You are the rainbow! You are the sun to my chameleon!

#109448 by theoryman
Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:37 pm
Ack, the CD's in my car, but I think it's Triumph...I hear riffs from Earth Day, Canada, and Random Analysis.

#109527 by Falk
Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:18 am
The bass/drum rythm at 4'26" in Triumph reminds me the one at the end of Skeksis^^

#109564 by armheadmcgee
Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:16 am
The melody of "Hooray for Doctor Young" is essentially the same as "I"ll walk away" from Relentless.

#109648 by rgx612a
Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:15 pm
So the general opinion is: Devin ripped himself off bigtime this album. j/k

#109651 by Jasta
Fri Feb 03, 2006 5:37 pm
BLOOOR wrote:in Judgement he sings "I'm so sorry" much in the way he does it in Planet Rain

this is what I was going to post

#109655 by danceswithchickens
Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:18 pm
"Sunset" uses the same melody as "Truth". It's so similar that it could be intentional. There are more, but I can't think of them right now...

I think Devin is the only guy who can get away with reusing his own material like that. It kind of connects all of his projects, and gives the listener a sense of familiarity. I mean, let's face it; as fans we practically count on these trademarks to appear on his albums...

#109657 by dedrexel
Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:34 pm
Im surprised no one has mentioned the link between the theme in the first minute and a half of "Mental Tan", 4:05 onwards in "Judgement", 0:33 in "Notes From Africa". This appears elsewhere on the album too but I can't remember where.

#109660 by Brainwashed
Fri Feb 03, 2006 7:01 pm
danceswithchickens wrote:I think Devin is the only guy who can get away with reusing his own material like that. It kind of connects all of his projects, and gives the listener a sense of familiarity. I mean, let's face it; as fans we practically count on these trademarks to appear on his albums...


He wasn't exactly reusing anything. Dev did these things completely intentionally, with the intent of referencing other things he's done.

#109665 by Uncle Remus
Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:30 pm
3:39-4:16 of Gaia reminded me of 3:33-4:04 of Om. probably not an intentional reference per se but it caught me right away

i noticed another one that was most definitely a reference but i can't remember what it was now

#109666 by Uncle Remus
Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:43 pm
Oh yeah, here, tell me if it's just me:

Deadhead (2:56-3:02) "Now the rain it comes, the rain it blurs the grey line"

Gaia (1:36-1:40) "the wind it blows and the will it goes, and I’m waiting"

the similarity is in the way he sings it as well as the lyrics, to me

#109670 by EternalMetal
Fri Feb 03, 2006 10:11 pm
Synchestra is full of Devin just rehashing old formulas. The record sucks. I give it a negative 5 out of 10 :lol:

#109703 by Janne
Sat Feb 04, 2006 7:00 am
danceswithchickens wrote:I think Devin is the only guy who can get away with reusing his own material like that. It kind of connects all of his projects, and gives the listener a sense of familiarity. I mean, let's face it; as fans we practically count on these trademarks to appear on his albums...


He's not the only one doing it, of course. And about geting away with it, I think it has all to do with who listens to it. We're fans, so we enjoy it. We find meaning behind it, interpret it. We make connections that perhaps were not intentional at all. But that doesn't really matter, because to us, it makes the album even better! The term "familiarity", that you use, fits extremely well here. :)

A casual listener, somewhat familiar with Devin's music, could say that it shows a lack of creativity or is proof of some sort of songwriting formula. And that would not be a faulty assessment, even though most of us would not agree with it.

The truth probably lies somewhere inbetween. There are references to other songs and/or albums both in the music, lyrics and even the packaging (like the "Infinity" butterfly). But there are probably also unintentional likenesses with parts from other songs. When you are as productive as Devin, you are bound to do it every now and then, I think.

And I also think that a lot of these similarities that are pointed at in this thread are only visible to those of us that are listening A LOT to his music. Take Uncle Remus' post for example:

Uncle Remus wrote:Deadhead (2:56-3:02) "Now the rain it comes, the rain it blurs the grey line"

Gaia (1:36-1:40) "the wind it blows and the will it goes, and I’m waiting"

the similarity is in the way he sings it as well as the lyrics, to me


To be honest, I find some of these examples that has been listed to be a bit extreme. And myself, I haven't found any references to other songs/albums, other than the ones Devin himself has pointed out to us.

As I said, it has all to do with who is listening. I find the same kinds of similarities with bands like Alice Cooper or Monster Magnet, and I react in the same way in those cases as I do in this - mainly positively. But I also know that especially Monster Magnet has got a fair share of critisism for it.

I don't mean to complain - after all, this is a cool thread - I just felt I had to represent a critical viewpoint to this search of "hidden references" on an album that stands very well on it's own. :)

#109723 by danceswithchickens
Sat Feb 04, 2006 9:09 am
Brainwashed wrote:
danceswithchickens wrote:I think Devin is the only guy who can get away with reusing his own material like that. It kind of connects all of his projects, and gives the listener a sense of familiarity. I mean, let's face it; as fans we practically count on these trademarks to appear on his albums...


He wasn't exactly reusing anything. Dev did these things completely intentionally, with the intent of referencing other things he's done.


Intentionally reusing is still reusing. He uses a lyric once, and then uses it again; I'd call that reusing. I didn't mean it in a negative sense, necessarily; that is just how you chose to interpret what I said. But what else can you call it when a guy uses the same lyric or melody in more than one song? Quoting himself?

#109752 by DonorByHabit
Sat Feb 04, 2006 12:58 pm
Ehhr.. I'm not particularly fond of the direction this thread has headed. I just want to point out that I believe those references are intentional and that they work great within the concept of the album.. the fact that Synchestra is an attempt to discuss the big questions in life like Dev also did on Infinity and Alien for example. The Devin Townsend anno 2006 is older and wiser, and by listening to the album, one gets the impression that he's come to peace with all that stuff that used to trouble his mind.

In conclusion: I think it makes perfectly sense that Synchestra has some discreet, musical references to Devin's backcatalogue, since he brings up topics that he's also dealt with on previous albums.

Peace

#109757 by danceswithchickens
Sat Feb 04, 2006 2:59 pm
dedrexel wrote:Im surprised no one has mentioned the link between the theme in the first minute and a half of "Mental Tan", 4:05 onwards in "Judgement", 0:33 in "Notes From Africa". This appears elsewhere on the album too but I can't remember where.


Quote from Devin: "The main melody is a major version of the theme that appears at the end of the song 'Judgement'". So there you have it, folks. Devin isn't unknowingly plaigarizing himself after all...

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