YTSEJAM Digest 1126
Today's Topics:
1) DTFAQ Version 4.0 / Part 2 of 2
by jskewes@why.net (jskewes)
2) Ramblings....
by laussade@enet.net (Ktulu)
3) Re: All the jams that quiz when you smile
by William T Bajzek <wb2a+@andrew.cmu.edu>
4) Songs DT should cover
by jtack1@ic3.ithaca.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 1995 21:24:04 GMT
From: jskewes@why.net (jskewes)
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: DTFAQ Version 4.0 / Part 2 of 2
Message-ID: <19951112213120824.AAA198@tar172.why.net>
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5. Questions about the songs themselves
---------------------------------------
5.1 Who sings on the satiric "Wanted Dead or Alive" demo?
John Petrucci originally recorded this demo as a practice tape for one
of his guitar students before IAW was released. The demo tracks laid down by
John were recorded with guitar and a drum machine only and no added vocals.
Eventually, Rich Kern, a friend of Kevin Moore's who also played guitar on a few
of Kevin's new solo demos, got ahold of the tape and decided to add some vocals
of his own to the background music. The final result is the "heliumfest" you
hear on the demo.
5.2 What is "A Fortune In Lies" about?
According to Mike, it was about a friend of theirs who was busted for
stealing and the experience he gleaned from it.
5.3 What does "The Ytse Jam" mean?
YTSEJAM is MAJESTY written backwards, and it probably refers to their
original band name in that ambiguous way instrumentals refer to things.
5.4 What is "The Killing Hand" about?
John does not comment on it often, but Mike Portnoy opened up in an
interview about why it was written and what he "thinks" it's about. In the
interview, Portnoy was very careful to remind the reader that he could be all
wrong, but that it was not likely. Petrucci wrote it as a sort of "Twilight
Zone" story about war in which the main character witnesses all these atrocities
and sees the names of the dead on a wall, and then realizes it's been him this
whole time causing all the atrocities... then he sees his own name on the wall.
Very Rod Serling-type of stuff.
5.5 Is "Afterlife" a Christian song? Is "Eve?"
While the band admits Afterlife has Christian overtones, it is not a
religious tune in the same spirit as the music of King's X or Parallax. In fact
when the band used to play Afterlife live with Chris Collins, the lyrics were
completely different. Eve, the piano/guitar intro sequence used live for both
Pull Me Under and Learning To Live at different times, includes a lot of voice
samples from James Joyce's 'A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man'. One of
these samples is "Guide us on to our Lord Jesus, guide us home." According to
sources close to Moore, "Although Eve IS named for the "Christian" concept of
Eve, it's also about the new age "goddess" concept also and simply about the
spirituality of womankind in general, so it's not really a Christian song."
5.6 What is "Pull Me Under" about?
The current explanation goes that it was inspired by Shakespeare's
"Hamlet". Prince Hamlet swore vengeance on King Claudius for murdering his
father, the former King, and then marrying his mother, still Queen. Hamlet's
famous Soliloquy was the passage in which the conflict in Hamlet's mind is
detailed, and the second verse of "Pull Me Under" coincides pretty thoroughly
with it. The very end of the song James can be heard singing this line from
Hamlet:
"Oh that this too, too solid flesh would melt."
Furthermore, after seeing the video, in an interview, Portnoy said "Who
the hell was that wolfman guy in the video anyway? We had written it based on
something else entirely." Portnoy noted that while Moore did not write PMU about
Hamlet specifically, he DID write PMU about what Hamlet was ABOUT. Same themes,
ideas, etc.
Here's the no-brainer explanation:
_____ _ _ __ __ _ _ _
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| ___/ | | | | | | |\/| |/ _ \ | | | | '_ \ / _` |/ _ \ '__|
| | | |_| | | | | | | | __/ | |__| | | | | (_| | __/ |
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a comparison by Pete "Ender" Walsh
PULL ME UNDER
Images: Dream Theater
Words: Moore
Lost in the sky
Clouds roll by and I roll with them
KING CLAUDIUS [to Hamlet] How is it that the clouds still hang on you?
Arrows fly
Seas increase and then fall again
HAMLET To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
[and so on...]
