PoisonedIvy Posted October 16, 2023 Posted October 16, 2023 23 minutes ago, Sanguine said: Choose The Album, Then a Song Round 1: Express Yourself Welcome our lovely 22 contestants, to the first round of CTATAS! ENTRIES AND EXPLANATIONS HERE CONTESTANT VOTING LINK HERE For this, you will be separated into two groups. Here are your groupings: A B Please read through other explanations and give your top three and bottom two FROM YOUR GROUP ONLY in order on the form. Give a very brief insight into these placements - won't be shared with anyone, it's just a measure to prevent biased voters. If you do not complete this by the deadline, 30% of your score will be deducted. Judges will publicly post their critiques over the next couple days. In-thread contestant critiques are optional, but allowed! Reminder that judges count for 75% and contestants only 25%. The bottom three players (as a whole! Grouping is only to alleviate contestant workload) will be eliminated. This is the only round-based elimination, as cumulative points will be accessible for use next round. ~48 hour deadline! DUE: Wed Oct 18th @ 1 pm EST @ughgabriel @Psycho @ATRL Username @luckystrike @Alena @MusicLoverDude @Dessy @minho @Not Like The Movies @PoisonedIvy @Hey Dude @stupidjock @EriKills @Post Malone @ultraviolence.xx @Auburn @wehavetostan @PinkBox @nostalgic @khalyan @Overprotected @Julia Fox I don’t see a clarification in this post but are we expected to vote for ourselves? Or do we exclude ourselves in rankings?
Sanguine Posted October 16, 2023 Author Posted October 16, 2023 5 minutes ago, PoisonedIvy said: I don’t see a clarification in this post but are we expected to vote for ourselves? Or do we exclude ourselves in rankings? Exclude yourselves! Will add that
PoisonedIvy Posted October 16, 2023 Posted October 16, 2023 Just now, Sanguine said: Exclude yourselves! Will add that Awesome, thank you I feel so bad ranking a “Bottom 2” when people are spilling their guts about some really personal struggles and insecurities in this round I love you all, and I’m sorry in advance to whoever I end up choosing 3
Dessy Posted October 16, 2023 Posted October 16, 2023 On 10/10/2023 at 8:16 AM, Hey Dude said: 1. MusicLoverDude: Taylor Swift - Midnights 2. Alena: Selena Gomez - Rare 3. Overprotected: Appleton - Everything's Eventual 4. jesus del rey: Azealia Banks - Broke With Expensive Taste 5. minho: Ravyn Lenae - Hypnos 6. ATRL Username: beabadoobee - Beatopia 7. DAP: Beyoncé - Renaissance 8. brycehooha: Beyoncé - Lemonade 9. Dessy: Victoria Monet - Jaguar II 10. Not Like the Movies: SZA - CTRL 11. Auburn: Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope 12. Legend E: Kelly Clarkson - Chemistry 13. Hey Dude: Story Of The Year - Tear Me to Pieces 14. Psycho: Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion 15. PoisonedIvy: Miley Cyrus - Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz 16. nostalgic: Hilary Duff - Dignity 17. K$Ellie: Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever 18. Vixen Eyes: Kesha - Animal 19. Julia Fox: Shakira - Fijación Oral Vol 1 20. ultraviolence.xx: Kelela - Raven 21. Hurem: Amy Winehouse - Back to Black 22. fiercE: Mans Zelmerlow - Perfectly Damaged 23. Galaxy: Charli XCX - True Romance 24. PinkBox: Madonna - Rebel Heart 25. Alldeezy: Allday - Speeding 26. ughgabriel: Ellie Goulding - Halcyon Nights 27. Insanity: Sabrina Carpenter - Emails I Can't Send 28. Post Malone: Rihanna - Unapologetic 29. EriKills: Natalia Kills - Trouble 30. Yvess: Taylor Swift - Lover 31. Khalyan: Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure? 32. luckystrike: Troye Sivan - Bloom 33. stupidjock: Magdalena Bay - Mercurial World 34. wehavetostan: Chappell Roan - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess I'm the villian of games section anyways so may as well do what I want. Sorry.mp3 Mildred. Updated to Rebel Heart unless you want to switch back @PinkBox Just quoting so I can remember what's what 2
Sanguine Posted October 16, 2023 Author Posted October 16, 2023 52 minutes ago, Sanguine said: Choose The Album, Then a Song Round 1: Express Yourself Welcome our lovely 22 contestants, to the first round of CTATAS! ENTRIES AND EXPLANATIONS HERE CONTESTANT VOTING LINK HERE For this, you will be separated into two groups. Here are your groupings: A B Please read through other explanations and give your top three and bottom two FROM YOUR GROUP ONLY AND EXCLUDING YOURSELF in order on the form. Give a very brief insight into these placements - won't be shared with anyone, it's just a measure to prevent biased voters. If you do not complete this by the deadline, 30% of your score will be deducted. Judges will publicly post their critiques over the next couple days. In-thread contestant critiques are optional, but allowed! Reminder that judges count for 75% and contestants only 25%. The bottom three players (as a whole! Grouping is only to alleviate contestant workload) will be eliminated. This is the only round-based elimination, as cumulative points will be accessible for use next round. ~48 hour deadline! DUE: Wed Oct 18th @ 1 pm EST @ughgabriel @Psycho @ATRL Username @luckystrike @Alena @MusicLoverDude @Dessy @minho @Not Like The Movies @PoisonedIvy @Hey Dude @stupidjock @EriKills @Post Malone @ultraviolence.xx @Auburn @wehavetostan @PinkBox @nostalgic @khalyan @Overprotected @Julia Fox Bump Reminder explanations were meant to include elements of the song to justify their choice. These are very personal and may feel difficult to judge, so just try and go more off of whether they used sonic/lyrical components to back their entry 2
