Re: MoraWintersoul's top 50 DT songs v. feeling my heart pull west

[Ruba]

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  .

[Lolzeez]

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  .

I love the song. But "fists like a fossil" kinda ruined it for me. 

[MoraWintersoul]

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

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 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 ) one, and those solos 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*

[?]

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.

[MoraWintersoul]

Yeah, I surprised myself with that one as well I have a feeling you won't have any complaints for my top 20

[Nekov]

Not a fan of Misunderstood. All the other choices are fantastic 

[GasparXR]

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. 

[JayOctavarium]

These are all too low for me

[wasteland]

*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

[Lolzeez]

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. 

Yup. TTT deserves higher as well. Like top 3.

[Onno]

*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!

[MoraWintersoul]

*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
  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 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 - 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.

[?]

Octavarium is what it is, but at least you ranked PMU, TGP and Scarred higher

[MoraWintersoul]

Octavarium is what it is, but at least you ranked PMU, TGP and Scarred higher

What I said in my writeup, I meant it, NO ONE feels about OCT as I do if some of you do, come out of the bushes!

[Scorpion]

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.

[?]

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.

[Mladen]

Five absolutely fantastic songs, it's always a delight to see Scarred. And yeah, those lyrics in Revelation are amazing. 

[Nekov]

Five absolutely fantastic songs,

 

[Onno]

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!

[Lolzeez]

Scarred deserves as high as top 10.

hiblob

[DebraKadabra]

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.

[JayOctavarium]

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.

[MoraWintersoul]

Milena, we think alike!

:highfive:

Scarred deserves as high as top 10.

hiblob

*your mother is top 10 reverse joke*

[wasteland]

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!

[GasparXR]

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.

[Lolzeez]

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.

[wasteland]

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

[?]

^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.

[wasteland]

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.

[MoraWintersoul]

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 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.

[wasteland]

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 

[Onno]

Great batch. 6:00 deserves that spot, and I liked it even more after seeing it live.

[MoraWintersoul]

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

(Marco is forbidden to play because he knows)

[Zydar]

Eve is definitely in the Top 9. Maybe even Top 5?

[?]

6:00 in top 15! 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