YTSEJAM digest 3011

From: ytsejam@ax.com
Date: Wed Sep 24 1997 - 19:50:59 EDT

  • Next message: : "Cool 98 Rock (Baltimore) response..."

                                YTSEJAM Digest 3011

    Today's Topics:

      1) my nipples of FII
     by john jens <jjens@darkhorse.triad.net>
      2) FII, my humble review
     by NightCast <NightCast@usa.net>
      3) Re: FII helps you get dates. :)
     by john jens <jjens@darkhorse.triad.net>
      4) FII... Grundge is dead...AMEN!
     by AUTOPOWER@aol.com
      5) Hollow Years.
     by Jonathan Case <jcase@ROSSBY.METR.ou.edu>
      6) this new album thing here
     by Anton Max <madmax@andrew.cmu.edu>
      7) This breath brought to you by....
     by Pat Sullivan <psull@ici.net>
      8) Metal/Rock Radio Show Survey Results
     by Chris Aitken <aitkenc@ideal.net.au>
      9) FII
     by "John Hough" <jhough@mindspring.com>
     10) UNCLASSIFIED:-UK Jammers
     by Graham.Boyle.149036@navy.gov.au
     11) Enchants Wounded
     by Holger.Hoffmeister@t-online.de (Holger Hoffmeister)
     12) Now playing: :)
     by Jon Parmet <jon@parmetpc.volpe.dot.gov>
     13) FII bashing in DT site guestbooks
     by Mark Bredius <bredius@globalxs.nl>
     14) DT has sold out and I am a god guitarist.
     by "TheCowGod" <dmc@dreamt.org>
     15) FII 'n stuff
     by acos0206@uriacc.uri.edu
     16) FII Production
     by hazzy <hazzy@navin.com>

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 15:42:09 -0500 (CDT)
    From: john jens <jjens@darkhorse.triad.net>
    To: ytsejam@ax.com
    Subject: my nipples of FII
    Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.95.970924153808.24336C-100000@darkhorse.triad.net>

    i think im having the same reaction i had when Awake was released: im not
    overwhelmed by it; it's not Images and Words (duh). i'll prolly grow to
    like it, like i did w/ awake. but right now i just dont feel like there's
    a Scarred or Voices on FII, ya know? a couple of the songs sound like
    something straight from late 70's Rush...i keep expecting Geddy to bust in
    over the keyboards. the cover and liner notes concept is kool. i've only
    listened 1.25 times, but nothing bass-wise has jumped out at me...except
    that i can frikn *hear* Myung. lyrics are typical DT; defly missing Moore
    in that department. couple really kool guitar solos..Bombay Vindaloo-type
    jams, that's kool. dig the industrialesque vocals/sounds.

    bite and suck em hard,
    john

                                 j j e n s @ s h e l l . w e b z o n e . n e t

                             s h e l l . w e b z o n e . n e t / ~ j j e n s /

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 09:53:02 -0600
    From: NightCast <NightCast@usa.net>
    To: "'ytsejam@ax.com'" <ytsejam@ax.com>
    Subject: FII, my humble review
    Message-ID: <01BCC8F7.29745B60@tron>

    I love the new CD.. Very good. Peruvian Skies is very Floydian IMHO, =
    and so is Anna Lee.... Actually I picture Anna Lee as a cross between =
    Pink Floyd and Billy Joel. As is usual for me, the song with Myung's =
    lyrics, Trial of Tears, is my immediate favorite, although this may =
    change as time goes on. A New Millenium is also excellent. It almost =
    borders on Industrial (although this is NOT an insult) I think it's done =
    very tastefully and like the common theme it has all the way through it. =
     And Burning My Soul is incredible. I'm surprised I haven't heard =
    complaints from jammers as to how it says 'shit' when the list was alive =
    with people whining about 'fuck' in AcoS. =20

