Aurora Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 Hey, Hitmakers! Time is flowing fast on the countdown clock for Round 3's Way of Water challenge. Keep those last minute songs pouring in. 🌊 Remember, if you've only just discovered Golden Hit or didn't wish to participate in prior rounds, fear not: sign-ups are still open—just submit! With that, it's time to present the top three of last round's Midjourney challenge with their bonus prizes: the Hit Tokens! I've reviewed the requests from our trio of top writers for the week, and done my best to grant them for embossment. Celebrating a third place triumph with “perfect blue” and its almost perfect 9.017 score: @worldwide angel Here is your Bronze Hit Token embossed with your ATRL username and Aya Nakamura. Congratulations! This is your first Hit Token of S3, and third Hit Token of Golden Hit overall! Celebrating a second place success with “Kintsukuroi” and its almost golden 9.25 score: @TruGemini Here is your Silver Hit Token embossed with your ATRL username and Miss Lawrence. Congratulations! This is your second Hit Token of S3, and fourth Hit Token of Golden Hit overall! Celebrating a first place finish with “Where I Wish I Was Among the Owls” and its hoot of a 9.617 score: @JoeAg Here is your Golden Hit Token embossed with your requested name and a Great Horned Owl. Congratulations! This is your second Hit Token of S3, and fifth Hit Token of Golden Hit overall! This is also your third consecutive Golden Hit Token (GH2-6, GH3-1, GH3-2)! One more and you will surpass your tie with @Jackson for most consecutive Golden Hit Tokens! I hope you all enjoy your Hit Tokens as much as I did making them! Feel free to use them as a forum avatar if you wish, or just let them be a reminder of your time in Golden Hit—ultimately the choice is yours, and if for whatever reason you are dissatisfied with your token or simply wish to change the embossed graphic/text please contact me and I can arrange a remake. Remember, the top three writers of each round will earn their own Hit Token just like the three above, so make sure to submit each week for the best chance to claim one of these bonus prizes.
Euterpe Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 Finishing just before the deadline has been my thing this season, I fear.
fountain Posted February 10, 2023 Author Posted February 10, 2023 1 hour ago, Euterpe said: Finishing just before the deadline has been my thing this season, I fear. Oh trust, it’s not only yourself
Euterpe Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 5 minutes ago, fountain said: Oh trust, it’s not only yourself Well, it's finished and submitted. Now, everyone watch my inspiration:
ATRL Moderator Element Posted February 10, 2023 ATRL Moderator Posted February 10, 2023 I literally don't even know where this song came from within my mind... but it's TRULY something I've never done before
Kylie Jenner Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 Completely forgot about this but I’ll try to write something today
Aurora Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 13 hours ago, JoeAg said: this one's dark lol, submitted Oop I'm scared, I haven't exactly been known to favour the darker songs, specifically this season. 11 hours ago, Element said: I literally don't even know where this song came from within my mind... but it's TRULY something I've never done before Mind of a mastermind... we're ready to dive into these reviews! 6 hours ago, Kylie Jenner said: Completely forgot about this but I’ll try to write something today Starting my judging now but if it's in before the results are posted we'll still read, review, and score it!
sugarshine Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 (edited) ooh I got less than 10 hours, I'll see if I can whip something up - maybe test the waters a bit with my songwriting Edited February 10, 2023 by sugarshine
Aurora Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 6 minutes ago, sugarshine said: ooh I got less than 10 hours, I'll see if I can whip something up - maybe test the waters a bit with my songwriting Welcome to ATRL! It would be lovely to see what you whip up in such a short timeframe. No pressure though, the next round will begin in ~24 hours time with a 5 day deadline too, so perhaps you may like to keep an eye out for that one also.
fountain Posted February 10, 2023 Author Posted February 10, 2023 7 minutes ago, sugarshine said: ooh I got less than 10 hours, I'll see if I can whip something up - maybe test the waters a bit with my songwriting Oh wow oh wow a new member, welcome! If you're able to whip something up we'd love to see it If not there's always the next round anyway, but happy to see you here regardless!
sugarshine Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 6 minutes ago, Aurora said: Welcome to ATRL! It would be lovely to see what you whip up in such a short timeframe. No pressure though, the next round will begin in ~24 hours time with a 5 day deadline too, so perhaps you may like to keep an eye out for that one also. 2 minutes ago, fountain said: Oh wow oh wow a new member, welcome! If you're able to whip something up we'd love to see it If not there's always the next round anyway, but happy to see you here regardless! thank you! I feel like the water theme is very approachable and the short timeframe would make for an extra spicy challenge , and the next round is tomorrow... I might be able to release a 2-song album before Rihanna's Halftime Show on Sunday LOL.
