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

[Evermind]

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.

[HOF]

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.

[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
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

[Elite]

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

[Elite]

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

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 Great Zo]

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

Caesar's cutting out your anger.

[Elite]

What’s more.. apparently the last line of the chorus is ‘I’m a shade’. I always heard ‘I’m ashamed’. What the hell

[Buddyhunter1]

No wonder you only ranked it at #47.

[Elite]

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.

[Buddyhunter1]

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.

[KevShmev]

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.

[Elite]

Okay, can I reveal the Stupid Dream songs on my list now then?

[KevShmev]

Okay, can I reveal the Stupid Dream songs on my list now then?

Probably still best to do all that Friday after we see the top songs.

[Elite]

Yeah, I was half joking, I will post my full list after everything is revealed

[Buddyhunter1]

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.

[The Great Zo]

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. 

[Crow]

i will absolutely take heartattack ranking this high 

...what is buying new soul i legitimately do not remember what that is

[jammindude]

i will absolutely take heartattack ranking this high 

...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.

[Revenge319]

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

[The Realm]

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.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

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!

[SomeoneLikeHim]

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.

[Zydar]

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).

[KevShmev]

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.

[Elite]

YES!!!!!

[Revenge319]

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.

[SomeoneLikeHim]

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.

[KevShmev]

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. 

[Elite]

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!!

[HOF]

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.

[ReaperKK]

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

[The Letter M]

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.

[romdrums]

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!

[Mladen]

I had Dark matter at #3, Blackest eyes at #11 and Trains at #20. All amazing songs, obviously.

[nobloodyname]

Really excited to see Rainy Taxi and The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train as the top 2!

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.