How to go from listening to loving

[Beryl1803]

I'm really a newbie , who started listening to dream theater for nearly a year, Most of the music hasn't really sunk in, so I would love suggestions on how I could start loving and enjoying and understanding this form of music . I listen to a lot of normal modern pop songs as well, which kinda interests me, but I really want to get into this genre of music cause I know its the best! Pls give me tips on how and what songs I could listen to before going into dream theater (pa. I've tried the genesis platinum collection - didn't help much) . i did like remarkably human - by nick johnston - (I found that it was of prog genre) - so if that helps ,
Also how much time would it take for you to start lovingthis genre?
Please Help Me !!

[Train of Naught]

Took me a handful of Dream Theater songs to find out I love that rewarding feeling with music when it grows on you. You give it some more listens and certain elements start popping out. I would say at least a third up to half the music I listen to occasionally is prog. I like it when bands push the boundaries of the confines of the genre they're in, I like them trying out unique concepts by combining instruments/techniques you normally wouldn't see people try out.

If you like Nick Johnston you're bound to like at least some of these names with between brackets recommended albums:

David Maxim Micic (ECO)
Plini (Handmade Cities)
Intervals (The Way Forward)
Sean Ashe (Flux)
Lechuga (Lechuga)

Can't speak for Genesis cause I don't really like what I've heard so far (the album that has Firth of Filth on it, even though I do actually like that particular song)

[Beryl1803]

Thanks a lot. And btw , when I said I heard the genesis band and it didnt help much, I meant I didn't like it as well- although it is a recommended band for those who want to be motivated and influenced to prog , cause they say the music is made for influencing people to prog I'm not sure 🤷‍♂️,anyways , Thanks. Again, but would love to know what type of prog metal is remarkably human- (as of what I learnt , there are sub genres , so would like to know which subgenre this is part of )

[Stadler]

I think I get your question, and it's a fair one, but I have to offer this perspective:   listen to it. It's either going to hit you or not, and maybe you'll even get different feelings at different times.   Me?  I'm a melody guy, so no matter how soft or how heavy the music is, if there's a motif that I can find myself singing later, it's going to resonate.   I'm not a big one for forcing music; I love Dream Theater, I love Genesis, and everything I heard from Stephen Wilson and Devin Townsend was a big no go.  Just didn't move the needle.  I didn't force it, I didn't lament what I didn't like, and while to this day I'm still indifferent to Wilson (though I like his remixes of Yes and Crimson), some kind soul sent me a Devin song - Deep Peace (Live in London) - and it rocked my world.  I have a new appreciation for him and it just organically happened.   Contrast that with Rush's "Grace Under Pressure", which I don't like, and which I've regularly listened to about twice a year just to see if it ever hits and it hasn't, and it's been what 5, 6 years now. 

[TAC]

I heard the genesis band and it didnt help much,

You don't say!

[The Letter M]

For modern prog suggestions, I'd offer up things like latter-day Porcupine Tree (with Gavin Harrison on drums) or the two more recent Steven Wilson solo albums. I'd also like to throw in Flying Colors, which features Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, as well as some very melodic songs with proggy-tendencies, which range from hard and heavy to some tender melodic ballad-type stuff. It's very pop-prog, but that might be a good introduction to some of prog's best players.

I'm sure plenty of prog fans on here will suggest their favorite bands, myself included, so it might take you awhile to figure out what suits your moods and tastes, especially if you follow everyone's blind suggestions. When I first started out, i fell in love with Rush, and from there, it just sort of expanded to Dream Theater, anything with Mike Portnoy, then anything with Neal Morse, then any of the major 70's prog acts (King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, ELP, Pink Floyd), to the "Third Wave" 90's prog bands like The Flower Kings and Porcupine Tree, all the way up to today. It's been a near 15-year journey for me, but I've discovered a LOT of different styles and subgenres of prog rock, and as much as I like, there are thousands more that I haven't heard, nor will I ever hear them.

Either way, best of luck on your maiden voyage into the progressive oceans!

-Marc.

[Crow]

I usually listen through albums at least twice before deciding whether or not I even want to purchase them & listen more and some albums take listens or just time to grow on you regardless

hell the stuff that usually ends up as my favorite albums are the ones I liked but didn't love at first but came back to months later and realized hey wait this is amazing

[The Letter M]

I usually listen through albums at least twice before deciding whether or not I even want to purchase them & listen more and some albums take listens or just time to grow on you regardless

hell the stuff that usually ends up as my favorite albums are the ones I liked but didn't love at first but came back to months later and realized hey wait this is amazing

This is good advice. Youtube and Spotify really help these days when trying to check out a band or album, so before you commit to purchasing albums blindly, definitely check them out there. And with prog, spinning albums multiple times is, more often than not, a requirement for the music.

