fanboyism

[InCreator]

Music: All these anonymous house tracks I hear at local radio "Energy FM" while I drive to work. There's no DJ to announce the names so I never know what is playing, but their simplicity that somehow sounds too cool for so easy thing--- always creates urge to open up Fruityloops and get tracking. What sucks though, is that I have no chance to do this at work, so I have to wait 10 hours until I get home, and the inspiration is gone by then. 

Books: WWII books. I love to read war stories by Russian writers. Though they are - as laws, KGB and censor demanded at writing time - stuffed with praising to socialism and communism, it's still much more edible than same fake-brainwash-patriotism in US literacy, for example. And these stories feel so damn real. Actually, any warfare themed historical literature will make my brain cells creative. And lifelike spy stories. Total opposite - murder stories.

Movies: Like? Yes. Inspiring? No. Most of watchable movies are Hollywood movies. But they kill even a singlest idea spark at the very start and offer explosions instead. Also, producers themselves are awfully out of ideas. Remember Matrix? One really good sci-fi idea over a long time. And it was ruined faster than light of speed...

There's some creative pieces of entertainment left yet. Stories of Sherlock holmes or episodes of MacGyver feel like they're created for becoming an adventure game one day. And though both are ancient, there's still very little of games available yet about them.

[ManicMatt]

If you use a vocoder, you can practically ignore singing in key. Else use autotune or some other plugin. I woul'dnt be surprised if almost all of the pop music on radio had some minor tweaking applied to it.

Dang! So people have no way of knowing if I really did hit THAT note or I got a program to do it for me? (And I can't stand that gerenic vocoder voice effect)

[biothlebop]

Figured one thing out today, namely where this picture
http://koti.mbnet.fi/el_tonic/kuvat/dreamtwo.jpg
came from. Made it a couple days ago from part of a dream I had. The influence was Zladislav Beksinski, either 023, 026 or some other crucifix painting of his. Guess his crusifixes are so tall that they resemble telephone masts. The pictures in question are at the following link. http://www.twilightsite.com/Fantasy/Old/Beksinski/Beksinski.html
Oh yeah. Other than that, Franz Marc's painting foxes is amazing. Drew a stylized fox curled up like a dog (dont know if they do that) on paper when I saw it.
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/marc/foxes.jpg

[xenogia]

I have been a fanboy of a band called Dream Theater for the past 12 years, inspired me to become the best musician I could be.

[Tuomas]

I have been a fanboy of a band called Dream Theater for the past 12 years, inspired me to become the best musician I could be.

DT \o/... although they're new albums suck. BringÃ,  Derek Sherinian back to keyboards and they'll be back to Scenes from a memory type great progressive metal. Oh, and Portnoy sucks, I'm surprised you'd like him, as a drummmer.

[xenogia]

portnoy has his own unique sounds, hes not crap.  yeah derek is the shit, i love him

[Helm]

I don't care for theater much, but Portnoy sucks? What the hell? One thing to not like someone's style one thing to discredit him completely.

Personally I liked When Dream and Day Unite, and the Majesty demos.

[DoorKnobHandle]

People have constantly insulted Dream Theater members ("Mark Portnoy sucks, he tries to copy too much from other drummers" or "The singer from DT sucks, he can't sing." is something I hear every day at other music forums).

I think that they are great and probably one of the most technically skilled bands around nowadays. None of them suck, they are all great at what they do...

I myself, being a guitarplayer, learned a lot from them (John Petrucci mostly) and think that they are the most underrated band ever.

[xenogia]

Hehe, I prefer the Images & Words / Awake days.  Portnoy is influential to a lot of people.  Winning modern drummer prog metal drummer consecutively for so long must mean something if people are voting for him.

Musicians copy each other, they all influence each other to some degree.  Mostly, I think people insult Dream Theater is because they can't play it (jealous factor).  I love lots of other progressive metal acts also.  Everything from Pain of Salvation, King Crimson, Spastic Ink, Andromeda, Meshuggah.  A whole range of prog ... OKAY IM A PROG FANBOY .. hehe.  It's out, my secret is out there for everyone to read.

[Helm]

Dream Theater are underrated? Okay now you've gone on the other end. EVERYBODY knows, listens and appreciates theater, lots of non-metal people and stuff. They're very visible and respected.

The progressive metal (not prog metal) I listen to is of a different school: Psychotic Waltz, Watchtower, Sieges Even, Deathrow, Megace, Confessor... the technothrash variety.

[Tuomas]

Ok, I don't really mean he sucks that bad, just I don't like his style. He just builds his playing on random hits in fast tempo, and makes it sound cool, yes, but in those slow songs they have, and when he needs to do plain rythm, he's not very good. And I don't think he'd fit many other bands, at least other styles. I know he played in OSI and Transatlantic, but those are so like DT.

[DoorKnobHandle]

Dream Theater are underrated? Okay now you've gone on the other end.

You are partly right, "some" people know DT, but maybe that's a regional difference. Here in Germany, nobody knows them except progressive metal fans like me. They are NEVER played on any kind of radio station and I bet that not even 1% of people here know their name.

He just builds his playing on random hits in fast tempo, and makes it sound cool, yes, but in those slow songs they have, and when he needs to do plain rythm, he's not very good.

