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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: MoraWintersoul on February 22, 2013, 03:58:04 PM
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Hi everyone! I wanted to post a cool OP but my detector of awesome ideas told me I just ran out of quality OP's, so, uhm, that's life.
I'll try to share a list of my 50 favorite DT songs in a way that won't bore your ass off. I think my list is pretty safe and boring, but that's because my taste is logical to me :lol I guess everyone who knows which albums I prefer could guess at least half of what makes this list, but not the exact song positions, so you're in for a few surprises. I've also been told I can write about music in an engaging way so I hope I can apply that ability here.
The list so far:
35. Vacant
36. Under A Glass Moon
37. On The Backs Of Angels
38. Home
39. These Walls
40. Endless Sacrifice
41. Lines In The Sand
42. The Silent Man
43. Cover My Eyes
44. I Walk Beside You
45. Peruvian Skies
46. In The Name Of God
47. Lie
48. Another Won
49. About To Crash (Reprise)
50. Hollow Years
50. Hollow Years (Falling Into Infinity)
- It's kind of weird that a song that doesn't sound anything like the DT we know was the first song of theirs I've heard. It was on a mixtape-sort-of-thing a friend of my brother's gave to my brother. And I actually heard my first Winter Rose song before my first DT one via that same mixtape. And being not very attentive back then, I barely figured out it was the same dude singing :lol
Anyway, this song squeezed out a near dozen of my 51s because it's a great tune; tell JP to write a good pop tune and he'll get you there. The video is pretty redundant and they didn't get to meet Leslie Nielsen and FII is generally viewed as a dark era, but, you know what, creative conflicts and upheavals will birth great music, which is evident all over FII and the demos.
49. About To Crash (Reprise) (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, disc 2)
Yes, I split SDOIT. Sorry about that. It's generally hard enough to judge 2-minute minimalistic pieces vs 25 minute epics, prog vs metal vs pop/rock, and all the other opposites in DT's discog, throw a >40 minute suite in there and you have a recipe for having me go insane. I love Reprise more than the "basic" ABC because it provides more momentum and it just kicks you into overdrive. Not much to say about it other than that, it's a damn good DT song within a song within one disc of what is a Mount Rushmore DT album.
48. Another Won (Majesty demos)
You know which version I'm talking about. The one where James obliterated a song which wasn't even written for him. Well, he nailed that whole fucking show so that wasn't a surprise. I wasn't familiar with the setlist of Score when I first watched it so the "countdown" thing was a nice surprise and I figured this a Majesty song but I didn't know they were that... good? :lol also holy balls John Myung we already know you're an alien why flaunt it in plain sight.
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This is going to be another great trip! Join until you can, people! :laugh:
As for the actual songs, it took me some time to decide to check out that ancient outdated majesty song. Then it took me about one or two listens to love it. And yeah, James.
Also, splitting SDOIT is always a wise and appreciated move :hefdaddy:
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I've been waiting for this one... it's bound to be entertaining :corn
Hollow Years is awesome. It belongs somewhere in my top 50ish
Another Won - Meh
ATC (reprise) - meh
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Hollow Years is great, especially after hearing the LAB version. Not just because of the solo but the entire ending which was made heavier similarly to Through her Eyes on SFNY. About to Crash Reprise is good but for me, only really works in the context of the whole piece. As for Another Won, I still say that it should have replaced LFAGA but of course it would have been too hard for Charlie. :P
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3 excellent songs, especially About to Crash and Another Won. Nice start!
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Another won is a weird choice. The other two made my top 50
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Awesome! I will definitely be following this. You've made an interesting choice in spliting up Six Degrees, so I'm sure that this will be a very fun and entertaining list!
Another had killed passion's GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!
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Hollow Years almost made it to my list (spoiler!) and Another Won is really neat on Score. I'm probably one of the few who aren't bothered by splitting Six Degrees as it has always been more of a suite than a song to me.
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About the "weird" picks - I am just ordering them according to what I feel about them. Which will probably generate more weirdness. But that's why these are fun, right?
47. Lie (Awake)
Why why why the hate. I love everything about this song - yes, that includes the lyrics and the supposedly awkward chorus and whatever. It's DT doing a simple rocker. And, really, it's a guitar-dominated song, and I just love those, everything JP did with this song is perfect (okay drink every time I say perfect, I'll be saying that a lot), from the riffs that are both metal and groovy to that solo. And The Mirror reprise is just spot on, I love it when DT does that.
Shush little Lie, don't be scared, it's a cruel world out there but momma loves you :hug:
46. In The Name Of God (Train Of Thought)
Oh boy... You know what? I just love Train Of Thought. (Marco, stop grumbling back there, I can hear you) And I love everything on it, with the exception of HTF, but even that song beats half of SC and BCSL easily. ITNOG's got style and grace... okay, maybe not style and grace. It's got that perfect massive intro, perfect bigger-than-life chorus - and I don't mind them repeating it a lot of times, because I am an Iron Maiden fan - and the solo section? Fucking A. I hate the word wankery IT'S JUST COMPLICATED MUSIC NO DONG ACTION UNLESS YOU'RE KINKY LIKE THAT. In which case, god bless you.
45. Peruvian Skies (Falling Into Infinity)
"Let's make a song that's both Pink Floyd and Metallica." And then they rocked our socks off. To anyone who hasn't seen it and wants to have his day made, go look up their performance of PS on High Voltage in 2011. Oh and the lyrics are top notch.
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Nice picks!
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100% agreed on Lie! :tup I'd take "Mother Mary quite contrary" over "FOREVERMORE! INTO THE NIGHT! BLISTERING!" any day. Well, we're used to Kev's style of writing :biggrin:
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(Marco, stop grumbling back there, I can hear you)
I knew this was about me, I just knew :lol
I like your treatment of Lie, it's a very cool song (listened to the 02 version with the Tool jam yesterday in the car) that gets a lot of undeserved hate. The lurics might be quirky, but the vocal melody and delivery are both excellent.
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Good start so far but ITNOG is too low.
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100% agreed on Lie! :tup I'd take "Mother Mary quite contrary" over "FOREVERMORE! INTO THE NIGHT! BLISTERING!" any day. Well, we're used to Kev's style of writing :biggrin:
This man knows what's up.
(Marco, stop grumbling back there, I can hear you)
I knew this was about me, I just knew :lol
I like your treatment of Lie, it's a very cool song (listened to the 02 version with the Tool jam yesterday in the car) that gets a lot of undeserved hate. The lurics might be quirky, but the vocal melody and delivery are both excellent.
Well how couldn't it be.
Wow I just remembered sending that Caught In A New Millenium beforenewmillenium version to my ex-best friend because he was into those bands they channeled there. I'm glad he doesn't listen to DT anymore... awful people shouldn't listen to MY DT :biggrin:
Good start so far but ITNOG is too low.
yeah, if I ordered this "objectively" it would have been higher. But if I did that, I would have had to rank some songs I love better than those "perfect" songs significantly lower so I went for the heart's judgment instead.
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Cool songs! Great to see some Lie appreciation, I ranked it at a similar position. :tup
Also, I like your write-ups. The NO DONG ACTION part cracks me up every time I read it.
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ITNOG should be a lot higher. I don't care for the other 2 songs
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Shush little Lie, don't be scared, it's a cruel world out there but momma loves you :hug:
:lol :heart
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ITNOG is WAY too low IMO :P
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That's a perfect spot for Lie. I don't get all the hate for that song. It's damn groovy and I actually like the lyrics.
And Peruvian Skies is awesome. Hell, I might put it even higher. Such an underrated DT song.
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Lie is a very good song and deserves absolutely no hate. It is an excellent continuation of The Mirror, and I love the "I had gotten used to being a soul destroyed... ...you can tell your stepfather I said so" part.
I can't comment on whether you have it genuinely too low, as I'm only familiar with about 1/3 of the DT discography, but In the Name of God is a brilliant song that is easily the highlight of Train of Thought.
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ITNOG is waaaaaaaaaay too low... I'm listening to it right now and it should be in EVERYBODY'S TOP 20!!!!
oh and Peruvian Skies is too low too :P
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(okay drink every time I say perfect, I'll be saying that a lot)
I'm going to die of alcohol poisoning by the end of this. :lol
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(okay drink every time I say perfect, I'll be saying that a lot)
I'm going to die of alcohol poisoning by the end of this. :lol
Yes. That way you can die before I get through with my top 10.
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(okay drink every time I say perfect, I'll be saying that a lot)
I'm going to die of alcohol poisoning by the end of this. :lol
Yes. That way you can die before I get through with my top 10.