This world is spinning around me
This world is spinning without me
Every day sends future to past
Every breath leaves one less to my last
Watch the sparrow falling
Gives new meaning to it all
If not today nor yet tomorrow then some other day
HAMLET Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now,
'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be
now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the
readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he
leaves, what is't to leave betimes?
I'll take seven lives for one
[Hamlet is responsible, in some way, for seven deaths in the play.]
And then my only father's son
As sure as I did ever love him
I am not afraid
Ghost I am thy father's spirit,
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid
To tell the secrets of my prison-house,
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine:
But this eternal blazon must not be
To ears of flesh and blood. List, list, O, list!
If thou didst ever thy dear father love--
HAMLET O God!
Ghost Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.
HAMLET Murder!
Ghost Murder most foul, as in the best it is;
But this most foul, strange and unnatural.
HAMLET Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love,
May sweep to my revenge.
- AND -
HAMLET Ay, so, God be wi' ye;
[Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN]
Now I am alone.
[...etc, etc...]
O, vengeance!
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,
[...etc, etc...]
This world is spinning around me
The whole world keeps spinning around me
All life is future to past
Every breath leaves me one less to my last
Pull me under Pull me under
Pull me under I'm not afraid
All that I feel in honor and spite
All I can do is set it right
HAMLET Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!
[They swear]
So, gentlemen,
With all my love I do commend me to you:
And what so poor a man as Hamlet is
May do, to express his love and friending to you,
God willing, shall not lack. Let us go in together;
And still your fingers on your lips, I pray.
The time is out of joint: O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!
- AND -
HAMLET [...]
When honour's at the stake. How stand I then,
That have a father kill'd, a mother stain'd,
Excitements of my reason and my blood,
And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men,
That, for a fantasy and trick of fame,
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain? O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!
Dust fills my eyes
Clouds roll by and I roll with them
Centuries cry
Orders fly and I fall again
This world is spinning inside me
The whole world is spinning inside of me
Every day sends future to past
Every step brings me closer to my last
Pull me under Pull me under
Pull me under I'm not afraid
Living my life too much in in the sun
Only until your will is done
HAMLET Not so, my lord; I am too much i' the sun.
[in response to Claudius's comment on clouds, above.]
Oh that this too
Too solid flesh
Would melt
[Direct quote]
HAMLET O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
5.7 What is "Another Day" about?
On a Long Island radio show called 'Finger's Metal Shop', Gail Fluge
(sp), who at that time was president of the Dream Theater fan club, stated that
the song was about by John Petrucci's struggle in dealing with his father having
cancer. A Ytsejam reader who knows John Petrucci's parents has confirmed that
at one time Mr. Petrucci did in fact have cancer.
Two other schools of thought have previously emerged on this subject:
Suicide is the most obvious meaning. Pretty much every verse supports
the theme of a person trying to talk someone out of killing themselves. "so die
another day... better to save the mystery"
Another equally valid point of view is that of mental illness, and
trying to cope with it as the sufferer and/or family. "they took pictures of our
dreams... etc"
5.8 What is "Take The Time" about?
"We decided to write a song about everything we'd
been going through for the past three years -
looking for a new singer, a new label & new
management - just all the changes we made & all
the frustrations we went through...but, have it
coming from each of our four different perspectives.
So, we broke it up, and said 'Okay, you take the
1st verse, you take the 2nd verse,' went away,
wrote lyrics about our feelings about all the stuff
we were going through, and then put it together.
Then [we] wrote the chorus together. That was the
1st time we had ever done that, and it's the only
song on the album where the lyrics were actually
written by everybody."
- Mike Portnoy on "TTT"
5.9 What is being said in Italian in "Take the Time" and where is it from?
It's Italian for, "now that I'm blind, I can see much clearer." It was
taken from the film "Cinema Paradiso" as the following:
"Adesso che ho
perso la vista,
ci vedo meglio
e di piu"
It's not a coincidence that LaBrie sings, "I can see much clearer now
I'm blind," right before the sample.
5.10 What was the original title of "Surrounded?"
Promotional cassettes for Images And Words had Surrounded labeled as
"The Longest Night" on the sleeve.
5.11 What is "Surrounded" about?
During the IAW tour they dedicated the song to Arthur Ashe, the tennis
player who died of AIDS. However, the song seems more about enlightenment (in
several forms) than death. The fact that Ashe was the first African-American
tennis player to succeed in the sport supports this hypothesis.
