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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: KevShmev on December 25, 2022, 06:43:18 AM
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Okay, let's give this another go, but as a top 50 which will make it a bit more manageable and less daunting, I think. :hat :hat
The songs from Closure/Continuation are now included!!
I will count down the top 50 songs songs in order, and they will be taken from lists of anyone who wants to send me theirs via PM. Do not post them on the forum here. Send them to me via PM. I will take all of the lists and come up with a top 50 based off all lists cumulatively and count the songs down from 50 to 1.
The rules:
-Songs must be listed from 50 to 1 in order (in reverse order), with no ties. No having three songs at number 1 or anything like that. 50 songs, listed from 50 to 1. DO NOT list your songs with the points total. List them in your order (I will figure out the points on my end). Any list submitted with the songs not numbered will be ignored.
-Anyone wanting to submit a list must do so by the end of day, Saturday, January 14th. I will then begin the countdown two days late on Monday the 16th. This should give anyone and everyone time to listen to the band's songs.
-The list will be tallied numerically in a simple way. On each list, whatever song is at number 1 gets 50 points, number 2 gets 49 points, number 3 gets 48 points, etc.
-PROOFREAD YOUR LISTS BEFORE SENDING THEM. Any list with the same song mentioned twice will be not be counted.
Feel free to post in this thread as well that you have PM'd me, if for no other reason than to bump this back up for others who may want to participate who may not have seen the thread yet.
This ranking engine link below works great. You can input all of the songs, and then you pick your favorite of every 1 on 1 matchup and then it spits out your list.
https://rankingengine.pubmeeple.com/
Special thanks again to Puppies_On_Acid who compiled the original list of songs which I have tweaked.
49 (t) Normal
49 (t) Where We Would Be
48 The Blind House
47 Halo
46 Lips of Ashes
45 Stars Die
44 Feel So Low
43 Fadeaway
42 Dignity
41 Drown with Me
40 Herd Culling
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape
38 Strip the Soul
37 Harridan
36 What Happens Now?
35 My Ashes
34 Stop Swimming
33 Waiting
32 Gravity Eyelids
31 Glass Arm Shattering
30 Sentimental
29 I Drive the Hearse
28 Chimera's Wreck
27 The Sky Moves Sideways
26 Open Car
25 Sleep Together
24 Mellotron Scratch
23 Time Flies
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
21 Shesmovedon
20 A Smart Kid
19 The Sound of Muzak
18 Hatesong
17 Lightbulb Sun
16 Don't Hate Me
15 Fear of a Blank Planet
14 Collapse the Light into Earth
13 Way out of Here
12 The Start of Something Beautiful
11 Deadwing
10 Russia On Ice
09 Lazarus
08 Even Less
07 Heartattack in a Layby
06 Buying New Soul
05 Blackest Eyes
04 Dark Matter
03 Trains
02 Anesthetize
01 Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
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I’ll give this a go.
Not a huge fan of TSMS and Waiting having their phases consolidated together (I really like TSMS phase 1 but I don’t like phase 2), but I’ll make do!
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Execution of the Will of the Marquis de Sade
Doesn’t everybody love this tune?
I’ll try to submit on time!
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I counted 49 of these songs that I know (or that are on PT albums that I own). I dunno. I just don’t have much interest in this band anymore. Some of these song titles are just preposterous!
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Kev, do you still have my original top 75 I sent a while back? My list wouldn't have changed even with the new songs added.
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It doesn't change my list either. ;D
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It doesn't change my list either. ;D
[/quote
You dummy. Their albums are amazing. ]
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Quoteshmegland. :lol
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Kev, do you still have my original top 75 I sent a while back? My list wouldn't have changed even with the new songs added.
I do not, unfortunately. I clean out my PMs every time I start a new countdown thread, and the notification email is long gone as well (I just cleaned out my gmail last week, naturally). Send it again! :)
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Heads-up that Collapse and Orchidia from the Futile EP and Prepare Yourself from TSMS are missing from the list. I'd also include Moonloop (Coda) as its own song but eh.
So many of these other B-sides I don't even recognize. What the fuck is Hokey Cokey? :lol
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Woo it's back!!! Going to work on this now.
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Heads-up that Collapse and Orchidia from the Futile EP and Prepare Yourself from TSMS are missing from the list. I'd also include Moonloop (Coda) as its own song but eh.
So many of these other B-sides I don't even recognize. What the fuck is Hokey Cokey? :lol
Hokey Cokey should actually be removed, it was retitled Execution of the Will of the Marquis de Sade. That was an oversight on my part when I was putting together the list.
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Orchidia has been added, and Hokey Cokey has been removed.
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Submitted mine. :hat
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Just to try and get a solid head count, who is planning to submit a list for this?
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I'm definitely going to do it. I've been working on knocking the songs out through the ranking engine.
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I'm almost done ranking mine
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Just to try and get a solid head count, who is planning to submit a list for this?
I haven't gotten around to making the list yet, but I definitely want to participate in this ranking.
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Just to try and get a solid head count, who is planning to submit a list for this?
I had already ranked and saved mine from the previous time, will need to do it again with the new album included. I'll submit mine once I get it done.
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Just to try and get a solid head count, who is planning to submit a list for this?
Me, Kev. I'm planning to send it until the end of next week or so.
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I'm in. Working on it right now.
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List submitted :tup
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I'll try my best to make a list and submit it soon.
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I'll try my best to make a list and submit it soon.
You can't just submit "Drown With Me" 50 times in a row, Sacul.
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^
I did that 25x with 'Freddie Mercury' for the favorite singers countdown, and it seemed to work! ;) :lol
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Thanks for the list submitted thus far, and I look forward to many more. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. I expect the 00s material to do well, but how well the early material and the new album both do could go either way.
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I'm really interested to see how it shakes out too. There are quite a few songs I hate pre Lightbulb Sun
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I'll try my best to make a list and submit it soon.
You can't just submit "Drown With Me" 50 times in a row, Sacul.
>:(
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Sent over my list. :corn
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To reiterate:
The rules:
-Songs must be listed from 50 to 1 in order (in reverse order), with no ties. No having three songs at number 1 or anything like that. 50 songs, listed from 50 to 1. DO NOT list your songs with the points total. List them in your order (I will figure out the points on my end). Any list submitted with the songs not numbered will be ignored.
I have had two now submitted without the songs numbered, and I was nice so far, but come on, peeps. :biggrin: :biggrin:
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Looking forward to this thread. I know exactly 27 PT songs, not enough to participate but enough to be ready for some new inspiration. It was this way with Queensryche - I knew OM and a couple of songs from Empire but the countdown made me really explore their music and the Promised Land controversy helped to make it my new favorite.
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I'm not a serious enough fan to take part in this, but for the record my list would look like this...
1. Lazarus
2. - 50. Everything else
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I'm a much bigger fan of Steven's solo output than I am Porcupine Tree so this is taking some real listening. I was reasonably familiar with about 40 songs to begin with. Gonna be using every minute up to that 14 January deadline but I will definitely be submitting a list.
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I'm not a serious enough fan to take part in this, but for the record my list would look like this...
1. Lazarus
2. - 50. Everything else
I don't have it quite at #1, but I got you fam. :tup
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Eight lists are locked in so far, and we are already down to just three songs that have been on every list thus far.
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I think I know enough to do a top 50. I'll give this a shot and it gives me an excuse to listen to their new album again, as I haven't listened to it much at all.
Definitely will be using the ranker to weed out the songs I don't know really and will go from there. I really like doing these lists and hearing all the songs at least once, but don't think I'll have the time to do it with this list.
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Well that was epic. Down to 69 songs for final consideration now which may or may not include both Linton Samuel Dawson and Jupiter Island 😎
Lot of instrumentals in PT's back catalogue. Who knew?
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we are already down to just three songs that have been on every list thus far.
That's surprisingly low. We got some contrarians around here? :P (I say fully knowing that I put a song at #25 that nobody else will include in their list)
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Luckily, I still have my previous list, which I had my top 55 already. I think maybe 1 or 2 of the new songs might sneak in, so we will see.
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we are already down to just three songs that have been on every list thus far.
That's surprisingly low. We got some contrarians around here? :P (I say fully knowing that I put a song at #25 that nobody else will include in their list)
I've got more than a few non-album tracks in my list, including 3 in my top 10.
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10 lists now submitted and locked in, eight more days to submit!
Need at least 10 more, so get to work, fans! :lol :lol
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I'm working! I've had some really tough choices in the ranking engine.
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I'm definitely submitting one. Plus ReaperKK, that'll make 12. Anyone else going to be joining in?
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I am sure there are some staying silent who are prepping their lists as we speak. :biggrin:
But this is a good indicator of why I am likely to stray away from bands considered largely prog with these countdowns going forward. PT is probably one of the most popular bands here, yet interest in this doesn't seem super high. The hard rock, straight rock and metal fans seem to dig these countdown threads more, so I will tilt that way. I go with what the masses want. :tup :tup
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Have you perhaps considered doing a countdown of lyricists? Do you think that would be an interesting topic for the folks?
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I'm almost done with mine. But most of these I haven't heard, especially those early songs.
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I'm almost done with mine. But most of these I haven't heard, especially those early songs.
I think there are about 30 songs that I don't have and aren't available on streaming services.
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I will be submitting a list. Already did one for the original top 75 so just need to double check and will submit in the next day or two.
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Have you perhaps considered doing a countdown of lyricists? Do you think that would be an interesting topic for the folks?
I considered doing that, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it wasn't a good idea, at least not one I'd want to do.
Glad to see some more chiming in today about doing the PT one, however. :tup :tup
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I am sure there are some staying silent who are prepping their lists as we speak. :biggrin:
But this is a good indicator of why I am likely to stray away from bands considered largely prog with these countdowns going forward. PT is probably one of the most popular bands here, yet interest in this doesn't seem super high. The hard rock, straight rock and metal fans seem to dig these countdown threads more, so I will tilt that way. I go with what the masses want. :tup :tup
Kev, do you think this might be due to the fact that hard rock/metal fans tend to be completionists while proggers are more often just cherry pickers? The former like to stick to their favorite band and buy or listen to all its albums while the latter just pick few albums and move on to another band. Obviously, I don't have any statistics to prove or disprove that, just personal experience. I am definitely in the cherrypickers camp so there are only handful of bands I know the whole discography of. And without being familiar with the whole catalog (or having only few missing spots so there is ample time to digest unknown songs by the deadline), I can't meaningfully participate.
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I am sure there are some staying silent who are prepping their lists as we speak. :biggrin:
But this is a good indicator of why I am likely to stray away from bands considered largely prog with these countdowns going forward. PT is probably one of the most popular bands here, yet interest in this doesn't seem super high. The hard rock, straight rock and metal fans seem to dig these countdown threads more, so I will tilt that way. I go with what the masses want. :tup :tup
Kev, do you think this might be due to the fact that hard rock/metal fans tend to be completionists while proggers are more often just cherry pickers? The former like to stick to their favorite band and buy or listen to all its albums while the latter just pick few albums and move on to another band. Obviously, I don't have any statistics to prove or disprove that, just personal experience. I am definitely in the cherrypickers camp so there are only handful of bands I know the whole discography of. And without being familiar with the whole catalog (or having only few missing spots so there is ample time to digest unknown songs by the deadline), I can't meaningfully participate.
I don't buy this theory. I have no way to get into the minds of hard rock fans or prog fans, but I don't buy the idea that hard rock fans are more loyal to their favorites and more likely to go the distance with them than prog fans are with their favorites. If anything, I think prog fans get too tied up in the "prog is awesome, and if ain't prog, it ain't worth my time" line of thinking, but that's a whole other conversation... :lol :lol
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List sent!
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And I submitted mine a few minutes ago, funnily enough.
What are we up to, Kev?
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Up to 12 now. I had hoped to get at least 20-25, but I guess now 15 is the best guess. :( :(
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I'm almost done my list; in fact, I should be ready to submit mine later tonight.
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Hey, less people means our choices are more likely to appear! :biggrin:
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Hey, less people means our choices are more likely to appear! :biggrin:
I hope you all put Lips of Ashes in the Top 10. ;)
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List submitted.
Really looking forward to this one as I have no idea how this is going to turn out and whether my own personal favourites match anyone elses.
I haven't read many opinions on the forum about PT and what is the consensus pick(s) for best album(s) and song(s).
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I'm actually really looking forward to this one. I feel like with most of the lists that I've been familiar with I can usually figure out what's going to be near the top and bottom but PT is hard to read.
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Entry has been submitted!
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List submitted!
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We are now at 15!
Anyone else planning to submit by the end of Saturday this week (the cutoff date and time)?
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I'll submit mine by tomorrow.
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At least 5 more would be awesome.
Let's go guys!!! :corn
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We are now at 15!
Anyone else planning to submit by the end of Saturday this week (the cutoff date and time)?
Me!
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I am refining my list and will hopefully submit it tomorrow.
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:tup :tup
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I'm finalizing my list and will submit later today! :tup
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We are now at 15!
Anyone else planning to submit by the end of Saturday this week (the cutoff date and time)?
I will send my list either tonight or tomorrow (Saturday). Work and life has just kept me occupied so I haven't had a chance to sit down and hammer this out.
EDIT - list sent! Can't wait for this to start! While I've been a long-time PT fan, I feel like I haven't given them their due in recent years (mostly because the band has been inactive), but I've slowly been putting them back into my listening rotation since C/C came out last year.
-Marc.
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List sent just now. I guess I did know more than 50 songs. :lol
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Up to 19. Can we get to 20 by tomorrow night?? :P
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Sent my list. That was very hard.
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Can't wait for this. As with Zep, I'm not overly familiar with the bottom half of PT's catalogue so this took some listening to put a list of 60 together and then I had to continually remind myself what song it was when using the ranker to put the 50 together. These top 50s are such a good way to continue exploration of an artist once conversation starts, too.
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Yea I'm pretty excited to see how this is going to play out.
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Up to 19. Can we get to 20 by tomorrow night?? :P
I will send mine still!
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And I sent mine, hopefully boosting some of the early years songs :)
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Up to 21 now! :hat :hat
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Awwww yiisssssssss
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:corn :corn :corn
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:corn :corn :corn
yes
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I’m actually excited to see how this top 50 turns out. I expect some usual suspects in the upper ranges, but below the top 10-15 I guess everything is possible. Fingers crossed my #1 will even make the list :lol
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Man, although I did cull the initial list heavily before putting it through the ranker, I'm looking at my list and I'm sad for basically the entire 50-80 range.
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Submission period is over!
Countdown will start tomorrow. :hat :hat
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As a casual fan of PT I’m very curious to see how this plays out.
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I didn't manage to get my list on time, but yeah, curious to see the rankings :corn
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I didn't manage to get my list on time, but yeah, curious to see the rankings :corn
What would your top 10 be like (roughly)?
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How about we let the countdown play out first before non-submitters starting listing their own top 10s and whatnot, eh?
:facepalm: :facepalm:
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I thought it wouldn't matter, since he's not playing. I'm definitely not posting my stuff until the songs show up.
Didn't mean for it to be a big deal.
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Well I don't them enough to send a list, but I'll try to listen to the two songs and comment each day :tup
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I will likely do more than two a day with this one at times, as I will not spread this out as long as I have others. That is my plan, but we'll see. :coolio
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I didn't manage to get my list on time, but yeah, curious to see the rankings :corn
What would your top 10 be like (roughly)?
- The Grand Conjuration
- The Grand Conjuration
- The Grand Conjuration
- The Grand Conjuration
- The Grand Conjuration
- The Grand Conjuration
- The Grand Conjuration
- The Grand Conjuration
- The Grand Conjuration
- The Grand Conjuration
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Thank you :)
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I will likely do more than two a day with this one at times, as I will not spread this out as long as I have others. That is my plan, but we'll see. :coolio
You should extend it out like the 40 minute version of Moonloop :biggrin:
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I’m a little surprised how hard a time you’re having getting submissions for this one, but I’m guessing a bigger issue than prog v. Hard rock/metal is just the specific tastes of the regulars who seem to contribute to most of the lists so far. There are just a number of us who either don’t like PT at all (TAC, Stads) or who only like them to a point (me). PT are also a band that I imagine a lot of hard core fans still never got into the early more experimental albums.
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We ended up with 22, so better than it was looking. I will start it tomorrow and likely end it on Friday 02/03, so with 50 songs over 19 days, that will two songs some day and three songs other days.
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Really looking forward to this and 22 is a good number of participants and my first surprise in this countdown - I didn't think we would get that many! Well done everyone who has contributed. I really have no idea how this one will turn out.
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I mentioned this in my message to KevSchmev, but these countdowns have converted me from an occasional lurker to newly-minted active member. Love the details, history, and personal stories that have come out of some these.
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Thanks for doing this KevShemv, can't believe how many countdowns you've been doing simultaneously. Hope it's fun for you as it is fun to read the rankings.
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I mentioned this in my message to KevSchmev, but these countdowns have converted me from an occasional lurker to newly-minted active member. Love the details, history, and personal stories that have come out of some these.
Nice one! Welcome aboard. Are you participating in this one? (or still lurking...)
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Thanks for doing this KevShemv, can't believe how many countdowns you've been doing simultaneously. Hope it's fun for you as it is fun to read the rankings.
It is fun, actually. And with the last year for me being pretty rough and stressful in general, these countdowns have been a nice "distraction" in my down time. And people seem to enjoy them, so it's win-win. :hat :hat
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And so I do not forget, the 22 participants in this one were:
Puppies_On_Acid
Buddyhunter1
Mladen
romdrums
DTowwbwMP
Duetsch Dream Dates
Elite
faizoff
Ben_Jamin
The Letter M
PixelDream
toro
The Great Zo
Revenge319
The Realm
ReaperKK
nobloodyname
devieira73
BRGM
DTA
SomeoneLikeHim
KevShmev
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And so I do not forget, the 22 participants in this one were:
Duetsch Dream Dates
WHO?
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Possibly the greatest username I've ever seen here, that's who.
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And so I do not forget, the 22 participants in this one were:
Duetsch Dream Dates
WHO?
John Denver
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And so I do not forget, the 22 participants in this one were:
Duetsch Dream Dates
WHO?
John Denver
So when is the John Denver song countdown happening? Surely Kev has that one dialed up next.
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And so I do not forget, the 22 participants in this one were:
Duetsch Dream Dates
WHO?
John Denver
So when is the John Denver song countdown happening? Surely Kev has that one dialed up next.
After seeing the Billy Joel one pop up, I suppose anything can happen. :corn
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And so I do not forget, the 22 participants in this one were:
Duetsch Dream Dates
WHO?
John Denver
So when is the John Denver song countdown happening? Surely Kev has that one dialed up next.
After seeing the Billy Joel one pop up, I suppose anything can happen. :corn
Very true.
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Haken countdown
BUT FIRST THIS ONE
I’m actually excited, because I have no idea what to expect
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I'm really excited for this one as well! I have enjoyed reading along with the other ones but this is the first one I have submitted for.
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As usual I haven't submitted anything, but I'll be reading the updates as they come.
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(https://y.yarn.co/29ab9372-b8bb-4157-9207-a73a37f1ca77_text.gif)
And away we go!!
49 (t) Normal
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 20 (toro, DTA)
0 Top 10 Finishes
This one didn't rank for me, and I honestly didn't even consider it, but it's still a very good song. I always thought it was interesting that the production of this song is a bit dirty, relative to the other Nil Recurring tracks and all the songs from Fear, which I am sure was intentional.
49 (t) Where We Would Be
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (Mladen)
1 Top 10 Finish
Love this song and ranked it 46th. Lightbulb Sun is one of two favorite PT albums, so you pretty much can't go wrong with anything from it. Love how lush the vocal harmonies were in this era, and the ones in this song are just sublime.
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I really liked Normal and thought it would place higher on my personal list (it made 36) but it just didn't hang when comparing it to some of my more liked tracks. I can't really say why, it's a perfectly fine song and I listen to it often but it doesn't really leave an impact on me.
Where we would be is a good tune but didn't make the top 50. I don't think I ever really go out of my way to listen to this song.
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I used to like Normal more than its sister song Sentimental because of the heavy parts and generally more driving instrumental, but nowadays that metal part feels a bit out of place to me. Still a good track though. Where We Would Be also didn’t rank for me, maybe undeservedly so. Lovely song and that guitar solo is beautifully wild and joyful.
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49 (t). Normal (NR). This one I think just missed my list. Cool story about it though. I got to see the first time they ever attempted this live, at the acoustic in-store performance that was released as We Lost The Skyline. Steven Wilson told an interesting story about soliciting practice advice from Robert Fripp regarding learning difficult guitar parts, and then he and John Wesley performed the second half of the song, starting with that guitar lick. I was able to get my Stars Die single signed by Steven, Richard, and Colin, which was super cool. That whole set was pretty awesome actually.
49 (t). Where We Would Be (41). I've always thought this was one of their most beautiful songs, especially in the vocals. I've always enjoyed it's placement between Hatesong and Russia On Ice as well.
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49 (t). Normal (NR). This one I think just missed my list. Cool story about it though. I got to see the first time they ever attempted this live, at the acoustic in-store performance that was released as We Lost The Skyline. Steven Wilson told an interesting story about soliciting practice advice from Robert Fripp regarding learning difficult guitar parts, and then he and John Wesley performed the second half of the song, starting with that guitar lick. I was able to get my Stars Die single signed by Steven, Richard, and Colin, which was super cool. That whole set was pretty awesome actually.
49 (t). Where We Would Be (41). I've always thought this was one of their most beautiful songs, especially in the vocals. I've always enjoyed it's placement between Hatesong and Russia On Ice as well.
Oh I remember that story! It was something along the lines of SW asking Robert how long it takes to get comfortable with a song live and Robert responded with (I think) 3 months and SW said they only had a few weeks.
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Neither ranked for me but neither are bad at all. Just not too familiar with them.
Just listening to Where We Would Be now and a couple of lines have leapt out at me: Strange how you never become/The person you see when you're young - I got those two lines handwritten on a piece of card in a limited edition of Steven Wilson's recent book. More a fan of his solo output, I didn't recognise them at the time.
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50. Normal
Normal literally just made my list, so I'd say that's right where it should be. :biggrin: It's a good song, but at the end of the day it still feels like the alternate version of a song that'll place much higher on my list.
Where We Would Be didn't make my list, but I still like it. It has a very nice nostalgic atmosphere and a good guitar solo, but I guess it just never emotionally resonated with me as strong as some other similarly-simple ballads.
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49 (t) Normal - Pretty good song but I much prefer its counterpart. Didn't rank it.
49 (t) Where We Would Be - Love this one though! It landed at 27 for me, just a beautiful song. "Strange how you never become the person you see when you're young".
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49 (t). Normal (NR). This one I think just missed my list. Cool story about it though. I got to see the first time they ever attempted this live, at the acoustic in-store performance that was released as We Lost The Skyline. Steven Wilson told an interesting story about soliciting practice advice from Robert Fripp regarding learning difficult guitar parts, and then he and John Wesley performed the second half of the song, starting with that guitar lick. I was able to get my Stars Die single signed by Steven, Richard, and Colin, which was super cool. That whole set was pretty awesome actually.
49 (t). Where We Would Be (41). I've always thought this was one of their most beautiful songs, especially in the vocals. I've always enjoyed it's placement between Hatesong and Russia On Ice as well.
Oh I remember that story! It was something along the lines of SW asking Robert how long it takes to get comfortable with a song live and Robert responded with (I think) 3 months and SW said they only had a few weeks.
Yes! That's the one! I remember joking with Gavin Harrison during the signing session afterward saying, "man, great show tonight, and you were amazing!" He laughed and said, "thanks, it was a tough gig but I made it through." :lol
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49 (t) Normal (my ranking: NR)
Normal and Sentimental are not among my favorite songs of the era, but Normal is the more interesting of the two. Not enough to make my top 50, though.
49 (t) Where We Would Be (my ranking: 36)
This one didn't click right away when I got Lightbulb Sun, but I grew to love the wistful mood, the fading optimism of what you hope for in your youth. The guitar solo is great, and although this track is a nice respite between two absolute monsters, it's much more than that too.
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Based on how much I love WWWB, I'm surprised it didn't make it past #17 for me. Absolutely beautiful track with a really unique, if not ugly, guitar solo. I'm surprised this was never brought back into a setlist past the LS tour.
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49 (t) Where We Would Be (my ranking: 36)
This one didn't click right away when I got Lightbulb Sun, but I grew to love the wistful mood, the fading optimism of what you hope for in your youth. The guitar solo is great, and although this track is a nice respite between two absolute monsters, it's much more than that too.
Oh yes, I can't wait until we get to those. :corn
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Neither of these stood a chance of making my list. I ranked 90 songs in total when preparing his countdown and both these songs weren’t among those 90 tunes.
49 (t) Normal - UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be - UNRANKED
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Normal would've been on my list (which I didn't submit as I don't really know the earlier albums well enough), probably somewhere around ~30ish. I rank it back to back with Sentimental these days, both songs are fairly good.
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49 (t) Where We Would Be
Highest Finish: 8 (Mladen)
1 Top 10 Finish
I knew I would be this song's biggest fan. Its placement on my list says enough. Absolutely gorgeous. :tup
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I mentioned this in my message to KevSchmev, but these countdowns have converted me from an occasional lurker to newly-minted active member. Love the details, history, and personal stories that have come out of some these.
Nice one! Welcome aboard. Are you participating in this one? (or still lurking...)
Yep, I got in at the deadline for this one.
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WHO?
I love Dream Theater as well as 70s folk rock/Americana, and I live in Denver, so I thought it would appropriate to combine John Denver's real name (Henry Duetschendorf Jr.) with the name of a somewhat well-known DT bootleg (Dutch dream dates).
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Where We Would Be is a nice tune, from probably my favorite PT album. The SW guitar solo really makes this one.
Haven't heard Normal.
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Spoilers for my list... I've only ranked songs from Stupid Dream through The Incident, not including the EPs. I've been meaning to get around to the rest of Porcupine Tree's discography, but as of this point in time, I just don't know those albums/EPs well enough or at all to include (although I feel bad that I forgot to rank Dark Matter, that totally would've appeared somewhere in at least the Top 30). But I am aware of PT's magnum opus, "Message From a Self-Destructing Turnip", and I will be very disappointed if it does not take the top spot.
Normal
My ranking: (Not ranked, haven't listened to)
Where We Would Be
My ranking: #54. This one didn't make my list, but this song has grown on me over time. I like the atmosphere of this song a lot, and the lyrics are pretty good. Not much else stands out, but it's always a pleasant listen.
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49 (t) Normal - UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be - UNRANKED
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I did not make a list, but I’m already surprised by the first couple of songs.
Porcupine Tree has such a dense catalog, that to see a couple of tracks that seem almost like afterthoughts show up is a bit surprising.
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Porcupine Tree has such a dense catalog, that to see a couple of tracks that seem almost like afterthoughts show up is a bit surprising.
Honestly, that was my first thought as well. But what do I know, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of my top 25 doesn’t show up at all. And on my list there are a couple of songs that never were on an album too.
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I love Neil Recurring EP, it's at the same level as FOABP to me. And the pairing Neil Recurring/Normal elevates Normal (#21) even more to me.
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49 (t) Normal
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 20 (toro, DTA)
0 Top 10 Finishes
49 (t) Where We Would Be
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (Mladen)
1 Top 10 Finish
NR. Where We Would Be
22. Normal
I don't recall where it sat outside of my Top 50, but WWWB is a pretty good song, but it just didn't make the cut for me. "Normal" is a favorite of mine off the FOABP era, but there were four other FOABP era songs that I ranked higher. Honestly, I enjoy most of PT on a fairly equal level, so putting my list together was almost like splitting hairs, so I'm not sure how much I'll have to say about my placements outside of maybe the Top 10 or 15. Otherwise, good songs to start us off!
-Marc.
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49 (t) Normal
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 20 (toro, DTA)
0 Top 10 Finishes
49 (t) Where We Would Be
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (Mladen)
1 Top 10 Finish
Normal - I ranked at 31. Yeah, its sister song will also feature but Normal is also a really great song.
Where We Would Be - This is unranked for me but only just (I am probably going to say this for lots of songs), it was really tough to get a top 50, many of my 30 to 70 are pretty interchangeable on any given day and this one missed out in the end. It is a beautiful track, fantastic vocals and melody and a nice driving acoustic guitar surrounded by some really subtle but lush instrumentation. I can't deny its placement here.
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Normal - I had this at #31. Such a good rocker with some depth. Probably should have been on the album proper, but oh well.
Where We Would Be - Just missed at #54. Great song. Something about it just feels so nostalgic to me. A little sad, a little melancholic, a little moody. Sounds like a PT song :D
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Maybe it's just me, but I am never quite sure if that solo in the studio version of Where We Would Be is a guitar or a keyboard. There are certain bends and accents that feel more like a keyboard than a guitar. I think it was done with a guitar live on the LS tour, so I guess it is a guitar in the studio as well, but it really sounds like it could be either.
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Maybe it's just me, but I am never quite sure if that solo in the studio version of Where We Would Be is a guitar or a keyboard. There are certain bends and accents that feel more like a keyboard than a guitar. I think it was done with a guitar live on the LS tour, so I guess it is a guitar in the studio as well, but it really sounds like it could be either.
Probably running through some sort of pedal.
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Maybe it's just me, but I am never quite sure if that solo in the studio version of Where We Would Be is a guitar or a keyboard. There are certain bends and accents that feel more like a keyboard than a guitar. I think it was done with a guitar live on the LS tour, so I guess it is a guitar in the studio as well, but it really sounds like it could be either.
Found this on the Neural Rust (https://neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/lightbulb-sun/) website.
SW: “… part of the beauty of the guitar solo on ‘Where We Would Be’ comes from the fact that it was played relatively straight but then fed through so many distortion and lo-fi processes that it began to fizz and disintegrate.”
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Ah, okay!! Thanks for the info, that is good to know. :) :)
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And away we go!!
49 (t) Normal
49 (t) Where We Would Be
I had Normal at 46. love that track
Where We Would Be didn't make the top 50 and unfortunately I lost my excel where I ranked all the songs so don't know where I ranked this one. I love this track so don't think it's that far off from the 50
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Maybe it's just me, but I am never quite sure if that solo in the studio version of Where We Would Be is a guitar or a keyboard. There are certain bends and accents that feel more like a keyboard than a guitar. I think it was done with a guitar live on the LS tour, so I guess it is a guitar in the studio as well, but it really sounds like it could be either.
Found this on the Neural Rust (https://neuralrustsite.wordpress.com/lightbulb-sun/) website.
SW: “… part of the beauty of the guitar solo on ‘Where We Would Be’ comes from the fact that it was played relatively straight but then fed through so many distortion and lo-fi processes that it began to fizz and disintegrate.”
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I always appreciated how original SW's solos sounded, even if it was more of a production thing than a playing thing.
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#49(t)Normal - My Ranking (Did Not Rank)
I haven't really listened to this song enough to really have an opinion about it. It's one reason why it didn't rank.
#49(t) Where We Would Be - My Ranking: #49
The vibe I get from Lightbulb Sun is really melancholic, and somber. This song embodies that vibe entirely. It ranks low for me though because, while I do enjoy the tone of the guitar solo, I think it could be a bit better.
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Three songs today!
48 The Blind House
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (DTowwbwMP)
1 Top 10 Finish
I was a little surprised to see this one finish in the top 50, as The Incident doesn't get nearly the love that most of their other albums, and it seems like the song doesn't get talked about much, but it got good enough support. I like it quite a bit, but I didn't rank it.
47 Halo
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (DTowwbwMP)
1 Top 10 Finish
I love this one like crazy and ranked it 23rd. It being left off 13 lists was a stunner, but they have so many good songs that not everything can make it. Still, I expected this one to do a little better.
46 Lips of Ashes
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (PixelDream)
3 Top 10 Finishes
This is one I hated to leave off my top 50, but just couldn't find a way to squeeze it in. I still love it, though. It's a breathtaking piece of music.
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Wow!
Someone ranked The Blind House higher than I did (#14). One of only two tracks from The Incident that made my list (not counting disc 2.. spoiler, I guess?). Love it a lot, obviously.
Halo was #61 on mine. Good song, but they have so many good songs.
Lips of Ashes was #86 on mine and it being featured here makes me slightly worried for some of the songs I have ranked in the upper ranges.
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Lips is stunning and captures that perfect eerie, beautiful vibe I associate with IA. Sad to see it so low
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I didn't rank The Blind House or Halo but Blind House would have been closer to making it. Halo is an alright song but to me there is nothing special about it.
Lips of Ashes was #46 for me, so spot on with the list! Really cool atmosphere in this song and the guitar solo is great.
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I didn't rank Lips of ashes, even though I really, really like it. I probably would have had it at #51, #52 or something.
Halo, on the other hand, would have probably been in my top 20, but looking back at my list, I somehow forgot about it. How the hell did that happen? :lol
The Blind house wasn't even considered.
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Oops, forgot to submit my list, following though.
Off the revealed songs, Halo is the only one on my (unfinished) list. Probably top 20.
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48. The Blind House (39). I dig the opening riff a lot, and Gavin makes the 5/4 grooves on that intro and the verses so tasty. I really like the chord progression as well. Plus, I remember seeing the story that the lyrics are inspired by in the papers a lot when I lived in Colorado.
47. Halo (NR). I was kind of indifferent to this song until seeing it live. It's fun to watch Gavin and Colin lock into the groove on this.
46. Lips of Ashes (28). I really love the instrumentation on this song. I know he's using a hammered dulcimer and I think it's also a Nashville-tuned guitar that doubles that part, which is really cool. Plus, the vocal arrangement is really, really cool as well. On the whole, In Absentia is a masterclass in arrangement, orchestration, and mixing.
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Literally ranked none of those three. :lol
The Blind House is one of the more generic and uninteresting songs on The Incident, Halo is probably my least favorite Deadwing song (though it's a bit better live), and Lips Of Ashes has a cool atmosphere but not much else going for it imo.
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Don’t know The Blind House
Halo is one of the songs that really irritated me on Deadwing. Just a messy, muddy rock song with that terrible telephone vocal effect. Edit: I may be confusing this a bit with Shallow, which is similarly sludgy. I don’t care for either though!
Lips of Ashes in contrast is an extraordinary production piece. Not one I listen to often as it’s a bit too creepy lyrically.
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Lips of Ashes would've made my list, the other two wouldn't. I'm always tempted to skip Halo when listening to Deadwing, in fact now that I think about it, all the other songs from Deadwing would've made my Top 50.
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I didn't rank any of these three songs, though they're all good tracks that would probably fall somewhere in my next 20 or so.
48 The Blind House
The Incident is the only proper album that I didn't rank a single song from. This is one of just a couple that were even in the running.
47 Halo
I'm honestly shocked this one finished so low. I actually do like it quite a bit. Feel like this song could just about fit on C/C. A bit repetitive (both musically and lyrically) but the main bass riff is great.