:mora:
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47. Lie
Shush little Lie, don't be scared, it's a cruel world out there but momma loves you :hug:
:D :D :D
I have loved it probably since when I heard it first time in a whole.
45. Peruvian Skies
"Let's make a song that's both Pink Floyd and Metallica." And then they rocked our socks off.
Yess, I love it.
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45. Peruvian Skies
"Let's make a song that's both Pink Floyd and Metallica." And then they rocked our socks off. To anyone who hasn't seen it and wants to have his day made, go look up their performance of PS on High Voltage in 2011. Oh and the lyrics are top notch.
Why didn't anyone tell me about this before?
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45. Peruvian Skies
"Let's make a song that's both Pink Floyd and Metallica." And then they rocked our socks off. To anyone who hasn't seen it and wants to have his day made, go look up their performance of PS on High Voltage in 2011. Oh and the lyrics are top notch.
Why didn't anyone tell me about this before?
You don't hang out with the right folks :)
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Nice so far, Peruvian Skies needs to be way higher.
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48. Another Won
You know which version I'm talking about. The one where James obliterated a song which wasn't even written for him. Well, he nailed that whole fucking show so that wasn't a surprise. I wasn't familiar with the setlist of Score when I first watched it so the "countdown" thing was a nice surprise and I figured this a Majesty song but I didn't know they were that... good? :lol also holy balls John Myung we already know you're an alien why flaunt it in plain sight.
Your #48 would be in my top 5, I guess. Many times I find myself wishing there'd be many more songs like that in DT discography. I'd trade 1 thousand Constant Motions for another... won. :smiley:
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5 days without updates... anything going on? Is there a DTF creeper following you or something? :P
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5 days without updates... anything going on? Is there a DTF creeper following you or something? :P
Just updating! (I'm so tired now I closed the tab I was writing in TWICE :mehlin) Just got back from an exam I freaked out about.
44. I Walk Beside You (Octavarium)
John Petrucci is Jesus. You heard it in Misunderstood first. Also, Score >>> Oct version.
43. The Silent Man (Awake)
I'll just leave this preciousness for the reason why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYYkf6jlUt4
42. Cover My Eyes (Falling Into Infinity demos)
To paraphrase/quote Mladen, why the fuck did they leave this off the album if they wanted a hit single for it? Killer. Not the highest unreleased song position here, either :)
41. Lines In The Sand (Falling Into Infinity)
Yeah, it's a bit low. But that's Dream Theater for ya, I love the lower half of my top 50 more than some discogs by other bands. A lot of people have written about it lately so the only thing that's left for me to emphasize is that Derek Sherinian is beyond Lovely :heart
40. Endless Sacrifice (Train Of Thought)
Oh boy. Huge songs, huge emotions, huge lyrics, huge instrumental section, huge appreciation. Please throw it in the setlist a couple more times DT, please and thank you.
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Silent man :heart. It deserves a higher spot.
LITS is also a fantastic song.
Good to see cover my eyes, it didn't make my list but it's a really nice song.
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Cover My Eyes needs to be on everyone's list. Even Blolb's. *nods*
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John Petrucci is Jesus.
Captain Obvious! :neverusethis:
LITS is awesome (now I'm being Captain Obvious! :lol) but I've never liked Cover My Eyes that much. ES (I bet the other Finns will find this abbreviation amusing :P) is another song that almost made it to my top 50 - it'll get an honorable mention.
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John Petrucci is Jesus.
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-at1D1oGH7As/UOed6aO7X4I/AAAAAAAAEGg/dOZpL_1oLPk/s1600/JesusPetrucci.jpg)
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I have an odd story about this picture. A couple of years ago I was at my then girlfriend's, whose family happened to be very religious, and I saw the original from which this picture has been made on a calendar. For about 10 seconds I was convinced I was actually seeing JP's face there, and not Jesus's.
It really took me a big logical effort to rule out the possibility. :lol
This should have gone into the "DT is my life" thread, but whatever...
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I have an odd story about this picture. A couple of years ago I was at my then girlfriend's, whose family happened to be very religious, and I saw the original from which this picture has been made on a calendar. For about 10 seconds I was convinced I was actually seeing JP's face there, and not Jesus's.
It really took me a big logical effort to rule out the possibility. :lol
This should have gone into the "DT is my life" thread, but whatever...
Totally sig'd.
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Endless Sacrifice = a top 10 for me if not 5 :heart
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I have an odd story about this picture. A couple of years ago I was at my then girlfriend's, whose family happened to be very religious, and I saw the original from which this picture has been made on a calendar. For about 10 seconds I was convinced I was actually seeing JP's face there, and not Jesus's.
It really took me a big logical effort to rule out the possibility. :lol
This should have gone into the "DT is my life" thread, but whatever...
I had the same reaction at work yesterday. :hifive:
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42. Cover My Eyes
To paraphrase/quote Mladen, why the fuck did they leave this off the album if they wanted a hit single for it? Killer. Not the highest unreleased song position here, either :)
Gotta agree with myself here. :biggrin: Also great to see Peruvian skies. :metal
Late to the party, but I'll be following the list and looking forward to seeing how it works out. :tup
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Endless Sacrifice = a top 10 for me if not 5 :heart
You're a good human being.
The Silent Man is a top 10 song and the best song off Awake. Come at me.
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39. These Walls (Octavarium)
Can you say "underrated" a million times? I'm really excited about this on the DVD. Those keyyyyyyys. Those lyricssssss. Well, okay, not so much the execution of the lyrics as much as that subject matter. That simple solo. Dem vocs. Daim!
38. Home (Scenes From A Memory)
If Metropolis were a person, I'd shamelessly whore myself with (is this the proper preposition? do I care?) it, so it's no wonder I harbor much love for his exotic younger brother as well. Okay so the sex-section is one of the worst ideas ever. But there's LSFNY to save the day, so I can turn the commentary for that part on, and laugh. JLB's wordless groaning + MP's "WHO WANTS TO COME" makes the sex-scene thing cooler and more "in character" even when I don't turn the commentary on, which brings me to another point - I quite prefer that version over the studio one, because you can just feel (and see!) DT going into world-domination sections with ease and then keeping the fun and improv factor in.
37. On The Backs Of Angels (A Dramatic Turn Of Events)
When this song came out, I figured I'd like the album a lot more than I ended up liking it (but eh, life goes on). I still think this one is phenomenally written and performed (especially by Mangini, I just wanna hug that man), and the thing I like the most about it is how they didn't let themselves beat around the bush for too long, despite taking such long time to build it up (paradoxically) and how variation is brought into different pieces of the song. I like how that guitar turnover at the end of the pre-chorus made me say "oh that was clever, I actually didn't see it coming." I like the powerful vocal lines in the chorus itself. And can I have some love for that solo.
36. Under A Glass Moon (Images And Words)
Until maybe a year ago, I didn't have this song in high regard at all. I still think it's more performance and not composition which makes it a worthwhile piece, but there's nothing wrong with that! Two things:
1) I swear to God James says "subsides to her sTurvival".
2) Pondering over UAGM lyrics at 3AM produced one of my lenghtiest rants on JP's lyrics which I just have to re-post since I'm not giving you anything worthwhile to read anyway :lol
...his strength is in the imagery, as opposed to telling a story - The Killing Hand and The Dark Eternal Night wouldn't be captivating in prose at all.
But when he depicts... I dunno, a measure of whether the lyric is good for me is whether I can proudly and unironically sing along to it without feeling silly, lots of bonus points if it's relatable. Even though UAGM and Voices are not about anything in particular, they are still so beautifully written I don't mind, and that's a rare occurrence for me. They are just overly sparkly, those words, and seemingly jumbled, just like their music, but so beautiful and beautifully put together, and beauty doesn't have to be about anything. They just fit into the early DT aesthetic as well - a group of thoughtful young men who all had such a visible spark and individuality to them, but they weren't dreadfully serious beyond their age or pompous, but just poetic and like flamboyant romantics I guess. Even the visuals - huge fluffy shirts, ridiculously long hair, brightly colored detailed covers, all in the era of plaid and Doc Martens! They were just boldly out there and those JP lyrics just fit the aesthetic. A little silly but just a little. Five percent silly and "outdated", ninety five percent brilliant is how you could call early DT in everything.
35. Vacant (Train Of Thought)
How can a simple two-minute ballad accomplish giving breathing space to an entire album, and how is it possible to capture such deep emotion in under 20 lines in an entire song? You give that task to Dream Theater and they'll figure it out.
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If Metropolis were a person, I'd shamelessly whore myself with.
brb changing name :hat
In all seriousness, all of these songs are very cool. Vacant especially is amazing, and it is so often overlooked, good to see it mentioned here. :tup
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Vacant is the only song I truly love in TOT. I wish there was more of that in the album :-\
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Vacant is the only song I truly love in TOT. I wish there was more of that in the album :-\
GET OFF THE SHIP LIKE RIGHT NOW.
