RockRoast

I stumbled across this video on Morow.com the other day. It’s an interview with Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson, and near the end he gives an interesting answer to one particularly interesting question. The whole interview is pretty good, but if you’re not a Porcupine Tree fan, you might as well just skip to 6:48 for the best part.

The question was, “What is your strategy to struggle against music downloading?” And as far as I’m concerned, Steven hit the nail on the head.

His first point is that Porcupine Tree is not music for “fickle” people. It’s one of the things I love about prog fans. We tend to be completists. If we love the music, we want the whole discography and the whole experience. I suppose I could have pirated Fear of a Blank Planet if I’d wanted to, but, like Steven alluded to, it’s difficult to enjoy music quite as much as listening to an album for the first time with the liner notes in open in your lap.

Which brings us to Steven’s second point: packaging. Fancy boxes, bonus DVDs and riveting artwork all make a piece of music worth owning instead of just listening to. Just yesterday, I pulled out a CD I hadn’t heard all the way through in a while and I sat there listening to it while staring at the artwork in the liner notes and reviewing the lyrics. It’s a great experience, but you need to own the CD to do it. Steven Wilson is right: you can’t download that tactile experience.

At least, not yet. I really hope technology never goes so far as to allow us to do that.

Many people are worried about the death of the compact disc in a download-oriented culture, but I don’t really think it’s a possibility. I will always want a physical, non-digital version of the music I buy, and I know there are plenty of other people like me who will continue to buy CDs. Although I have to say that I would be very amused if, years down the road, progressive bands begin to top the sales charts–not because they’re more popular, but because their fans are the only ones still willing to shell out a couple of bucks for a CD.

I don’t expect that to happen. But it would be hilarious.

Porcupine Tree’s sixth studio album has long been out of print. But 2000’s Lightbulb Sun is slated for a grand rerelease on April 21st with an accompanying DVD that includes a 5.1 surround sound mix and other “bonus features.”

Lighbulb Sun, as far as I’m concerned, was Porcupine Tree’s official graduation from being a weird band to being a good band. The album is often described as being informally divided into two sections. The first half of the disc is the poppier, more commercial section and the second half is more progressive. There are great tracks in both sections, however. The title track is a haunting ballad sung from the perspective of a sickly, bed-ridden little kid missing out on his own childhood. “Shesmovedon” sports one of singer Steven Wilson’s greatest vocal moments during the lush harmonies on the choruses. And the thirteen-minute “Russia On Ice” is perhaps one of the greatest achievements of the band’s illustrious career.

Considering the limited time offer from Porcupine Tree’s official store that promises an extra CD with a few more rarities, the rerelease of Lightbulb Sun is definitely worth a preorder.