Author Topic: Shadow Ninja's Super Incredibly Awesome Top 50 EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!1!!! v. #1 (Read 21249 times)

iamtheeviltwin · « **Reply #105 on:** October 24, 2013, 12:37:27 PM »

Quote from: Shadow Ninja 2.0 on October 23, 2013, 10:03:25 AM

Nah. I love Space-Dye Vest, but DT have sadder songs.

Disappear and Take Away my Pain are two of the most heartbreaking and emotional songs in the band's catalog. SDV isn't sad...perhaps a bit depressing, but I get the feeling that was the point.

Love Panic Attack and ANTR just missed my top 50 I think...

425 · « **Reply #106 on:** October 24, 2013, 12:53:10 PM »

I like Panic Attack quite a lot, and this is a really good placement for ANTR, a song that really doesn't seem to get as much love as it deservers.

Nearmyth · « **Reply #107 on:** October 24, 2013, 05:59:07 PM »

Quote from: Ruba on October 24, 2013, 04:57:53 AM

Quote from: Nearmyth on October 23, 2013, 07:52:06 PM
IMO Space Dye Vest isn't that sad, when you think about the somewhat ridiculous subject matter.

It's not ridiculous at all. I can relate well to it.

Two fantastic songs.

Kevin Moore falling in love with a girl on a magazine cover? Sounds ridiculous to me personally

Don't get me wrong the song and music itself is actuallly pretty sad.

OT: ANTR is great! Though it would only be in my 30's, I think it deserves that placement. It was one of my first DT songs and is a great prog song in general, I often ignore the criticism it receives

Ruba · « **Reply #108 on:** October 25, 2013, 01:46:36 AM »

Quote from: Nearmyth on October 24, 2013, 05:59:07 PM

Quote from: Ruba on October 24, 2013, 04:57:53 AM
Quote from: Nearmyth on October 23, 2013, 07:52:06 PM
IMO Space Dye Vest isn't that sad, when you think about the somewhat ridiculous subject matter.

It's not ridiculous at all. I can relate well to it.

Kevin Moore falling in love with a girl on a magazine cover? Sounds ridiculous to me personally Don't get me wrong the song and music itself is actuallly pretty sad.

That's what it is on the surface level.

He had had a relationship, which ended too soon for him. JM's wife lended him a magazine (Lisa Martens, thus "Falling through pages of Martens"), where he saw a picture of this girl wearing an apparel called space-dye vest. He fell in love with that girl, even though he knew nothing about, so he had to imagine her, and so cherished the image he knew it wasn't true. If he had ever met her in real life, the illusion would have shattered. And what if she wasn't like the way he imagined her?

Or at least that's the way I see it.

Sorry Shadow Ninja. ANTR is very good, but could use some trimming. Panic Attack was one of the first DT songs I heard, I found it too heavy back then, but I learned to love it over time.

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #109 on:** October 25, 2013, 09:01:11 AM »

17. Pull Me Under - Images And Words

I think a lot of people overlook this song. It's not altogether surprising, it the only DT "hit", and everybody's probably heard it quite a bit by now. To be honest, I didn't really expect it to be very high on this list. However, on a long car trip I took recently, I brought I&W along to listen to. (My mom and sister were with me, and I figured it was my best chance at getting them to listen to DT.

) I was listening to Pull Me Under, and I remembered what a fantastic song it is. Great riffs, great drums, great solos, and one of DT's best choruses. My copy cuts off at the end, though, what's up with

16. Beyond This Life - Scenes From A Memory

You know, I'm noticing a lot of SFAM songs on this list, despite the fact that in the album rankings, I usually rank it pretty low. I'm not really sure why that is.

Anyway, this is a fantastic song. I love Myung's bass line combined with Mike's kick drums in the verses. The song does a great job of going from heavy to soft and back to heavy again. The instrumental section is great as well, with Rudess showing off various bizarre synths. The lyrics are mostly eh, but there is one line I really like, the "Our deeds have traveled far, what we have been is what we are". I believe someone said that line is form something else, but regardless, it works really well.

425 · « **Reply #110 on:** October 25, 2013, 10:33:55 AM »

Two very good choices. I probably wouldn't place PMU quite this high, but Beyond This Life is AMAZING and is perfectly placed.

hefdaddy42 · « **Reply #111 on:** October 26, 2013, 06:21:07 AM »

Quote from: Ruba on October 25, 2013, 01:46:36 AM

He fell in love with that girl, even though he knew nothing about, so he had to imagine her, and so cherished the image he knew it wasn't true. If he had ever met her in real life, the illusion would have shattered. And what if she wasn't like the way he imagined her?

Yeah, that's why it's kind of stupid and not sad. Except that the whole thing is kind of sad.

? · « **Reply #112 on:** October 26, 2013, 06:38:18 AM »

Quote from: Ruba on October 25, 2013, 01:46:36 AM

He had had a relationship, which ended too soon for him. JM's wife lended him a magazine (Lisa Martens, thus "Falling through pages of Martens"), where he saw a picture of this girl wearing an apparel called space-dye vest. He fell in love with that girl, even though he knew nothing about, so he had to imagine her, and so cherished the image he knew it wasn't true. If he had ever met her in real life, the illusion would have shattered. And what if she wasn't like the way he imagined her?