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*withdraws* :emo:
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*withdraws* :emo:
(https://food.sndimg.com/img/recipes/10/63/64/large/picDu9naT.jpg)
I'll just leave these here and you'll come back :laugh:
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You are never going to get me with those petty serbian tricks! *eats*
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Good bunch of songs, I ranked them all pretty similarly.
Vacant is the only song I truly love in TOT. I wish there was more of that in the album :-\
Vacant is beautiful but there's no way it could beat a certain song on the album ;)
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5 awesome songs. Good to see love for Vacant and These Walls.
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These Walls. Another high one on my own list :hefdaddy
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5 awesome songs. Nice picks!
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39. These Walls (Octavarium)
Can you say "underrated" a million times?
MASSIVELY underrated. :2metal:
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Good ones. :tup
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34. The Ministry Of Lost Souls (Systematic Chaos)
The only SC song that made the list. To a lot of people, the instrumental section ruins it, but I really adore at least one half of it, and the rest doesn't spoil it at all. The song could have probably been a bit better if the solo was simpler and shorter but I like it a lot this way too, so there you have it.
33. Ytse Jam (When Dream And Day Unite)
Dun dun dun, dun dun dun :metal the essential DT instrumental. I sig'd a section from it for fuck sake, it's that awesome.
32. Solitary Shell (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, disc 2)
A welcome injection of positivity into SDOIT (well, at least musically), and probably the most fun song to sing along to. And Jordan is just amazing in it. SDOIT is Jordan's party and what a goddamn fun party it is.
31. Goodnight Kiss (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, disc 2)
JP sneakily tried to kill us with this solo.
30. Through Her Eyes (Scenes From A Memory)
JLB sneakily tried to kill us with his vocal phrasing here.
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Wait, are you talking about the outro solo in The Ministry of lost souls? That's the best solo I've heard in my entire life, it's perfect the way it is in my opinion. Just imagine being a guitarist and playing the solo, you wouldn't want it ever to end. ;D
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I approve Goodnight Kiss being higher than Solitary Shell, however close. I havn't cared for Ministry since May 2009, though.
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TMOLS is underrated. Through Her Eyes is fantastic! Yste Jam is great but not DT's best instrumental.
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The instrumental section of TMOLS is basically the musical equivalent of a troll face: "We decided to throw this completely unrelated instrumental to the middle of this nice ballad, u mad?!" :facepalm:
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33. Ytse Jam
Dun dun dun, dun dun dun :metal the essential DT instrumental. I sig'd a section from it for fuck sake, it's that awesome.
I sig'd a section from Raw Dog.
V
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Great list so far. TMOLS is underrated :metal
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The Ministry of Lost Souls. :tup
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29. The Mirror (Awake)
Say Puppies On Acid isn't one of the best intros ever and I'll smash your face. On acid.
28. Innocence Faded (Awake)
Probably the best "high verse" in DT discography, although not the best song containing one. It's also one of the first early DT songs I remember liking, especially in comparison to the two dark weird tracks that precede it on Awake. I always thought JLB sounded really weird here... go figure. SOMETHING SOMETHING GOD IT'S SUNDAY DO HAAAAAAIIIIIIR.
27. Another Day (Images and Words)
Probably a bit of a blasphemy to place this above Innocence Faded. I just like the lyrics a little better so I guess that outweighed IF. Sorry IF fans. I count myself among you anyway :lol
26. Another Hand/The Killing Hand
When I write it down like this, you know which version I'm talking about. JLB took a song and made it a SONG ( and I absolutely adore Another Hand, like it much better than the original intro. DT's first multisectioned epic, and what do you know, it's fabulous. I love the section of the I Can Remember When docu when JP explains the lyrics and they all get so tired by the time he finishes, it's like a goddamn bedtime story :lol
25. Beyond This Life (Scenes From A Memory)
Yes, I like this better than Home. Better song overall, with a better solo (the Zappa section ftw) and I would very much love to see it live.
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Every time I read Another Hand / The Killing Hand I hear the AH incipit ringing in my head. It's just too good :tup
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29. The Mirror (Awake)
Say Puppies On Acid isn't one of the best intros ever and I'll smash your face. On acid.
:metal
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26. Another Hand/The Killing Hand
When I write it down like this, you know which version I'm talking about. JLB took a song and made it a SONG ( and I absolutely adore Another Hand, like it much better than the original intro. DT's first multisectioned epic, and what do you know, it's fabulous. I love the section of the I Can Remember When docu when JP explains the lyrics and they all get so tired by the time he finishes, it's like a goddamn bedtime story :lol
AH/TKH is an awesome song, and you know what? Every time I listen to it, I feel like that amazing intro doesn't 100% fit to the track, but... in a good way. As you can guess from my nickname, I am quite fond of TKH, I think it's a very solid song, with a dark, epic and dramatic mood, a great suite. The intro used in AT/TKH is much warmer than the rest of the track, hopeful and positive, and you can really feel the gap between the intro and the actual song.
But the funny thing is that... it really works. This sudden change of mood, strengthens the dark atmosphere of the track by creating a strong contrast. To me, it's just like when you see those happy families at the beginning of horror/thriller movies, it's a narrative device applied in music. Aside from the contrast, it also creates an awesomely inspired crescendo, that powerfully bursts into the first stanza of TKH. Absolutely amazing.
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Beyond This Life on the right spot, Yup I just sad that. I saw it live and it became my number 1 and obsession. (Bootlegs etc.) So yeah.
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Vacant is the only song I truly love in TOT. I wish there was more of that in the album :-\
But there IS more of that in the album, 11:16 minutes in fact. Slightly heavier mind you :P
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I dont't like BTL than much. I will give it a try.
And AH/TKH :metal
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26. Another Hand/The Killing Hand
When I write it down like this, you know which version I'm talking about. JLB took a song and made it a SONG ( and I absolutely adore Another Hand, like it much better than the original intro. DT's first multisectioned epic, and what do you know, it's fabulous. I love the section of the I Can Remember When docu when JP explains the lyrics and they all get so tired by the time he finishes, it's like a goddamn bedtime story :lol
AH/TKH is an awesome song, and you know what? Every time I listen to it, I feel like that amazing intro doesn't 100% fit to the track, but... in a good way. As you can guess from my nickname, I am quite fond of TKH, I think it's a very solid song, with a dark, epic and dramatic mood, a great suite. The intro used in AT/TKH is much warmer than the rest of the track, hopeful and positive, and you can really feel the gap between the intro and the actual song.
But the funny thing is that... it really works. This sudden change of mood, strengthens the dark atmosphere of the track by creating a strong contrast. To me, it's just like when you see those happy families at the beginning of horror/thriller movies, it's a narrative device applied in music. Aside from the contrast, it also creates an awesomely inspired crescendo, that powerfully bursts into the first stanza of TKH. Absolutely amazing.
Finally Free uses the same technique but works MUCH better. Although I like AH, I prefer the studio intro.
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28. Innocence Faded (Awake)
Probably the best "high verse" in DT discography, although not the best song containing one. It's also one of the first early DT songs I remember liking, especially in comparison to the two dark weird tracks that precede it on Awake. I always thought JLB sounded really weird here... go figure. SOMETHING SOMETHING GOD IT'S SUNDAY DO HAAAAAAIIIIIIR.
Love for Innocence Faded :heart.
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28. Innocence Faded (Awake)
Probably the best "high verse" in DT discography, although not the best song containing one. It's also one of the first early DT songs I remember liking, especially in comparison to the two dark weird tracks that precede it on Awake. I always thought JLB sounded really weird here... go figure. SOMETHING SOMETHING GOD IT'S SUNDAY DO HAAAAAAIIIIIIR.
Love for Innocence Faded :heart.
I love the song. But "fists like a fossil" kinda ruined it for me. :-\
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24. Misunderstood (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, disc 1)
I gotta tell ya, when I first connected with some DT fans over the internet, I was shocked finding out that not all of them like this song. What's not to like?! Simplicity on the surface, fucked-up-ness in the deep, JP/Jesus parallels, FREE NOISE.
In hindsight, I should have seen that coming :P
23. Take The Time (Images and Words)
I've always said this is a perfect song to quickly demonstrate someone what was Dream Theater all about while not necessarily trying to get that person to like them ;D There's four lyricists demonstrating what they have in common, there's grooviness a-plenty (they've only been that groovy on Falling Into Infinity, since), smooth verses and an impossibly high (and incomprehensible one, but hey :D) one, and those solos :eek best keyboard lead ever.
