Porcupine Tree top 50 Countdown! (top 2 featured! - countdown over)

[faizoff]

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

[HOF]

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 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.

[Ben_Jamin]

#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.

[KevShmev]

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.

[Elite]

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.

[DTA]

Lips is stunning and captures that perfect eerie, beautiful vibe I associate with IA. Sad to see it so low

[SomeoneLikeHim]

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.

[Mladen]

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? 

The Blind house wasn't even considered.

[Lonk]

Oops, forgot to submit my list, following though.

Off the revealed songs, Halo is the only one on my (unfinished) list. Probably top 20.

[romdrums]

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.

[Buddyhunter1]

Literally ranked none of those three.

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.

[HOF]

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.

[Evermind]

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.

[The Great Zo]

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.

[The Letter M]

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.

[DTwwbwMP]

49 (t) Normal UNRANKED
49 (t) Where We Would Be UNRANKED
48 The Blind House 6
47 Halo 4
46 Lips of Ashes UNRANKED

[Revenge319]

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

[Crow]

didn't submit for this but looking forward to some incredibly bad placements coming up eventually 
if i did submit my #1 would have been heartattack in a layby, for what little it's worth

[The Realm]

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.

[Elite]

if i did submit my #1 would have been heartattack in a layby, for what little it's worth

Too high

[jammindude]

didn't submit for this but looking forward to some incredibly bad placements coming up eventually 
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.

[Buddyhunter1]

If you didn't vote you don't get to complain!

[jammindude]

If you didn't vote you don't get to complain!

It’s a free country. 

It’s all light hearted anyway.

[Revenge319]

If you didn't vote you don't get to complain!

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.

[jammindude]

If you didn't vote you don't get to complain!

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.

 

[Ben_Jamin]

#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.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

If you didn't vote you don't get to complain!

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.

[Crow]

didn't submit for this but looking forward to some incredibly bad placements coming up eventually 
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 

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 

[ReaperKK]

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.

[jammindude]

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.

[Elite]

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?

[The Realm]

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!

[faizoff]

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.

[KevShmev]

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.

[The Letter M]

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.