Official DT Top 50 Thread Mark II (bss4life15 up now - starting page 79)

[Elite]

a song I hate, like, let's say, Misunderstood, ITPOE2 or As I Am

WAT

Indeed, especially the first two.

WAT

[Mind Trail]

So when's the next song coming up? 

[Nekov]

Hey Heff, can you run this thread the same way the top 50 albums thread is run? Meaning sticking this one and using it for tracking and then have people create their own thread. That way there could be 2 or 3 people at the same time and it would run much smoother.

[Ħ]

Hey Heff, can you run this thread the same way the top 50 albums thread is run? Meaning sticking this one and using it for tracking and then have people create their own thread. That way there could be 2 or 3 people at the same time and it would run much smoother.

That's a good idea.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Hey Heff, can you run this thread the same way the top 50 albums thread is run? Meaning sticking this one and using it for tracking and then have people create their own thread. That way there could be 2 or 3 people at the same time and it would run much smoother.

That's a good idea.

[hefdaddy42]

Hey Heff, can you run this thread the same way the top 50 albums thread is run? Meaning sticking this one and using it for tracking and then have people create their own thread. That way there could be 2 or 3 people at the same time and it would run much smoother.

No.

[Ħ]

cool thanks knew we could count on you

[hefdaddy42]

cool thanks knew we could count on you

[FlyingBIZKIT]

It was worth a shot

[hefdaddy42]

It was worth a shot

It's always worth a shot.

In fact, I'll have a shot right now.

[Nekov]

Hey Heff, can you run this thread the same way the top 50 albums thread is run? Meaning sticking this one and using it for tracking and then have people create their own thread. That way there could be 2 or 3 people at the same time and it would run much smoother.

No.

. Pretty please?

[Mladen]

I don't know about the others, but I'd be too lazy to follow two lists or more at a time. I like it the way it is, members post their lists one by one.

[Estiui]

But this is sooooo slow...

[hefdaddy42]

Hey Heff, can you run this thread the same way the top 50 albums thread is run? Meaning sticking this one and using it for tracking and then have people create their own thread. That way there could be 2 or 3 people at the same time and it would run much smoother.

No.

. Pretty please?

No.  This is the way it was decided months and months ago when it started.

[BlackInk]

I don't know about the others, but I'd be too lazy to follow two lists or more at a time. I like it the way it is, members post their lists one by one.

This. Having multiple top50 threads would take away alot of attention for some of the lists, especially now in between DT albums where there isn't as much activity as it is otherwise.

[theseoafs]

I'd also be for multiple top 50 threads. The way it's organized now is, with all due respect, terribly inefficient. wasteland posted a single lengthy writeup for his 51st song 5 days ago and hasn't been heard from since. Why punish those who want to participate and those who enjoy reading these lists by waiting for the end of this one, which, at this rate, will take over 200 days to complete?

[hefdaddy42]

I'd also be for multiple top 50 threads. The way it's organized now is, with all due respect, terribly inefficient. wasteland posted a single lengthy writeup for his 51st song 5 days ago and hasn't been heard from since. Why punish those who want to participate and those who enjoy reading these lists by waiting for the end of this one, which, at this rate, will take over 200 days to complete?

Your opinion has been noted.

[theseoafs]

I'd also be for multiple top 50 threads. The way it's organized now is, with all due respect, terribly inefficient. wasteland posted a single lengthy writeup for his 51st song 5 days ago and hasn't been heard from since. Why punish those who want to participate and those who enjoy reading these lists by waiting for the end of this one, which, at this rate, will take over 200 days to complete?

Your opinion has been noted.

[wasteland]

Note: Whenever a song name appears, I post a Dimeadozen emoticon to give a visual hint of my liking of the said song. Just for those who are not into reading 

50. WITHER /
   
I liked this song from day one, when it came out (actually, a few days erarlier) on Black Clouds And Silver Lining. A fine power ballad that shines in its middle position in the tracklist of an album perhaps too much loaded with epics. The song in itself is simple and showcases the pop side of the band, yet without the feeling of unoriginality that sadly hovers above other great "light" DT songs (read "I Walk Beside You" ). Despite being almost entirely written by John Petrucci before (?) the BCSL writing session started, I came to appreciate Jordan's performance above those of his bandmates thanks to his careful pad texture that may not be heard by the casual listener but surely brings the song to a higher level.

   
49. HONOR THY FATHER /
   
I used to hate this song, a couple of years ago. Mostly because of the grinding hate oozing from it. Then I managed to get past the lyrics (which  I still find a bit inappropriate, IMO), and started enjoying the music. It is not what you may call a typical Dream Theater songs, but if we look at things properly, Train Of Thought isn't the typical Dream Theater album. What enables me to tell HTF from the standard, albeit long, straightforward metal song is the weird vocal melody (favourite part of the song) that masterfully (if unintentionally) conveys a sense of loose mental equilibrium throughout the piece, which is probably due when speaking of the man who supposedly ruined a big part of your childhood.