46 Lips of Ashes
Perfect illustration of the wide variation in PT fan opinions: this song had 3 Top 10 finishes, and yet only appeared on 9 of the 22 ballots. I like the atmosphere on this song and it's one of the coolest-sounding songs on IA, but it's one that usually doesn't stick with me long after hearing it.
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Three songs today!
48 The Blind House
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (DTowwbwMP)
1 Top 10 Finish
47 Halo
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (DTowwbwMP)
1 Top 10 Finish
46 Lips of Ashes
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (PixelDream)
3 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
43. Halo
25. Lips Of Ashes
22. Normal
Some good picks here. I suspect a majority of these Top 50 will be from the band's last 5 or 6 albums, probably from Stupid Dream onwards, so these placements are not that big of a surprise to me. I wonder how many tracks from The Incident song-cycle made it?
-Marc.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
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The Blind House
My ranking: #28. The first proper song on The Incident makes for a really good opener! I love the dark and heavy mood of the instrumental parts, though I also love the comparatively lighter verses.
Halo
My ranking: #42. I used to have this song in my Top 30 before I redid my rankings for this countdown. I don't think anything in particular caused it to drop down in my rankings, I still enjoy this song the whole way through. I suppose the vocals can be a little off at times, but I wouldn't call them bad at all. The music here is quite good, though!
Lips of Ashes
My ranking: #8. I'm surprised I wasn't the one who ranked this the highest! I'm glad to see this one appear, as I feel it's an underrated song on In Absentia. This song contains one of Steven Wilson's best vocal performances, sung over some very beautiful and relaxing music. The only song that'd be weirder to sing out loud than this would be "Blood" by The Dear Hunter... although that's probably debatable. That said, the lyrics don't really bother me; the music and vocals are just too good for me to care.
Overall rankings (I'll be adding stuff outside my Top 50 if they show up just to show where I've placed it in my full rankings list):
54. Where We Would Be
42. Halo
28. The Blind House
8. Lips of Ashes
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didn't submit for this but looking forward to some incredibly bad placements coming up eventually :corn
if i did submit my #1 would have been heartattack in a layby, for what little it's worth
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48 The Blind House
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (DTowwbwMP)
1 Top 10 Finish
47 Halo
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (DTowwbwMP)
1 Top 10 Finish
46 Lips of Ashes
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (PixelDream)
3 Top 10 Finishes
The Blind House - unranked. I really struggled to get into The Incident upon release and still not a big fan overall but I have come to appreciate it more. A great mix of heavy/dark and light in this song. The melodies just don't fully connect with me though, which is my general feel on The Incident as a whole.
Halo - my rank 29. Also a little surprised this one isn't higher. Love the bass and drums, that groove is really infectious. Just a really great song.
Lips of Ashes - my rank 39. Just beautiful vocals and instrumentation. Sure I only ranked this at 39 but this song is pretty special.
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if i did submit my #1 would have been heartattack in a layby, for what little it's worth
Too high
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didn't submit for this but looking forward to some incredibly bad placements coming up eventually :corn
if i did submit my #1 would have been heartattack in a layby, for what little it's worth
Me as well. It will be interesting to see where it does end up, and then to contemplate where it might have been with two extra #1 votes.
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If you didn't vote you don't get to complain! ;D
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If you didn't vote you don't get to complain! ;D
It’s a free country. ;D
It’s all light hearted anyway.
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If you didn't vote you don't get to complain! ;D
Noted. As a voter, I will be preparing a three-page formal complaint if Message From a Self-Destructing Turnip does not take the #1 spot.
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If you didn't vote you don't get to complain! ;D
Noted. As a voter, I will be preparing a three-page formal complaint if Message From a Self-Destructing Turnip does not take the #1 spot.
:rollin
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#48 The Blind House - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
Porcupine Tree is one of those bands that has so many great songs that it's quite hard to pick from them all. This one just got left off the list and I wouldn't know where to place it. It has an interesting atmosphere and vibe, in that it's sort of unsettling, which is perfect for the meaning of the song. The Incident is an album that is great with creating a certain type of unsettling vibe that fits the concept. I can appreciate it for what it is, but I have to be in a certain mindset in order to listen to the album in full.
#47 Halo - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
Now I consider Deadwing to be my favorite album by Porcupine Tree, as that album was their most recent when I got into them. Halo, is one that I just can't get into, even though I know it's a good song. It's the verses mainly, but I do enjoy that chorus. The bass and the drumming are excellent and I wouldn't mind an instrumental version of this song at all. Again though, just because it's not ranked doesn't mean I think it's a bad song, or that I hate it.
#46 Lips of Ashes - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
I haven't heard this song much at all, and can't quite remember what it sounds like. I couldn't remember it enough for it to be included into my top 50. After re-listening for this write-up, It has a nice atmosphere, and it's a great chill, somber, laid-back song. It's weird because I feel I am leaving off a lot of good songs, but I just enjoy the ones I do have in my Top 50 more. Of course, as time goes on, it will change entirely. I can see this song rising higher in my rankings.
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If you didn't vote you don't get to complain! ;D
Noted. As a voter, I will be preparing a three-page formal complaint if Message From a Self-Destructing Turnip does not take the #1 spot.
Need to make it a whole dissertation and then get it peer reviewed and published in journals.
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didn't submit for this but looking forward to some incredibly bad placements coming up eventually :corn
if i did submit my #1 would have been heartattack in a layby, for what little it's worth
Me as well. It will be interesting to see where it does end up, and then to contemplate where it might have been with two extra #1 votes.
i'm way too goddamn busy to rank 50 songs i haven't listened to in years right now unfortunately :lol
if i had to pick a top 5 it'd look something like this?
1. Heartattack in a Layby
2. Trains
3. The Start of Something Beautiful
4. Collapse the Light Into Earth
5. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
honorable mention to Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled ig but it's pretty obvious what my two favorite PT albums are huh :lol
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I had The Blind House at 14 on my list, I always liked it as an opener and I think it has great sound design, I especially like the quieter parts of the song.
Halo was down there for me at 91, it's not a bad song but not a good one either. It's pretty forgettable and I find Stevens voice pretty grating on it.
Finally Lips of Ashes was number 73 for me. I initially really liked this song but it didn't have a lot of staying power.
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Ok. I did not submit a list in time, but I did just run my top 69 (niiiice) songs through the ranker and I have a list.
I wish I would’ve had more time before the deadline, but at least now I have something to comment on.
For the record, only Halo and Lips of Ashes were even considered in my rankings, and neither one made my top 50. But we’ll see how the rest goes.
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Not pointed at anyone in particular but for everyone who is now retroactively sad that they didn’t submit a list.. you do know the idea for a PT Top has been here for months, right?
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Not pointed at anyone in particular but for everyone who is now retroactively sad that they didn’t submit a list.. you do know the idea for a PT Top has been here for months, right?
Have to agree! I was really surprised we got 21 participants and now it sounds like we maybe could have got to 30!
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Didn't rank The Blind House or Halo but had LIps of Ashes at 40.
Halo and Blind House are great tracks but a little overplayed for me which is probably why it didn't come in the top 50.
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The next two!
45 Stars Die
Appeared on 11 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (Duetsch Dream Dates)
1 Top 10 Finish
I ranked this 38th, so I was not far off the cumulative finish. Great song, incredible atmosphere. I am a big fan of that era (Sky/Signify), and this is one of the better individual songs from it.
44 Feel So Low
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 10 (SomeoneLikeHim)
1 Top 10 Finish
I have long had mad love for this song. It used to always be top 10 for me, but finished 12th for me in the ranker, so still pretty close. I thought this one would fare a little better overall, but it is what it is. "Okay, okay, you've won" is still, to me, one of the best PT moments ever, and you always have to love his sarcastic "thanks" after the final chorus. Amazing song.
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The next two!
45 Stars Die
Appeared on 11 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (Duetsch Dream Dates)
1 Top 10 Finish
44 Feel So Low
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 10 (SomeoneLikeHim)
1 Top 10 Finish
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
37. Feel So Low
25. Lips Of Ashes
22. Normal
Two songs I adore, so I'm happy to see them here! "Stars Die" is one of my favorite early PT short songs, it just has a great feel and atmosphere to it and is probably one of my favorite pre-Stupid Dream songs. And "Feel So Low" is the perfect closer for Lightbulb Sun, after some particularly dark album closers like "Dark Matter" and "Stop Swimming", this one feels a bit more upbeat musically, though lyrically it's quite depressing.
-Marc.
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I had Stars Die at number 11. It's one of my favorite PT songs. The bass playing coupled with the ghost notes on the snare set an incredible mood. It's also a really digestible song, Stars Die was one of the first PT tracks I checked out and it was easy to listen to and appreciate.
Feel So Low is a big grower for me but I still have it ranked at 143. I hated this song when I first heard it. I almost had a critical eye injury from rolling them after hearing SW say "Thanks" near the end. Over time my hatred has eased up and it's not terrible, I still don't go out of my way to listen to it but I don't automatically skip it either.
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Stars Die didn't make the 50 but Feel so Low was my #20. Such a great way to end one of my favorite album.
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Feel so low is one of the simplest, most direct sad songs I've ever heard. It's truly innocent and devoid of any complexity that it becomes endearing. It was my #19, I think.
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45. Stars Die (62). Missed my Top 50 but only because of the strength of the PT catalog. Stars Die was the first song I heard from PT back in the summer of 1995. I lived in Grand Rapids, MI back then, and there was a local record store called Vinyl Solution that always had a really strong Progressive Rock section (I discovered so many bands this way!). It was also the dawn of the internet, so I remember being on the Freaks mailing list and seeing the name PT mentioned. Anyway, grabbed it and loved it, and when I could afford the import version of The Sky Moves Sideways, I grabbed that as well. Loved the song, and I was super stoked to hear them perform this at the Park Ave in-store appearance in 2007, along with The Sky Moves Sideways and Waiting, which were some of my early PT favorites.
44. Feel So Low (84). Way down on my list, but not because it's a bad song. Again, as a long time fan of PT, I really, to paraphrase the movie Office Space, "celebrate their entire catalog."
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Stars Die was 19 for me. Another moody, atmospheric piece that really defined this era of PT. The drum part is really cool and not something I could ever see Gavin doing so I’m glad Chris was the drummer.
Feel So Low was unranked. I like it but it never stood out too much for me. Kind of a weak closing track, though I like how it connects to Russia On Ice.
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Cool!
Star Die was #42 on my list. Lovely outtake (?? It’s not on my main disc from TSMS) from the TSMS sessions and the song that gave the name to the brilliant collection of early PT tunes. Like this one a lot! Apparently also SW’s mother’s favourite PT tune if I recall correctly from reading this somewhere a long time ago.
Feel so Low went unranked on my list and thus wasn’t even considered.
Here’s what we have so far:
UR - Normal
UR - Where we Would Be
UR - Feel so Low
#84 - My Ashes
#61 - Halo
#42 - Stars Die
#14 - The Blind House
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Stars Die was #44 on my list. Feel so low did not make the cut.
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Two good ones today!
I really like Stars Die, it's the kind of song that can just absorb you. Love to close my eyes to this one. #34 for me.
I really had no idea how Feel So Low would do in this, I figured I would be the highest ranker at #10 but I'm glad to see some others not far behind! Absolutely love it, beautiful in its simplicity and very emotional. I can see why some would find it eye-roll inducing but I think it feels genuine. I also think it's cool that it is so distinctly a sad song even though the vast majoity of the song is made of major chords. Probably my favorite counterexample to major = happy and minor = sad.
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Two more that are fine songs but I didn't rank at all.
Y'all are starting to drop the ball here. :lol
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Feel So Slow is a nice song, pretty is a good descriptor. I think the lyrics just come across as a little too teenage angsty in places, though I can relate to that time period when I actually did use email to communicate with friends because nobody had cell phones yet.
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Halo: ranked that one at 39, more based on my years of enjoyment, seeing it as an encore etcetera. Especially live the track's chorus just lights up the room, also at the show I was at last year.
Lips of Ashes: yeah I had that at #4. I always get transported to a ‘place’ and that has to do with that incredible sounding hammered dulcimer and reverb. Love the vocals and the guitar solo is heavenly. I know the lyrics are about disturbing stuff, but I'm just perceiving them as something beautiful and soothing.
The Blind House: good song, probably didn’t make my top 50 by a hair. The song seems to lack a cool bridge or something like a guitar solo, which probably has to do with the song cycle idea of The Incident.
Stars Die: an absolute gem. Had it ranked at 38.
Feel So Low: Didn't rank for me. One of the few PT/SW songs that hasn’t connected with me. I don’t know why. I appreciate the sparseness of it. Lightbulb Sun ends with Russia On Ice, with Feel So Low acting as the ending credits - that's how I perceive it. I let it play, but I’m not really paying attention anymore. Who knows, this song might become one of my favorites years from now; it happens.
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45 Stars Die (my ranking: 41)
I'm close to the consensus on this one. One of the more compact and concise of the early PT songs -- an early attempt to write something shorter and poppier, but still keeps that dreamy atmosphere I enjoy from the early material.
44 Feel So Low (my ranking: NR)
I've got mixed feelings on some of the quiet / contemplative / simple PT tracks like this one, and Feel So Low isn't a favorite, but there are things I like about it. Are the lyrics horribly dated and overly syrupy, or are they a poignant snapshot in time at someone's raw feelings of rejection? You decide!
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Didn’t rank Stars Die, and never quite understood the praise it gets. It’s a decent song, and I enjoy it, but it’s middle of the road even in their early stuff.
I really love Feel So Low. I guess I never thought of the lyrics as being eye-rolling, but that’s probably because I remember actually being in that moment and feeling those exact feelings. The ending “thanks” is absolutely brilliant. As much as I love it, it was still just 44 on my list. Too much good stuff.
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#84 - My Ashes
Lips of Ashes maybe? :lol I was all confused, scrolling back to see what I've missed.
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Looks like I was the highest rater for Stars Die
I love the soft and gentleness of the instruments throughout the song (especially Colin's bass) juxtaposed against the violence of the lyrics, and then how the song hits harder after Nixon's speech. Maybe a bit of a different take on what Gabriel did on "Here Comes the Flood".
I read somewhere it's Steven's mom's favorite song of his.
Feel so Low, just a cool melancholy song, love the violin at the end to add to the emotions.
Catching up here:
49. Normal : NR but close #52
49. Where Would We Be:
48: The Blind House : NR
47: Halo : NR
46: Lips of Ashes : NR
45 : Stars Die : 9
44 : Feel So Low : 32
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#84 - My Ashes
Lips of Ashes maybe? :lol I was all confused, scrolling back to see what I've missed.
No, that’s actually correct :lol
I meant to input Lips of Ashes indeed, which I had at #86 ..
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Stars Die
My ranking: Unranked.
Feel So Low
My ranking: Unranked...
...because I somehow forgot to rank it! It's a shame, too, because I really like Feel So Low. It used to be in the top tier of PT songs for me, but it's gone down a couple tiers over time. But it's not as though there's anything I dislike about it, I just forgot to rank it. I like the mood that the acoustic guitar and violin portray. It's not just a feeling of sadness, it's a feeling of defeat, which makes the lyrics all the stronger. It's not the most emotional or melancholic song PT for me, but it is still really well-done in that regard.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
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45 Stars Die
Appeared on 11 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (Duetsch Dream Dates)
1 Top 10 Finish
44 Feel So Low
Appeared on 9 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 10 (SomeoneLikeHim)
1 Top 10 Finish
Two great songs today.
Stars Die - I ranked at 24. Just a really beautiful feel to this song.
Feel So Low - 14 for me. One of those heartbreaking melancholy songs that PT just does so well. This has always been a favourite of mine and could easily have been top 10 but there is just so many good songs.
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#45 Stars Die - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
The second Porcupine Tree album I bought was Stars Die: The Delirium Years that I found at Hastings. This song is on it and I quite enjoyed it when I bought it. Unfortunately for this top 50, it just missed being included. I enjoy this album because it includes all the awesome atmospheric, psychedelic, and laid-back sounds of their earlier years.
#44 Feel So Low - My Ranking: #42
A song that I feel I ranked a bit too low now. This was one of the first songs I heard from Lightbulb Sun, and where I was at the time, it really hit me. With that nice guitar tone, to the keyboards, and the laid-backness of it all, it makes me feel contempt. Steven's vocal tone highly compliments the message of the lyrics. I consider this one of Porcupine Trees most emotional songs.
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My apologies everyone (not that anyone really cares) but was just looking at my list and noticed that I did actually rank The Blind House at 45. I said in my original write up it was unranked as that was my memory - that it just missed out but no, I actually got in in there.
Anyway continue on. Really enjoying this countdown so far.
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Hint for tomorrow:
We see the first song in the top 50 that was ranked at number 1 on someone's list.
And I would ask that if you think it is yours, kindly do not say what song it is, that way it is more of a surprise for everyone else tomorrow. :) :)
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Being the contrarian that I am when it comes to these lists and musical choices opinions all around I'm going to guess and say it's mine :lol
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Being the contrarian that I am when it comes to these lists and musical choices opinions all around I'm going to guess and say it's mine :lol
Honestly, it could be mine too.
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Three today!
43 Fadeaway
Appeared on 7 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (ReaperKK)
1 Top 10 Finish
I didn't rank this one, but it's definitely a damn fine song, and one of my favorites from the early years. I was lucky enough to see them actually play this on the Deadwing tour, although John Wesley singing it took a bit of the joy out of it. Even though I didn't rank it, it's cool to see it make the top 50.
42 Dignity
Appeared on 11 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 10 (BRGM)
1 Top 10 Finish
The first of the new songs!! I ranked this 27th, which felt about right, but we will see in a year or two how much I elevate or demote it. Great song, and a spectacular finish. I think this will hold up over time as one of the top ones from Closure/Continuation.
41 Drown with Me
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 10 (ReaperKK)
1 Top 10 Finish
I think I underrated this one when doing the ranker, as it finished 31st for me, but I used to say this was borderline top 10, and I think just as much of it now as I did then. Great, great song. I think it not being on In Absentia was the right call, as it wouldn't have really fit on the album, but it definitely was one of the better songs from those sessions.
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Before doing my list I was pretty clueless when it came to the pre-Signify material. I tried to give all of it a fair chance before doing the ranking but admittedly few songs from that era made my final list. One that stood out to me immediately though was Fadeaway, what a gorgeous song! Absolutely beautiful. I ranked it at #25 but it could definitely move higher as familiarity grows.
Dignity was my #38. It actually grew on me quite a bit seeing it live even though Steven messed up the first verse and had to restart the song. :lol
Drown with Me is just always a joy to listen to. Just a great poppy rock song, #15 for me.
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43 Fadeaway
Appeared on 7 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (ReaperKK)
1 Top 10 Finish
42 Dignity
Appeared on 11 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 10 (BRGM)
1 Top 10 Finish
41 Drown with Me
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 10 (ReaperKK)
1 Top 10 Finish
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
50. Drown With Me
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
37. Feel So Low
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
22. Normal
Fadeaway didn't make my top 50 but it is definitely a standout among early PT material. Drown With Me barely made it and I agree, it was one of the better songs from the IA era. And Dignity is SO good, and looking back at my list I wish I had rated it a bit higher.
-Marc.
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:lol I knew it was gonna be me. Fadeaway was the second or third song I remember hearing when checking out PT and I loved it. I later realized the version I was listening to was the one that had Gavin on drums, it wasn't until years later I heard the original. The original is still great with a different vibe.
Dignity is probably my favorite song from C/C.
Drown With Me is a fantastic song that should been on In Absentia, it's better than most songs on IA.
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49. Normal : NR but close 52
49. Where Would We Be: 30
48: The Blind House : NR
47: Halo : NR
46: Lips of Ashes : NR
45 : Stars Die : 9
44 : Feel So Low : 32
43 : Fadeaway : 14 - Love the sequencing of the last three songs on Up the Downstair
42 : Dignity : NR
41 : Drown with Me : NR
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I like Fadeaway and Dignity, but Drown with me is something else. :tup
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None of those ranked for me :)
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49. Normal : 50
49. Where Would We Be: NR
48: The Blind House : NR
47: Halo : NR
46: Lips of Ashes : NR
45 : Stars Die : NR
44 : Feel So Low : NR
43 : Fadeaway : NR
42 : Dignity : 34
41 : Drown with Me : 48
I'm not big on pre-Signify stuff, but Fadeaway is definitely a nice song. It might have ranked for me if I listened to that album more, but whatever.
Dignity is still in the bottom half of my list, but it's a very nice listen. Great atmosphere, satisfying climax.
Drown With Me just barely made my list and while I like it I honestly think it's pretty overrated (sorry Sacul). Steven Wilson said recently that in hindsight he should have replaced Prodigal with it on In Absentia, but I actually have Prodigal ranked slightly higher. Wouldn't be surprised if that one doesn't show up in the overall rankings - not too many people besides me seem to enjoy it much, which is a shame.
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Fadeaway just cracked my top 50 at #49.
I ranked 3 songs from C/C. They all made the lower half of my top 50 and Dignity wasn’t one of them. I think this is mostly because the album didn’t immediately grab me as a whole and so I haven’t spent a lot of time with it. All this could change as I get to know the album better. But for the purposes of my ranking, I just pulled out the three standouts that I absolutely loved.
Drown With Me just missed my top 50 at #53. I really adore the song, but its repetitive nature makes it slip a few notches on repeated listens.
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Does anyone else have a song from C/C in their top 10? :corn
Edit: I guess I could have just read Kev's post for the answer to that. :lol
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Someone else with old PT songs rated highly!!! :happydance:
Although I didn’thave Fadeaway in my top #50, I have a few other old songs up pretty high, but I want to save the write-ups for when (if?) they show up. Their old material is pretty dear to me.
Dignity as a whole is pretty bad, but has some alright moments, Drown With Me I find better than quite a few of the original album tracks on In Absentia, so I’m happy to see it here (though I expect the majority of the album to show up at some point).
My ranking - pretty bad score so far :lol
UR - Normal
UR - Where we Would Be
UR - Feel so Low
#90 - Dignity
#86 - Lips of Ashes
#65 - Fadeaway
#61 - Halo
#50 - Drown With Me
#42 - Stars Die
#14 - The Blind House
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43. Fadeaway (13). One of my favorite album closers of all time, and my highest ranked song from the early, early days. Such a beautiful song.
42. Dignity (30). Another beautiful song, and so dynamic.
41. Drown With Me (79). This never quite comes off live. When I saw it live on the 2007 tour, it came off as kinda empty and boring. Then again, replicating all of the vocals live would have been a near impossible task without backing tracks. Those vocals on the studio recording are impressive though. Steven really learned good lessons from listening to The Beach Boys in this instance!
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
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43 Fadeaway
Appeared on 7 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (ReaperKK)
1 Top 10 Finish
42 Dignity
Appeared on 11 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 10 (BRGM)
1 Top 10 Finish
41 Drown with Me
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 10 (ReaperKK)
1 Top 10 Finish
I had been travelling pretty well with ranked songs up until today.
Fadeaway - unranked. I just don't really listen to this album but it is a great song.
Dignity - unranked. Dignity was the first song from the new album that really caught my ears, another beautiful PT song but couldn't fit it in.
Drown With Me - unranked.
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Fadeaway - #25
I love this song and I must be in the minority here that really enjoys the John Wesley version. I really like his contrasting vocal style with that of Steven, his guitar playing is enjoyable too.
Dignity - Not ranked
Truth be told I'm not sure about where I rank most of the C/C songs other than a couple. The rest are good/great but not sure where I sit with them amongst others.
Drown With Me - Not ranked
I'm sure this would have been in my top 60 somewhere. Really chill song.
EDIT: Had Fadeaway at 25 not 26.
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Fadeaway - #26
I love this song and I must be in the minority here that really enjoys the John Wesley version. I really like his contrasting vocal style with that of Steven, his guitar playing is enjoyable too.
I like the original quite a bit but the XM version with John Wesley on vocals is really something. I’ve always liked his sporadic lead vocal moments live.
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43 Fadeaway (my ranking: 15)
I've got this one pretty high on my list. It's one of the first two Porcupine Tree songs I ever heard. They never really did another song like this one. Love the chill-out atmosphere. Didn't love the versions with either Gavin or Wes. But the original version is a PT song I couldn't go without.
Sometimes, complicated music is good. But this song shows that restraint can be just as effective. What a way to end an album.
42 Dignity (my ranking: NR)
Not a bad song, but I think the structural arrangement is a little disjointed. A song where I like some parts of it more than other parts of it. I do have some C/C songs ranked but this one couldn't crack it.
41 Drown with Me (my ranking: 32)
One of my favorite IA-era songs, a nice pop tune with two fantastic (and distinct) chord progressions. Maybe a little repetitive, I guess.
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Dignity is fantastic! A real standout track on the latest album and it was great seeing it live this fall. Fun thing, Steven forgot the lyrics during the first verse and screwed up and came in one bar to late so they restarted from where the entire band kicks in. :coolio
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It's Friday, which means we get three today! :metal :metal
40 Herd Culling
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (DTA)
1 Top 10 Finish
Herd Culling has been a slow grower for me, but I want to mention the Barbieri moment that I feel sums up his greatness: that little rolling synth he does in the second verse around the 2:32 mark. Little stuff like that he adds is so damn great. I didn't rank this one, but I am still becoming more and more of a fan of this one each day.
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (Elite)
1 Top 10 Finish
I don't consider metal to be an identifying characteristic of this era of theirs, but more of a color they occasionally drew with, thanks to Wilson working with Opeth around the same time, but this is one of their few songs that does border on being called metal. Unranked for me, but I dig it.
38 Strip the Soul
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (romdrums)
2 Top 10 Finishes
Good song, but never one I seek out on its own. I only hear it when I do full listens of In Absentia. Still a good song, just not a favorite. Unranked.
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All three tracks are unranked for me but enjoy them all. from those Strip The Soul would be the highest ranked. I really enjoy the extended version where they have .3 embedded in the middle.
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All three made my top 50 with The Creator has a Mastertape being the highest at 16. However, my ranking is based on the solo version recorded at the Albert Hall. It's far superior to what's on the album. A couple of my other rankings were based on live solo performances, too.
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I only had Strip The Soul ranked and it was at 42. I don't think I've had a lot of time with Herd Culling and haven't really been compelled to relisten. The Creator Has A Mastertape was never good IMO, didn't like it from start and still don't like it.
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Herd Culling was my highest ranked song from C/C coming in at #32. Cool groove, love the middle section, great vocal performance by Steven.
Didn't rank Creator or Strip. I often think of them together as the heavy songs at the end of IA and they where probably both pretty close to making it. I prefer Strip the Soul of the two.
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Herd Culling almost made the cut for me. The other two I had in my list.
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Have Herd Culling at #31, one of the two new songs that grabbed me (the other is my #33).
Never cared for the other two, but I often wonder what the "he left it in a cab" is a reference to.
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Have Herd Culling at #31, one of the two new songs that grabbed me (the other is my #33).
Never cared for the other two, but I often wonder what the "he left it in a cab" is a reference to.
I heard somewhere that Jimi Hendrix once left a mastertape in a cab and lost it. Don't know how true it is but I could definitely see Steven referencing it.
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It's Friday, which means we get three today! :metal :metal
40 Herd Culling
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (DTA)
1 Top 10 Finish
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (Elite)
1 Top 10 Finish
38 Strip the Soul
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (romdrums)
2 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
37. Feel So Low
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
22. Normal
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
Oh nice, three more than made my top 50. Good picks from IA, and as I suspected earlier, I'm sure we will see a lot of IA-era songs on this countdown. Nice to see another C/C track here as well. I wonder if recency bias will affect how many C/C tracks make it into the top 50 here?
-Marc.
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I had The Creator at #17 and Strip at #47. Herd wasn't even considered.
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Never cared for the other two, but I often wonder what the "he left it in a cab" is a reference to.
Given the serial killer theme that weaves through much of In Absentia, I always took that to mean the killer accidentally left evidence behind somewhere.
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Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
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#34: Dignity
---
#29: Herd Culling
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#10: Strip The Soul
The Creator Has A Mastertape: Meh, never really liked the studio version of this one. The noisier sections did go pretty hard when I saw it live though.
Herd Culling: My second-favorite song from C/C. Maybe a bit on the repetitive side, but the soft-heavy contrast works well, and I love the subtle keyboard embellishments during the verses.
Strip The Soul: Ah, the first song in my top ten. Not really surprised to see it this low, as even I didn't think much of it when I first heard the album. But man, is it a grower. One of the heaviest songs on the album, and executed much better than songs like The Creator... and Wedding Nails, in my opinion. The riffs are chunky as hell, I love how the song is constantly changing and evolving, and that doomy finale is the perfect way to end it. A great climax for the album, before the quiet epilogue that is Collapse The Light Into Earth.
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40 Herd Culling (my ranking: 49)
Had a tough time deciding between Herd Culling and Rats Return for one of the last remaining spots on my list, but went with this one. Both tracks are similar, both tracks are maybe a little repetitive, but there's enough cool stuff going on here that I enjoy it. And even if the backing parts are repetitive, each of the verses has a very different feel, particularly with the vocals and lyrics. Plus, it's in 11!
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape (my ranking: NR)
As these rankings progress, it was always gonna come out that I'm not the world's biggest In Absentia fan -- particularly the second half of the album. This song feels like an interesting rhythmic experiment, but it's weird and off-putting in ways that I don't really enjoy it.
38 Strip the Soul (my ranking: NR)
And this one I think I actively dislike. A depressing, boring, repetitive slog that spends 95% of its time in D-minor. The only redeeming quality is the main bassline, which is used much more effectively in .3.
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The Creator Has a Mastertape and Strip the Soul have always been skip tracks for me on IA.
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I’ve always loved Creator. Had it at #30. Funny that so many people consider it to be one of the heavier songs from the album. To me, it always had more of a Nine Inch Nails thing going on. And I always considered NIN to be more “industrial” than pure metal. But I suppose they are considered to be a metal band.
Herd Culling was my highest rated C/C song at #34. Absolutely love that groove!
Strip the Soul didn’t rank for me. I really like the first half of the song, but I think that the second half is unnecessarily long, repetitive, and sludgy. I really prefer the live version combined with .3 because it chops off the part I don’t care for anyway.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
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I'm a bit late but just wanted to say that Drown with Me would have been in my top 5 likely, sad to see it this low.
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40 Herd Culling
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (DTA)
1 Top 10 Finish
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (Elite)
1 Top 10 Finish
38 Strip the Soul
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (romdrums)
2 Top 10 Finishes
Herd Culling - my rank 40, so nailed it! The only C/C song I ranked. Just really love the groove of this song.
The Creator Has a Mastertape - unranked. A really cool song but not one of my favourites, this wasn't close to making it for me.
Strip the Soul - my rank 32. Just love that bass! Another song with an amazing groove but this one just really appeals to me.
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Didn’t rank Creator and Herd Culling. Creator is a bit too abrasive for my tastes when it comes to PT, but I had it at high volume in the car the other day and it gave me an adrenaline boost. I appreciate how it stands out on IA.
Herd Culling is a great track actually, I just had 50~ tracks I like even better.
Strip The Soul’s quite high mostly because of that ultimate badass half-time stoner metal breakdown.
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Next two!
37 Harridan
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (romdrums)
2 Top 10 Finishes
I'll admit I wasn't overly wild about this song at first, but it has grown on me in a big way. I didn't rank it, but I'm still a big fan now. Love the long section in the middle.
36 What Happens Now?
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (The Great Zo)
2 Top 10 Finishes
This is another I expected to get a little more support. I ranked it 21st, so to see it left off 12 lists completely was a bit of a shocker. This is my 4th highest ranked song from the Fear era (Fear album and Nil Recurring EP).
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28. Harridan
I really grew to love this song and when that heavy riff drops it sends shivers.
18. What happens now.
I'm a massive fan of the fear era songs, you'll find most of them in the top 20.
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More songs that didn't make my list!
I'm glad to see the two In Absentia tracks here, though they're probably some of the lower ranked once (I mentioned before I expect to see most of the album show up at some point). Creator I have always enjoyed both in the context of the album and as a separate song. When it comes to Porcupine Tree, I like the occasional metal influences as well as the early days prog/space-rock stuff. You'll find some of the more 'fan-favourite' songs in the prog/pop vein to be either missing from my list, or down lower. That so far I have only 5 songs (a third of the total tracks) on my list doesn't really surprise me, although I really do hope to see some of my favourites show up later (if at all).
UR - Normal
UR - Where we Would Be
UR - Feel so Low
UR - What Happens Now?
#90 - Dignity
#86 - Lips of Ashes
#65 - Fadeaway
#61 - Halo
#59 - Herd Culling
#53 - Harridan
#50 - Drown With Me
#42 - Stars Die
#28 - Strip the Soul
#14 - The Blind House
#9 - The Creator Has a Mastertape
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37 Harridan (my ranking: 31)
Took a little bit of time to grow on me, but ends up being one of my favorite C/C songs. It's got a a near-constant driving beat that reminds me at times of the title track from Deadwing, only it's in 5/4. The instrumental part of the song is patient, and allows itself some time to develop, before heading into the last refrain. Just a song with a lot of cool things going on, even if they aren't all obvious at first. Well, the bass groove is obvious, and it's the best one on the album -- even if I find myself missing Colin elsewhere.
36 What Happens Now? (my ranking: 5)
Ah, here it is. My first "highest finish" song!
And one of my hot takes: this is the best song of the Gavin era.
I love Fadeaway (another song I ranked higher than the consensus) due to its simplicity and restraint. But I love this song, in part, because of its complexity. They throw so much in, and it works. And it progresses from the build-up of the verses (with some rather pointed lyrics) to the ridiculous middle section, which contains some of the best polyrhythmic complexity the band's ever put to record. The big ending wraps it all up. It's dramatic, it's complicated, it completely holds my attention for 8 straight minutes, and it's prog. In some ways I think of it as a spiritual successor to Dark Matter, another song that's gonna show up high on my list.
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Next two!
37 Harridan
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (romdrums)
2 Top 10 Finishes
36 What Happens Now?
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (The Great Zo)
2 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
37. Feel So Low
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
22. Normal
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
07. What Happens Now?
I really enjoy "Harridan", fantastic way to open C/C.
"What Happens Now?" is my 2nd highest ranked song from the Fear-era, and for me, the proper closer to the album, especially the way it sneaks in some themes and motifs from earlier in the album. This one never bores me, and Gavin's poly-meter playing in the back half is just jaw-droppingly good.
-Marc.
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Neither of these ranked for me.
I think I have 3 FOABP songs made my countdown, but I've listened to the FOABP-era stuff less and less through the years. I think its a few things: the move away from abstract lyrics to era-specific references (ipods, xbox, etc.). The music is still top notch, but some of the transitions on the longer songs seemed a bit more awkward and forced to me compared to longer songs on Deadwing and 2 or 3 previous albums.
(Deadwing is my favorite Gavin-era record, and probably in my top 3 PT favorites).
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Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
---
#34: Dignity
---
#29: Herd Culling
---
#17: What Happens Now?