Also, if you play that person Live In Tokyo, you get JLB unleashing a blistering high scream and JP soloing his balls off. Yum. Me likey.
22. Voices (Awake)
If you like Dream Theater and don't like this song, it's pretty possible you're doing it wrong? It's as if Images and Words were in a slightly suicidal deranged phase. In ten minutes. And the best misheard lyrics material ever.
21. Trial Of Tears (Falling Into Infinity)
I think one of the first things that ever hooked me on Dream Theater was "raining deep in heaven". I can see myself, years ago: "THERE'S SECTIONS? CAN YOU DO THAT? Who is this man and how does he write lyrics so well??? The singing is soooo smoooooooth gosh." Et cetera.
20. To Live Forever
They really should have released this song. I mean, sure, there's two different versions of it and it was on the DVD. But it should have been on an album, because this way it only has a legendary status amongst us geeks, and it's one of the more accessible DT songs so it's a darn shame. I prefer the '91 version without the extra verse (quick, Milena likes something Kevin Moore-less better than something Kevin Moore-some, call the cops), and the live versions with the jam just rule (hi Marco, you can come in now).
When was the last time you heard it? Go hear it again. Go now go now go now go now *Mikael Stanne*
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I expected to see Voices higher but oh well... All great songs nevertheless, although I would enjoy Misunderstood even more without the headache-inducing keyboards in the outro.
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Yeah, I surprised myself with that one as well :lol I have a feeling you won't have any complaints for my top 20 ;)
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Not a fan of Misunderstood. All the other choices are fantastic :heart
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Me enjoy choices. Me likey Misunderstood except for the outro, I think it goes on a little too long.
Once again ToT is way too low. :biggrin:
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These are all too low for me
:yeahright
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*comes in*
TLF is all that Milena said. Plus, the ending jams of the song have always represented some of the absolute instrumental highlights of the relative tour, as you can realize and agree (you can't disagree, I'm sorry if you wanted to) watching the LiT jam or this (better) Train Of Though Jam I uploaded https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VddMqW-I44
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Me enjoy choices. Me likey Misunderstood except for the outro, I think it goes on a little too long.
Once again ToT is way too low. :biggrin:
Yup. TTT deserves higher as well. Like top 3.
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*comes in*
TLF is all that Milena said. Plus, the ending jams of the song have always represented some of the absolute instrumental highlights of the relative tour, as you can realize and agree (you can't disagree, I'm sorry if you wanted to) watching the LiT jam or this (better) Train Of Though Jam I uploaded https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VddMqW-I44
Wow, that version of TLF is really cool!
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*comes in*
TLF is all that Milena said. Plus, the ending jams of the song have always represented some of the absolute instrumental highlights of the relative tour, as you can realize and agree (you can't disagree, I'm sorry if you wanted to) watching the LiT jam or this (better) Train Of Though Jam I uploaded https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VddMqW-I44
Wow, that version of TLF is really cool!
Yiss sir!
19. Octavarium (Octavarium)
I've never quite come across anyone whose reaction to 8VM is similar to mine. Everyone adores Razor's Edge. Everyone either thinks Someone Like Me + Medicate are boring or that Full Circle and Intervals are wacky. I'm kind of everything opposite to that - ADORE everything pre-Razor's Edge, but like Razor's Edge as well, it's just that, before 2005, DT has done this "epic conclusion to epic song" a few more times and done it better.
Many also say that it's highly unoriginal. Gee, I don't know, I loved catching musical references during my first and second listen of Octavarium. "That was quite Floydian! Huuuuuge Brian May vibe! What Dave Mustaine-isms from James!" et cetera. I loved the solos after. I loved the version of Octavarium on Score, with that powerful scream. And when I came across that 8VM analysis page, my mind was blown. "All this weird shit in the album art has a meaning?"
tl;dr prog ladyboner
18. Overture/Strange Déjà vu (Scenes From A Memory)
So everyone says they never listen to one song without the other and that they perfectly set tone to the rest of SFAM. What else can I say? First off, if anyone told me I could only listen to one "scene" off SFAM for the rest of my life, I'd pick this one and never look back. Secondly, whenever Dream Theater's been heavy in the early past, they always metal'd really hard. On FII, but ESPECIALLY on Scenes, they ROCKED really hard as well. Much love for that.
17. Pull Me Under (Images and Words)
This song is the reason why many, many of us are here. RESPECT.
16. The Glass Prison (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, disc one)
If the "modern metal" side of Dream Theater came out like THIS post-2005 and pre-Mangini, it would have been side by side with 90's DT. Well, slightly lagging, but. Incredibly well-thought out song, with amazing lyrics (MP's best after ACOS), instrumentation and drive, it completely slays. May I remind you how powerful the Revelation section is?
Way off in the distance I saw a door
I tried to open
I tried forcing with all of my will but still
The door wouldn't open
Unable to trust in my faith
I turned and walked away
I looked around, felt a chill in the air
Took my will and turned it over
The glass prison which once held me is gone
A long lost fortress
Armed only with liberty
And the key of my willingness
Fell down on my knees and prayed
"Thy will be done"
I turned around, saw a light shining through
The door was wide open
:hefdaddy BRING THIS BACK NEXT TOUR
15. Scarred (Awake)
I laughed at myself when I saw I placed this just one spot over TGP, I really did :laugh: Like many, I didn't pay much attention to Scarred (it was probably near the bottom of my top 50) before I heard this was JLB's favorite song to perform and I just wondered "why that one" and re-listened to it and, as it happens, when I heard it "properly" - not just going over it like "oh okay this is nice" because of the proximity to SDV :lol - it blew my mind. I can't pick one trait of it to highlight, everything on it is just so amazing. The best Dream Theater songs were always 10-something-minute songs and this is just one of the many shining pearls.
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Octavarium is what it is, but at least you ranked PMU, TGP and Scarred higher :tup
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Octavarium is what it is, but at least you ranked PMU, TGP and Scarred higher :tup
What I said in my writeup, I meant it, NO ONE feels about OCT as I do :lol if some of you do, come out of the bushes!
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Well, I feel similarly in the way that Razor's Edge is definitely the worst part of the song, though I wouldn't say that I adore Full Circle either. The rest is pretty cool, though it's not one of my favourites.
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I think Razor's Edge is an improvement from the pure mediocrity of the previous 2 movements but it's not as great as everyone thinks IMO - DT have managed to come up with loads of climactic outros that aren't epic just for the sake of being epic.
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Five absolutely fantastic songs, it's always a delight to see Scarred. And yeah, those lyrics in Revelation are amazing. :metal
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Five absolutely fantastic songs,
:tup
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5 great songs, although Pull Me Under isn't one of my favourite from I&W. I agree that TGP should really be played live again; SO ENERGY, SO POWAH!
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Scarred deserves as high as top 10.
hiblob
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16. The Glass Prison (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, disc one)
Whenever I listen to this in my car, I crank it (like, REALLY LOUD) and it makes me drive faster for some weird reason. :police:
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Milena, we think alike!
All of these are high on my list (with the exception of maybe Overture / SDV... only because I usually listen to SFAM as a whole... and usually to fall asleep..
And the think about the first parts of 8VRM... I have a line from Someone Like Him tattooed to me.. That shows that the song has a deeper meaning to me.
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Milena, we think alike!
:highfive:
Scarred deserves as high as top 10.
hiblob
*your mother is top 10 reverse joke*
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The best Dream Theater songs were always 10-something-minute songs and this is just one of the many shining pearls.
This is a frameworthy sentence. Truth has spoken!
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The best Dream Theater songs were always 10-something-minute songs and this is just one of the many shining pearls.
This is a frameworthy sentence. Truth has spoken!
Indeed! When I pick favourite songs, it's usually songs in the 10-14 minute range. Blind Faith, Learning to Live, Breaking All Illusions, In the Name of God, just to name a few.
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The best Dream Theater songs were always 10-something-minute songs and this is just one of the many shining pearls.
This is a frameworthy sentence. Truth has spoken!
Indeed! When I pick favourite songs, it's usually songs in the 10-14 minute range. Blind Faith, Learning to Live, Breaking All Illusions, In the Name of God, just to name a few.
The Silent Man is an exception for me. But yeah. That's pretty accurate.
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From such consideration I created the term "Short Epics" for those songs:
The Killing Hand
Metropolis (dubious)
Learning To Live
Scarred
Trial Of Tears
Finally Free
Blind Faith
Breaking All Illusions
It's easy to say that many will agree DT's best lies in those songs :)
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^All of those except FF are in my top 20 so I can't say I disagree :) The mega epics have always been hit-or-miss IMO, only ACOS and The Count are exceptionally awesome.
