Porcupine Tree Lists-thread - Currently rocking you: mikemangioy

[Darkes7]

I'd like to have a re-issue of Recordings in the first place because the damn thing is more expensive than The Incident deluxe edition. I've never heard it in my life for this reason, even though people claim it's awesome.

[glaurung]

I'd get it for Buying New Soul alone. It has one of my favorite chorus' of all time.

And they are going to reissue it this year I think.

[sonatafanica]

say what

[glaurung]

Hmmm... I thought I heard that on the PT forum a while ago but I'm not finding anything about it on that site the the official site now. Oh well, it will be reissued someday.

[Ultimetalhead]

While we're talking about B-Sides, Orchidia and Futile are awesome too.

[LTE]

Absolutely LOVE the drums to Futile. Crazy syncopations

[skydivingninja]

I was never too big on Futile, I can definitely see why it wasn't on the album.  Drown With Me is awesome, though I can see why it wasn't on the album either.

[Zantera]

Haha, loads of replies i see..
Well, it's time for an update.

45. Up the Downstair - (Up the Downstair)
The title-track of their second-album, like Burning Sky it's an instrumental music-journey.
Intro starts off a bit spooky, with Richard Barbieri's wife Suzanne talking.
The whole build-up of the song sounds like taken directly from a soft-porn movie or something, which is kinda hillarious. 
Overall though it's a great instrumental-track, also fun that it was featured on Coma Divine.

44. Don't Hate Me - (Stupid Dream)
I know Darkes7 will kill me for putting it this low, but PT just has too many great songs to rank it higher.
It's a great song, and it's different in the way that it has saxophone/the jazzy-middle part, something they haven't really used since.
A great track that combines a bit of darker-PT with the melodic pop-sound from Stupid Dream.
Fun to see it on Arriving Somewhere as well.

43. Mother and Child Divided - (Deadwing B-side)
One of the newer, more metal-influenced instrumentals by them.
I really love it, especially the part where the guitars goes silent, and then SW pushes out several cool-guitar sounds, which sounds like creaking stairs or something.
Was nice to see it being performed live as well.

42. Radioactive Toy - (On the Sunday of Life)
Their first hit-song, circulates some in the setlists still, which is kinda fun i guess.
Lyrics are noticeable for being 'different' compared to newer PT-lyrics, but this song goes back about 20 years, so it isn't that strange.
Chorus is pretty funny to sing-along to, but my favorite part of the song has to be the more silent middle-part.
There's just several things going on, and i love it how it builds up, and then reaches a climax.
The Coma Divine-version is amazing as well, don't really like the Rockpalast-version.

41. Heartattack in a Layby - (In Absentia)
Personally i think IA get's a bit more dull after the first half, but this song is an exception.
It's a very subtle song, focusing mainly on the singing/lyrics/melody-point of view.
The way the lyrics are being delivered is just amazing, and it's another example of how "the saddest music, is also the most beautiful". (what SW said before playing Stop Swimming on Warszawa)

Still got loads of more to come

[PixelDream]

OK, I kind of stopped caring in which order you rank the songs (indeed, Don't Hate Me that low?). But I'm more than interested in seeing your opinions on the songs. And it's cool to see as much old PT as there is new PT on the list.

[Zantera]

I think 'Don't Hate Me' is one of those songs that you either love or don't feel anything special about.
I really like it, but then there's people who would've placed it in their top5.
So it's kinda different i'd say

[Pyroph]

While we're talking about B-Sides, Orchidia and Futile are awesome too.

I Fail is great too.

[KevShmev]

"Futile" is pretty cool, but didn't make my top 50

pretty cool? You obviously haven't heard it live.

I have not.  I imagine it would rock pretty hard.

FoaBP is a cool album, but it's so lacking compared to almost all the other PT albums. The problem is, I don't know what's missing. Maybe 50 minutes is too short?

I don't think the length has anything to do with it, but I also find it a bit lacking compared to their other albums, and I am also unable to put my finger on what it is.  I like all six songs, but it just doesn't scream, "Play me, play me!," unlike most of their other albums, which scream to that to me all of the time....sometimes in my sleep.

[Zantera]

Time for update..

40. Tinto Brass - (Stupid Dream)
One of the highlights of SD, i think SD overall has a better second half, then first half.
This song features some really cool instrumental-sections, and some really cool sampling in the beginning.
It's one of their best instrumentals that came during the "middle"-era, and also one of their most memorable ones.
It was performed a lot live during 1999-2003, since then.. not so much.
Hopefully they'll play it again some tour.

39. Synesthesia - (Up the Downstair)
After 'What you are listening to..', this is the song that really starts the album.
I think it shares some similarities with Blackest Eyes, but in that case this would be like a very early version of making that type of a song.
It's short, it's catchy, and it's purpose is kinda to sum up the PT-sound at that time.
A little bit of prog, a little bit of psychedelic.. and overall it's a very solid track.

