Dream Theater ruined me

[BeardedGentlemanHistorian]

It started innocently enough. Fourteen months ago I had a road trip coming up and wanted something new to listen to. I knew I would be driving for at least twelve hours so just for fun I used Google to track down some longer rock songs. My music collection had grown stagnant. I was basically listening to the same bands I did growing up. Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Megadeth. Trying to find something new and exciting was an uphill battle since the music industry seemed content on pushing nothing but manufactured, bland pop. My search led me to a song called Octavarium. Dream Theater? The name didn't ring a bell. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it was 24 minutes long! Keep in mind that at this time I thought the 10:13 "Coma" by Guns 'N Roses was long. My curiosity was piqued and I decided to pick up the entire album.

I liked both the title track and the rest of the album immediately. The technical abilities of the band members blew me away. They were on a totally different level than what I was listening to. I knew this wasn't a band for "normal' people. From here, I decided to explore their other "epic" (20 minutes and over) songs first. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. A Change of Seasons. Illumination Theory. I was hooked. By June I had all of their albums on CD. This led me to the supergroups. Liquid Tension Experiment. Transatlantic. From there I discovered other prog rock bands. Classics like Rush, niche groups like Spock's Beard, lesser known groups like Seventh Wonder, popular ones like Symphony X. I've spent more on music over the past fourteen months than I did in the decade preceding it. My music collection has more than doubled in slightly over a year. Thankfully my wife has been very patient as I geek out about these new bands.

The newness has worn off but I still find myself preferring prog rock/metal to the stuff I listened to over the last two decades. I still like it, of course, and maybe my zeal will fade a bit as these new bands become more familiar to me. Time will tell. Dream Theater really raised the bar for what I consider high end musical talent.

[Podaar]

Welcome...and great username, BTW! 

[rumborak]

Quick, choose sides now: MP vs MM, JR vs KM, CD vs JLB. So many choices, so little time!!! 

[mikeyd23]

 

Welcome!

Quick, choose sides now: MP vs MM, JR vs KM, CD vs JLB. So many choices, so little time!!! 

Also - this.

[cramx3]

Welcome and I felt the same way when I first started listening to DT 

[hefdaddy42]

Welcome!

[Mladen]

Yeah, been there, my friend. 

Welcome!

[Prog Snob]

They've ruined my ability to be responsible with my finances.

[rumborak]

DT ruined my sex life, I can only come in 5/8.

[TAC]

Probably closer to 5 than 8.

[Evai]

This thread was not what I thought it was gonna be

[King Postwhore]

DT ruined my sex life, I can only come in 5/8.

When you don't want to cum think of 4/4.

[rumborak]

But MM taught me to reinterpret a 4/4 as a 7/16 followed by a 9/16!!

[King Postwhore]

Get a tissue now.

[Skeever]

Now you gotta learn all the acronyms for all the albums and song titles if you really want to be taken seriously.

[Architeuthis]

Awesome first post, welcome to DT forums. I've been following DT for 25 years and have never gotten tired of them.  They certianly know how to keep it interesting!

[BlobVanDam]

DT ruined my sex life, I can only come in 5/8.

And also because prog fans don't get laid.

[RoeDent]

Title is misleading. DT hasn't ruined you. It's enhanced your life by introducing you to the best music ever made. Welcome aboard, sir! 

[Prog Snob]

DT ruined my sex life, I can only come in 5/8.

And also because prog fans don't get laid.

Never had a problem here.   It must be my charm and friendly personality.

[geeeemo]

I am with you!!!  Made the discovery about 1.5 years ago and cannot listen to anything else.  I have tried.  Every time I listen to other music, I just can't wait for it to be over and return to what I really want to hear.   I was able to see them 3 times last year, (1 meet and greet)  and that totally put me over. Check out their bio book Lifting Shadows, a great read! I read that before I had listened to ACOS. I checked it out the song and it literally gave me the chills..  Oh and check out the you tube (3 parts) video of MM interview..

[Scottjf8]

Welcome!!  Glad to have you!

Some lots of good things to discover. 

[wolfking]

Welcome mate!  Great first post.

[Podaar]

Welcome mate!  Great first post.

And apparently his last, as well.

[Dream Team]

Welcome mate!  Great first post.

And apparently his last, as well.

[ToT-147]

Title is misleading.

This..

Now you gotta learn all the acronyms for all the albums and song titles if you really want to be taken seriously.

Judging by his username though, I think he already knows how to be a DTFer as he's already making fun of DT's lyrics..

[BeardedGentlemanHistorian]

Title is misleading.

This..

Now you gotta learn all the acronyms for all the albums and song titles if you really want to be taken seriously.

Judging by his username though, I think he already knows how to be a DTFer as he's already making fun of DT's lyrics..

