Project 2 is in the bag!... Finally + Whats next

Its funny what life can do to you in 4 months. I had originally intended to have this project done by April at the latest, but as somethings go, it just wasn't meant to be. I'll try harder to stick to a set schedule and post more frequently.
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It's been fun analyzing Porcupine Tree's music. There's just so much there. Throughout this whole experience I rediscovered a few albums that I hadn't listened to in years. It was like bumping into an old friend. Very satisfying.
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Some good news that came out of all this is I have a few other things I've written on music I've received. So I can mentally recharge my batteries while keeping to the schedule I mentioned above. Looking over them I must say there is quite a variety of genres there.
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Another project, (#4 for those of you keeping track), will be an ongoing thing with no definite end in sight. The sheer amount of content related to what I'm planning on doing only confirms that. I'll say this though, I guarantee you have never heard anything like what project 4 will sound like.
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And project 3, which is a list of my personal favorite albums of all time, will commence when I feel like starting that. I'll estimate this one will last about three months or so = AKA breathing room. More on that soon...
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Anyway, I hope you have been finding new horizons in new music. I know I have.

Best wishes,
- Sean

Coma Divine: The Music of Porcupine Tree - Part X

The Incident – 2009

“When a car crash gets you off, you’ve lost your grip…“

You may find this hard to believe but it’s been 20 years since Steven Wilson began recording music under the Porcupine Tree name. What began as a homemade experiment in what is progressive has morphed into one of the biggest names in modern music. This band has survived the rise and fall of grunge as well as a change of thinking toward digital media. Porcupine Tree’s tenth album The Incident is a perfect way for the band to celebrate the sound they have been developing during my entire lifetime. Now instead of going into my usual thought process regarding music – I did that for this album already back in January – I thought I’d try to retrospectively encapsulate all the listening experiences I’ve had with The Incident.
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The Incident isn’t my favorite Porcupine Tree album. My opinions of this record have not changed since I last wrote about it, (see "Music of 2009 - Part IX"), but I’ve found that the way I listen to The Incident has changed drastically. This is an album I always listen to in the car during my long drives from Ashland up to Portland and back. Now I interpret this in a few different ways. Firstly, it’s a way to listen to the whole album without feeling that compensatory need to listen to something else. It grounds me and forces me to experience the album as Mr. Wilson intended it to be. Unfortunately, the sound quality of a burnt cd driving along I-5 isn't the best, which brings me to my second point. There have always been softer sounds barely audible on Porcupine Tree cds. And for me who focuses a lot on finding and enjoying these softer moments, it’s an essential part of the listening experience. For me, it’s impossible to live these moments when you have to damage your eardrums just to hear them. The Incident and road trips don’t mix well, (hell, one of the movements is about passing by a car crash. Needless to say its a little unnerving) This is the kind of album you need to listen to at home through quality speakers that can produce these subtle sounds without causing you irreversible injury. No exceptions. I have realized that the way I listen to this record is wrong. But that still doesn’t keep me from enjoying it on long drives at night, (you know, in a weird way, this album sorta feels right in this context, or maybe that’s just one big contradiction…)

Coma Divine: The Music of Porcupine Tree - Part IX

Fear of a Blank Planet – 2007

“Stoned in the mall the kids play. And in this way they wish away each day “

How could it come to this? That is the question I ask myself when I’m listening to this apocalyptic opus. But strangely, a quote from a rather famous 80’s movie springs to mind as this album plays, “I weep for the future”. On Fear of a Blank Planet, Porcupine Tree has managed to capture the decay of our youth culture onto a single disc. Quite the feat if you ask me. Little did I know when I bought this record that Mr. Wilson was talking about me. I have an iPod, but I don’t let this fact hinder my search for rare CD’s. In a weird way, it took this album to wake me up to what I was becoming at that age, (17). iPod’s are just one of the myriad of topics Fear of a Blank Planet addresses. Prescription drugs, Xbox, the internet, and the seemingly abandonment of their parents are a big lyrical component to this album. This record is about the decay of our society at its very core and how the youth of the world are adapting to that decay. I get a sense that Steven and co. have a very cynical view of the world. They have expressed this anger and resentment in Fear of a Blank Planet. These feelings are expressed on the records cover. A blank slate of a face illuminated by the unnatural glow of technology. A lovely photo Lasse, good work! Right away you can tell this is going to hit you and hit you hard. It sweeps through you and wears you out. Yet after its gone you want it back. To a new listener, this album may overpower them Porcupine Tree have crammed nearly a whole societies existence onto this album. I don’t think I need to go on praising it. The music speaks for itself. The riffs captured here are MUCH heavier then Deadwing and the mood is even darker then In Absentia. And while some tracks tone down the music and introduce acoustics, (now a Porcupine Tree mainstay), the songs still carry that end-of-days vibe with them. One gets a sense that this is the album Porcupine Tree was born to create. It’s certainly played a major part in their current popularity. I think Fear of a Blank Planet will stand right up on that pedestal with In Absentia as the band’s signature albums. One thing’s for sure though - When the end of the world finally begins, I’ll have this album on repeat.