Porcupine Tree Thread v. generic heaviness and boring ambiance

[ariich]

PC and Darkes, cut this shit out right now. Darkes, chill out, and PC there's no need to start attacking him.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

It does have a somewhat creepy atmosphere, but it all seems to just meander along and go nowhere.

I love how it seems to "go nowhere", meaning it does not have a conventional song structure and it cares less about having concrete melodies than just being creepy.

The way I see it: 99.9% of the songs I listen to follow conventional song structures. Even weird prog rock epics I listen to usually follow a dramatic structure, with an intro, rising action, climax, falling action, etc.

That is why songs like "Bonnie the Cat" or bands like Opeth are so refreshing. They do not care about that stuff. And they do not mean to. They are not better or worse for it. They are only different. And variety is the spice of life, right?

[Perpetual Change]

It does have a somewhat creepy atmosphere, but it all seems to just meander along and go nowhere.

I love how it seems to "go nowhere", meaning it does not have a conventional song structure

No. That's not what I meant at all. Though you might be right about the creepiness thing. It is more concerned with being creepy than having good melodies, and I'm not into that. I realize some people are, but those people also like listening to electronic music, which is something else I can't quite get a grip on. I'm not offended by it; it's just an aspect of the band I dislike, plain and simple.

This is like the 4th time this week that the reasons I dislike a song have been straman'd on these forums  

[sonatafanica]

I think Bonnie the Cat is a pretty cool guy, eh eats mouses and doesn't afraid of anything.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

It does have a somewhat creepy atmosphere, but it all seems to just meander along and go nowhere.

I love how it seems to "go nowhere", meaning it does not have a conventional song structure

No. That's not what I meant at all.

This is like the 4th time this week that the reasons I dislike a song have been straman'd on these forums 

Could you explain to me what a song that seems to "go nowhere" entails, then?

[Perpetual Change]

It does have a somewhat creepy atmosphere, but it all seems to just meander along and go nowhere.

I love how it seems to "go nowhere", meaning it does not have a conventional song structure

No. That's not what I meant at all.

This is like the 4th time this week that the reasons I dislike a song have been straman'd on these forums  

Could you explain to me what a song that seems to "go nowhere" entails, then?

I just think that as soon as it establishes its atmosphere, it stays there without really progressing into anything. As I've stated earlier, the instrumental section is cool. But it's also a bit jarring and doesn't really build up to anything better as much as it laterals to something better-- before regressing back to the same old stuff I already don't like. The only variation in the first portion comes from Gavin's drumming, which, all in all, is a bit too showy for my tastes and tries to hard to carry the song from its lack of melody. I guess I'd compare to The Ministry of Lost Souls. I don't want all that mood-building if any awesomeness it has is going to fleeting and out of place.

[sonatafanica]

I can sorta respect that.



But it's a great song.


*daydreams about what bonnie the cat is doing right now*

[Phantasmatron]

I guess I'd compare to The Ministry of Lost Souls. I don't want all that mood-building if any awesomeness it has is going to fleeting and out of place.

wat

I mean, I get what you're saying and all, but comparing Bonnie the Cat to The Ministry of Lost Souls is just...wrong.  Bonnie the Cat has way more atmosphere than TMOLS could ever hope to have when it hits puberty and the instrumental sections aren't even close to being comparable.

Just sayin'.

[Perpetual Change]

Well. I'm starting to like Black Dalhia, even if she's all somber and moody.

Remember Me Lover is pretty good, too! Though, again, I could use a break from all the melacholy.

[Perpetual Change]

I guess I'd compare to The Ministry of Lost Souls. I don't want all that mood-building if any awesomeness it has is going to fleeting and out of place.

wat

I mean, I get what you're saying and all, but comparing Bonnie the Cat to The Ministry of Lost Souls is just...wrong.  Bonnie the Cat has way more atmosphere than TMOLS could ever hope to have when it hits puberty and the instrumental sections aren't even close to being comparable.

Just sayin'.

