Well, since I've been on a massive PT kick lately, I decided to rank my top 50 songs by them and present them to you guys in the typical fashion that we've all been doing for a while now. Seeing as my Yes survivor is finishing tonight, and my DT list has also finished, I need to keep myself occupied, and this list will do that for a while. Also, my typical list notifications also apply to this list. I made this list in about 40 minutes and it is just meant for fun, don't take things too seriously. All of their albums are well represented here in my opinion.
I'll try to do about 5 a day until I get to the top 10, at which point I will slow down.
Note: My list may be controversial.
Here we go..
50. "Blackest Eyes" - In Absentia
This song was one of my first experiences with Porcupine Tree, and while it definitely hooked me at first, I don't rank it that high anymore. It has a lot of good moments, but for some reason the track has never really grabbed my attention a lot.
49. "Pure Narcotic" - Stupid Dream
You know a top 50 is going to be nothing but good songs when a song like "Pure Narcotic" ranks in at second to dead last. I do really admire this song, although I've always felt that SW's vocal delivery is a bit too nasally and that the song is just a bit too happy. Generally for my tastes, the sadder PT songs are the better ones.
48. "Deadwing" - Deadwing
A great album opener for one of their better albums. One of the things I like most about this song is the spoken word choruses that have that deeper voice. I also like the way it starts, with the neat keyboard effects.
47. "Bonnie the Cat" - The Incident
Probably one of the creepier songs the band has done. The lines "I hold your birth control to ransom / The cells divide and grow inside you / I know what will be" are some of the most evil sounding lines I have ever heard. Other than that the song has a nice feel to it, and I really like the delivery on the "I know, what, will be" lines.
46. "My Ashes" - Fear of a Blank Planet
I find this song to be pretty underrated as far as the PT catalog goes. I know a lot of people don't like FOABP too much, but I do, and I think that while this is the weakest track on the album, it certainly deserves much more credit then it is usually given. My favorite part of the song is the vocal delivery of "Never ending clouds of rain and distant sails.. sails.. SAAAAAAAAAAILS!" So awesome.
45. "Always Never" - Up the Downstair
This song is one of the better tunes on UtD. It actually sounds a lot like the Signify/SD era if you ask me, and this was one of the songs that really let us know where the band would be going in the future. This song really needs to be played live again, seeing as it fits so nicely with what the band has become over the years.
Another thing I should mention:
This is now going to be my 3rd or 4th "top 50" list, and this one has been BY FAR the hardest to make the list for. I really have trouble finding any faults with ANY of their music, and making this list, and then removing about 40 songs or so to trim it down to 50 was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.