38. Stars Die - (The Sky Moves Sideways)
"This was one of the first Porcupine Tree songs... ever likely to get played on the radio. And it did, surprisingly."
That's what SW said, before performing this song on 'We lost the skyline'.
It's a great song, something i didn't notice until i heard that version of it.
This song becomes so much better live, and the WLTS-version is amongst my favorite live-performances by PT (in this case just SW), but the chorus just gains so much more power live, and the song feels a bit unpolished on the album.
Anyhow, a great song.

37. The Sleep of No Dreaming - (Signify)
One of the many great songs on the album, this one starts off pretty calm with only the keyboard playing.
It has some really interesting lyrics, and the chorus feels like an early-version of Way out of Here, in the sense that it features vocal-effects.
Song kinda ends it with a big climax, a good end to a great song.

36. The Joke's on You - (Staircase Infinities)
One of the best acoustic-songs that they made during the early-years, and it's a shame they don't perform it live.
It's a bit spacey/psychedelic, but when it all comes down to it, it's just as simple and catchy as Trains or Lazarus.
Has some really interesting lyrics, for example:
"Riding on a unicorn
Stranded in my mind
Electric raven met me there
To see what we could find"
Chorus is really catchy, and overall it's a fantastic song.

More to come
 

[Darkes7]

44. Don't Hate Me - (Stupid Dream)
41. Heartattack in a Layby - (In Absentia)

HIDE, NOW

[glaurung]

Cool to see Tinto Brass and The Sleep of No Dreaming. The other three songs I'm not a big fan of though.

[GuineaPig]

Stars Die not making the top 25 is making me 

[skydivingninja]

Heartattack not making the top 10 makes me 

[zxlkho]

Heartattack not making the top 10 makes me 

[Zantera]

Update.

35. Signify - (Signify)
The title-track, and also the first song on the album. (counting Bornlivedie as intro)
It's a great opener, both on the album and on Coma Divine.
What i love about it is how the keyboard and guitar just works together, and the guitar-solo has to be one of my favorite SW-solo's to this date.
One of the shorter instrumentals in their catalog, yet very interesting.

34. The Nostalgia Factory - (On the Sunday of Life)
I prefer this song over Radioactive Toy, but i'm sure many others would have it the other way around.
They're both "the epic"-tracks on the album, and the 2 tracks that mainly forms the album.
The song is mainly keyboard-driven, and it has weird lyrics, weird instrumental-parts, and the whole song is just... weird.
That's what makes it so amazing though, it's 7 ½ minutes of pure fun, and great music.
I could totally imagine PT doing this song as an encore live, performing it heavier, and then adding some instrumental-sections or something.
Think it could be really great.

33. Flicker - (The Incident disc2)
The opener of the second disc, is a brilliant little piece that brings thoughts back to the Stupid Dream/Lightbulb Sun-era.
This song is short, but that doesn't matter because it's a masterpiece from start to finish.
One of the highlights on TI overall, and a song that i wish i'll hear live some day.
If PT hadn't made so many amazing tracks, this one would've easily ended up in the top15.

32. Cure For Optimism - (Recordings)
This B-side from the Lightbulb Sun-era didn't make it onto a studio-album, but it found it's way onto Recordings, and for that im really happy.
It's one of their darker-song to this date, and the intro feels very Bass Communion-ish.
I really love the lyrics,
"Up there a mountain rises
Down here an ocean dives"
Overall its a great B-side, and one of the many highlights on Recordings.

31. Even Less (full) - (Recordings)
I'm talking about the full-version of the song, the 15-minute epic on Recordings, and not the 7-minute version on Stupid Dream.
Discovered this version after the normal-one, and it made a great song even better.
If i would have to choose, i'd say part2 of the song is better then the first part.
Think PT performed the full version on some concerts before SD came out, but since then it's mostly been the shorter one.
It's a shame, because the full version kicks ass.

[sonatafanica]

You know, I think that's a good spot for Cure for Optimism. I really like that song, but I'd rank it similarly.

[KevShmev]

Good to see "Flicker" make the cut!  But where are the songs from disc 1 of The Incident?  We haven't see anything from that yet.  And I hope you don't lump it all together as one song, when it isn't a single song.  Remember, Wilson never said it was a single song; he called it a song cycle.

[Darkes7]

Dunno how I had managed to miss it, but it's great to see Mother and Child Divided on the list, it's pretty much where I'd put it myself.

Kev, well, it's pretty simple. Cut Your Unpleasant Family and Degree Zero and Liberty, and together with the three other obvious choices you have the top15.

[skydivingninja]

I prefer the Stupid Dream version of Even Less to the Recordings version, but still, those were some solid picks.

[Zantera]

Kev @ i wont treat the song-cycle as one song, that would be unfair in a thread like this.
On another note, i think some of the songs on Disc1 "belong" together (not weird since its a cycle), but for instance: Great Expectations>Kneel & Disconnect>Drawing the Line. They might not be amongst the best PT-songs individually, but together they form a damn good "chain".

Anyhow, time for update again.

