Author Topic: Has DT written a song that you consider to be the greatest of all time?  (Read 4288 times)

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Online MirrorMask

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But music feels... dunno, much personal, and more subject to one's own preference.

I mean, I think that someone feels more entitled in listening to Learning to Live and say "meh, this song totally sucks for me" than claiming that Moby Dick is an horribly written book.

Sure, if you press someone hard enough, they will concede that yes, that classical piece of music is good and that a random jazz improv player has the skills, and so you can get someone to admit that Petrucci is a good guitarist, but if someone listens to Learning to Live and gets bored 3 minutes in, he'll just think that the song is bad and that DT is not for them at all. They'll probably go as far as claiming as not understanding what the fuzz's about (or complain about James).
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Offline Evermind

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Oh hey, never saw this debate on DTF before!
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline ZKX-2099

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The Spirit Carries On is the greatest power ballad of all time...

I think.

Offline utopiarun

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I'm not one who ranks by numbers my favorite song, album, etc, but if I were to choose a DT song it would be The Spirit Carries On. Wonderful song and then that guitar solo and I always get chills!

Offline MoraWintersoul

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Oh hey, never saw this debate on DTF before!
:lol I don't usually participate because I don't tend to think of music that way, a lot of Dream Theater music would fail if judged by the standards I just judged LtL by. But it applies to this specific thread so that part of my brain just turned itself on. I'm also a music journalist, and while that's all about tastes and what's current and trying to make people pay attention to what's new and interesting, when you listen to several thousand albums you also start thinking you have the right to point out what's "objectively" well done or better than what other bands are doing.

There are qualities in all types of art that can be evaluated in a more objective way.  And those qualities may or may not equal how much you like that particular piece.  An example for myself would be two books by Ernest Hemingway.  For Whom the Bell Tolls and To Have and Have Not.  Although I enjoyed both books, I liked reading To Have and Have Not more because of the adventure aspect.  But, I think most Hemingway fans would agree that For Whom the Bell Tolls is objectively the better book.
I have this exact thing with Charlotte Bronte and two of her books, Jane Eyre and Shirley. Jane Eyre is so tight it's crazy, narratively very satisfying, very relevant. Shirley meanders, a very important character enters the book very late, the political backdrop of the story is kind of opaque unless you know more than just a little bit about 19th century England, and so on. But the prose in that book makes me read it again and again and again.

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Offline pg1067

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I'll just do this one. What's the last classic novel you've read, and why is it well written (because all of them are)? Is it because of the relevant topic that remained fresh over a century or two somehow, the technicalities such as word usage, the emotion it gives you and many other people who read it, is because the author got what he was talking about through to everyone? All of that at once and more? Songs can be "objectively" judged in the same way.

Not really following this, but the same comments I made about music are equally applicable to books.  Pride and Prejudice, which I consider to be a steaming pile of garbage, is regarded as a great novel simply because the majority of folks in charge of high school literature curriculum share the same subjective opinion.


No.

Yes.

"There's a bass solo in a song called Metropolis where I do a bass solo."  John Myung

Offline Northern Lion

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But music feels... dunno, much personal, and more subject to one's own preference.

I mean, I think that someone feels more entitled in listening to Learning to Live and say "meh, this song totally sucks for me" than claiming that Moby Dick is an horribly written book.

Sure, if you press someone hard enough, they will concede that yes, that classical piece of music is good and that a random jazz improv player has the skills, and so you can get someone to admit that Petrucci is a good guitarist, but if someone listens to Learning to Live and gets bored 3 minutes in, he'll just think that the song is bad and that DT is not for them at all. They'll probably go as far as claiming as not understanding what the fuzz's about (or complain about James).

