30 Day Song Challenge #13: A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure

[Day 13: A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure]

Dream Theater – Solitary Shell

I went through a bit of a metal phase back in the day. Never the really heavy stuff, just bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden and these guys, Dream Theater.

While I can’t stand listening to most of it anymore, and have never been to a metal gig in my life, this song is one of the few remnants of that phase that has stuck with me. While it is the epitome of ‘uncool’ (and kind of rips off Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill), I still can’t help but really like this song.

But then the whole concept of ‘cool’ when it comes to music is just ridiculous. Fuck what everyone else thinks, if you like music then listen to it. Except Gypsy and the Cat.

This song, Solitary Shell, obviously isn’t a metal song in itself, but it does come from a band much more known for their heavier stuff. It tells the story of a kid growing up with a mental disorder- some have said it’s autism, others have said that it doesn’t refer to one disorder specifically but rather to the general stigma surrounding mental illness.

It’s a surprisingly touching song, and it actually doesn’t come off as cliched at all to me, unlike most of these metal-band-songs-that-demosntrate-the-band-has-a-sensative-side. It’s just a really great song, and it is definitely one of my many guilty pleasures when it comes to music.