Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb

[wolfking]

Just listened to the full length version of Even Less for the first time from Recordings.  Pretty damn good.  I expected a little more, but it's good.  I'm not sure which I prefer but I guess the extended is the way it's meant to be.  What do you all think?

[The King in Crimson]

Just listened to the full length version of Even Less for the first time from Recordings.  Pretty damn good.  I expected a little more, but it's good.  I'm not sure which I prefer but I guess the extended is the way it's meant to be.  What do you all think?

I prefer the shorter on SD probably just because I heard it first, but it feels less bloated.

[seasonsinthesky]

So you fixed the bad flow of Siren and Small Fish by putting them in the exact same spots?

huh? my point was that they bloat the single album, but make sense in a double album because the two require completely different pacing, imo.

Voyage 34 is another AMAZING and under-rated PT piece.  (I hesitate to call it an album...more like a grossly bloated "single")

Phase 1&2 feel like a complete piece to me...3&4 I could do without, but they make for interesting listens from time to time.

agreed, V34 (I-II) is amazing. i also really enjoy III but IV is pretty meh, imo; but then they're both remixes anyway.

[?]

I don't think I've ever heard the 'original' UtD before.

I also only have the reissue, but judging by some of the original versions I've heard, the real drums by Gavin are a huge improvement.

[KevShmev]

Just listened to the full length version of Even Less for the first time from Recordings.  Pretty damn good.  I expected a little more, but it's good.  I'm not sure which I prefer but I guess the extended is the way it's meant to be.  What do you all think?

I prefer the shorter on SD probably just because I heard it first, but it feels less bloated.

Same here.  I feel the Stupid Dream version is more concise and focused.

[Zantera]

The long version every day of the week.

[seasonsinthesky]

my favourite parts of "Even Less" are the end of pt. 1 and the first 3/4 of pt. 2, so i suppose i'd rather the full length version!

[Ħ]

The long version is a novelty and is interesting to listen to from time to time, but I consider the short version definitive.

[The Letter M]

Full length "Even Less", all the time. I've made a CD with it opening the album, and also includes a couple more SD-era B-Sides:
Total - 76:31
1. Even Less
2. Oceans Have No Memory
3. Ambulance Chasing
4. Piano Lessons
5. Stupid Dream
6. Pure Narcotic
7. Slave Called Shiver
8. Don't Hate Me
9. This Is No Rehearsal
10. Baby Dream In Cellophane
11. Stranger By The Minute
12. A Smart Kid
13. Tinto Brass
14. Stop Swimming

SD is one of my favorite PT albums, and probably (with the tracklisting above) one of my favorite albums of all time. Great music all across, and one of my favorite album closers as well. Chris does some awesome drumming on "Stop Swimming" as well as many of the other songs.

-Marc.

[seasonsinthesky]

whoa, that opening is really heavy on the instrumentalness. i don't really associate SD with the sort of Signify-esque use of instrumental music; considering everything besides "Tinto Brass" is vocal-centric, it feels very weird to try to throw instrumental pieces anywhere, especially all in one place.

[Gorille85]

^ I agree with that.

Also Stop Swimming is incredible.

[The Letter M]

whoa, that opening is really heavy on the instrumentalness. i don't really associate SD with the sort of Signify-esque use of instrumental music; considering everything besides "Tinto Brass" is vocal-centric, it feels very weird to try to throw instrumental pieces anywhere, especially all in one place.

I had thought about that, but the way the album is mixed, it would be hard to place "Ambulance Chasing" anywhere else in the album. To be honest, I only include because it was part of those sessions, and I could really do without it, but that was the best spot I could place it without breaking the genius placement of the rest of the album's songs.

-Marc.

[jammindude]

I just made...IMO...the coolest Porcupine Tree mix CD I have EVER made.   So I wanted to toot my own horn.

Keep in mind...this is NOT meant to be just a collection of "the best of PT".    This CD was made strictly with "flow" in mind.  Whatever songs were just *begging* to flow one into the other...that's what I used.  So that by the end of it, it almost sounds like a Pink Floyd collection like Echoes.   So I did not necessarily include my favorites.

1. Lightbulb Sun
2. Piano Lessons
3. Trains
4. Halo
5. Shesmovedon
6. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before it is Recycled
7. Slave Called Shiver
8. Dislocated Day
9. Open Car
10. Heartattack in a Layby
11. Idiot Prayer
12. Sentimental
13. The Start of Something Beautiful
14. Dark Matter

Total Time - 78:21

I originally made it for a barista that wanted to check them out...but the mix is *SO* good, I kept an extra few copies for myself and anyone else I may run across who wants a good "sampler"...