5.12 What story is "Metropolis part I: The Miracle and the Sleeper" based on?
It is based on the story of the telepathically-linked Romulus and Remus
from Virgil's 'Aeneid'. It has no relation to the movie "Metropolis". Petrucci
wrote it as a sort of fantasy epic, inspired by the likes of, you guessed it,
Yes and Rush. The story itself is original (the twins are named Miracle and
Sleeper and do not appear in literature) but the story type was Homeric.
5.13 What is "Wait For Sleep" about? Who is the girl/woman in "Wait For Sleep?"
Kevin Moore has said she was a friend of his who had a spiritual void
and a hard time filling it, reaching for something to believe in. It dealt with
her fears about belief and her grief over a loved one's death. His explanation
is longer, but that about says it.
5.14 What is "Learning to Live" about?
This has been the bigger topic of discussion on the YML because Myung
has commented briefly on it and Portnoy has, while not wanting to confirm it,
indicated that the premise is correct in an interview. Learning to Live was
inspired by the AIDS epidemic. Particularly, the "From a common fear ... reach
for life" passage, but the rest fits very snugly with the AIDS theme.
5.15 What is a "Vindaloo?"
A Bombay Vindaloo is a hot spicy herb/pepper served on Indian food,
usually chicken. It is also taken after drinks. My guess is DT got blasted in
Asia or Europe and got to try this most interesting spice. :)
5.16 Has anybody noticed the re-usable riff phenomenon?
Yes. Pull Me Under and Take The Time share a melody, which is not quite
a riff, but they are identical if juxtaposed on a corresponding major/minor
scale. Wait For Sleep and Learning to Live also share a main riff.
Thematically, none of the songs interconnect. Mike Portnoy has said that the
music is written out before the lyrics are written and set to melody. It is
possible (any interviews mention this?) that they were intended to be
counterparts and that the relation was either scrapped or made more subtle. The
PMU-TTT connection is not as direct as the WFS-LTL connection. The melody from
PMU's "This World is spinning around me, this world is spinning without me" in a
minor scale sung by LaBrie is reproduced at 4:18 of the TTT instrumental section
in a major scale played by Petrucci. So, the question remains, "are the 16-note
melodies reproduced completely by coincidence on the same album by the same
band?" Also, all throughout Awake, there is a lot of intentional riff sharing.
Without referring to the obvious Erotomania, which is MADE UP OF riffs from
other songs, the Space Dye Vest piano melody was added to The Mirror, LSOAD, and
Scarred. The section of "A Change of Seasons" at 2:48 seems reminicent of
"Erotomainia".
5.17 Has anybody noticed the Another Song phenomenon?
Yes. DT has a knack, it would seem, for Another Song titles. Another Won
(from the Majesty demos), Another Day (from Images And Words) and Another Hand
(prologue to The Killing Hand live and on LATM) are the factors of this
phenomenon. The album "Awake" seems to have escaped this trap of nomenclature.
5.18 Who wrote "To Live Forever?"
John Petrucci.
5.19 Did the demos "Death of Spock" and "Cry For Freedom" ever go anywhere?
Yes. They became "The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun" and part of several
instrumental improvisations. (listen to Bombay Vindaloo, Moon Bubbles, and
Barfbag... it's in there.)
5.20 What is "6:00" about?
"...that actually was inspired by a story that
James told me about one of his friends. He
told me about one of his friends who he used
to work with at a factory... James, I guess he
worked with him like years & years ago. Anyway,
this guy is still working at that factory & he
[James] just met him like, I guess, recently,
and he was talking to him about how he's got all
these great benefits now and everything, but...
and so that struck me as... that struck him, you
know, it's kind of affected him and I thought
about it too, and I was just thinking about how
people kind of let life live them instead of
living life sometimes, you know. And just get
caught up in just being secure and having money,
you know, to survive, which is a noble thing for
some people. But some people don't even give
themselves a chance, you know, this guy happened
to be a musician who still had a dream about
becoming a serious musician and making a career
out of it, but it was obvious that he was never
going to do anything about it. And this is kind
of like a 'do something about it' song."
- Kevin Moore
From what we have surmised, "6:00", of course is REALLY primarily about
Kevin's thoughts about leaving the band and the indecisiveness that preceded
this.
