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Category: Sound

June 7 2013

I’ve been slowly working on this Dream Theater project for several years. It takes one track from each album and blends them together into a single album. If you’ve never really heard of Dream Theater, then this is the best way I know how to introduce you. And if you’re already a fan, then this should sufficiently melt your face.

December 1 2009

This is an evolving collection of songs from across the world that embody the spirit of Gaian philosophy. It was mixed together to provide a constant stream of unifying, uplifting, and empowering music. The order in which these songs appear will change as new ones are added and old ones are removed. Not every song fits the theme perfectly, so some of them may eventually disappear from the mix. If you know of any songs that would be appropriate, we would love to know about it.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/12417993″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
 

  1. Within You Without You – The Beatles
    “Then you’ll realize we’re all one and life goes on within and without you.”
  2. The Warmth – Incubus
    “While you’re alive experience the warmth before you grow old.”
  3. Make You Feel That Way – Blackalicious
    “Going in your third eye for the styles you hear.”
  4. Float On – Modest Mouse
    “Even if things things get heavy, we’ll all float on alright.”
  5. A Dream – Common (featuring Will.I.Am)
    “I believe in heaven more than hell.”
  6. Bowl of Oranges – Bright Eyes
    “And each person I encountered I couldn’t wait to meet.”
  7. One Day – Matisyahu
    “Sometimes in my years I drown, but I never let it get me down.”
  8. Don’t Panic – Coldplay
    “We live in a beautiful world.”
  9. Carry On – fun.
    “May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground.”
  10. Lullaby – Shawn Mullins
    “Everything’s gonna be alright.”
  11. World I Know – Collective Soul
    “Hope still lingers on.”
  12. I Know I’m Not Alone – Michael Franti & Spearhead
    “Even though I’m far from home I’m not alone.”
  13. Meant to Live – Switchfoot
    “We are more than this world’s got to offer.”
  14. If Everyone Cared – Nickelback
    “If they could love like you and me, imagine what the world could be.”
  15. Humans Being – Van Halen
    “You wonder why your life is screaming, wonder why we’re humans being.”
  16. Something Better – Lyrics Born
    “I see a world more balanced. I see us as a planet. I don’t see us as an island.”
  17. Higher GroundStevie Wonder
    “Gonna keep on trying until I reach my highest ground.”
  18. Wake Up EverybodyJohn Legend & The Roots
    “The world won’t get no better if we just let it be.”
  19. Our Place in the Cosmos – Symphony of Science
    “Our obligation to flourish is owed not just to ourself, but also that Cosmos, ancient and vast, from which we spring.”
  20. Unwritten – Natasha Bedingfield
    “Live your life with arms wide open.”
  21. Hold Me Now – The Polyphonic Spree
    “Don’t ever think you’re the only one when times are tough in your new age.”
  22. The Call – Regina Spektor
    “Just because everything’s changing doesn’t mean it’s never been this way before.”
  23. A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke
    “It’s been a long time comin’, but I know a change is gonna come.”
  24. Shower the People – James Taylor
    “Show the people you love with love.”
  25. Peace Train – Cat Stevens
    “I’ve been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one.”
  26. Universal – OMD
    “We all bleed the same blood, we all need the same love.”
  27. Be Here Now – Ray Lamontagne
    “Don’t put your trust in walls ’cause walls will only crush ya when they fall.”
  28. The Humbling River – Puscifer
    “The hands of the many must join as one, and together we’ll cross the river.”
  29. I Believe – Joe Satriani
    “I believe we can change anything.”
  30. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding – Elvis Costello
    “What’s so funny ’bout peace, love, and understanding?”
  31. Stand by Me – Playing for Change
    “No matter who you are, no matter where you go in life, you’re gonna need somebody to stand by you.”
  32. Three Little Birds – Bob Marley
    “Don’t worry about a thing ’cause every little thing is gonna be alright.”
  33. Blue Skies – Willie Nelson
    “Nothing but blue skies from now on.”
  34. The Heart of Life – John Mayer
    “No, it won’t all go the way it should, but I know the heart of life is good.”
  35. All Is Full of Love – Björk
    “You’ll be given love. You’ll be taken care of.”
June 16 2007