EDIT: I have to say that I'm especially proud of the segueway between the end of Sentimental and the beginning of The Start of Something Beautiful...GOOSEBUMPS!!!

[Heretic]

^That sounds pretty awesome, actually. I'll have to try that.

Oh, and speaking of PT b-sides... Buying New Soul =

[Buddyhunter1]

Recordings has some pretty good B-Sides besides Buying New Soul, though that song is indeed great. Cure For Optimism and Untitled are fantastic too, and they seem to be pretty overlooked.

[Nick]

Recordings in general is a pretty fantastic release... though that can be said about pretty much everything since On the Sunday.

[TioJorge]

Recordings in general is a pretty fantastic release... though that can be said about pretty much everything since On the Sunday.

Sir, you should watch thy tongue before the naked man on the cover of OTSOL rapes you in your sleep.






...he isn't a very well endowed man, but you will be raped whilst you slumber, nonetheless.

[Nick]

Recordings in general is a pretty fantastic release... though that can be said about pretty much everything since On the Sunday.

Sir, you should watch thy tongue before the naked man on the cover of OTSOL rapes you in your sleep.






...he isn't a very well endowed man, but you will be raped whilst you slumber, nonetheless.

The experience would probably still be more enjoyable than listening to the album, so bring it on.

[TioJorge]

Recordings in general is a pretty fantastic release... though that can be said about pretty much everything since On the Sunday.

Sir, you should watch thy tongue before the naked man on the cover of OTSOL rapes you in your sleep.






...he isn't a very well endowed man, but you will be raped whilst you slumber, nonetheless.

The experience would probably still be more enjoyable than listening to the album, so bring it on.

^That sounds pretty awesome, actually. I'll have to try that.

Oh, and speaking of PT b-sides... Buying New Soul =

Oh and this, that play list looks incredible. Just made it and will listen to it in my bed before dreamescape. Also, BNS is one of my favorites...probably top 5 actually.

[jammindude]

^That sounds pretty awesome, actually. I'll have to try that.

Oh, and speaking of PT b-sides... Buying New Soul =

Oh and this, that play list looks incredible. Just made it and will listen to it in my bed before dreamescape. Also, BNS is one of my favorites...probably top 5 actually.

There is absolutely NO greater compliment or thanks I could have than to hear people are actually trying out my mix.  I'm touched.





...but not touched by the naked man on the cover of OTSOL.   

[jammindude]

BTW....the trick to that mix is....NO GAPS.   Make sure to TURN OFF the automatic 2 second gap option that most burners default to.   (but most of you probably already do that....or you just don't burn CD's at all.   *GOD* that makes me feel old.)   

[skydivingninja]

That looks like a pretty sweet mix.  Might have to try it.  I like to keep my mixes to about an hour, and I had one I really liked for PT but I don't know what happened to it (and its not on my computer).  Oh well, still have my favorite DT one. 

[TioJorge]

I fell asleep to your mix last night, Jammin, and boy was it a beautifully etched out ride. I don't know how you chose those songs but they were perfect for each other; it's definitely one of the best mix's I've heard in a long time. I mean, I know you said you crafted it strictly with flow in mind but the songs really do fit each other in many different aspects; much of which are in tone and style despite the gaps in some albums between songs. Awesome stuff, I'll definitely be cranking this one again. It feels like an official playlist. 

On a different topic, I still can't get into Lazarus. Mainly because of the painful memories that have latched and dug their claws into the song itself and thus my head whenever I listen to it but it's just too pretty and whimsical for me. That whole darkly beautiful aspect that Wilson and Akerfeldt talked about with Storm Corrosion, or any Opeth album? This song is like the polar opposite to that train of thought; it's just all too nice sounding and..well not 'happy-go-lucky' but something about it just rubs me the wrong way. I think it is (not counting the abortion that is most of TI) the only PT song I actually dislike. Not massively, and not entirely for the song itself (like I said, fuckin' memories boohoo wah wah, ghosts of girlfriends past scrooge), but good lord. Wilson must have thought "I like the idea of having something disturbing and ugly right beside something beautiful, but what about a song that makes someone think they're in a pixie filled fairytale wonderland with ghosts?" Too pretty man, too pretty. Smear some blood on that shit, brah. That's what she said. She's a sadist.

