member Since: 9/16/2011
Posts: 50,981
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I think I found the next episode.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 1/6/2014
Posts: 8,787
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I'm scared
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 23,128
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Quote:
Originally posted by umich
Sent. My average score was pretty high, probably 7-8. You all did really good. I personally felt connected to a few of your stories. And I'm glad some of you were willing to share some info with us.
Good luck!
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I honestly didn't expect personal stories during this round but they were a nice touch. I wanted to let the music speak for itself as Matty suggested and only Subomie and I went that route so I am curious to see how that turns out 
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Originally posted by Matty
Update: everything will be revealed Sunday evening ish.
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Ugh I might be sleeping as per usual... You guys know I don't stay up late
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Originally posted by JakeKills
NIGHT NINE
Jezang Looz and Matty tell stories about themselves to each other.
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Oop. Looks like the end is near for one of us
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 21,866
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Quote:
Originally posted by YUNGKALIMXEL
can this start already plz thanks |
I like ha
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/15/2007
Posts: 29,795
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Updating with the comments.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 57,339
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 10/17/2011
Posts: 20,487
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Can we just skip to next round.
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 9/2/2011
Posts: 21,728
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Member Since: 8/17/2013
Posts: 21,866
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Member Since: 9/4/2012
Posts: 23,263
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good luck bros  :3
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/15/2007
Posts: 29,795
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ATRL's Next Top Member Cycle 13 | EP3: Judges Comments!
EPISODE 3: MUSIC TASTE
THE COMMENTS
UMICH says...
Quote:
Subomie
I absolutely loved the arrangement in which you ordered the tracks. I felt like each one personally told a story. Literally, to me, I saw “growth” through the journey and progression of all of your songs. I was looking for a small explanation as to why you chose these five tracks, but I must say that they didn’t really need any explanation on your end. For judging purposes, though, It would not have hurt to include one.
Jezang Looz
I hear somewhat of a common theme of love in all of your selections; however, i didn’t see the full connection between all of your songs. I don’t catch the flow. On the other hand, I gather the hopeless romantic piece, especially in your last song (“Heroes (we could be)”). Overall, I think an explanation would have helped you just a bit.
Sam
Loved your theme and the arrangement of your selections. In a mind that’s constantly running and filled with so many thoughts (as I can relate to you in a way), you picked a group of songs that really illustrate the emotions that you’re probably experiencing. And kudos for letting us in a bit on your personal life.
Superpower
WOW. What an excellent EP. The theme is clear. The explanation was just icing on the cake for me, as I feel that your entry didn’t need that. As it relates to the overall happiness and joyous nature of your theme, there wasn’t a time where I felt down or extracted of energy when I listened to each one. Great work!
conatus
You took somewhat of an unorthodox approach to this challenge, and I think it works for you. The short blurb you included was just enough to allow the tracks to speak for themselves. The “I will never marry at all” line from the Patrick Wolf song is an excellent example of the fear theme that you described — it’s such a real-life experience for many people out there.
Buddy!
The way you described your personal happenings and using the following five songs to connect your dots to your theme is amazing. This was clear and to the point, for me. I also know that you’re an overcomer here on ATRL as well (referring to your growth from LA2 to LA3), so I feel that this is coming from a genuine place. Applause to you.
lovesong
Overall, great job in illustrating the highlights of each track from the respective ST albums, but is this a theme that represents you now? I notice you said that it’s something that you want to achieve, but I would have loved to know about your current theme. Going back to the EP, your descriptions were concise and straightforward. I think the music really spoke for itself here.
Era
You had an awesome presentation aesthetically. Your theme is “picture perfect,” but then you included “Brokenhearted” by Karmin. I thought it was a bit contradictory, even after reading your short description. It kinda stands out like a sore thumb to me. Other than that, I get the essence of the theme you’re conveying to us. I also like that you gave this to us as an actual EP with a cover and a back. Very creative!
A Bomb
You had a great collection of songs to construct your EP, and I think it’s awesome that you were able to self reflect on the things that occurred in your life in the past. I didn’t necessarily follow a connection between the songs, but I think the general message was there (along with your explanation which helped a bit).
