Holy heavy concept album, Batman!  I must admit I really didn't know quite what I was getting when I snagged Metropolis Pt. 2:  Scenes from a Memory.  I figured I'd be getting a prototypical DT album loosely centered around some central theme.  I wasn't really expecting a full blown rock opera.

So, with this intense narrative in place, what am I doing now?  Posting an instrumental.  Sorry, but I really dig this.  I'm all about the notes.

Hear "The Dance of Eternity" on YouTube before it gets pulled.

Watch a live performance.

For my recent birthday I got Amazon gift codes from my way-bitchen siblings, and last night I used them to purchase a couple more Dream Theater albums.  So I may post songs from them in the near future.  In the meantime, here is "Under a Glass Moon" from Images and Words.

Yeah, I know I posted a track from that record not too long ago.  But holy hell, I've totally fallen in love with this "Moon" ditty.  This whole progressive metal thing isn't good all the time, but when it is, it sounds just like this.

Hear "Under a Glass Moon" on Blip.fm.

Watch a live performance on the Tube of You.

OK, I'm back home now after my trip to Holland.  After having adjusted to a nine hour time difference, I now have to adjust to another one.

Holland is a nice little country.  They love their bicycles and public transportation there.  Of course, with what they pay for gas, it's not a shock.  They serve fries with mayonnaise (yes!).  A lot of their buildings are twice as old as my country.  They serve a lot of Belgian beer.  Apparently, Belgian beer is really good.

And yes, I looked at a fair amount of barely dressed women in red-lit windows.  Hey, when in Rome...

Watch a fanvid for "Home" on YouTube.

Watch a live performance.

Last night I had dinner at a place called Billy Beer.

Seriously.

You see, "beer" is the Dutch word for bear, and there's this bear-themed Dutch restaurant franchise in which every location is named after a different member of some fictional family of bears.  The one I went to here in Delft is named after a bear named Billy, and as such, is called Billy Beer.

Obviously, it made me think of this Billy Beer.  That's what any American guy in his 40s would have thought of.  Duh.

So, in trying to pick an appropriate song, this Talking Heads tune came to mind first.  Well, actually, Zappa's "Billy the Mountain" came to mind first, but it's, like, really long and I couldn't find the original album version.  This one is much shorter and much more consumable.  So, consume away!

By the way, in case you hadn't noticed, our Netherlands-based songblogging compatriot Tuuur is posting songs again.  Apparently he had a serious battle with an addiction to World of Warcrack, but is now once again making with the daily tunage.

Just don't jump off the wagon and start playing Everquest.

Watch a fanvid for "Bill" on YouTube.

In my hotel room in Delft.  It's about 10:30 Sunday morning.  I'll be here one more week.  It is still, dare I say, cold.  It was barely freezing, then when it stopped freezing, it became rainy and windy.  Whoa, now it looks like the sun is trying to peek through and it's shining right in my face.  I have mixed feelings about that.

Hopefully if the weather permits I can hop on a bus and see some things, like maybe take in a movie at this theater.  But if it's still miserable out, I'll likely stay in.

Everyone seems to want me to be a tourist.  It's just not the time of year to be a tourist.

Hear "Cold" on Grooveshark.

Watch a live performance on YouTube.

Greetings from frigid, snowy Delft, the Netherlands.  It's about 10:30 in the evening.  Hot damn but it's cold here.  But everyone speaks English, so it's cool.  I really am impressed by the command the Dutch have of English.  A colleague and I took a bus into Delft and had dinner at a place called De Waag (the scale).  I drank a couple of Grimbergens.  They rocked the house.

So why am I posting this Mentors tune?  Because it's been going through my head all day.  I have no idea why.  It just has been.  So here ya go.

Hear "Adultery" on YouTube.

LA is fogged in and my whole flight itinerary got pushed back a day.  So, after a bout of flightus interruptus, I get to try and do the whole airport routine again tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's a little unexpected bonus from the late George Carlin.  He was a huge fan of flying, apparently.

Hear "Airport Security" on YouTube.

A few reasons for putting up this one.  Number one, I loved the British TV show The Young Ones.  MTV used to show it back in the 80s when MTV was still worth something.  I have the full DVD set now and still dig it.  Each episode of the show would feature a lipsync performance by an established musical guest.  One of them was from an outfit called Ken Bishop's Nice Twelve, doing a swingin' version of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues."  When you watch this segment, you may recognize some people.  Yes, that's Stewart Copeland.  Yes, that's Jools Holland and Chris Difford from Squeeze.

Speaking of Holland, this brings me to my next reason for posting this:  I will be in Holland for the next two weeks on business.  I will have a laptop with me as well as free wi-fi in the hotel, so I may still be posting here on occasion while there.  No guarantees, but if the free time and boredom factors allow, I'll dispense more tunage.

If not, then you may keep looking for enemas and bondage while I'm gone.  I please to aim.

Watch the "Subterranean Homesick Blues" TV show segment on YouTube.