the "what are you currently listening to" thread

Also been listening to the new Dream Theater. Good so far, but it will take a lot more listens to digest and form an opinion about how it compares with the rest of their catalogue. "Awake" will probably always be my favorite by them, so I have no expectation of it exceeding that album.
 
Listening to some more of that there Illumination Theory. :)

Arkatox said:
Dream Theater is really good, but I really don't think it's possible for them to meet my expectations anymore without Portnoy. He seriously added so much to the band.
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I miss Portnoy too. I'm not someone who usually focuses much on drumming, but he's really something else. In fact, he's my favorite drummer next to Keith Moon. And of course, he had a lot to do with the creation of many of my favorite songs.

However, the last two albums are so great I really can't complain. Not the same, of course, but certainly not worse, IMO. And Mangini is a really talented guy, I have to admit.

Parched Earth said:
Also been listening to the new Dream Theater. Good so far, but it will take a lot more listens to digest and form an opinion about how it compares with the rest of their catalogue. "Awake" will probably always be my favorite by them, so I have no expectation of it exceeding that album.
Click to expand...

Awake is my favorite DT album too, and one of my top 5 albums of all time.

Not quite sure where I'd place this one just yet. Like I said earlier, it's one of their better ones. I'll also add that I think it's their most consistent album since Scenes From a Memory.

Also, I was looking at the album credits on the Wikipedia Page, at it seems John Arbuckle is their intern.

 
I really like the new DT album. It's kind of a "return to the roots" album in that I hear a lot of 6 degrees-esque stuff and some songs, such as "The Looking Glass" remind me of Images and Words. It's the first album in a while that they've had some more upbeat, up-tempo songs.

There is definitely a difference between Mangini and Portnoy's drumming style. But Mangini can hold his own, and I don't think this album or any of the songs are any worse off because of Portnoy's absence.

Lastly, I hate Awake. Sub-par songwriting, and a rushed album in general.
 
Verbum Lux said:
And Mangini is a really talented guy, I have to admit.
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Mike Mangini is amazing. A really, really cool guy. However, I feel he's nowhere near what Portnoy was when it comes to drums. (And besides that, Portnoy is quite possibly my favorite songwriter of all time.)

It's similar to how I have a huge amount of respect for Jennifer Lawrence as a person, but at the same time I really didn't care for her in the only lead role I've seen her play (Katniss in The Hunger Games).
 
Tarja - Deliverance

My copy of Tarja's Colours in the Dark was waiting for me when I returned home today, so I am paying homage to the Queen this evening. I feel guilty for doubting her earlier this year. The album is great.

matt schrauben said:
It's kind of a "return to the roots" album
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I got similar feeling about it, and A Dramatic Turn of Events even more so. Both have a certain back-to-roots quality about them, and yet somehow manage to be refreshing at the same time. It's funny, that sort of thing usually doesn't work well, but DT manage to pull it off.

Arkatox said:
Mike Mangini is amazing. A really, really cool guy. However, I feel he's nowhere near what Portnoy was when it comes to drums. (And besides that, Portnoy is quite possibly my favorite songwriter of all time.)

It's similar to how I have a huge amount of respect for Jennifer Lawrence as a person, but at the same time I really didn't care for her in the only lead role I've seen her play (Katniss in The Hunger Games).
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Well, I prefer Petrucci, but yeah, Portnoy wrote some great stuff too.

Off topic, I know, but I'm curious as to the source of your admiration for Jennifer Lawrence.
 
matt schrauben said:
Lastly, I hate Awake. Sub-par songwriting, and a rushed album in general.
Click to expand...

Funny thing is, right after I typed this, I thought to myself, "I haven't even spun that album in 4+ years, easy." Spinning it right now, and I have to say it's not nearly as inaccessible as I remember. At all. Only about half-way through but I'll definitely give it more spins.

Over the past couple of years, I've been routinely revisiting albums that never did anything for me at the time, most of these albums I haven't spun in years. I've come to find that I really enjoy most of them when I revisit them, and it's almost as if I'm listening to the album for the first time again.
 
matt schrauben said:
Funny thing is, right after I typed this, I thought to myself, "I haven't even spun that album in 4+ years, easy." Spinning it right now, and I have to say it's not nearly as inaccessible as I remember. At all. Only about half-way through but I'll definitely give it more spins.

Over the past couple of years, I've been routinely revisiting albums that never did anything for me at the time, most of these albums I haven't spun in years. I've come to find that I really enjoy most of them when I revisit them, and it's almost as if I'm listening to the album for the first time again.
Click to expand...

The same thing happened to me with Operation: Mindcrime. I listened to it maybe twice. Years later I heard it was a concept album and decided to revisit it. It became one of my favorite albums.
 
I'm listening to the playlist/CD I've created for my classmates in the novel-writing class I'm auditing.

novelcdfinaldraft.png
 
Arkatox said:
I don't fanboy. Doctor Who has an absolutely brilliant soundtrack.
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I think I've heard like one piece from it's soundtrack and it was decent. The show is utter crap though so I wouldn't call anything from it brilliant.
 
What evidence have you to support the series being "utter crap"?

I understand that it's not for everybody, but it is honestly one of the best series I have ever seen. Brilliant overarching stories (not to mention the standalone stories), amazing characters, and one of the greatest soundtracks I've ever heard. To me, it represents everything I love in fantasy. You might not like it—you may have just seen one or two of the stupider episodes—but please don't call it utter crap.

I wrote a whole article explaining why I enjoy the series so much. You may find it interesting. http://rjhorst.blogspot.com/2013/08/i-am-whatvian.html
 
I have yet to fully get into any dream theatre album. I just dunno...I listen, then I want to go listen to something else. Its wierd. Ive tried. New album was the same for me.

And I know I'll get railed for this, but I've been listening to the new Miley Cyrus album a lot today...its decent. Some songs make you dumber, but sometimes you want that, ya know?
 
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