Your Controversial Opinions on DT

[Stadler]

It's IMHO, derived from my own personal experiences and the experiences of people I know.
However I agree with you about the right wing part, I didn't take into consideration that specific Ted Nugent Mickey Rourke Arnold Schwarzenegger Chuck Norris type of right winging where it's not religion that drives them but rather a sense of amplified nationalism.
I had more to say here but I had to cut it short cause you're right; this is dangerous ground treading

"IMHO" isn't a catch all, and it doesn't excuse stereotyping.  If I get mugged by a [insert specific race here], do I get to say "IMHO, all [inserted race] are scumbag thieving thugs"?  I have no doubt whatsoever that the Westboro Church, the KKK, those in central Europe in the mid-1930's, and those in the Far East in the late 1960's would have been happy to put "IMHO" after the statements they made that led to millions upon millions of unnecessary deaths.

I'm a leftist too but I'm totally for PC dude, it's annoying cause it's called "PC" but if I can rename it "why fuck with people and make them feel like shit just cause you wanna yap?" then it would have a more compassionate vibe to it heh

Except that's not what "PC" does.  "PC" tries to tell people what they can and can't say, and in what context.  I'm absolutely in 100,000% agreement with you on the "why f*** with people" idea - I am live and let live almost to a fault.  That's libertarianism, not leftism.   PC is the opposite of that.  "PC" is removing those moans because they might offend; that was DT's artistic statement at the time.  Why not just let them make it, and don't listen if you don't like it?

I honestly hadn't really noticed them until this thread.   I find the guest vocals on "Lines In The Sand" far more egregious and offensive, and while I will share my opinion with one who asks, my solution to that is simply not listen to the song.  There are tens of other DT songs to listen to that I enjoy greatly. 

For the record, "I Walk Beside You" is a Top Ten DT song for me.   I'm a melody guy, so the heavier they get (for the sake of heavy) the more they lose me.  I don't like growl vocals, and would much prefer something eminently singable over all the riffage. 

[hefdaddy42]

I Walk Beside You is an awesome song.

Little known fact: when the album came out, I and some friends of mine (who all played music together at our church) really loved it.  We had a special show coming up where we were going to be able to "open up" for a big-name Christian band (Newsong, if you care) at a local festival - we got to play in front of more than 4,000 people, easily the biggest crowd I've played for (which was amazing).  We wanted to put together a somewhat out-of-the-ordinary set for the event, so we all looked at IWBY and thought we could get away with it, since some of the lyrics are pseudo-spiritual.

So, we played that song live in front of crowd, BEFORE the band ever debuted it live.  Pretty neat.

And we rocked that shit, BTW.

[Train of Naught]

Awesome! You wouldn't happen to have a video file of that do you?

[hefdaddy42]

Awesome! You wouldn't happen to have a video file of that do you?

No, sorry.  This was 10 years ago, and none of us thought to do anything like that.

[JediKnight1969]

...we played that song live in front of crowd, BEFORE the band ever debuted it live.  Pretty neat.

And we rocked that shit, BTW.

Cool! What's the name of your band? What instrument do you play?

[Setlist Scotty]

And we rocked that shit, yo.

FTFY

[pcs90]

I Walk Beside You is an awesome song.

Little known fact: when the album came out, I and some friends of mine (who all played music together at our church) really loved it.  We had a special show coming up where we were going to be able to "open up" for a big-name Christian band (Newsong, if you care) at a local festival - we got to play in front of more than 4,000 people, easily the biggest crowd I've played for (which was amazing).  We wanted to put together a somewhat out-of-the-ordinary set for the event, so we all looked at IWBY and thought we could get away with it, since some of the lyrics are pseudo-spiritual.

So, we played that song live in front of crowd, BEFORE the band ever debuted it live.  Pretty neat.

And we rocked that shit, BTW.

That's pretty awesome, I must say. There are several DT songs which could work in a format like that, even if the original meaning that was given may be very different.