    I have noticed a lack of hard songs on this CD, although that could be =
    that I just haven't CRANKED it yet.. (I know, I'm terrible.. roommates =
    consisting of Madonna and Erasure fans can do that to ya!) But I do =
    absolutely *love* it. The only thing that even kind of bothers me is =
    the guest vocals in Lines In the Sand. I like the contrasting of the =
    voices, but Doug Pinnick sounds like it's too much of a "thrown in at =
    the last second" part. But overall, I'm quite sure this will become one =
    of my favorite CDs. =20

    I've also noticed that there seems to be a 'rain' theme that's mentioned =
    in a couple of songs (Trial of Tears, TAMP) - while I was listening to =
    this, I was imagining.. rain falling down, evaporating, going back up =
    into the sky, raining.. falling into infinity. I also loved the =
    sarcastic contrast "Just close your mind, you can find all you need with =
    your eyes" as to "Close your eyes, you can find all you need in your =
    mind" on I&W. =20

    I was hoping to see a song with lyrics by Sherinian. His musical =
    additions are good, but I was hoping to see some lyrics by him too. Oh =
    well, no big loss. Still love it. :)

    And what's even better is that the people I work with like this one, =
    too, so I can listen to it that much more! :)

    =00

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 15:45:59 -0500 (CDT)
    From: john jens <jjens@darkhorse.triad.net>
    To: Multiple recipients of list <ytsejam@ax.com>
    Subject: Re: FII helps you get dates. :)
    Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.95.970924154239.24336D-100000@darkhorse.triad.net>

    On Tue, 23 Sep 1997, Phil Carter wrote:

    | She must have misread my raised eyebrows, because she grinned sheepishly
    | and said, "Nobody I know likes DT, it'd be nice to talk to somebody who
    | appreciates good music." So we make a date for later that evening.
    |
    | I'm listening to FII now, smirking, loving the music, and generally
    | enjoying being a prog fan.

    yeah, but did you -score-? ;)

                                 j j e n s @ s h e l l . w e b z o n e . n e t

                             s h e l l . w e b z o n e . n e t / ~ j j e n s /

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 17:19:05 -0400 (EDT)
    From: AUTOPOWER@aol.com
    To: ytsejam@ax.com
    Subject: FII... Grundge is dead...AMEN!
    Message-ID: <970924164726_405949796@emout11.mail.aol.com>

           I think Pantera put it best when they put out THE GREAT SOUTHERN
    TRENDKILL with a line in the song saying, "The Trend is DEAD" Grundge is
    dead. Even if you watch MTV you can actually see that, amongst the jam
    songs, they throw in a few "hip" rock songs. Here's an example, Matchbox
    20.. it's not that I particularly like this song but M20 isn't grundge and
    they are topping the charts. It's kind of amazing the transition that is
    going into effect here, I feel confidently that FII is still ahead of it's
    time, BUT it has potential to still do well considering the transition that
    is in effect here. I have noticed (and I like it) that rock is going back
    to the talented players. The hottest bands that are mainstream and popular
    are:
    Korn: Very talented, we'll see them stick around.
    311: Have almosted dropped the entire "hip-hop" and Rap styles that they
    were once known for and, are actually quite prog. now. If you have a few
    extra $$ I would pick up Transistor, the new album, very good.
          Now how does Falling Into Infinity fit in? Very good question, I would
    have to say that this album is about 40% mainstream, and still 60%
    underground prog (to explain what I mean by Underground is that the music is
    still too talented for the common ear) Songs that could get airplay (in my
    opinion) are: Obviously BMS, which they have already released (which btw, is
    getting pretty good airplay here) and You not Me, but (if shortened) Peruvian
    Skies could get some good airplay, it's got a Metallica type feeling in the
    middle, if shortened right, could get some good airplay...
           I have a question, Has DT made a video for BMS? Or is that out of the
    question by East\West? Not that you'd hear it on MTV..pooh.

                                                                             Rock
    on! J.P.

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 16:20:38 -0500 (CDT)
    From: Jonathan Case <jcase@ROSSBY.METR.ou.edu>
    To: ytsejam@ax.com
    Subject: Hollow Years.
    Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.90.970924161730.21175B-100000@rossby>

    Well, I've identified who this song reminds me of. The verses remind me
    of a latin style Robert Palmer. Cool stuff!