48. BUILD ME UP, BREAK ME DOWN

I must admit, I listened to this song once the day before the album came out. I had indeed heard of a weird electronic intro, but as soon as I hit the play button, I was thrown off way more than I thought I would have been. A couple of legitimate listening into the song, I couldn't still make my mind concerning the weird titled second song of the album. I kinda liked the song, but I couln't shake off the unpleasant feeling of listening the result of a hasty songwriting process. The main reason of this initial skepticism was the abrupt ending of the intrumental bridge, which flows immediatly into the last chorus. I would have included at least a ten second collateral melody to smoothen the transition from the solos to the conclusion. Anyway, the uneasiness towards the song quickly faded with repeated run through it. I'm still a bit bumped by the aforementioned transition, but that's a petty complaint, now. A strong point in favor of BMUBMD is the lyrical content. I know some of you are not precisely fond of them (the "tomorrow a demon" line has been criticized quite a lot here), but I can relate to them very well. It's not that I am some sort of rockstar or whatever, it's due to the said attitude of building up momentum around a certain person and then just throw him in the dust being extremely strong in my country (it has often been said that "Italy appeases its thirst with the blood of its heroes"). So that being said, the song is the second worst off  ADTOE, and yet doesn't leave me disappointed at all even after months of listening. An unexpected but clean win from the band.

[Ħ]

All three pretty good songs. HTF needs to be higher, but I'm happy it made it on your list.

[wasteland]

All three pretty good songs. HTF needs to be higher, but I'm happy it made it on your list.

It's mainly due to my negative attitude towards Train. I never really appreciated their experimental travel into the depth of metal.

[Mladen]

Great to see Build me up, break me down. 

[Nekov]

Wow, lots of metal for a start. Let's see where this goes from here. Honor Thy Father is one of the few songs I enjoy from TOT.

[BlackInk]

All nice ones, not tooooo fond of Wither though.

[Awake77]

I enjoyed your comment about BMUBMD and Italy...! But I guess this happens also in other countries!
And even if I'm not a metal fan, Honor thy father is a favourite of mine. The lyrics are strong, but I like them.

[Ħ]

All nice ones, not tooooo fond of Wither though.

I gotta say it hasn't aged too well for me either.

[Elite]

Does your writeup for BMUBMD imply that 7 more songs off of ADTOE made your list?

[Tomislav95]

BMUBMD is now my favorite, but I like Wither and HTF.

[wasteland]

Does your writeup for BMUBMD imply that 7 more songs off of ADTOE made your list?

You got it! Of course, I'm not saying which is the other one I left out. 

[Mind Trail]

BAI? 

[iamtheeviltwin]

Does your writeup for BMUBMD imply that 7 more songs off of ADTOE made your list?

You got it! Of course, I'm not saying which is the other one I left out. 

Well at the pace you are going you might have to fit songs from DT12 into your list before it is all said and done.   

I love BMUBMD, seems to be one of the most underrated tunes from the new album glad to see it getting list love.

[Mind Trail]

I don't think we will ever see a DT song that is so "weak" (if you can call it that, I think it's an OK or even good song) again.

[Elite]

I love how slowly this progresses.

[Mind Trail]

I love how slowly this progresses.

Patience is bliss. 

[wasteland]

Eat this, natives 

47. OVERTURE

Overture is one of the very few songs I never actually made mind on, in the way that I never took the time to reflect on my real liking of it. This is probably due to it being a one-off song, that can be hardly related to much of the band's catalogue that has not been printed on the same disc. It is an instrumental track, possiblbly the one of them that get most often overlooked when it comes to making rakings and best ofs, which serves as the bombastic lead in to the epic suit that gives the name to the universally liked 2002 album, and as such encapsules in their embryonic form all the themes that would later be developed in each of the following song. There's nothing amiss in this song: quiet moment, hints of turbulence to come (the war inside theme), some of the most epic themes written by the band (the SDOIT-theme guitar solo). What prevents me from ranking this song way higher is there is too much stuff thrown together, making the song lacking structure-wise, at least in my opinion. On a side note, I must admit that, as a mainly live recordings listener, a song that can't be played live is not keen to becoming a favourite.

46.NEW MILLENNIUM

Another  song I always, until recently, failed to appreciate even in some parts. Although I have since mostly changed my mind, I still agree with what James said about the song when asked to name his most and least favourite song. I love the instrumental side of the track, but I can't relate to the melody, nor to the lyrics. Which is a real pity, since some bits of the song are among the best instrumental moments of the album. Still, I never skip the first two minutes of the song when they show up on my ipod.

45. BLIND FAITH

This is probably the greatest DT song I don't enjoy listening. I did, once, roughly two years ago, when it even cracked my top ten, only to sink very low in a few weeks. It's an incredible song, with strong lyrics (James LaBrie never let us down) and great instrumentation. I know very few who wouldn't agree on the BF unison to be among the best (and most difficult) unison the band wrote, and even fewer who would not consider the previous piano solo meaningful and tasty. It's Dream Theater at their best, and arguably one of the instrumental highlights of the 21st century DT. Just, however hard I tried in the recent past, I never got to enjoy listening to it anymore.

44. ENDLESS SACRIFICE

If Blind Faith was a song I used to love and that has since sunk in my liking, Endless Sacrifice is a track I used to hate until it showed up the setlists last years. I had listened to older live performances of the song, mainly Budokan and other bootlegs from the same period, but even then, the song seemed to me to be missing a critical spark of life, something making everything work correctly. The song is quite good, but I've always found it to suffer an overlong instrumental section right in the middle of the song, effectively breaking it in halves. As much as I love extensive instrumental sections, the risk of having them interrupt the narrative process of the song is not to be ignored, and yet it often results in epic achievements (Metropolis, Octavarium - /). Endless Sacrifice is an example of this not happening. Nonetheless, the live strength of a songs is not completely tied to how highly one thinks of them in the beginning. This is why I, quite surprisingly I must admit, found myself to enjoy listening ES on the new (scarse, but whatever) batch of bootlegs taped last year. I finally found the spark is was looking for in this song, and couldn't find in the studio version nor in the older live performances. So, if you happen to run into a 2011 bootleg, consider giving Endless Sacrifice a spin!