Like Parama, there may be albums you dislike now but you will come to love in months or years down the line, and I've had that same experience myself. When I first heard Marillion, I did NOT like them at all - the early stuff sounded too derivative of Gabriel-era Genesis (which I loved) and the later stuff sounded too boring. However, years later, I went back and listened to them with fresh ears and fell in love with H-Era Marillion, and albums like Marbles and Happiness Is The Road are two of my favorites by them.

Time, experience, repetition...all things needed to really dive into prog music, but don't force yourself to like something if it's not enjoyable. I've had a few bands like that, though I'm sure I'll return to them later on and love them (one example being Devin Townsend, couldn't get into his stuff a couple years ago, shelved the 3 albums I bought, but will likely return to them some day soon with fresh ears).

-Marc.

[Beryl1803]

Thanks guys, But I think I forgot to mention, I listened to dramatic turn of events , as my first album ( which I found out on my own XD ) , and I liked the album, other albums haven't really sunk much in , so I thought I'll take my time with dramatic turn of events, and sink it in completely, after which I'll move on to other albums, and start appreciating them as well - is this a good practice?
also please do suggest other good ways to get me to appreciate dream theater's music

and ps . I'm just 17 , don't like much of modern music , I kinda love dramatic turn of events, metropolis pt2. , images and words - after listening to them the first time , so any suggestion that I could do , to start loving other albums ? I would love to hear them

[Spiritus]

1. Stretch your ears with a metronome.
2. Wash your body with Dream Theater sheet music.
3. Burn said music and inhale the smoke in odd time.

It's music. Listen to it. You will either like it or not. No one can really tell you how to start loving music.
What an odd series of posts. It's like you are asking for some training regimen for a sport lol.

[RoeDent]

Just keep at it is all I can suggest. Give it plenty of chances for it to work its magic on you. If you're receptive to it, it will eventually click, all the pieces will fall into place and there'll be no going back. And it will be the most wondrous thing in the world.

2. Wash your body with Dream Theater

"Coming soon to a bathtub near you! All new Dream Theater bubble bath!"

[ChuckSteak]

You can't force yourself into liking a band or a genre. Either you like it or you don't. The more music you listen to that is outside of your "music safe-space", the more musical maturity you are going to have and the more open you will be to all different kinds of music. You just have to listen to it and throw your pre-judgements away. There is a lot of stuff that I used to hate 10 years ago, but that I love now. Try to listen to all kinds of music, don't concentrate only on one genre or sub-genre. Color your music life.

[Stadler]

And I would add that "genre" is useless in this discussion.  I love bands like Maiden, Genesis, and Kiss, but the doesn't mean I love all metal, prog and hard rock.  Quite the opposite actually; I find I have a love/hate relationship with prog.  I either love it - Genesis, Yes, Crimson - or it's unlistenable pretentious crap - other bands. 

[mike099]

If you have the time, I suggest you go to the General Music Discussion - DTF Top 50 albums(top of the page).  You will find plenty of top 50 album lists by members of this board.  Also, there is a topic in General Music Discussion section titled - What album are you listening to.   I have  found many bands and albums this way.

If you want to try a classic prog album, I suggest my avatar - Redemption - Snowfall on Judgement Day

Hope you find what you like.   

[twosuitsluke]

I mean, if you're new to this whole scene and you've found something you like in Dream Theater (a story that will mirror many people's, on this forum) then I'd suggest just taking in their back catalogue for the moment. We could all recommend you a list of bands (and I understand why others have) but there is enough to digest just with Dream Theater alone.

That's just what I would suggest as listening to a whole host of bands, when the whole scene (and diversity of music listened to by the guys around here) is new to you, could be a bit overwhelming. Last thing we'd want is you getting put off my music your ears may not be ready for, and I don't mean that to sound patronising.

The three DT albums you mentioned (aDToE, Mpt2: SFaM and I&W) are amazing albums. I'd suggest just listening to (and falling in love with) them and not worry too much about the rest yet. You've got all that to look forward to. Like some of the guys have said, don't force it. If you find something you like then listen to it. If you don't like something just keep an open mind and maybe come back to it after a while.

This all kind of reminds me of when I got into metal actually. Metallica's Black Album was my gateway album. I LOVED it! After playing that to death I researched the rest of their back catalogue and worked out that most people suggested listening to RtL, MoP and ...aJFA over anything post TBA (this was just before St. Anger was released as well  ). Once I got into those albums I basically listened to Metallica exclusively for about 6 months! I'd tried dabbling with Megadeth, Slayer, Sepultura, Pantera etc in these 6 months but I just wasn't ready for them. It wasn't until after my Metallica obsession started to fade that I was ready to embrace these other bands. That's just my story though and everyone is obviously different.

Enjoy it all, you're in the right place and you have so much amazing music to discover! Take your time and enjoy it.

[Beryl1803]

Ok so I would love to hear advice through experience guys , how was it when you were hearing prog at first? did you like it or not ? if not , then how did it change over the years ??