MirrorMask, I think you're exactly right.  I was trying to say this, but probably didn't do a very good job.  I once saw a girl in an english class I was in in college stand up in the middle of class and practically bare testimony of the greatness of the Twilight series as a great piece of American literature  :lol.  Although I don't agree with her and nor did anyone else in the class, she liked it a lot and it was her opinion and her taste.  And that's probably all that really matters anyway.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2020, 02:49:12 PM by Northern Lion »
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Offline hefdaddy42

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No, but a couple are on my short list.
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Offline MoraWintersoul

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Not really following this, but the same comments I made about music are equally applicable to books.  Pride and Prejudice, which I consider to be a steaming pile of garbage, is regarded as a great novel simply because the majority of folks in charge of high school literature curriculum share the same subjective opinion.
Okay, one of those people. Carry on, we will never agree, especially about P&P  :lol

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Offline pg1067

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Not really following this, but the same comments I made about music are equally applicable to books.  Pride and Prejudice, which I consider to be a steaming pile of garbage, is regarded as a great novel simply because the majority of folks in charge of high school literature curriculum share the same subjective opinion.

Okay, one of those people. Carry on, we will never agree, especially about P&P  :lol

Let me sum things up by paraphrasing a quote by the English writer Evelyn Beatrice Hall (which quoted is sometimes misattributed to the French writer Francois-Marie Arouet, aka Voltaire):  We don't agree, and I don't care if we do or don't agree, but I'll vigorously defend your right to your subjective opinion and your ability to express that opinion.
« Last Edit: April 28, 2020, 04:16:50 PM by pg1067 »
"There's a bass solo in a song called Metropolis where I do a bass solo."  John Myung

Offline MoraWintersoul

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Yeah Voltaire isn't cool enough to have come up with that line. And I agree.  :angel:

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Offline Dublagent66

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There's no way I would EVER consider A song from ANY band to be THE greatest of all time.  However, I would consider MANY songs from MANY bands to be ONE of the greatest of all time.  DT is ONE of those bands and has written at least ONE of those songs.  :biggrin:
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Offline Setlist Scotty

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Learning To Live is my #1 song of all time.
I can't say if it's my favorite of all time (including from all other bands), although it quite possibly is. But certainly in DT's catalog, it's #1 for me.
As a basic rule, if you hate it, you must solely blame Portnoy. If it's good, then you must downplay MP's contribution to the band as not being important anyway, or claim he's just lying. It's the DTF way.

Offline Ben_Jamin

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At Wits End

Jordans Piano and that build up make it top 10 Worthy.
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Offline Fritzinger

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In my opinion, Octavarium is one of the greatest songs ever written. It ranks among some other masterpieces like Supper's Ready or The Gates Of Delirium.
any rock can be made to roll

Offline lovethedrake

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I would have a ton of Dream Theater songs near the top but not sure anything can beat Suppers Ready, or Bohemian Rhapsody.   Learning to live and Fatal Tragedy come close.


Offline tofee35

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I would have a ton of Dream Theater songs near the top but not sure anything can beat Suppers Ready, or Bohemian Rhapsody.   Learning to live and Fatal Tragedy come close.

Yea. I agree with this. I love DT, but they don't have that "best song of all time" in my opinion. Bohemian Rhapsody is the only song I think I could ever consider for that title. Part of that is because it is so unique and incorporates multiple genres of music, plus millions of people don't just like, but love it (based on no statistics, admittedly). I heard in a Behind the Music-type show, an interviewee say that it is a rare instance where a song is also a work of art. 

If I had to pick a DT song, though, I'd have to go with "A Change of Seasons". It's not my favorite, but it has the appeal and reach to be considered: strong rock base, good hooks, meaningful lyrics, unique, takes from multiple genres.

-Tof

Offline Lax

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Trying to stay short because it's not my speciality :D

Yes, DT created to me the most enjoyable complicated music I ever heard.

From Metropolis to when the water breaks, every song that made me sweat or cry are the best in the world.
As a musician they are my foie gras, my pastry, good sex, better than netflix...I mean the only two feelings I can't explain are my love for my wife and daughter and what DT's music does to me :D
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