DT in the studio again!

[jonnybaxy]

Well I knew what forsaken was about, but it doesn't have meaning, its just about a vampire really, right?

[TheGreatPretender]

Well I knew what forsaken was about, but it doesn't have meaning, its just about a vampire really, right?

Yes, but it's worded very nicely. It does have a sense of poetry about it, unlike, "Get into my car, let's go for a drive" for example.

[TheAtliator]

Did you just say Ytse Jam has a lyrical meaning?

It doesn't have lyrics, but of course it has emotion and meaning. I mean think about Dance of Eternity; you know what that's about don't you? It takes real brilliant men to portray a feeling as specific as wild sex with a terribly guilty conscience of a senator purely through music. That's why there is not a single note of that song that could be altered or edited and the song still mean the same thing, unlike all the pop songs today..

Ytse Jam is an "in your shallow face you sleepwalking sheep, I'm F-ing MAJESTIC" song to me.

Well I knew what forsaken was about, but it doesn't have meaning, its just about a vampire really, right?

Well that's what the descriptive words in the song are about. But now that I think about it, couldn't this hot vampire chick (who is ever so wonderfully portrayed by the music and lyrics) saying "Give yourself up to me" end up being the same concept as the devil saying "I can give you power beyond anything, All I ask is that you worship me" ? maybe? I was gonna listen to the whole album again soon, so I'll see if maybe I still think that's the case.

[TheAtliator]

Well I knew what forsaken was about, but it doesn't have meaning, its just about a vampire really, right?

Yes, but it's worded very nicely. It does have a sense of poetry about it, unlike, "Get into my car, let's go for a drive" for example.

to be completely honest, I think the lyrics of both songs fit their own TOOOOONNNE perfectly. One is a realistic story (realistic enough it happened to a guy in the band) and requires a more personal approach, more in a talking manner, while the other is fantasy and imagination of a mysterious beautiful creature. The emotions and complexities take place in different aspects of the stories.

[TheGreatPretender]

to be completely honest, I think the lyrics of both songs fit their own TOOOOONNNE perfectly. One is a realistic story (realistic enough it happened to a guy in the band) and requires a more personal approach, more in a talking manner, while the other is fantasy and imagination of a mysterious beautiful creature. The emotions and complexities take place in different aspects of the stories.

I like the last part the most, in TCOT. Everything from "Could this be the end?" is actually pretty cool... So maybe it's not the lyrics themselves that I don't like, but the phrasing. I'm pretty sure that if half of TCOT wasn't screamed out by Portnoy, I (and probably many others) would like it a lot more.

But strictly from a written perspective, Forsaken has a kind of poetry that songs like TCOT lack. As to how they fit their tone, I'm inclined to agree with you.

[TheAtliator]

i see your point. I think the part of TCOT that really won me over was the instrumentals and time signatures everywhere. And the chord structure. And everything else. Its just freakin amazing XD

lol but i see your point. Nice conversation, thank you!

[TheGreatPretender]

Oy... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuCGMvyE4C0

Am I the only one who thought that was a ridiculously redundant question and that there were many much more interesting and specific questions they could have chosen?

[KevShmev]

Oy... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuCGMvyE4C0

Am I the only one who thought that was a ridiculously redundant question and that there were many much more interesting and specific questions they could have chosen?

Absolutely.  I mean, it's a lame question to ask anyway (you get a chance to ask the band a question and that is what you ask?), and for them to pick that particular one was just odd.  It reminds me of the old Rockline show where fans could ask the band a question on the air and you'd have fans asking the dumbest and most predictable questions.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

They're probably flooding right now with... "WHEN IS POTRNOE COMING BACK...INDONESIA PLS" questions, so it's wouldn't seem strange for them to pick a very generic one. Hope the next one is far more interesting, though.

[KevShmev]

They should have one where the question is, "Why doesn't John Myung talk more?"  One of the others can ask him the question, he doesn't a word and merely shrugs, and that's it.  Clip over.  Would be epic trolling on their part.