---
#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
Harridan: I wouldn't have been surprised if I ranked this the highest out of everyone, but romdrums beat me again! :lol Yeah, it took me a few listens for me to realize it, but this is easily one of the band's best songs. Everyone is just on fire on this one. Obviously you've got that great bassline, but the song really kicks into high gear in the midsection. I absolutely love that heavy riff that's always preceded by that almost industrial-sounding muted strumming. The section after that has some really great electronics, too. Gavin's drumming is as great as ever, of course. Just a total barn burner that's easily the best song on C/C by a country mile. I'm expecting Chimera's Wreck to show up at some point, though hopefully not too much higher, since this song is way better.
What Happens Now?: Another excellent one. It's got that dark, desolate atmosphere of FOABP, but mixes it with some of the band's most technical performances. Some really nice production work with the keyboards and effects, too.
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I think my hang-up with Harridan at first was the absence of Colin Edwin and SW going for a more aggressive, lead bass line here. It threw me off and I just had to adjust. It recently hit me that both the bass line and the style remind me a lot of the song My Favorite Headache (from Geddy's solo album of the same name).
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I had Harridan at 45 and WHN at 63.
In retrospect, I am disappointed that I put WHN that low. If I did another list, I would try to push it into the lower end of the top 50. It is a fantastic song. There’s just too much good stuff.
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Since I last posted in this thread, most of these are songs that I didn't rank because I don't know them very well (if at all). But going over what songs I did rank...
The Creator Has a Mastertape
My ranking: #41. One of the first Porcupine Tree songs I heard. I forget what I thought of it at the time since another PT song left a much, much stronger impression on me (which I'll save as a surprise because it's probably gonna show up on this list at some point). These days, I think it's pretty good! #41 almost feels too low, but if I were to rank it higher, I could only justify bumping it up one or two spots. Much like all my favorite artists, PT has so many good songs that some have to end up on the lower end of the list. I enjoy the metal sound to this one a lot, and my favorite part is the loud, intense instrumental at the end.
Strip the Soul
My ranking: #25. This song has grown on me a lot. The last time I made a Porcupine Tree ranking, Strip the Soul was #42. I've always enjoyed the first half, for the heavy instrumentation and the unsettling, creepy tone. But what makes me enjoy this song so much is the second half of the song. The overarching story of the serial killer reaches its climax with this song, and everything he's done, every song on the album about him, has been leading up to this. He's completely lost his mind at this point, and the music reflects that perfectly with how slow and heavy it is, nearly drowning out the chanting of "Strip the soul! Fill the hole!". A great song, for sure, and definitely worth being in the Top 25 of my list.
Overall rankings:
54. Where We Would Be
42. Halo
41. The Creator Has a Mastertape
28. The Blind House
25. Strip the Soul
8. Lips of Ashes
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
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#43 Fadeaway - My Ranking: #21
I enjoyed this song a lot when I was first getting into Porcupine Tree thanks to the Stars Die compilation album. The keyboard patches and the slide guitar add so much to the atmosphere, enhancing the mood and vibe. But, what really makes the song for me and adds to the meaning are the delay effects that the vocals and the flute have. It doesn't come as a surprise to me that this song was ranked as number one on someone's list.
#42 Dignity - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
Most of these recent listed songs that did not rank were pretty close to making the top 50. I like the instrumental motif they have in the intro and how they use it to transition into the verses. This is one that reminds me a lot more of the Lightbulb Sun era of the band, mixed with some Deadwing era arrangement. It sort of reminds me of Shesmovedon a bit, but I love the sounds of the keyboards and the atmosphere. With more listens I am sure this will end up somewhere closer to the top 20.
#41 Drown With Me - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
This one is interesting because it sounds like the ending of The Count of Tuscany to me. Other than that similarity, I think it's still a great song. Nothing wrong with it other than I haven't listened to it as much. In Absentia is a weird album for me though, as it's one of the rare albums where I found it difficult to listen to at once. I have no idea why, but I can enjoy the songs when listened to separately.
#40 Herd Culling - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
I don't really have much to say about this one. It's a Porcupine Tree song that I just need to listen to more.
#39 The Creator Has A Mastertape - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
I love the bass groove. This one reminds me a lot of their older style lyrically. That story telling they would do mixed with the atmosphere of the music is why I enjoy some of their older songs.
#38 Strip The Soul - My Ranking: #32
I enjoyed hearing this for the first time on the Anesthetize blu-ray. I like the drum groove along with the rhythm of the lyrics. I think it comes across a lot better live.
#37 Harridan - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
This has a nice bass and drum groove that would've sounded nice with Colin, but I digress here. This was a great first single and first song one the album. It's a nice transition and reminiscent of where they left off. Now that I think about it, what was missing on The Incident were these sort of moments, the nice bass and drum groove, while the guitars and keys create an atmosphere to go along with the lyrics.
#36 What Happens Now? - My Ranking: #24
I love the atmospheres, moods, and vibes Porcupine Tree can create. This song is a prime example of all of these. I also like the Anesthetize riff that is thrown in here as well, connecting it to the theme of the album.
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strip the soul is probably the biggest snub so far and it's not even that much of a snub so y'all are doing pretty good
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I put Harridan around #45 or something, because I felt bad not putting a single new song on the list. ;D
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37 Harridan
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (romdrums)
2 Top 10 Finishes
36 What Happens Now?
Appeared on 10 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (The Great Zo)
2 Top 10 Finishes
Harridan - unranked. Not one of my favourites from the new album.
What Happens Now? - Unranked. Good song, probably just outside my top 50, a bit surprised to see it this high.
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Here are today's songs!
35 My Ashes
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (faizoff)
1 Top 10 Finish
Well, this is from Fear of a Blank Planet, so you know it's great. I ranked it 49th, which might seem a bit low, but they just have too many good songs to rank them all in the top 20.
34 Stop Swimming
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 13 (Puppies_On_Acid)
0 Top 10 Finishes
Another amazing album closer. I ranked this 34th. This song just drips with nuance and despair. Love it.
33 Waiting
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (KevShmev)
2 Top 10 Finishes
I was the high on this one, and I was a bit gutted to see it not get more support, but it is what it is. I honestly think this, when taking the two phases together, is one of the best pieces of music Steven Wilson has ever written.
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I had Waiting at #16 and I too consider it one of the best things Steven Wilson has written. Fantastic song!
Stop Swimming was #80 on mine and My Ashes was #84, so I'm keeping my score of having a third of the songs on my list :lol
Edited with my list:
UR - Normal
UR - Where we Would Be
UR - Feel so Low
UR - What Happens Now?
#90 - Dignity
#86 - Lips of Ashes
#84 - My Ashes
#80 - Stop Swimming
#65 - Fadeaway
#61 - Halo
#59 - Herd Culling
#53 - Harridan
#50 - Drown With Me
#42 - Stars Die
#28 - Strip the Soul
#16 - Waiting (Phase 1 & 2)
#14 - The Blind House
#9 - The Creator Has a Mastertape
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Here are today's songs!
35 My Ashes
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (faizoff)
1 Top 10 Finish
34 Stop Swimming
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 13 (Puppies_On_Acid)
0 Top 10 Finishes
33 Waiting
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (KevShmev)
2 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
22. Normal
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
07. What Happens Now?
Funnily enough I had "My Ashes" just ahead of "Lips Of Ashes". It's no secret that FOABP is probably my favorite PT album/era of material ever (and I also saw them on that tour), so a lot of those songs made Mt Top 50, and this is another good one.
At 18th, "Stop Swimming" is one of the band's very best album closers, and one of my faves off of Stupid Dream. Just a hauntingly beautiful tune.
And I had "Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)" at 38th. Another one of the best off Signify, and a strong one-two punch of pieces. The ambience and mood of this one is strong and a standout from this era of PT.
Of the 18 songs revealed so far, 15 have made my list. I wonder if there are anymore from here on out that didn't make my top 50? It'll be interesting to see how close my list reflects the final countdown.
-Marc.
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My Ashes: 36
Stop Swimming: 33
I was quite close to the general consensus with these I see.
Waiting: I was checking out my list to see where I’d put it, only to find out I hadn’t ranked it at all. It’s my second favorite from Signify and I like the Coma Divine version even more.
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None of these ended up on my list. I contemplated including Waiting, but I wasn't sure how it would rank if both songs were put together, so I opted for not ranking it.
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Stop Swimming is one of those songs I feel like I should like more than I do. The vibe is there, the drum part is cool, and the lyrics are great but it just does nothing for me.
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All three songs made my list:
My Ashes was at 39, it's one of my favorite tracks off FOABP and has some beautiful orchestration and melodies.
Stop Swimming was at 21, I'm a sucker for interesting drum patterns and this certainly fits that bill. I didn't think I'd rank it so high but listening to it a few more times it is one of my favorite PT tracks
Waiting was at 43 and just snuck in there. I always loved the bass line in this song and it really sticks in my head and holds this awesome groove through the track. The sound design here is top notch.
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I love that moment in Stop Swimming at 02:31 when the previous chords get an extension and more support from the bass. The melody, chords, drum pattern and ambient guitar are just perfect in this song. I actually don’t listen to it a lot because it makes me feel quite sad.
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I’m starting to wish more and more than I had gotten my list in under the deadline.
(for those that don’t know, there’s a thread in the general section where I revealed that my now eight month old baby granddaughter is fighting stage three cancer. We found out just after Xmas, and I’ve been a basket case for awhile)
I had all three of these songs not quite make my top 50. My Ashes at 58, Waiting at 62 and Stop Swimming at 68. These are all really great songs. I just had too many others that I like a lot better.
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Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
---
#34: Dignity
---
#29: Herd Culling
---
#22: Waiting (both phases)
---
#17: What Happens Now?
#16:
#15: My Ashes
---
#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
My Ashes: One of my favorite FOABP songs, so it's a bit disheartening to see that it's the first to show up. An absolutely beautiful are heart-wrenching song.
Stop Swimming: I like this song, but #34 is way too high. It just barely didn't make my rankings. I love how depressing it is, but it just feels like it doesn't have much beyond that, which usually isn't the case for a Steven Wilson song.
Waiting: Hell yeah! I was convinced this wasn't going to show up in the overall rankings at all. I admittedly don't really think of both phases as the same song since they're so different, but I really enjoy them both. Phase 1 is probably the best "straightforward" song the band had released at the time, and it still holds up. Phase 2 is an awesome psychedelic jam and the bassline that gets lifted from Phase 1 somehow sounds even groovier here. And that climax is fantastic.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
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For those that don’t know, there’s a thread in the general section where I revealed that my now eight-month-old baby granddaughter is fighting stage three cancer. We found out just after Xmas, and I’ve been a basket case for awhile
OMG I'm SO SO sorry to hear this! :'( My prayers and thoughts are with you!
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35 My Ashes (my ranking: NR)
Good song, sounds like something that could have fit from the Stupid Dream / Lightbulb Sun / Recordings era. Fits great in the context of the album, but ultimately just doesn't do enough to get into my top 50.
34 Stop Swimming (my ranking: 46)
While it's not my favorite of the quiet/contemplative album closers from this era, it's up there. The "think I'll leave by the window" line always gets me. Nice emphasis on the piano chords.
33 Waiting (my ranking: 24)
A pop song with an aire of mystery to it, and one of my favorite tracks from a fantastic album. The second part really builds it into more of a journey, and I enjoy the two together.
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My Ashes : NR, but the transitions from the last chorus through the outro is nice
Stop Swimming : 21 - I love the sparseness of the other instruments compared to the main drum beat. The bass notes that come in off-beat in the chorus that gives the listener a real sense of falling/drowning to match the subject matter.
Waiting : 16 - Just a really cool little jam, again driven by a great bass line.
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35 My Ashes
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (faizoff)
1 Top 10 Finish
34 Stop Swimming
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 13 (Puppies_On_Acid)
0 Top 10 Finishes
33 Waiting
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (KevShmev)
2 Top 10 Finishes
My Ashes - my rank 44. Just a beautiful song, but PT have so many of them and this one, while I love it, is far from my favourite.
Stop Swimming - my rank 23. Just a beautiful melancholy vibe that PT does so well. Love the instrumentation here, great drumming combined with that understated piano and keyboard and a great vocal.
Waiting - my rank 20. This is brilliant and yeah could have ranked high but my top 20 was tough to do - so many great songs I love equally. Surprised this isn't higher overall.
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my ashes and stop swimming are both quite good but i don't think i'd list either amongst my all-time favorites
literally cannot remember what waiting is or what album it's on
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my ashes and stop swimming are both quite good but i don't think i'd list either amongst my all-time favorites
literally cannot remember what waiting is or what album it's on
Tracks 5&6 on Signify. Listed as Waiting Phase 1&2.
There’s also a full live version on Coma Divine
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Waiting is on PT’s best album.
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Monday update!
32 Gravity Eyelids
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Elite)
2 Top 10 Finishes
This one just missed the cut for me. Love both the mellotron and the drum loop in this one.
31 Glass Arm Shattering
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (Mladen)
3 Top 10 Finishes
I was quite shocked this one got so much love to where it finished this high. I figured it would be one that didn't make it at all. I'm a big fan, as it is from one of my two favorite PT albums, but it didn't quite make my top 50 either.
30 Sentimental
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (BRGM)
1 Top 10 Finish
The outro is notable for me in that one time I was driving home with light snow when it was playing, and it felt like the keyboards at the end of the song were channeling the blowing of the light snow in the wind. That hit me in real time when driving and it was one of those moments you never forget. I ranked this 41st.
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Wow, glass arm shattering and Sentimental are two favorites of mine! Must say I very much prefer Sentimental over Normal and Glass Arm Shattering over Half-Light
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32 Gravity Eyelids (my ranking: 47)
This song is a little bit PT-by-the-numbers, but that doesn't mean it's not good. I like the changes in instrumentation from the first verse to the second verse, and the metal bit in the middle is effective.
31 Glass Arm Shattering (my ranking: 35)
Ah, here it is, my favorite of the "quiet / contemplative album closers". Not sure I can put a finger on exactly why, but the chord progressions are great, and I like the sound of the wash of instrumentation behind it all. It all builds up to the big "glass arm shadda shadda down down" bit (those are the official lyrics, I looked) and it's a nice way to end the album. A song that can get stuck in my head for quite a while. Agree with the above, too -- although they are similar, I think this song is worlds better than Half Light, and I also think it's worlds better than Collapse The Light Into Earth.
30 Sentimental (my ranking: not ranked)
I struggle with this one. I'm not a fan of some of the FOABP-era lyrics, including on this song. The music is just a little too sappy, too syrupy, especially with the whole lyrical "stoned in the mall" thing. Not sure why they shoehorned a musical reference to "Trains" near the end of the song, either. Guess I'm just not a fan of this one.
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Monday update!
32 Gravity Eyelids
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Elite)
2 Top 10 Finishes
31 Glass Arm Shattering
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (Mladen)
3 Top 10 Finishes
30 Sentimental
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (BRGM)
1 Top 10 Finish
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
22. Normal
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
07. What Happens Now?
Not surprisingly, three tracks from the IA-DW-FOABP album run, and I had two of them ranked - "Gravity Eyelids" at 19 and "Sentimental" at 40, both very good songs IMO. I didn't rank "Glass Arm Shattering" in my Top 50, I never really got into it myself. It's decent enough but probably doesn't make my top half of DW tracks.
These are some mellow PT songs for Monday morning, but not a bad set overall.so far, I've ranked 17 out of 21 revealed songs. Is that the most compared to everyone else's list?
-Marc.
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Sentimental was #82 on mine.
Glass Arm Shattering was my #29
And the big one.. Gravity Eyelids is my #2. Can’t type a lot now, but will do so later. Its counterpart (an arbitrary union of two songs I made that I find similar) is at #5 on my list. This is PT’s best ‘short’ song, if you ask me. (#5 is second best). I didn’t expect to see this one up quite as high as on my own list, but I must admit that 32nd is slightly disappointing.
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These are some mellow PT songs for Monday morning, but not a bad set overall.so far, I've ranked 17 out of 21 revealed songs. Is that the most compared to everyone else's list?
I cannot answer that (without doing a shit ton of work :lol). With putting the list together and doing the write-ups and whatnot, there simply isn't time to figure out those stats as well on my end.
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These are some mellow PT songs for Monday morning, but not a bad set overall.so far, I've ranked 17 out of 21 revealed songs. Is that the most compared to everyone else's list?
I cannot answer that (without doing a shit ton of work :lol). With putting the list together and doing the write-ups and whatnot, there simply isn't time to figure out those stats as well on my end.
That's fair. I guess I'll have to look at everyone's lists as we near the end cuz I'd be curious as to how many songs went unranked for everyone compared to the final list.
-Marc.
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Love Sentimental and Glass Arm Shattering! In fact they were right next to each other on my list, Sentimental at #17 and Shattering at #16. Glass Arm Shattering I find to be a pretty unique song in the PT catalog, it feels hopeful in a way that not many of the other album closers do.
Gravity Eyelids didn't rank for me but it's a great song. Could have made the list on another day.
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I didn't rank Sentimental, but I did put Gravity eyelids at #30. Glass arm shattering is, as zou can see, top 5 material for me. A gorgeous song with one of the prettiest vocal harmonies ever laid down by Steven Wilson.
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Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
---
#38: Glass Arm Shattering
---
#34: Dignity
---
#29: Herd Culling
---
#22: Waiting (both phases)
---
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16:
#15: My Ashes
---
#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
Gravity Eyelids: Y'all sure do love In Absentia, don't you. :P I'm not surprised, though this is another one of the songs from it that I think is just okay. I like the structure of it (quiet first half, heavy second half) but I just find the execution of it very uninteresting. I feel like at this point Steven Wilson is still getting used to writing heavy riffs and the ones here just aren't that engaging to me.
Glass Arm Shattering: Not one of my absolute favorites, but it's a great closer. I appreciate the simplicity of it (especially in the vocals / lyrics) and how most of the variety comes from the building of intensity.
Sentimental: Ah yes, Normal but better. Probably the dreariest song on FOABP, and one I find very beautiful.
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I must admit, although PT was always more about mood and atmosphere infused in rock than anything, I'm really more on their prog metal side - relatively speaking, of course. But I love these 3 songs from PT's holy trinity albums: Gravity Eyelids (# 38); Sentimental (#45); and Glass Arm Shattering (#46).
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Here are today's songs!
35 My Ashes
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (faizoff)
1 Top 10 Finish
Well, this is from Fear of a Blank Planet, so you know it's great. I ranked it 49th, which might seem a bit low, but they just have too many good songs to rank them all in the top 20.
34 Stop Swimming
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 13 (Puppies_On_Acid)
0 Top 10 Finishes
Another amazing album closer. I ranked this 34th. This song just drips with nuance and despair. Love it.
33 Waiting
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (KevShmev)
2 Top 10 Finishes
I was the high on this one, and I was a bit gutted to see it not get more support, but it is what it is. I honestly think this, when taking the two phases together, is one of the best pieces of music Steven Wilson has ever written.
Monday update!
32 Gravity Eyelids
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Elite)
2 Top 10 Finishes
This one just missed the cut for me. Love both the mellotron and the drum loop in this one.
31 Glass Arm Shattering
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (Mladen)
3 Top 10 Finishes
I was quite shocked this one got so much love to where it finished this high. I figured it would be one that didn't make it at all. I'm a big fan, as it is from one of my two favorite PT albums, but it didn't quite make my top 50 either.
30 Sentimental
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (BRGM)
1 Top 10 Finish
The outro is notable for me in that one time I was driving home with light snow when it was playing, and it felt like the keyboards at the end of the song were channeling the blowing of the light snow in the wind. That hit me in real time when driving and it was one of those moments you never forget. I ranked this 41st.
Yeah I love me some FOABP songs era
My Ashes #3
I really love the John Wesley chorus in the Anesthetize video, it's one track that always give me goosebumps and this percussion fill that Gavin does at 3:29 during the 2nd chorus kills me everytime.
Stop Swimming - unranked
Great track and so depressing in the good way
Waiting - unranked
I could've sworn I ranked this, it's an an amazing track and one I love the live version even more.
Gravity Eyelids - unranked
Amazing heavy break in the middle, didn't make the top 50
Glass Arm Shattering - unranked
same vibe as Stop Swimming
Sentimental #19
Another of the FOABP tracks that is like the right track to have after Anesthetize and I enjoy the counter part to the song with Normal from the EP.
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damn, these are the best three so far :lol none are best on their respective albums but all would be pretty high up on them
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
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32 Gravity Eyelids
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Elite)
2 Top 10 Finishes
31 Glass Arm Shattering
Appeared on 13 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (Mladen)
3 Top 10 Finishes
30 Sentimental
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 9 (BRGM)
1 Top 10 Finish
Gravity Eyelids - my rank 38.
Glass Arm Shattering - similar thoughts to Kev on this one. Love the album, but this is my least favourite song and one I didn't rank.
Sentimental - my rank 13. Love this one.
So far I have 8 on my list that are unranked overall.
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Through the first 21 songs, I ranked 11, and did not rank 10. About an even split.
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#35 My Ashes - My Ranking: #23
I fell in love with this one after seeing it on Anesthetize. What I like most about this song though is how the mood and atmosphere perfectly convey the emotion of the lyrics.
#34 Stop Swimming - My Ranking: #27
I like a lot of Porcupine Trees Atmospheric side and this one has a lot of it. The mix of the piano and the keyboard patches have this neat water effect going on, makes it feel like your floating, drifting on water and your coming upon the shore and just letting yourself wash ashore.
#33 Waiting - My Ranking: #46
I thought I had ranked this higher, I think I had meant to place it higher but I forgot, Oh well. I really enjoy both parts, and I wish it was just one single track.
#32 Gravity Eyelids - My Ranking: #34
I really enjoy the last half of the song, when it does the "Open Car" riff. My friend was really into In Absentia so I have heard this quite a bit as it's one of his favorites from it, so it always reminds me of those times hanging out and listening to music.
#31 Glass Arm Shattering - My Ranking: #14
The intro with the record scratching makes me think of an ending scene that gets distorted and then the credits start to roll. I like how the song starts off calm and soft, then gradually builds and ends with the same calm intro.
#30 Sentimental - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
This one isn't bad at all. I like the atmosphere and the little melody the guitar plays in the distance in the ending chorus. This one might end up higher on my list as well.
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Gravity Eyelids : 29
Sentimental : 40
Glass Arm Shattering : 42 In hindsight ranked this one too low. Like a few others, love the buildup to the vocal melody
49 Where Would We Be (30)
45 Stars Die (9)
44 Feel so Low (32)
43 Fadeaway (14)
40 Herd Culling (31)
34 Stop Swimming (16)
33 Waiting (21)
32 Gravity Eyelids (29)
31 Glass Arm Shattering (42)
30 Sentimental (40)
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My list so far:
Unranked:
Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
38. Dignity
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
27. Where We Would Be
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
10. Feel So Low
13/21 songs so far made my list.
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Gravity Eyelids: had this one ranked 8th on my list. Haunting atmosphere, love the gliding (fretless?) bass in the second verse and the 5/4 heavy section.
Glass Arm Shattering: 21. I used to think it was a bit boring but this nice outro track has aged like fine wine. Glad to see the love for this track, I was wondering if it’d pop up and figured it probably wouldn’t make the cut.
Love the space in the drum groove, Barbieri atmospherics and piano, and of course that awesome vocal layer fest at the end. I fantasized they would end their new concerts with this one but of course they’re not playing this. I imagine this song might not work in a live setting at all.
Sentimental: It’s alright. I can vibe to this but it all feels a bit dull to me. I’m always surprised people get so pumped for this one as I feel most of their other songs are way more exciting. Also, as someone else pointed out, that Trains callback feels really weird. That little acoustic solo is not that good either. This all IMHO of course.
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Two today!
29 I Drive the Hearse
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (devieira73)
1 Top 10 Finish
I adore this song and ranked it 13th. I will always stand by The Incident as being very good, and this is my favorite song from it. And I was glad to see the band busted it out on the tour last year.
28 Chimera’s Wreck
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (PixelDream)
2 Top 10 Finishes
I ranked this 29th, and I could see it being one I put a lot higher in a year or two once the new car smell has totally worn off. We shall see. And to dispel the mystery now, this is the highest ranked song in the countdown from Closure/Continuation.
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Two today!
29 I Drive the Hearse
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (devieira73)
1 Top 10 Finish
28 Chimera’s Wreck
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (PixelDream)
2 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
22. Normal
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
07. What Happens Now?
Somehow these two did not make my Top 50. I'm still not totally into The Incident song cycle but IDTH is one of the better parts for sure so I'm not surprised to see it here.
"Chimera's Wreck" being the highest ranked C/C song is interesting, which means there are some I ranked that definitely won't show up now. I really gravitated toward it since release and a lot of the album made my Top 50. Ah well...
-Marc.
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Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
- I Drive The Hearse
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
---
#38: Glass Arm Shattering
---
#34: Dignity
#33: Chimera's Wreck
---
#29: Herd Culling
---
#22: Waiting (both phases)
---
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16:
#15: My Ashes
---
#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
I Drive The Hearse: I've never really understood the praise for this one honestly, I've always found it pretty dull. I dunno, the band just has better acoustic ballads than this, imo. There's better songs from The Incident too, none of which have appeared yet and probably won't aside from Time Flies. :lol
Chimera's Wreck: This song is frustrating for me because the first 75% of it is basically perfect. The first half is absolutely haunting, and it introduces new instruments and ideas at a slow but perfectly deliberate pace. The moment where the song finally ups the temp and kicks into that frantic riff is awesome, and that section is great while it lasts, but it drops out to that falsetto verse way too quickly and from that point onwards the song never really recovers for me. The finale is fine, but after how amazing the build-up in the first half was it just feels underwhelming. This still ranked decently high for me based on the strength of its good parts alone, but man, if the ending was better, this could have been a top 10 song for me easily.
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I Drive the Hearse (#5) is my fave part from The Incident song and, along with Time Flies, the only ones that really work as stand alone pieces. I truly adore this song and I consider it the most beautiful song in PT's catalogue. And this part is always so touching to hear:
"And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you were always my mistake..."
Chills every time! :heart
Chimera's Wreck (#12) is my fave from the last album and it's PT's Natural Science, musically speaking, at least.
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I Drive the Hearse is such a fantastic tune and one of Steven Wilson best guitar solos if you ask me. I ranked it at #15 as my second favourite from the Incident (and one of only two tracks from that album that made my list at all).
Chimera’s Wreck is my favourite from the new album (glad to see it finish as highest from C/C as well) and it’s the only one from that record that made my list at #45.
—-
UR - Normal
UR - Where we Would Be
UR - Feel so Low
UR - What Happens Now?
#90 - Dignity
#86 - Lips of Ashes
#84 - My Ashes
#82 - Sentimental
#80 - Stop Swimming
#65 - Fadeaway
#61 - Halo
#59 - Herd Culling
#53 - Harridan
#50 - Drown With Me
#45 - Chimera’s Wreck
#42 - Stars Die
#29 - Glass Arm Shattering
#28 - Strip the Soul
#16 - Waiting (Phase 1 & 2)
#15 - I Drive the Hearse
#14 - The Blind House
#9 - The Creator Has a Mastertape
#2 - Gravity Eyelids
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I'm surprised Stop Swimming has been the only Stupid Dream to show up at this point.
-
Reminder, and perhaps a note for those who have not participated in these before, I kindly ask that we try our best not to spotlight. In other words, mention what songs are likely still to come or anything like that. Even if some appear obvious, please do the courteous thing and let me list them without them being spoiled or spotlighted. :)
For example, it would be easy to reply to Buddyhunter1's post and say, "I am sure this, that and the other are still coming," but that would be an example of spotlighting.
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I had I drive the hearse at #41. Chimera is also good, one of the better tracks on the new album, but not worthy of top 50 yet. ;)
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29 I Drive the Hearse (my ranking: Not Ranked)
I never understood the love for this song. I think it's one of the more boring of the ballad-ish that Steven's written. Didn't even come close to my list.
28 Chimera’s Wreck (my ranking: 23)
The big epic closer from the new album -- I think it's the best track on C/C, but Harridan is really close. It's 9 minutes of build-up into a proggy hard-rock extravaganza, and the big power chords in E at the end wrap it up with some intensity.
I really, really like this song. It's in the top half of my rankings. And yet, I feel like it's missing something. With a little more development (or maybe a little less repetition) it could have been Top 10 material, but it just doesn't quite get there.
I Drive The Hearse: I've never really understood the praise for this one honestly, I've always found it pretty dull. I dunno, the band just has better acoustic ballads than this, imo. There's better songs from The Incident too, none of which have appeared yet and probably won't aside from Time Flies. :lol
Chimera's Wreck: This song is frustrating for me because the first 75% of it is basically perfect. The first half is absolutely haunting, and it introduces new instruments and ideas at a slow but perfectly deliberate pace. The moment where the song finally ups the temp and kicks into that frantic riff is awesome, and that section is great while it lasts, but it drops out to that falsetto verse way too quickly and from that point onwards the song never really recovers for me. The finale is fine, but after how amazing the build-up in the first half was it just feels underwhelming. This still ranked decently high for me based on the strength of its good parts alone, but man, if the ending was better, this could have been a top 10 song for me easily.
...and now as I read the other responses, I find I'm basically in complete agreement with buddyhunter on both of them. ;D
-
49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
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I Drive The Hearse: 28. Loved seeing it at the concert.
Chimera’s Wreck: 2. I was absolutely floored by it live and it was my unexpected highlight of the entire night. Since then I just can’t get enough. It’s quite weird to be a fan since 2003 and then have one of the new tunes after the hiatus hit so hard.
-
29 I Drive the Hearse
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (devieira73)
1 Top 10 Finish
28 Chimera’s Wreck
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (PixelDream)
2 Top 10 Finishes
I Drive the Hearse - my rank 27. I am not the biggest fan of The Incident but have always loved this song and I could easily have ranked this higher.
Chimera's Wreck - unranked. I am surprised to see so many C/C songs in the top 50 and am not sure if this is the 'new car smell impact'. I have to say though that this is a great track and one I probably should have ranked.
-
Tomorrow will see another song featured that finished as someone's number 1. :hat :hat
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Two today!
29 I Drive the Hearse
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (devieira73)
1 Top 10 Finish
I adore this song and ranked it 13th. I will always stand by The Incident as being very good, and this is my favorite song from it. And I was glad to see the band busted it out on the tour last year.
28 Chimera’s Wreck
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (PixelDream)
2 Top 10 Finishes
I ranked this 29th, and I could see it being one I put a lot higher in a year or two once the new car smell has totally worn off. We shall see. And to dispel the mystery now, this is the highest ranked song in the countdown from Closure/Continuation.
I Drive The Hearse #30
In line with the group in ranking on this. Perfect closer to disc one IMO, has that signature melancholic feel to the track that are typical of the end pieces.
Chimera's Wreck #8
I see I'm the one other person to include this track in my top 10. Became my favorite track of C/C almost on first listen. In many ways this track gives a similar vibe to that of Rush's Natural Science. Love that ending riff and hook. I don't mind it being the albums closer even though the extra 3 tracks are excellent addition to the album.
-
Tomorrow will see another song featured that finished as someone's number 1. :hat :hat
I bet it's mine! :corn
-
Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
38. Dignity
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
27. Where We Would Be
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
10. Feel So Low
Two good songs, one that barely made my list and one that barely didn't. I Drive the Hearse is one of my favorite songs from The Incident but it's not as special to me as it seems to be for many others. I feel like I want to like Chimera's Wreck more than I do, I definitely love some aspects of it. Especially the early parts. Something about it just never really clicked though.
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Tomorrow will see another song featured that finished as someone's number 1. :hat :hat
I bet it's mine! :corn
Or mine :corn
-
Both wrong!!
Here are today's two:
27 The Sky Moves Sideways
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (The Letter M)
4 Top 10 Finishes
I love this song to pieces and ranked it 14th. What an ambitious and impressive piece of music it is, whether taken in two phases like on the proper album, which is my preferred version(s), or as a single track from the bonus disc. Simply incredible.
26 Open Car
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (The Realm)
3 Top 10 Finishes
I love this one as well, which I ranked 24th. It speaks volumes as to how awesome Deadwing is, when a song this great isn't even in my personal top 5 from the album. I know some prefer the live version with the extended middle section, but I think the studio version is where it's at.
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:o :o :o
I love The Sky Moves Sideways. It ranked as #19 on mine but upon listening to it after ranking and sending my list, I thought it should have been even higher. Glad to see it here!
Open Car was my #37. Cool tune.
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Deadwing always felt like a mis-step to me after the incredible IA so it's bizarre seeing songs from it outrank songs like TSMS, Hearse, and Chimera's Wreck, and I know there's probably quite a few more coming. I wonder if it's just because it's the album where most fans discovered the band so there's a nostalgic element.
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Both tracks are unranked for me but Sky is an absolute gem. The live version on Coma Divine is sublime.
Open Car is great too but kinda bland in a sea of interesting tracks.
-
Let me get caught up here:
- I Drive The Hearse was at 24 for me, I love the tune, one of my favorites from TI.
- Chimera's Wreck didn't make the cut for me but going back and listening again I think it should've, oh well
- Sky Moves Sideways just missed the cut, I really like this song but I'm rarely in the mood to listen to it
- Open car was number 35 on my list. I didn't care for it at first but grew on me. I love the little quiet section at the very end of the song and the live version with the extended section really elevates the song.
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27 The Sky Moves Sideways
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (The Letter M)
4 Top 10 Finishes
26 Open Car
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (The Realm)
3 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
33. Open Car
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
22. Normal
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
07. What Happens Now?
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
Somehow I knew it would be me. Yep, the long, book-ending masterpiece landed at number one for me. TSMS is one of my top three PT albums and so the title track was always going to rank high but when I was done with the sorter, if ended in first and I couldn't really argue with those results.
As for "Open Car" it landed at 33rd for me. Another good song from Deadwing. I can't wait to see how many more songs from this album ended up in the Final Countdown, especially as the new re-release is coming out in less than two months!
-Marc.
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We’re finally getting to songs that I ranked fairly high.
I had Open Car at 11 and TSMS at 24.
I loved it on Deadwing. But hearing it open the Arriving Somewhere live album elevated it.
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Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
39 Open Car
38. Dignity
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
27. Where We Would Be
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
10. Feel So Low
Two very different songs today. I really like The Sky Moves Sideways and might have ranked phase 1 if they were separated, I still feel like I haven't really absorbed the whole thing yet. I have been listening to a lot of early PT these past weeks following the list and enjoying a lot of it so I can see a lot of the songs moving up a bit in a future ranking.
Open Car is a really good concise musical package. I really like the fast paced moving between different sections that are all individually good and distinct. I am also a big fan of the quiet part in the end. Nothing overstays its welcome.
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I didn't rank The Sky moves sideways, it sometimes feels too long to me. Open car, however, did make my list around #25 or something.
