"The Looking Glass", track 3 on self-titled album "Dream Theater"
I will be posting a link to a song/piece by my favorite band, Dream Theater, hopefully every day until we have successfully enjoyed every original song that they have recorded in-studio. There are many good reasons to do this, but you can probably guess most of the ones that I'm thinking.
No adieu. We're just gonna do it.
I'm going to try to help you know what to expect a little bit without influencing the way that you experience the song. At least in the initial write-up, I won't tell you what I think the best or my favorite parts are. I want you to have the chance to enjoy the music on your own without any spoilers, just as I did.
I will also tell you that some of the things that Dream Theater does may be quite different than much of the music that you have listened to before. Sometimes it may be so new that it makes you a bit uneasy or just doesn't connect to you at all. If that happens, I encourage you to listen to it a few times, perhaps in different ways... once in the background while you do dishes, once with your eyes closed and your full attention, once hanging upside down like a bat. You get the idea.
You may even want to come back to it later for another listen.
I believe that, if you go on this journey with me, you will find more than a few songs that you enjoy. My mom saw Dream Theater live in K.C. and really enjoyed them, and she usually listens to NPR which I don't think gets to rock and roll that much. Dream Theater truly has something for everyone. Not everything they do may be your thing, but some of it may change your life for the better the way that it did mine.
****************************"The Looking Glass"
Tempo - quick walking tempo, significant fill
Length - 5:01
Intro - guitar with grindy sound and clean playing, piano tiddly
Texture - polyphony, different instruments taking turns at prominence
Features - This song is a Rush tribute. The original members got started playing a lot of Rush together, and they pay homage to that with the way that they composed this song.
Lyrics:
I would not expect you felt alone in standing north
Better to rise above the clouds Then be a stranger in the crowd
All that you protected doesn’t matter anymore
Rather be stripped of all your pride
Than watch your dreams be cast aside
You are caught up in your gravity
Glorifying stardom
Singing your own praise
You live without shame
You’re digging up a gold mine
Standing on the sidelines
Watching through the looking glass
You are not content with being nameless and unknown
Trying to rise above the fray
Eager to give it all away
Some will not admit that 15 minutes have expired
Too much attention much too soon
Don’t see you walking on the moon
You are caught up in your gravity
Bathing in the spotlight
Imitating fame
You live without shame
You’re digging up a gold mine
Standing on the sidelines
Watching through the looking glass
You are caught up in your gravity
Glorifying madness
Singing your own praise
You live without shame
You’re digging up a gold mine
Standing on the sidelines
Watching through the looking glass
You live without shame
You’re digging up a gold mine
Standing on the sidelines
Watching through the looking glass
************************
Dream Theater formed at Berklee in 1985. The original 3 members were John Petrucci (guitar) and John Myung (bass), friends from Long Island, and Mike Portnoy (percussion) whom the Johns heard in a practice room and said, "we gotta get that guy". (Something along those lines). Jordan Rudess took over keys for the "Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory" album. Mike Mangini became the drummer before the album "A Dramatic Turn of Events".
Self-titled album, "Dream Theater" (2013), lineup:
The Johns
Mangini - percussion
LaBrie - vocals
Rudess - keyboards, tablet PC, keytar, etc.
Eren Başbuğ- guest arranger for "Illumination Theory"
Thank you for reading, and enjoy!
Yours in harmony,
Michael
~In loving memory of Tim~
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