5.21 What is "Caught In A Web" about?
"...a person that's... it's not male or female,
it could be either. And it's dealing with a person
who has suppressed their feelings for so long and
has finally had enough of it and feels that
the only way that they can really live life to
it's fullest is to live from the inside out.
And that's basically what this person has come
to terms with. And they're sick of society
inducements and they feel the only way that they
can go on with life is to live it the way they feel
is the truth..."
- James LaBrie
5.22 What is "Lie" about?
According to Moore, it's connected to the theme of The Mirror. Betrayal
and disillusionment are the main ideas. There seems to be religious symbolism in
the lyrics.
For example:
"At the bottom of a lake, it's a hundred degrees I can't breathe"
= Lake of Fire / Hell
"You tell me 'bout your two more coming" = The Second Coming
5.23 What is "Space-Dye Vest" about? How did Kevin come up with this stuff?
In Kevin Moore's words from a Japanese Interview:
"It was inspired by... I was looking through a
clothing catalog & saw a picture of a girl
modeling this piece of clothing called a
space-dye vest. And, so, I fell in love with
her [laughs] for some strange reason & so the
minute I did that, the minute I was just like
obsessed w/this person, I was like, 'why am I
doing that?' & I noticed that I was doing it a
lot lately. And I think the prime reason that
I was doing that, and this is what I figured
out at the time, was that 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 &
just kind of admitting that I'm just kind of
lost. So it's kind of a dark song. It was very
cathartic though."
5.24 What is "Lifting Shadows off a Dream" about?
"...that song is more or less just reflecting
the duality that exists between a man and a
woman; the spiritual side of the relationship
& how they both can compliment one another."
- John Myung
(Japanese Radio Interview)
** 5.25 Anyone notice that "Erotomania" contains snippets of many of the songs
on the first half of Awake?
Yes. Also, part of Erotomania used to be contained within the solo of
demo version of Pull Me Under.
5.26 Who sings backup vocals on "The Silent Man?"
John Purdell (Awake's producer)
John Petrucci sings them live.
** 5.27 What is unique about the song "A Change of Seasons?"
Several things.
First of all, it's the first lyric work Mike Portnoy did. (of course, it
is not the only vocal work Mike ever did... Mike had the dubious privilege of
singing the end of "Surrounded" after James walked off the stage at one of their
1993 England shows)
Second of all, it's the longest DT song at 23:05. This is a noteworthy
distinction because it's very rare to find bands comfortable with lengthy
formats.
** 5.28 What is the song "A Change of Seasons" about?
When Portnoy has been asked about this question during his recent drum
clinics, He has said that "ACOS was part autobiographical part fictional." He
has indicated that it deals, in part, with the death of his mother.
-----------------------------------------------------
6. Questions concerning the samples used in the songs
-----------------------------------------------------
6.1 Where is the sampled voice in "A Fortune In Lies" from?
Mike Portnoy recorded it off a television documentary about the prison
system.
** 6.2 Where were the samples used in "6:00" pulled from?
They came from John Huston's movie "The Dead" which is based on James
Joyce's short story "The Dead" which is available separately (from Penguin books
in the US) or as part of "Dubliners" (a collection of Joyce's short stories).
The words are (from the book):
--No, continued Aunt Kate, she wouldn't be said or led
by anyone, slaving there in that choir night and day,
night and day. Six o'clock on Christmas morning! And
all for what?
--Well, isn't it for the honour of God, Aunt Kate?
asked Mary Jane, twisting round on the piano-stool and
smiling.
Aunt Kate turned fiercely on her niece and said:
--I know all about the honour of God, Mary Jane, but I
think it's not at all honourable for the pope to turn
out the women out of the choirs that have slaved there
all their lives and put little whipper-snappers of boys
over their heads. I suppose it is for the good of the
Church if the pope does it. But it's not just, Mary
Jane, and it's not right.
** 6.3 Where are the samples in "Space-Dye Vest" from?
The first sample in SDV is from the Merchant/Ivory film
"A Room With A View".
The complete passage says,
"...he's the sort who can't know anyone intimately,
least of all a woman. He doesn't know what a woman
is. He wants you for a possession, something to
look at, like a painting or an ivory box. Something
to own and to display. He doesn't want you to be
real, or to think, or to live. He doesn't love you.
