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The Longevity Option: An Interview with Steven Wilson

Home Invasion celebrates Steven Wilson's victory lap after the chart success of 2017's To the Bone. Still, he says, there are more places to plant his flag, mountains to climb.

Jedd Beaudoin

Interviews

The Rhythmic Redesign of Porcupine Tree: An Interview with Gavin Harrison

Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison talks with PopMatters about the long and complex process that went into his creation of the big band album, Cheating the Polygraph.

Music

Gavin Harrison: Cheating the Polygraph

The music of Porcupine Tree meets the rhythmic intensity of Whiplash in these eight dazzling reinterpretations.

Music

Steven Wilson: Hand. Cannot. Erase.

Hand. Cannot. Erase. is easily the strongest of Wilson's solo output in terms of cohesive narrative and dynamic song structure.

Brice Ezell and Jordan Blum

Music

Steven Wilson and Mariusz Duda Team Up on New Track, "The Old Peace"

As a tribute to a recently departed fan, Steven Wilson and Mariusz Duda (of Lunatic Soul and Riverside fame) have teamed up for the gorgeous song "The Old Peace".

Music

Steven Wilson: The Raven That Refused to Sing (and other stories)

In taking the '70s prog influences that were present on Grace for Drowning and blowing them up, Steven Wilson has made what is easily the most "prog" release of his storied career.

Music

Prog’s Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - "Stop Swimming"

As this Between the Grooves series concludes, we finish with “Stop Swimming”, one of Steven Wilson’s favorite Porcupine Tree songs. Stupid Dream's jazz-tinged closer is drenched in the mood of disillusionment and the apathy of being apathetic.

Music

Prog’s Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - “Tinto Brass”

A groovy and at times thrashy jam whose roots date back to the title track of Porcupine Tree’s 1993 release Up the Downstair, “Tinto Brass” shows what happens when four brilliant musicians get together and just play. What this has to do with a Italian erotica director, however, I still don’t know.

Music

Prog’s Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - “A Smart Kid”

Nine years after "Radioactive Toy", doomsday has finally happened. And if "A Smart Kid" is any indication, the freedom to destroy probably wasn't such a good idea in the first place.

Music

Gavin Harrison & Ø5Ric: The Man Who Sold Himself

Despite Gavin Harrison & Ø5Ric's rhythmic prowess, The Man Who Sold Himself is a coldly intellectual work of prog that isn't as fun to listen to as it is challenging.

Music

Prog's Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - "Stranger by the Minute"

The second single off of Stupid Dream, "Stranger by the Minute" is one of the album's most endearing songs, a tongue-in-cheek mash of psychedelic lyrics and radio-friendly rock. It's also unusually chipper for these usually melancholy proggers.

Music

Prog’s Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - “Baby Dream in Cellophane”

Stupid Dream's eighth track, "Baby Dream in Cellophane", is a unique little experiment in that it merges Porcupine Tree's early psychedelic sonic with Steven Wilson's love of Beach Boys-styled vocal harmonies.

Music

Prog's Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - "This Is No Rehearsal"

"This Is No Rehearsal", one of Stupid Dream's most radio-friendly moments, is a concise demonstration of the heavy/soft balance Porcupine Tree has come to master, as well as a retelling of a horrific tale.

Music

Together We're Stronger: An Interview with No-Man's Tim Bowness

The British art-rock duo No-Man, consisting of Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson, has long toiled in semi-obscurity. But thanks to the success of Wilson's other band, Porcupine Tree, No-Man is finally beginning to receive its proper due on the eve of its new release, Love and Endings.

Music

Prog’s Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - "Don’t Hate Me"

Concluding the Unrequited Love Trilogy in a state of despair and hopelessness, "Don't Hate Me", the best song on Stupid Dream, is most memorable for the instrumental interplay that comprises the latter half of the track, featuring some of Porcupine Tree's best musicianship.

Music

Prog's Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - "Slave Called Shiver"

With this second song in the Unrequited Love Trilogy, the realization of rejection has now fully hit our narrator. Listen as what hints of optimism were present in the track before this one bleed away into a dark, obsessive determination.

Music

Prog’s Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - “Stupid Dream/Pure Narcotic”

This installment of Between the Grooves looks at the beginning of Stupid Dream's "Unrequited Love Trilogy", the whimsical "Pure Narcotic". The unnamed narrator's first glimpse of unreturned love is the calm before the storm that inevitably follows.

Music

Prog's Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - "Piano Lessons"

"Piano Lessons" is a masterful satire of pop music, taking on a music industry obsessed with catchy, four-minute singles with the power of a catchy, four-minute single. It encapsulates an argument by the band that has since spanned over a decade, simultaneously demonstrating Porcupine Tree's original take on pop music while also remaining entirely progressive.

Music

Marillion's Fantastic Power: An Interview with Steve Hogarth

The members of the band Marillion aren't millionaires, but they do call themselves Marillionaires because of their profitable relationship with their family of fans. Singer Steve Hogarth talks about his new album collaboration with Porcupine Tree's Richard Barbieri, Marillion’s groundbreaking business model, and the band’s imminent first tour of North America since 2004.