30. My Ashes - (Fear of a Blank Planet)
This ballad is kinda nestled in between the other more "metal"-influenced songs on the album, and every time it comes on, it feels like a fresh breeze.
The song itself is not very complex, it's one of those simple meets catchy-songs, and it works.
I just love this song, and parts of the lyrics are amongst the best written by SW.
For example:
"And my ashes drift beneath the silver sky
Where a boy rides on a bike and never smiles
And my ashes fall over all the things we've said
On a box of photographs under the bed"

29. Sever - (Signify)
Mixing weird noises, funny lyrics with great music, this song makes one of the more interesting on the album.
I don't even know where to start about it, for those of you who know it, it's an experience that's pretty hard to explain.
It's a pretty darn good song, and it's so unique compared to the rest, simply because of the lyrics, and some samples.
Too bad it wasn't on Coma Divine, seeing as "Coma divine" is a line in the song.

28. Cheating the Polygraph - (Nil Recurring)
One of the highlights on the EP, i rank this song at nr. 28.
Sound-wise, i would say it lies closest to Way out of here from FOABP, but it stands on it's own.
It's a great track, features some amazing guitars, and some fantastic drumming from Gavin.
What i love the most though, is the lyrics, and the way they're being sung.
"Lying through my teeth again
I've been bad again, black lies
Skirting round the truth again
To escape the look in your eyes"

27. The Incident - (The Incident)
This song is how PT sounds today, or well.. it kinda sums up the modern PT sound, combined with the more classic melodies that we recognize so well.
I would kinda put it together with 'Sleep Together', because sound-wise they're both similar in a way.
The dark keyboard-patterns, the heavy guitars... almost Meshuggah-ish in a way.
And what about the whispered parts in the beginning? we could talk about those all day long.
"Get demolished"
"Get the bones to shiver"
"Get to mow the shed"
No-one really knows, and SW won't say anything himself... a great song never the less.

26. A Smart Kid - (Stupid Dream)
One of the highlights on the album, in fact... maybe THE highlight.
Mikael Åkerfeldt's favorite song (unless he's changed his opinion), and he's even contributed with vocals on this song when PT performed it live in Seattle in 2003.
I thought it was pretty interesting to hear his approach on the song, a fun thing to have in your collection. (which im very proud of)
And it's a masterpiece.
Lyrics are just amazing, the chorus is catchy, and the guitar-solo is pure brilliance.
"Stranded here on planet earth...
It's not much, but it could be worse"

More to come

[Ultimetalhead]

My Ashes better than Heart Attack? What the fucking fuck?

[Darkes7]

UMH, I love your straightforward approach.

Yep, compared to Heartattack and Don't Hate Me it's weird, but as they are it's very good to see The Incident, Cheating The Polygraph and My Ashes here. I'd put A Smart Kid lower, but it's a very nice song indeed.

[ZBomber]

My Ashes is my mom's favorite PT song. I don't think its their best, but I don't understand why a lot of people dislike that song. Its a great ballady song, like Lazarus.

[KevShmev]

I like "My Ashes" a lot.  Aside from the "My ashes" line, which I always thought kind of strange, the song is one of Wilson's strongest vocal performances to date.  And I love the strings and the dark keyboard sounds.  I wasn't too fond of it at first, but it was a major grower over time. 

The other four songs were all great choices, too. 

[skydivingninja]

Great choices, and its good to see "My Ashes" get some love, but they are not higher than "Blackest Eyes" or "Heartattack."

[orcus116]

Towel better be #1.

[Darkes7]

That's why I like My Ashes and Lazarus far more than Trains, they're also catchy and a bit poppy, but they rely mostly on atmosphere, and have a very subtle sound, plus a lot of emotion.

And I'd like Trains fanboys not to derail this thread into a "KILL THE INFIDEL" crusade like the last time, thanks in advance.

[Zantera]

Updating again...

25. Futile - (Futile EP)
This song is one of the "leftovers" from IA, and ended up being the title-track of the EP.
It's one of their heavier songs, at least before FOABP/NR/TI, so pretty much one of their heaviest to that date.
When i heard it live (Rockpalast), it grew lots, and i realized how amazing the song really was.
It's one of their better B-sides, and i really hope to hear it live some day.

24. Fear of a Blank Planet - (Fear of a Blank Planet)
The title-track and also the opening-track of the album, this clearly sets the tone for the rest.
It's very metal-influenced, and you can clearly hear that PT touring with Opeth, and PT getting signed by RoadRunner had it's effect.
Lyrics aren't really deep, but i can relate to them in a way i guess.
Music is pretty sweet though, the metal riff-part that comes in after the second chorus is great, and i really love how the song get's slower at the end.
The transition into My Ashes is amazing.

23. What Happens Now? - (Nil Recurring)
The closer of the EP, but was used as an opener on many shows.
Works great as both, this is a great song.
Features the Anesthetize-riff, and electric violin amongst other things.
The line "What Happens Now?" and the way it's being sung is just great, and it's a good question.
What Happens Now? - i don't really know, only time will tell.

Only had time for 3 now, will get back with the next 2 later.

[Darkes7]

Never understood the love for What Happens Now?, but it's great to see Fear of a Blank Planet here. I have to finally listen to Futile, as it seems everyone here likes it.

[Sigz]

41. Heartattack in a Layby - (In Absentia)

I missed this before.

[Darkes7]