Kern Posted October 16, 2023 Posted October 16, 2023 I submitted mine already. There was one entry I simply struggled to understand and one I felt like failed to explain why someone had the most connection with that song. I wonder how I did 1
MusicLoverDude Posted October 16, 2023 Posted October 16, 2023 1 hour ago, stupidjock said: All the legends in my group This will be hard Legendary contestants or legendary artists?
MusicLoverDude Posted October 16, 2023 Posted October 16, 2023 Sent! I'm sorry in advance to who I put in my bottom two! I really enjoyed reading everyone's entries this round!
Kern Posted October 16, 2023 Posted October 16, 2023 (edited) 15 minutes ago, MusicLoverDude said: Legendary contestants or legendary artists? Legendary contestans. Especially you, Julia Fox and Alena. Albums are okay Edited October 16, 2023 by stupidjock 2
EriKills Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 This host is so sick to make us read all these entries choose between our sisters.... 2
shelven Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 SHELVEN'S CRITIQUES Dividing these by group just so people can find their entry more quickly, the groups didn't impact how I scored the entries. Group A: Spoiler Dessy – Jaguar II – Smoke (feat. Lucky Daye) I really like how the connection you chose is one of relaxation and enjoyment; a personal connection can definitely be something that makes you feel calm instead of a deep story. You tied both the lyrics and the music to your explanation pretty well, but overall your explanation left me wondering if this song truly represents the deepest connection you have to the album, as opposed to it simply being one song you like. I think picking one or two of the ideas in here to discuss in depth would have made this entry stronger. __________________________________________________________________ Psycho – Emotion – Run Away With Me You provide a great description of the song, although admittedly it does start to read like an objective review of the song, which feels a bit out of place in such a subjective round. When you do dive into the personal connection, I think your explanation of it is really strong and well-connected to this particular song, so I just wish you had embedded those ideas throughout the explanation instead of just tacking it on at the very end. __________________________________________________________________ khalyan – What’s Your Pleasure? – Soul Control Your first two sentences were a really solid set-up, but similar to your entry in the audition, you suffer from providing a much too surface-level description of the song itself and how it ties into the theme. What about the production is interesting to you? Why do you gravitate to this song in particular? It feels like you could have filled in the one reference to “Soul Control” with any song and nothing about the explanation would change, which misses the mark in a round all about personal connection. __________________________________________________________________ Hey Dude – Ray of Light – Afterglow I’m… very confused by this explanation? What does this song have to do with a character from Final Fantasy? Why do you spend so much time talking about that Final Fantasy character? I feel like this explanation made sense in your head, but it doesn’t translate for an outside reader at all. It’s a shame because you do seem to have a strong personal connection to this song and I think that does come across in a few places, but those moments are WAY too bogged down by a lot of distractions. __________________________________________________________________ ultraviolence.xx – Raven – Holier Between your audition and this round, it’s already clear that you REALLY know this album well. You transition between the production half of your explanation and the lyrical half very well, and I like that you clearly tie both those halves to why you feel so connected to this song. Like I say about a few other entries this round, the explanation feels a bit too much like an objective review at times to work perfectly in a round about personal connection, but overall I don’t think you lost sight of the fact that you were trying to convince us of your connection to the song. __________________________________________________________________ ATRL Username – Beatopia – Sunny Day The first sentence of your explanation does what very few people have nailed so far in either this round or the audition: it makes it very clear from the outset not only why this song meets the theme, but why it meets the theme better than other songs on your album. You do a great job of finding the balance between discussing the song with specifics while also making the explanation feel truly personal and not just a review of why the track is great. Focusing on the music video was a risky choice, but I think particularly in a round about personal connection, it’s a valid aspect to touch on. A bit more specifics on what makes the lyrics feel melancholic to you would have made this a perfect ten, but great job overall. __________________________________________________________________ Julia Fox - Fijación Oral Vol 1 – Obtener un sí Another explanation that I’m just genuinely confused by. Why do you spend literally half the explanation summarizing the plot of a soap opera? I get that it ties in to how your own perception of queer love developed, but none of it has anything to do with this song or album. Although you do eventually get to discussing how you feel about the song, it’s a very surface level explanation that tells me very little about this song or why you feel so connected to it other than it just being a love song. __________________________________________________________________ MusicLoverDude – Midnights – You’re On Your Own, Kid You describe a really intimate connection between your experiences, the album, and this particular song that all ties together very neatly for me. Your explanation of the song is detailed enough that it doesn’t feel like you’re just picking any song off the album to shoehorn into this personal story. I think shortening the first half of your explanation that focuses solely on your life events and using some of that space to dive even deeper into how specific aspects of this song connect to you would have made this entry stronger, but overall you did what you had to do, which is make me believe you have a genuine connection to this song. __________________________________________________________________ stupidjock – Mercurial World – Dreamcatching This feels like a very honest discussion of your song that’s true to your unique experience with it. The really special thing about music is that often one’s memories that they associated with it can create an interpretation of the song that wouldn’t appear obvious to other people, and I think you do a great job describing that while still grounding your explanation in specific examples from the song. I think your explanation would have benefitted from expanding a bit on the production descriptions you only briefly touch on, but overall you definitely understood the theme. __________________________________________________________________ Alena – Rare – People You Know You make the connection between your experiences and the theme of the song clear, but I think you could have gone into more depth on both those aspects. Towards the end, your explanation starts to feel like you’re just re-stating the same conclusion over and over again, so I think you could have used that space to either talk more specifically about how this song captures the theme you’ve described or what particular aspects of your experience made you gravitate to this song. __________________________________________________________________ Auburn – The Velvet Rope – You I like how deeply you dive into the lyrics of the song, although I think it does slightly hurt you when you get to the tie-in with your own personal connection, which feels a bit broad and vague by comparison. You end on a very strong note though – I think your interpretation of her vocal delivery and production is both very creative and also believable. Group B: Spoiler PinkBox – Rebel Heart – Borrowed Time Your intimate and detailed account of your personal experiences are tied well to what you describe as the themes of the song: cherishing life and making the most of our borrowed time. My issue with this explanation is that’s not the theme I take away from the lyrics, which seem to focus more on people loving each other and not wasting time fighting instead of loving yourself. I think you needed to spend more time describing your interpretation of the song itself to convince me that this song choice matches your claimed connection to it. __________________________________________________________________ minho – Hypnos – Wish You touch upon an interesting aspect of music listening in your explanation, which is that we can’t always perfectly articulate why we’re so connected to a song. Sometimes there’s just something indescribable about how a song sounds that evokes something in us. I really appreciate that honesty here, but it does put you into a bit of a tough spot because you’re essentially just telling us to trust you that you have a connection to the song instead of