Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize

I've been into PTree for about a year now, and I personally haven't listened to pre SD stuff much, just seems like a Pink Floyd rip-off, but everything from SD on is amazing. And, IMHO, I think FOABP is their most balanced album. The title track and Anesthetize are amazing, and Sleep Together is awesome too (especially the strings at the end). All the other albums from SD to Deadwing seem to start off amazingly, then lose it towards the ends of the albums, although Deadwing isn't quite as bad. But I would definitely agree would whoever said get the Arriving Somewhere... DVD: It's amazing.

Oh, and in regard to their lyrics, I've never had a problem with them except that a lot of them have really weird sexual references, some of them down right pedophilic; but FOABP is based of Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis (which I'm currently reading).
 
I wish people would get sued for using "MTV" in their lyrics, just because it's such a pathetic cliche at this point in time. It was terrible way back when Dream Theater did it in "Just Let Me Breathe," it's a lot worse now. FOABP has tons of clumsy lyrics that sound like something written by a petulent 20 year old who's angry at pop culture being oh so non-intellectual, ex:

I’m watching TV but I find it hard to stay conscious
I’m totally bored but I can’t switch off

TV, yeah it's always on
A flicker of the screen
A movie actress screams
I'm basking in the shit flowing out of it

I'm stoned in the mall again
Terminally bored
Shuffling around the stores
And shoplifting is getting so last year's thing

Xbox is a god to me
My finger on the switch
My mother is a bitch
My father gave up ever trying to talk to me

Seriously, horrible. I wish english wasn't my native language so it wasn't as offensively awful. Maybe someone will try and defend it with "they're supposed to sound dumb cause they're from the perspective of someone who's dumb" but I don't think I buy that. Most of the time the lyrics are easy to ignore, but on certain sections of Anesthetize and FOABP it becomes difficult :( I dunno what happened, In Absentia and Deadwing's were never too distractingly bad.
 
TEDIUM said:
All the other albums from SD to Deadwing seem to start off amazingly, then lose it towards the ends of the albums, although Deadwing isn't quite as bad.
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I disagree - Collapse The Light Into Earth, Heartattck in Layby, A Smart Kid, The Start of Something Beautiful , Glass Arm Shattering - all highlights of the albums for me.
 
Necropeth said:
Well I'm ALSO going to say PT is hit or miss for me.

*Waits for LightBulbSun to come in and tell us why he likes PT so much*
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I was away on a quick trip, but I'm back now.

To me, In Absentia is one of the best albums ever. It has a wide variety of music that PT can create. Collapse The Light Into Earth is a great piano ballad and Wedding Nails is an amazing instrumental.

If you like Anesthetize, I suggest picking up Recordings. Buying New Soul and Even Less (full version) are both amazing songs. Or if you're more into Pink Floyd, Voyage 34 The Complete Trip is the perfect album. But judging from the examples given, Normal and FOAB, maybe pick up Stupid Dream, which came out right after Lightbulb Sun (my personal favorite at the time of the creation of my account). If you want a quick sampling of there earlier, more psychedelic music, pick up Stars Die (a best of collection pre-Lightbulb Sun). But from what I heard, you'd be more into the progressive "group" sound. To me, of all the later releases, Deadwing and FOAB, still two amazing records, are their weakest where as Nil Recurring is spectacular.

The truth is, Porcupine Tree's sound is everywhere and anywhere, practically, because of Steven Wilson's wide taste in music.
 
@Beauregard: listen to all PT albums. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.Also listen to Blackfield.

My personal top of PT albums:

1.In Absentia
2.Deadwing
3.Up the Downstair
4.Lightbulb Sun
5.Voyage 34 - The Complete Trip
6.Fear of a Blank Planet
7.Signify
8.Stupid Dream
9.The Sky Moves Sideways
10.On the Sunday of Life...
 
wankerness said:
I wish people would get sued for using "MTV" in their lyrics, just because it's such a pathetic cliche at this point in time. It was terrible way back when Dream Theater did it in "Just Let Me Breathe," it's a lot worse now. FOABP has tons of clumsy lyrics that sound like something written by a petulent 20 year old who's angry at pop culture being oh so non-intellectual, ex:

I’m watching TV but I find it hard to stay conscious
I’m totally bored but I can’t switch off