FunkyDinevo
There’s a part of me that wants to reach through this screen and hug you right now. Before reading the description, I saw the first two songs on your playlist and thought, “uh, how do these two songs even relate to one another?” but as I read on, it clicked. Your words were clear links between the songs you laid out on your EP, and for this, you’ve done a wonderful job in selling me your theme.
JakeKills
From “Closer" to "Safe & Sound,” it’s clear to me that you bridged your theme explanations, exactly, from beginning to end. In a way, I can relate to some of these songs (“Closer” and “Latch” specifically) because I, too, desire a feeling for being near someone or something. I do commend you for sharing your personal thoughts; it has helped you craft a good entry and a group of enjoyable songs.
T-Swizz
Well. I’m a bit speechless. The picture was a bit off-putting at first, but as I dove deeper into your explanation, it all made sense. The flow between your songs and the supporting explanations were brilliant. I think closing with Fight Song was a good choice to end your theme. I couldn’t think of a better way (maybe Roar. Overall, I am pleased with the direction in which you took this.
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CUPID says...
Quote:
Subomie
Excellent theme! Brilliant presentation! The first 3 songs fit so well, I loved them. It started to trail off with the Sugababes though, unfortunately. I would have liked you to utilize some text, but you didn't really need it essentially as it was straight forward.
Jezang Looz
The theme itself is rather generic, however I like the fact you didn't go for the cheesy love song route. I love the fact you took a risk with a music genre which isn't typically associated with love. This kind of music is right up my alley to be honest. It was simple but effective.
Sam
That song from Swan Lake scares me tbh. I don't know why. Anyway, loved the presentation, but i'm a little confused as to the theme. If I'm guessing right, this EP is like, a representation of your journey in life right now? It just seems a little all over the place to me, from Swan Lake, to Firestone, to Samantha Jade, to Katy Perry to something else. Like, it doesn't make sense to me, what's going on.
Superpower
You know what, when I saw the entry I thought lord this going to be cheesey. But as soon as I clicked the link and the first few chords of Celebration played, it just instantly made me happy. (Why didn't you use Kylie's version though hihi). Literally every song was just so joyous, I didn't want to like it because I have no heart, but it made me so happy.
conatus
Loved the presentation! But i'm confused that your EP is about fear, but the opening song was about letting go.. So am I supposed to be letting go, or am I supposed to be fearful?! If I'm understanding this EP, it's about moving past fear? I liked probably 2 of the songs and thought they fit well. The rest i'm not sure. Also me and my friend watched that Everything set live and it was dreadful.
Buddy!
The presentation is simple and to the point, gotcha. I can definitely relate to what you wrote, let me not rant about this right now though. I actually like all the songs you chose, I think they all somehow relate to your theme. Although the theme is very broad and has a lot of songs that can call into it. I wish you didn't use Gaga twice though, would have liked to see more variety. The last bad quality song should have been cut.
lovesong
Okay I love the presentation, kinda. I get the theme, kinda. So it's basically about being honest and free and the gimmick (hihi) is using songs from self-titled albums! Gotcha! I liked it, some of the songs fit well.
Era
Damn these graphics, every round they get better. It just all looks beautiful. Every single song is a 10/10 music wise from me, literally love them all. The theme though, I kinda get it, so it's basically your strive for perfection and greatness in life. At first I thought, what a shallow theme to have. But the more I thought about it, the more I loved it. It's not essentially about being perfect, it's about trying to find your own idea of "perfect". The song choices really clicked, from start to finish it tells a story. The first two are similar though, could have had another one. But it's basically "being in love" to "lets have sex" to "oh **** im broken hearted" to "we're never getting back together". Cute.
A Bomb
Love the presentation, so quiche. As a former party boy, I really relate to your theme. I loved the honesty of your writing. The music itself is not my cup of tea (which is irrelevant anyway i'm judging the entry) but honestly, all the songs clicked really well with the theme. I was pleasantly impressed! The whole thing is cohesive, it's wonderful. One of the most genuine entries this round tbh.