P.S. I really love Cut Ribbon. I still have the wrongly titled "'Wet' Ribbon"; good stuff though, it's a badass lil groove (it was the biggest lightbulb moment whenever I found out that it wasn't actually called Wet Ribbon..."OH MY GOD THAT'S WHAT HE SAYS CUT RIBBON, WHY WAS THE RIBBON WET? WHAT DID YOU SPILL ON IT?"). I wish they had the SW App available for download/buy somewhere. They really could make a pretty penny off of making those songs that they have to stream on the app available to buy for .99 cents, I'd buy almost every song up. I especially want the remix of Index, IndexTwentyTwelve.

[seasonsinthesky]

you can get "Cut Ribbon" (the GFD version) for free at SW's SoundCloud. nothing else on the app is exclusive or new, really. isn't that "Index" remix available on Amazon?

[jammindude]

I fell asleep to your mix last night, Jammin, and boy was it a beautifully etched out ride. I don't know how you chose those songs but they were perfect for each other; it's definitely one of the best mix's I've heard in a long time. I mean, I know you said you crafted it strictly with flow in mind but the songs really do fit each other in many different aspects; much of which are in tone and style despite the gaps in some albums between songs. Awesome stuff, I'll definitely be cranking this one again. It feels like an official playlist. 

I'm all verklempt.....   

Honestly...the greatest compliment I have *ever* had about a mix tape/CD....and I've been making them for friends a *very* long time.  It's an art form, to say the least. 

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Take your favorite song from every album and rank it, just cause it's totally pointless and repetitive.


Awaiting Marc's interesting post!

[Phoenix87x]

This is just off the top of my head

1. Anesthetize
2. Trains
3. Don't hate me
4. I drive the hearse
5. Dark Matter
6. Rainy taxi
7. Sky moves sideways phase 1
8. Russia on Ice
9. Open Car

[The Letter M]

Awaiting Marc's interesting post!

  I would, but I've been so far away from PT music lately I've not had their music on my musical radar for nearly a half-year...but here's what I'll give ya...

"Anesthetize"
"Arriving Somewhere But Not Here"
"Dark Matter"
"The Sky Moves Sideways" (If I can count it as one song, if not then just Phase 1)
"Russia On Ice"
"Don't Hate Me"
"Gravity Eyelids"
"Time Flies"
"Burning Sky"
"It Will Rain For A Million Years"

Probably about as best as I can do for now, but I'll get back to this whenever I get back in the PT-mood!

-Marc.

[The King in Crimson]

1. Arriving Somewhere...
2. Russia On Ice
3. Sleep Together
4. Burning Sky
5. Radioactive Toy
6. Even Less
7. Sever
8. The Incident
9. Gravity Eyelids
10. The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 1

[Jarlaxle]

Is there a place(s) I can get all the B-sides, like a huge compilation or something? I just learned that they have so many songs that I've never heard, and I need to fix it ASAP.

[The Letter M]

Is there a place(s) I can get all the B-sides, like a huge compilation or something? I just learned that they have so many songs that I've never heard, and I need to fix it ASAP.

First, get the 2-Disc Re-issues of:
Up The Downstair (includes Staircase Infinities EP)
The Sky Moves Sideways
Signify (includes Insignificance EP)

Then get:
Metanoia (Outtakes/Improvisations from the Signify-era)
Recordings (B-Sides from the Stupid Dream/Lightbulb Sun years)
Nil Recurring (B-Sides from FOABP)
Voyage 34: The Complete Trip (the whole cycle of the original piece)
Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991–1997 (Has a few more non-album tracks not included in the above)

Then get this:
Futile (B-Sides from IA-era)

That should cover most of it.

-Marc.

[Gorille85]

I'd say get Recordings and Nil Recurring.

[jammindude]

1. Heartattack in a Layby
2. Hatesong
3. The Start of Something Beautiful
4. Slave Called Shiver
5. Idiot Prayer
6. Fear of a Blank Planet
7. The Sky Moves Sideways Phase I
8. The Incident
9. Up the Downstair
10. The Nostalgia Factory

Hard list to make actually.   All of these songs are so cool that it's tough to see them on the bottom of any list. 

[ZBomber]

1. Anesthetize
2. Heartattack in a Layby
3. Mellotron Scratch
4. Shesmovedon
5. Every Home Is Wired
6. Baby Dream In Cellophane
7. The Incident
8. Dislocated Day
9. Synesthesia
10. Radioactive Toy

[crazyaga]

weird. i allways disliked porcupine tree.
and now im listening to in absentia and suddenly everything clicks and it sounds awesome :O