But I love you. I want you to have your own
thoughts and ideas and feelings, even when I hold
you in my arms...it's our last chance."
These lines are spoken by actor Julian Sands' character, George Emerson. In
this pivotal scene, he's trying to convince the woman he loves, Lucy Honeychurch
(played by Helena Bonham-Carter), who is engaged to be married to someone else,
that she's making a horrible mistake and that she truly belongs with him
instead.
Another interesting connection between SDV and "A Room With A View" is that
Kevin based most of the song around a chord progression that's actually from the
background music in movie! It only appears a couple of times in very short
sections, but it's *definitely* the same chord progression that Kevin used in
SDV.
This sample was taken from a TV commentator during the O.J. Simpson police chase.
"Some people gave advice before about facing the facts, about
facing reality. And this is, this without a doubt, is his
biggest challenge ever. He's going to have to face it. You're
gonna have to try, he's gonna have to try and, uh, and, and,
and get some help here. I mean, you know, now no one can say
they know how he feels..."
The following is (unconfirmed) from a Conan O'Brien show:
"That's what they say that, like that in Houston, or
something. They say 'yeah, it's 180 degrees, but it's a dry
heat.'"
"In Houston they say that?"
"Oh, maybe not, I'm all mixed up."
"Dry until they hit the swimming pool."
This sample has not been identified as of yet:
(unintelligible talking)"...I'll get up with the sun...she
doesn't, she doesn't want you to sleep in...I don't care what
you do, I don't care what you say, you're grounded...that door
gets locked, that door gets locked at night by 9 o'clock. If
you're not in this house by 9 o'clock, then you'd better find
someplace to sleep...you think you can go to your mom's house
and sucker her into it?..."(unintelligible talking)
----------------
7. Miscellaneous
----------------
** 7.1 What is "Subconscious"? What is "Acoustic Dreams"? What is "When Dream
And Today Unite"?
"Subconscious" is a compilation of rare Dream Theater tracks put
together by our very own Mike Bahr. The disc was limited to a pressing of 500
units and it sold out almost immediately. Lately, the CD has become a
collector's item and has recently been sold for as high as $75 on Ytsejam.
"Acoustic Dreams" was the next Dream Theater release done by Mike Bahr.
This recording consists of an beautiful acoustic show which Dream Theater
performed several tracks from "Awake" and "IAW." This is also currently sold
out.
"When Dream And Today Unite" is the next scheduled release. This
compilation will include all of the songs from "When Dream and Day Unite" played
live with James LaBrie on vocals. A few other live rare tracks, including some
of the Majesty Demos will also be included. Read YTSEJAM for ordering
instructions.
** 7.2 Did the band "Blind Melon" bash DT? What did they say?
Yes - in the magazine "Guitar For the Practicing Musician", two members
of Blind Melon were asked to listen and critique several recordings. Below is a
transcription of the article.
"Guitar for the Practicing Musician" - January 1994
"Pull Me Under"
Images And Words
Dream Theater (ATCO/East-West)
Christopher: This could be metal at any moment--I'm just warning everybody.
Rogers: Either that or it could build up into a power ballad.
C: I feel like we might have to excuse ourselves here for a second. We might
have to leave.
R: This is one of those guitar sounds that when he hits a note, about a million
lights jump up on his guitar rig.
C: Any minute now there is gonna be a squealy.
R: Is this, like, Queensryche?
C: If it is, let's turn it off right away because I hate that band.
R: Hate it. This is the kind of music you listen to right when you start to get
your pubic hairs.
C: I can't even be fair to this music, I hate it so bad. I can't even sit
through one song. I know I'm not being fair but I think it is complete
garbage. That sort of guitar playing is just stupid.
R: If I want to hear a metal band I really like old Black Sabbath and
Soundgarden, heavy bands with brains. If I were listening to an angry metal
band I would be more into Rage Against the Machine or Sugar. I like that
Sugar record a lot, I like Sonic Youth a lot. That's heavy, guitar based
music that I listen to.
C: Playing fast for the sake of fast is hideous. I hate that whole mentality of
sitting around playing scales and cock-rock crap.
R: I heard some squealies. I don't really like that sound either. I'm not into
those guitar sounds. When I hear that stuff I get feeling squeamish.