[The Stray Seed]

[OT]

Maybe people just don't figure it out, since UAGM has pretty obscure lyrics, but (even because of this) after an in-depth analysis, we can find out that it's the most Awake-ish song of the album in terms of lyrics&meaning, so we could say it's the most "advanced" in some ways, a graceful bridge that connects Images and Words with the next album.

UAGM elements:

- mental distress/disorder - it shows evidence of paranoia (1), emotional instability (2), and general mental sickness (3)

nervous flashlights scan my dreams, liquid shadows silence their screams (1) (fearing that others can read your mind is one of the main paranoid attitudes)

I smile at the moon / argue with the clouds (2)

stealing beauty from my eyes (1) - (something from inside you that is being stolen by others is another typical paranoid thought)

Outside the soundness of your mind (3)


- christian religion - some lyrics are very reminiscent of the Holy Scriptures.

by your hand I've awakened, bear this honor in my name

under glass moonlight...the night awaits the lamb's arrival

The moon itself is a messianic bride symbol just as the sun is a messianic bridegroom symbol. Just as the moon has no light of its own but reflects the light of the sun and therefore shows its glory, so is the bride with the bridegroom.

The lunar cycle is a time prophecy that has to do with the bride. If you overheard someone talking about the monthly cycle, most of you would assume the topic of conversation was a woman's monthly cycle. You see, the moon and a woman's fertility cycle are linked together.

The obscure phrase "the bride subsides to her survival" could actually be connected with Eve. The first woman Eve, who was taken out of the First Adam's body is seen in Genesis 3 as having her ultimate salvation tied to her fruitfulness. There is, in this, a connection between her salvation and the lunar cycle that is her period of fruitfulness.


So these are all the reasons why I think it's a very Awake-ish song, blessed with very profound and evocative lyrics.

[/OT]

Apart from this, I could say that, to me, lyrics represent more or less 1/3 of the beauty of a song, so they're still a very important element to my taste. I'd be the happiest man around if DT could get back to the amazing lyric level they had back in the early days. I'm looking forward to the next album and see if they can come up with some good lyrics.

[hefdaddy42]

I feel like the songs that people praise with "thought-provoking" don't really mean anything... I've tried analyzing Breaking All Illusions, Metropolis, etc. through and through again and I've come to the personal conclusion that it's pretentious gibberish, which is how I feel about Myung lyrics in general (I love JMX! But I just don't understand all the love for his lyrics!)

I don't understand these lyrics.

They must be pretentious gibberish.

[TheAtliator]

You can't dance to lost not forgotten. Must be musically pretentious gibberish.

[lyfeternl]

Speaking on lyrical creativity, the one phrase in a DT song that has always stood out over the rest is within AIA:

"I've been trying to justify you... In the end I will just defy you..."

I always loved that phonetic marriage between "justify" and "just defy" 



... And it's an awesome song 

[TheAtliator]

Heck yea! Yet another song with a message I live my life by.

People tell me "slow down, you're thinking too much" and I know it's simply because it's over their head. Thus the reason I don't let them touch the way I play.

It's amazing to know John Petrucci has felt EXACTLY the same way I have felt at some points.

[iamtheeviltwin]

Oy... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuCGMvyE4C0

Am I the only one who thought that was a ridiculously redundant question and that there were many much more interesting and specific questions they could have chosen?

Absolutely.  I mean, it's a lame question to ask anyway (you get a chance to ask the band a question and that is what you ask?), and for them to pick that particular one was just odd.  It reminds me of the old Rockline show where fans could ask the band a question on the air and you'd have fans asking the dumbest and most predictable questions.

I thought it was a silly question, my understanding is that most musicians work the music first and then work in the lyrics.

[?]

Speaking on lyrical creativity, the one phrase in a DT song that has always stood out over the rest is within AIA:

"I've been trying to justify you... In the end I will just defy you..."

I always loved that phonetic marriage between "justify" and "just defy" 

Me too I also like the message of the lyrics of AIA and can relate to it really well - I want to be honest and not change to please others.