-
Sky Moved Sideways 14
Unranked: I Drive the Hearse, Chimera's Wreck, Open Car (just missed)
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Deadwing always felt like a mis-step to me after the incredible IA so it's bizarre seeing songs from it outrank songs like TSMS, Hearse, and Chimera's Wreck, and I know there's probably quite a few more coming. I wonder if it's just because it's the album where most fans discovered the band so there's a nostalgic element.
Nah, I suspect it's because it's a great album loaded with great songs.
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Both unranked. I would have easily put TSMS Phase 1 on my list, probably in the top 20, but I don't like Phase 2. It starts off really promising but after that nails-on-a-chalkboard guitar solo six minutes in the song never really recovers for me.
I'm not surprised Open Car is on the rankings since it's a Deadwing song but this is waaaaaaay too high for it. At this point we might as well have every Deadwing song on the list since the two worst ones (this and Halo) are already on it. I'm not the only one who ranked Shallow, right? :biggrin:
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I did not rank Shallow
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27 The Sky Moves Sideways (my ranking: 19)
I come in a little ahead of the consensus on this epic track, and yet I feel like as a big fan of old-school PT, you'd almost expect it to rank higher on my list. For whatever reason, I've never completely loved TSMS as an album. I actually enjoy it a little less than both Up the Downstair and OTSOL.
But, that said, Part 1 of TSMS is pretty much sublime -- a stretched out Floyd-esque thing with ambient bits, beautiful bits, and intense bits. I think Part 2 is just ok, which probably holds this one back a little for me.
26 Open Car (my ranking: not ranked)
Wow, one of only 5 of the 22 to not rank this song? I've always lumped this one and Shallow together, and I don't know how to describe them as anything but "big dumb rock songs". Maybe this one's got a little more complexity than Shallow, but to me it's mostly just feels kind like a bunch of underdeveloped riffing without much else to go along with it. I was baffled by the decision to use this as the show opener on the second half of the Deadwing tour. ;D
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Halfway through, here's my list so far.
N/R -- Normal
N/R -- The Blind House
N/R -- Halo
N/R -- Lips of Ashes
N/R -- Feel So Low
N/R -- Dignity
N/R -- The Creator Has a Mastertape
N/R -- Strip the Soul
N/R -- My Ashes
N/R -- Sentimental
N/R -- I Drive the Hearse
N/R -- Open Car
49 -- Herd Culling
47 -- Gravity Eyelids
46 -- Stop Swimming
41 -- Stars Die
36 -- Where We Would Be
35 -- Glass Arm Shattering
32 -- Drown With Me
31 -- Harridan
24 -- Waiting
23 -- Chimera's Wreck
19 -- The Sky Moves Sideways
15 -- Fadeaway
5 -- What Happens Now?
And to note, I got into the band sometime around 2000 -- I think shortly after Lightbulb Sun was released, though my first two albums were Up the Downstair and Stupid Dream. First show was the first US leg of the In Absentia tour in late 2002.
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I would've had Open Car at 9 or 10. Great song.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
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27 The Sky Moves Sideways
Appeared on 12 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (The Letter M)
4 Top 10 Finishes
26 Open Car
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (The Realm)
3 Top 10 Finishes
Two great songs today and two that are in my top 10.
The Sky Moves Sideways - my rank 5. This songs is just sublime. It just has a real dreamy magical quality that I love. Well done to The Letter M for the number 1 ranking.
Open Car - There is something about this song and it melodies that really connects with me and I have always loved it. The extended live version is also great.
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So it's too late to submit a list then?
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The Sky Moves Sideways - my rank 5. This songs is just sublime. It just has a real dreamy magical quality that I love. Well done to The Letter M for the number 1 ranking.
Thanks, it just ended up settling in at number one for me and I didn't mind it being there once I was done sorting the list out. I definitely find myself coming back to TSMS album fairly often when I want a PT fix, so it's no surprise to me that the title track ended up in first place for me.
-Marc.
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#29 I Drive The Hearse - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
This is another one of those songs that I didn't rank, but it's a great song. I like the chorus and it was neat getting to hear this one live when I saw them 13 years ago. I would lose interest in The Incident after Time Flies, so I never gave this song much of a chance. But, when I do listen to it, I enjoy it a lot. It has good atmosphere, and I do enjoy the acoustics of it.
#28 Chimeras Wreck - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
There's a few songs I enjoy on C/C, but I also haven't listened to that album as much either. Every song is slowly catching on and I have that same feeling with this song.
#27 The Sky Moves Sideways - My Ranking: #22
Now this one is a great atmospheric epic. It's the bass groove and the flute melody that grabs me the most. This is a great song to put on when I just want to kick back and relax.
#26 Open Car - My Ranking: #10
Where to start with this one...This was one of the first Porcupine Tree songs I got into after hearing my friend play the album when we were hanging out after school. For some reason, I just like the rhythm of the riff. I also like the pre-chorus vocal harmonies, along with the way it transitions into the chorus. I really liked what they did adding a more heavier section into the song live. I am so glad I got to see this song live, it was fun singing along. I thought it'd be ranked a bit higher, but I am fine with it being ranked where it's at.
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I'm not the only one who ranked Shallow, right? :biggrin:
I like it, but didn't rank it.
SW channeled his inner-Kroeger on that track.
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I like Shallow, but it's definitely the least best song on an otherwise monumentally great album. Still one of my all-time favorites....by any artist.
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So it's too late to submit a list then?
Do like I did and make a list anyway. Even if it doesn’t count, it’s still nice to compare notes and discuss.
-
Open Car is a song that I don’t get at all.
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Open Car is a song that I don’t get at all.
It’s the 9/8, isn’t it?
I think it’s one of PT’s best short rockers, but it compares weirdly to some other stuff on the same album and more so to the more extended proggy stuff in the rest of their discography.
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Okay, let's kick off the top 25 by doing three today! :metal :metal
25 Sleep Together
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (DTA)
2 Top 10 Finishes
Great song, with an incredible finish, and one I ranked 14th. I almost feel like this song gets a little "it gets played live too often" backlash, but maybe not. I thought this would finish a bit higher. Regardless, there are few PT songs with as great as finish as this one.
24 Mellotron Scratch
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (Elite)
3 Top 10 Finishes
Yet another great song from Deadwing. This ended up being only 42nd on my list, but ask me on another day, and it might finish 15-20 spots higher. A very unique song for both Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson in general. I was lucky enough to see them on the first leg of the Deadwing tour when this was getting played.
23 Time Flies
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (DTowwbwMP)
3 Top 10 Finishes
This ended up being one that missed the cut for me, but I still like it a lot. The guitar solo is a monster for sure. I feel like some of the homages to Pink Floyd are a bit too overt in this one, so maybe I subconsciously dock it a little for that, but it's just not a song I listen to very much anymore.
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Okay, let's kick off the top 25 by doing three today! :metal :metal
25 Sleep Together
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (DTA)
2 Top 10 Finishes
24 Mellotron Scratch
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (Elite)
3 Top 10 Finishes
23 Time Flies
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (DTowwbwMP)
3 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
45. Mellotron Scratch
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
34. Time Flies
33. Open Car
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
23. Sleep Together
22. Normal
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
07. What Happens Now?
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
I had "Sleep Together" at 23rd, so not far off from the final Countdown, funnily enough, surrounded by other FOABP-era songs!
"Mellotron Scratch" landed at 45th for me but I'm not surprised to see it this high. Another great song off Deadwing.
And in 34th for me was "Time Flies", and thinking back I probably could have ranked it higher, so I'm happy to see it rank so high in the Countdown.
Another three for three included in my Top 50 so far, and still only six songs unranked. Now I really wonder how many more of final Countdown I didn't rank, if any remain!
-Marc.
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25 Sleep Together (my ranking: N/R)
Good song, and breaks the cycle of the whole "quiet" album closer thing they'd done for four straight albums. This song is anything but quiet. Good track, just nothing that truly makes it a personal favorite.
24 Mellotron Scratch (my ranking: 25)
Really weird song, both structurally and instrumentally, but that's why I like it! Great moment when the big riff kicks in about 3/4 of the way through, and then the counterpoint vocal stuff at the end is fantastic.
23 Time Flies (my ranking: N/R)
This song is actually a big part of why I'm not a huge fan of The Incident. It's a pretty blatant Pink Floyd ripoff, yes, but my main problem is that it's way too long. That middle section just drags and drags and goes nowhere.
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Open Car is a song that I don’t get at all.
It’s the 9/8, isn’t it?
I think it’s one of PT’s best short rockers, but it compares weirdly to some other stuff on the same album and more so to the more extended proggy stuff in the rest of their discography.
It’s more the spoken word (rap?) verses.
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Dang, I didn't rank any of these.
-
Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
Time Flies
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
39 Open Car
38. Dignity
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
29 Sleep Together
27. Where We Would Be
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
23 Mellotron Scratch
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
10. Feel So Low
Ranked 2/3 songs today, which should be expected with 16/22 rankers for each of them. Sleep Together is a powerful closer for sure even though I wish Steven would occassionaly play something else. :biggrin:
I really like Mellotron Scratch, especially the ending part with the layering vocals. I remember reading somewhere that it is actually one of the only tracks on the album not to feature a mellotron but I'm not sure if that's true. :lol
Time Flies is definitely a song that I never got the love for. It doesn't really justify its length imo.
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Sleep Together - 34 Has turned into one of my two favorites from FOABP
Mellotron Scratch - 36 -
Time Flies - 28
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Sleep Together was my #21.
Mellotron Scratch was my #5, I love this one to bits. I wrote earlier that my #5 is a counterpart to Gravity Eyelids. Well, here it is. Two songs that I feel share a similar mood and my favourite two ‘short’ songs PT has done. The ending to Mellotron Scratch is glorious, as is the guitar tone throughout.
Time Flies went unranked for me and is the main reason why I think The Incident is PT’s worst album aside from the debut (and I even ranked more songs from the debut than from the Incident in my top 50). Boring tune that doesn’t go anywhere. All my opinion of course, I don’t mean to insult folks who do like it (16/22 lists tells me I’m in the minority).
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I really like Mellotron Scratch. One of the best parts of Deadwing.
By contrast, Sleep Together is probably my least favorite thing on Blank Planet.
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Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
- I Drive The Hearse
- The Sky Moves Sideways
- Open Car
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
---
#38: Glass Arm Shattering
---
#34: Dignity
#33: Chimera's Wreck
---
#29: Herd Culling
#28: Sleep Together
---
#23: Mellotron Scratch
#22: Waiting (both phases)
#21:
#20: Time Flies
#19:
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16:
#15: My Ashes
---
#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
Great batch, and all around where they should be! :D
Sleep Together: Maybe a bit overplayed like you said, and not one of my favorites from FOABP, but it's still a damn good album closer. Incredibly dark and climactic, and I absolutely love that "boot-up" effect on the keyboards in the first couple seconds. :lol
Mellotron Scratch: Not much to say about this one, just a damn good Deadwing song. The vibe here is pretty unique for the band, with the warm, bright, stripped down instrumentation for most of the song.
Time Flies: This used to be one of my favorite songs by the band but it's dropped a fair amount over the years. I can see why this song has its detractors - it's pretty derivative, and the middle section does go on for too long. But I still think this song is great based on its first and last third, Pink Floyd ripping off be damned. That guitar riff after the 2nd and 3rd choruses is just majestic.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED ***came in at 51 for me and since sending list, realize it should have been higher! :facepalm:
23 Time Flies 1
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#25 Sleep Together - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
This isn't a bad song per se, but it's one I tend to skip for some reasons. I do enjoy the song when I don't, and I also enjoyed it when they played it live.
#24 Mellotron Scratch - My Ranking: #20
This song grew on me a lot since first hearing Deadwing. I didn't enjoy it at first, but then as the years passed, I slowly heard things I started to enjoy in the song. Besides the somber atmosphere, the vocal harmonization at the ends adds a nice little touch.
#23 Time Flies - My Ranking: #37
I don't have much to say about this song other than I like it. Well, I do enjoy the subject matter as well, and how he incorporated that 70's style of music he grew up with.
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Okay, let's kick off the top 25 by doing three today! :metal :metal
25 Sleep Together
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (DTA)
2 Top 10 Finishes
Great song, with an incredible finish, and one I ranked 14th. I almost feel like this song gets a little "it gets played live too often" backlash, but maybe not. I thought this would finish a bit higher. Regardless, there are few PT songs with as great as finish as this one.
24 Mellotron Scratch
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (Elite)
3 Top 10 Finishes
Yet another great song from Deadwing. This ended up being only 42nd on my list, but ask me on another day, and it might finish 15-20 spots higher. A very unique song for both Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson in general. I was lucky enough to see them on the first leg of the Deadwing tour when this was getting played.
23 Time Flies
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (DTowwbwMP)
3 Top 10 Finishes
This ended up being one that missed the cut for me, but I still like it a lot. The guitar solo is a monster for sure. I feel like some of the homages to Pink Floyd are a bit too overt in this one, so maybe I subconsciously dock it a little for that, but it's just not a song I listen to very much anymore.
Sleep Together - #23
Close to consensus in ranking. I agree with your thoughts, it's got a very strong finish and seeing it played live with the solo band was a treat.
Mellotron Scratch - Unranked
I am very lukewarm to this track, I don't hate it but something about it just makes me not pay attention.
Time Flies - #34
I ranked this a little lower than most but really love the flow of it with the rest of disc 1.
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25 Sleep Together
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (DTA)
2 Top 10 Finishes
24 Mellotron Scratch
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (Elite)
3 Top 10 Finishes
23 Time Flies
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (DTowwbwMP)
3 Top 10 Finishes
Sleep Together - my rank 41. A really good song but not one of my favourites,
Mellotron Scratch - my rank 17. Now this is more like it. Always loved this song, it has a fairly unique vibe in the PT catalogue but it really works for me.
Time Flies - unranked. I like this song but couldn't fit it in. Just not a huge fan of The Incident overall.
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mellotron scratch is definitely a little too low, beautiful tune, but we're encroaching upon the top 20 now so hard to complain too much :lol
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I have to admit that I chuckled out loud to myself when I saw today's two songs finish back-to-back. I swear, I did not fudge the numbers to make it turn out this way!
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (faizoff, ReaperKK)
5 Top 10 Finishes
I feel like I undersold this one a bit, ranking it 32nd. The first half is great, but the second half is a whole other level. Just gorgeous music and playing.
21 Shesmovedon
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (nobloodyname)
3 Top 10 Finishes
This was one of the instant winners for me when I first got Lightbulb Sun, and it has held up really well. I ranked it 28th. Not sure why they felt the need to re-record it for the SE of Deadwing since the original could not be improved upon, but great song either way.
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Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
Time Flies
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
39. Open Car
38. Dignity
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
29. Sleep Together
27. Where We Would Be
26 Shesmovedon
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
23. Mellotron Scratch
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
11. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
10. Feel So Low
Lightbulb Sun might be my favorite PT album and these songs are both big reasons why. Last Chance especially is just so great, I love both parts and they complement each other very well. I managed to stay mostly spoiler free for the tour last year and seeing this song was probably my favorite surprise.
Man, Lightbulb Sun is awesome.
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Seeing Last Chance on tour was a huge surprise to me as well. I wonder if that elevated its status among some of us here? It's a cool tune, but it just missed out on the top 50 on my list, landing at #60. Shesmovedon is beautiful and I might actually even prefer the Deadwing version (heresy!) to the original. I had it at #26.
Here's an update to my list so far, with cursive being the ones where I was the highest ranker.
UR - Normal
UR - Where we Would Be
UR - Feel so Low
UR - What Happens Now?
---
#90 - Dignity
#86 - Lips of Ashes
#84 - My Ashes
#82 - Sentimental
#80 - Stop Swimming
#78 - Time Flies
#65 - Fadeaway
#61 - Halo
#60 - Last Chance to Evacuate Earth Before it is Recycled
#59 - Herd Culling
#53 - Harridan
---
#50 - Drown With Me
#45 - Chimera’s Wreck
#42 - Stars Die
---
#37 - Open Car
---
#29 - Glass Arm Shattering
#28 - Strip the Soul
#26 - Shesmovedon
#21 - Sleep Together
---
#19 - The Sky Moves Sideways
#16 - Waiting (Phase 1 & 2)
#15 - I Drive the Hearse
#14 - The Blind House
---
#9 - The Creator Has a Mastertape
#5 - Mellotron Scratch
#2 - Gravity Eyelids
And looking at what's left of my list, I think the rest of my top 10 will show up still, although I fear a little bit for my #1. From there on upwards, most of my #11-#25 is doomed at this point and from the bottom half (#26-#50) we'll probably see a couple more - I have a few obvious ones in that range.
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Last Chance #7 - love everything about this song and Lightbulb Sun.
She's Moved On #19
Not sure why they felt the need to re-record it for the SE of Deadwing since the original could not be improved upon, but great song either way.
I could be wrong, but I thought the version Deadwing was taken from an in-studio XM radio performance during the IA tour.
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I have to admit that I chuckled out loud to myself when I saw today's two songs finish back-to-back. I swear, I did not fudge the numbers to make it turn out this way!
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (faizoff, ReaperKK)
5 Top 10 Finishes
I feel like I undersold this one a bit, ranking it 32nd. The first half is great, but the second half is a whole other level. Just gorgeous music and playing.
21 Shesmovedon
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (nobloodyname)
3 Top 10 Finishes
This was one of the instant winners for me when I first got Lightbulb Sun, and it has held up really well. I ranked it 28th. Not sure why they felt the need to re-record it for the SE of Deadwing since the original could not be improved upon, but great song either way.
Last Chance #4
She's Moved On #5
Love these songs and them being back to back on the album is similar to my ranking. I went a little back and forth which one I liked more, honestly depends on my mood, could easily switch places.
The 2nd half of Evacuate is sublime as is the ending of She's moved on.
Just great tracks.
I too am not sure about the reason for re-recording She's moved on.
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22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (faizoff, ReaperKK)
5 Top 10 Finishes
21 Shesmovedon
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (nobloodyname)
3 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
NR. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
NR. Shesmovedon
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
45. Mellotron Scratch
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
34. Time Flies
33. Open Car
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
23. Sleep Together
22. Normal
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
07. What Happens Now?
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
Well somehow these two were not ranked and were probably not too far from 50, but I didn't save my whole list. Either way, great songs from an underrated PT album (mostly because I feel like it gets overshadowed and overlooked compared to their following three albums).
Looks like Elite has the least number of unranked songs so far, which means their list is most in line with the Countdown! Very nice! I'm up to eight not-ranked songs, so I'm 22/30 for ranked ones so far. I didn't expect to get two more NR songs and now I wonder just how many of the top 20 didn't make my list.
-Marc.
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Looks like Elite has the least number of unranked songs so far, which means their list is most in line with the Countdown! Very nice! I'm up to eight not-ranked songs, so I'm 22/30 for ranked ones so far. I didn't expect to get two more NR songs and now I wonder just how many of the top 20 didn't make my list.
I think you're miscounting Elite's list. He's only listing songs as unranked if they didn't make his top 90. You must surely be in the running for most songs ranked yourself!
I'm at 19/30 ranked.
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Oof, both unranked for me, and now I'm starting to get a bit worried for the remaining songs in my top 20. :lol
Last Chance admittedly made it kinda close. I do like a lot of the things about that song. The atmosphere of that song is really evocative, I enjoy the first half, and the second half is great instrumentally. The sample kinda kills the vibe for me though. I'm not opposed to prominent samples in music whatsoever, but this one I just... don't get. It feels so out of place to me, neither matching the vibe of the music nor the lyrics from the rest of the song. It's just distracting, in my opinion.
Shesmovedon is alright. I like the Deadwing re-recording of it more, though they're pretty similar.
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Two of my favorite PT tracks, though I’d have the order switched around. Last Chance might even be my favorite from PT (probably still behind a couple yet to appear tracks though). I love the banjo and jammy instrumental section. The whole band got to stretch out and they really shine on that track. She’s Moved On is another example of SW’s compelling lead guitar ability. I think I initially thought the Deadwing re-record was cool, but revisiting it recently it did feel a bit overworked. The original is still the best, especially when listened together with Last Chance.
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Well this is a bit embarrassing. I do really like Shesmovedon but not at number two. That was a mistake and will teach me to check a list before submitting it in future. It should have been around 20. Ooops.
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Looks like Elite has the least number of unranked songs so far, which means their list is most in line with the Countdown! Very nice! I'm up to eight not-ranked songs, so I'm 22/30 for ranked ones so far. I didn't expect to get two more NR songs and now I wonder just how many of the top 20 didn't make my list.
I think you're miscounting Elite's list. He's only listing songs as unranked if they didn't make his top 90. You must surely be in the running for most songs ranked yourself!
I'm at 19/30 ranked.
That's right! I ranked 90 tunes to come up with the top 50. Of the ones listed so far, I have 4 unranked ones, 11 in the 51-90 range and 15 (half of the total tracks) so far that actually made my top 50.
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Well this is a bit embarrassing. I do really like Shesmovedon but not at number two. That was a mistake and will teach me to check a list before submitting it in future. It should have been around 20. Ooops.
I demand a recount! :biggrin:
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Looks like Elite has the least number of unranked songs so far, which means their list is most in line with the Countdown! Very nice! I'm up to eight not-ranked songs, so I'm 22/30 for ranked ones so far. I didn't expect to get two more NR songs and now I wonder just how many of the top 20 didn't make my list.
I think you're miscounting Elite's list. He's only listing songs as unranked if they didn't make his top 90. You must surely be in the running for most songs ranked yourself!
I'm at 19/30 ranked.
That's right! I ranked 90 tunes to come up with the top 50. Of the ones listed so far, I have 4 unranked ones, 11 in the 51-90 range and 15 (half of the total tracks) so far that actually made my top 50.
You guys are right. That's what I get for replying not too long after I wake up. :lol I guess from here on out, I hope the remaining 20 songs are all songs I have on the rest of my Top 50!
-Marc.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
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22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled (my ranking: 8)
Wouldn't have been shocked if I had the high ranking on this one, but nope!
Love this song. Love the warm instrumentation, and the way everything sounds lush despite the simplicity of the arrangement. Love the wistful ballad in the first half, and the kinda-spacey jam in the second half. This song takes me on a journey ... though hopefully not to the same destination as Marshall Applewhite.
21 Shesmovedon (my ranking: N/R)
Oddly enough, this one didn't rank for me. I enjoy it a ton, and it's on one of my favorite albums, but just too many other tracks I like even better. Including the one just above.
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There will be no recount. :lol :P
Points total won't come till after the countdown is over, but interestingly, had nobloodyname put Shesmovedon at 20, the loss of 18 points would have dropped it two spots in the countdown (of course, the rest of his top 20 moves around as well, which would affect many other songs).
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#22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled - My Ranking: #09
This is one I love due to the atmosphere, the acoustic guitar verses, and how it gradually builds. I feel it could've been a bit longer though, especially the part that comes on right after the lyrics "Kissed me on the lips" That is my favorite part and it's a nice shift in vibe that signals "things are not what they seem". Then we get the ending with the cult leader announcing his intention.
#21 Shesmovedon - My Ranking: #15
I listened to the Deadwing version first. My friend then showed me the Lightbulb Sun version, and I still prefer the Deadwing Version. I don't know, the vibe that one has is quite different than the Lightbulb Sun one. I like how it fits in with the vibe of Deadwing, and the inclusion of Mikaels vocals adds a nice touch.
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22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
Appeared on 14 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 4 (faizoff, ReaperKK)
5 Top 10 Finishes
21 Shesmovedon
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (nobloodyname)
3 Top 10 Finishes
Last Chance - unranked. Yeah I may also have undersold this song, I do really enjoy it as I do the whole album but I didn't get this song in my top 50.
Shesmovedon - My rank 3. This is just brilliant and without a doubt one of my very favourite PT songs. I just love the melodies in this song and the vocal arrangement in the chorus is just magical. A great track that I thought would rank higher.
At this stage I have 11 unranked songs, hoping that is all..
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Shesmovedon - My rank 3. This is just brilliant and without a doubt one of my very favourite PT songs. I just love the melodies in this song and the vocal arrangement in the chorus is just magical. A great track that I thought would rank higher.
That makes me feel a bit better :biggrin:
Sorry, folks. Still, I imagine most of us would move a few songs around if we could, anyway.
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The big dogs are coming...
:metal :metal
20 A Smart Kid
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (SomeoneLikeHim)
4 Top 10 Finishes
I ranked this 20th, so I nailed its spot. Amazing song, with an incredible vibe. I love how desolate it sounds, and the vocal melodies are absolutely glorious.
19 The Sound of Muzak
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (nobloodyname)
1 Top 10 Finish
I feel like I vastly under ranked this one, as I had it at 26, but it feels like a top 10-15 song. The harmonies are beyond good, and it has one of SW's best guitar solos ever.
18 Hatesong
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Buddyhunter1)
6 Top 10 Finishes
My love for this song over the years has never wavered, which I why it ranked it 9th. The original is just a stunning piece of music with a bad ass groove by Chris Maitland (the live versions with Gavin, not so much).
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A Smart Kid was my #10 and highest ranked from Stupid Dream. In my last post I wrote that aside from my #1 I pretty sure every song in my top 10 will show up still, but when I wrote that I actually wasn't all too sure about this one, so I'm glad it's here :)
The Sound of Muzak was #57 on my list and top 20 seems WAY too high. Same for Hatesong, which was #64 on mine. Both fine tracks, but not really songs I go out of my way to listen to.
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Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
Time Flies
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
39. Open Car
38. Dignity
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
29. Sleep Together
27. Where We Would Be
26 Shesmovedon
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
23. Mellotron Scratch
18. Hatesong
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
13. The Sound of Muzak
11. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
10. Feel So Low
3. A Smart Kid
Now these are some great songs! A Smart Kid is one of my all time favorites, almost perfect. When I hear that opening piano melody join the guitar it always grabs me. I love how desperate the chorus sounds, as well as the ending guitar solo. One of Stevens most emotional solos for sure.
Sound of Muzak is a great catchy pop song. The chorus and the solo are top tier, with the verses dragging it down just a bit for me. Hatesong is just groovy as hell, love it.
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20 A Smart Kid (my ranking: 26)
Probably my favorite "last survivor of the apocalypse" song outside of "King of the World" by Steely Dan.
Beautiful, poignant, dramatic, powerful. A great piece of songwriting.
19 The Sound of Muzak (my ranking: 38)
Every prog-related musician needs at least one "F the music industry" song, and Steven gave us two on back-to-back albums. The main guitar line, syncopated with the drums, is brilliant and absolutely makes the song. The chord progression in the chorus is basically trademark PT.
18 Hatesong (my ranking: 3)
This song is an absolute tour de force. The Colin bass groove that kicks it off. The intentionally-raw lyrics, just dripping with anger. The sound design by Richard. The way the guitar riff jumps in and out just before the big instrumental part. The really-messed-up solo. The way they break the whole groove down again at the end of the song as it heads for the fadeout. I've got this ranked at #3 and it deserves that lofty position.
And how good is Chris Maitland on the two big tracks on the second half of Lightbulb Sun? Monster of a performance.
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20 A Smart Kid
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (SomeoneLikeHim)
4 Top 10 Finishes
19 The Sound of Muzak
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (nobloodyname)
1 Top 10 Finish
18 Hatesong
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Buddyhunter1)
6 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
NR. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
NR. Shesmovedon
NR. A Smart Kid
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
45. Mellotron Scratch
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
34. Time Flies
33. Open Car
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
23. Sleep Together
22. Normal
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
14. The Sound Of Muzak
07. What Happens Now?
06. Hatesong
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
Somehow "A Smart Kid" missed my top 50, but I'm sure it wasn't too far off. Great song.
Had "The Sound Of Muzak" at 14th. One of the first PT songs I remember hearing and was blown away by it and IT STILL moves me to this day. Amazing song with poignant lyrics and mindbending drumming from Gavin.
"Hatesong" ended up in 6th for me. One of my two favorites off of LS and an experience for sure. I'm quite happy to see it this high.
-Marc.
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The Sound of Muzak would have been top 5 for me. Great tune.
Hatesong is kind of obnoxious to me. More moody teeenagery lyrics.
I can’t remember what A Smart Kid sounds like off the top of my head, but I do have that album.
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I'm surprised TSOM is as high as it is. It's a great song and all but I would've thought the "old man yells at cloud" lyrics would've put people off. Maybe you're all old men yelling at clouds.
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Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
- I Drive The Hearse
- The Sky Moves Sideways
- Open Car
- Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
- Shesmovedon
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
#47: A Smart Kid
#46: The Sound Of Muzak
---
#38: Glass Arm Shattering
---
#34: Dignity
#33: Chimera's Wreck
---
#29: Herd Culling
#28: Sleep Together
---
#23: Mellotron Scratch
#22: Waiting (both phases)
#21:
#20: Time Flies
#19:
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16:
#15: My Ashes
---
#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
---
#2: Hatesong
A Smart Kid: Good vocal melodies on this one, and a very somber tune. Well-constructed, but it's definitely not their most exciting song so it ranked pretty low for me.
The Sound Of Muzak: I was actually expecting this to rank a bit higher. :lol A good song for sure, though a bit overrated. The choruses are definitely the highlight, with that smooth bassline, harmonized vocals, and iconic chord progression that Steven Wilson absolutely loved to spam at least half of the chords from around this era. :lol
Hatesong: :metal :metal :metal I don't think there's any other song in the band's catalog where they feel as much like, well, a band. Steven Wilson himself takes a backseat on this one, and most of the interesting stuff comes from the bassline, drums, and keyboards. This song is groovy as hell, everyone puts on an awesome performance, and the song is structured in such a way where the instrumentation really gets to shine, with the slow introduction at the middle, the fiery instrumental section in the middle, and the smooth little jam at the very end. I love this song because it's so different for them. Usually the songwriting is the appeal of Porcupine Tree for me, but this is a few steps a way from a full-on jam, and it's executed so well for being such an abnormality in the catalog (I guess there's Moonloop, but needless to say I didn't rank that one :lol). Proud to be the highest-ranker for this one. :tup
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This is more like it!
I had A Smart Kid at #38. Great song.
TSOM and Hatesong would’ve both gotten a boost from me if I had gotten my list turned in in time. TSOM was #7 and Hatesong was #6.
TSOM is always my go to song when I want to introduce anyone to PT. It’s short. The beat is weird and proggy, but still easy to groove to. And hey! I was only 30 when those lyrics first came out, and thought they were pretty spot on! Does that prove you get “old” at 30? ::)
Hatesong I heard first on LS, but it was the live version from AS that hit a home run with me. That stop/start section before the guitar solo took me a dozen listens before I could wrap my head around what was going on. I love songs that make me try to figure out what they are doing. The live video was the first time I had ever seen a drummer lick his thumb and and drag it across the drum head for a sound effect. I’m sure it’s probably an old trick, but I had still never seen that done, so it really blew my mind when I saw it.
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I think The Sound of Muzak is a divisive tune. I do not like the lyrics to the song, I don't agree with them and I'm not sure what to make of them. Are they meant to be tongue in cheek? Sarcastic? Why package them in a sing-along chorus? What's the point of this song? This is one of those moments that SW tries too hard and misses the mark. Instead of raging that he's never had any 'mainstream success' (recent interviews, I think during the To the Bone cycle), he could instead appreciate that he managed to create a living out of making music.
Anyway, one of the 'worst songs' on In Absentia. The sing-along chorus mentioned above is fun in a live setting though, despite its untrue and almost cringe-worthy lyrics. Music isn't 'going down' as long as there's still people playing music.
EDIT: And it's stupid, because in some ways I do agree with what he's trying to say, but the point isn't that 'music is going down', as far as I'm concerned, it's that people are missing the point not only of music, but of art in general, but this is an arguments that's been done to death in recent years too. When people start taking music (or film, or artworks, or idk, anything that takes creativity to make) for granted and since it's always available at any given moment, it loses its value and the art gets detached from the creator. Couple that with a severely lacking educational system that doesn't encourage people to pursue creativity and people will (on a broad, general level) not appreciate the effort it takes for someone to create something. The insane paradox about this is that people actually DO WANT to be able to do this. I see this weekly; people admiring other people playing instruments or singing and wishing they could do that too. It takes hard work, and good education - and in some way a society that actually values art and enables people to engage in it - to get there and when you deprive people of that, they're unwillingly missing out and that is a shame and the larger problem at hand.
Rant over. Sorry for completely going off topic.
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In my last post I wrote that aside from my #1 I pretty sure every song in my top 10 will show up still, but when I wrote that I actually wasn't all too sure about this one, so I'm glad it's here :)
At this point I'm fairly certain my #6 didn't make the list at all. :'( Everything else in my top 10 is probably a safe bet, though.
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Not sure if he did this at all the shows on the last tour, but when I saw them, Steven did a lengthy introduction to TSOM even further expanding on the lyrics in a dramatic, smug fashion. "I wrote this song 20 years ago ... look at how amazingly correct I was!" [audience applauds]
Kinda funny, kinda cringey, but that's SW.
Also, I think I'm gonna have two songs in my top 10 miss the list entirely, but we'll see.
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Not sure if he did this at all the shows on the last tour, but when I saw them, Steven did a lengthy introduction to TSOM even further expanding on the lyrics in a dramatic, smug fashion. "I wrote this song 20 years ago ... look at how amazingly correct I was!" [audience applauds]
Kinda funny, kinda cringey, but that's SW.
He did at the show I went to and I thought it was stupid, annoying and unnecessary.
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He did at the show I went to and I thought it was stupid, annoying and unnecessary.
And I'm just standing there thinking, in all this time you've been ranting you coulda played "Nine Cats" or something.
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That would have been amazing!
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I think The Sound of Muzak is a divisive tune. I do not like the lyrics to the song, I don't agree with them and I'm not sure what to make of them. Are they meant to be tongue in cheek? Sarcastic? Why package them in a sing-along chorus? What's the point of this song? This is one of those moments that SW tries too hard and misses the mark. Instead of raging that he's never had any 'mainstream success' (recent interviews, I think during the To the Bone cycle), he could instead appreciate that he managed to create a living out of making music.
Anyway, one of the 'worst songs' on In Absentia. The sing-along chorus mentioned above is fun in a live setting though, despite its untrue and almost cringe-worthy lyrics. Music isn't 'going down' as long as there's still people playing music.
EDIT: And it's stupid, because in some ways I do agree with what he's trying to say, but the point isn't that 'music is going down', as far as I'm concerned, it's that people are missing the point not only of music, but of art in general, but this is an arguments that's been done to death in recent years too. When people start taking music (or film, or artworks, or idk, anything that takes creativity to make) for granted and since it's always available at any given moment, it loses its value and the art gets detached from the creator. Couple that with a severely lacking educational system that doesn't encourage people to pursue creativity and people will (on a broad, general level) not appreciate the effort it takes for someone to create something. The insane paradox about this is that people actually DO WANT to be able to do this. I see this weekly; people admiring other people playing instruments or singing and wishing they could do that too. It takes hard work, and good education - and in some way a society that actually values art and enables people to engage in it - to get there and when you deprive people of that, they're unwillingly missing out and that is a shame and the larger problem at hand.