Kylie Jenner Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 Well I forgot again fff I’ll just give up with this one considering my last entry was water related anyways
sugarshine Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 I’m just like you, except I’m not I’m a dolphin with a heart deeper than the ocean I wave at you, you strange alien With four limbs, got a nose pointier than my fin I feel like I can hear God MARINA or Britney singing this or actually, maybe the real dolphin girlies Mariah and Ariana
fountain Posted February 10, 2023 Author Posted February 10, 2023 55 minutes ago, sugarshine said: I’m just like you, except I’m not I’m a dolphin with a heart deeper than the ocean I wave at you, you strange alien With four limbs, got a nose pointier than my fin I feel like I can hear God MARINA or Britney singing this or actually, maybe the real dolphin girlies Mariah and Ariana Omg this is giving campy bop, very intrigued!
fountain Posted February 10, 2023 Author Posted February 10, 2023 1 hour ago, Kylie Jenner said: Well I forgot again fff I’ll just give up with this one considering my last entry was water related anyways Oop oh well, put the energy into the next round instead, I’ll be posting the challenge tomorrow
sugarshine Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 8 minutes ago, fountain said: Omg this is giving campy bop, very intrigued! Salt drops sparkle like diamonds when I dolphin dive I feel like something broke in my brain and I created a new genre lowkey wanna twerk to this bop about a dolphin. Baby Shark wishes
beatinglikeadrum Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 I dont know why but I found this task very difficult.
fountain Posted February 10, 2023 Author Posted February 10, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, sugarshine said: Salt drops sparkle like diamonds when I dolphin dive I feel like something broke in my brain and I created a new genre lowkey wanna twerk to this bop about a dolphin. Baby Shark wishes Wait you’re right this dolphin bop really could be the next baby shark.. a cultural reset, your mind Edited February 11, 2023 by fountain
sugarshine Posted February 11, 2023 Posted February 11, 2023 11 minutes ago, fountain said: Wait you’re right this dolphin bop really could be the next baby shark.. a cultural reset, your mind Forget the AI takeover - it's all about the Dolphin takeover I also gotta pay respect to the original Dolphin Ambassadors, OH MY GIRL: humans when the dolphins assert their dominance: the Dollphenes laugh at us and our cute little "Little Mermaid", "Nemo", "Shark Tale" depictions of their aquatic society. the song "Car Wash" became a viral meme amongst the dolphin youth, even their cousins the whales started to catch on. in fact, avatar way of water prompted the dolphins to finally unveil themselves from the shadowy depths of the ocean! i am merely a vehicle they use to broadcast their message to the human population, starting first with those who cannot reproduce naturally and are therefore a lesser threat to the dolphin empire: the gays.
fountain Posted February 11, 2023 Author Posted February 11, 2023 not my review for @Legend E passing the 500 word challenge from season 1
fountain Posted February 11, 2023 Author Posted February 11, 2023 Round 3: Way of Water, part 1 still got a few left to go, just posting the ones that I already have finished so they don't have to wait. will post the remining ones as soon as they're done too! @DatChickDoe - Graveyard Rain It was a real shame seeing your ranking drop last week, but I’m here to say thankfully I think this song is a massive improvement! This piece does a much better job of showcasing your writing ability and is definitely overall a much more well written song in pretty much every way, I feel. Right off the bat I have to praise your imagery and descriptions here as I think you have thoroughly crafted a vivid picture here throughout the song and a vibe that is easy to take away from the song, with your dark descriptions of blood curdling, banshee screams, vicious claws and of course the overall image of the central graveyard and its rain. The treatment that this song received is exactly what I think was lacking from your last entry, all of these descriptors and usages of imagery really make the song feel alive and lift it up, which was what was missing from your last song I feel. It’s not necessarily just that this song is darker or more serious in theme but rather than this writing overall is a much better showcase of your talents for writing, and I believe that even with a song that deals with a lighter theme you can approach writing the song in the same way and imbue it with the same degree of illustration to really bring the song to life, so that’s a little bit of advice for the future, try to keep this same approach going in the future because I think it worked out great in this song! My only other pointer would be that I think this song could’ve had a bit more of a clearer narrative to it, although the imagery completely excels and paints a picture of this person and what they may be going to, I do think that it lacks a little bit of context to it, so while it conjures up these images we don’t really know the story behind it necessarily (why they are going through this, what it is that are going through, etc.), so that could be something that I think would’ve made this strong even stronger and could be something to think about for future entries. But, overall, this is a massive improvement over last round and definitely a return to form for you which is great to see, well done! @Julia Fox - your sea destroyed me-like a tsunami Oh Julia, first off, I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. That is heart breaking. But I have to commend you because even while going through that, you’ve managed to write this song, which is just beautiful. I definitely think this is one of your magnum opuses of what we have seen you write during Golden Hit, this is simply just a really melancholic, touching and vivid song. Your use of water imagery is really nice and covers a wide breadth of inspiration such as of course the sea and tsunamis as the title would suggest, but also more interesting water adjacent imagery such as islands, Atlantis, bathing suits, mermaids, and the moon, which overall help create a diverse imagery to your song which really pairs well with the water theme, as rather than just having 100% description of water after water after water, you’ve kept it very interesting by bringing in things associated with water while not continually mentioning water itself which I really enjoyed. I have to say emotionally I always find your songs pretty