Guitar: That was Dream Theater.
C: We'll remember not to buy that record. I bet they have really nice hair...
now I'm being mean.
R: This is just our opinion. There's a lot of people that like Dream Theater and
that's fine. They get off on it--good for them. They'll probably hate us,
maybe they won't.
C: They probably do because we sound like we're playing sloppy. But that's
alright, that's a different thing. We're just coming from a different space.
R: In no way do we condemn this sort of music. These people have a right to
exist.
C: Just keep it the hell away from us.
[on to the other songs.]
To give you an idea how fucked-up Blind Melon are, they liked:
Medicated Goo - Traffic
Midnight Rider - Almond Brothers
And they hated:
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You - Sons of Mercury
Omaha - Moby Grape
Pull Me Under - Dream Theater
Little Miss Can't Be Wrong - Spin Doctors
Always With Me Always With You - Joe Satriani
These following letters to the editor appeared in the February 1994 issue with
Alex Lifeson of Rush on the cover!!
"...I've had it! I'm sick of these stupid fucks writing that heavy metal is
soulless, mindless bullshit..."
"...If you have something to say about another type of music, keep it to
yourself."
And in March 1994:
"Blind Lemon only wish they could compare to Queensryche and Dream Theater!"
"...John Petrucci's technical skill and rapturous melodies are things of beauty,
things that Christopher and Rogers hate because they can't create such things
themselves..."
And so on.
Here is John Petrucci's response to Blind Melon in "Guitar for the
Practicing Musician", March 1994 issue:
"I find it really weird that somebody would say that about me or
Dream Theater because a couple of guys in the band are into Smashing
Pumpkins, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and the like. It's just the same crap I
heard at Berkelee, where you had the jazzers versus the rockers, who
always argued and fought with each other. Without sounding too
idealistic, it's all music and hopefully there is a quality in all styles
that can reach you. Condemning another genre is something that I would
never do. And for the record, the members of Dream Theater are
definitely not stuffy prog-rockers who condemn songs if they're not in
9/8 time. That's ridiculous! We're into all different styles. I listen
to a lot of different things myself: classical music from Beethoven,
Bartok, and Revel, jazz from cats like pianist Billy Taylor and
non-traditional jazz from John Scofield and Mike Stern, who's a monster.
And then I dig metal, too -- Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, Alice
in Chains, and so on. Of course, I'm not going to say that I listen to
everything; I don't particularly care for rap or country-pop. Then
again, I really try to have a diverse listening palette. It helps me
keep an open mind to music."
** 7.3 What is the correct pronunciation of the word - 'YTSEJAM'?
Per Mike Portnoy, the correct pronunciation is 'yit-say-jam'.
** 7.4 What was 'Ytsecon'?
Ytsecon was an event that drew lots of those on the Dream Theater mailing list
together to meet the band at a 'convention' like atmosphere. The event was
organized through the Ytsejam mailing list by Barb Battaglia
(babs@sgenva.cc.geneseo.edu) and Jeff Chew (jc309@columbia.edu). Ytsecon took
place on June 13, 1995 at the Smithtown Sheridan in New York. For the first
hour, all of the ytsejammers gathered in the "conference" room and mingled, got
to know each other, etc. Finally, Mike, John (Myung), and Derek came in to meet
everyone. They signed autographs and there was a poster raffle of rare Dream
Theater European tour posters. Afterwards, Mike popped in a tape of the studio
recording of 'A Change Of Seasons'. No one else had heard it yet because they
had just recorded it a few days before the Ytsecon. When everything came to an
end and the three left, a bunch of people were cleaning up, and Jeff Chew pulled
out a freshly autographed acoustic guitar and played the Silent Man, with
everyone singing along.
There was also a Tokyo Ytsecon on May 14th, 1995 in Shimo-Kitazawa. Can anyone
give me more details...?
END OF FAQ
Again, for any corrections, information, or if you feel that you must abuse me,
mail me at jskewes@why.net :)
-=-
*************************************************************
jskewes@why.net | 'beneath the dust of our days
Fort Worth, Texas | hides the key to our emotions'
| Fates Warning / life in still water
*************************************************************
http://www.why.net/users/jskewes
*************************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 1995 15:20:39 -0700
From: laussade@enet.net (Ktulu)
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Ramblings....