I know it's not a perfect comparison. The Ministry of Lost Souls doesn't nearly have the same atmosphere, even though it tries to build it for twice as long (Maybe it's flaw?). But the instrumental section in TMOLS is better, though even more jarring. Especially the unison, and the soft piano that comes afterwards.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

It does have a somewhat creepy atmosphere, but it all seems to just meander along and go nowhere.

I love how it seems to "go nowhere", meaning it does not have a conventional song structure

No. That's not what I meant at all.

This is like the 4th time this week that the reasons I dislike a song have been straman'd on these forums 

Could you explain to me what a song that seems to "go nowhere" entails, then?

I just think that as soon as it establishes its atmosphere, it stays there without really progressing into anything. As I've stated earlier, the instrumental section is cool. But it's also a bit jarring and doesn't really build up to anything better as much as it laterals to something better-- before regressing back to the same old stuff I already don't like. The only variation in the first portion comes from Gavin's drumming, which, all in all, is a bit too showy for my tastes and tries to hard to carry the song from its lack of melody. I guess I'd compare to The Ministry of Lost Souls. I don't want all that mood-building if any awesomeness it has is going to fleeting and out of place.

PC -- The goal of the instrumental part is to stay there. It does not want to lead into anything.

Your TMoLS comparison gives me the impression you expect BtC to "progress" into something because that is what most DT instrumental sections do. It is another example, the other being OSI, where your expectations are getting in the way of you listening to music the way it demands to be enjoyed to its fullest.

BtC demands you get lost in it. Not that you build your anticipation in hopes of it progressing into something else.

[Perpetual Change]

What? I like the instrumental. I don't like the other parts. I've said that a couple of times.

Also, I don't think me "not getting it" is the problem. No offense, but you're completely off-base if you think that I actually expect PT to be like DT. That'd just be foolish  

Regardless, even if I wasn't "getting it," as I don't "get" the song "The Incident," I'm a big believer that enjoying a work shouldn't require some education on why that work is enjoyable. After repeated listens, Bonnie The Cat has never captured me or made me feel anything other than boredom accompanied by the faintest bit of curiosity. You can say-- as English majors like ourselves were likely often told-- "Oh, PC, you should be listening for this and that. You should be asking yourself what they're getting at-- why the song is presented so unusually. What game is SW playing with you? Answer these questions, and then you'll appreciate it."  

The fact is, if the song doesn't compel me to think that deeply about it from the getgo, why should I bother? Frankly, there's enough good music out there that is compelling enough on its own, without having to be broken down and dissected before it can be digested. Many people, for example, come to appreciate James Joyce after having taken courses on his work. But if "Ulysses" and "Finnegan's Wake" can't inspire readers to have patience with them on their own, are they really the great novels those who've fought through them say they are?

Listening to Bonnie the Cat gives me the same feeling I get when I realize I've been tiredly staring at a wall for an extended period of time. Again, I don't think I have a problem "getting" it-- I just don't like it, apparently for the same reasons many do. If you don't like TMOLS comparison, then I'll compare it to something else. How about that movie "The Happening?" Or "Signs?" Or any M. Night movie? They're creepy, and easy to get lost in. But always leave the viewer unfulfilled. Still, some people like them.

Well, that's how I feel about Bonnie that Cat. As I've said above, it's just an aspect of the band's sound that I generally dislike. I like to think that I'm very conscious of that. I don't mind talking about it, but I sure do wish people would stop questioning me about it, as if I just don't know enough about the song to decide whether it's good or not.

[KevShmev]

PC, if you want a break from all the melancholy, I would probably just listen to another band right now.

[ZBomber]

PC, if you want a break from all the melancholy, I would probably just listen to another band right now.

Seriously. 

[Quadrochosis]

PC, if you want a break from all the melancholy, I would probably just listen to another band right now.

Seriously. 

This. It's like punching yourself in the face and then saying "Why am I being punched in the face?" Except in this case you're being graced by God himself through music and saying "Why am I being exposed to the most beautiful sounds ever?"

[ZBomber]

PC, if you want a break from all the melancholy, I would probably just listen to another band right now.