[hefdaddy42]

...we played that song live in front of crowd, BEFORE the band ever debuted it live.  Pretty neat.

And we rocked that shit, BTW.

Cool! What's the name of your band? What instrument do you play?

Uplift.  Just a band from our church. 

I play guitar and drums.  That day (and currently), drums.

[JediKnight1969]

...we played that song live in front of crowd, BEFORE the band ever debuted it live.  Pretty neat.

And we rocked that shit, BTW.

Cool! What's the name of your band? What instrument do you play?

Uplift.  Just a band from our church. 

I play guitar and drums.  That day (and currently), drums.

  Keep on rockin'!

[hefdaddy42]

 

[King Postwhore]

I Walk Beside You is an awesome song.

Little known fact: when the album came out, I and some friends of mine (who all played music together at our church) really loved it.  We had a special show coming up where we were going to be able to "open up" for a big-name Christian band (Newsong, if you care) at a local festival - we got to play in front of more than 4,000 people, easily the biggest crowd I've played for (which was amazing).  We wanted to put together a somewhat out-of-the-ordinary set for the event, so we all looked at IWBY and thought we could get away with it, since some of the lyrics are pseudo-spiritual.

So, we played that song live in front of crowd, BEFORE the band ever debuted it live.  Pretty neat.

And we rocked that shit, BTW.

Holy crap Hef, Newsong?!  They were very big at the time.

[hefdaddy42]

I Walk Beside You is an awesome song.

Little known fact: when the album came out, I and some friends of mine (who all played music together at our church) really loved it.  We had a special show coming up where we were going to be able to "open up" for a big-name Christian band (Newsong, if you care) at a local festival - we got to play in front of more than 4,000 people, easily the biggest crowd I've played for (which was amazing).  We wanted to put together a somewhat out-of-the-ordinary set for the event, so we all looked at IWBY and thought we could get away with it, since some of the lyrics are pseudo-spiritual.

So, we played that song live in front of crowd, BEFORE the band ever debuted it live.  Pretty neat.

And we rocked that shit, BTW.

Holy crap Hef, Newsong?!  They were very big at the time.

Yeah, it was fun.  Super nice guys.  It was a great day.

[matthewmatt]

I'll elaborate on that, and I'll say that all Dream Theater's "easy" songs are great, and never cheesy or commercial for the sake of wanting some airplay.

I Walk Beside You? wonderful uplifting tune, catchy as well, puts you in a good mood. Forsaken? awesome chorus, the best one in Systematic Chaos, it somehow reminds me of the Awake days, a gorgeous power ballad concise and to the point. Wither? Delicate and awesome ballad with wonderful melodies and gentle, delicate playing that shows that DT don't always have to show off. Even You Not Me is good, Desmond Child was hired to make it more catchy and that's what he did, if pop songs were this good, I'd listen to pop.

And so on and so forth.

 

Thank you, sir!

[DT_12_Octavarium]

Not sure if this is controversial, but anyone who doesn't like DT has bad taste in music. IMO DT's music is perfection, even the lesser songs. I'm convinced that people who dismiss DT have never given them a real chance

[Evermind]

Not sure if this is controversial, but anyone who doesn't like DT has bad taste in music. IMO DT's music is perfection, even the lesser songs. I'm convinced that people who dismiss DT have never given them a real chance

I won't say it's controversial, but I think it's kinda condescending.

[jakepriest]

Not sure if this is controversial, but anyone who doesn't like DT has bad taste in music. IMO DT's music is perfection, even the lesser songs. I'm convinced that people who dismiss DT have never given them a real chance

No offense, but what the fuck.
I mean, how can you pair a statement like "people who don't like DT have a bad taste" with "IN MY OPINION DT's music is perfection".
Your opinion is that they make good music. And someone else's opinion might be that they make bad music, which is not a matter of BAD taste, but DIFFERENT taste in music.