fully explaining why. I do appreciate your approach, but I think you could have struck a better balance by going into a bit more detail about what specific aspects of the song fuel your creativity. __________________________________________________________________ Overprotected – Everything’s Eventual – Don’t Worry I said this about another entry this round, but I like how your explanation acknowledges that sometimes we find our own connections to songs even if we don’t relate to the exact literal experience the artist is describing. Your explanation of how you connect to the lyrics of the song is solid, but you make a very fleeting reference to the instrumental of the song that you don’t expand on, and I wish you had gone into more detail on that instead of wasting word count on the cute but ultimately unnecessary opening line. __________________________________________________________________ wehavetostan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Casual The fact that you’re able to draw on such a specific connection between something that happened to you and something that happened to Chappell – meeting the other person’s mom – is a great flourish to this explanation that really sells that you have a unique connection to this particular song. You also do a great job tracking your own emotional journey (going through embarrassment, pain, confusion and anger) to the emotional journey described in the song, incorporating examples from both the lyrics and the vocal delivery to emphasize that. My only minor critique is I think this explanation could have been structured slightly better to make the analogies between your experience and the song even clearer, but great job overall. __________________________________________________________________ Not Like The Movies – CTRL – Garden (Say It Like Dat) Your explanation excels in the specifics you’re willing to go into – both into your own state of mind and the nuances of the song’s lyrics. That level of specificity really helps sell that you have a unique connection to this song over others on the album. I’ll give you the same nitpick I gave a few other people this round, which is that sometimes your explanation of the song and your explanation of your personal experience feel like two separate mini-explanations instead of one fluid explanation. But this is very solid overall. __________________________________________________________________ PoisonedIvy – Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz – I Get So Scared Your explanation meets the theme as a whole, but it’s the last line that really elevates this for me. I like how you articulate that people often feel connected to music not only because they personally relate to it, but that the knowledge of relating to it can make them feel less lonely or strange in the world. Like a few other entries this round, your explanation feels a bit repetitive at points, and you maybe could have used that space to expand a bit more on the song itself instead of mainly quoting lyrics, but this works overall. __________________________________________________________________ nostalgic – Dignity – Stranger There’s a few moments where you go off course here – the references to the song “standing the test of time” or representing Hillary’s artistic evolution don’t feel relevant to a round about personal connection. But the middle of your explanation is very strong. You do a great job capturing the excitement and nostalgia associated with falling in love with every aspect of a song and having it alter how you think of music. __________________________________________________________________ EriKills – Trouble – Daddy’s Girl Similar to PinkBox’s entry, I think the explanation itself is quite strong, but the trouble I’m having with it is that I’m not convinced it fully matches the song. There’s definitely parts of the song where I see what you’re going for, but other parts come across as more positive and hopeful. I think your entry would have been more convincing if you had tied those aspects of the lyrics into your explanation as well, instead of focusing solely on the sadness and regret in a few isolated parts of the song. But the parts of the lyrics you did focus on were tied well to your explanation of your personal experiences. __________________________________________________________________ ughgabriel – Halcyon Nights – Anything Could Happen Your description of your personal journey with music is well-written and feels sincere. My main problem is that I’m left not understanding what this particular song has to do with that journey. You touch vaguely on the fact that the song represents your newfound optimism and recognition that life is a mystery, but what specifically (other than the title) evokes those feelings? It feels like there’s an idea in here that has potential, but you didn’t flesh it out enough for me to see the complete vision. __________________________________________________________________ luckystrike – Bloom – What A Heavenly Way To Die If I was ranking explanations by their pure wholesomeness, this would absolutely win, but unfortunately there’s a lot missing here for me in terms of how you link the song itself to your (very lovely) description of your personal feelings about it. You make a lot of statements about how the song makes you feel without providing any detail on why the song makes you feel those things. Is it the lyrics, and if so, what about them? Does the warmth you describe come from the production or from something else? You do the job of the round in the sense that I’m definitely convinced you feel a deep connection to this song, but I have no idea why you feel it. __________________________________________________________________ Post Malone – Unapologetic – Stay You do a great job in the first half of your explanation connecting the song and your personal connection to it in a seamless and natural way. I think you start to falter a bit in the second half, when you describe certain aspects of the song as immersing you or standing out for you without explaining why. I think focusing on the strong ideas you raise in the first half throughout the entire entry would have worked better than trying to cover every aspect of the song in just 150 words. @ughgabriel @Psycho @ATRL Username @luckystrike @Alena @MusicLoverDude @Dessy @minho @Not Like The Movies @PoisonedIvy @Hey Dude @stupidjock @EriKills @Post Malone @ultraviolence.xx @Auburn @wehavetostan @PinkBox @nostalgic @khalyan @Overprotected @Julia Fox 5
ATRL Moderator wehavetostan Posted October 17, 2023 ATRL Moderator Posted October 17, 2023 Thank you!
MusicLoverDude Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 Thank you Shelven! (Also I agree with a few of your takes, especially the ones that I put in my bottom two. Not naming names but your critiques for those two were exactly my thoughts when I selected them as my bottom two)
PoisonedIvy Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 Thanks for the notes Shelven They are very appreciated.
nostalgic Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 Thank you, shelven. Well-written and honest critiques as always
ATRL Moderator khalyan Posted October 17, 2023 ATRL Moderator Posted October 17, 2023 I guess I’m missing how to be as personal as judges are wanting with the word limit we have.
PoisonedIvy Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 3 minutes ago, khalyan said: I guess I’m missing how to be as personal as judges are wanting with the word limit we have. Ban them for these word limits /j 1
Kern Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 31 minutes ago, khalyan said: I guess I’m missing how to be as personal as judges are wanting with the word limit we have. Your entry was quite short tho
Staryu Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 Staryu Group A crits Spoiler Dessy – Jaguar II – Smoke (feat. Lucky Daye) Now sis, is the 4th of July really your 2nd favorite holiday, do you happen to be a republican? I appreciate that you included lyrics and productions in your reasonings, I've also always wondered how your deafness affects the music you listen to, was nice to get some insight into that here as well. __________________________________________________________________ Psycho – Emotion – Run Away With Me I agree with Shelven about the review-like quality of like 80% of your reasoning, we all know this song is a mega classic, but when we finally get to the personal connection, I can relate and think you didn't really need a lot of words to explain your personal connection anyway, good job. __________________________________________________________________ khalyan – What’s Your Pleasure? – Soul Control I feel you didn't dig deep enough for this one, it's all very surface level, what about the "interesting production" reminds you of your childhood, which songs from your childhood? __________________________________________________________________ Hey Dude – Ray of Light – Afterglow Hey sis, you know Clive is not a real person right? Just making sure. You call OCD, anxiety, and depression your "musketeers", does that mean they are your heroes? Do they fight for your honor? You have left me confused, Clive save us. __________________________________________________________________ ultraviolence.xx – Raven – Holier A little more time spent on the personal side would have made this perfect, although I did enjoy your thoughts on the technical side of the song as well, good job either way though. Side note, the I'd rather be holier "mantra" made me think of Jinkx Monsoon's "water off a duck's back" mantra, which connected me to your reasoning even more tbh. __________________________________________________________________ ATRL Username – Beatopia – Sunny Day I love your personal connection to this song because I've always felt the same way about the song too (it's also my favorite on the album). I agree with