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The count itself, as well as ITNOG, are more like oversized short epics, rather than long epics such as ACOS and 8V. There's a significantly different approach to composition between those two categories of songs.
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14. 6:00 (Awake)
I thought I'd be the only one who'd rank this song this high, and then I think several of you one-upped me :rollin Loving every fabulous minute of Awake, which includes every fabulous minute of how it starts. "The pain inside, coming outside". Just darn beautiful. This song reminds me to fucking do something about it.
13. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream (Awake)
I've probably never heard a DT song more delicate than this, and being obsessed with delicate music, I'm as hooked to this as a, as, umm, all the fish when a really good, um, fisher comes down to the shore with his, ehm, hooks and that shit. *clears throat after awful metaphore*
12. The Spirit Carries On (Scenes From A Memory)
I understand people who may find this song boring. For me, though, it's pretty cathartic and I fully support DT playing it every goddamn night. There's been loads of death in my family ever since I was a little girl, and loads of changes in my life as well, and this song, even though it's written about a fictional character coming to terms with another fictional character's death and his own mortality in a story I regard fantasy (since I don't believe in reincarnation), it does remind me of one very really thing - that it's not about the physical presence, it's about the spirit, the "memories in your head", if I may get Riverside-expressions into the mix (and I may).
All that, and it's a great song.
11. Metropolis pt.1 (Images and Words)
Milena 1: WHAT WHAT WHAT PUT IT IN THE TOP 10 PUT IT IN THE TOP 10
Milena 2: Calm yo tits
Milena 1: ARE YOU INSANE HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO JUSTIFY PUTTING THE DT SONG OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 TO YOUR CHILDREN
Milena 2: Shut the fuck up it's just one position I don't even like round numbers wait WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU - STOPPPP - STOP KICKING ME YOU SICK FREAK MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I'M HITTING MYSELF YOU BETTER COME OVER
10. Disappear (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, disc 1)
The "sit in front of the computer at 3 am, listen to it on repeat for sixty minutes and cry your eyes out because it's a beautiful song"-song.
Also, James, what the fuck.
"*sees a young couple out in public* I wonder what he'd do if she were diagnosed with a terminal illness *writes song lyrics*?"
??? me no get
You emphatic, slightly morbid awesome hell of a man.
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Milena 1: WHAT WHAT WHAT PUT IT IN THE TOP 10 PUT IT IN THE TOP 10
Milena 2: Calm yo tits
Milena 1: ARE YOU INSANE HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO JUSTIFY PUTTING THE DT SONG OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 TO YOUR CHILDREN
Milena 2: Shut the fuck up it's just one position I don't even like round numbers wait WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU - STOPPPP - STOP KICKING ME YOU SICK FREAK MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I'M HITTING MYSELF YOU BETTER COME OVER
The DTF pantheon is getting more and more crowded :lol
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Great batch. 6:00 deserves that spot, and I liked it even more after seeing it live.
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Anyone wanna guess any of the top 9?
10. Disappear
11. Metropolis
12. The Spirit Carries On
13. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
14. 6:00
15. Scarred
16. The Glass Prison
17. Pull Me Under
18. Overture/Strange Déjà vu
19. Octavarium
20. To Live Forever
21. Trial Of Tears
22. Voices
23. Take The Time
24. Misunderstood
25. Beyond This Life
26. Another Hand/The Killing Hand
27. Another Day
28. Innocence Faded
29. The Mirror
30. Through Her Eyes
31. Goodnight Kiss
32. Solitary Shell
33. Ytse Jam
34. The Ministry Of Lost Souls
35. Vacant
36. Under A Glass Moon
37. On The Backs Of Angels
38. Home
39. These Walls
40. Endless Sacrifice
41. Lines In The Sand
42. The Silent Man
43. Cover My Eyes
44. I Walk Beside You
45. Peruvian Skies
46. In The Name Of God
47. Lie
48. Another Won
49. About To Crash (Reprise)
50. Hollow Years
Just to help you with some less obvious choices - there's one more song off an album I don't like, one more pick from FII, the rest of IAW (three more songs) on varying positions and some other goodies :D
(Marco is forbidden to play because he knows)
:dangerwillrobinson:
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Eve is definitely in the Top 9. Maybe even Top 5?
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6:00 in top 15! :hifive: Too bad so few realize it deserves to be ranked that high...
Disappear seems like a song I could easily love but for some reason it has never really struck me - it misses something that would make me go :omg: :o
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Eve is definitely in the Top 9. Maybe even Top 5?
*watches and thoughtfully smiles*
6:00 in top 15! :hifive: Too bad so few realize it deserves to be ranked that high...
Disappear seems like a song I could easily love but for some reason it has never really struck me - it misses something that would make me go :omg: :o
Yeah, I guess it's just one of those things you could like but don't. Kind of how I don't like Metallica much :rollin
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But... I wanted to take an educated guess :(
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And since I am allowed to guess:
Those 3 I&W songs
Eve
ACOS
Hell's Bitchin'
Blind Faith
BAI
The obvious #1 :D
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3 from I&W
Burning My Soul
Honor Thy Father
A Rite of Passage
The Great Debate
Your Majesty
Forsaken
----
And now the serious list:
Surrounded
Wait for Sleep
Learning to Live
A Change of Seasons
Eve
Space-Dye Vest
Hell's Kitchen
Stream of Consciousness
Breaking All Illusions
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Some of you have very good ideas of things :lol correct order?
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But can you try to guess the correct order, assuming your choices are correct? :)
ETA: You stole my ideaaaaa :rollin
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Not sure what the order for 2-9 will be, although I'm expecting to see ACOS and LTL in top 5, probably WFS and Blind Faith too.
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Oh my god, I love your write-ups. The Metropolis one had me in stitches.
Soooo... guesses?
Surrounded
ACOS
Eve
Learning to Live
Hell's Kitchen
the obvious #1
...and some other stuff.
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Calm yo tits
My new favourite expression :lol
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Btw, every time someone tries to guess a song I do not have in my top 50, I feel so bad for not including them. I wish I had a top 60 or something. It seems, with DT, there's around 60-65 songs I like A LOT, then some 20 I absolutely dislike and the rest falls under "yes, cool shit, very cool".
Calm yo tits
My new favourite expression :lol
It's not mine but I don't know where I got it from? :lol
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^Yeah, I was sad too when I had to leave great songs like Don't Look Past Me and Misunderstood out of my list.
I also just realized that Disappear was #10 already and there are only 9 songs left! :lolpalm: I edited my post and also replaced Anna Lee with HK - it'd be a crying shame if that song didn't appear in someone's top 50! ;)
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Love TCOS and 6:00
11. Metropolis pt.1 (Images and Words)
Milena 1: WHAT WHAT WHAT PUT IT IN THE TOP 10 PUT IT IN THE TOP 10
Milena 2: Calm yo tits
Milena 1: ARE YOU INSANE HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO JUSTIFY PUTTING THE DT SONG OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 TO YOUR CHILDREN
Milena 2: Shut the fuck up it's just one position I don't even like round numbers wait WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU - STOPPPP - STOP KICKING ME YOU SICK FREAK MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I'M HITTING MYSELF YOU BETTER COME OVER
Don't worry about 1 spot...some of us didn't even put it in their top 50 :o
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11. Metropolis pt.1 (Images and Words)
Milena 1: WHAT WHAT WHAT PUT IT IN THE TOP 10 PUT IT IN THE TOP 10
Milena 2: Calm yo tits
Milena 1: ARE YOU INSANE HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO JUSTIFY PUTTING THE DT SONG OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 TO YOUR CHILDREN
Milena 2: Shut the fuck up it's just one position I don't even like round numbers wait WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU - STOPPPP - STOP KICKING ME YOU SICK FREAK MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I'M HITTING MYSELF YOU BETTER COME OVER
i ranked it 21. I'm cool with this :tup
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11. Metropolis pt.1 (Images and Words)
Milena 1: WHAT WHAT WHAT PUT IT IN THE TOP 10 PUT IT IN THE TOP 10
Milena 2: Calm yo tits
Milena 1: ARE YOU INSANE HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO JUSTIFY PUTTING THE DT SONG OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 TO YOUR CHILDREN
Milena 2: Shut the fuck up it's just one position I don't even like round numbers wait WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU - STOPPPP - STOP KICKING ME YOU SICK FREAK MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I'M HITTING MYSELF YOU BETTER COME OVER
OMG! :rollin :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :rollin
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11. Metropolis pt.1 (Images and Words)
Milena 1: WHAT WHAT WHAT PUT IT IN THE TOP 10 PUT IT IN THE TOP 10
Milena 2: Calm yo tits
Milena 1: ARE YOU INSANE HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO JUSTIFY PUTTING THE DT SONG OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 TO YOUR CHILDREN
Milena 2: Shut the fuck up it's just one position I don't even like round numbers wait WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU - STOPPPP - STOP KICKING ME YOU SICK FREAK MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I'M HITTING MYSELF YOU BETTER COME OVER
:clap:
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11. Metropolis pt.1 (Images and Words)
Milena 1: WHAT WHAT WHAT PUT IT IN THE TOP 10 PUT IT IN THE TOP 10
Milena 2: Calm yo tits
Milena 1: ARE YOU INSANE HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO JUSTIFY PUTTING THE DT SONG OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 TO YOUR CHILDREN
Milena 2: Shut the fuck up it's just one position I don't even like round numbers wait WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU - STOPPPP - STOP KICKING ME YOU SICK FREAK MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I'M HITTING MYSELF YOU BETTER COME OVER
:lol You crazy, crazy person. :heart
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11. Metropolis pt.1 (Images and Words)
Milena 1: WHAT WHAT WHAT PUT IT IN THE TOP 10 PUT IT IN THE TOP 10
Milena 2: Calm yo tits
Milena 1: ARE YOU INSANE HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO JUSTIFY PUTTING THE DT SONG OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 TO YOUR CHILDREN
Milena 2: Shut the fuck up it's just one position I don't even like round numbers wait WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU - STOPPPP - STOP KICKING ME YOU SICK FREAK MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I'M HITTING MYSELF YOU BETTER COME OVER
This is perhaps the best thing that has ever been written in a top 50 thread. Ever.