FunkyDinevo
Why did you have to do this to me? Like legit wanna cry right now after reading that. Totes relates. Totes emosh. The first song literally HAD me. But then Lil Kim totally changed the tempo and it threw me off. It picked back up with cancelled tour chanteuse Michelle though. It's just that one song which spoils the entry for me. Everything else was on fleek.
JakeKills
I'm old, the font is hurting me. Help i've fallen. But after I sized the font up and read it, I really related. This is another great personal and genuine theme. I loved all the songs and felt a connection to them all minus the Lorde one. It's not as cohesive as some of the others (sound wise) but I can see how they all relate to the theme.
T-Swizz
After reading the theme the artwork made sense to me, it confused me for a hot minute. This is a really unique and surprising theme. It's definitely one of the more out there entries. The first 3 songs fit extremely well. But then the last two threw me off, especially Fight Song. It just seems so random.
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MATTY says...
Quote:
Subomie
Honestly as I kept listening to each track and feeling this growth in the message, I was waiting for this great climax at the end; but it didn’t come. I understand why you put it, but it kind of threw me off. You start off doing what you want, keep doing it even though you know it’s wrong, question who you are in the process, continue trying to figure out who you on your own, but then end all of these fears and wishing you knew the answers. It’s haunting, beautiful, confusing, frustrating, for me as the listener. I can only image how track 6 would be like in an LP with your growth. Hopefully you find those answers.
Jezang
I’m kind of torn really. I get the hopeless romantic theme and how it’s all about love and the different aspects of love, but I feel like your ‘let the music soothe us’ played a bigger part in this than hopeless romantic. I also wish you would have used the paragraph wisely and kind of told us how you are a hopeless romantic and how it suits you more. I give you points for the cohesive sound and the choice of using remixes on some songs to make it a little different (hence the music soothe us playing a bigger part).
Sam
As I was listening to your EP, I was getting frustrated with the title of the EP and theme. I believed and saw what you were getting with from your paragraph, but I was hearing an EP about the struggle between doing what you want and the fear keeping you back. That battle between the two seemed to be more dominant, especially with the paragraph, then a theme about going on a ride through life. At the lost song I finally got the moment and everything made since why you made the theme you did, but I still think it all would have been perfect if it was made purely about the internal struggle, but the end being how you’ll overcome and see us all on the road.
Superpower
I can’t tell you how much this put me in a good mood. I’m late doing comments for these, have been struggling with some things, and this just made me feel so good! This is EP is very simple, not deep, not very personal, but yet it doesn’t have to be to be effective. Simple explanation provided by some great tunes, makes a solid EP from start to finish. I’m not one to be nitpicky about the choice of songs because this is such a personal and subjective challenge, and I feel out of my mind for even saying this, but since this all about having fun and there are many tracks out there for that reason; the Backstreet Boys felt out of place! You have this old school disco-R&B-pop-hip hop kind of sound, but then you have this upbeat sort of newer Backstreet Boys pure pop track thrown in there. Keep in mind, my tongue is bleeding since I’m biting it hard writing this, but I felt like it would have been more cohesive as an EP had you replaced the Backstreet Boys or added some newer pop tracks in there. It’d balance it out, or even do the order in the time it was released to hear that sound progression.
Conatus
Color me confused. Is the theme about being contained or is it about fear? I was getting so many themes throughout this EP that I didn’t know the focus. Each song I listened to, I kept going back to your paragraph and just kept getting more confused. Like the first two tracks, if the theme was about fear, did not show the fear of being tied down to a job nor fear of our own impulses. Those two songs were showing joy of the loss of a job and joy of feeling content with another person. I can see the fear in the other three, the last one a little less, more like sadness frustration on that one. I just didn’t know and understand the overall theme with this one.