Music

Prog's Only Stupid Dream: Porcupine Tree - "Even Less"

PopMatters' newest Between the Grooves series explores the often overlooked 1999 masterpiece by progressive rock legends Porcupine Tree. The album's opening track, "Even Less", still stands as one of the band's finest epics, and signifies a shift away from the eccentric psychedelia and moody Krautrock of its early work.

Music

The 10 Best Progressive Rock Albums of the 2000s

The first decade of the new millennium proved to be a fruitful time for great progressive rock. While some of prog’s most legendary bands took turns for the worse, others rose to meteoric prominence.

Music

Grace Under Pressure: An Interview with Steven Wilson

The Porcupine Tree frontman reveals why he's jazzed about his unconventional new solo album.

Music

Steven Wilson: The Gentleman Doth Protest Too Much (Part Two--The Fury)

Would Steven Wilson really want to roll the dice and insert himself back in a time when the prospects were a hell of a lot less salubrious for unorthodox and unsigned bands? Today, there are illimitable sources of opinion, and taste making is as democratic as it’s ever been, in part because of the abundance of voices and agency.

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Features

20 Films That Went From Bombs to Beloved

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PM Picks

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Pop Ten

20 Films That Went From Bombs to Beloved

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 1: 100 - 81

The 25 Best Classic Progressive Rock Albums

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 5: 20 - 1

Jackie Chan's 10 Best Films

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 4: 40 - 21

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 3: 60 - 41

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 2: 80 - 61

The 70 Best Albums of 2019

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Home Invasion celebrates Steven Wilson's victory lap after the chart success of 2017's To the Bone. Still, he says, there are more places to plant his flag, mountains to climb.

Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison talks with PopMatters about the long and complex process that went into his creation of the big band album, Cheating the Polygraph.

The music of Porcupine Tree meets the rhythmic intensity of Whiplash in these eight dazzling reinterpretations.

Hand. Cannot. Erase. is easily the strongest of Wilson's solo output in terms of cohesive narrative and dynamic song structure.

As a tribute to a recently departed fan, Steven Wilson and Mariusz Duda (of Lunatic Soul and Riverside fame) have teamed up for the gorgeous song "The Old Peace".

In taking the '70s prog influences that were present on Grace for Drowning and blowing them up, Steven Wilson has made what is easily the most "prog" release of his storied career.

With the February 25th release of Steven Wilson’s third solo LP The Raven That Refused to Sing (and other stories) approaching, PopMatters looks back on Wilson’s storied career to pick out ten of his strongest recordings, ranging from beautiful works of ambience to transcontinental art rock.

As this Between the Grooves series concludes, we finish with “Stop Swimming”, one of Steven Wilson’s favorite Porcupine Tree songs. Stupid Dream's jazz-tinged closer is drenched in the mood of disillusionment and the apathy of being apathetic.

Nine years after "Radioactive Toy", doomsday has finally happened. And if "A Smart Kid" is any indication, the freedom to destroy probably wasn't such a good idea in the first place.

Despite Gavin Harrison & Ø5Ric's rhythmic prowess, The Man Who Sold Himself is a coldly intellectual work of prog that isn't as fun to listen to as it is challenging.

The second single off of Stupid Dream, "Stranger by the Minute" is one of the album's most endearing songs, a tongue-in-cheek mash of psychedelic lyrics and radio-friendly rock. It's also unusually chipper for these usually melancholy proggers.

Stupid Dream's eighth track, "Baby Dream in Cellophane", is a unique little experiment in that it merges Porcupine Tree's early psychedelic sonic with Steven Wilson's love of Beach Boys-styled vocal harmonies.

"This Is No Rehearsal", one of Stupid Dream's most radio-friendly moments, is a concise demonstration of the heavy/soft balance Porcupine Tree has come to master, as well as a retelling of a horrific tale.

The British art-rock duo No-Man, consisting of Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson, has long toiled in semi-obscurity. But thanks to the success of Wilson's other band, Porcupine Tree, No-Man is finally beginning to receive its proper due on the eve of its new release, Love and Endings.

Concluding the Unrequited Love Trilogy in a state of despair and hopelessness, "Don't Hate Me", the best song on Stupid Dream, is most memorable for the instrumental interplay that comprises the latter half of the track, featuring some of Porcupine Tree's best musicianship.

With this second song in the Unrequited Love Trilogy, the realization of rejection has now fully hit our narrator. Listen as what hints of optimism were present in the track before this one bleed away into a dark, obsessive determination.

This installment of Between the Grooves looks at the beginning of Stupid Dream's "Unrequited Love Trilogy", the whimsical "Pure Narcotic". The unnamed narrator's first glimpse of unreturned love is the calm before the storm that inevitably follows.

The first decade of the new millennium proved to be a fruitful time for great progressive rock. While some of prog’s most legendary bands took turns for the worse, others rose to meteoric prominence.

The Porcupine Tree frontman reveals why he's jazzed about his unconventional new solo album.