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Thread: Porcupine Tree - My Nostalgia Factory

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    Member AncientChord's Avatar
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    Porcupine Tree - My Nostalgia Factory

    As of late there seems to be more talk about Porcupine Tree. I was a latecomer to the band and really wasn't introduced to them till 2005 when a friend of mine talked me into going to a show at the House of Blues in Los Angeles during the Dead Wing tour. I had never at that point even heard one song from the band ever. I was completely knocked off my chair several times during the show and became an instant fan. My love of progressive rock made me wonder why I had never heard of this band? I remembered seeing the album In Absentia back at an old record store in LA that doesn't exist anymore. I passed it up because I thought by the cover that it was some type of industrial album. Later on I remember my mother's words don't judge a book by its cover. No kidding and for me at the time no clue. From that point forward I became a huge fan, never missing any other shows that came into Los Angeles all the way up to the final show in 2010. And of course I have obtained their entire back catalogue and couldn't believe what I had missed and how great they were. Of course Steven Wilson was the brains behind it all but he picked well when he picked the perfect musicians for the band. To this day I think there was better chemistry between the musicians in Porcupine Tree than with the current musicians he uses as a solo artist. Original drummer Chris Maitland was great but when Gavin Harrison joined it put the icing on the cake just like when Phil Collins and Steve Hackett joined Genesis. I posted on the thread about the Bandcamp live releases put up by Wilson and read today that a podcast about Porcupine Tree is now online. Anyway I'm sorry to ramble so much but I wonder if there's anybody out there that feels as deeply about PT as I do and how important their legacy is in progressive rock? And according to what Steven Wilson has said in the last year or two it doesn't look like there may ever be any reunions, but you never know. For many many years I never thought Robert Fripp would bring the music of early King Crimson back the way he did and it made me very happy. Because of the coronavirus I've been in self-isolation more and have dwelled back in time to the music of the band, and more than ever realized how much of a huge influence they have on today's progressive rock. Just wondering what other people's thoughts are and if you think there might be a chance of a reunion? I guess anything's possible I mean I really didn't think Genesis would do it again.
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    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AncientChord View Post
    Anyway I'm sorry to ramble so much but I wonder if there's anybody out there that feels as deeply about PT as I do and how important their legacy is in progressive rock?
    Cue indignant sarcasm from Scrotum Scissors in 4... 3... 2... 1...
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

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    Member AncientChord's Avatar
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    ^^^^Yeah well with the virus and more self-isolation I've got a hell of a lot more time to ramble! But Holy Guacamole, can't I ask how others feel too?
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    I guess SW may come back to it like he has come back to No-Man and Blackfield.
    But PT would probably be another one of those "side-projects", and not the main project anymore (that would be his solo career).

    Regarding their legacy, I don't know. Some tend to favour the more experimental early years, which I find indeed more intriguing and "progressive" as were Pink Floyd's early years, but in PT's case I tend to think they indeed reached an interesting point when GH joined - an interesting mix of prog, pop, metal with some tasteful keyboard textures and conceptual ambition.
    It may be time for a PT binge, but the sunny spring weather is not the perfect landscape for this kind of music (in my world at least, where I can experience that kind of Sunny mood in spite of the lockdown and the general context).

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    SW would have to have some kind of valid reason to reform PT but I just cant see it happening

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Definitely one of my favorite prog act of the 90s and 00s! There's a core of about fifteen rock acts that I return to quite often and PT is definitely on that list.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

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    One of my all-time favorite bands for sure. I was fortunate enough to see them quite a few times and I enjoy all eras of their career. I highly doubt that Wilson would ever put the band back together again, but I guess anything is possible.

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    I got on board at On The Sunday Of Life, and was a big fan up until In Absentia. They lost me at that point, and I never picked up the thread after that.

    I did see them live 5 or 6 times, and enjoyed those tours.

    Signify is easily their high point, imo.

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    I have always thought it's a little strange about how PT really started off a vehicle for him as a solo artist, then over time became this band with a fixed lineup that apparently ran its course.

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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    I got on board at On The Sunday Of Life, and was a big fan up until In Absentia. They lost me at that point, and I never picked up the thread after that.

    I did see them live 5 or 6 times, and enjoyed those tours.
    Totally on board with your thoughts. Discovered them in '93 through a friend. Saw them first in '96 at Progscape (mind blown). Saw them 4 times afterwards. Great live band! They lost me at In Absentia as well. Thankfully I have most of their "Recordings" (pun intended). I shall revisit soon.
    Last edited by Old Boy; 03-31-2020 at 11:19 PM.

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    Interstellar mentioned that the sunny Spring weather might not be the right season to listen to Porcupine Tree's rather melancholy music, but I'm not sure. Wilson has always been such "A Smart Kid," and the Coronavirus could be a " chemical harvest" that has been sown.

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    We've got a spring blizzard going on right now - perfect weather for Porcupine Tree/King Crimson/Future Kings of England
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

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    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AncientChord View Post
    ^^^^Yeah well with the virus and more self-isolation I've got a hell of a lot more time to ramble! But Holy Guacamole, can't I ask how others feel too?
    sure you can and some will respond with an opinion without pointing out your limited listening experience while pontificating how Steven Wilson has evaded being exposed as a hack all these years.