Here’s a project I have spent quite some time working on, but not nearly as much time as Dream Theater spent creating the music that went into it. This is a complete album of the nearly two decades of DT’s career. It starts with an intro that includes all of their albums, ends with an outro that includes all of their albums, and has one representative track from each album in between.

ytsevolution.metzae.net

This is the updated version that includes a track from their newest album, Systematic Chaos. The entire track list is as follows:

  1. (intro)
  2. The Ytse Jam
  3. Learning to Live
  4. Scarred
  5. Burning My Soul
  6. Beyond This Life
  7. Blind Faith
  8. Endless Sacrifice
  9. Never Enough
  10. The Ministry of Lost Souls
  11. The Count of Tuscany
  12. Breaking All Illusions
  13. Illumination Theory
  14. (outro)

I would recommend you listening to this all at once, if you can. There are no track breaks because it’s supposed to represent the typical length of a musical piece by Dream Theater. If you find that you love it and absolutely must have a copy in CD form, let me know. I have to burn special copies because of the tracks.

June 15 2007

This is a suite of four songs that I mixed together after I realized that they are parts of a larger body of work that Dream Theater is actively working on. Each song is from a different album and will likely be performed as a single piece of music once they have put it all together. The drummer and one of the main creative minds of the band, Mike Portnoy, has created this suite as an homage to the twelve step program from Alcoholic’s Anonymous. Each section is titled after a step in the program.

I’m only uploading this because there is no mixed version, and I would encourage you to get the albums if you liked them. Then again, if you do know about this suite, chances are you already have the albums.

[audio:dreamtheater-twelve_step_suite.mp3]
December 14 2006

So, it occurred to me recently that there are four different versions of the same song that I had on my computer, but it’s not immediately obvious that this is the case. I just thought it was so weird that I wanted to share it. And, besides…I wanted to share my remix anyway.

A Perfect Circle released “

target=”_blank”>Pet” and “

target=”_blank”>Lullaby” (in that order) on their second album, Thirteenth Step. Then, they released a remix (of sorts) on their third album, eMotive, titled “

target=”_blank”>Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums.”

So anyway, a while back I created a remix of all three songs, which I’ve given the annoying title “Counting Bodies Like Metzae to the Lullaby of the Pet Drums.” The thing is, I just remembered last night that I’d used all three of those songs to create the remix. I took different sections of every version I could find (even a bit or two from other songs). I sped it up and mixed it all together with an industrial sound and rhythm.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/130829646″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Geeky things to be aware of…

  • The file is loopable, which is intended to echo the cycle of violence, war, and the propaganda that causes it. It starts and ends with the sound of boots marching, a sound that A Perfect Circle clearly intended to be a part of the Nazi/Hilter/military theme. I just sped it up and slowed it down and made the ends meet.
  • Right around two minutes into the song, listen for the low male voices and eerie sounds. It is the track “Palpatine’s Teachings” from Revenge of the Sith. I didn’t put that there because I’m obsessed with Palpatine (even though I am), but because of how closely the two themes relate to one another, both philosophically and musically. Plus, it sounds creepy and cool.
  • About three minutes into the song, I wanted to emphasize the only “bad” word in the whole song. I pumped up the volume and added an echo for when Maynard says “fuck” because he kind of mumbles it. In the end, though, it made a nice smacking sound that gets the point across just fine. Besides, if you don’t know what he’s saying there, you’re not really listening to the song anyway.
December 5 2006

This is a musical collage, so to speak, an homage to dark and powerful film scores. It is a single piece of music, with an emphasis on the more powerful or dark moments produced by great musical minds throughout the soundtrack genre. I have not composed any of this music, but I have been editing, expanding, and eliminating sections for several years. It is my hope that each version is better (at least to me) than the previous one.

Symphoniacal: Sound Occupies Space

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/3095049″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
November 12 1999

This is a piece that I mixed together when I first discovered Cool Edit Pro (which is now called Adobe Audition). It’s a wacky remix/homage/compilation thing that is made of the intense and instrumental moments from Dream Theater’s first few albums. I would like to make another one, but there are twice as many albums and about three times as much music to use now. The thought of doing that is daunting, so I’m leaving this mostly out of posterity.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/104182787″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]