Rant over. Sorry for completely going off topic.
I take the central message of the Sound of Muzak to just be complaining that music only exists as either a commodity or background music to most people, and it isn't made or consumed for artistic purposes (and I guess how it's essentially mass produced based on formulas to have the broadest appeal rather than being a personal, artistic expression). It is a bit whiny though, as many SW lyrics are. But it's almost a perfectly executed prog/pop tune. It's complex and catchy and has incredible production.
Come to think of it, it's the third song in three PT albums to critique/complain about the music industry (after Piano Lessons and Four Chords That Made a Million).
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I suppose I have always hated the idea of music being “manufactured”. And that, to me, is what the song is criticizing.
I mean, I get that at a certain point, you have to start accepting the fact that music is a commodity. But it still rubs me the wrong way.
It’s like, I used to be in several bands, and I passionately pursued the idea of making a living making art. But at a certain point, I realized that if I pursued my goal to its logical conclusion, that music was going to become my “job” and that I was going to have customers that I would have to answer to. And a “brand” that I was going to be labeled with. The whole idea made my skin crawl. I can still create for my own enjoyment.
Sorry. Don’t want to hijack. Just thoughts on why the song touched me. I never liked the idea of music being a “product”.
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Come to think of it, it's the third song in three PT albums to critique/complain about the music industry (after Piano Lessons and Four Chords That Made a Million).
Speaking of Piano Lessons, that’s a much better song than The Sound Of Muzak, both musically and lyrically. Shame that it looks like it won’t appear on the list at all…
Four Chords is pretty lame and I didn’t rank it.
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Come to think of it, it's the third song in three PT albums to critique/complain about the music industry (after Piano Lessons and Four Chords That Made a Million).
Speaking of Piano Lessons, that’s a much better song than The Sound Of Muzak, both musically and lyrically. Shame that it looks like it won’t appear on the list at all…
Four Chords is pretty lame and I didn’t rank it.
I didn’t do a list, but Piano Lessons also would have ranked pretty highly for me as well.
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I actually did rank Piano Lessons. Here’s the thing; that one has personal lyrics and comes across as a far more honest and introspective tune than the other two.
I’ll reply later on the music being product discussion.
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Purely coincidental, but I had adjacent rankings for Piano Lessons and The Sound of Muzak.
SW, on the other hand, seems to heavily prefer the latter.
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I really like Piano Lessons, but I ding it a tad for the production. Most of Stupid Dream sounds great, but that song sounds a bit thin, like the bottom end was snuffed out or something. I don't notice that issue with any other song on the record, but I always notice it with that one.
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hatesong and muzak this high? wow :lol
prob among my least faves on each of their albums
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49 (t) Where We Would Be #30
45 Stars Die #9
44 Feel So Low #32
43 Fadeaway #14
40 Herd Culling #31
34 Stop Swimming #16
33 Waiting #21
32 Gravity Eyelids #29
31 Glass Arm Shattering #42
30 Sentimental #40
27 The Sky Moves Sideways #13
25 Sleep Together #34
24 Mellotron Scratch #36
23 Time Flies #28
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled #7
21 Shesmovedon #19
20 A Smart Kid - unranked. Think there ended being 4-5 other songs from Stupid Dream I liked more than this one
19 The Sound of Muzak #23
18 Hatesong - unranked, just really never cared for this one.
NR: Normal, The Blind House, Halo, Lips of Ashes, Dignity, Drown with Me, The Creator Has a Mastertape, Strip the Soul, Harridan, What Happens Now, My Ashes, I Drive the Hearse, Chimera's Wreck, Open Car, A Smart Kid, Hatesong
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20 A Smart Kid
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (SomeoneLikeHim)
4 Top 10 Finishes
19 The Sound of Muzak
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 8 (nobloodyname)
1 Top 10 Finish
18 Hatesong
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Buddyhunter1)
6 Top 10 Finishes
A Smart Kid - my rank 35. Sure could have been higher. A beautiful song, gorgeous melodies and vocals.
The Sound of Muzak - well this one went unranked for me. Sure, a great song but not one of my favourites so in that context I am surprised it has ranked this high but I guess I shouldn't be.
Hatesong - my rank 25. Killer bass line.
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#20 A Smart Kid - My Ranking: #07
I love this one immensely. Right from the beginning, it sets a tone. I love the sound effects on the vocals, it's as if the person is crying out and since they're the only person left on Earth, his voice echoes across this Earth in an eerie silence. I also like the weird breathing effects going on, because I see that as the Aliens from the Spaceship observing him, and possibly taking him aboard their Spacecraft. This is one of the big reasons I enjoy the older albums a lot as well.
#19 The Sound of Muzak - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
While I do enjoy some of the In Absentia songs, this one I just can't get into. I think it's the guitar riff, but I do enjoy the chorus. I also like the topic of the lyrics, but it's the way it's presented musically.
#18 Hatesong - My Ranking: #38
I just love the bass line and the groove. I quite enjoy the song most from the Arriving Somewhere... release and don't mind Gavin's "extra" parts.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
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Here are today's songs, one of which was my number 1 PT song for years AND my current number 1 PT song.
17 Lightbulb Sun
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (KevShmev)
3 Top 10 Finishes
For many years, this was my favorite song by the band, but now it sits at number 3, although my top 3 are pretty interchangeable, I suppose. Just a tremendous song all-around, and for as dark and moody as PT/SW's can be, the musical brightness of this one is really charming. This is a great sunny day song.
16 Don’t Hate Me
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (KevShmev)
6 Top 10 Finishes
This is now my favorite PT song, not to mention the best song I think Wilson has ever written. I mean, it has both a flute solo AND a saxophone solo!! What more can you ask for?? The tension and flow of this song are both out of this world, and the melodies are just delicious.
15 Fear of a Blank Planet
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (Mladen)
4 Top 10 Finishes
I ranked this 40th, but I am not surprised to see this finish top 20. Damn fine song for sure, and this was on my go-to workout playlist for most of the late 00s.
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Three songs I ranked in the 51-90 range.
It’s getting tense for the remaining tracks high up on my list!
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17 Lightbulb Sun (my ranking: 21)
Was wondering if this song might not make the list, but instead, it's actually slightly higher than my ranking! To me, this one is all about the tension that gets built up in the minor chords -- a tension that doesn't ever quite get resolved, until finally the song ends on an acoustic bit like it begins. Even the final acoustic chord is just a bit strange. The intensity of the chorus picks up each time it comes around, and I love the low-in-the-mix almost-screamed backing vocals on the last run through. A great track that drives the mood for the album right off the start.
Also, is it just me or is this song between pitches? As if they sped up or slowed down the tape just slightly?
16 Don’t Hate Me (my ranking: 7)
Another one I was wondering might not make the list, but it did, and I'm happy.
Sometimes I can take or leave lyrics, but these are some of my favorites that SW has ever written. They paint imagery of isolation, of dark loneliness. And the music is there to match -- it's dark and haunting and just a bit desolate. And, yeah, that's a top-tier instrumental break, Colin and Theo in particular. Easy top 10 pick for me.
Also, if you've never heard it, check out the song "London" -- it's an early SW demo that uses many of the lyrics from this song, but musically is much different and stripped down.
15 Fear of a Blank Planet (my ranking: Not Ranked)
Sometimes I can take or leave lyrics ... and sometimes I really just don't like them. And that's my problem with FOABP, an album that contains a lot of my favorite music from the Gavin era, but that I find lyrically grating almost straight through. The whole satirical written-in-first-person "I'm a bored MTV XBOX kid on prescription drugs" thing wears thin on me really quickly, and I never thought it was as clever as Steven seemed to think it was.
So, this song starts the album on the wrong foot for me lyrically. Musically, I like it, but I don't think it's anything particularly unique -- very PT-by-the-numbers coming off of Deadwing.
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Lightbulb Sun was number 32 for me. A really strong song with one of my favorite intro and outros.
Don't Hate Me and Fear Of A Blank Planet didn't make the cut. Don't Hate Me was a big grower but just missed the 50 and Fear isn't a good song.
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17 Lightbulb Sun
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (KevShmev)
3 Top 10 Finishes
16 Don’t Hate Me
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (KevShmev)
6 Top 10 Finishes
15 Fear of a Blank Planet
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (Mladen)
4 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
NR. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
NR. Shesmovedon
NR. A Smart Kid
NR. Lightbulb Sun
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
45. Mellotron Scratch
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
34. Time Flies
33. Open Car
32. Fear Of A Blank Planet
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
23. Sleep Together
22. Normal
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
14. The Sound Of Muzak
12. Don't Hate Me
07. What Happens Now?
06. Hatesong
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
Somehow "Lightbulb Sun" missed my Top 50, but it is an amazing song and a great album opener.
I had "Don't Hate Me" at 12th, one of my two favorite songs from Stupid Dream so I'm quite happy to see it make the top 20 here!
FOABP landed at 32 for me. As a big fan of all of those songs, I am continuing to enjoy seeing them pop up here! I remember hearing this album when it released and being blown away by how different it seemed compared to the previous two, especially since it was their first new album after I became a fan (which was not long after Deadwing came out).
-Marc.
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Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
- I Drive The Hearse
- The Sky Moves Sideways
- Open Car
- Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
- Shesmovedon
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
#47: A Smart Kid
#46: The Sound Of Muzak
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#38: Glass Arm Shattering
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#34: Dignity
#33: Chimera's Wreck
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#30: Fear Of A Blank Planet
#29: Herd Culling
#28: Sleep Together
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#23: Mellotron Scratch
#22: Waiting (both phases)
#21: Don't Hate Me
#20: Time Flies
#19:
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16:
#15: My Ashes
#14: Lightbulb Sun
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#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
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#2: Hatesong
Lightbulb Sun: One of the best songs from this album. It's got that bright and warm but simultaneously depressing atmosphere that Porcupine Tree does so well, and those mini-guitar solos and chorus riffs are so damn tasty.
Don't Hate Me: Best song from Stupid Dream, easily. Few other songs paint as much of a picture as this one does, through it's cold, dark, wintery atmosphere and its extremely blunt but honest lyrics. Combine that with the surprisingly upbeat instrumental section in the middle, and it's got a good amount of variety too!
Fear Of A Blank Planet: Yeah the lyrics kinda suck, but the song's good enough that it doesn't really matter. The riffs are great, and that verse vocal melody is a total earworm that I'll find myself humming every now and then. The song's also got a very strong second half, with that suspenseful buildup into the breakdown, and the beautiful outro. I actually have this as my lowest-ranking song from FOABP, and the fact that it's still at #30 is a testament to how amazing this album is.
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Don't Hate Me is another song where the solo version (with Ninet) is light years better than the original album version. It's that version that earned a number seven ranking from me.
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Lightbulb Sun would also be a strong contender for my favorite PT song. Top 5 at least.
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Really love Lightbulb Sun (#30), so melodic and catchy.
FoaBP (#4) is PT at its very own prog metal, so cool, a bit creepy and energetic!!
Don't Hate Me (#10) - amazing song, even more perfected in the live version of Steven Wilson EP 4 1/2.
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I was away for the last couple of days, so I've just now seen the last three updates. I had all of these songs fairly high, except for A Smart kid, which I didn't rank. I'm also surprised I'm the one that ranked FOTBP the highest. It wasn't in anyone's top five? :omg:
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damn, two pretty solid title track openers and also a stupid dream song i've never cared about :lol
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17 Lightbulb Sun
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (KevShmev)
3 Top 10 Finishes
16 Don’t Hate Me
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (KevShmev)
6 Top 10 Finishes
15 Fear of a Blank Planet
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 6 (Mladen)
4 Top 10 Finishes
Lightbulb Sun - at this point in the countdown I had this song marked as one of my ranked songs (I had it at 26) that wasn't going to make it. I really like this song, just has a great upbeat vibe and a bit of The Bends era Radiohead vibe but compared to some great songs in my opinion that haven't made the countdown this being at 17 is still a surprise.
Don't Hate Me - my rank 18. Now this is a really great track with a sublime chorus. A very interesting and different solo section but it all fits, the bass line here rules. Good to see it get a number 1 ranking (well done Kev).
Fear of a Blank Planet - my rank 15 so nailed it. The lyrics don't bother me but yeah I get that they do grow old fast.
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Lightbulb Sun is 18 for me. Another simple but memorable SW lead again, he's like George Harrison of prog rock soloists.
Didn't rank the other two. Don't Hate Me is fine, but breaks up the flow of Stupid Dream for me. Not a fan of FOABP, just a bit too structured, feels to me like early-mid 2000s hard rock radio.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
17 Lightbulb Sun 36
16 Don’t Hate Me UNRANKED
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 15!
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I made list of what I think will be the remaining 14 tunes. It’ll be interesting to see if I’m right and in which order they will show up :)
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Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
Time Flies
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
39. Open Car
38. Dignity
37. Don't Hate Me
36. Lightbulb Sun
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
29. Sleep Together
27. Where We Would Be
26 Shesmovedon
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
23. Mellotron Scratch
18. Hatesong
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
14. Fear of a Blank Planet
13. The Sound of Muzak
11. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
10. Feel So Low
3. A Smart Kid
Despite Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun being among my favorite albums, these two tracks were never standouts for me. Still great songs and worthy of my list but I wouldn't place them quite this high. Lightbulb Sun in particular I didn't know was this beloved so I was starting to think it would go unranked.
Fear rocks so hard. The lyrics really don't bother me here but I totally get why they would ruin it for some people. Great placement here!
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I had LS at 35, DHM at 20, and FOABP at 8.
I guess I’m going to be the guy who steps up in defense of the lyrics of Blank. I think they are awesome. It’s sets the theme for the album perfectly, and I do find them to be a perfect snapshot of youth culture that has only become more true as time goes on.
My favorite lines are the opening verses right before the guitar kicks in full force, the line about being bored with porn, and the line about his best friend being in a crappy band that sounds like Pearl Jam. Brilliant song, brilliant observations.
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Looking at the remaining songs I would say there are 12 songs that I am expecting to be in the top 14, not sure what the other 2 will be. Looking forward to seeing how the top of the list turns out!
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27 The Sky Moves Sideways 32
Like the space rock influence on this one. Gets really psychedelic with the middle part.
26 Open Car 49
Cool song, wish the heavy middle part extension of the live version was in the studio recording.
25 Sleep Together 20
One of their bangers for sure. Can’t really get tired of this one. Live it slays even more, but the studio version has that incredible orchestra at the end.
24 Mellotron Scratch 10
I can see why some might find this one boring. For me, it’s all about the outro.
23 Time Flies 29
The entire song is pretty good, the instrumental part in the middle is epic. Love the instrumental ‘chorus’ as well. Great guitar chords there.
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled 42
I like it, it’s moody and the outro is really great. Loved seeing this live.
21 Shesmovedon 31
Classic song, the harmony vocals are excellent here. I never understood the re-recording, to me it just sounds worse.
20 A Smart Kid 6
Really beautiful track, this just has everything. Love how the orchestra swallows the song at the end.
19 The Sound of Muzak 12
Unique track with awesome harmony vocals and guitar solo. The acoustic guitar really makes this track sparkle.
18 Hatesong 41
I used to like this a lot more but my appreciation for it has waned a bit over the years. Still, solid track that gets pretty wild on the Arriving Somewhere DVD.
17 Lightbulb Sun 13
One of the best intros ever, what more could you want..
16 Don’t Hate Me 7
Absolutely beautiful, one of their best.
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 16
This song is relentless and one of their best rockers. The 6/8 outro is pure gold.
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My favorite lines are the opening verses right before the guitar kicks in full force, the line about being bored with porn, and the line about his best friend being in a crappy band that sounds like Pearl Jam. Brilliant song, brilliant observations.
Funny because those lines immediately turn me off from the song, the feel so clunky, :lol, different tastes!
I think SW as a lyricists is incredibly inconsistent. Most of his lyrics are pretty good to great but there are some big misses.
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We move on with three more!
14 Collapse the Light into Earth
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Duetsch Dream Dates)
8 Top 10 Finishes
What an amazing piece of music. I have long been on the "this is one of their best songs" train, and it is great to see so many others on board now as well. I ranked it 10th, and I probably could have put it even higher.
13 Way out of Here
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (faizoff, faizoff)
7 Top 10 Finishes
Love this one as well; I ranked it 18th. Every time I hear that chorus, the effect on Wilson's voice is like he is down in the valley screaming to be heard, and we the listeners are on top of the mountain, which is why his singing almost sounds faint and not totally decipherable. Amazing production. And seeing that outro live is a sight to behold.
12 The Start of Something Beautiful
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Ben_Jamin, Mladen, romdrums)
6 Top 10 Finishes
Another terrific song from Deadwing; I ranked it 11th. Everything about is great, and the musical buildup and climax before the last chorus is almost too good for words.
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I had Collapse at 92, pretty song but never really did much for me
Way Out Of Here was at 16 for me. I concur with your thoughts Kev on the chorus and I it's one of my favorite SW guitar solos
The Start Of Something Beautiful was at 74 for me, don't hate it but like Collapse is just doesn't really do anything for me.
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I made list of what I think will be the remaining 14 tunes. It’ll be interesting to see if I’m right and in which order they will show up :)
These three are all on my list, so far I’m doing alright :lol
Still no sign of my #1 though… :\
Collapse was my #13 - cool track! And coincidentally the song that inspired one of the first songs I ever wrote. I have a couple others in my top 25 that did a similar thing that won’t show up on this list anymore. I never doubted this one would make an appearance.
Way Out of Here is a bit high, I had it at #30. Nice metal riffing in the back-end.
The Start of Something Beautiful… what can I say. A very deserving piece to rank as #1. Well done guys that did it! This was my #3, behind Gravity Eyelids at #2 and the yet unrevealed #1. This is my favourite on Deadwing and contains my favourite Porcupine Tree chorus. That lyrics placement is amazing! The guitar work throughout is great and the pace of the song is unmatched compared to the majority of PT’s material. Come to think of it, most of the songs are relatively slow, while this one feels like a journey in and of itself.
Update with my list:
UR - Normal
UR - Where we Would Be
UR - Feel so Low
UR - What Happens Now?
---
#90 - Dignity
#88 - Don’t Hate Me
#86 - Lips of Ashes
#84 - My Ashes
#82 - Sentimental
#80 - Stop Swimming
#78 - Time Flies
#77 - Lightbulb Sun
#66 - Fear of a Blank Planet
#65 - Fadeaway
#64 - Hatesong
#61 - Halo
#60 - Last Chance to Evacuate Earth Before it is Recycled
#59 - Herd Culling
#57 - The Sound of Muzak
#53 - Harridan
---
#50 - Drown With Me
#45 - Chimera’s Wreck
#42 - Stars Die
---
#37 - Open Car
---
#30 - Way out of Here
#29 - Glass Arm Shattering
#28 - Strip the Soul
#26 - Shesmovedon
#21 - Sleep Together
---
#19 - The Sky Moves Sideways
#16 - Waiting (Phase 1 & 2)
#15 - I Drive the Hearse
#14 - The Blind House
#13 - Collapse the Light Into Earth
---
#10 - A Smart Kid
#9 - The Creator Has a Mastertape
#5 - Mellotron Scratch
#3 - The Start of Something Beautiful
#2 - Gravity Eyelids
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13 Way out of Here
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (faizoff, faizoff)
7 Top 10 Finishes.
Did he send two lists? :o
-
Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
Time Flies
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
43. Way Out of Here
39. Open Car
38. Dignity
37. Don't Hate Me
36. Lightbulb Sun
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
29. Sleep Together
27. Where We Would Be
26. Shesmovedon
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
23. Mellotron Scratch
21. Collapse the Light into Earth
20. The Start of Something Beautiful
18. Hatesong
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
14. Fear of a Blank Planet
13. The Sound of Muzak
11. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
10. Feel So Low
3. A Smart Kid
I said earlier that I was pretty sure I knew what 12 out of the final 14 were going to be. Way Out of Here was not one of the 12, I was beginning to think it might not make it. Good song but I didn't expect it this high.
Collapse and Start are both great, there are just a bunch of even greater songs that I placed above them. I love the lyrics on Collapse.
I won't heal given time
I won't try to change your mind
I won't feel better in the cold light of day
But I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to stay
Beautiful!
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14 Collapse the Light into Earth
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Duetsch Dream Dates)
8 Top 10 Finishes
13 Way out of Here
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (faizoff, faizoff)
7 Top 10 Finishes
12 The Start of Something Beautiful
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Ben_Jamin, Mladen, romdrums)
6 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
NR. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
NR. Shesmovedon
NR. A Smart Kid
NR. Lightbulb Sun
NR. The Start Of Something Beautiful
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
45. Mellotron Scratch
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
34. Time Flies
33. Open Car
32. Fear Of A Blank Planet
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
23. Sleep Together
22. Normal
20. Way Out Of Here
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
14. The Sound Of Muzak
12. Don't Hate Me
10. Collapse The Light Into Earth
07. What Happens Now?
06. Hatesong
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
I had CTLIE at 10th place, so not too far off. One of the band's more beautiful songs, such a lush way to close out an otherwise heavy album, something I love about PT. Also another great song in a line of amazing album closers.
And ten spaces up at 20th for me was WOOH, another from my favorite album, and such a good song too. Can't say much more that what anyone else could say, but I am happy to see this one so high.
And TSOSB went not ranked for me, though I can't imagine it wasn't too far from 50 for me. Also, not surprising to see three more songs from the IA-DW-FOABP trio of albums.
So far, I have 11 songs that didn't make my own 50. Not bad as we head into the final eleven songs. I wonder if the remaining 6 of my top 10 will appear?
-Marc.
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14 Collapse the Light into Earth (my ranking: N/R)
AKA "Five Chords That Made a Million." It's pretty, I guess, but I've never thought this song was all that great. Just kinda drones on and on to me.
13 Way out of Here (my ranking: N/R)
I know, I know, we've already talked about the lyrics on FOABP, but "a song comes on to my ipod" is so bad it just about makes me hit the "Skip" button to the next track. Glad I don't, because I do like this song musically, especially the intense buildup near the end before the last chorus. Another FOABP song that I do think works well in the context of the album, but can't crack my list.
12 The Start of Something Beautiful (my ranking: N/R)
This was probably one of my favorite songs from Deadwing early on, but I grew to like it less over time. I saw it live a couple times, and I don't think it connected very well in the live setting.
Tough territory for me here -- three songs that appeared on almost every list, with a ton of Top 10 finishes, and I didn't rank a single one.
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13 Way out of Here
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (faizoff, faizoff)
7 Top 10 Finishes.
Did he send two lists? :o
I was the other person that had it at #2. :D
So I'm way behind on this thread, but I had Collapse at 42, Way Out of Here at 2, and Beautiful at 1. With my top 2, and really my top 10, I'm clearly a bit of a Gavin Harrison fan. I love his drumming, particularly in PT, and I would have to say that he's my current favorite drummer. I think his contributions to PT's sound helped elevate the band to a higher level, and my top 2 songs are the best illustration of that. I find them both to be absolute tours-de-force as far as the drumming is concerned. I think the chemistry between Harrison and Wilson is what makes modern PT the force that it is.
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I like all three of today’s tracks, but Collapse The Light is on another level from the other two. Definitely one of my favorites.
-
At this point I'm fairly certain my #6 didn't make the list at all. :'(
Nevermind! :biggrin:
Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
- I Drive The Hearse
- The Sky Moves Sideways
- Open Car
- Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
- Shesmovedon
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
#47: A Smart Kid
#46: The Sound Of Muzak
---
#38: Glass Arm Shattering
---
#34: Dignity
#33: Chimera's Wreck
---
#30: Fear Of A Blank Planet
#29: Herd Culling
#28: Sleep Together
---
#23: Mellotron Scratch
#22: Waiting (both phases)
#21: Don't Hate Me
#20: Time Flies
#19: Way Out Of Here
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16:
#15: My Ashes
#14: Lightbulb Sun
#13:
#12: The Start Of Something Beautiful
#11:
#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
#7:
#6: Collapse The Light Into Earth
---
#2: Hatesong
Collapse The Light Into Earth: Glad to see this one getting the recognition it deserves. Yeah it's a very simple song, but it's proof that sometimes all you need is a beautifully emotional chord progression and melody. It's easily one of the most emotionally-resonant songs in their entire catalog for me. Not much else to say about it.
Way Out Of Here: Another solid FOABP cut. I love how at this point in the album the dejected depression has turned to full-on desperation, which really comes through in that 2nd verse. The production in the first verse is absolutely haunting, as are the suspenseful strings during the outro. A fantastic penultimate song for the record.
The Start Of Something Beautiful: This was my favorite Deadwing song for a while, but now it sits at #2. One of the best choruses in their catalog, and the instrumental section leading up to that final chorus is just heart-wrenchingly beautiful.
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Alright, there's 11 songs left and 9 remaining in my top 20. If those leftover two are what I think they are (there's no way those songs won't rank) then I think my entire top 20 should be accounted for!
-
Kudos to romdrums and Ben_Jamin for getting their number one just right. :tup
The remaining two are also terrific. I had Collapse at #9 and Way at #18. That's the golden era of the band for me, so much great music in there.
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13 Way out of Here
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (faizoff, faizoff)
7 Top 10 Finishes.
Did he send two lists? :o
I was the other person that had it at #2. :D
D'oh!! Sorry about that!
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damn, all of these are too low :lol well maybe not way out of here but the other two definitely
-
I've been meaning to do writeups on these but haven't gotten to it yet (admittedly somewhat out of laziness). But I'll update what my rankings look like up to this point:
62. Don't Hate Me
57. Way Out of Here
56. Hatesong
54. Where We Would Be
51. Shesmovedon
----------
43. Gravity Eyelids
42. Halo
41. The Creator Has a Mastertape
40. Sleep Together
36. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
32. A Smart Kid
31. Sentimental
28. The Blind House
27. The Sound of Muzak
26. I Drive the Hearse
----------
25. Strip the Soul
24. Lightbulb Sun
22. Fear of a Blank Planet
21. My Ashes
17. Stop Swimming
16. Time Flies
14. Mellotron Scratch
13. Open Car
----------
10. The Start of Something Beautiful
9. Collapse the Light Into Earth
8. Lips of Ashes
6. Glass Arm Shattering
I don't know how the last 11 spots are going to go, but I get the feeling my whole Top 10 won't make it. Guess we'll see how that ends up! I'll try to get writeups for the songs I've not written for soon, I do want to share my thoughts on a lot of these songs.
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20 A Smart Kid
19 The Sound of Muzak
18 Hatesong
17 Lightbulb Sun
16 Don’t Hate Me
15 Fear of a Blank Planet
14 Collapse the Light into Earth
13 Way out of Here
Highest Finish: 2 (faizoff, faizoff)
12 The Start of Something Beautiful
Quite a bit to catch up, I love Way out of here so much and ranked it at 2 Kev mentioned me twice ;D
My rankings
A Smart Kid #14
The Sound of Muzak #12
Hatesong #37
Lightbulb Sun Unranked
Don't Hate Me #38
I think the Ninet version would make it a top 10 track, so sublime.
Fear Of A Blank Planet #10
Collapse The Light Into Earth
Way Out of Here #2
The Start Of Something Beautiful
As mentioned before I'm a huge Fear fan and the rankings kinda show that.
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Before we get into the Top 10, I wanted to see how the Countdown looked based on album distribution of songs, so here's all the songs so far split into their respective album/sessions, in their countdown order:
43 Fadeaway
33 Waiting
45 Stars Die
27 The Sky Moves Sideways
34 Stop Swimming
20 A Smart Kid
16 Don't Hate Me
49 (t) Where We Would Be
44 Feel So Low
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
21 Shesmovedon
18 Hatesong
17 Lightbulb Sun
46 Lips of Ashes
41 Drown with Me
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape
38 Strip the Soul
32 Gravity Eyelids
19 The Sound of Muzak
14 Collapse the Light into Earth
47 Halo
31 Glass Arm Shattering
26 Open Car
24 Mellotron Scratch
12 The Start of Something Beautiful
49 (t) Normal
36 What Happens Now?
35 My Ashes
30 Sentimental
25 Sleep Together
15 Fear of a Blank Planet
13 Way out of Here
48 The Blind House
29 I Drive the Hearse
23 Time Flies
42 Dignity
40 Herd Culling
37 Harridan
28 Chimera's Wreck
I did these by memory, so hopefully I got them all in the right albums! Unsurprisingly, a lot of the songs so far come from the LS-FOABP period, while pre-LS/post-FOABP albums have only accounted for 14 of the 39 songs so far (seven on each side).
Now I'm not doing this to spotlight any of the remaining Top 11 songs, I just wanted to see what the distribution was and it seems fairly consistent with what most of the fanbase enjoys.
-Marc.
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14 Collapse the Light into Earth
Appeared on 16 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (Duetsch Dream Dates)
8 Top 10 Finishes
13 Way out of Here
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (faizoff, faizoff)
7 Top 10 Finishes
12 The Start of Something Beautiful
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Ben_Jamin, Mladen, romdrums)
6 Top 10 Finishes
Wow! Three of my top ten songs today, really disappointed all didn't rank higher and also a bit shocked a few people left these songs off their lists?
Collapse - my rank 6. Just a brilliant piece of music.
Way Out of Here - my rank 10. Always loved this one and it is my highest ranking song off FOABP.
The Start of Something Beautiful - this song was in the running to be my number 1 but finished at 4. This song is just an amazing epic, really surprised 4 people didn't rank this one.
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Wow! Three of my top ten songs today, really disappointed all didn't rank higher and also a bit shocked a few people left these songs off their lists?
Way Out of Here - my rank 10. Always loved this one and it is my highest ranking song off FOABP.
It's a droney, whiny, miserable song. And I left it off my list for those very reasons. Hope that helps :biggrin:
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Wow! Three of my top ten songs today, really disappointed all didn't rank higher and also a bit shocked a few people left these songs off their lists?
Way Out of Here - my rank 10. Always loved this one and it is my highest ranking song off FOABP.
It's a droney, whiny, miserable song. And I left it off my list for those very reasons. Hope that helps :biggrin:
Thanks, all good. I say it with jest because I know music impacts us all in a different way.
I know I said all 3 are a surprise but really The Start of Something Beautiful is the biggest shock as I would have thought that song was a top contender to be on all 22 lists.
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I know, it's fascinating, isn't it?
Somebody ranked Collapse at 90 something and hooo boy, that one got me! It's an utterly beautiful piece of music to me. I always mentally pair it with Deform to Form a Star for some reason and while Collapse is a top ten tune for me, Deform is even better.
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Way out of Here and The Start of Something Beautiful each appeared on 18/22 lists, which is the high mark so far. And I was one of the four who left them off.
11 songs to go, and I wonder if we'll have any unanimous selections? There's a song that I'd bet my left arm will be in the Top 5 that I did not rank...
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
17 Lightbulb Sun 36
16 Don’t Hate Me UNRANKED
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 15
14 Collapse the Light into Earth UNRANKED
13 Way out of Here UNRANKED
12 The Start of Something Beautiful 41
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#17 Lightbulb Sun - My Ranking: #16
A song that has a simple meaning. I enjoy it for that, and the music is also laid back as well. It's like a calm, yet sort of anticipating type of mood. I like the first verse and how it's reprised again at the end.
#16 Don't Hate Me - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
I like the Live version of this song that is the Arriving Somewhere....DVD. It's also where I first this song as well. It's an alright song for me, but it feels more like a jam if anything.
#15 Fear of A Blank Planet - My Ranking: #43
This is the album that speaks to my generation. This album came out the year I graduated, so it was interesting hearing this album and it's theme. It's an overall excellent song, and I would've loved to have heard it live.
#14 Collapse The Light Into The Earth - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
It's a nice, somber, melancholic ballad. It's also a nice end to the In Absentia album. It's a song were I understand the simplicity of it and why it's structured the way it is. But, I feel it could be more grandiose with an epic closing guitar solo.
#13 Way Out of Here - My Ranking: #08
The intro, the verses, and how it all builds into the chorus are why I love this song. The instrumental middle section is fantastic and it's a nice calm atmosphere until it gets chaotic. It's neat hearing how it also has references to "The Pills I'm Taking" section of Anesthetize, symbolizing it's bipolarity of the person in the lyrics shifting from the different moods.
#12 The Start of Something Beautiful - My Ranking: #01
Incredibly, the first PT song I heard is also my favorite PT song. I love the groove, the rhythm, and how the lyrics have a rhythm that compliments the bass. I think the intro ambience has a nice vibe that sets the mood of the song. The dynamics are also amazing in this song as well. How the chorus is grand and huge, while the verses and instrumental are more calmer and laid back. I am glad that there are others that appreciate this song as much as I do, and I also am appreciative that I got to hear this song live as well.
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We continue to get closer to the top...
11 Deadwing
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (devieira73)
5 Top 10 Finishes
I ranked this 22nd, but 11th feels more right; I should have had it higher. Amazing song, and looking back, I am happy I saw the band on the first leg of the tour in 2005 when this was the opener.
10 Russia On Ice
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (The Realm, Puppies_On_Acid)
10 Top 10 Finishes
Great song. I ranked it 36th, so I don't have the crazy love for it that many do, but I still love it, and it is from Lightbulb Sun, one of my two favorite albums by the band, so that alone makes it worthy.
09 Lazarus
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (Duetsch Dream Dates, Ben_Jamin, nobloodyname, Buddyhunter1, DTowwbwMP)
7 Top 10 Finishes
This will always be a very important song to me for personal reasons, but I still think it's a great song regardless, and I ranked it 7th, which I feel is more than deserved. It is a gorgeous song.
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I’m starting to think that either my #1 is more popular than I thought it would be, or it’s missed the list completely.
Good update! Again three songs I predicted would show up still.
Deadwing was #40 on my list, which is a little low maybe. I definitely do like it less than all the Deadwing tracks I ranked higher though.
Russia on Ice having 10(!) top 10 finishes is pretty surprising to me. That’s the most we’ve had so far. I may have underrated this one at #58, honestly. There’s a bunch of good stuff in this track.
Lazarus was #47 on my list. I mean, it’s good, but not top 10 Porcupine Tree good. This ranking shows I’m wrong though, which is fine :)
EDIT: Massive kudos to Kev by the way, for being so consistent with the updates. I know exactly when they’ll hit and they’re always on time. Thanks! :tup
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11 Deadwing
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (devieira73)
5 Top 10 Finishes
10 Russia On Ice
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (The Realm, Puppies_On_Acid)
10 Top 10 Finishes
09 Lazarus
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (Duetsch Dream Dates, Ben_Jamin, nobloodyname, Buddyhunter1, DTowwbwMP)
7 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
NR. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
NR. Shesmovedon
NR. A Smart Kid
NR. Lightbulb Sun
NR. The Start Of Something Beautiful
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
45. Mellotron Scratch
43. Halo
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
34. Time Flies
33. Open Car
32. Fear Of A Blank Planet
31. Herd Culling
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
23. Sleep Together
22. Normal
20. Way Out Of Here
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
16. Lazarus
14. The Sound Of Muzak
12. Don't Hate Me
11. Deadwing
10. Collapse The Light Into Earth
07. What Happens Now?
06. Hatesong
05. Russia On Ice
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
"Deadwing" came in at exactly 11th for me, so right on the nose! Excellent album opener and a great way to set the tone of the album.