    The choruses. Hmmmm. I guess Dream Theater.....
    LaBrie's vocals are very smooth on this song....

    Another thing that makes this CD much different than other CDs is how
    they incorporate harmonies and BG vocals on many tracks. New and
    refreshing in a way.....

    -Jon

    "Carry me to the shoreline"
    -DT

    Good song to listen to by the ocean!

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 17:37:53 -0400 (EDT)
    From: Anton Max <madmax@andrew.cmu.edu>
    To: ytsejam@ax.com
    Subject: this new album thing here
    Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95L.970924170459.3972A-100000@unix18.andrew.cmu.edu>

    Ok, here are my early impressions about the album, having listened to it
    five or six times now. I looked down at my lists and saw that I have more
    "bad things" listed than "good things," so I think I should note that on
    the whole I think the album is very good, the strengths outweigh the
    weaknesses, and DT is still making some of the best music out there.

    Good things:

    1) Very organic feel to the songs. Despite the horrible production (you'll
    see that under "bad things") the band sounds much more "live" than they
    have in the past.

    2) Derek rocks. His style is different than Kevin's, supplementing the
    guitars rather than complementing them for the most part (I still prefer
    the latter) but he pulls it off with remarkable finesse and subtlety, and
    I think this contributes greatly to the organic feel I mentioned. His
    solos are excellent, and his sounds are very well chosen.

    3) Trial of Tears. Derek's work at the end is brilliant. It reminds me of
    Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game," but I still like it and I'm glad DT did it
    because now I don't ever have to buy a Chris Isaak album (his hair
    frightens me.)

    4) Take Away My Pain. From hearing it at the Fix show in Providence, I
    wasn't too impressed. It sounded too poppy, lacked the emotion one would
    expect for a song about John's father dying. When I listened to it on the
    CD and read the lyrics with it, though, I saw it in a whole new light.
    Awesome song.

    Bad things:

    1) The production. It blows. The drums have no punch at all, the vocals
    are washed out a lot of the time (the chorus to YNM is particularly weak
    in that regard, IMO.

    2) I'm not sure James' voice is suited to the organic feel I mentioned.
    Doug Pinnick actually sounds less out of place in LiTS than James, to me.

    3) There's a melodic element that seems to be lacking. This may be just
    because I haven't totally digested the album, though. It's possible that
    as the melodies become more familiar, I'll appreciate them more.

    4) No Kevin lyrics. The Johns write good lyrics, Portnoy's are OK for the
    most part I guess, but nothing on here measures up to any of Kevin's
    (post-"don't look past me") stuff.

    5) The climax. Where is it? They have them to a degree in Trial of Tears
    and Hell's Kitchen, but nothing that measures up to Voices, Metropolis,
    Pull Me Under, the Mirror, the old ACOS, the Killing Hand, etc. And don't
    tell me I just want another Metropolis. Every song I just mentioned
    achieves a euphoric release of tension in a completely different way. It
    seems to me they spent a little too much time grooving and not enough
    writing this time around.

    6) While every song on FII is good (although I personally don't much care
    for YNM or Anna Lee) only Trial of Tears ranks up there with their best
    stuff.

    7) Too much "this sounds like X." I heard Chili Peppers, I heard Vai, I
    heard Crimson, I heard Floyd, I heard Zeppelin, I heard Chris Isaak, I
    heard old DT sounds and riffs rehashed (Bombay VIndaloo, Another Hand).
    Maybe I'm being too demanding, but what I always liked about a new DT was
    that it would give me something I hadn't heard before (although maybe
    someone will say that's just cuz I don't listen to Rush or Yes.)

    -maximilian

    Anton Max
    MadMax+@cmu.edu
    http://thunderdome.pc.cs.cmu.edu/aepithex.html

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 18:08:56 -0400
    From: Pat Sullivan <psull@ici.net>
    To: ytsejam@ax.com
    Subject: This breath brought to you by....
    Message-ID: <3.0.32.19970924180847.0068b708@mail.ici.net>

    > 1. In Anna Lee, you can hear Derek
    > breathing from time to time in the
    > intro.

