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
...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.
Topic: Re: MoraWintersoul's top 50 DT songs v. feeling my heart pull west (Read 20748 times)