"Russia On Ice" was 5th for me, and just ahead of fellow LS song "Hatesong". ROI just grew and grew on me over the years and became my favorite song off of LS.
The beautiful "Lazarus" is 16th for me, so a bit lower than the actual countdown, but definitely worthy of 9th overall.
With 42 songs revealed, only 11 have gone unranked for me, which means my top 50 has 19 songs left to be revealed. Hopefully the top 8 are all among those final 19 off my list!
-Marc.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
17 Lightbulb Sun 36
16 Don’t Hate Me UNRANKED
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 15
14 Collapse the Light into Earth UNRANKED
13 Way out of Here UNRANKED
12 The Start of Something Beautiful 41
11 Deadwing 3
10 Russia on Ice UNRANKED
09 Lazarus 5
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11. Deadwing (3). Love this song. The riff, the middle section, the structure, and based on my rankings, my favorite album opener.
10. Russia on Ice (NR). Didn't rank this one. I know it's popular, but it falls flat with me.
9. Lazarus (NR). Didn't rank this one. Doesn't do much for me.
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Lazarus was the first PT song I heard. It's still one of my very favourites.
-
Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
Time Flies
Deadwing
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
43. Way Out of Here
39. Open Car
38. Dignity
37. Don't Hate Me
36. Lightbulb Sun
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
29. Sleep Together
27. Where We Would Be
26. Shesmovedon
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
23. Mellotron Scratch
21. Collapse the Light into Earth
20. The Start of Something Beautiful
18. Hatesong
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
14. Fear of a Blank Planet
13. The Sound of Muzak
12. Lazarus
11. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
10. Feel So Low
6. Russia On Ice
3. A Smart Kid
Deadwing never came close to my list and I'm kind of baffled to see it this high. When I said I thought I knew 12/14 tracks remaining, this and Way Out of Here were not among the twelve, we'll see if the rest turn out to be correct! Never knew Deadwing was this highly regarded, it was one of three tracks from the album that I didn't rank.
Lazarus on the other hand is an amazing pop song. Simple, effective and beautiful. This is probably the PT song most likely to be enjoyed by a non prog/metal fan.
Russia on Ice is just massive. Somehow it feels like it carries so much weight and when it breaks out of that into the heavenly chorus is one of my favorite PT moments. Much love for this song, interesting to see that it's so divisive. 10 top 10 rankings, 5 11-50 rankings and 7 unranked.
-
I generally enjoy but don’t just love any of these 3. I’d probably prefer Lazarus to the other two, although Russia on Ice has it’s moments.
-
11 Deadwing (my ranking: 18)
Kind of pleasantly surprised to see this one so high, even if it's above my own ranking. The main chord progression in the verse, simple as it is, might be one of my favorites by the band. The beat on this song just keeps it driving forward. I also saw it live on the first leg of the Deadwing tour, which was great -- they never pulled it out again, as far as I recall, because Gavin said it's actually a difficult/tiring song to play live.
10 Russia On Ice (my ranking: 9)
Late in high school, I gave a copy of Lightbulb Sun to a girl I was friends with. She was not a prog fan at all, and even made fun of my musical tastes, but somehow she fell in love with the majority of this album.
The one song she claimed she never was able to understand was this one. ;D
I really like the way this song defies expectations. You start out with an above-average depressing ballad (not exactly new ground for the band, admittedly) and then end with ... well, how do you even explain that second half? Take a classic Colin bass line, a really bizarre tri-tone riff from Steven, and build upon it for several minutes. Then, let Chris go absolutely F'n nuts at the end. The way that final explosive part is produced is so good. All the noise, all the reverb. It's almost frightening. Some great soundscapes from Richard to top it off and run into the album's closing track, too.
I do think this song is maybe just a half step below Hatesong, which I think is a little tighter in the arrangement. I had Hatesong at #3, and this one at #9.
09 Lazarus (my ranking: N/R)
Yet another song that SW clearly loves that I simply do not. As saccharine a ballad as he ever wrote. The piano line in the chorus does not do it for me at all, nor does this song in general.
Through 42 songs, I've only been the high-ranker for one (What Happens Now?). With eight songs to go, I'm pretty certain I've got seven of them pegged, and my top 2 are still alive.
-
Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
- I Drive The Hearse
- The Sky Moves Sideways
- Open Car
- Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
- Shesmovedon
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
#47: A Smart Kid
#46: The Sound Of Muzak
---
#38: Glass Arm Shattering
---
#35: Deadwing
#34: Dignity
#33: Chimera's Wreck
---
#30: Fear Of A Blank Planet
#29: Herd Culling
#28: Sleep Together
---
#23: Mellotron Scratch
#22: Waiting (both phases)
#21: Don't Hate Me
#20: Time Flies
#19: Way Out Of Here
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16:
#15: My Ashes
#14: Lightbulb Sun
#13:
#12: The Start Of Something Beautiful
#11:
#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
#7:
#6: Collapse The Light Into Earth
#5: Lazarus
#4:
#3: Russia On Ice
#2: Hatesong
#1:
Deadwing: This was one of the two songs outside of my top 20 I knew had to be ranked, so I'm right on the money so far! It's a good song and tone-setter for the album but the album has so many highlights that this one is kinda just... there. Maybe a bit too long. Also that first guitar solo is fucking awful. :lol But most of the song is good.
Russia On Ice: You know, in hindsight maybe I should have swapped this and Hatesong. They're both so amazing that it's hard to pick between them. There's barely any words to describe how haunting the first half of this song is. The keyboards are just so perfectly moody... that sulking, ominous guitar riff... Steven's completely hopeless lyrics and delivery... and of course those beautiful and dramatic strings. It's so oppressively dark that it almost makes me want to shut off all my lights and listen to it in complete darkness. And the second half? It's great too. I never really got the complaints that the two halves don't go together. Yeah they sound different, but that's the point. The heavier riffs and more energetic performances are the payoff to the mountain of tension that the first half creates. And it's not like the darkness gets lost either, especially in those quiet breaks with the sub bass and the ominous chimes. What a fucking song.
Lazarus: This is a song that took years to finally click with me. I've always enjoyed it, but if I had made this ranking ten years ago it probably wouldn't have even cracked my top 25. But damn, I don't know what changed, but this song is just an emotional wrecking ball for me now. It's such a simple song, but pretty much every thing about it is done perfectly. The melodies, the soft instrumentation, the lyrics... this song just feels like a warm embrace and a brief shelter from a world that's been so hard on you. It's amazing.
-
Deadwing is good, but I didn't rank it. I also had Russia on ice at #40, not too high up, which shows that, even though both albums those songs are on are brilliant, there are tracks on both that I like better. Lazarus, however, was in my top fifteen, it's wonderful.
-
I don't know much about Porcupine Tree, but I know that without doubt Lazarus is my #1 song by the band. It is just beautiful and the only song I truly rate as incredible.
-
Lazarus would've been my #4. Glad I saw it live during one of the SW solo shows.
-
Deadwing (#1) - It's not my "best" PT song, but it's the one I love most. A bit like I feel about Achilles/Stairway from Led Zeppelin. It does have that relentless feel like Achilles, but there's also a bit more diversity. I love the way the bass and atmospheric keyboards really drive the song along and, when the guitar riffs or soloing kick in, they just elevate the song even more.
Russia on Ice (#11) - Its slow build up is really engaging and dramatic in such a great way.
Lazarus (#14) - My second fave PT "ballad" after I Drive the Hearse, also gorgeous.
-
Wow! Three of my top ten songs today, really disappointed all didn't rank higher and also a bit shocked a few people left these songs off their lists?
Way Out of Here - my rank 10. Always loved this one and it is my highest ranking song off FOABP.
It's a droney, whiny, miserable song. And I left it off my list for those very reasons. Hope that helps :biggrin:
:tup
-
We all love this band, and yet the diversity of opinions regarding individual songs is completely all over the map. Really enjoying the discussion.
-
Deadwing - Unranked
Russia On Ice - #16
Lazarus - #9
Same as the list.
I wonder if I'll end up with the least amount of songs ranked.
-
Deadwing - Unranked
Russia On Ice - #16
Lazarus - #9
Same as the list.
I wonder if I'll end up with the least amount of songs ranked.
How many from the Countdown have made your personal Top 50 so far (out of the 42 songs revealed)?
-Marc.
-
Deadwing - Unranked
Russia On Ice - #16
Lazarus - #9
Same as the list.
I wonder if I'll end up with the least amount of songs ranked.
How many from the Countdown have made your personal Top 50 so far (out of the 42 songs revealed)?
-Marc.
I have 22 from the 42 revealed so far.
-
11 Deadwing
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (devieira73)
5 Top 10 Finishes
10 Russia On Ice
Appeared on 15 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (The Realm, Puppies_On_Acid)
10 Top 10 Finishes
09 Lazarus
Appeared on 17 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 5 (Duetsch Dream Dates, Ben_Jamin, nobloodyname, Buddyhunter1, DTowwbwMP)
7 Top 10 Finishes
Deadwing - my rank 16. Just a great album opener on a great album.
Russia On Ice - this song is just mind blowing, just a brilliant piece of music and mood. Well done Puppies on joining me with the number 2 ranking. This could have easily been my number 1. This is just such a haunting and powerful song, it just hits in all the right places for me (obviously not for everyone though...only on 15 lists???).
Lazarus - a great song, my rank is 11.
I only have 3 of my top 10 remaining all of which I am very confident will make it. After that it will be interesting if my guesses for the remaining songs turn out correct. So far I have 12 unranked and hoping that stays that way until the end.
-
Deadwing - Unranked
Russia On Ice - #16
Lazarus - #9
Same as the list.
I wonder if I'll end up with the least amount of songs ranked.
How many from the Countdown have made your personal Top 50 so far (out of the 42 songs revealed)?
-Marc.
I have 22 from the 42 revealed so far.
Wow, almost half! Yeah, you might have the least amount of songs from your list ranked in the countdown. On the other hand, I might have the *most* from my list! :lol
-Marc.
-
#11 Deadwing - My Ranking: #03
I really enjoy Deadwing as an album, so it's no surprise I have a lot of songs from it in my top 20. That intro keyboard sets a nice tone, and I like that sample of what sounds like a train coming to a stop. It's a great beginning to the story, like someone is patiently awaiting the arrival of someone. Then the band kicks in and that groove is what drew me into the song, along with the drums. The instrumental is amazing, and it's one of their best solo sections.
#10 Russia On Ice - My Ranking: #28
I used to like this song a lot. I still do, but others I am more into now. I love the atmosphere it gives of a lonely guy in a bar downing shots of alcohol. It really goes into this mindset, and it gets even more bitter at the end with the buildup into the more "rocking" groovy section. This makes me imagine wondering around the town in a drunken stupor.
#09 Lazarus - My Ranking: #05
This is a great song with a lot of feeling in it. This mood and vibe also fit with the lyrics as well. I imagine a person in a train, spectating the view as it goes along the tracks. Then they begin to reminisce and sort of daydream about their mother, who has words to give him in these rough moments. It's even more fitting considering it is followed by Halo. I also find it hilarious how 5 of us ranked it as #5, while 5 is the spot where the song ranked the highest.
-
Deadwing - Unranked
Russia On Ice - #16
Lazarus - #9
Same as the list.
I wonder if I'll end up with the least amount of songs ranked.
How many from the Countdown have made your personal Top 50 so far (out of the 42 songs revealed)?
-Marc.
I have 22 from the 42 revealed so far.
Wow, almost half! Yeah, you might have the least amount of songs from your list ranked in the countdown. On the other hand, I might have the *most* from my list! :lol
-Marc.
I have only 21 out of 42 so far. If my prediction of the remaining 8 songs is correct, I will end with 29 out of 42.
-
Starting to think my #1 won’t make the cut.
Collapse - did not rank
Start of Something Beautiful - #4
Way Out of Here - #23
Deadwing - #43
Russia on Ice - did not rank
Lazarus - did not rank
-
What if all of us with the feeling that our #1 won’t make it actually all have the same #1 and we’re underestimating the popularity of our tune? It might be wishful thinking, but the closer we get to the end, the more likely this becomes in my head :lol
-
I'm not sure my #1 will be #1 but I will jump off a bridge if it doesn't rank. :lol
I do have one song from Recordings that was my #25 and I wouldn't be surprised if mine was the only list it appeared on. :neverusethis:
-
I’ve actually never been more intrigued to see everyone’s list. I’ll probably be analyzing all of them much more closely than the lists in previous countdowns.
-
I'm confident my #1 will show up, but I've got seven songs in the 10-20 range that are basically guaranteed to miss the countdown.
Can't wait to share my full list. I've got a few oddballs in there too. And wondering if the Recordings song I have at #17 is the same one Buddy has at #25.
-
I have three Recordings songs on my list, actually. :corn
-
99.999% sure my number 1 is still to come.
My non-direct spotlighting thoughts are that In Absentina is a little underrepresented with 8 songs to go, Deadwing not done yet and FOABP also and then for me it is a little murky what song(s) may still come not from those albums....
-
I have three Recordings songs on my list, actually. :corn
I have four -- and make it five if you count that song that's, uh, kinda sorta on another album too. ;)
-
My non-direct spotlighting thoughts are that In Absentina is a little underrepresented
Assuming In Absentia has at least a few more songs to go (there's some incredibly obvious ones that haven't shown up yet), hard disagree there. Pretty much all of the album will be on the list at that point. :lol
-
I will just say that every song from In Absentia will not be in the top 50.
-
I will just say that every song from In Absentia will not be in the top 50.
This is actually not surprising. I can think of 2 off the top of my head that most likely won't make it.
-
I still think the remaining songs in my top 20 will be the top 8 but I'm starting to get a little worried for my #19.
-
We continue to climb closer to the top...
08 Even Less
Appeared on 20 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (The Letter M)
8 Top 10 Finishes
Good song, but one I didn't rank. I was not surprised to see it get a lot of love from the cumulative group, but I have never been overly nutty about this one. I like it, but I don't love it.
07 Heartattack in a Layby
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Revenge319)
7 Top 10 Finishes
This might have been top 10 for me at one point; it finished 15th for me here. It's is a stunning piece of melancholy. I love the sad lead guitar, and Wilson demonstrates yet again how skilled he is at arranging vocal melodies and overlapping multi-part harmonies. The end of this song is easily one of the best ends to a song he has ever written. Amazing.
06 Buying New Soul
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (The Great Zo)
7 Top 10 Finishes
Like the last song, I feel this should have been in my top 10, but I can't put everything in there! I ranked it 17th. The greatness of Barbieri is on full display in this one. Just a stunning piece of music.
-
08 Even Less
Appeared on 20 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (The Letter M)
8 Top 10 Finishes
07 Heartattack in a Layby
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Revenge319)
7 Top 10 Finishes
06 Buying New Soul
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (The Great Zo)
7 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
NR. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
NR. Shesmovedon
NR. A Smart Kid
NR. Lightbulb Sun
NR. The Start Of Something Beautiful
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
45. Mellotron Scratch
43. Halo
42. Buying New Soul
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
34. Time Flies
33. Open Car
32. Fear Of A Blank Planet
31. Herd Culling
30. Heart Attack In A Layby
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
23. Sleep Together
22. Normal
20. Way Out Of Here
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
16. Lazarus
14. The Sound Of Muzak
12. Don't Hate Me
11. Deadwing
10. Collapse The Light Into Earth
07. What Happens Now?
06. Hatesong
05. Russia On Ice
03. Even Less
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
Whoa, another Highest-Place song for me. Yep, I love "Even Less" that much!
I had HIAL at 30th though I'm not surprised to see it in the top 10! Same goes for BNS, which I had at 42. Now I wonder if I should have ranked it higher...although to be fair, it's been a LONG time since I've listened to it so I'm not sure if my feelings on it have changed.
Still only 11 out of 45 unranked! Surely the remaining five are in my list as well! There are still 16 songs in my ranking left to pull from!
-Marc.
-
Even in the top 10 I have songs I didn't rank. Even Less and Buying New Soul did not rank for me. HAIL is top 15.
-
Still not my #1 :|
I ranked all of these and Heartattack was top 10, but I’m not exactly sure where. #7 if I recall correctly.
Again three songs I predicted would show up still. Will ipdate my list when I get home :)
-
Even Less and Buying New Soul are fantastic songs. I never understood the hype for layby, I think SW's vocals come off whiny and grating.
-
Even Less #7
Close to the list, such a kick ass track, all versions of it are amazing, the extended and the little acoustic one done as well
Heartattack In A Layby #27
Love the melancholic tunes on this one.
Buying New Soul 11
I'm glad they performed this song live, one of the most catchy chorus and could really have been included on Lightbulb Sun and it would have fit right in.
-
Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
Time Flies
Deadwing
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
43. Way Out of Here
39. Open Car
38. Dignity
37. Don't Hate Me
36. Lightbulb Sun
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
29. Sleep Together
27. Where We Would Be
26. Shesmovedon
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
23. Mellotron Scratch
21. Collapse the Light into Earth
20. The Start of Something Beautiful
19. Buying New Soul
18. Hatesong
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
14. Fear of a Blank Planet
13. The Sound of Muzak
12. Lazarus
11. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
10. Feel So Low
9. Even Less
6. Russia On Ice
3. A Smart Kid
2. Heartattack in a Layby
I was curious from the start where Heartattack in a Layby would rank. I almost put it at #1, might be as close to a perfect song as I have heard. Absolute heartbreak, not a word or note wasted. Perfection.
Even Less is fantastic. I actually prefer the Stupid Dream version, I find that it works best as a shorter and more focused tune. I really like the lyrics to this one as well, they paint a good picture.
I was beginning to worry for Buying New Soul. Now that it's here I feel very sure what the top 5 are. Great song, killer atmosphere, seeing this live was a great surprise as well!
-
I had Even Less at 15. I love the longer version. I always wondered why SW changed the lyrics for the live version. The studio version says “you’re a martyr to even less” but live he says “I’m a martyr to even less”…which I don’t think makes sense considering the previous line.
Heartattack was my #1. Sometimes I’ll play it over and over again I love it so much. The overlapping vocals at the end just kill me every time.
Buying New Soul was my #32. Great song. Heard the live version first. That chorus is amazing.
-
8. Even Less (20). I like both versions of this song, and while I love the extended version on Recordings, the album version works just as well. Great tune.
7. Heartattack in a Lay By (32). I probably could have rated it higher. The combination of the song itself along with a genius mix really puts you in the car with the character in the song. So awesome.
6. Buying New Soul (10). First time I heard this one was on the Arriving Somewhere DVD, and I was absolutely blown away by it. Great showcase for all that Richard Barbieri contributes to the band.
-
I had Even Less at 15. I love the longer version. I always wondered why SW changed the lyrics for the live version. The studio version says “you’re a martyr to even less” but live he says “I’m a martyr to even less”…which I don’t think makes sense considering the previous line.
https://genius.com/Porcupine-tree-even-less-full-version-lyrics
He sings both lines in the full version of the song, with "You're a martyr for even less" in the first half, then "I'm a martyr to even less" at the end.
-Marc
-
Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
- I Drive The Hearse
- The Sky Moves Sideways
- Open Car
- Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
- Shesmovedon
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
#47: A Smart Kid
#46: The Sound Of Muzak
---
#38: Glass Arm Shattering
---
#35: Deadwing
#34: Dignity
#33: Chimera's Wreck
#32: Even Less
#31:
#30: Fear Of A Blank Planet
#29: Herd Culling
#28: Sleep Together
---
#23: Mellotron Scratch
#22: Waiting (both phases)
#21: Don't Hate Me
#20: Time Flies
#19: Way Out Of Here
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16:
#15: My Ashes
#14: Lightbulb Sun
#13:
#12: The Start Of Something Beautiful
#11: Heartattack In A Layby
#10: Strip The Soul
#9:
#8: Harridan
#7: Buying New Soul
#6: Collapse The Light Into Earth
#5: Lazarus
#4:
#3: Russia On Ice
#2: Hatesong
#1:
Even Less: And that's hopefully the last of the songs from outside my top 20! I've always found this one to be a bit overhyped, though I do enjoy it. The vocal melodies are especially great here, and the chord progression in the verses is quite nice. I ranked the Stupid Dream version rather than the one on Recordings - I never really got the point of the extended version. All that stuff they add in the middle just feels pointless to me.
Heartattack In A Layby: As I've said before, this song feels like Steven Wilson deliberately wrote the most depressing song imaginable, and he succeeded! :lol Lyrically this song is devilishly emotional. One of the saddest things to me is someone dying without even being aware of it, and this song sure as hell capitalizes on that. And musically it's just beautiful. It's such a lush and layered mix without becoming too complex or distracting.
Buying New Soul: This is another one that has grown on me considerably over the years. There's just nothing else like it. It's sort of comparable to Russia On Ice because of how incredibly vivid the dark atmosphere is, but the vibe is completely different. Whereas that song was sinister and ominous, this one is more wistful, as if there's still a tiny bit of hope left in the character. Barbieri's keyboards are perfect here, and Collin's upright bass adds a nice texture, too. But I think the biggest strength of this song is how well it utilizes silence. The amount of space in the mix and the patience of the composition creates such an evocative atmosphere that's impossible for me not to love.
-
I had Even less at #31 and Heartattack at #24. Buying new soul just missed the cut. All great tracks, but not among my very favorites.
-
08 Even Less (my ranking: 4)
I just barely missed being the high-rank on this one, and it sets a new record for the group, appearing on 20 of 22 lists.
So, which version am I reviewing? I guess the answer is both. I treat Stupid Dream / Lightbulb Sun / Recordings as a trilogy of albums. When I listen to them, I usually do it one after the other -- maybe over the course of three days. Even Less acts as the bookends -- the short version as the introduction, and the full version as the huge dramatic F-bombed conclusion. Throw in Oceans Have No Memory as the cool-down over the end credits.
And yeah, Recordings isn't a real album, but the song quality is good enough -- and the sequencing flows well enough -- that I treat it as one.
Since I'm fairly certain our countdown is done with this run of albums, I can say that I ranked 8 songs from Stupid Dream, 5 from Lightbulb Sun, and 5 from Recordings if you double-count Even Less.
As for Even Less itself? My favorite part is near the end of the short version -- the heavy riffing in D, combined with the huge snare hits that come in at different parts of the count. But really, the whole song is amazing. The bleak resignation in the lyrics, the main riff (and the extra guitar line they add on top of it), the solo at the end over the quiet bit. And the counting. Zero Zero Nine Six!
07 Heartattack in a Layby (my ranking: N/R)
Well, this might be my last "song I just don't get the love for" on the countdown. It's pretty, the vocal harmonies at the end are beautiful, but the song just doesn't really do anything. And I kinda need my songs to do things. I don't hate it -- in fact it's probably my favorite song on the final segment of In Absentia. But I couldn't rank it.
06 Buying New Soul (my ranking: 2 -- high rank)
Everything Steven ever learned about depressing downbeat balladry, he perfected on this amazing song. If Even Less has lyrics that are bleak, Buying New Soul goes even further. The imagery of the line "I still wave at the dots on the shore" makes it one of my favorite lyrics in any song, by any band.
Musically, it's some of the nicest chord progressions Steven's come up with, and the huge build-up in the middle section adds some tension and intensity before the final verse kicks in.
And yeah, that thing Richard came up with at the beginning and the end of the song? It's brilliant. Steven doesn't get all the credit here -- the whole band deserves it.
I love the musical motif enough that I even ranked "Untitled" near the bottom of my Top 50!
------------------------
My #1 and #6 are still alive ... but my #10, and a bunch of others down from there, are toast.
-
I love the musical motif enough that I even ranked "Untitled" near the bottom of my Top 50!
I do have one song from Recordings that was my #25 and I wouldn't be surprised if mine was the only list it appeared on. :neverusethis:
;)
-
;)
YES!!! ;D
-
I have two songs from Recordings that will not be ranked either. I am looking forward to the entire list at the end, I wonder if I'm the only one that ranked them. ;D
-
Untitled is super underappreciated. It's the amazing atmosphere from Buying New Soul, but a jam! What more could you want? ;D
-
We're all gonna get scolded for spotlighting once it turns out "Untitled" is actually #2 on the countdown, just barely nudged out of the top spot by "Space Transmission".
-
Heartattack in a Layby is my #3, brilliant song. I thought it wouldn't get enough love to end up in Top 10, but apparently I was wrong! 7 Top 10 finishes is solid.
-
Even Less is a good example of how I feel about PT. I can listen to it and think, “yeah that’s kind of cool, but I don’t really want to sit through the whole thing.” A lot of times I think they have good ideas that don’t quite pay off, or maybe more that SW is just so good at creating a compelling sound but not so good at writing a compelling song.
-
49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
17 Lightbulb Sun 36
16 Don’t Hate Me UNRANKED
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 15
14 Collapse the Light into Earth UNRANKED
13 Way out of Here UNRANKED
12 The Start of Something Beautiful 41
11 Deadwing 3
10 Russia on Ice UNRANKED
09 Lazarus 5
08 Even Less 43
07 Heartattack in a Layby UNRANKED
06 Buying New Soul UNRANKED
-
So, I'm going to do something funny and predict the top 5 by pointing where they are on my list. And I think we really got to the point where I'm seriously underestimating my #1. I've been saying all this thread that I was wondering whether at all it would show up, and with the first couple of #1's revealed was certain it would be mine.. I'll slap myself when it turns out it's more popular than I thought it would be. I don't know what other song could be in the final five, unless I've been forgetting a song all this time. Watch me be wrong though, and this will go down as something funny indeed. :)
UR - Normal
UR - Where we Would Be
UR - Feel so Low
UR - What Happens Now?
---
#90 - Dignity
#88 - Don’t Hate Me
#86 - Lips of Ashes
#84 - My Ashes
#82 - Sentimental
#80 - Stop Swimming
#78 - Time Flies
#77 - Lightbulb Sun
#66 - Fear of a Blank Planet
#65 - Fadeaway
#64 - Hatesong
#61 - Halo
#60 - Last Chance to Evacuate Earth Before it is Recycled
#59 - Herd Culling
#58 - Russia on Ice
#57 - The Sound of Muzak
#53 - Harridan
---
#50 - Drown With Me
#49 - ???
#48 - ???
#47 - Lazarus
#46 - Buying New Soul
#45 - Chimera’s Wreck
#44 - ???
#43 - ???
#42 - Stars Die
#41 - ???
---
#40 - Deadwing
#39 - ???
#38 - ???
#37 - Open Car
#36 - ???
#35 - ???
#34 - ???
#33 - ???
#32 - UNREVEALED TOP 5 SONG
#31 - ???
---
#30 - Way out of Here
#29 - Glass Arm Shattering
#28 - Strip the Soul
#27 - ???
#26 - Shesmovedon
#25 - ???
#24 - ???
#23 - ???
#22 - ???
#21 - Sleep Together
---
#20 - ???
#19 - The Sky Moves Sideways
#18 - ???
#17 - ???
#16 - Waiting (Phase 1 & 2)
#15 - I Drive the Hearse
#14 - The Blind House
#13 - Collapse the Light Into Earth
#12 - Even Less
#11 - ???
---
#10 - A Smart Kid
#9 - The Creator Has a Mastertape
#8 - UNREVEALED TOP 5 SONG
#7 - Heartattack in a Layby
#6 - UNREVEALED TOP 5 SONG
#5 - Mellotron Scratch
#4 - UNREVEALED TOP 5 SONG
#3 - The Start of Something Beautiful
#2 - Gravity Eyelids
#1 - UNREVEALED TOP 5 SONG
-
The imagery of the line "I still wave at the dots on the shore" makes it one of my favorite lyrics in any song, by any band.
I have seriously always though it was 'ducks'. Ducks on the shore. Oh shit :lol
My #1 and #6 are still alive ... but my #10, and a bunch of others down from there, are toast.
I have a feeling we might have some stuff in common on our lists..
-
The imagery of the line "I still wave at the dots on the shore" makes it one of my favorite lyrics in any song, by any band.
I have seriously always though it was 'ducks'. Ducks on the shore. Oh shit :lol
Caesar's cutting out your anger. :lol
-
What’s more.. apparently the last line of the chorus is ‘I’m a shade’. I always heard ‘I’m ashamed’. What the hell :facepalm: :lol
-
No wonder you only ranked it at #47. :neverusethis:
-
I must say, that feels a bit low, and I’m pretty sure some people will look at my final list with some bewilderment, but I did it without overthinking by using the ranker and some songs, strange as they may seem, mean more to me than some of the fan favourites. One thing I found out for example is that the general consensus of Lightbulb Sun is far more positive than my own. I always view that album as some sort of transition record between the first 5 and the following 4 and (controversial opinion), it doesn’t do either as well as the previous or later records, which is why I have barely anything from Lightbulb Sun on my list. Hat maybe doesn’t help is that it was one of the last PT albums I heard in full. As a spoiler for my list; most of the songs on my list that haven’t been revealed are pre-Lightbulb Sun.
-
Lightbulb Sun is a very inconsistent album, which is why it's not one of my favorites despite 2 of my top 3 songs being from it. :lol
-
Spoiler: I found it interesting that the highest ranked song from the Stupid Dream/Lightbulb Sun era (Buying New Soul) wasn't actually on either of those albums.
-
Okay, can I reveal the Stupid Dream songs on my list now then? :lol
-
Okay, can I reveal the Stupid Dream songs on my list now then? :lol
Probably still best to do all that Friday after we see the top songs. :)
-
Yeah, I was half joking, I will post my full list after everything is revealed :)
-
Spoiler: I found it interesting that the highest ranked song from the Stupid Dream/Lightbulb Sun era (Buying New Soul) wasn't actually on either of those albums.
The band has some amazing B-sides, and that's probably the best of them! I think it could have fit somewhere on Lightbulb Sun, maybe as the introduction to the more experimental second half, but it was written after that album was already finished. The band opted to just put it on Recordings instead of holding onto it for the next album, as they figured their next album could have a different direction and the song might not fit on it. Which ended up being extremely correct. :lol
-
Buying New Soul was my highest ranked song from that stretch too, so I'm with the group on that one.
Super hot take: my highest-ranked IA-era song is a B-side. :eek
-
i will absolutely take heartattack ranking this high :corn
...what is buying new soul i legitimately do not remember what that is
-
i will absolutely take heartattack ranking this high :corn
...what is buying new soul i legitimately do not remember what that is
It was on Recordings, which I did not own until it was finally rereleased.
The first time I heard it (and fell in love with it) was the Arriving Somewhere live album/video.
-
Heartattack in a Layby is going to be difficult to write about because I have no idea how I'm going to do it justice without going into "super in-depth analysis" mode. But for now I'll just say that it's my #1 Porcupine Tree song by a significant margin, and I already adore the rest of my Top 10. Flawless in every way.
My writeups for songs will likely come out after this list has concluded, but I am getting it done, slowly but surely.
Updated rankings:
62. Don't Hate Me
57. Way Out of Here
56. Hatesong
54. Where We Would Be
51. Shesmovedon
----------
43. Gravity Eyelids
42. Halo
41. The Creator Has a Mastertape
40. Sleep Together
36. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
33. Even Less
32. A Smart Kid
31. Sentimental
29. Lazarus
28. The Blind House
27. The Sound of Muzak
26. I Drive the Hearse
----------
25. Strip the Soul
24. Lightbulb Sun
22. Fear of a Blank Planet
21. My Ashes
18. Deadwing
17. Stop Swimming
16. Time Flies
14. Mellotron Scratch
13. Open Car
----------
10. The Start of Something Beautiful
9. Collapse the Light Into Earth
8. Lips of Ashes
6. Glass Arm Shattering
3. Russia on Ice
1. Heartattack in a Layby
-
08 Even Less
Appeared on 20 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 3 (The Letter M)
8 Top 10 Finishes
07 Heartattack in a Layby
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Revenge319)
7 Top 10 Finishes
06 Buying New Soul
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (The Great Zo)
7 Top 10 Finishes
OK, a little surprised with todays songs.
Even Less - I had no idea this song was so loved. I ranked it 43 as I do really like it but like Kev I don't love it and at this stage in the countdown I didn't expect to see it.
Heartattack in a Layby - yes this song is heartbreaking and flawless, an amazing piece of music. I only ranked it at 9 though, which is too low but happy to see it in the top 10 overall.
Buying New Soul - See write up on Even Less, really surprised this song made it this high. A great track that I ranked at 22.
-
Even Less and Buying New Soul are fantastic songs. I never understood the hype for layby, I think SW's vocals come off whiny and grating.
Oh man. The vocals and lyrics to this song are anything but whiny. Such a great song!
-
Listening to Recordings again right now. There sure is a lot of great music here! For reference I ranked 6 songs from Stupid Dream, 8 from Lightbulb Sun and 4 from Recordings double counting Even Less.
-
The Arriving Somewhere DVD was my introduction to a lot of their music, and Buying New Soul was a highlight for me on that one. Same thing with another song, but it hasn't appeared here yet (and I don't think it will).
-
Alright, numbers 5-3 are today, and then the top 2 will be tomorrow.
Here are today's songs:
05 Blackest Eyes
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (DTowwbwMP)
7 Top 10 Finishes
Similar to Even Less for me in that it is much more of a like than love song, although in this case, I really like Blackest Eyes, but not enough for it to make my top 50. It didn't miss by much. It was the first song I heard by the band, and I was won over right away thanks to it and the song that followed it. I totally get why many love it so much and why it ranked this high.
04 Dark Matter
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Duetsch Dream Dates, Elite, The Great Zo, DTA)
9 Top 10 Finishes
This is a staggeringly great song. I ranked it 4th, so I nailed it spot, and it was nice to see that four peeps had it as their number 1. It is that great. Wilson's greatness as a soloist is on full display in the studio version of this song. Tremendous song on all levels.
03 Trains
Appeared on 20 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Buddyhunter1)
11 Top 10 Finishes
This song is massively popular for a reason: because it really is an amazing song. I gave it a couple fresh listens a few weeks ago and came away just stunned at how good it still is for me. I ranked it 8th, and I almost feel like I should have had it higher. Pure greatness is what this song is.
-
YES!!!!! :partyinpartyinyeah:
-
If I ranked Dark Matter, it would've ended up in at least the Top 15. I'm disappointed that I forgot to rank it, but really glad to see it this high.