Shelven about including the music video here as well, I feel like the right visuals can really help a person connect to the song on a deeper level as well, which you expressed here, very nice. __________________________________________________________________ Julia Fox - Fijación Oral Vol 1 – Obtener un sí You filled up most of your words with a plot from a soap opera, we could have used a bit more personal connection talk, maybe more about the lyrics/production of the song and less about an old soap plot. Happy for your queer love though. __________________________________________________________________ MusicLoverDude – Midnights – You’re On Your Own, Kid I think you did a great job here, you obviously have a strong emotional connection to this song and it helped you through a rough time. I also liked how you mentioned Taylor's line delivery, she does have a way of delivering words that can really draw people in. __________________________________________________________________ stupidjock – Mercurial World – Dreamcatching I enjoyed your take on this song and appreciate you didn't really try to review the song and just let us know how the song makes you feel and the memories it invokes. Your use of lyric and production examples really makes this a strong entry, I think you did a great job with this theme. __________________________________________________________________ Alena – Rare – People You Know I'm sorry you relate to this song, hopefully you know me forever I think you got the personal aspect down but we could have used maybe a specific example of lyrics or something that you relate to to really nail the theme, but this still works fine overall. __________________________________________________________________ Auburn – The Velvet Rope – You Loved the closing line of your explanation, I felt that. I think you explained the song quite well, you obviously know this album well and Janet herself, but you left me wanting a little more on the personal side of things, but I still think you did a mostly good job here, very on theme, just a little more in-depth analysis of how you relate would have made it even better. Will do B soon 1 1
ATRL Moderator khalyan Posted October 17, 2023 ATRL Moderator Posted October 17, 2023 1 hour ago, stupidjock said: Your entry was quite short tho It would have taken over 150 words to tell the story of why production has always been what I listen to more than lyrics/other aspects of the song -- I grew up as a gymnast and I had an obsession with the Olympics because of this. One day in late 2004, I was browsing the Circuit City and came across Tiesto's Parade of Athletes CD. I knew nothing about Tiesto but purchased the CD due to its relation to the Olympics. I also had an obsession with the circus and Cirque du Soleil to be exact when growing up watching the Fire Within documentaries on Bravo and seeing the relation of my gymnastics to these budding stars joining the circus for the first time. In 2005, I found Cirque du Soleil's Solarium/Delirium combo set at Target and that was the first Cirque album I ever bought. The combination of these two albums changed my outlook on music as a young teen. My music taste was finally forming on its own and was no longer being influenced by what parents or friends listened to. Obviously Tiesto is a famous DJ and tracks on Parade of Athletes included Traffic and Adagio for String; and the Solarium/Delirium set was old Cirque du Soleil tracks remixed by top producers at the time, including Tiesto's own remix of Mer Noire from the performance 'O'. I would spend hours outside listening to these two albums and coming up with trampoline routines or swimming routines to pretend that I was in Cirque du Soleil just like those in the Fire Within documentaries. And my love of dance music and production heavy music started at this pivotal moment of my life. For the album I chose, Soul Control is the most immediate production heavy moment on the album. So many of the songs build into impressive crescendos, but Soul Control starts with that punch. For someone who treasures immediate production like that due to the music I grew up listening to, Soul Control was an immediate first fave when I listened to the album. It's special for me when I listen through the album as I get to Soul Control as it's instant energy triggers the same happiness I used to get dancing outside to dance music as an early teen. -- That gives more detail, although I know that cannot be used in the critiques this round. I just have to figure out how to make 354 words into 150 words somehow depending on if I stay in the game 1
Dessy Posted October 17, 2023 Posted October 17, 2023 27 minutes ago, Staryu said: Now sis, is the 4th of July really your 2nd favorite holiday, do you happen to be a republican? Yes, no. Fireworks, BBQ, traveling to see my family/cousins, almost dying because someone pointed a rocket at us >>>>
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