Dream Theater self titled album discussion - [SPOILER FREE DISCUSSION ONLY]

[cyberdrummer]

I still think JP might mean just Sleep Paralysis as a section is instrumental. I can't see a 2 or 3 minute track - which it must be if it's going to be an intro tape - being called a suite.

I'm pretty sure False Awakening Suite's YARGGG on the album list - so, yeah, all instrumental.

You can call plenty of instrumental things suites, and likewise plenty of short things. Holst's "The Planets" is a suite, and it's entirely instrumental. Handel's written four-minute suites. All the track needs to do, based on what we know, is to mutate between three distinct styles. That's easy, there's plenty of time to do that in three or four minutes. No reason False Awakening can't be...

*ahem*

...short and suite.

Hmm, not convinced. I have no problem with a suite being entirely instrumental, but I'm not sure the analogy with classical music works too well, because by that definition a suite MUST be instrumental. DT has referred to A Mind Beside Itself and The Twelve Steps as suites before, so we know the band doesn't work along the same lines.

But my main problem is the issue of length. Even three minutes is too long for an intro tape in my opinion, and I can't see how they can call a 2.5 minute long track a suite. But we'll see. I'm just not relying too much on the whiteboard we saw in the video.

[GasparXR]

^ It's possible that instead of having the intro play over the PA, they actually perform it. JP did mention they often use a movie soundtrack as the intro. On the CiM tour, they opened with Also Sprach Zarathustra from Space Odyssey: 2001 I believe? Anyway, they actually performed it instead of just playing it over the speakers so they could be doing that.

[Mosh]

He says 'technically' it's an instrumental. There might be some spoken word stuff or something.

[Jinx]

Having just watched the Dream Is Collapsing Intro video on the 2012 tour, that was roughly 2:50 in length. So 3 minutes isnt an entirely unlikely length for the intro video for this upcoming tour

[cyberdrummer]

^ It's possible that instead of having the intro play over the PA, they actually perform it. JP did mention they often use a movie soundtrack as the intro. On the CiM tour, they opened with Also Sprach Zarathustra from Space Odyssey: 2001 I believe? Anyway, they actually performed it instead of just playing it over the speakers so they could be doing that.

As far as I'm aware, that's the only time they've done that, and it sounds like a bit of an MP idea. But possibly. I'm open to ideas

[dparrott]

And on 6DOIT, they had the overture over the speakers, then the band started with About To Crash.

[cyberdrummer]

Well that's a different case altogether, because Overture is part of the same song.

[TheGreatPretender]

"Centerpiece" does not literally mean "in the middle".

Then it shouldn't be called a centerpiece, especially when coupled with a statement like 'in the sea' of shorter songs. It's misleading.   

[Voices]

A played intro would be so cool.
But I just don't see this opening as an overture, don't know why...

[GasparXR]

"Centerpiece" does not literally mean "in the middle".

Then it shouldn't be called a centerpiece, especially when coupled with a statement like 'in the sea' of shorter songs. It's misleading.   

Centerpiece simply means it's kind of the main event so to speak. "Among a sea of shorter songs" simply means that there's mostly shorter songs on the disc. He never stated where these tracks lie on the album.

[MarkFitDT]

"Centerpiece" does not literally mean "in the middle".

Then it shouldn't be called a centerpiece, especially when coupled with a statement like 'in the sea' of shorter songs. It's misleading.   

Centerpiece simply means it's kind of the main event so to speak. "Among a sea of shorter songs" simply means that there's mostly shorter songs on the disc. He never stated where these tracks lie on the album.

That is exactly way I understood it as well.

[theseoafs]

"Centerpiece" does not literally mean "in the middle".

Then it shouldn't be called a centerpiece, especially when coupled with a statement like 'in the sea' of shorter songs. It's misleading.   

Well that's a problem you should take up with whoever is in charge of the English language.

[lyfeternl]

"Centerpiece" does not literally mean "in the middle".

Then it shouldn't be called a centerpiece, especially when coupled with a statement like 'in the sea' of shorter songs. It's misleading.   

cen·ter·piece
/ˈsentərˌpēs/

Noun
1.) A decorative piece or display placed in the middle of a dining or serving table.
2.) An item or issue intended to be a focus of attention: "the tower is the centerpiece of the park".

Synonyms
centrepiece

[dparrott]

Well that's a different case altogether, because Overture is part of the same song.

JP said he wanted the first track to be like their theme music, so the first part of FAS would be the overture, then the band would start part two....

...or am I way off here?