And regarding Octavarium, I like every single section of it. Just sayin'. But if you have Eve in your top 10, we are not a match.
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11. Metropolis pt.1 (Images and Words)
Milena 1: WHAT WHAT WHAT PUT IT IN THE TOP 10 PUT IT IN THE TOP 10
Milena 2: Calm yo tits
Milena 1: ARE YOU INSANE HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO JUSTIFY PUTTING THE DT SONG OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 10 TO YOUR CHILDREN
Milena 2: Shut the fuck up it's just one position I don't even like round numbers wait WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU - STOPPPP - STOP KICKING ME YOU SICK FREAK MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM I'M HITTING MYSELF YOU BETTER COME OVER
This is perhaps the best thing that has ever been written in a top 50 thread. Ever.
Agreed :metal
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This is perhaps the best thing that has ever been written in a top 50 thread. Ever.
I feel so awesome now.
But if you have Eve in your top 10, we are not a match.
Aaaaaaaaaand it's gone :lol
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But if you have Eve in your top 10, we are not a match.
Aaaaaaaaaand it's gone :lol
(https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/forumavatars/avatar_7076_1354406123.gif)
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But if you have Eve in your top 10, we are not a match.
Aaaaaaaaaand it's gone :lol
Milena, you should consider removing it, he's George Clooney's double... :-X
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This is perhaps the best thing that has ever been written in a top 50 thread. Ever.
WORD. :metalol:
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Also, James, what the fuck.
"*sees a young couple out in public* I wonder what he'd do if she were diagnosed with a terminal illness *writes song lyrics*?"
??? me no get
You emphatic, slightly morbid awesome hell of a man.
Awesome. :lol
Five incredible songs indeed. :tup
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I have a weird feeling that Space Dye Vest isn't number 1. Just saying..
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Oh come on, you know me that well. :lol
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It's just that I'm full of surprises and love surprises. In my top 50 albums list,I pretty much got all of you by surprise. (:lol) So,your number 1 might not be Strange Deja Vu. ( ;))
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9. Breaking All Illusions (A Dramatic Turn Of Events)
*sort of wishes the rest of the album was more like this*
*shuts up and gets over it*
A lot of things have been said about this song so I am not going to repeat them all, but instead say the bass-heavy pre-verse intro and JMX's name in the lyric credits helped establish the "this is special, this is something that doesn't happen often" feel and that the song didn't betray my initial expectations at all.
8. Hell's Kitchen (Falling Into Infinity)
This was actually at some point my favorite song of all time. There's something to be said about DT doing such an uplifting, simple instrumental; when I heard how gently JP treated the main melody for the first time, I got goosebumps. If you focus on the keys throughout the entire song, as well, you'll see why I adore Derek and FII so much.
This was also one of my first musical misunderstandings - when I made the mistake of playing some of my music out loud a couple of years ago, somewhere in the middle of the most epic, grandiose part of it, my sister (or my brother, can't remember who) said "turn that plodding, boring crap off, I can't focus on my homework." Yep.
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BAI is marvelous. And I rarely use that word.
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BAI is outstanding. And I always use that word.
:biggrin:
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the bass-heavy pre-verse intro and JMX's name in the lyric credits helped establish the "this is special, this is something that doesn't happen often" feel
I'm not sure if I ever told you that what you just wrote is what made BAI click to me in the first place, and to this day probably a top 3 ADTOE moment. :)
And Hell's Kitchen is majestic, I should interrupt You Go Now to go listen to it right away. :D
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Just thinking about hearing/seeing BAI live is giving me MAJOR goosebumps. :)
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BAI is marvelous.
This. I wouldn't rank HK that high, but it definitely is a top 3 DT instrumental and the ending is simply epic :hefdaddy
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BAI is marvelous.
This. I wouldn't rank HK that high, but it definitely is a top 3 DT instrumental and the ending is simply epic :hefdaddy
For me HK is top 2 ;)
Just thinking about hearing/seeing BAI live is giving me MAJOR goosebumps. :)
I really hope they keep it for next tour.
I should interrupt You Go Now to go listen to it right away. :D
[Devin]NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER[/Devin]
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Just thinking about hearing/seeing BAI live is giving me MAJOR goosebumps. :)
I really hope they keep it for next tour.
I hope so too.
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Same here. Seeing it once is absolutely not enough, as with all great great songs. :tup
I should interrupt You Go Now to go listen to it right away. :D
[Devin]NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER[/Devin]
Now the album is over and I can do it without indian curses coming from you :D
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Just thinking about hearing/seeing BAI live is giving me MAJOR goosebumps. :)
I really hope they keep it for next tour.
I hope so too.
Me too. It could be a great encore. At least better than Pull Me Under. :tdwn
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I've never seen DT live so I wouldn't mind if they kept BAI in the setlist, either.
BAI is marvelous.
This. I wouldn't rank HK that high, but it definitely is a top 3 DT instrumental and the ending is simply epic :hefdaddy
For me HK is top 2 ;)
It might be top 2 for me as well, but I can't decide whether I like it better than Erotomania; Overture 1928 is close to the top too. However, I'm in 100% agreement with you about the best instrumental! ;)
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Breaking all illusions is amazing. If they decide to keep one ADTOE song for the next tour, I hope Breaking all illusions will be it. Fingers crossed. :smiley:
I don't care for Hell's kitchen. At all.
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7. Eve
What can I say? I am one of those kids on DTF who appreciate Eve a lot for what it is. It's not the "rare" factor honestly - I'd only rate a couple of unreleased tracks higher than what ended up on the albums. It's just about my very favorite group musicians showing off their atmosphere-creation skills.
I've always said it sounds like a really early Chroma Key demo melded together with an undeveloped jam of JP's. The best feature of it is definitely the way that short drum spotlight makes your heart skip a beat, and the sudden dark ending absolutely takes my breath away. It feels like someone dropped a weight on my stomach while I was peacefully stargazing, the apprehension, the "this-will-not-end-well" of those two seconds, they just kill me. They couldn't resist suggesting there lay a seed of discord in the faerylike purity of whatever it was they wanted to represent in the song, but then there's a clean, conclusive and warm, almost unnoticeable piano note and wintery flourishes on the keys, and the sound of drums settling down behind it that make everything seem right again. Like it was a human being (well, it is named after the first woman, so I might be on to something here) with its imperfections that just highlight its beauty.
I'm not sure all of it is on purpose, nor that it's supposed to be "read" that way but that's the fun of it, right?
And the version with the samples guides me home.
6. Wait For Sleep (Images And Words)
"She stares at the ceiling
And tries not to think
And pictures the chains
She's been trying to link again
But the feeling is gone
And water can't cover her memory,
And ashes can't answer her pain!
God, give me the power to take breath from a breeze
And call life from a cold metal frame..."
5. Blind Faith (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence)
We've been talking a lot about this song as well, so there's just two things left for me to say (again)
1) One of the rare DT sections the time of whose exact position in the song I know by heart is the piano break at 6:12. As I've said a million times before, SDOIT is JR's party and I love hanging out at that party, eating ALL the stardust-sprinkled cookies and drinking all the booze and kissing all the women. And it doesn't get any better than Blind Faith.