[Sacul]

I used to be obsessed with DT back in 2012, then became kind of a proghead, but now I barely listen to anything prog, mostly hipster crap - it could happen to you! 

[wolfking]

I'm really a newbie , who started listening to dream theater for nearly a year, Most of the music hasn't really sunk in, so I would love suggestions on how I could start loving and enjoying and understanding this form of music . I listen to a lot of normal modern pop songs as well, which kinda interests me, but I really want to get into this genre of music cause I know its the best! Pls give me tips on how and what songs I could listen to before going into dream theater (pa. I've tried the genesis platinum collection - didn't help much) . i did like remarkably human - by nick johnston - (I found that it was of prog genre) - so if that helps ,
Also how much time would it take for you to start lovingthis genre?
Please Help Me !!

Well, to be fair, you simply can't make yourself fall in love with the music just because you want to.  It simply has to click or it doesn't. 

Saying that, maybe you could take another perspective and check things like Queensryche, Fates Warning, Savatage, Crimson Glory etc. for a more metal side of the DT thing.

[Cyclopssss]

Yeah, count me in on the 'either it grabs you, or it doesn't' camp. I had the same with Haken. I really liked The Mountain, but their other stuff, however skillfully done, just doesn't grab me or holds my attention.

[twosuitsluke]

Ok so I would love to hear advice through experience guys , how was it when you were hearing prog at first? did you like it or not ? if not , then how did it change over the years ??

My road here started in quite a strange way (well not that strange really  ). I was into metal, via Metallica (followed by thrash metal in general), from about 2003 onwards. By 2005 I was into all the big bands at the time, In Flames, Machine Head, Lamb of God, Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium etc. Around 2006 I got into Dragonforce and then power metal. I remember reading an article by Herman Li (Dragonforce guitarist) where he was professing his love for Dream Theater. He said that when Images and Words came out he listened to it every single day for about 18 months! I was intrigued and although I'd heard of DT, I'd never listened to them. I of course went and bought I&W. It must have been around the same time that my flat mate at the time bought the Score: 20th Anniversary DVD. These two things combined were my introduction to DT and prog metal.

I vividly remember playing Final Fantasy 12 and listening to I&W on repeat (along with Danzig's first album). I&W still reminds me of FF12 when I listen to it now. I then got Octavarium and loved that album. I also dug Constant Motion and BC&SL. However, after Portnoy left my interest dropped off. I was never really into prog metal or prog (my Dad grew up on all the classic prog bands but none of it ever really clicked with me). DT were the only prog metal I listened to, apart from stuff like Mastodon, Coheed and Cambria and Opeth I guess.

Come 2014, I rediscovered DT and binged on their entire back catalogue and just totally fell in love with them. This is when I joined DTF. Since then I have delved fully into prog metal and it is now my most listened to genre by quite a long way. By extension, I also got into post-rock/metal and anything a bit out of the ordinary.

So yea, I never made a choice to end up here really, I think I just got bored of straight up metal when everything started to sound the same to me. I wasn't excited by new bands as the old classics just nailed it way better than anything new. So here I am. Couldn't be happier as the music I've discovered around here has made me fall in love with discovering new music again.

[ytserush]

I heard the genesis band and it didnt help much,

You don't say!

You seem to have that Invisible Touch. (yeah.)

[Lowdz]

I’d doubt you can train yourself to love something just because you want to.

I guess things were easier when I got into DT because I grew to love them over time, from playing the first album to death, then waiting years for the next one.

I’d probably go with picking one album that interests you and play it to death, before moving on to another.

I try that approach with bands with a back catalogue that I get exposed to, rather than trying to play it all.

But you shouldn’t have to work at it.

[ChuckSteak]

Ok so I would love to hear advice through experience guys , how was it when you were hearing prog at first? did you like it or not ? if not , then how did it change over the years ??

It depends how much variety of music you were exposed to before you started listening to prog. In the beginning, I liked the more symphonic, melodic prog. I had trouble liking the vocals though and there were some bands I didn't like at the start (King Crimson, VDGG, Gentle Giant). I didn't like any extreme metal prog or rock in opposition or krautrock or fusion or anything complicated. It was just noise for me. Ironically, these are the sub-genres I enjoy the most nowadays. I think it is better to start with the symphonic side of prog. Easier to digest. Call it prog 101. Call it pussy prog. Call it white-wine-prog. 

The changes in taste over the years occur naturally. The more things you listen to, the more musical maturity you will have. Things that sounded horrible to you when you started might sound totally different when you listen to it after a year or two. If you don't like an album, don't try to force yourself into liking it. Just put it aside and listen to other albums that are more to your taste. Then revisit the albums/sub-genres you didn't like after some time.

Some albums may take a couple of listens to click with you. It's natural. If you pay full attention to the music without being distracted doing something else, it is easier to digest.