[cyberdrummer]

Oh right I see what you mean. I agree, I can only see Sleep Paralysis being used as the intro tape, and then the band kick into the rest. Which of course could be entirely instrumental. 

[Laich21DT]

"Centerpiece" does not literally mean "in the middle".

Then it shouldn't be called a centerpiece, especially when coupled with a statement like 'in the sea' of shorter songs. It's misleading.   

cen·ter·piece
/ˈsentərˌpēs/

Noun
1.) A decorative piece or display placed in the middle of a dining or serving table.
2.) An item or issue intended to be a focus of attention: "the tower is the centerpiece of the park".

Synonyms
centrepiece

That should wrap up the confusion there.

This was definitely the most informative of the three videos. Like others have said, I actually learned something this time. There's a bass solo, the opening track is instrumental, and we also heard about a second of new music. 

[Lucien]

Oh right I see what you mean. I agree, I can only see Sleep Paralysis being used as the intro tape, and then the band kick into the rest. Which of course could be entirely instrumental.

[TheGreatPretender]

"Centerpiece" does not literally mean "in the middle".

Then it shouldn't be called a centerpiece, especially when coupled with a statement like 'in the sea' of shorter songs. It's misleading.   

cen·ter·piece
/ˈsentərˌpēs/

Noun
1.) A decorative piece or display placed in the middle of a dining or serving table.
2.) An item or issue intended to be a focus of attention: "the tower is the centerpiece of the park".

Synonyms
centrepiece

That should wrap up the confusion there.

This was definitely the most informative of the three videos. Like others have said, I actually learned something this time. There's a bass solo, the opening track is instrumental, and we also heard about a second of new music. 

Yeah, but see, I thought that when he said centerpiece, he was using it as a metaphor, where the album would be the dining table. And obviously, the plates on the dining table are filled with chocolate cake.

[Perpetual Change]

The "centerpiece" of an album can be anywhere, IMO. Octavarium is obviously the centerpiece of that record, and it's at the end.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

The discussions in this thread are awful.

[Voices]

The discussions in this thread are awful.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Standard "your face" joke.

[chrisbDTM]

The discussions in this thread are awful.

and centerpiece is just one of those discussions

[me7]

The discussions in this thread are awful.

True, but the lack of concrete facts from RR to discuss is awful as well.

[Dark Castle]

What lack of concrete facts is there? The album is still two god damned months out, why would they release a ton of information on it this early?

[Mosh]

Yea, between the "prog vs progressive" debate and the mass panic when people thought the album was only 70 minutes...I just thought that would end when we got some new info to chew on. Guess at this point I should've known better.

[Flacracker]

What lack of concrete facts is there? The album is still two god damned months out, why would they release a ton of information on it this early?

BECAUSE, DAMMIT!

[lyfeternl]

Bad topics are the...centerpiece...of this thread

[Lucien]

Bad topics are the...centerpiece...of this thread

Does that mean I find the worst topics on page 37?

[chrisbDTM]

The discussions in this thread are awful.

True, but the lack of concrete facts from RR to discuss is awful as well.

im not sure what people are expecting. DT already gives out more details than a lot of other bands



also everyone break out the tin foil hats. a suite with the first part instrumental??

that can only mean this is a recreation of awake. much like ADTOE and I&W!!!11!

[snapple]

The discussions in this thread are awful.

No one is holding a gun to your head to come post here...

[Ben_Jamin]

Well that's a different case altogether, because Overture is part of the same song.

JP said he wanted the first track to be like their theme music, so the first part of FAS would be the overture, then the band would start part two....

...or am I way off here?

I said exactly this two pages back, or more. I immediately thought, so then they might play Sleep Paralysis over the speakers, then the band, or better just the band for night terrors,  then JLB comes in for Lucid Dreams, it being the longest of the parts.

[chrisbDTM]

The discussions in this thread are awful.

No one is holding a gun to your head to come post here...

everyone has the right to their opinion on the fact that people are mad JP used the word 'centerpiece' and didn't mean the middle track on the album

[snapple]

The discussions in this thread are awful.

No one is holding a gun to your head to come post here...

everyone has the right to their opinion on the fact that people are mad JP used the word 'centerpiece' and didn't mean the middle track on the album

Fans have a right to complain about whatever they want. It's part of being a fan.

[chrisbDTM]

exactly so the popular defense of 'No one is holding a gun to your head to come post here' is pointless. there are stupid discussions in this thread and people can say that


refer to dubstep some pages back, 70 mins being too short, centerpiece, etc..