-
Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
Time Flies
Deadwing
48. I Drive the Hearse
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
43. Way Out of Here
39. Open Car
38. Dignity
37. Don't Hate Me
36. Lightbulb Sun
34. Stars Die
32. Herd Culling
30. My Ashes
29. Sleep Together
27. Where We Would Be
26. Shesmovedon
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
23. Mellotron Scratch
21. Collapse the Light into Earth
20. The Start of Something Beautiful
19. Buying New Soul
18. Hatesong
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
14. Fear of a Blank Planet
13. The Sound of Muzak
12. Lazarus
11. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
10. Feel So Low
9. Even Less
8. Trains
6. Russia On Ice
5. Blackest Eyes
4. Dark Matter
3. A Smart Kid
2. Heartattack in a Layby
Amazing songs, all were in my top 10! Blackest Eyes + Trains was my introduction to PT as well and I still love both songs to this day. Blackest eyes especially manages to encapsulate everything the band was about at that time in such a short runtime. Great riff, great melodies, catchy as hell. It has it all. I also love how it contrasts the really dark lyrics with the light poppy music.
Dark Matter is a masterpiece. I'm very glad that it ranked this highly, seems I even nailed the #4 spot! Probably Steven's best solo at the end. Absolutely brilliant song.
-
One thought: I am sure most are now guessing what the top 2 will be, and I am guessing you are all correct (but let's still not spotlight and mention them by name yet), but I will just say that the margin between the two was crazy close, so if anyone is sure of one of them finishing at number 1, don't be so sure.
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I got all top 14 right, will respond later with why Dark Matter is my #1.
Blackest Eyes was #8 and Trains was #32 on mine.
Really glad that, indeed as I figured out, Dark Matter is more popular than I thought it would be. Awesome to see it here!!
-
Trains is still probably my favorite thing from PT. Still sounds fresh and original. It’s poppy but very proggy, and it manages to break lots of conventions for both (acoustic guitar solo, banjos, that heavy ending) while still being an total ear worm.
-
3 banging tracks in todays update. I'm actually a little surprised that Trains didn't make it to number one, as this list has been progressing I thought more and more that it's going to be the song that's number one. I genuinely have no idea what 1 or 2 will be but then again I also just woke up :lol
-
Alright, numbers 5-3 are today, and then the top 2 will be tomorrow.
Here are today's songs:
05 Blackest Eyes
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (DTowwbwMP)
7 Top 10 Finishes
Similar to Even Less for me in that it is much more of a like than love song, although in this case, I really like Blackest Eyes, but not enough for it to make my top 50. It didn't miss by much. It was the first song I heard by the band, and I was won over right away thanks to it and the song that followed it. I totally get why many love it so much and why it ranked this high.
04 Dark Matter
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Duetsch Dream Dates, Elite, The Great Zo, DTA)
9 Top 10 Finishes
This is a staggeringly great song. I ranked it 4th, so I nailed it spot, and it was nice to see that four peeps had it as their number 1. It is that great. Wilson's greatness as a soloist is on full display in the studio version of this song. Tremendous song on all levels.
03 Trains
Appeared on 20 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Buddyhunter1)
11 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
NR. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
NR. Shesmovedon
NR. A Smart Kid
NR. Lightbulb Sun
NR. The Start Of Something Beautiful
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
45. Mellotron Scratch
43. Halo
42. Buying New Soul
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
34. Time Flies
33. Open Car
32. Fear Of A Blank Planet
31. Herd Culling
30. Heart Attack In A Layby
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
23. Sleep Together
22. Normal
20. Way Out Of Here
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
16. Lazarus
15. Blackest Eyes
14. The Sound Of Muzak
13. Dark Matter
12. Don't Hate Me
11. Deadwing
10. Collapse The Light Into Earth
08. Trains
07. What Happens Now?
06. Hatesong
05. Russia On Ice
03. Even Less
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
I had expected both "Blackest Eyes" (15th) and "Trains" (8th) to be up there, so this isn't too surprise. I am a bit surprised that "Dark Matter" (13th) made it this far though! Nice to see another Signify tune make it!
Looks like I am 17 for 20 in my Top 20 compared to the countdown, and I'm fairly certain that the last two are two of the remaining three songs in my list. I also still only have 11 songs unranked out of 48. I see SomeoneLikeHim has 12, so that's pretty close too!
One the final two are posted, I'll share the updated Countdown with the songs divided by album so we can see the distribution.
-Marc.
-
5. Blackest Eyes (18). Solid opener to what is my favorite PT album. Love the lyrics on this.
4. Dark Matter (15). What everyone else has said so far.
3. Trains (50). Initially wasn't on my list, but I added it at 50 before I submitted. Great song, but I think I rate it lower just because it's so popular among the fan base.
Really excited to see Rainy Taxi and The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train as the top 2! ;D
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I had Dark matter at #3, Blackest eyes at #11 and Trains at #20. All amazing songs, obviously.
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Really excited to see Rainy Taxi and The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train as the top 2! ;D
Pretty sure it's Jupiter Island and Linton Samuel Dawson.
On another note: gosh, I really don't get the love for Dark Matter. Listening again now to see what I've missed and the answer's... nothing? Solo's not bad, though. I agree on that point.
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Really excited to see Rainy Taxi and The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train as the top 2! ;D
Honestly, if The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train had made it onto this countdown, I'd be satisfied with its inclusion. For what it is, I think it's a really nice instrumental track.
Certainly not as great as my true #1 pick, Message From a Self-Destructing Turnip, but then again, what is?
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Really excited to see Rainy Taxi and The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train as the top 2! ;D
Pretty sure it's Jupiter Island and Linton Samuel Dawson.
Begonia Seduction Scene and Milan.
-
Well, this is an interesting run of three songs to almost close out the countdown.
05 Blackest Eyes (my ranking: N/R)
I would not have been shocked if I was the only person who didn't rank this song. And yet, I was joined by three others.
Still feel like I should explain myself. First off, I do like Blackest Eyes. Looking at my songs that just missed the cut, I honestly think this would have ended up at #51 or #52 on my list.
Gravity Eyelids, as I recall, was the first single from the album -- and the only song I heard before release date. So, the first time I heard Blackest Eyes was the first time I played the CD. And it felt like a statement.
But after a few listens, it ended up feeling like it was an intentional distillation of all of Porcupine Tree's trademarks into their major label debut track. The weird instrumental bits. The wistful verses. The catchy chorus. The multi-layered harmonies. The creepy lyrics. The spacey middle section. And then, in an announcement of the new direction, the metal element moving to center stage. Everything in the band's repertoire, crammed -- or even forced -- into a 4-minute track.
And I have never been able to get over that initial feeling! This is a good song, really good in fact. But as someone who was into the band before IA was released, it just feels too intentional to me.
04 Dark Matter (my ranking: 1)
There are very few bands for which I have a clear #1 favorite song. Usually the waters are a little muddy near the top.
Not Porcupine Tree. Dark Matter is my favorite and, as much as I love my next tier down (Buying New Soul, Hatesong, Even Less, [redacted], and What Happens Now?) this one is just head and shoulders above everything else. It is the perfect transition song between eras, and a dramatic, progressive masterpiece in every way. The early parts of the song have such a great use of space in the mix -- knowing to keep some restraint and let the instruments breathe. The layered vocals in the chorus are brilliant. The chord progression introduced post-chorus (which carries to the end of the song) is simple (A-G-F-G-A) but somehow just clicks perfectly. The guitar solo has already been mentioned several times. What a buildup, what a solo, and what an ending.
I usually consider Signify my favorite PT album, but I actually only ranked 4 songs from it. What I love about Signify is the variety, and the way the whole album feels like a journey through all these different moods. Close that out with the best song the band has ever recorded, and I guess that's why it ends up as my favorite. I also really love how, despite the more popular Stupid Dream / Lightbulb Sun / Recordings era, it's a song from Signify that is this countdown's highest-ranked from the band's original lineup.
Congrats to DDD, Elite, and DTA for having the good taste to join me on this one. ;D
Anyone up for some electro-shock therapy?
03 Trains (my ranking: 30)
A lot of people in this countdown have said things like "I really should have ranked this song higher", and I've tried to avoid that because, well, if you rank a song higher, then you have to rank other songs lower, and that gets tricky.
But I really probably should have ranked Trains higher. Maybe in the 20-25 range instead of at 30.
I know it's a "hit" (or a fan favorite or whatever) but it's pretty much brilliant as far as pop songwriting goes. The main guitar motif through the song is actually rather unique, and the way the song is structured is out of the ordinary too. And yet it all fits together nicely. It's a lot of fun in concert, too, even if they downtune it like seven whole steps or whatever. :lol
-
Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
- I Drive The Hearse
- The Sky Moves Sideways
- Open Car
- Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
- Shesmovedon
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
#47: A Smart Kid
#46: The Sound Of Muzak
---
#38: Glass Arm Shattering
---
#35: Deadwing
#34: Dignity
#33: Chimera's Wreck
#32: Even Less
#31:
#30: Fear Of A Blank Planet
#29: Herd Culling
#28: Sleep Together
---
#23: Mellotron Scratch
#22: Waiting (both phases)
#21: Don't Hate Me
#20: Time Flies
#19: Way Out Of Here
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16: Dark Matter
#15: My Ashes
#14: Lightbulb Sun
#13:
#12: The Start Of Something Beautiful
#11: Heartattack In A Layby
#10: Strip The Soul
#9: Blackest Eyes
#8: Harridan
#7: Buying New Soul
#6: Collapse The Light Into Earth
#5: Lazarus
#4:
#3: Russia On Ice
#2: Hatesong
#1: Trains
Blackest Eyes: Probably the most immediate and surface-level awesome song the band has. Is it particularly substantive? I don't think so, but that's not really a problem when riff good, verse good, chorus good. There's a reason why this is often the song people use to introduce others to the band - how the hell can you resist that intro? I love the contrast between the music and the lyrics, too. :lol
Dark Matter: I don't know what y'all were so worried about - I've been on here long enough to know that this forum loves this song and there wasn't a chance in hell it wouldn't rank at all. ;) I think it deserves that praise for the most part, even if it's not one of my absolute favorites. The atmosphere created by the repetitive bassline and lush keyboards is hypnotic, Steven's calm delivery is great, and the climax at the end with the guitar solos is wonderful. I think I'd put TSMS Phase 1 as my favorite pre-Stupid Dream song, but this would be a close second.
Trains: I'm happy with this placement, especially if I was the only one who ranked this as #1. Why is this my favorite? It's just peak Steven Wilson. Melodic, atmospheric, nostalgic, warm, happy, sad, soft, loud, calm, energetic, accessible, memorable, substantive. Every one of his and this band's strengths is on full display here. The main chord progression and melody is lovely enough, but the song has enough twists and turns to elevate it to near perfection. That acoustic guitar solo in the middle, the key change following it, the banjo + clapping breakdown, and of course that MASSIVE finale. Can't think of a single thing about this song I don't like. Like I said, peak Steven Wilson.
I'm hoping my #13 is #2 and my #4 is #1! :biggrin:
-
49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
17 Lightbulb Sun 36
16 Don’t Hate Me UNRANKED
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 15
14 Collapse the Light into Earth UNRANKED
13 Way out of Here UNRANKED
12 The Start of Something Beautiful 41
11 Deadwing 3
10 Russia on Ice UNRANKED
09 Lazarus 5
08 Even Less 43
07 Heartattack in a Layby UNRANKED
06 Buying New Soul UNRANKED
05 Blackest Eyes 2
04 Dark Matter UNRANKED
03 Trains UNRANKED
-
Really excited to see Rainy Taxi and The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train as the top 2! ;D
Honestly, if The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train had made it onto this countdown, I'd be satisfied with its inclusion. For what it is, I think it's a really nice instrumental track.
I don't even think that was in the list of songs eligible for ranking. :lol
49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
17 Lightbulb Sun 36
16 Don’t Hate Me UNRANKED
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 15
14 Collapse the Light into Earth UNRANKED
13 Way out of Here UNRANKED
12 The Start of Something Beautiful 41
11 Deadwing 3
10 Russia on Ice UNRANKED
09 Lazarus 5
08 Even Less 43
07 Heartattack in a Layby UNRANKED
06 Buying New Soul UNRANKED
05 Blackest Eyes 2
04 Dark Matter UNRANKED
03 Trains UNRANKED
I think your full list is the one I'm most curious about at this point. :lol
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
17 Lightbulb Sun 36
16 Don’t Hate Me UNRANKED
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 15
14 Collapse the Light into Earth UNRANKED
13 Way out of Here UNRANKED
12 The Start of Something Beautiful 41
11 Deadwing 3
10 Russia on Ice UNRANKED
09 Lazarus 5
08 Even Less 43
07 Heartattack in a Layby UNRANKED
06 Buying New Soul UNRANKED
05 Blackest Eyes 2
04 Dark Matter UNRANKED
03 Trains UNRANKED
I think your full list is the one I'm most curious about at this point. :lol
I completely agree. Like many others I have been fascinated by the difference in opinions throughout the ranking but no list has left me scratching my head as often as this one. In many ways it seems we enjoy completely separate parts of PT. :lol
Would have loved to hear more of your thoughts DTwwbwMP!
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I'm curious which song people think will win. but since we're not supposed to spotlight, there's no way to run a poll. :)
Trains would've been my #2.
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Catching up:
14 Collapse the Light into Earth #2
13 Way out of Here #43
12 The Start of Something Beautiful #50
11 Deadwing #7
10 Russia On Ice NR
09 Lazarus #5
08 Even Less #10
07 Heartattack in a Layby #3
06 Buying New Soul #12
05 Blackest Eyes #26
04 Dark Matter #1 - The music and lyrical content that embody the core of the band for me.
03 Trains #4
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...yeah, we all know what the top 2 are at this point, huh :lol
i think anesthetize is wildly overrated tbh, still prob my least favorite on FOABP. still good but a bit tedious and also literally three songs so i hope it takes only the #2 :corn
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05 Blackest Eyes
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (DTowwbwMP)
7 Top 10 Finishes
04 Dark Matter
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Duetsch Dream Dates, Elite, The Great Zo, DTA)
9 Top 10 Finishes
03 Trains
Appeared on 20 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Buddyhunter1)
11 Top 10 Finishes
Blackest Eyes #17
First PT song I ever heard and at the time was a very casual fan of them, didn't really get into that mellow vibe
Dark Matter #15
A lot of these tracks from the Colin era could easily be in the top 10, such a great closer and am very glad it's in the Anesthetize bluray release.
Trains #13
In Absentia is my favorite produced record of PT, even though the album isn't my favorite, the production on this is fantastic.
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05 Blackest Eyes
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 2 (DTowwbwMP)
7 Top 10 Finishes
04 Dark Matter
Appeared on 18 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Duetsch Dream Dates, Elite, The Great Zo, DTA)
9 Top 10 Finishes
03 Trains
Appeared on 20 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (Buddyhunter1)
11 Top 10 Finishes
Blackest Eyes - my rank 28. A really great song but not one of my favourites but had to be in there somewhere, probably a little surprised it made it this high overall.
Dark Matter - ok cool! Well I only ranked this at 48 so just got it in there. Had no idea it was so loved. For me it is probably more to do with the fact that I don't listen to this album much that I ranked this so low. I can agree it is a great, epic track and the guitar solo is spot on.
Trains - well, if asked this would have been my consensus pick for the number 1 song overall, mainly because I was sure this would be one song that would be in everyone's top 50, but no 2 left this song out???? My rank is 7. Just a perfect song in every way.
Looks like I will end up with 12 songs unranked, three of which are from the latest album which I really haven't spent enough time with to seriously consider. My number 1 song is still alive so I guess it has a chance of being the consensus number 1.
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I'll have 20 unranked songs from the main list. I guess it's fewer than I thought I'd end up with.
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#08 Even Less - My Ranking: #17
I'm a bit surprised to see this at this ranking, I thought it'd appear a bit higher here. Even though it's not one of my top 10, I still consider it a trademark PT song. The Arriving Somewhere version was the one I heard first. I like the slide guitar intro, and the vibe of the song.
#07 Heartattack In A Layby - My Ranking: #31
Another song I first heard from Arriving Somewhere. It's a fantastic, atmospheric song. I should've ranked this higher, at least top 20. That guitar melody after the verses is lovely. I also like the bass tone at the end of the Arriving Somewhere version, it reminds me of the bass tone in the intro of Time by Pink Floyd.
#06 Buying New Soul - My Ranking: #36
I could've ranked it a bit higher, but it's a song that I just have to be in the mood for. When I am, it's a great song. But, when I am not, I don't know, I don't feel it as much. It's weird. I enjoy the theme of the song, and the atmosphere it creates for it. I also heard this from Arriving Somewhere and I like the drumming this one.
#05 Blackest Eyes - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
I didn't rank this one because I think it's an alright song from PT. It'd rank about 70. It's not really a bad song, I just prefer more of the others. Maybe where it's placed on the album is why I can't seem to get through it.
#04 Dark Matter - My Ranking: #19
This one I did expect to rank in the top 5. It is a great song, and being I enjoy the atmosphere of Porcupine Tree the most, this one is deserving of the spot. "I am I Know"
#03 Trains - My Ranking: (Did Not Rank)
This one did not rank just because there's way too much other songs I enjoy more. I used to listen to this a lot more back when I was first getting into the band, but then I heard the others and just enjoy them a lot more now. It's unfortunate that they didn't play this one when I saw them with Coheed, it got cut for time and I was sad, I would've definitely been there clapping along.
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So it seems no songs off Up the Downstair in the Top 50, right? Well, I must confess I like more UtD than The Sky Moves Sideways, specially Gavin Harrison's version. Sure Steven Wilson improved his songwriting skills on TSMS and UtD still sounds more (exaggerating a bit) like the songs are a bunch of glued jams... still I like it more! Up the Downstair, Burning Sky and Synesthesia are in my Top 50 (#39 to #41).
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So it seems no songs off Up the Downstair in the Top 50, right? Well, I must confess I like more UtD than The Sky Moves Sideways, specially Gavin Harrison's version. Sure Steven Wilson improved his songwriting skills on TSMS and UtD still sounds more (exaggerating a bit) like the songs are a bunch of glued jams... still I like it more! Up the Downstair, Burning Sky and Synesthesia are in my Top 50 (#39 to #41).
"Fadeaway" feels hurt that you've forgotten about it. I guess you don't like UTD as much as you thought if you forgot it was on there. ;) :lol
So far, it seems like the only main studio album not to get any songs in this countdown has been the debut, On The Sunday Of Life. I was wondering if "Radioactive Toy" would've pulled enough to at least make the 50-41 range, but I guess not.
-Marc.
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So it seems no songs off Up the Downstair in the Top 50, right? Well, I must confess I like more UtD than The Sky Moves Sideways, specially Gavin Harrison's version. Sure Steven Wilson improved his songwriting skills on TSMS and UtD still sounds more (exaggerating a bit) like the songs are a bunch of glued jams... still I like it more! Up the Downstair, Burning Sky and Synesthesia are in my Top 50 (#39 to #41).
"Fadeaway" feels hurt that you've forgotten about it. I guess you don't like UTD as much as you thought if you forgot it was on there. ;) :lol
So far, it seems like the only main studio album not to get any songs in this countdown has been the debut, On The Sunday Of Life. I was wondering if "Radioactive Toy" would've pulled enough to at least make the 50-41 range, but I guess not.
-Marc.
My mistake! How you all dare to like so much a song that isn't even in my Top 3 off the album?! :lol
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So it seems no songs off Up the Downstair in the Top 50, right? Well, I must confess I like more UtD than The Sky Moves Sideways, specially Gavin Harrison's version. Sure Steven Wilson improved his songwriting skills on TSMS and UtD still sounds more (exaggerating a bit) like the songs are a bunch of glued jams... still I like it more! Up the Downstair, Burning Sky and Synesthesia are in my Top 50 (#39 to #41).
"Fadeaway" feels hurt that you've forgotten about it. I guess you don't like UTD as much as you thought if you forgot it was on there. ;) :lol
So far, it seems like the only main studio album not to get any songs in this countdown has been the debut, On The Sunday Of Life. I was wondering if "Radioactive Toy" would've pulled enough to at least make the 50-41 range, but I guess not.
-Marc.
My mistake! How you all dare to like so much a song that isn't even in my Top 3 off the album?! :lol
That's a fair point! Then again, I didn't rank ANY songs from UTD in my top 50, so what do *I* know?! :rollin
-Marc.
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i think anesthetize is wildly overrated tbh, still prob my least favorite on FOABP.
I ranked Aenesthetize but feel the same way. Wish the ending segment would have been its own song.
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WHO?
I love Dream Theater as well as 70s folk rock/Americana, and I live in Denver, so I thought it would appropriate to combine John Denver's real name (Henry Duetschendorf Jr.) with the name of a somewhat well-known DT bootleg (Dutch dream dates).
Cool! Welcome to DTF!
The TACs vacationed in Denver back in 2016.
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Really excited to see Rainy Taxi and The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train as the top 2! ;D
Nah it's clearly parts 3 and 4 of Voyage 34
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So it seems no songs off Up the Downstair in the Top 50, right? Well, I must confess I like more UtD than The Sky Moves Sideways, specially Gavin Harrison's version. Sure Steven Wilson improved his songwriting skills on TSMS and UtD still sounds more (exaggerating a bit) like the songs are a bunch of glued jams... still I like it more! Up the Downstair, Burning Sky and Synesthesia are in my Top 50 (#39 to #41).
I have more songs from Up the Downstair on my list too!
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Well, seems like those ranking Dark Matter somewhere near the top might have been right after all. Just listened again and it's not bad, is it?
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Thanks again to everyone who submitted a list and/or participated in this thread! Nice to finally get this one in the books. :hat :hat
Oh, and below is the top 2...:P :P
02 Anesthetize
Appeared on 22 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (faizoff, toro, BRGM, SomeoneLikeHim, Puppies_On_Acid)
16 Top 10 Finishes
I remember this being nicknamed The Beast when it was played live before being released on Fear of a Blank Planet, which made sense as it is a beast of a song. I ranked it 6th. From the flow to the solo by Alex Lifeson to the melodies to the insane drumming of Gavin Harrison to the somber ending, this is a fantastic song. This was the only song to end up on all 22 lists.
01 Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
Appeared on 21 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (PixelDream, The Realm, nobloodyname)
17 Top 10 Finishes
Despite being left off one list. this still managed to finish number 1 by a nose, and it is well deserved. I ranked this 2nd. Just an amazing song from start to finish; it flows tremendously, its length is perfect, the chorus is one of the best Wilson has ever written, and the production is off the charts great. Amazing song, on every level imaginable.
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Total list below. Any song that got a total of 0 is not listed.
01 Arriving Somewhere but Not Here 934
02 Anesthetize 931
03 Trains 737
04 Dark Matter 688
05 Blackest Eyes 671
06 Buying New Soul 619
07 Heartattack in a Layby 615
08 Even Less 614
09 Lazarus 597
10 Russia On Ice 590
11 Deadwing 578
12 The Start of Something Beautiful 577
13 Way Out of Here 574
14 Collapse the Light into Earth 549
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 536
16 Don't Hate Me 528
17 Lightbulb Sun 469
18 Hatesong 457
19 The Sound of Muzak 447
20 A Smart Kid 443
21 Shesmovedon 434
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled 432
23 Time Flies 423
24 Mellotron Scratch 415
25 Sleep Together 399
26 Open Car 392
27 The Sky Moves Sideways 389
28 Chimera's Wreck 378
29 I Drive the Hearse 365
30 Sentimental 355
31 Glass Arm Shattering 347
32 Gravity Eyelids 333
33 Waiting 332
34 Stop Swimming 324
35 My Ashes 310
36 What Happens Now? 278
37 Harridan 276
38 Strip the Soul 257
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 256
40 Herd Culling 249
41 Drown With Me 245
42 Dignity 244
43 Fadeaway 243
44 Feel So Low 235
45 Stars Die 234
46 Lips of Ashes 212
47 Halo 209
48 The Blind House 207
49 (t) Normal 188
49 (t) Where We Would Be 188
51 Drawing the Line 187
52 Pure Narcotic 183
53 (t) Radioactive Toy 179
53 (t)The Rest Will Flow 179
55 Chloroform 175
56 Sleep of No Dreaming 174
57 So Called Friend 172
58 Piano Lessons 171
59 Nil Recurring 169
60 Prodigal 168
61 (t)Half-Light 166
61 (t) Signify 166
63 Wedding Nails 165
64 .3 163
65 The Incident 161
66 Of the New Day 159
67 Shallow 155
68 Futile 152
69 The Moon Touches Your Shoulder 151
70 Burning Sky 142
71 Tinto Brass 137
72 Sever 136
73 (t) Slave Called Shiver 133
73 (t) Voyage 34 Phase I 133
75 Synesthesia 127
76 Stranger by the Minute 123
77 Black Dahlia 121
78 Cheating the Polygraph 120
79 Rats Return 120
80 (t) Idiot Prayer 117
80 (t) Up the Downstair 117
82 Always Never 113
83 (t) Bonnie the Cat 111
83 (t) Remember Me Lover 111
85 Never Have 104
86 In Formaldehyde 102
87 Octane Twisted 93
88 Flicker 89
89 Cure for Optimism 85
90 (t) Love in the Past Tense 76
90 (t) Mother and Child Divided 76
92 (t) Every Home is Wired 70
92 (t) Walk the Plank 70
94 Dislocated Day 59
95 (t) Circle of Manias 58
95 (t) How Is Your Life Today? 58
95 (t) Untitled 58
98 4 Chords That Made a Million 56
99 The Nostalgia Factory 53
100 (t) Disappear 52
100 (t) Kneel and Disconnect 52
102 This Is No Rehearsal 50
103 (t) Moonloop 44
103 (t) The Seance 44
105 (t) Ambulance Chasing 36
105 (t) Not Beautiful Anymore 36
107 Nine Cats 34
108 Orchidia 33
109 The Sound of No-One Listening 30
110 Baby Dream in Cellophane 27
111 Light Mass Prayers 25
112 This Long Silence 22
113 It Will Rain for a Million Years 18
114 (t) Access Denied 15
114 (t) Population Three 15
116 Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape 12
117 (t) And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun 9
117 (t) Sever Tomorrow 9
119 (t) Small Fish 8
119 (t) Your Unpleasant Family 8
121 Meantime 3
122 (t) Men of Wood 1
122 (t) Rainy Taxi 1
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Songs I ranked that didn't finish in the top 50:
16 Bonnie the Cat
25 The Moon Touches Your Shoulder
30 Pure Narcotic
33 Cheating the Polygraph
35 The Incident
37 Love in the Past Tense
39 Prodigal
44 Stranger by the Minute
47 Walk the Plank
48 This Is No Rehearsal
50 Never Have
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All those points for Nine Cats are mine :lol
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Thanks for doing this Kev!
I figured Arriving would be #1, I ranked it #6, absolute baller of a song to watch live. I think it would have been in my top 3 before Fear came out.
I had Anesthetize as #1, I love this track so much and I can't listen to it in individual sections, I really like the transition from start to finish.
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Thanks for running this one, I’ve had a lot of fun following this. Glad with the finish, Arriving Somewhere was my #4 and I like it a lot more than Anesthetize, my #6. If PT staryed experimenting with some heavier sounds on In Absentia, they perfected it on Deadwing. 3 songs in my top 5, with the heavy section in Arriving Somewhere being an absolute highlight.
Am on my phone now, but will post my full list with all those debut, Up the Downstair, Signify and TSMS tracks that didn’t make the collective list.
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I don't know about anyone else, but as this countdown went along, I definitely thought about which songs I probably would put higher now, which ones might be a little lower, and which ones might not even make my top 50 now that did then.
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Normal
The Blind House
Halo
The Creator Has a Mastertape
Strip the Soul
What Happens Now?
Waiting
Gravity Eyelids
Chimera’s Wreck
The Sky Moves Sideways
Time Flies
Deadwing
50. Every Home is Wired
49. Rats Return
48. I Drive the Hearse
47. The Incident
46. Lips of Ashes
45. Harridan
44. The Rest Will Flow
43. Way Out of Here
42. Of the New Day
41. Voyage 34 Phase I
40. Disappear
39. Open Car
38. Dignity
37. Don't Hate Me
36. Lightbulb Sun
35. .3
34. Stars Die
33. Stranger by the Minute
32. Herd Culling
31. Half-Light
30. My Ashes
29. Sleep Together
28. Pure Narcotic
27. Where We Would Be
26. Shesmovedon
25. Fadeaway
24. Stop Swimming
23. Mellotron Scratch
22. In Formaldehyde
21. Collapse the Light into Earth
20. The Start of Something Beautiful
19. Buying New Soul
18. Hatesong
17. Sentimental
16. Glass Arm Shattering
15. Drown With Me
14. Fear of a Blank Planet
13. The Sound of Muzak
12. Lazarus
11. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
10. Feel So Low
9. Even Less
8. Trains
7. Arriving Somewhere but Not Here
6. Russia On Ice
5. Blackest Eyes
4. Dark Matter
3. A Smart Kid
2. Heartattack in a Layby
1. Anesthetize
I had Anesthetize at #1 but I can't complain about Arriving Somewhere but Not Here either. Both great songs of course! Arriving was my favorite for a while when I first got into PT, it has slipped a bit since then but I still absolutely love it. I would say that my top 8 are all pretty close to one another, could definitely shuffle around on any given day.
Anesthetize is awesome, every part is great in a different way. I especially love the final part where the music really paints the picture of watching the waves rolling in on the shore. The final guitar solo if you could even call it that is perfectly fragile as well.
Highest ranked song not on the list: #22. In Formaldehyde
I really like this song. Lovely chord progression, dreamlike atmosphere, great solo. What's not to love?
Big thanks to Kev for hosting this and all the other lists! I have had a lot of fun reading the others but it was great to finally take part in one as well. Fantastic work! :tup
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One of my personal favourites didn't make the Top 50, but #57 is pretty good though (So Called Friend).
Thanks for running this, Kev!
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I don't know about anyone else, but as this countdown went along, I definitely thought about which songs I probably would put higher now, which ones might be a little lower, and which ones might not even make my top 50 now that did then.
I have been thinking about this as well. I have been listening to a LOT of PT these past weeks so some songs have definitely moved around. Overall I think I would put most C/C songs a little lower if I did the list again.
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My ranking for top 50
50 Prodigal
49 Remember Me Lover
48 Population Three
47 Sever Tomorrow
46 Normal
45 Mother and Child Divided
44 Kneel and Disconnect
43 Pure Narcotic
42 So Called Friend
41 Black Dahlia
40 Lips of Ashes
39 Always Never
38 Don't Hate Me
37 Hatesong
36 3
35 Piano Lessons
34 Time Flies
33 Tinto Brass
32 Idiot Prayer
31 Circle of Manias
30 I Drive the Hearse
29 Futile
28 Harridan
27 Heartattack in a Layby
26 Signify
25 Fadeaway
24 The Rest Will Flow
23 Sleep Together
22 Wedding Nails
21 Voyage 34 Phase I
20 Feel So Low
19 Sentimental
18 What Happens Now?
17 Blackest Eyes
16 Russia On Ice
15 Dark Matter
14 A Smart Kid
13 Trains
12 The Sound of Muzak
11 Buying New Soul
10 Fear of a Blank Planet
9 Lazarus
8 Chimera’s Wreck
7 Even Less
6 Arriving Somewhere but Not Here
5 Shesmovedon
4 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
3 My Ashes
2 Way Out of Here
1 Anesthetize
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Anesthetize and Arriving somewhere were top seven material for me, so yeah, no complaints from me. :tup
Also, here's my entire list - I bolded the songs that didn't end up in the overall top 50:
1 The Start of Something Beautiful
2 Anesthetize
3 Dark Matter
4 Glass Arm Shattering
5 Lightbulb Sun
6 Fear of a Blank Planet
7 Arriving Somewhere but Not Here
8 Where We Would Be
9 Collapse the Light into Earth
10 Wedding Nails (way too low)
11 Blackest Eyes
12 The Sound of Muzak
13 Shesmovedon
14 Slave Called Shiver (also way too low, guys)
15 Lazarus
16 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
17 The Creator Has a Mastertape
18 Way Out of Here
19 Feel So Low
20 Trains
21 Open Car
22 Pure Narcotic (dang, it just missed out)
23 The Incident
24 Heartattack in a Layby
25 In Formaldehyde (a very underrated one)
26 Drown With Me
27 Signify
28 Every Home is Wired
29 The Rest Will Flow
30 Gravity Eyelids
31 Even Less
32 Sleep of No Dreaming
33 Piano Lessons
34 Cheating the Polygraph
35 Hatesong
36 Access Denied (I knew this one wouldn't even be close :lol)
37 Sever
38 Shallow
39 Don't Hate Me
40 Russia On Ice
41 I Drive the Hearse
42 The Moon Touches Your Shoulder
43 Drawing the Line
44 Harridan
45 Synesthesia
46 Half-Light
47 Strip the Soul
48 Dislocated Day
49 4 Chords That Made a Million
50 Stranger by the Minute
Again, hats off to Kev to providing us with good fun. :tup
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If I would have submitted my list, the top 2 would have been different. Anesthetize is my #1, Arriving is #8. Both great songs :metal
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02 Anesthetize
Appeared on 22 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (faizoff, toro, BRGM, SomeoneLikeHim, Puppies_On_Acid)
16 Top 10 Finishes
01 Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
Appeared on 21 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (PixelDream, The Realm, nobloodyname)
17 Top 10 Finishes
NR. Where We Would Be
NR. The Blind House
NR. Fadeaway
NR. Glass Arm Shattering
NR. I Drive The Hearse
NR. Chimera's Wreck
NR. Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
NR. Shesmovedon
NR. A Smart Kid
NR. Lightbulb Sun
NR. The Start Of Something Beautiful
50. Drown With Me
48. Strip The Soul
46. Harridan
45. Mellotron Scratch
43. Halo
42. Buying New Soul
41. Stars Die
40. Sentimental
38. Waiting (Phases 1 & 2)
37. Feel So Low
34. Time Flies
33. Open Car
32. Fear Of A Blank Planet
31. Herd Culling
30. Heart Attack In A Layby
29. Dignity
25. Lips Of Ashes
24. My Ashes
23. Sleep Together
22. Normal
20. Way Out Of Here
19. Gravity Eyelids
18. Stop Swimming
17. The Creator Has A Mastertape
16. Lazarus
15. Blackest Eyes
14. The Sound Of Muzak
13. Dark Matter
12. Don't Hate Me
11. Deadwing
10. Collapse The Light Into Earth
08. Trains
07. What Happens Now?
06. Hatesong
05. Russia On Ice
04. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
03. Even Less
02. Anesthetize
01. The Sky Moves Sideways (Phases 1 & 2)
These two kabded at 4th and 2nd for me, and with that, my top 50 had 39 of the final countdown's ranking with only 11 of the songs not ranked in my list. Here are the 11 songs that *I* ranked that didn't show up:
49 Dislocated Day
47 The Rest Will Flow
44 Prodigal
39 Population Three
36 Stranger By The Minute
35 Bonnie The Cat
28 Walk The Plank
27 Rats Return
26 Of The New Day
21 Nil Recurring
09 Half-Light
Yep, I really enjoy C/C to have included so much of the album in my Top 50.
And as promised, here is the final countdown with the songs organized by album!