    I was late to discovering PT as well. I started hearing PT songs on CDR compilations that me and others started making of our CD collections back in the early '00s. I found The Sky Moves Sideways in a record store (new) but the rest of the catalog was hard to get (back when Amazon was only a book store) until they reissued the catalog after PT switched labels. I eventually purchased all of it. Still listen to all of it although I'd say it's been a while since I pulled out FoaBP or The Incident.

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    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    All I know is I miss Porcupine Tree.
    What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)

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    Moderator Poisoned Youth's Avatar
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    Assuming we filter out groups that can be widely considered "prog" by our group but in "the real world" identified mostly differently (Radiohead, Tool, etc.), Steven Wilson will likely go down as the last, great successful (in terms of sales) prog artist.

    It's a pretty impressive body of work over 30+ years for sure, and there's little to believe he will not create more over the decade plus.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poisoned Youth View Post
    Steven Wilson will likely go down as the last, great successful (in terms of sales) prog artist.
    I hope you are wrong. I'm certain that more musical minds with be born, and/or who are alive and maturing who if inclined to love music will explore the music world beyond commercialism. There will always be talents such as Wilson, who was smart enough to play his cards correctly and rise in fame. Physical musical talent and getting the message out to people through lyrics is key IMO. Look at Pink Floyd as an example. Every music artist wants to be successful. But I doubt if PF ever imagined they would end up being one of the great rock bands of all time. Their main themes within their music were always about insanity, and the struggles of life and death. And IMO they didn't dismiss their musical integrity as Genesis did. But the messages that PF gave in their lyrics hit home with the masses. The same goes with Steven Wilson. It's sad that groups like Genesis went the way they did, dismissing their past. In 1975, they were already huge, and even after Peter Gabriel left were still huge. My question is how much money do you have to have to be comfortable? While Steve Hackett was still in the band, in 1977, I remember Genesis being labeled as one of the world's great rock bands. And that was the prog-Genesis. Too bad so many artists abandon their musical integrity and buy into greed and egos. IMO these thoughts many be key to the survival of the progressive rock genre. You never know, someday there may be a prog renaissance like the years 1969-1975. With talents like Steven Wilson leading the way, I think that could be a distinct possibility.
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    Quote Originally Posted by AncientChord View Post
    I hope you are wrong.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Poisoned Youth View Post
    Assuming we filter out groups that can be widely considered "prog" by our group but in "the real world" identified mostly differently (Radiohead, Tool, etc.), Steven Wilson will likely go down as the last, great successful (in terms of sales) prog artist.

    It's a pretty impressive body of work over 30+ years for sure, and there's little to believe he will not create more over the decade plus.
    Must you bring the "real world" into it?

  19. #19
    Really liked Porcupine Tree in their middle Signify/Stupid Dream period - then they got a little too metal for my tastes. Nothing wrong with that move by them as it reflected what they wanted to do, but I preferred what I consider the dark/dreamy/depressed stuff.
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    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    I think Fear Of A Blank Planet is underated. The tour was amazing.
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    Well, here's a quote from a review of the new Pure Reason Revolution album: 'Seriously, for anyone still mourning the passing of Porcupine Tree, this is the antidote.'

    https://www.sonicperspectives.com/al...lution-eupnea/

    neil

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    Moderator Poisoned Youth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AncientChord View Post
    You never know, someday there may be a prog renaissance like the years 1969-1975. With talents like Steven Wilson leading the way, I think that could be a distinct possibility.
    I think you meant an "extinct" possibility.

    The last 20 years has seen an explosion of music hit the scene, but it's gone largely unheard. And in the last 5 years, the proliferation of content (music and otherwise) coupled with the way we, as a society, digest media these days, most of anything resembling a renaissance is lost in plain sight.

    And if you happened to see 'Prog Report' and their top 30 list, even your average prog fan has abandoned most of the music made by artists that started recording after 2000.
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    Member AncientChord's Avatar
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    ^^^^Thanks for the info. I'll check it out. And I can see the media being a big part of the issue. From 1969 through about 1975 we had what was called underground FM radio. Independently owned local stations that had free form music shows, where the radio host would pick and choose their own playlists. Many times the host would play not one track, but entire albums, exposing people to many artists unknown to them. Even XM radio today sucks, and prog is seldom heard, especially new releases. Your point is well taken.
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    Steven Wilson during the PT years spent most of his time denying that his music had anything to do with prog and hated the label. I think this somehow worked for him in finding a new audience and the greater success that PT enjoyed in their later phase. I think many new fans who discovered FOABP were not prog fans and didn't think they were listening to a prog album. It was only when he was a lot more secure with his solo fanbase that he started to fully embrace the genre with Grace & The Raven. Now he seems to have found a wider audience who are maybe willing to follow him in whatever direction he goes although the jury is still out on the next album.

    Having been broke for years and been a musical workaholic, SW now seems to have financial security and is married with a family. I get the impression he's spending a lot less time on music nowadays and is maybe reaping the success from all those hard years for a new life with loved ones. Unless he's lost his fortune in C19 financial crash I think the chances of a PT reunion are very small.

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    And if you happened to see 'Prog Report' and their top 30 list, even your average prog fan has abandoned most of the music made by artists that started recording after 2000.
    That list is quite depressing (and very dependent on prog metal)
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

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