[DT_12_Octavarium]

The thread asked for my opinion, so I gave it. People who dismiss DT may have different tastes in music, and IMO in this case different means worse. The majority of people I've met that don't like DT listen to top 40 garbage or worse, country. That is bad music

[Train of Naught]

The majority of people I've met that don't like DT are kind genuine people that don't feel the need to explore a progressive metal band. I don't understand why some people can't get over the fact that not everyone likes their favorite band that they praise into heaven.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

Not sure if this is controversial, but anyone who doesn't like DT has bad taste in music. IMO DT's music is perfection, even the lesser songs. I'm convinced that people who dismiss DT have never given them a real chance

... This is why people think dt fans are pretentious. If by controversial you mean almost nobody else would treat it with any validity (for good reason), then yeah.
I think most people should be able to at least appreciate their proficiency on their instruments, but they certainly don't have to like them.

[Enigmachine]

The thread asked for my opinion, so I gave it. People who dismiss DT may have different tastes in music, and IMO in this case different means worse. The majority of people I've met that don't like DT listen to top 40 garbage or worse, country. That is bad music

It isn't bad music, you just don't like it. Your attitude is what makes other people less likely to listen to certain bands.

[vazquez]

Not sure if this is controversial, but anyone who doesn't like DT has bad taste in music. IMO DT's music is perfection, even the lesser songs. I'm convinced that people who dismiss DT have never given them a real chance

That´s the reason some people I know hate DT. Nothing against the band - but some fans are so stupid and arrogant, that they can´t listen to the songs without those fanatics sounding in their ears: "But Portnoy is the best, Petrucci is a god, the band YOU like sucks, DT is perfect, Mangini plays with one hand what the drummer of your favorite band needs all four members to play, you are a loser blah blah blah". Man, that sucks! And it happens again and again.

Funny thing is, DT´s musicians are very humble. They admire a lot of guys, they respect everybody, they NEVER spoke a word in the sense: "I´m better than that guy or that other guy". They treat every other musician in the world with the utmost respect, every style, anything. And that respect they have for everybody is what make them great, above all.

[Evermind]

My uncle couldn't get into DT after I've given him I&W and SFAM CDs. At the same time, he's a huge fan of Beatles, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, other classic rock bands, that kind of stuff. Bad taste, right.

[cramx3]

Not sure if this is controversial, but anyone who doesn't like DT has bad taste in music. IMO DT's music is perfection, even the lesser songs. I'm convinced that people who dismiss DT have never given them a real chance

Im guessing your shit doesn't stink?  Come on (once again), music is completely subjective.  Everyone has their own tastes, there is not a single "one is better than the other" scenario besides your own opinion of the music.

[EraVulgaris]

The thread asked for my opinion, so I gave it. People who dismiss DT may have different tastes in music, and IMO in this case different means worse. The majority of people I've met that don't like DT listen to top 40 garbage or worse, country. That is bad music

Because everything that isn't 10 minute instrumental wankery with whacky keyboard sounds and a lead singer with a voice some people might find irritating is bad music.

Don't get me wrong, I like most of Dream Theaters stuff (I'm on this board after all), but can see plenty of reasons why people wouldn't like them. Comments like yours are what I really hate about the whole prog community. As if I was smarter than someone else because I like Dream Theater, Tool and Pink Floyd instead of Drake and Katy Perry.

[hefdaddy42]

Not sure if this is controversial, but anyone who doesn't like DT has bad taste in music.

This isn't really an opinion on DT (which is the thread topic), but rather an opinion on other people.

And a bad one, at that.

[Stadler]

The thread asked for my opinion, so I gave it. People who dismiss DT may have different tastes in music, and IMO in this case different means worse. The majority of people I've met that don't like DT listen to top 40 garbage or worse, country. That is bad music

Unfortunately, sport, not everything can be qualified and excused by "in my opinion".   Science says there is little correlation between what music one likes and raw intelligence, though there is a slight correlation between some measures of intelligence and classical music, (but they haven't quite figured out why yet), and there is some correlation between certain personality traits and music genre, but they are broad characterizations. 