    I bow to superior ears. Not only can he hear that there is someone
    breathing there, but he can *actually tell WHO IT IS*!!! :)

    And, just out of curiosity, exactly how do you know it's Derek?

    -----
     
     
    _____Pat Sullivan_____________________________________
    E-Mail: psull@ici.net
    WWW: http://www.ici.net/cust_pages/psull/psull.html
    IRC: DDictator ICQ: 2049374
    ______________________________________________________
    Mental Floss prevents Moral Decay.

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 08:07:36 +1000
    From: Chris Aitken <aitkenc@ideal.net.au>
    To: ytsejam@ax.com
    Subject: Metal/Rock Radio Show Survey Results
    Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19970925080736.008c6970@mailman.ideal.net.au>

    All righty peoples :)

    The latest results are now up on the web. Things are still being evened out
    from the abundance of KISS votes.

    Remember, if you are on any mailing lists, please feel free to post this
    survey so EVERYONE can get a chance to help this survey & have their say.

    http://www.ideal.net.au/~aitkenc/metalsurveyresults.html

    Also, if you would like to give the Survey a plug on your own web site,
    there are now 4 different graphics to do that with.

    Thanks to everyone who has voted.

    & Remember you can still vote if you havent already

    http://www.ideal.net.au/~aitkenc/metalsurvey.html

    Cheers

    Chris Aitken

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
         Chris Aitken Web Page
     aitkenc@ideal.net.au http://www.ideal.net.au/~aitkenc
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Very funny Scotty - Now beam down my clothes !!!!

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 15:07:57 -0700
    From: "John Hough" <jhough@mindspring.com>
    To: "Ytsejam" <ytsejam@ax.com>
    Subject: FII
    Message-ID: <199709242208.SAA03666@brickbat9.mindspring.com>

     Well, I got the cd yesterday and after hearing all the blah remarks on the
    jam about how it's not progressive and they have to change, blah, blah,
    blah, I was kind of worried that they had gone the same route as Metallica,
    Queensryche, Dokken, Crue, and Warrant. Metal>Alternative. Well I was
    wrong. They got more progressive in my opinion and less metal. I don't
    think anything on this disk sounds alternative to me. I love BMS, YNM, and
    PS but that is it. I don't think the album is bad, it's just WAY to mello.
    Balls and chunk are gone except for a few spots but not enough for me. No I
    was not expecting another Awake or I&W but moving forward instead of left or
    right would have been nice.

    John Hough
    jhough@mindspring.com
    http://www.mindspring.com/~jhough
    GO PADRES!!!!!!!
    Tony Gwynn watch for 8th batting title --- 8/24/97 --- .373 (1st)

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 08:41:07 +1000
    From: Graham.Boyle.149036@navy.gov.au
    To: ytsejam@ax.com
    Subject: UNCLASSIFIED:-UK Jammers
    Message-ID: <4A25651C.007BC061.00@nschq-e-navy.navy.gov.au>

    Hey guys why don't you order online, if you have a credit card, ordering
    from either
    http://www.cdnow.com or
    http://www.cduniverse.com
    they can ship you a copy of FII in 7 days or less.

    For all the Australian jammers, if you want a copy of FII, please e-mail
    here at work before 3.30pm this afternoon and I will see if I can pick up
    you copies. The CD cost is $33.95 (US Import) plus $3-4 for postage and a
    padded envelope.

    gRaham_

    graham.boyle.R149036@navy.gov.au

    ------------------------------

    Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 23:43:26 +0200
    From: Holger.Hoffmeister@t-online.de (Holger Hoffmeister)
    To: ytsejam@ax.com
    Subject: Enchants Wounded
    Message-ID: <324855FE.3F47@t-online.de>

    "Flavio Maia" wrote:

    >the lost time album from Enchant is far superior than the wounded...