resonant but I do feel that this is definitely one of your most touching songs to date, the way you have described an unsuccessful endeavour with love here is really just simply well done and I do think you have a great skill for depicting and dissecting relationships in your writing, as I feel like some of your most memorable and impactful writing that we have seen has been in relation to this theme (perhaps because it is more directly inspiring or relatable to you? There is something about your relationship related songs that just feels so genuine. Perhaps something to think about). Overall I just found this to be a lovely but bittersweet song, and as a final note I loved the twist at the end which I found to be both equal parts entertaining yet also quite poignant in a way which left me with a smirk but also something to think about and ponder. Great job! @Legend E - Dilute Me Oh wow oh wow I absolutely love this concept… to actively try to dilute oneself in an attempt to be lesser, to tone yourself down and to not be “too much” is actually such a genius interpretation of the water theme WHEW! This is so good. It reminds me of Lorde’s Liability to me in a way because it is coming from the perspective of this narrator who feels they are too much, or has been told or lead to believe that they are too much, and their reflection upon this which I find to be a really interesting theme for a song (I love self analysing and self reflective lyrics!). What I like about this a lot is that is has that same fragility and that same worry that Liability has, but I feel you have also put your own spin on it and made it your own thing by also bringing in the ideas of self betterment and looking at this feeling while actually being in a relationship and asking the other person for help or for a chance to ~dilute~. Honestly the dilution concept is just honestly brilliant and the chorus took this idea and demonstrated it so well, particularly in the second and closing lyric of the chorus which I LOVE; I think this could’ve been a really hard concept to pull off and if done even slightly wrong it might make the song seem awkward and the idea not really spring to life, but I actually think you have pulled it off perfectly. What I also like from this is that it is probably one of your more hopeful or optimistic songs. Now, it still has a lot of depth because it is actively discussing and dealing with this person’s faults and insecurities, but I adore that you have chosen to give it more of a hopeful or possibility filled spin on it (even though it’s mostly the narrator kind of pleading, I think that shows that the narrator is aware that there IS a chance for hope) when it actually could have been easily taken down your usual dread/hopelessness route (which wouldn’t have been bad, but we love to see different tones and people trying different things), and I actually think ultimately it ends up feeling quite subtly beautiful to me (the way this narrator has some hope that this person can help them, the way that they trust this person to help them, it’s lovely). I think this entry has shown that you’ve been listening to the feedback you’ve been getting, while also staying true to your own type of writing, and this song felt like a great balance to me where you’ve managed to write about the topic and the frame of mind that you wanted, but also succeeded in putting more of an emotive spin on it. Overall, while I’ve enjoyed each of your entries this season, I actually think this is the most well rounded one thus far and I am hopeful to see that reflected in your score/ranking. Great job. @beatinglikeadrum - Two Faces of The Water (Force of Nature) Something that I feel is usually present in your writing, and something that I have come to love about it from what we have seen, is that you always manage to take these really interesting (and almost mythical feeling) ideas and pull them off really well; this song is no different and anything great example of this skill that you have. This is a really cool concept and I love the way that you have humanised and given the water elements of your song characteristics and personas which make them feel life like, whether human or deity (which is what I pictured them as myself because, as I say, I relate a lot of your writing and ideas as feeling quite mythical so it was very easy for me to picture these bodies of water and their spirits as being like water deities), or even just unknown force of nature. The way you pulled this off through showing the ways in which water can be both beautiful, giving and serene, yet also destructive, taking and uncontrollable was really strong and I think was a really good interpretation of the water theme this round because it's true that water can be some of the most beautiful stuff on the planet, and also some of the most dangerous, and I think you demonstrated that well. Lyrically as usually this was very grandiose and vivid, which have become synonymous with your entries for me, as usual you painted a really thorough and alluring picture of the world that this song comes from. @worldwide angel - just the same Ooooh I really like the inspiration and the imagery here. Depicting water as emotion itself is a brilliant idea, both in the way that they are so easily affected and can change shape so easily, and also in the fact that they are innate inside of us (like, the fact that our bodies are composed literally of water and that our emotions can feel trapped inside us, like that water… so smart). Not only do I love the idea but the way you have eloquently portrayed it here, particularly with the “waves rise high to blood red skies” and “little droplets trickle down the shore” (which I took to be crying?) lines which took this idea and really made it a poignant showcase of how emotions are a part of us. The narrative here itself is beautiful, I mean it’s a simple one but sometimes those can hit the hardest and I think this is an example of what that does… I think a lot of people can relate to drowning out and masking our emotions, and the depiction of this in the song, and the eventual revelation that you should let yourself feel these emotions and be “submerged in every sentiment” is just a really simple yet beautiful message that we all know to be true and we all need to hear at times. This song fulfils that purpose excellently and is overall a wonderful interpretation of the water challenge. I do think the song could be expanded upon as there is certainly room for a bridge or further verses, however as you say this is a strong foundation for a song, and I love what is said here regardless. Really great job.
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