Message-ID: <199511122220.PAA24402@maple.enet.net>
>Let me give you other things to poke and kid about instead; I'm an
>average white male: height 5:8, I don't have a four year degree
>(ignorant) and I also listen to Sade and Sting and progressive Jazz
>artists too. I sometimes get speeding tickets and I'm a right wing
>radical, I think abortion is infanticide, I'm and Dallas Cowboys fan
>and I get pissed off when people don't use their turn signals because I
>do. I also drive fast in the left lane and the speed limit in the
>other lanes. Oh don't let me leave out, I'm of Irish decent and I'm
>against these new "Big Brother" gun laws and passive people who have
>nothing to stand for except themselves.
Wait...."infanticide" is a line from Metallica's "Harvester of Sorrow"!!
I'm gonna tell you this not because I want you to poke fun at me,
but because I get a kick out of describing myself....
BUT, I'll spare you the horror.
I have recently been notified that not everyone is a fan of my
Visual Music. I have also been accused of "Mental Masturbating". I just
want to say that I was not doing it to show off. I was doing it because it
was fun. Please E-mail me privately and let me know if you like it or don't
like it. If there is an overwhelming number of Jammers who dislike it I
will happily stop, but if there are alot who like it, then I don't want to
ruin there day by stopping. On second thought, if Visual Music is the
highlight of your day, then something's wrong. But I still enjoy doing it.
Lemme know.
Well, we should have 2 or 3 new jammers pretty soon. I told them
how to subsribe and they said they would. If this is on the Jam before 7:00
Eastern Sunday night, then GO TO THE IRC ROOM AT THAT TIME! There are going
to be lots of people there.
I just got the LiT video and, well "Actually I feel kinda spooky."
Heehee. Doesn't John Myung just look incessantly cool when he plays?
I also got Savatage's Dead Winter Dead. Holy fuck, Batman! That
thing is awesome! ***BLASPHEMY*** It's more emotional that ACoS, IMO. If
you haven't heard "The Carol of the Bells" on guitar and keys, you have to.
It is awesome and it's on DWD. Go out and buy that. You won't be
dissapointed.Seeya.
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 1995 17:33:52 -0500 (EST)
From: William T Bajzek <wb2a+@andrew.cmu.edu>
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Re: All the jams that quiz when you smile
Message-ID: <4kdbNEy00YUtIL0kVL@andrew.cmu.edu>
fates song lyrics? is it parallel lives (queensryche, suite sister
mary)?
we'll steal your dreams ----william bajzek---- the realm of the freaks
control your minds ------------http://--------- is to solve the demise
persecute the fools ----phoebe.dws.acs.cmu.edu---- ravage the lifeless
left behind -------------------/~wb2a/---------------- blinded by lies
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 1995 16:57:47 -0500 (EST)
From: jtack1@ic3.ithaca.edu
To: ytsejam@anthor.arastar.com
Subject: Songs DT should cover
Message-ID: <Pine.PMDF.3.91.951112163730.46265A-100000@ic3.ithaca.edu>
First of all,
> p.s. I still like WDAJU better.
I agree!!!!
Now...You just HAD to ask this question, didn't you!
> Number one for today is a simple question, to which I hope to see a lot of
> answers. Which song/title by which artist would you really like to see (hear)
> DT cover (and why, if possible).
Now I feel compelled to post a thought that I've been trying to bury for
months! Please don't pick on me for this!!
OK, a few months ago I decided to regress back into my childhood and I
listened to my Duran Duran "Decade" CD (yes, I actually bought it on
CD). While listening to the song "A View to a Kill" (from the James Bond
movie) I suddenly pictured Dream Theater performing it! (Don't ask.
Strange things often go on inside my head :) !!)
Obviously, there would be no musical challenge for DT to cover this, but
I just thought it would be so amusing to see James up there singing
"Dance...into the fi-yahr...This fatal kiss is all we neeeeed". (or
something like that). And the song almost has a progressive kind of a
feel to it...in a cheesy sort of way. :)
I was going to post this when I first thought of it, but then I
realized...wait, that would be like committing ytsesuicide!
But what the heck...I'm feeling brave today!
Ahhhh, I can hear the shouts of "BLASPHEMY" heading my way already!
Jodi
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End of YTSEJAM Digest 1126
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