    I bought the record when it was released and listend to it sometimes
    because I liked blueprint very much. But Wounded was different. Now
    after a year I listen only to wounded when I want to hear something from
    Enchant. IMHO it is much more profund than Time Lost and even more
    developed and adult than Blueprint (which for an debut really is far
    superior than 99,9% of other band releases).
    Listen to wounded again and again. It will take some time.
    You can write me in a year ;)
    H.

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 22:57:54 +0000
    From: Jon Parmet <jon@parmetpc.volpe.dot.gov>
    To: ytsejam@ax.com
    Subject: Now playing: :)
    Message-ID: <34299AF2.7DE1@parmetpc.volpe.dot.gov>

    Steve Zebrowski wrote:

    > And, before you ask, YES, I COULD do better!

    Nobody's asking... Though, I doubt they'd go for someone so full of
    themselves.... bwahahahahaha

    > I like the CD, though.

    Nice save... I'll stop now :)

    Greg "AIX-MAN" Lee writes:

    > The blurred out guy on the CD sleeve is Kevin Moore, looking back at
    > the stupidest thing he has ever done!

    I love it!

    *------------*----------------------------*--------------*
    | Jon Parmet | jon@parmetpc.volpe.dot.gov | 617-494-2851 |
    *------------*----------------------------*--------------*

            "Drifting with the current
             This stream of life flows on" -- John Myung

    ------------------------------

    Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 00:49:51 +0200
    From: Mark Bredius <bredius@globalxs.nl>
    To: "'Ytsejam'" <ytsejam@ax.com>
    Subject: FII bashing in DT site guestbooks
    Message-ID: <01BCC94E.7FDF3D60@ns.globalxs.nl>

      Hi there :-)

      Check out guest number 257 in my guestbook on Itchy's Homepage.
      He signed it with a bunch of bullshit about FII. I suspect he's
      been signing guestbooks on *other* Dream Theater sites with the
      same crap. He mailed the same stuff to me, at the email address
      I use on "Under A Cyber Moon", but this time with his real name
      and address >:) I've taken the liberty of adding both of them
      to his signing in my guestbook on Itchy's Homepage at :

               http://www.prognosis.com/itchy/indexdt.htm

      So, if you feel the need to write him, I'm not stopping you ;-)

      For others with a Dream Theater site, his signing starts with :

    > I posted this to the Dream Theater newsgroup, but in case you
    > didn't see it there I thought I'd e-mail it to you.

      I maintain my guestbook by hand, so leaving it *out* would be a
      piece of cake for me... However, I don't feel like censoring my
      own guestbook (there are limits, though).

      Ps. Jordan, if you're on this list... grow up :-)

      Mark
    ____________________________________________________bredius@globalxs.nl__
    I feel shipwrecked, _ _____ ___ _ _ _ _
    I might as well be shipwrecked [=][_===_]/==_][=\_/=][=]_[=]
    I'm helpless and alone, drifting out to sea | | [ ] ( (_ | _ | \ /
    (Genesis - Shipwrecked) [_/ [_/ \___][_/ \_] [__/
    _________________________________________________________________________
    Dream Theater online "Under A Cyber Moon" http://www.prognosis.com/dream/
    Itchy's http://www.prognosis.com/itchy/ H Website http://www.a-vip.com/H

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 19:07:24 -0500
    From: "TheCowGod" <dmc@dreamt.org>
    To: <ytsejam@ax.com>
    Subject: DT has sold out and I am a god guitarist.
    Message-ID: <199709242336.TAA16817@mail.caribe.net>

    >From: Über Cabe <caber1@concentric.net>
    >Subject: BS stuff gets answered, and partial review with a challenge
    >
    >Also, I want to say this to all you people who think that <something
    >doing with FII> sounds/looks/smells/tastes/feels like
    >grunge/alternative/sell-out-ish to point out ONE thing, and back it up
    >with facts. Not so easy, huh? :-P

    I just got back on here, so i dunno if i'm on track, but the first thing i
    noticed when i popped the CD into my player yesterday is that NM is almost
    completely in 4/4. I was like, whoa. Different. :) well, i think if anyone's
    complaining, it might have something to do with that - DT seems to have
    toned down the 'progrssive' part of their music on the first half of the CD.
    However, i tried to play a few of the songs and i quickly realized that they
    still write way better music than i do :) Plus the last half of the CD is
    still very progressive (lines in the sand just rocks the everlasting nad :)
    Well, that's all from me. Umm, i'll say it cuz i don't expect anyone else
    to: welcome back, Dan! :) hehe, well, tha's all. Lata moo!!!

