The way I've always seen this song is as sort of a "fuck you" to the music industry. Cookie cutter industry created bands who are just there to sell records (the sea of mediocrity) get all the attention, while bands who actually care about making good music (like Dream Theater) are told to change and be more radio friendly.
The entire first verse is telling the industry to stop asking them to be more commercial.
I also take parts of it as telling music critics to stop criticizing progressive music just because they don't understand it.
The way I've always seen this song is as sort of a "fuck you" to the music industry. Cookie cutter industry created bands who are just there to sell records (the sea of mediocrity) get all the attention, while bands who actually care about making good music (like Dream Theater) are told to change and be more radio friendly. The entire first verse is telling the industry to stop asking them to be more commercial. I also take parts of it as telling music critics to stop criticizing progressive music just because they don't understand it.