Seriously. 

This. It's like punching yourself in the face and then saying "Why am I being punched in the face?" Except in this case you're being graced by God himself through music and saying "Why am I being exposed to the most beautiful sounds ever?"

 

[orcus116]

I don't think Bonnie The Cat is that long enough of a song to really think or care about enough. Since it doesn't jump out at me as a song to got that deep into I just take it at surface value and move on.

[Darkes7]

Maybe it's me but I got into it immediately, I thought of it as the best from CD2 at the first listen and it stayed that way. Although it may just be me, after all I got into IA starting from The Creator Has a Mastertape...

[Perpetual Change]

PC, if you want a break from all the melancholy, I would probably just listen to another band right now.

Or I could just listen to some of the older stuff. Since at least that's up-tempo 

But yeah. Part of the reason why PT is still very much a band I have to be in the mood for.

[Darkes7]

Just listened to Deadwing and I'm STILL certain that the spoken sections are Mikael Akerfeldt and not SW. It just sounds so much like him (compare it e.g. to his quiet vocals in The Grand Conjuration). On the vinyl he's also credited on tracks 1, 3 and 5 for "harmony vocals", which normally wouldn't mean this as well I guess, but well... I'm 90% certain it's him.

[skydivingninja]

Unfortunately you're wrong.  I can see where you'd get confused, but compare that to the whispered part of Strip the Soul, for example, neither sound anything like that party in The Grand Conjuration.

[Zantera]

It is SW, it clearly sounds like its him, and sounds nothing like Mikael at all. 

[PixelDream]

It is SW, it clearly sounds like its him, and sounds nothing like Mikael at all. 

[Pirate]

Well, I'd better get a post in so I can properly follow the thread...

Lightbulb Sun
In Absentia
Deadwing
Fear Of A Blank Planet (+Nil Recurring CDEP)
Stupid Dream
The Incident
The Sky Moves Sideways
Signify
Up The Downstair
On The Sunday Of Life

and

Trains
Gravity Eyelids
.3
Strip The Soul
Heartattack In A Layby
Prodigal
Blackest Eyes
Collapse The Light Into Earth
Wedding Nails
Lips Of Ashes
The Sound Of Muzak
The Creator Has A Mastertape

Plus I love heavy PT, the metal riffs in Arriving Somewhere But Not Here and especially Anesthetize are just orgasmulous.

[Plasmastrike]

It is SW, it clearly sounds like its him, and sounds nothing like Mikael at all. 

[Zydar]

Hm, all this time I've thought it was Mikael.

[ZBomber]

Its definitely SW. Even Bonnie The Cat has the deep tone that doesn't sound like SW's normal singing.

[jag66]

straight from horse's mouth on his facebook page:

"The explanation for some of your comments might be that this interview dates from late 2009. My next solo album, Blackfield III, and the collaboration between myself and Mikael are all well under way now. Don't know which will come out first, but I doubt any of them this year."

what a machine..

[KevShmev]

straight from horse's mouth on his facebook page:

"The explanation for some of your comments might be that this interview dates from late 2009. My next solo album, Blackfield III, and the collaboration between myself and Mikael are all well under way now. Don't know which will come out first, but I doubt any of them this year."

what a machine..

Tell me about it.  You would be hard-pressed to find a musician who is more hard-working and/or more prolific right now. 

[Gadough]

...Buckethead?

[Pirate]

...Buckethead?

he's got you there

[Perpetual Change]

Just popping in to take a break from my normal problem-causing and say how awesome and oddly uplifting the instrumental in Anesthetize is. That is all.

[ZBomber]

Just popping in to take a break from my normal problem-causing and say how awesome and oddly uplifting the instrumental in Anesthetize is. That is all.

  I love that instrumental and the one at the end of Russia on Ice. I was listening to that today in the car and the section where its just the big booming bass gets me every time.

[toro]

I'm not a big fan of the Incident, but it might be because i haven't heard it all in one sit...

[MetalManiac666]

I compel you to do this...now.