Buddy
Ugh, my heart breaks for you for all the heartbreak and self-hatred. I’m so glad you have overcome through all the struggles and came out stronger. If I may be honest though, after reading your paragraph I was ready to hear all these songs about overcoming from these personal events; but all I got were songs about the different stages in your life that you were feeling. I never really got a sense of having overcome through it all until Stronger hit, on track 4/5. Part of me things with your paragraph, and a little moving of the tracklist, this best displays the theme of HEARTBREAK or STAGES. General life stages of heartbreak, not only in your life, but also everyone else’s. Everyone loves so hard to only get knocked out, feeling that it was your problem, and just feeling self-degraded. You will always love them despite all this, but eventually just becoming stronger through every little piece of hell you went through.
Lovesong
I agree a self-titled album is done will when it truly represents them and who they are. While I like the idea around a theme of being self-titled and songs that are your favorite from the albums that makes you strive to be more yourself, it leaves me wanting so much more yet feeling kind of blah. You gave other words other than self titled, which I think represent what you got out of all the five songs? I just wanted more. I know I gave a paragraph limit and wanted the music to speak for itself, but you can say a lot of things with a little paragraph and the songs speaking more for you.
Era
Damn, your graphic design aesthetic is on point! I’m jealous. I quite liked your entry. It shows a fairly picture perfect kind of scene of being love and wanting to be love and the more appropriate way of getting rid of a toxic relationship. It was good an all, but I kind of wanted more. I feel like I wanted to get you more.
A Bomb
To honest, after the last challenge, I was expecting a lot more. But wait a minute though before you go all off on me for that statement; I was expecting more because you were talking the talk with the graphic/abrasive/feisty brand dilemma and what not. I was expecting a totally different EP. However, I’m glad you showed me wrong, because this was really good. You got this sense of the dark side of the Vegas night life and the lessons you would learn from all the stuff you had learned. It’s dark, different, still has that appropriate “feisty” attitude that was missed from the first challenge.
Funky
Pulling on my damn heart strings with your paragraph. I feel I can relate with how you feel; feeling like you are never good enough body wise or person wise for someone else. It becomes a big self-destructive cycle when trying to self-medicate. To an extent when I first started hearing your EP after the paragraph, I was off and on. I felt like some songs fit and then asked why others were on there. However, I then re-read the paragraph and it was all examples from the paragraph. Wanting to find love for you, just having sex to feel what you wanted, not liking you were like that and yourself, the compliments your mother had given you, and the hope for the future. It was really beautiful.
JakeKills
Beautiful. All the songs really fit the theme and blended well together. My only thing about your entry is your “paragraph”. To be honest you had a real good theme and great songs that perfectly fit the EP, but you over sold it with the “paragraph”. You could have easily taken out many sentences, still kept the impact, the personal aspects, and make everything better. There is this thing called an elevator pitch, which is basically a short explanation for whatever you are trying to sell and it needs to be short, sweet, and effective enough to fit that time period in between a floor you are travelling on an elevator. I say if you kept why the theme for the EP. A sentence or two explaining the overall for the song and then a sentence or two about the Taylor thing that reigns everything together; that is all you need for it.
T-Swizz
Are you the rare one of ATRL who doesn’t have daddy issues; but mommy issues? I see where you were going with this EP and making it a theme with the paragraph you wrote. However, besides the basis of the first song, nothing else dealt with issues with their mothers.
“Time is too short to be wasting away living for others & that's essentially what this EP is about at the end of the day.” You should have begun with that, cut all the mom theme business story, and just used the songs given to provide an EP about a story of just being yourself. Don’t be with someone because you have to (Dollhouse), it’ll hurt when you finally break things off from what your original dream of a perfect relationship was (Boulevard of Broken Dreams), when you try to find love again, don’t lose yourself (Losing my Religion), just keep fighting and be who you want to be (Follow Your Arrow & Fight Song). This could fit a title over Overcome (hi Buddy) a bad relationship.
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Citrus ranked/scored, but didn't comment.
Supa didn't have the time to rank/score/comment this challenge; will be back next time.
Stay tuned later tonight (hopefully 9 PM US Central Time) to see who is eliminated!
Fierce and Love
- Matty
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 9/2/2011
Posts: 21,728
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Interesting. My comments were a bit more mixed this time...
Thanks judges!
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