As the legendary Paul Stanley once said:  "there is no "good" or "bad" in music; only whether I like it or not." 

Thankfully for the rest of us, the world doesn't operate on your standard.   Some of the best musicians in the history of American music are in country.  Ask any musician what they think of Johnny Cash or Hank Williams.

[hefdaddy42]

Johnny Cash should be on Mount Rushmore.

[bosk1]

Not really.  He should just get his own mountain.

Tangent:  In Folsom, they recently constructed a new part of the Folsom bike/walking trail network that goes by Folsom Prison and along part of Folsom Lake and the American River and named it after Johnny Cash.  Very appropriate.

[Another_Won]

Not really.  He should just get his own mountain.

Tangent:  In Folsom, they recently constructed a new part of the Folsom bike/walking trail network that goes by Folsom Prison and along part of Folsom Lake and the American River and named it after Johnny Cash.  Very appropriate.

Really?  I used to live in Folsom.  There has always been a bike trail there it goes all the way down to Discovery park.  It's something like 22 mile ride.  I did it once but was pretty worn out

[bosk1]

Yeah, that is the main part of it, but it has many branches that go all throughout the city now.  When were you in Folsom, and where are you now?

[pcs90]

Not sure if this is controversial, but anyone who doesn't like DT has bad taste in music. IMO DT's music is perfection, even the lesser songs. I'm convinced that people who dismiss DT have never given them a real chance

Sure, there are a lot of people who don't give DT a fair chance. I think everyone should be open to exploring new music, at least a little...but not everyone is. I don't like most mainstream music, but if someone else does then so what? That doesn't make them any less of a person. Their musical taste isn't the same as mine...doesn't mean it's bad. Most people can at least apreciate the talent the members of DT have, which is good enough in my book.

[Prog Snob]

The thread asked for my opinion, so I gave it. People who dismiss DT may have different tastes in music, and IMO in this case different means worse. The majority of people I've met that don't like DT listen to top 40 garbage or worse, country. That is bad music

I don't generally listen to Top 40 music but to say none of it has any redeeming value is capricious and short-sighted. Would you say Alicia Keys is garbage? She's repeatedly in the Top 10 but she also was playing classical compositions on the piano from an early age. Just because it's not the kind of talent you appreciate doesn't mean there isn't talent to be found.

[Wubbagubba]

Not sure if this is controversial, but anyone who doesn't like DT has bad taste in music. IMO DT's music is perfection, even the lesser songs. I'm convinced that people who dismiss DT have never given them a real chance

That just seems like an idiotic thing to say. Yes, I love DT too, but taste is subjective. I think any listener who listens to DT should be able to respect their proficient musicianship, but just because someone doesn't like the fast shredding, vocalist, or insane rhythmic sections doesn't mean they have bad taste in music. Maybe they prefer something simpler.

[cramx3]

I've played DT for friends/family/GFs before and almost all of them weren't into it.  Not once did my opinion on that person change.  It's music.  I would hope their opinion on me didn't change because I didn't like whatever they might have showed me.

[Systolic]

My controversial opinion(s):

Dream Theater hasn't released a great album in nearly 2 decades.

The band cares less about their fans than they ever have.

Dream Theater is becoming more and more commercial by the album (and TA will be no exception)

James Labrie is beyond washed up and needs to retire.

Hiring David Campbell means that DT have finally jumped the shark.  He is the king of pop music.

Mike Portnoy is the most overrated drummer on the planet, but did a great job producing DT's music.

Rich Chycki has ruined DT's production quality and has successfully made Mike Mangini sound wholly average, which he definitely isn't.

Marco Minnemann would have been a much better drummer for the band, but I think DT would have held HIM back creatively.

Commence the flames.