I’m drifting into a Porcupine Tree kick right now. They were one of my favorite bands in the late 90s/early 00s and I played their music constantly. The last couple albums were mediocre and band leader/chief songwriter Steven Wilson did the correct thing and put them on hiatus. I doubt if they’ll ever regroup. But at their peak they were creating this magnificent wall of sound that veered between Floydian space rock, metal thunder, old school prog, and power pop with finesse and verve. And while I love/like Wilson’s solo work, it doesn’t hit me the same way. So I’ll be on a PT kick all weekend, playing the albums, the EPs, and live shows, remembering and reliving what we once had.
It’s a bit unnerving sometimes what hold music has over me; the passions it awakens. But it is also reassuring. Many people that I know drift away from music as they get older, either ignoring it all together or statically clinging to a few shreds of what they listened to as teenagers. I was in my late 40s when I discovered Porcupine Tree. I still keep my ear to the ground, looking for something new. And when I stop doing that, maybe it’s time to put me in the ground.
jeroljohnson 