Bolsters™ The Roulette, v2 ★ THE CONCLUSION ★

[Evermind]

I sent a happy song, so I get happy stars.

You and me both!

[Bolsters]

I sent a happy song, so I get happy stars.

You and me both!

[Train of Naught]

I'll get no star since you feel bad for me and don't want to eliminate me yet

[splent]

I'm not sure about the song I sent anymore. I wouldn't be too surprised if I got no-star/coal star

This

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Honestly I have no idea, I think it could go either way.

[Train of Naught]

What kind of star does everyone think they're going to get this time?

Ehm.. I don't think this question was meant for you SN, the fixed one looks much more fitting:

What band does everyone think they've sent this time?

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

 

[Evermind]

Well played.

[Bolsters]

Perhaps this will help.

[Evermind]

Whoa, very obscure songs this time around except ELP. I only know Damien Rice and Daughter because I've got them in my roulettes.

[jingle.boy]

Whoa, very obscure songs this time around except ELP. I only know Damien Rice and Daughter because I've got them in my roulettes.

Didn't you get Shooting Star too?

[Elite]

Splent sent Eric Whitacre

[Train of Naught]

The one under mine is ELP

I think you may be right rich

I only know Novembre and the Damien Rice song here Novembre cause it's mine and Damien Rice because of my own roulette.

[Evermind]

Whoa, very obscure songs this time around except ELP. I only know Damien Rice and Daughter because I've got them in my roulettes.

Didn't you get Shooting Star too?

Well, I didn't include it here because obviously I know the song I sent.

[jingle.boy]

Whoa, very obscure songs this time around except ELP. I only know Damien Rice and Daughter because I've got them in my roulettes.

Didn't you get Shooting Star too?

Well, I didn't include it here because obviously I know the song I sent.

Ah... right.

Paying attention: I suck at it.

[Tomislav95]

I know Novembre, ToN definitely sent them (did you wrote it's your already? ). I wanted to send band from same genre but didn't know would host like it. So thank you for testing the water for me
EDIT: oh, you did, right now.

[Train of Naught]

Definitely the best scenario to try out of the ordinary things, having 2 coal stars with the posibility of going out any time

Verne is 100% clean vocals though, and even though Bolsters surely enjoys some harsh vocals, I couldn't go through with it. Nothijngrad and Zenith were the other two songs I considered. 

[Elite]

The one under mine is ELP

I think you may be right rich

I didn't even see that really, it was just an obvious thing.

[Tomislav95]

Definitely the best scenario to try out of the ordinary things, having 2 coal stars with the posibility of going out any time

Verne is 100% clean vocals though, and even though Bolsters surely enjoys some harsh vocals, I couldn't go through with it. Nothijngrad and Zenith were the other two songs I considered.

I know Novembre only by name, maybe heard only 2-3 songs on YouTube. Recommend me an album, the doomier the better.

[Train of Naught]

Materia for sure. You'll hear the song I sent right away too as it's the first one on the album. The Blue is my #2 album, you could go with that one aswell.

[Crow]

elite wuz here

[Elite]

this would be their best but providence has never done much for me, and it's like almost half the album so

Wrong thread

[Crow]

you can tell it's a monday

[splent]

Splent sent Eric Whitacre

Maybe...

[Elite]

"DTF's resident music educator/conductor"

Yes, you did.

[splent]

"DTF's resident music educator/conductor"

Yes, you did.

No, it was Parama

[Crow]

I sent harsh noise

[Bolsters]

I plan to post results later tonight, approximately nine or ten hours from this post.

[jingle.boy]

I have something to (hopefully) look forward to when I get up.

[splent]

Me too.

Although the key word is hopefully. I'm anticipating everyone else getting diamond stars and me getting coal.

In all seriousness I would be completely happy with a pink star with mine. Or even no star. As long as it isn't coal.

[Bolsters]

Round Six Results

Elite - Foxy Shazam - Oh Lord

• I'm loving everything about this song. The faster paced piano-driven verses against the slower paced guitar-driven choruses, this vocalist (who I must admit I thought was a woman at first ) who can really belt out the vox. Some subtle Jim Steinman vibes here from the piano and the outro, which isn't a bad thing. This fucking chorus though, so catchy, and I love that the first instance has just the lead vocals but then subsequent choruses contain a group of backing vocalists. This is catchy, it's epic, it rocks...damn. It's always a good sign when I'm listening to your song more than the others not because it requires it in order to be understood, but just because I'm enjoying the shit out of it and want to keep listening to it. This is easily the best thing you've sent me - in either roulette.

Tomislav95 - Daughter - Youth

• Yeah, this is the good stuff. I've really been getting into this dreamy, somewhat folky stuff recently, and I don't think I've come across this artist before, so it will be a welcome addition to my collection after the roulette. I like the contrast between the bright guitar and the heavy, thumping percussion. Vocally things are strong aswell, and she suits this dreamy, reverb-laden production well.

Shadow Ninja 2.0 - Heather Dale - Mordred's Lullaby

• The latest garnet star song and another that is celtic...it looks like some of you are paying attention. This one is a little different though, it has a bit of a darker tone. I think the low, droning synth and the short range of the vocal melodies in the verses create this vibe - but then the chorus is a little more upbeat due to the higher-pitched whistle and the wider range the singer employs. I think Chad's song deserves the pearl star in this category, but this is still a great addition to that lineup.

senecadawg2 - Damien Rice - 9 Crimes

• So apparently this silver star is your first non-pink, non-coal song. This ballad has a nice somber atmosphere to it that I like. There's minimal instrumentation here, but it's all for effect and works perfectly, especially the climax of the song when the cello joins in and builds the song up. The vocals are interesting in this one aswell, I like the almost call-and-response between the two vocalists singing "is that alright?" but it's really just her interjecting as the dude sings rather than them strictly taking turns so it's not quite a proper call-and-response. I think I have to give the edge to Ruslan's power ballad from earlier regarding the pearl star, but this was a close call and I really had to think about it, I even listened to his song some more along with yours so that both were fresh in my mind.