That's probably a matter of taste. I personally think that he does not hit random notes at high speed and I think that he's a great drummer for slow songs as well. Take any slow song by DT as example.

[Helm]

Tuomas, I see nothing 'random' in the way Portnoy plays, and his style can handle any tempo. I basically cannot follow your line of thinking at all since you even say OSI are like Theater. If there's one progressive project Portnoy has been involved in that was a total departure from his main band, OSI are it. It's much, much more a Jim Matheos (of Fates Warning non-fame, now here's a shame) thing than it is a Theater clone. And his playing there even I had to appreciate, who was initially grumbling because Mark Zonder didn't play instead. He's a very solid drummer with great chops and a good sense of accompaniament. He gets overbearing in some Theater releases, true, but then again, all of Theater get their change to get overbearing. I get bored of his drum solos, but hey, drum solos.

[Tuomas]

NP: Anna Lee (5:51)... Let's take over this thread. I talked to our drummer and another friend of mine who's drummer, and they both say Portnoy doesn't play for the band but for himself. And to take this even further, in the last 3 albums, the worst songs have been composed by Portnoy... But I guess it's just what you look from a band. The best drummer is Neil Peart, absolutely, the Bill Bruford and then Phil Collins.

Here in Germany, nobody knows them except progressive metal fans like me. They are NEVER played on any kind of radio station and I bet that not even 1% of people here know their name.

At least they've played Pull Me Under and that new U2 like song, I walk Beside You here... So, I reckon you all progmetal-heads there listen to Vanden Plas or something like that?

Oh, and I, being the happy owner of many records, still find it odd that, most people count King Crimson as a Prog metal band. Sure they have some heavy material on their new albums.

Tuomas, I see nothing 'random' in the way Portnoy plays, and his style can handle any tempo. I basically cannot follow your line of thinking at all since you even say OSI are like Theater.

What I mean is, that Mike Portnoy makes it as Dream Theater as possible, granted that it's more like Chroma Key, but the drumming. I still say he doesn't play for the band. One of those who are great teachers and players, but could easily be replaced in a band. In a band that is not DT which is what Portnoy plays.

[Helm]

Anna Lee? I hear you prefer it orally.

You talk to your drummers and the drummers tell you what goes on in Portnoy's mind when he plays, right? I have no interest in judging Portnoy's intention when he overplays. It's progressive metal, everybody who can, overplays. I haven't listened to much of Theater's 3 last albums because I don't like Theater much, so I'll give you that he might have radically overtaken the sound of the rest of the band, but I don't think that would really be the case.

Vanden Plas are very much unknown compared to Theater.

King Crimson are a Progressive Rock band. They can as you say get pretty hard, but I don't think the aesthetics of heavy metal have anything to do with the Frippian mindset.

OSI are not at all like Chroma Key. Kevin Moore singing is Kevin Moore singing, but they don't sound anything like Chroma Key's three releases. As I said, modern Fates Warning is the closest parallel. What does 'play for the band' mean, Tuomas? All I hear is 'whine whine Portnoy's very fast and overloads'. So what? You don't like his playing, you don't like his playing, that's fine. Let's not judge his intentions and his reasons to play like that. You don't know the man and neither do I.

[DoorKnobHandle]

Anyways, in the end it all comes down to taste...

So, let's stop cluttering up this thread with music-related questions the thread wasn't made for...

[xenogia]

Sorry it was my fault, I started all this Good to know some hardcore prog fans.  But it is the point of complaining over Portnoy and the band anyway.  Everyone likes something different being music, art, games, hobbies.  Oh quickly the best drummer I have seen that kick anyones asses are as followings:

  1. Virgil Donati
  2. Mike Mangini
  3. Vinnie Colaluita
  4. Thomas Lang
  5. Terry Bozzio

These guys are brilliant, Virgil Donati (freelance session muso from oz), Mike Mangini (steve vai drummer), Vinnie Colauita (what can I say Frank Zappa), Thomas Lang (this guy is insane, just look him up) and Terry Bozzio (he was the one who first played the Black Page by Frank Zappa)

[Kinoko]

I just want to point out that I've never, ever heard of Dream Theatre.

As for my inspiration, I have plenty. Of course, my answer is that everything I see/hear inspires me in tiny ways, but I know what you mean... some things have really kicked me in the guts nad made me go, "Whoa, I need paper to write some ideas down".

I'll tell you my most recent one - Iron Feather. It's a DS game I bought awhile back and started playing recently. It gave me lots of ideas for tiny things to add to Gift of Aldora. Not copying, but inspiration to work harder on the guis and interfaces. Ideas of places I can place sounds or images I hadn't thought of previously.

[ManicMatt]

I just want to point out that I've never, ever heard of Dream Theatre.

Who?

[Tuomas]

Kinoko, ManicMatt: http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_BAND.asp?band_id=378 there's some awesome stream mp3s there too \o/

Anyway, I have this habit of listening to music and getting ideas, as I earlier said. Then it popped into my mind that the best songs that I've made are done so, that I ask one of my friends for a subject or a name for the song, and then for the key signature, and then I start composing on that. Somehow all my own ideas tend to die at some point, but these ones are so much different. This is why I'll be composing a song called "colors of the traffic lights" in A-minor tonight if I have time , I think I'll make it something DT like as that has been the official off-topic subject lately