43 Fadeaway
45 Stars Die
27 The Sky Moves Sideways
33 Waiting
04 Dark Matter
34 Stop Swimming
20 A Smart Kid
16 Don't Hate Me
08 Even Less
49 (t) Where We Would Be
44 Feel So Low
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
21 Shesmovedon
18 Hatesong
17 Lightbulb Sun
10 Russia On Ice
06 Buying New Soul
46 Lips of Ashes
41 Drown with Me
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape
38 Strip the Soul
32 Gravity Eyelids
19 The Sound of Muzak
14 Collapse the Light into Earth
07 Heartattack in a Layby
05 Blackest Eyes
03 Trains
47 Halo
31 Glass Arm Shattering
26 Open Car
24 Mellotron Scratch
12 The Start of Something Beautiful
11 Deadwing
09 Lazarus
01 Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
49 (t) Normal
36 What Happens Now?
35 My Ashes
30 Sentimental
25 Sleep Together
15 Fear of a Blank Planet
13 Way out of Here
02 Anesthetize
48 The Blind House
29 I Drive the Hearse
23 Time Flies
42 Dignity
40 Herd Culling
37 Harridan
28 Chimera's Wreck
The run of IA-DW-FOABP accounts for just over half of the 50 ranked songs. Not surprising but interesting to note. This is definitely their most popular period though I know not everyone feels this way.
Thanks for running this Kev! It was great to participate and see everyone's lists!
-Marc.
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Slightly surprised that Anesthetize wasn't number one, considering it's the longest PT "song", and given this forum's obsession with length. Also, this might be heretical, but my favorite version of Arriving is from Steven Wilson's solo band on the Home Invasion set.
Thanks again to Kevin for running this! I'm glad you came back to do this one.
My rankings:
1 The Start of Something Beautiful
2 Way Out of Here
3 Deadwing
4 Futile
5 So Called Friend
6 Harridan
7 Fear of a Blank Planet
8 Arriving Somewhere but Not Here
9 Strip the Soul
10 Buying New Soul
11 Mother and Child Divided
12 Never Have
13 Fadeaway
14 Anesthetize
15 Dark Matter
16 Chimera's Wreck
17 Gravity Eyelids
18 Blackest Eyes
19 Tinto Brass
20 Even Less
21 A Smart Kid
22 Synesthesia
23 The Sound of No-One Listening
24 Sleep of No Dreaming
25 Nil Recurring
26 Sever
27 Half-Light
28 Lips of Ashes
29 The Creator Has a Mastertape
30 Dignity
31 Don't Hate Me
32 Heartattack in a Layby
33 Sleep Together
34 Disappear
35 What Happens Now?
36 Walk the Plank
37 Herd Culling
38 Every Home is Wired
39 The Blind House
40 Hatesong
41 Where We Would Be
42 Collapse the Light into Earth
43 Waiting (both phases)
44 Signify
45 Piano Lessons
46 Bonnie the Cat
47 Rats Return
48 Cheating the Polygraph
49 Time Flies
50 Trains
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02 Anesthetize (my ranking: 6)
Not surprised that these two tracks finished #1 and #2, and really the score is so close it could have gone either way.
This song is indeed a beast. I love all three sections, and the music is so interesting I can get over the questionable lyrics in Pt 2. That big metal explosion before the last chorus in Pt 2 is just an incredible thing to see live. It's cacophany, and it's also an interesting bit with guitar/drums playing different rhythms. The whole cool-down in Pt 3 is very effective and just the right amount of emotional.
This is my second-favorite Gavin era song, nudged just barely by What Happens Now?, which I consider to be almost as expansive as Anesthetize but packed into an even shorter running time.
01 Arriving Somewhere But Not Here (my ranking: 11)
Whereas Anesthetize is this big huge thing, Arriving Somewhere is a song that feels incredibly cohesive despite its long-ish running time. The metal bit is effective because of how well it works in the context of the rest of the song -- the moody, sparse, brilliantly-produced verses and chorus.
Deadwing is such an inconsistent album for me. I love Deadwing, Arriving Somewhere, Mellotron Scratch, and Glass Arm Shattering. I could basically do without most of the rest of the album, and I don't think the B-sides are that strong either. But those four songs are absolutely brilliant.
I'll post my full list later today or tomorrow when time allows me to write up some additional comments. From the final scoring Kev posted, there are at least a couple songs I was the only one to rank! :lol (edit: actually only one, now that I look at it again)
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UR - Normal
UR - Where We Would Be
UR - Feel so Low
UR - What Happens Now?
---
#90 - Dignity
#88 - Don’t Hate Me
#86 - Lips of Ashes
#84 - My Ashes
#82 - Sentimental
#80 - Stop Swimming
#78 - Time Flies
#77 - Lightbulb Sun
#66 - Fear of a Blank Planet
#65 - Fadeaway
#64 - Hatesong
#61 - Halo
#60 - Last Chance to Evacuate Earth Before it is Recycled
#59 - Herd Culling
#58 - Russia on Ice
#57 - The Sound of Muzak
#53 - Harridan
---
#50 - Drown With Me
#49 - And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun
#48 - Piano Lessons
#47 - Lazarus
#46 - Buying New Soul
#45 - Chimera’s Wreck
#44 - Bonnie the Cat
#43 - Small Fish
#42 - Stars Die
#41 - Wedding Nails
---
#40 - Deadwing
#39 - Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape
#38 - Tinto Brass
#37 - Open Car
#36 - Voyage 34 Phase I
#35 - Black Dahlia
#34 - Always Never
#33 - Radioactive Toy
#32 - Trains
#31 - Dislocated Day
---
#30 - Way out of Here
#29 - Glass Arm Shattering
#28 - Strip the Soul
#27 - Remember Me Lover
#26 - Shesmovedon
#25 - The Nostalgia Factory
#24 - Every Home is Wired
#23 - Up the Downstair
#22 - Sleep of no Dreaming
#21 - Sleep Together
---
#20 - The Moon Touches Your Shoulder
#19 - The Sky Moves Sideways
#18 - Not Beautiful Anymore
#17 - Nine Cats
#16 - Waiting (Phase 1 & 2)
#15 - I Drive the Hearse
#14 - The Blind House
#13 - Collapse the Light Into Earth
#12 - Even Less
#11 - Burning Sky
---
#10 - A Smart Kid
#9 - The Creator Has a Mastertape
#8 - Blackest Eyes
#7 - Heartattack in a Layby
#6 - Anesthetize
#5 - Mellotron Scratch
#4 - Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
#3 - The Start of Something Beautiful
#2 - Gravity Eyelids
#1 - Dark Matter
Here's my list with all the songs that didn't make it bolded out. What's good to know about this list is that my first experience with Porcupine Tree was threefolded; I bought Deadwing and The Incident at the same time, followed by Signify and the compilation 2CD 'Stars Die'. The Incident I liked as a whole, but the individual tracks didn't really speak to me (aside from the ones I ranked), Deadwing was a favourite until I discovered In Absentia way later, but I basically fell in love with Signify and the Stars Die compilation. This was completed when I bought Coma Divine - Recorded Live in Rome, which I consider my favourite Porcupine Tree record, even though it's a live album. This probably explains some (very high) ranking songs on my list. To this day, Coma Divine is my favourite PT 'thing' to listen to. It's a flawless live album front to back and all things considered, it's a remarkable feat for a band that was still really figuring out the sound they would have.
Lightbulb Sun did poorly in my top 50, and I explained earlier that I consider it somewhat of a transition album between the first 5 and everything that came afterwards, without doing either of them convincingly. I actually listened to that record a few times over the past week, and honestly, Feel so Low at least should have been included in my 90 tracks I ranked. Maybe Russia on Ice could have made the top 50, although I don't find the second half to be as convincing as heavy parts on 'newer' songs. Also doesn't help that it was (if I recall correctly) the last PT album I heard when discovering them initially.
In Absentia is a beast and I will generally say that I like this one more than Deadwing, though the scores on my list don't really reflect that. I was a little surprised with 3 Deadwing tracks in my top 5, but thinking about it, it does make sense as I love all three of them dearly (in different ways than for example The Moon Touches Your Shoulder, Nine Cats or Burning Sky). The final three album are - in my view - a step backwards again. Fear is inconsistent (I really don't get how My Ashes, Sentimental AND Normal all made the list), as is The Incident (watch the bonus tracks do better on my list) and C/C I think was too new for me to properly rank.
All in all, it's been a fun countdown, but coming from my love for the first five records, seeing brilliant tracks from that era not make it all (seriously guys, I was the ONLY voter for Nine Cats?) was slightly disappointing (though completely expected). It was nice seeing other people rank Dark Matter at the top - a big surprise even. But for the love of whatever, please listen to Signify (my 'favourite' if I'm not allowed to say that a live record is one), Up the Downstair, The Sky Moves Sideways and Stupid Dream if you're not familiar with those. All of them fantastic records in their own way.
Dark Matter embodies everything Porcupine Tree does extremely well. It's probably been my favourite PT track ever since I heard it for the first time. Watching Steven play this one live on one of his solo tours was an unexpected treat.
Thanks for running this, Kev. I said it before, but your consistency throughout this thing in updating is truly remarkable. Really well done. I had tons of fun, thanks to all other participants for sharing their stories and ideas.
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Thanks for running this, Kev! The updates have been a nice start to my mornings. :)
I'll post my full list tonight but here's the top 2 filled in:
Unranked
- Where Would We Be
- The Blind House
- Halo
- Lips of Ashes
- Stars Die
- Feel So Low
- Fadeaway
- The Creator Has A Mastertape
- Stop Swimming
- Gravity Eyelids
- I Drive The Hearse
- The Sky Moves Sideways
- Open Car
- Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
- Shesmovedon
Ranked
#50: Normal
#49:
#48: Drown With Me
#47: A Smart Kid
#46: The Sound Of Muzak
---
#38: Glass Arm Shattering
---
#35: Deadwing
#34: Dignity
#33: Chimera's Wreck
#32: Even Less
#31:
#30: Fear Of A Blank Planet
#29: Herd Culling
#28: Sleep Together
---
#23: Mellotron Scratch
#22: Waiting (both phases)
#21: Don't Hate Me
#20: Time Flies
#19: Way Out Of Here
#18: Sentimental
#17: What Happens Now?
#16: Dark Matter
#15: My Ashes
#14: Lightbulb Sun
#13: Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
#12: The Start Of Something Beautiful
#11: Heartattack In A Layby
#10: Strip The Soul
#9: Blackest Eyes
#8: Harridan
#7: Buying New Soul
#6: Collapse The Light Into Earth
#5: Lazarus
#4: Anesthetize
#3: Russia On Ice
#2: Hatesong
#1: Trains
Anesthetize: I was hoping this one would be the #1 between these two, but oh well. What a monster of a song. It's both an incredibly satisfying prog epic, and an oppressively dark and melancholy piece of music that defines the album it's from. I love all three movements of this, and I think they all work very well together. The first half has some amazing tension building, and Steven Wilson's signature vocal harmonies in the 2nd chorus have never sounded more massive or haunting. That chopped-up, stereo-panned guitar loop that begins the second movement is cool as hell, and that heavy riff comes in like a damn sledgehammer afterwards. It makes me a little sad to see people talking about how they dislike the third movement or how it'd be better off as its own song. Those people are wrong. :biggrin: This is easily the most emotional and beautiful part of the song for me, especially the lyrics in the verse and that amazing organ solo at the end. It's hard to put into words but while the atmosphere of the first two movements feels like it represents a more dissociative, angsty, and angry type of depression, the last movement feels remarkably vulnerable and human, and that transition is the perfect way to end the song.
Arriving Somewhere But Not Here: This is a very... agreeable pick for #1. :lol As the amount of #1 placements show, I don't think as many people would put this in their absolute favorites as Anesthetize, but I also don't think as many people would dislike this song as Anesthetize, so here it is. And yeah, it's a great song, but not quite good enough to crack my top ten. It's a long song but it doesn't get boring, the first half is lovely, the second half is exciting, and Akerfeldt's gentle guitar solo towards the end is stellar as always. Out of all the Porcupine Tree songs, this is definitely one of the most Porcupine Tree of them all!
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On the contrary to Buddy, Arriving Somewhere would've been my #1, whereas Anesthetize wouldn't have cracked my Top 10, so I'm pleased with how that turned out.
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My list that didn’t get entered in time. Curious if it would have changed much. I certainly would’ve given a much needed boost to Heartattack. Not sure if my placing of Anesthetize at 2 and AS at 5 would have made enough difference to flip the top two, but I don’t think so. Pretty sure my highest ranked unranked song was Idiot Prayer. Which is literally my favorite PT instrumental. Slave Called Shiver and The Incident placed 17 and 19 and I was surprised to not see them on the list. I was also a little surprised to see Voyage 34 Phase I not make the cut.
1 Heartattack in a Layby
2 Anesthetize
3 Trains
4 Start of Something Beautiful
5 Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
6 Hatesong
7 The Sound of Muzak
8 Fear of a Blank Planet
9 Blackest Eyes
10 I Drive the Hearse
11 Open Car
12 Idiot Prayer
13 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
14 Sleep Together
15 Even Less
16 Black Matter
17 Slave Called Shiver
18 Gravity Eyelids
19 The Incident
20 Don’t Hate Me
21 Voyage 34 - Phase I
22 Pure Narcotic
23 Way Out of Here
24 The Sky Moves Sideways
25 Mother and Child Divided
26 Not Beautiful Anymore
27 Up the Downstair
28 Shallow
29 Sever
30 The Creator Has a Mastertape
31 Prodigal
32 Buying New Soul
33 Sentimental
34 Herd Culling
35 Lightbulb Sun
36 Piano Lessons
37 Stranger by the Minute
38 A Smart Kid
39 Burning Sky
40 Mellotron Scratch
41 Dislocated Day
42 Baby Dream in Cellophane
43 Deadwing
44 Feel So Low
45 Harridan
46 Rats Return
47 Synesthesia
48 How Is Your Life Today?
49 Fadeaway
50 Time Flies
51 Shesmovedon
52 Halo
53 Drown With Me
54 Cheating the Polygraph
55 Bonnie the Cat
56 Every Home is Wired
57 .3
58 My Ashes
59 Lazarus
60 Lips of Ashes
61 Signify
62 Waiting
63 What Happens Now?
64 This Is No Rehearsal
65 The Moon Touches Your Shoulder
66 Tinto Brass
67 Sleep of No Dreaming
68 Stop Swimming
69 Always Never
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Also, this might be heretical, but my favorite version of Arriving is from Steven Wilson's solo band on the Home Invasion set.
My number one ranking was based on that performance, too, same with several other songs. I find the solo performances to be so much better than both the original versions and those performed live with Porcupine Tree. And yup, I know that's heretical.
Anyway! Thanks as always to Kev for running the show and everyone who took part.
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jeez, talk about a photo finish on the top 2 :lol
...and nothing else even came particularly close either, of course
if i had to pick a top 5 it'd look something like this?
1. Heartattack in a Layby
2. Trains
3. The Start of Something Beautiful
4. Collapse the Light Into Earth
5. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
all five of these ranked pretty damn high so me not participating really didn't matter that much :lol
jammin, i like how we both didn't submit and then had the exact same top 5 except for one song :rollin (and mostly in the same order too!)
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jeez, talk about a photo finish on the top 2 :lol
...and nothing else even came particularly close either, of course
if i had to pick a top 5 it'd look something like this?
1. Heartattack in a Layby
2. Trains
3. The Start of Something Beautiful
4. Collapse the Light Into Earth
5. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
all five of these ranked pretty damn high so me not participating really didn't matter that much :lol
jammin, i like how we both didn't submit and then had the exact same top 5 except for one song :rollin (and mostly in the same order too!)
I think you and I both having HAIAL at #1 might have pushed it up a placement or two.
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
17 Lightbulb Sun 36
16 Don’t Hate Me UNRANKED
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 15
14 Collapse the Light into Earth UNRANKED
13 Way out of Here UNRANKED
12 The Start of Something Beautiful 41
11 Deadwing 3
10 Russia on Ice UNRANKED
09 Lazarus 5
08 Even Less 43
07 Heartattack in a Layby UNRANKED
06 Buying New Soul UNRANKED
05 Blackest Eyes 2
04 Dark Matter UNRANKED
03 Trains UNRANKED
02 Anesthetize 10
01 Arriving Somewhere but Not Here 7
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49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED
45 Stars Die UNRANKED
44 Feel So Low UNRANKED
43 Fadeaway UNRANKED
42 Dignity UNRANKED
41 Drown with Me 24
40 Herd Culling 38
39 The Creator Has a Mastertape 30
38 Strip the Soul 19
37 Harridan 49
36 What Happens Now? UNRANKED
35 My Ashes UNRANKED
34 Stop Swimming UNRANKED
33 Waiting UNRANKED
32 Gravity Eyelids 14
31 Glass Arm Shattering UNRANKED
30 Sentimental UNRANKED
29 I Drive the Hearse 21
28 Chimera’s Wreck UNRANKED
27 The Sky Moves Sideways UNRANKED
26 Open Car 9
25 Sleep Together 27
24 Mellotron Scratch UNRANKED
23 Time Flies 1
22 Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled UNRANKED
21 Shesmovedon 39
20 A Smart Kid UNRANKED
19 The Sound of Muzak 32
18 Hatesong UNRANKED
17 Lightbulb Sun 36
16 Don’t Hate Me UNRANKED
15 Fear of a Blank Planet 15
14 Collapse the Light into Earth UNRANKED
13 Way out of Here UNRANKED
12 The Start of Something Beautiful 41
11 Deadwing 3
10 Russia on Ice UNRANKED
09 Lazarus 5
08 Even Less 43
07 Heartattack in a Layby UNRANKED
06 Buying New Soul UNRANKED
05 Blackest Eyes 2
04 Dark Matter UNRANKED
03 Trains UNRANKED
I think your full list is the one I'm most curious about at this point. :lol
I completely agree. Like many others I have been fascinated by the difference in opinions throughout the ranking but no list has left me scratching my head as often as this one. In many ways it seems we enjoy completely separate parts of PT. :lol
Would have loved to hear more of your thoughts DTwwbwMP!
Well, for complete transparency, here's my submitted list:
50 Men of Wood
49 Harridan
48 Not Beautiful Anymore
47 Mother and Child Divided
46 Synesthesia
45 Slave Called Shiver
44 This Is No Rehearsal
43 Even Less
42 Sever Tomorrow
41 The Start of Something Beautiful
40 Pure Narcotic
39 Shesmovedon
38 Herd Culling
37 Burning Sky
36 Lightbulb Sun
35 Radioactive Toy
34 The Rest Will Flow
33 Signify
32 The Sound of Muzak
31 Remember Me Lover
30 The Creator Has a Mastertape
29 Rats Return
28 Circle of Manias
27 Sleep Together
26 Piano Lessons
25 Wedding Nails
24 Drown With Me
23 Of the New Day
22 Nil Recurring
21 I Drive the Hearse
20 Futile
19 Strip the Soul
18 Orchidia
17 Prodigal
16 Octane Twisted
15 Fear of a Blank Planet
14 Gravity Eyelids
13 So Called Friend
12 Drawing the Line
11 Black Dahlia
10 Anesthetize
9 Open Car
8 Shallow
7 Arriving Somewhere but Not Here
6 The Blind House
5 Lazarus
4 Halo
3 Deadwing
2 Blackest Eyes
1 Time Flies
I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a PT "fanatic" but other than that, I guess "different strokes...". I had a feeling my list would be criticized as many of the songs PT fans love, just don't resonate with me. :huh:
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02 Anesthetize
Appeared on 22 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (faizoff, toro, BRGM, SomeoneLikeHim, Puppies_On_Acid)
16 Top 10 Finishes
01 Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
Appeared on 21 of 22 lists
Highest Finish: 1 (PixelDream, The Realm, nobloodyname)
17 Top 10 Finishes
Anesthetize - of course this is a monster track in every way but it just doesn't fully hit me the way some other PT tracks do so I ranked this 12.
Arriving Somewhere But Not Here - my number 1, so pretty happy to see it as the overall number 1 and to me it is no contest, this is PTs best song. Kind of like The Great Zo said, this is an epic track that actually feels intimate and concise. Everything in this track just works, brilliant stuff.
Thanks Kev, this was a really great countdown.
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I had 12 songs in my top 50 that didn't make the overall list:
50 Piano Lessons
49 Pure Narcotic
47 Half-Light
46 Sever
42 The Rest Will Follow
37 4 Chords That Made A Million
36 The Moon Touches Your Shoulder
34 Slave Called Shiver
33 How is Your Life Today?
30 Shallow
21 Drawing the Line
17 Sleep of No Dreaming
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Nope, I'm not willing to accept this. The turnip should have won and you all know it. I petition that we redo this until we get our one true winner.
I'm joking, of course. :)
This is an excellent top two songs. I prefer Anesthetize to Arriving, but not by much.
Arriving Somewhere But Not Here ranked #7 on my list. It wasn't my first Porcupine Tree song, but it was the song that got me into the band. I hadn't heard a song so impressive since the first time I listened to Octavarium. I loved the mellow atmosphere and sounds mixed with the structure and complexity of Dream Theater's epics. While between those two songs, I greatly prefer Octavarium, Arriving is still a 10/10.
Anesthetize ranked #2 on my list. While it wasn't as immediately impressive as Arriving the first time I heard it, I grew to love it more than Arriving. Mostly because there's a little more variety musically, but also because the third section of this song is one of the greatest things PT has done. I think the previous two sections of the song help make it that much more powerful, but I think even taking it on its own, it still would've made it to at least my Top 10.
Here's my whole list that I made, including songs that didn't make my Top 50. Songs that didn't make it on the Top 50 countdown will be bolded, and the couple songs I forgot will be put in parentheses around where I would put them if I had added them. Writeups for the ~40 songs I didn't get to would take too long at this rate, but if any of you are curious as to my thoughts on a particular song, I'll talk about it.
66. Stupid Dream
65. Kneel and Disconnect
64. Occam’s Razor
63. Degree Zero of Liberty
62. Don’t Hate Me
61. Your Unpleasant Family
60. Great Expectations
59. This is No Rehearsal
58. Pure Narcotic
57. Way Out of Here
56. Hatesong
55. The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train
54. Where We Would Be
53. Wedding Nails
52. The Seance
51. Shesmovedon
------------------------
50. Baby Dream in Cellophane
49. Black Dahlia
48. How Is Your Life Today?
47. Stranger by the Minute
46. Bonnie the Cat
45. Shallow
44. Slave Called Shiver
43. Gravity Eyelids
42. Halo
41. The Creator Has a Mastertape
40. Sleep Together
39. Tinto Brass
38. Remember Me Lover
(Feel So Low)
37. Circle of Manias
36. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
35. Piano Lessons
34. Drawing the Line
33. Even Less
32. A Smart Kid
31. Sentimental
30. Flicker
29. Lazarus
28. The Blind House
27. The Sound of Muzak
26. I Drive the Hearse
25. Strip the Soul
24. Lightbulb Sun
23. Four Chords That Made a Million
22. Fear of a Blank Planet
21. My Ashes
20. Trains
19. Blackest Eyes
18. Deadwing
17. Stop Swimming
16. Time Flies
15. Prodigal
(Dark Matter)
14. Mellotron Scratch
13. Open Car
12. Octane Twisted
11. The Rest Will Flow
10. The Start of Something Beautiful
9. Collapse the Light into Earth
8. Lips of Ashes
7. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
6. Glass Arm Shattering
5. .3
4. The Incident
3. Russia on Ice
2. Anesthetize
1. Heartattack in a Layby
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Alright here's my full list. I think I have a good sampling of every album from Signify onwards (I'm not too much of a fan of the first three albums), plus the band's best B-sides.
50 Normal
49 Love in the Past Tense
48 Drown With Me
47 A Smart Kid
46 The Sound of Muzak
45 Bonnie the Cat
44 The Rest Will Flow
43 Octane Twisted
42 Cure for Optimism
41 Prodigal
40 Idiot Prayer
39 Flicker
38 Glass Arm Shattering
37 Black Dahlia
36 Pure Narcotic
35 Deadwing
34 Dignity
33 Chimera's Wreck
32 Even Less
31 .3
30 Fear of a Blank Planet
29 Herd Culling
28 Sleep Together
27 Futile
26 Shallow
25 Untitled
24 Piano Lessons
23 Mellotron Scratch
22 Waiting (both phases)
21 Don't Hate Me
20 Time Flies
19 Way Out of Here
18 Sentimental
17 What Happens Now?
16 Dark Matter
15 My Ashes
14 Lightbulb Sun
13 Arriving Somewhere but Not Here
12 The Start of Something Beautiful
11 Heartattack in a Layby
10 Strip the Soul
9 Blackest Eyes
8 Harridan
7 Buying New Soul
6 Collapse the Light into Earth
5 Lazarus
4 Anesthetize
3 Russia On Ice
2 Hatesong
1 Trains
I have a cluster of The Incident songs around the top, which seems to be the case with a handful of other people, too. It's a shame none of those ranked as they are very good songs, though with how little they ranked high on people's lists it's not too surprising they didn't.
I'm not surprised at all that Cure For Optimism didn't rank, but man is the atmosphere on that one so vividly desolate. I probably should have ranked it a bit higher, honestly.
Prodigal and .3 are the two underrated songs on In Absentia, and I'm actually a bit surprised .3 didn't make it. I guess some people view it as just a segue track (those people are WRONG), but it's a fully-fledged song in my opinion, and a damn good one too.
Futile is a great B-side that showcases their heavier side well, and DAMN does Gavin go off on this one. It's probably my favorite performance by him in this band - the rhythmic switch-ups and polyrhythms he does here are insane. This would have ranked much higher for me if I had done this ranking ten years ago, but I don't love it as much as I used to.
Shallow is over-hated. It being the only song from Deadwing that didn't rank is a cryin' shame. The main riff is groovy, the prechorus is lovely, the chorus and bridge go super hard... what's not to like? Dumb rock song my ass.
Untitled is my hipster pick and I knew there was zero chance any one else would rank it as high as I did. :lol Like I said before, the biggest selling point of Buying New Soul is its atmosphere, and this song carries on that atmosphere incredibly well. But with a cool, spacey jam! It's a simple equation, really.
Piano Lessons got snubbed. It's one of the band's best "pop" songs, and my second-favorite from Stupid Dream. Though I never had to take piano lessons so maybe I don't have any resentment towards it that others might. :biggrin:
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Also what the hell is Drawing The Line doing at #51 :lol I love the verses on that song but the chorus is one of the worst in their catalog and absolutely slaughters it.
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Here's my personal Top 50 list as submitted to Kev -- with the overall group rankings listed in parenthesis, blue for top 50, green for everything else.
Added five more at the top that just barely missed the cut for me.
H/M -- Wedding Nails (#63)
H/M -- Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape (#116)
H/M -- Cheating the Polygraph (#78)
H/M -- Blackest Eyes (#5)
H/M -- Shesmovedon (#21)
---
50 -- Radioactive Toy (#53t)
49 -- Herd Culling (#40)
48 -- Untitled (#95t)
47 -- Gravity Eyelids (#32)
46 -- Stop Swimming (#34)
45 -- .3 (#64)
44 -- And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun (#117t)
43 -- It Will Rain for a Million Years (#113)
42 -- Synesthesia (#75)
41 -- Stars Die (#45)
---
40 -- Prodigal (#60)
39 -- Piano Lessons (#58)
38 -- The Sound of Muzak (#19)
37 -- The Nostalgia Factory (#99)
36 -- Where We Would Be (#49t)
35 -- Glass Arm Shattering (#31)
34 -- Idiot Prayer (#80t)
33 -- In Formaldehyde (#86)
32 -- Drown With Me (#41)
31 -- Harridan (#37)
---
30 -- Trains (#3)
29 -- This Long Silence (#112)
28 -- Disappear (#100t)
27 -- Always Never (#82)
26 -- A Smart Kid (#20)
25 -- Mellotron Scratch (#24)
24 -- Waiting (#33)
23 -- Chimera's Wreck (#28)
22 -- Up the Downstair (#80t)
21 -- Lightbulb Sun (#17)
---
20 -- Burning Sky (#70)
19 -- The Sky Moves Sideways (#27)
18 -- Deadwing (#11)
17 -- Cure for Optimism (#89)
16 -- Chloroform (#55)
15 -- Fadeaway (#43)
14 -- Slave Called Shiver (#73t)
13 -- Pure Narcotic (#52)
12 -- Tinto Brass (#71)
11 -- Arriving Somewhere but Not Here (#1)
---
10 -- Signify (#61t)
9 -- Russia On Ice (#10)
8 -- Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled (#22)
7 -- Don't Hate Me (#16)
6 -- Anesthetize (#2)
5 -- What Happens Now? (#36)
4 -- Even Less (#8)
3 -- Hatesong (#18)
2 -- Buying New Soul (#6)
1 -- Dark Matter (#4)
My list had a total of 22 songs that didn't make the group Top 50.
My five songs with the greatest difference from the consensus to my ranking...
29 -- This Long Silence (#112) -- +83
44 -- And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun (#117t) -- +73
28 -- Disappear (#100t) -- +72
17 -- Cure for Optimism (#89) -- +72
43 -- It Will Rain for a Million Years (#113) -- +70
Can you tell I'm a fan of OTSOL and Recordings? :lol Looking at the scores, my list had one song that nobody else ranked -- This Long Silence.
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Comments on a few that haven't been discussed yet...
50 -- Radioactive Toy (#53t)
44 -- And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun (#117t)
43 -- It Will Rain for a Million Years (#113)
37 -- The Nostalgia Factory (#99)
29 -- This Long Silence (#112)
Gonna lump all five of my OTSOL songs together. I actually do really like this album -- I'd rank it over TSMS and The Incident. Yeah, there's a lot of throw-away stuff on here, but there are several songs I really enjoy. It's just that even the best of them can't crack my Top 25, because there's nothing truly outstanding. But I had to give this album some love on my list. The samples in "Swallows" make me laugh every time. Also, John Mitchell of Frost* did a pretty cool cover of The Nostalgia Factory.
45 -- .3 (#64)
40 -- Prodigal (#60)
Given that I think In Absentia is a bit overrated, I do find it funny that I've got two songs I ranked above the consensus. .3 is a heck of a groove, and Prodigal just makes me happy. That chord progression on the outro is a highlight.
And speaking of In Absentia...
16 -- Chloroform (#55)
My favorite IA-era song is a B-side! I adore Chloroform. The production, the space in the mix, the fretless bass, and-- although it's Gavin on the recording -- the Chris Maitland writing credit for the drum pattern makes it his last contribution to the band. There's a warmth to this song that most of IA-proper is missing.
28 -- Disappear (#100t)
This is kind of a combined ranking between the finished version (released on Recordings) and the April 1997 demo version. If you've never heard that demo, go check it out. It's proggy and it's fantastic!
22 -- Up the Downstair (#80t)
10 -- Signify (#61t)
The first three Porcupine Tree songs I ever heard were Fadeaway (which ranked) and these two (which did not). In retrospect, I've probably got Signify a little higher than it needs to be on my list, as it's my highest song that didn't make the group Top 50. They're very different, but essential instrumentals in the band's catalog for me.
14 -- Slave Called Shiver (#73t)
How many good Colin bass lines are there? This is one of the best, and the creepy obsessive lyrics match the tension that builds up in this song. An essential Part One of the one-two punch that leads into Don't Hate Me.
13 -- Pure Narcotic (#52)
And just before Slave Called Shiver is my very favorite Porcupine Tree ballad. The harmonies, the chords, the production, the instrumentation -- it's all so pleasing to my ears. It's everything Lazarus wishes it was. ;D
17 -- Cure for Optimism (#89)
I'll end with this one. This song is creepy. Nightmare fuel with just an acoustic guitar, a messed up piano, and some sound effects. The lyrics paint a picture I don't truly understand, but the feeling of isolation and frustration shines right on through.
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Kev, thank you for running this! If you ever do one of these for Spock's Beard (and please do!) I'll be happy to play again.
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Highest ranked song not on the list: #22. In Formaldehyde
I really like this song. Lovely chord progression, dreamlike atmosphere, great solo. What's not to love?
Oh, want to mention this one too since I had it ranked pretty high, but honestly my comments would just be a repeat of the above. So, yeah, what he said! ;D
But for the love of whatever, please listen to Signify (my 'favourite' if I'm not allowed to say that a live record is one)
I also consider Signify my favorite PT album -- and I mean, although I only ranked four songs, one of them is Dark Matter, lol. That album is just such a journey, such a stylistic trip, but you can tell the songwriting is really coming along too.
Also what the hell is Drawing The Line doing at #51 :lol I love the verses on that song but the chorus is one of the worst in their catalog and absolutely slaughters it.
LOL. So glad I'm not the only one that feels that way! I actively hate the chorus of that track. Absolute puke. :lol Love your comments up above on a few others -- we have some similar tastes!
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I also had Arriving as no. 1. I had Anesthetize significantly lower, somewhere at 15-ish. I like it but I’ve heard it a few too many times.
I also had Chloroform in my list. I imagine this song is just a bit less visible. Not many b-sides made the cut.
Thanks Kev! This was fun to see daily.
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Hard to address every post, but all the posts thanking me for running this are appreciated! This one was a lot of fun.
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Anesthetize was #48 - just not a big fan of the lyrics and some of the segments seem stuck together to my ears. Last mellow section is awesome.
Arriving 15 - in comparison to #2 the instrumental break is amazingly seamless, and live it when it connects back to the main riff.
I'm suprised to not see Radioactive Toy or Burning Sky. Small Fish > Burning Sky > Fadeaway is a great sequence to end Up the Downstair.
Thanks Kev, great way to start socialising here.
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#02 Anesthetize - My Ranking: #04
I love songs that take you on a journey. I enjoy every section and think they're great at creating a certain vibe and mood. The vocal harmonies are amazing, especially at the end. I love "The Pills I'm Taking" and am glad I at least got to see that part live, although I wish it was the entire song.
#01 Arriving Somewhere But Not Here - My Ranking: #02
Same as with Anesthetize, I love songs that take you on a journey. This one has the same thing going as well, It creates an entire vibe and mood. Because of this, I find it to be a great song to drive to, especially when I am going out of town. A big part of PT for me is the combination of the drum and bass grooves. I also enjoy Mikael Akerfeldt's contributions as well.
Thanks Kev for running this, I had a lot of fun and it was great to see which songs made it. It was also great to see others lists as well, and it's good to know I share my favorite with others. :biggrin:
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Just checking back in to say I was completely wrong about Dark Matter. It's great. Delighted the forum opened my eyes to it.
My rankings would already be different if we were to do it again today although Arriving Somewhere would still be number one.
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Wow. The search function here is legendarily awful. Just had to do a Google search to find this thread.
Anyway, this is just another post to say how amazing Dark Matter is. Can't get enough of it.
Might have to do the same post monthly until the next Porcupine Tree countdown is done (likely in a couple of years) :biggrin:
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Dark Matter is awesome, yes. :tup :tup