Evermind - Shooting Star - Last Chance

• I wasn't sure what I would be getting with this one. Roulette hand-me-downs sometimes work but not always. Despite this getting pink, I do actually think it was a very strong entry...it just so happened that this round was very consistent in quality, so I couldn't rank it any higher. This is a good classic rock song and it's exactly the kind of thing I wanted when I added the amethyst star to the roulette (even though you didn't ask for one). The chorus is great of course, but I really like these verses, the violin adds a lot to the song. It's almost like a slightly heavier Kansas song in some ways. But damn, this instrumental section is what really sells the song. Once the first guitar solo ends and the piano and violon take over right up until the final chorus is all gold (well, pink ). TAC sent this to you, right? If this is the kind of stuff he was sending you, I'm disappointed that he didn't join mine. I've never even heard of this band, either.

bl5150 - Saint Deamon - Pandeamonium

• Another solid hard rock song, but just a pink star this time around. Strong melodically, and I like the vocalist. I guess perhaps the reason I don't have this ranked higher is that it leans a bit towards being generic despite still being very enjoyable, the guitar work in particular.

Tyrias - Azedia - Agony

• There's a lot to like in this song. For one, it's definitely the kind of dubstep that I can get into (there's a lot that I simply cannot). However I think I like the less-electronic parts of this song the most, when it's being driven primarily by the piano and the vocalist, and later the bass-synth. There's some good glitchy elements in here aswell which I like in moderation and when executed well, and I can check off both boxes with this song. I think the chorus is probably the weakest thing here though unfortunately, I just don't like the buzz-saw bass synth that dominates the song which even the vocalist seems to take a back seat to when it appears. Still, I am liking this quite a bit for the mostpart, so you still get a pink star.

jingle.boy - Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Karn Evil 9 1st Impression, pt 2

• I knew your little welcoming message to your roulettes came from something, but I'd never bothered to find out what. I don't have to now either, because you've sent it to me. So I gave a warning regarding 70's progressive rock and the amethyst star, so I was very curious when you sent this, to see if you would manage to avoid the trappings of that era of the genre (trappings for me, anyway). I would say that for the mostpart yes, you did. I can often find 70's stuff a bit too meandering and sel-findulgent. There's certainly some indulgence here and I probably could have done with a bit less of it...but it wasn't boring or meandering at all and infact I liked most of the instrumental section stuff in this track (which is the majority of it, as it happens). Once the guitar solo starts around the 2-minute mark is probably my favourite part. Despite being ranked so low I thought this was great, but it was overall a pretty strong round, but you can have another pink along with whatever other stars you are getting this round.

Train of Naught - Novembre - Verne

• Yeah, this ain't bad, despite being ranked 9th. This sort of carries on from your last song with a raw sound, but this time I like it, I think it works for the song. Anyway the build-up during the middle of the song is the best thing here, although I feel a bit let down by the fadeout ending. Vocally I thought the guy was a bit average, but capable, and I liked when he was singing in unison with the other vocalist. This is good enough for pink, I feel.

splent - Eric Whitacre - Sleep

• Well, first of all I do want to say I feel kind of bad for ranking this at coal star level, because it is actually quite a beautiful track. I guess that my main complaint is essentially the same one I had for your Imogen Heap submission...just not enough going on for me to really get a hold of. Plus this track didn't really improve over time, and this time you aren't saved by Naught because he sent something decent this time. Anyway, I can't fault the vocal performances, I do like choirs when they're part of a song, but this is essentially "proper" choir music which is just vocalists. I suppose other instrumentation would take away from the choir itself for this song, it does work as a piece without anything else, it just seems that for me personally, I need more meat to my music. Sorry dude, perhaps in another round this wouldn't have been awarded coal but I have no choice in this one I'm afraid.

Scoreboard


Bonus Star Rankings

So that's round six. Ruslan manages to get his pearl star in the ballad category (barely) and jingle.chad gets the pearl from the world influence category. We've got just two rounds left now...who's been saving the best for last?

[Elite]

Yes! I'm back in the game

--

One question: can the pearl star be stolen from someone if you send a better track?

[Bolsters]

One question: can the pearl star be stolen from someone if you send a better track?

Yes, definitely. Only the top person in each category will have a pearl star. If I like your song more, I'll take it from whoever has it and give it to you.


As for bonus stars...

Assuming that all of you actually want three bonus stars:

The following people need to ask for a bonus in both remaining rounds
senecadawg2, Train of Naught

The following people need to ask for a bonus in one of the two remaining rounds
Elite, Evermind, jingle.boy, Shadow Ninja 2.0, Tomislav95, Tyrias

The following people don't need to pay any attention to this, they have three bonus stars already
bl5150, splent

[Evermind]

Ehh, not even a silver. Pink is a small consolation when all five people in the round get those.

But hey, I've got my first pearl star! Everyone kindly stop sending ballads for a sapphire stars please.

[Bolsters]

Ehh, not even a silver. Pink is a small consolation when all five people in the round get those.

Deciding between yours and seneca's songs for silver/pink was probably the most difficult decision I had to make this round.

Also I do think I'm being too generous with the pink stars, but I have to remain consistent across all rounds, so...