    --
    

    Dan McCormack (TheCowGod) (__) dmc@dreamt.org (oo) http://premium.caribe.net/~emc/ \/-------\ http://premium.caribe.net/~emc/fuerza/ || | \ Everything I said above is based solely ||---w|| * on my own opinions ^^ ^^

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 16:07:28 -0700 (PDT) From: acos0206@uriacc.uri.edu To: ytsejam@ax.com Subject: FII 'n stuff Message-ID: <199709242307.QAA07993@odin.ax.com>

    How do you write a post that'll stand out from all the other stuff that's been going on around here? How can I make my opinionated post seem different than anyone else's so far? hmm..... Well, if I were to write this under the grand delusion that DT themSELVES were reading all these posts for input than I'd say this: you're your own worst critic: when Portnoy said he thought this album was kick ass, I had a lot of faith in him and pretty much disregarded everyone else. All I can say is that the band as a whole DID live up to MY ( <----opinion ) expectations of the album and I think the album is VERY solid. which leads me into the fact that if this was DT trying to be commercial, well it still isn't commercial to me. well maybe BMS, but then I thought Lie would be played constant on the radio...... To point out in particular: Sherinian just clinched my belief that he belongs. Wherever his inputs were directed, however he got those AWESOME keyboard sounds (and yes, I DO hear him), I personally extend apologies for ever my doubting him. I didn't expect this album to sound like any previous albums, and it wasn't. I respect them very highly for that and I think DT as a whole works well together and there is no doubt in my mind that they will ever go COMMERCIAL (JLMB-kinda tells you anyway) ;) All these guys that are whimpering now, come back in a few months and THEN tell me what you think of this album..... ;)

    back to lurking,

    Griswold

    ------------------------------

    Date: Wed, 24 Sep 1997 16:16:48 -0700 From: hazzy <hazzy@navin.com> To: ytsejam@ax.com Subject: FII Production Message-ID: <34299F60.B435251D@navin.com>

    > As in terms of production, there are a couple > of things that sort of bother me in headphone > mode. > 1. In Anna Lee, you can hear Derek > breathing from time to time in the > intro. > > 2. You can hear a door closing or a > similar sound about one second before > BMS begins...I don't think that was > intended to be there. > > Otherwise, the album isn't that bad production wise > on headphones. New Millennium, Hell's Kitchen, LitS, > and JLMB sound excellent with their mixing - especially > in NM from 3:35 - 4:02.

    In my honest opinion I think the production is really lacking. (In headphone mode that is). That has always been the true test; headphones! Examples:

    James voice is a tad bit weak and not biting enough. This leads to an overall problem I've noticed with the album. It's TOO warm! I mean, the analog sound isn't bad, but there needs to be at least 1(1/2) more treble added to the mix. Even that simple change makes the music sound so much better in my opinion. Also, the drum sound is just shit in my opinion. What happened to the crystal clear "cutting" drum sound we heard in awake? The drumming techniques used on this album sound (are) commonly used in the alternative scene to get that kind of annoying warm "blop" sound. (see BMS).

    Oh one more thing. Has anyone noticed the complete lack of tremelo/vabrado in JLB's voice? I think that SUX! I love how the live version of TAMP sounds and how the old songs sound with Vabrado. I dunno, I think it adds a kind of subconciously proggish element to the music. Anyways, that's just my take on things, the music itself is as great as usual and I'm sure the live performances will be too!

    -laterz

    hazzy

    ------------------------------

    End of YTSEJAM Digest 3011 **************************



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