[Kotowboy]

Oy... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuCGMvyE4C0

Am I the only one who thought that was a ridiculously redundant question and that there were many much more interesting and specific questions they could have chosen?

Absolutely.  I mean, it's a lame question to ask anyway (you get a chance to ask the band a question and that is what you ask?), and for them to pick that particular one was just odd.  It reminds me of the old Rockline show where fans could ask the band a question on the air and you'd have fans asking the dumbest and most predictable questions.

Like people putting their hands up at a Guest Guitarist Clinic and then when they get picked they just go

" LOL Y R U SEW GUD LOL "

[DebraKadabra]

Yes, but it's worded very nicely. It does have a sense of poetry about it, unlike, "Get into my car, let's go for a drive" for example.

THANK YOU.

It reminds me of the old Rockline show where fans could ask the band a question on the air and you'd have fans asking the dumbest and most predictable questions.

I agree but... their person taking the phone calls keeps track of what's being asked - I can't remember what question I was going to ask Billy Duffy and Jerry Cantrell, but I was told to ask the one about additional dates for their band at the time.

[emtee]

Well the first post in this thread is Jan 4th so we're coming up on 3 months and one would guess they are getting pretty close
by now...hopefully.

[CodyWanKenobi]

...72 minute song divided into 12 sections...

You mean The Whirlwind?

[GasparXR]

The album will contain a whirlwind of nuggets...

[Lucidity]

I feel like the songs that people praise with "thought-provoking" don't really mean anything... I've tried analyzing Breaking All Illusions, Metropolis, etc. through and through again and I've come to the personal conclusion that it's pretentious gibberish, which is how I feel about Myung lyrics in general (I love JMX! But I just don't understand all the love for his lyrics!)

I don't understand these lyrics.

They must be pretentious gibberish.

Even if they do have some sort of meaning, they just really bother me. I feel like they are trying to get some sort of deep message across, but don't manage to and end up sounding ridiculous. They seem rather self-indulgent to me. Radiohead, for instance, manages to have really thought-provoking lyrics without sounding silly, like they really understand what they're trying to say, and don't make it obvious. I honestly don't think if a band member was asked what Under a Glass Moon was about, they'd be able to give you a good answer...

[TheAtliator]

The keep messing up the rhythm in the middle section of metropolis part 1 every time I listen to it. I have no idea what time signature they think they're playing in, but obviously these guys just don't know what they're doing. Sounds ridiculous. I totally can't even bop my head to it!

[Bertielee]

The keep messing up the rhythm in the middle section of metropolis part 1 every time I listen to it. I have no idea what time signature they think they're playing in, but obviously these guys just don't know what they're doing. Sounds ridiculous. I totally can't even bop my head to it!

You should've put that in green, shouldn't you? Or am I mistaken?

B.Lee

[wasteland]

The keep messing up the rhythm in the middle section of metropolis part 1 every time I listen to it. I have no idea what time signature they think they're playing in, but obviously these guys just don't know what they're doing. Sounds ridiculous. I totally can't even bop my head to it!

You should've put that in green, shouldn't you? Or am I mistaken?

B.Lee

He means sarcasm green, if you have no idea of what Blee is talking about 

[Pols Voice]

Hey guys, DT is in the studio again. Shocking, I know.

[DebraKadabra]

 

[?]

[Bertielee]

 

[novenpeter]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExKRUJMoyk4

Dream Theater Twitter Q&A with Jordan Rudess, How do you start a new song composition?

[TheGreatPretender]

That's pretty cool. Definitely more interesting than, "Do you write the music first or the lyrics?"

[TheAtliator]

He means sarcasm green, if you have no idea of what Blee is talking about 

yes I know about sarcasm green. I'll change it

[bosk1]

If you really need sarcasm green, you're probably missing the point.

[wasteland]

That's pretty cool. Definitely more interesting than, "Do you write the music first or the lyrics?"

Still nothing new, really. Although it's understandable that they are deliberately avoiding precise questions on the new record, besides the JM exception.