I minored in History in college and have a beard. I picked my username to both reflect that and to poke a bit of fun at the silliness of TCOT lyrics.

[ToT-147]

I wonder whether JP knows about the general opinion about his apparently silly lyrics or not.. He puts so much dedication into them that he seems like a child when explaining their meanings in an interview.. I don't think he'd like to read what most of you guys think about some of them.. Idk, just a guess.. ;V

[PetFish]

Cool stories, bros.

Next step is to own all of Jordan Rudess' apps.

[Architeuthis]

JPs lyrics are just fine to me, they seem to work well in the context of the music. Illumination Theory has depth and meaning and the music drives the point home. The Bigger Picture is another good example, and they beat Metallica to the chase with the moth into the flame part.. Ha!

[V_R11]

I wonder whether JP knows about the general opinion about his apparently silly lyrics or not.. He puts so much dedication into them that he seems like a child when explaining their meanings in an interview.. I don't think he'd like to read what most of you guys think about some of them.. Idk, just a guess.. ;V

JP lyrics are,at least to me, pretty good excluding Illumination Theory and The Count of Tuscany. Those kinda had me go like "I know you can write better stuff"

[ToT-147]

I wonder whether JP knows about the general opinion about his apparently silly lyrics or not.. He puts so much dedication into them that he seems like a child when explaining their meanings in an interview.. I don't think he'd like to read what most of you guys think about some of them.. Idk, just a guess.. ;V

JP lyrics are,at least to me, pretty good excluding Illumination Theory and The Count of Tuscany. Those kinda had me go like "I know you can write better stuff"

IT has good, complex and -as Architeuthis said- deep lyrics, which TCoT has not, so Idk how they can be matched at all.. I don't think all JP's lyrics are good, but I just don't care for what I don't like.. So I don't get why almost everyone tends to joke about them; I mean, they're not that bad.. Is one guy, which isn't a writer but a guitarist, this is what he does, and also the main composer of the band... and, apparently, the rest of the guys in the band don't wanna write a thing.. So it's really all about him since MP's departure..

Unfortunately TA gets that same feeling for most people, that it's not serious lyrics because they don't talk about RL's issues but "only" tell a story*.. Two things about this argument: first, it'd be very boring having in every album lyrics like the ones in I&W, ADToE or DT12, and also it'd be boring for JP to write always the same... How many times might have happened that he wouldn't have anything to write about and kind of feel forced to it because the song wasn't an instrumental and had to have *any* lyrics? (see Wither's meaning).. And second, there are ppl -like me- that just prefer these kind of fictional lyrics every once in awhile..

*which isn't true; TA has a straightforward meaning about what music might become if it continues in the way it's going right now [Just like a Black Mirror episode].. The story is sort of an excuse to compliment that argument... and, again, coming from a guitar player, I wasn't expecting the super mega mindblowing plot as many seem to have expected...

[PetFish]

I mean, they're not that bad.. Is one guy, which isn't a writer but a guitarist, this is what he does, and also the main composer of the band... and, apparently, the rest of the guys in the band don't wanna write a thing.. So it's really all about him since MP's departure..

... which really wouldn't have changed anything if MP was still around cuz he said he really didn't want to write anymore either and would be perfectly happy if JP did the rest of the writing going forward.

I also don't understand the IT to TCoT comparison.  O_o

[V_R11]

I mean, they're not that bad.. Is one guy, which isn't a writer but a guitarist, this is what he does, and also the main composer of the band... and, apparently, the rest of the guys in the band don't wanna write a thing.. So it's really all about him since MP's departure..

... which really wouldn't have changed anything if MP was still around cuz he said he really didn't want to write anymore either and would be perfectly happy if JP did the rest of the writing going forward.

I also don't understand the IT to TCoT comparison.  O_o

I wasn't exactly comparing them. I know IT lyrics have a deep meaning but I just never liked them

[Prog Snob]

But you're not allowed to dislike them. You might upset DT-Side and we wouldn't want that, so to make peace quick and avoid a full scale war, here is a vampire holding a teddy bear.

[ToT-147]

I mean, they're not that bad.. Is one guy, which isn't a writer but a guitarist, this is what he does, and also the main composer of the band... and, apparently, the rest of the guys in the band don't wanna write a thing.. So it's really all about him since MP's departure..

... which really wouldn't have changed anything if MP was still around cuz he said he really didn't want to write anymore either and would be perfectly happy if JP did the rest of the writing going forward.

Didn't know that..

But yeah, hopefully in the next album we see some JM and/or JLB lyrics.. I think TA was just a separate case and that there were only JP's writing on it because it was some sort of novel or play... although in SFAM that didn't happen.. Anyways, I guess we'll see...