And to expand on that:

Quote from: KM

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.

At least I find that kind of feeling pretty sad...

Anyway, PMU is a classic but I don't like BTL.

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #113 on:** October 26, 2013, 11:16:01 AM »

15. The Killing Hand - When Dream And Day Unite

Yeah, this is really number 15. I love this song. The guitar intro is fantastic, as is the riff that follows. Now, obviously some people like to make fun of "I am the killing haaaaaaaaaand" (myself chief among them), but apart from that, Charlie really sounds amazing here. I know this is pretty much heresy, but I like this song better with Charlie on vox. I've never heard a version where I thought James really matched him. Yeah. I went there. Moore is pretty much everywhere in this song, even if you don't notice him at first. My favorite part is the part around 3:20, the "lowered deep into the sea" part.

Anyway, I can't really do justice to this song in my writeup, so I'll just end it here.

14. Lie - Awake

I remember watching the "Score so far" documentary a while back, and when they mentioned that this was the single released for Awake, but that it didn't really do well, I couldn't figure it out. It's heavy in the right places, lighter where it needs to be, and the lyrical flow is stunning. (the work of KevMo, I believe) Then I came to this forum, and everyone seemed to hate Lie. Even if I don't agree with some criticisms of DT, I can usually understand them. But the hate for this song never has and probably never will make any sense to me. And "the lyrics are terrible", umm, wat?

? · « **Reply #114 on:** October 26, 2013, 12:25:36 PM »

2 kickass songs

Crow · « **Reply #115 on:** October 26, 2013, 12:28:45 PM »

Neither of these would be nearly this high for me but both are still pretty awesome songs~
Then again DT has lots of awesome songs, so :V

425 · « **Reply #116 on:** October 26, 2013, 12:34:57 PM »

Lie is way too high, but I agree that the lyrics aren't bad. TKH is well placed though I definitely don't get the opinion that Charlie tops LATM James on the song.

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #117 on:** October 26, 2013, 01:07:34 PM »

I just really enjoy the way Charlie delivers the lines. Plus, on a lot of the James versions, he randomly shrieks out high notes for no particular reason, which to me at least, doesn't really add to the song.

425 · « **Reply #118 on:** October 26, 2013, 02:18:32 PM »

I do think Charlie does a good job on it (except on the very last line), I just think James takes it to a new level on that Marquee performance in every way. The power begins with "An angel's kiss..." and stays throughout the whole song. And I love it when he pulls out crazy high notes, so I like stuff like "oooooAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH... Lowered deep..." and "Sipping his poison, the raven sings YET! Another to..."

Eh, each to his own. We can still agree that this is a top 20 song.

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #119 on:** October 26, 2013, 02:23:31 PM »

No. We have disagreed, therefore we must fight to the death.

Prepare yourself.

425 · « **Reply #120 on:** October 26, 2013, 02:27:38 PM »

Honor the fighting... leave life to die... Oh...

jakepriest · « **Reply #121 on:** October 26, 2013, 04:32:28 PM »

Lie might be in my top 10 worst DT songs

. The Killing Hand is legit though

Ruba · « **Reply #122 on:** October 26, 2013, 04:44:22 PM »

Quote from: ? on October 26, 2013, 12:25:36 PM

2 kickass songs

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #123 on:** October 27, 2013, 11:14:45 AM »

13. Through Her Eyes - Scenes From A Memory

This is a fantastic ballad, one of DT's best. The whole thing is very subdued, which works in it's favor. This contains some of my favorite guitar work from JP, as well as some of JLB's best vocals. The lyrics are a bit spotty in places (I've got a son, I've got a wife) but mostly I feel they work very well in the song. The addition of Theresa Thompson (I think that's her name, too lazy to look it up.

) works very well, in this fan's opinion. I really have nothing else to say about this one. It's just great.

12. Metropolis - Images And Words

Well, you knew it had to happen at some point. This is pretty much the quintessential Dream Theater song. The way the song builds on the opening keyboard lines is amazing. Now, I'm blanking a bit on who wrote the lyrics for this one, but I'm thinking it was Kevin. I really enjoy them, though I'd have no idea what they were about if I hadn't been told.

This song is interesting in that, (as far as I can tell) it really has no chorus. Somehow, though, that really doesn't matter. The instrumental break is a bit of a

, but in the best way possible.

Anyway, this is a great song. Over and out…

Oh yeah, the bass solo rocks.

425 · « **Reply #124 on:** October 27, 2013, 11:19:43 AM »

Great position for Metropolis, but Through Her Eyes is far too high IMO. And the lyrics to Metropolis are by John P.

jakepriest · « **Reply #125 on:** October 27, 2013, 11:21:21 AM »

Great songs. Both are definitely in my top 15.

Crow · « **Reply #126 on:** October 27, 2013, 11:51:20 AM »

Metropolis does have a chorus, the same bit that was reprised as Home's chorus

Through Her Eyes wouldn't get near my top 50 but Metropolis certainly deserves to be up here, fantastically composed song form beginning to end.