TV, yeah it's always on
A flicker of the screen
A movie actress screams
I'm basking in the shit flowing out of it

I'm stoned in the mall again
Terminally bored
Shuffling around the stores
And shoplifting is getting so last year's thing

Xbox is a god to me
My finger on the switch
My mother is a bitch
My father gave up ever trying to talk to me

Seriously, horrible. I wish english wasn't my native language so it wasn't as offensively awful. Maybe someone will try and defend it with "they're supposed to sound dumb cause they're from the perspective of someone who's dumb" but I don't think I buy that. Most of the time the lyrics are easy to ignore, but on certain sections of Anesthetize and FOABP it becomes difficult :( I dunno what happened, In Absentia and Deadwing's were never too distractingly bad.
Click to expand...



sued for using MTV? is there a better way of describing our generation? I've noticed that once a lyric isn't wrapped in tons of metaphores and artsy words people think it's clishé. It's his way of telling that following generations are losing lifes value, because they already have it all in their hand, there's nothing left to discover. Status is all they have left to prove, so they feed their reptile brains with what media, and it's most common face MTV teaches. It's so much deeper than it might seem when you start getting his point with it.
It's not about "a petulent 20 year old who's angry at pop culture being oh so non-intellectual", that's just an irrelevant statement.
check out some of his interviews regarding the concept.
 
While In absentia, Deadwing and Lightbulb are awesome albums, I have never understood how Stupid Dream isn't more often regarded as their best. It's unbelievable solid the whole way through, the lyrics are better than usual (in comparison to the others), he blends a great range of influence and the songwriting is IMO better than any of their other material, including side projects. Ironically critically SD is often stated as the best, whereas the fanbase is so mixed. In terms of foabp, I like both the blackfield albums more than it. Musically it has some great moments, but it should have been called In pretensia if you iyam. And lol @ Voyage 34 above SD. After listening to 6 or so of the top prog rock bands of the mid 70's you will think Voyage is pretty average. Stupid Dream is their darkside, red, foxtrot or their in the land of pink and grey for example iyam.
 
wankerness said:
I wish people would get sued for using "MTV" in their lyrics, just because it's such a pathetic cliche at this point in time. It was terrible way back when Dream Theater did it in "Just Let Me Breathe," it's a lot worse now. FOABP has tons of clumsy lyrics that sound like something written by a petulent 20 year old who's angry at pop culture being oh so non-intellectual, ex:

I’m watching TV but I find it hard to stay conscious
I’m totally bored but I can’t switch off

TV, yeah it's always on
A flicker of the screen
A movie actress screams
I'm basking in the shit flowing out of it

I'm stoned in the mall again
Terminally bored
Shuffling around the stores
And shoplifting is getting so last year's thing

Xbox is a god to me
My finger on the switch
My mother is a bitch
My father gave up ever trying to talk to me

Seriously, horrible. I wish english wasn't my native language so it wasn't as offensively awful. Maybe someone will try and defend it with "they're supposed to sound dumb cause they're from the perspective of someone who's dumb" but I don't think I buy that. Most of the time the lyrics are easy to ignore, but on certain sections of Anesthetize and FOABP it becomes difficult :( I dunno what happened, In Absentia and Deadwing's were never too distractingly bad.
Click to expand...

wankerness, you and your distaste for FOABP's lyrics :Smug:
 
The first thing I thought when I listened to FOABP was, wow SW is really being literal here. The lyrics are not timeless, however when compared with e.g. In Absentia, it is definitely deliberate. I don't think anyone is supposed to try and understand Steven Wilson.

It's awesome that they played Anesthetize in Sydney though :Smokin:
 
The Dream Theater lyric actually looks like this: "A daily dose of empty v", but yeah the reference is obvious. I've never liked that line either, but I do love that album. I don't mind the reference, but I think it really dates the song along with the line about Kurt Cobain etc.
 
Carl Hungus said:
The Dream Theater lyric actually looks like this: "A daily dose of empty v", but yeah the reference is obvious. I've never liked that line either, but I do love that album. I don't mind the reference, but I think it really dates the song along with the line about Kurt Cobain etc.
Click to expand...

In the lyrics booklet, it's capitalized like eMpTy V. EDGY!
 
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