2) The lyrics are JLB's second finest work and they do an excellent work of expressing the complexity of the religious views of a man who's had about 40 years to think about them, and with all the clarity, eloquence and engaging narrative ability that is the mark of everything he says.
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All fantastic songs :tup
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Eve! :heart
The other two are amazing as well.
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WFS :heart
BF :heart :heart
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Breaking All Illusions :hefdaddy
Wait For Sleep :heart
Blind Faith :-X
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I've never see so many hearts on this board :lol
The songs :hearts:
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7. Eve
6. Wait For Sleep (Images And Words)
5. Blind Faith (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence)
(https://gs1.wac.edgecastcdn.net/8019B6/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9myhzJwtM1qbqjqvo2_250.gif)
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I've never see so many hearts on this board :lol
The songs :hearts
They all got my disease.
7. Eve
6. Wait For Sleep (Images And Words)
5. Blind Faith (Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence)
(https://gs1.wac.edgecastcdn.net/8019B6/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9myhzJwtM1qbqjqvo2_250.gif)
(https://gs1.wac.edgecastcdn.net/8019B6/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma3rv7hGc11qbqjqvo1_250.gif)
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Hell's Kitchen, Wait for Sleep and Blind Faith, way to go :hefdaddy.
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^^Responding to an epic gif with another epic gif =
(https://i322.photobucket.com/albums/nn431/Moriel_Alcaril/reaction/tumblr_lrkjl5bYej1qff92vo1_400_zps56cd0945.gif)
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(https://www.animationbuddy.com/Animation/Animals/Primates_and_Monkeys/Monkey_dance.gif)
Am I doing it wrong?
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Wait for sleep :tup
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Just thinking about hearing/seeing BAI live is giving me MAJOR goosebumps. :)
I really hope they keep it for next tour.
I hope so too.
Me too. It could be a great encore. At least better than Pull Me Under. :tdwn
Indeed. Although there are always a couple of hundred people who come just to hear that song.
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4. A Change Of Seasons
I've only become aware of the need to listen to ACOS after I've finished with all the then-available full studio albums, which means early 2010. Dream Theater had an amazing effect on the way I perceive and seek out music, but if I had to pinpoint one song that marked the biggest shift in the way I think, it would be the one that "sealed the deal", the last.
Me and Dream Theater, after a shy period where I eyed them for awhile, too afraid to seek further contact, entered a whirlwind romance near the beginning of 2009, got engaged quickly, and were now together. After a painful time period after the split until the end of 2011, our happy reunion was celebrated by listening to songs that reminded me of all the good things Mike Portnoy left Dream Theater fans with, besides phenomenal drumming (present in the song) and communication (and who knows whether they would have had this tune finally recorded if there weren't for fans writing to the band and band response?), and that is a strong sense of direction and his good lyrics. How do you write lyrics such as these so young? There's nostalgia, love, loss and pain, defiance, acceptance, vision, all in the same song.
3. Surrounded (Images and Words)
As a Queen fan, this song hit me really hard with its happy, major sound, prominent keyboards, perfectly timed solo and soaring vocals. It also kept on hitting me harder and harder each time I listened to it. You know that old, worn out sentence, that there's nothing more to add? Sure, there always is more to add. But there are sometimes simple songs so beautiful where even bands like Dream Theater don't want to add anything more to them.
It would be pretty interesting to draw a parallel between 6:00 and Surrounded, as they both started out as Kevin's babies and feature lyrics by him, moreover that they both deal with some sort of awakening. It's interesting to see how much his approach to Dream Theater has changed in the meantime, from music, in the choice of synth sounds, to lyrics. Both scenes of the physical awakening are equally "violent" to the senses - set sirens wake up tired eyes, memories rush into the protagonist's head/the siren kicks him from a dream and can't be shaken off. The theme of 6:00 is more down to earth, and Surrounded is very Dream Theater, with an obscure storyline and ending, with dramatic images of stained glass shattering, shadows, stars, blinding light and a mystical "her"-entity dancing and whispering words to clear the protagonist's mind. It is also more beautiful in the traditional sense of the word.
In both songs, the spiritual awakening is harder to achieve than the physical one, but it seems that, for that too, you need a "siren" to wake you up, that you must seek it out, and that it's easier to walk away than look it in the eye. But you must answer the call while you can still hear it from an ivory tower. You must answer it while it's loud and clear.
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Two fantastic songs. I wouldn't place Surrounded that high though. Once again, great writeups!
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Two amazing songs. Another World is and will probably forever be my single favourite song section that DT have ever written. DAT SOLO.
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Another World is and will probably forever be my single favourite song section that DT have ever written. DAT SOLO.
So true. Those are also some of James' best vocals ever.
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Another World is and will probably forever be my single favourite song section that DT have ever written. DAT SOLO.
So true. Those are also some of James' best vocals ever.
I once had this big moment with Another World where I was listening to ACOS on my return from a place and it started snowing as soon as the section started. It was the most amazing thing ever.
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4. A Change Of Seasons
Me and Dream Theater, after a shy period where I eyed them for awhile, too afraid to seek further contact, entered a whirlwind romance near the beginning of 2009, got engaged quickly, and were now together. After a painful time period after the split until the end of 2011, our happy reunion was celebrated by listening to songs that reminded me of all the good things Mike Portnoy left Dream Theater fans with, besides phenomenal drumming (present in the song) and communication (and who knows whether they would have had this tune finally recorded if there weren't for fans writing to the band and band response?), and that is a strong sense of direction and his good lyrics. How do you write lyrics such as these so young? There's nostalgia, love, loss and pain, defiance, acceptance, vision, all in the same song.
Your version of an eat my ass and balls-like nugget? :)
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4. A Change Of Seasons
Me and Dream Theater, after a shy period where I eyed them for awhile, too afraid to seek further contact, entered a whirlwind romance near the beginning of 2009, got engaged quickly, and were now together. After a painful time period after the split until the end of 2011, our happy reunion was celebrated by listening to songs that reminded me of all the good things Mike Portnoy left Dream Theater fans with, besides phenomenal drumming (present in the song) and communication (and who knows whether they would have had this tune finally recorded if there weren't for fans writing to the band and band response?), and that is a strong sense of direction and his good lyrics. How do you write lyrics such as these so young? There's nostalgia, love, loss and pain, defiance, acceptance, vision, all in the same song.
Your version of an eat my ass and balls-like nugget? :)
Thank you for noticing :)
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And now the serious list:
Surrounded
Wait for Sleep
Learning to Live
A Change of Seasons
Eve
Space-Dye Vest
Hell's Kitchen
Stream of Consciousness Blind Faith
Breaking All Illusions
That leaves #2 for Learning to Live and #1 for Space-Dye Vest.
8 out of 9 ain't bad.
Also, Surrounded at #3 is :heart :heart :heart & :tup
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Yeah, I am really surprised at how you, Tom and Ville guessed my top 10 so accurately. I guess you guys know my taste that good somehow (as exemplified by Tom in my song roulette as well lol).
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Holy shit, he had 9 out of 9.
:-[
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Surrounded :heart
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Eve! :heart Can't go wrong with ACoS either. Wait for Sleep and Surrounded are interesting choices, but nice to see them high.
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Hmm... My guesses weren't totally off! :biggrin: Well, my top wasn't the hardest to predict either :-X
I haven't actually noticed the similarity between the lyrics of 6:00 and Surrounded before :o
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Just catching up on your list mora, this is interesting!
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I haven't actually noticed the similarity between the lyrics of 6:00 and Surrounded before :o
They have a similar theme and there's some similar stuff going on in both songs, and my overanalyzing ass took it to the next level. I obviously like Surrounded more than 6:00, but I think that the Kevin that is in Chroma Key and OSI is the more interesting musician than the Kevin that was in earlier Dream Theater, and the Kevin that was involved in Awake is where he came from.
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Surrounded :heart
It's in my Top 5 too.
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I haven't actually noticed the similarity between the lyrics of 6:00 and Surrounded before :o
They have a similar theme and there's some similar stuff going on in both songs, and my overanalyzing ass took it to the next level. I obviously like Surrounded more than 6:00, but I think that the Kevin that is in Chroma Key and OSI is the more interesting musician than the Kevin that was in earlier Dream Theater, and the Kevin that was involved in Awake is where he came from.
Overanalyzing :heart
But yeah, this similarity reminds me of the Bigger Wave/Invisible Men connection, except that 6:00 and Surrounded aren't musically similar at all.