Evermind · « **Reply #127 on:** October 27, 2013, 11:59:17 AM »

I don't really like Through Her Eyes (Victoria is a hoe was probably the best freaking thought about this song

), but Metropolis surely deserves this place.

Bolsters · « **Reply #128 on:** October 27, 2013, 08:33:29 PM »

I really like Through Her Eyes, great pick. Unfortunately it is very highly underrated.

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #129 on:** October 28, 2013, 01:04:57 PM »

11. 6:00 - Awake

SIX O'CLOCK IN A CHRISTMAS MORNING SIX O'CLOCK ON A CHRISTMAS MORNING

KevMo, you know I love you but those samples are horrendous and make me want to claw my ears off. Fortunately, the rest of the song is far better. James' new-found growl in his voice is on full display here, and it sounds fantastic. The chorus is a bit odd, but it's quite catchy. The drumming in this song is fantastic, as it is on the entire record. Honestly, I think this may be their best album in terms of drumming. (as well as their best album overall.

) Now, I've said (many times) that I'm not a lyrics person. By which I mean, I don't really care what the words mean, as long as they sound good. "Good" being either poetic sounding, or just good as in set to good melodies. I do occasionally, however, enjoy reading people's interpretations of lyrics, as they usually see something I wouldn't. Someone on this site (I think it was Mebert) posted an interpretation of the lyrics to 6:00 being about Kevin struggling with whether or not to leave DT. I don't know if that's been confirmed, but I really like that interpretation, which makes this one of the few songs where I listen to the lyrics.

Wow, that dragged on. Let's continue…

10. Beneath The Surface - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

This is a beautiful song, by far the best of the three ballads on ADTOE. This is an odd one, as the song itself doesn't sound that sad, but the lyrics are very sad. I remember I was listening to this in the car with my dad, and he was enjoying the song, then he started listening to the lyrics, and was like, "Wow, this is depressing."

Now, I really love it when we get to hear Petrucci play acoustic guitar, not as a background part, but as the lead. And this one does not disappoint. James sounds fantastic here, and though some people complain about the pitch correction, I don't hear it, and therefore it doesn't bother me.

Jordan's solo is fantastic, I really love the tone he has on it. Anyway, this writeup is a bit jumbled, but essentially, I really really love this song.

425 · « **Reply #130 on:** October 28, 2013, 01:16:16 PM »

Two great choices. I think I agree with everything you wrote this time. Well, I don't HATE the 6:00 samples but they definitely aren't my favorite.

Crow · « **Reply #131 on:** October 28, 2013, 01:20:30 PM »

Two great picks. 6:00 is just -awesome- and probably Portnoy's best performance in the entire DT discography. Beneath the Surface is also very lovely, and yes, it sounds so much brighter than the lyrics are, which only makes it sadder.
But hell yeah 6:00, is basically most of what I'd say.

Onno · « **Reply #132 on:** October 28, 2013, 01:31:33 PM »

Both fantastic songs, great choices!

? · « **Reply #133 on:** October 28, 2013, 02:39:09 PM »

Quote from: Onno on October 28, 2013, 01:31:33 PM

Both fantastic songs, great choices!

GentlemanofDread · « **Reply #134 on:** October 28, 2013, 03:10:17 PM »

Woo some love for 6:00

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #135 on:** October 29, 2013, 10:19:06 AM »

9. Breaking All Illusions - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

And next we have another song from ADTOE. The first few times I listened to this one, the some of the transitions seemed a bit odd, but I really appreciate them now. I love JM's bass groove about 2 minutes in, coupled with JLB's light vocals. I think my favorite line in this song is, "masterful destruction" just for the way James delivers it. The instrumental break is one of the craziest they've done in a while, especially since a good portion of it isn't just solos, like a lot of DT"s recent material. (not to say anything against that, since I'm a huge fan of it. It's just nice to change things up a bit.) Also, the pan-flute patch or whatever JR is using at 5:02 is one of the greatest things ever, and I really wish they'd expanded on that part a bit. Alas. JP's solo here is one of his best ever, starting with a slow, improvised feel (maybe it was improv) and building up to it's epic finale. Really, this is just an example of DT firing on every level, and the result is fantastic.

Crow · « **Reply #136 on:** October 29, 2013, 12:01:22 PM »

Yes. BAI is pure bliss <3

jakepriest · « **Reply #137 on:** October 29, 2013, 12:02:39 PM »

Breaking All Illusions deserves to be in top 10. The instrumental part might be one of my most favourite out of the entire DT catalog.

Beneath the Surface is a great ballad, but I'm not sure it deserves to be so high. Imo Through Her Eyes is better.

425 · « **Reply #138 on:** October 29, 2013, 03:32:20 PM »

Fantastic choice. BAI belongs in the top 10 and is just fantastic, one of the band's best.

Onno · « **Reply #139 on:** October 30, 2013, 03:03:43 AM »

Breaking All Illusions is fantastic! Love everything about it that you mentioned; the light vocals, the solo, the instrumental section...

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Author Topic: Shadow Ninja's Super Incredibly Awesome Top 50 EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!1!!! v. #1 (Read 21249 times)