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Super list so far, had to read through it all now. Eve as highly placed as it deserves to be.
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Ooh, A Change Of Seasons is exactly where I'd put it as well. :tup
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Nice, great choices.
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2. Learning To Live (Images And Words)
Images is based on these "pillars", as I call them, these big, bold, "statement" songs - Metropolis, Take The Time, Learning To Live; they seem to serve as mini-manifestos of Dream Theater music. TTT is incredibly clever and catches you by surprise, if it were a person, it would be the semi-smug intellectual who keeps flaunting his superiority but you adore him for his wit. Metropolis is indeed frighteningly majestic and impressive. But Learning To Live wins my heart on the account that it makes the effort to speak to it. It's rare that a song just comes alive, reaches out to you to pat you on the shoulder and tell you it's okay.
An almost desperate plea, in a story of trial and overcoming adversity, but spoken with such calmness, and you know immediately the lyrics are by John Myung. You could say nothing particularly interesting goes on until the F#, and you would be partially right, but you're both coming out of Images and entering the couple of greatest minutes of music ever played, a clever cooldown/buildup (seriously how cool is that?!) is in order.
The ending sequence of F#/guitar solo/keyboard solo/unison/WFS piano break and exploration of the theme/guitar solo/more WFSing/keyboard solo/more guitarkeyboardextravaganza/last amazing stanza/THAT OUTRO just turns my heart into a, a, a galaxy. Like holy shit it's embedded in my brain but I had to play it again because I cannot think of it and not play it, it just doesn't happen, shouldn't happen.
Shit I'm a wreck now. :lol :blush
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LTL :heart
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Well, a writeup suiting the magnificence of the song. :)
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I wonder what #1 could be...
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I wonder what #1 could be...
Cheeky bastard :lol
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This is the best writeup on Learning to live I ever read. :biggrin:
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This is the best writeup on Learning to live I ever read. :biggrin:
I'm kind of running on 50% of my fangirliness here. But that's just a big compliment, I have to send you the biggest of thank you's. :heart
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I wonder what #1 could be...
Cheeky bastard :lol
Love ya too :-*
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Lovely write up! Should be number one though :P
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Good write-up yo, but you scored the song too high :biggrin:
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I wonder what #1 could be...
I know. It's so bloody difficult to figure out.
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what is it? I'm confused
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Just think about it some, dude - you'll get it.
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Forgot the green text
I'm pretty damned sure I know this. It's probably the same as mine... (Well... it may not be my numbah one... but top 5)
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It wouldn't get anywhere close to mine.
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#4 in mine
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It wouldn't get anywhere close to mine.
That's because you suck.
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(https://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/tongue/tongue0015.gif)
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Gave up on hoping for a surprise. Now I'm pretty sure your number 1 is BMU BMD.
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:lol
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Can't go wrong with LtL. :tup
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LTL :heart
My #1 DT song :tup
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Zydar, you have perfect opinions.
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Zydar, you have perfect opinions.
:hat
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For me it was freaking hard to write about LTL and it's challenging to say anything that hasn't been said about it yet, but you nailed it! :tup Can't wait to see your writeup for that one song ;)
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That was a magnificent write-up for LTL. :lol
I agree, once you get into the section that builds into the F#, and from then on out, the song is HOLYFUCKAWESOMEYESSAKJHDK456!@#JAHEJHA :heart and such forth, but before that it's only great. Which, great is great (or awesome, should I choose to describe an adjective with an adjective other than itself), but at least it gets better gradually, and that makes the song what it is. At least it doesn't start awesome and get not as awesome.
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LTL is amazing. You have it #2, which is certainly worthy (I have it #1).
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I listen to the song daily, and it never cease to amaze me. It's seriously a miracle song. I wonder what the band thinks of it, or at least the original+james members, who were involved in its creation.
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Time for the very obvious number 1:
1. Space-Dye Vest (Awake)
2009: Awake is weird as fuck, Space-Dye Vest makes me feel uneasy
2010: Awake is a very good album, Space-Dye Vest is a gorgeous song but is it ever depressing or what.
2011: Awake is my favorite Dream Theater album. Space-Dye Vest is beautiful. I'm too scared to look up what's it really about, although I have many theories, and I am too scared to look up Kevin's post-DT work so I don't get disappointed.
In the beginning of 2012 (and the end of 2011 really) some pretty depressing and, at the time, quite unbearable things were going on. I needed something for comfort and company, and I reconnected to Dream Theater, and especially to this song, listening to it for fifty times in a row sometimes when I didn't feel like doing anything else (or felt like doing too many bad things). It is quite full of pathos, and tragedy, and even hints of subdued rage, and it was comforting to be reminded you're allowed to feel that way. Some people look down on others expressing they feel that way, but being naturally a bit naive, open, emphatic, and finding open displays of strong emotion quite brave, I connected to it and it comforted me a lot.
I had several friends tell me, in regards to the lyrics of the song, that it's a quite silly song to fall for - "what, a guy fell for a girl pictured in a magazine, how fucking lame" - and I always tried to tell them that's it's really not all about that, it's about breaking up with the Past (or a past person, if you will), but even more about this now unrequited love which finds its home in an object which "stays on the page", and questioning where to go from Here in general. Secretly, I thought that maybe their, simpler explanation was the true one, and that I was projecting a lot of my own feeling into it, until I ran into a quote which I'll share because I am the quoteperson (duh):
I was looking through a clothing catalog and saw a picture of a girl modeling this piece of clothing called a space-dye vest. And, so, I fell in love with her [laughs] for some strange reason and so the minute I did that, the minute I was just like obsessed with this person, I was like, 'why am I doing that?' and I noticed that I was doing it a lot lately. And I think the prime reason that I was doing that, and this is what I figured out at the time, was that I had just come out of a relationship where I'd gotten dumped, basically, and so I think the situation was that I wasn't finished giving all that I was ready to give, so I was just, like, throwing it around, you know, just aiming it in different directions. It was a total case of projection. And this song is just trying to sort it out and just kind of admitting that I'm just kind of lost. So it's kind of a dark song. It was very cathartic though.
The MAIN reason, however, that SDV is my favorite song, is (I'll put it quite vaguely because it's not something that is really clear to me most of the time, and when it becomes clear, I feel inept to find the right words to share it with everyone) that the song pretty much sounds like it's the end of the world. But we know it wasn't, that there is no one in the world who was forever closed after declaring they'd never be open again, that life goes on and so do the people in it. I find that thought quite comforting.
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:tup
Great write-up, and a great list as well. :heart
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Great write ups. This was a fun list to follow.
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Great write ups. This was a fun list to follow.
I'm finally done, it took me, like, four weeks? :lol thank you, and thanks to everyone who followed it. :heart
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I knew most of this and more already, but it felt so good reading it. Thank you, Milena. :)
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1. Space-Dye Vest (Awake)
:hug: :hifive:
SDV didn't become my favorite until last year, either, although I didn't have to go through a depressive period in my life. I guess it was just my ever-changing tastes, the suitable length of the song (ACOS is amazing, but as I've said, I don't listen to it in full very often) and having just discovered Chroma Key. I had loved it before already, but the right things happened in the right time for me, and the rest is history.
Anyway, great writeups and great list overall - you were right when you said your top is similar to mine! :) Even most of the songs that appeared on your list but not mine were good picks.
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:tup
Great write-up, and a great list as well. :heart
^this.
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Awesome list. I had a lot of fun following it. :heart
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Yes, I love Space-Dye Vest.
I read the write-up while playing verse theme on guitar, and it really set up the mood. What a song :heart.
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I listen to the song daily
You listen to a song (ANY song) daily?
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I listen to the song daily
You listen to a song (ANY song) daily?
Days are long, it happens almost daily that I genuinely feel the desire to go and listen to that one. Is there anything wrong with it? ???
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Excellent list and narrative, I enjoyed it very much :smiley:
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I listen to the song daily
You listen to a song (ANY song) daily?
Days are long, it happens almost daily that I genuinely feel the desire to go and listen to that one. Is there anything wrong with it? ???
Nothing WRONG, I've just never heard of any such thing before. Cheers.
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That's one awesome song and a fantastic writeup once again. Really enjoyed the list, great job. :tup
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I listen to the song daily
You listen to a song (ANY song) daily?
Days are long, it happens almost daily that I genuinely feel the desire to go and listen to that one. Is there anything wrong with it? ???
Nothing WRONG, I've just never heard of any such thing before. Cheers.
It's not that I say: jeez, today I havn't listened to my favourite song yet, I must make do. It's more like: "I really wish to hear every single note of that song again." To be completely honest, this has been happening for the past one and a half week. Before that, I had listened to the song about twice in a week.