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Porcupine Tree: The New Face of Progressive Rock

Though my birthday was many months ago, only last week I enjoyed a long-promised birthday present: a ticket to see Porcupine Tree! You see, I grew up listening to progressive rock: Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Todd Rundgren & Utopia, Genesis, Yes, and a smattering of others (Camel, Gentle Giant, Renaissance, Focus). For this classic prog guy, it has been a breath of fresh air to be discover the neo-prog of Porcupine Tree. (Thanks to my buddy Chris for the ticket, and for introducing this band to me in the first place.)

I had seen them two times before from the crowded floor of the Fillmore, but this was my first time at the Warfield, and I was pleasantly surprised that we had balcony seats. Perfect for an old guy like me.

The opening act was a peculiar fellow playing a peculiar instrument. I looked him up afterwards and learned that he is That 1 Guy playing "the magic pipe," and that he is a classically trained bassist. Here's a taste of what we saw (only much, much louder, and even more fascinating in person):

When Porcupine Tree took the stage, frontman Steven Wilson announced: "We've spent the last year working on a new album called The Incident which has just come out. Disc 1 is 55 minutes of uninterrupted music, and we would like to perform that for you now. That's prog."

…And that is just what they did for their first set: moved from section to section of a large opus with scarcely a break. The roadies were kept busy because they had to have Steven Wilson's next instrument ready to go, and he switches frequently between electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and keys. Sometimes it's hard to appreciate a concert if you're not already familiar with the music. But the music was new to almost everyone there since the album had only been released the week before, and wow. Just wow.

Then after a ten-minute break, they played a second set of their older material. In the middle of the show, I thought, "I wonder if I am the only person here who is worshiping God right now." To this old prog-rock guy, it was a wonderful evening shared with good friends.

I kept track of the shirts I saw in the audience: Marillion (two shirts), Camel, King Crimson, Dream Theater (two), Genesis. Unlike keyboard-driven classic prog, Richard Barbieri's keyboard work is amazing in a different way: creating ambience. If I ever create another worship band, I want a keyboardist who doesn't play piano riffs, but instead lays down sonic textures: swooshes, bleeps, and weird sounds.

If you're learning about Porcupine Tree for the first time, I recommend their previous three albums: In Absentia, Deadwing, and Fear of a Blank Planet. They have earlier albums but those are the ones that first grabbed me. If you liked progressive rock and have missed hearing tunes incorporating complex time signatures like 5/4 and 7/8, do yourself a favor: check them out.

Worshiping to Evanescence

I believe in you
I'll give up everything just to find you
I have to be with you to live to breathe
You're taking over me

Evanescence, Taking Over Me

Shelly: "Dad, what's this song about?"

Me: "What would you like it to be about?"

Shelly: "I don't know."

Me: "Well for me, it's a worship song."

Shelly: "I guess I can see that."

Me: "Or maybe it's just a song about obsessive love. It can be what you like. But I worship to it."

Shelly: "You worship to everything."

Me: "That's right. Because the whole world is flowing that direction, if you pay attention."

Monkey Jive Blues

Evil Mike, back in November 2003. (Some kind of dried fruit?)

Michael Abrahamsohn was a man of many talents. One of them was the ability to whip out weird rhymes on the spot. "Mike, where do you get this stuff," I would ask. He'd reply, "I pull them out of my butt."

Once when Mike was having a rough day, not from OCD but from girl trouble, I said, "Come on, let's record a song about it, right now." I sat him down in front of a Mac laptop and found this GarageBand loop. Without a real mic (just using the computer’s internal microphone), these words spilled out spontaneously. I just kept saying “Again, more,” to keep him going, then edited and arranged it. All the “vocal effects” are just Mike, sitting in front of my computer, cupping his hands over his mouth.

One of the songs we played in church at the time went, “Holiness, holiness, that’s what I long for.” Look for MIke’s twisted version in the last verse. Only Mike…

So here it is, a rare treat! Enjoy: Monkey Jive Blues

Laughing With

Here's a fascinating new song called "Laughing With" by Regina Spektor. Apparently she performed this on Letterman last Friday.

A taste of the lyrics: "No one laughs at God in a hospital" … "But God can be funny"
(h/t: Mike Todd)

Cast Your Cares (Psalm 55:22)

Sigh. Despite positive feedback on my interview, they decided not to go with me. This is becoming a recurring story for me this time, probably a direct result of having to compete against many other skilled people in this economy. The positive feedback keeps me from feeling crushed, but coming in second place doesn't pay any bills.

With that context, I found this music video really refreshing. I probably shouldn't tell you that it's a simple tune written to help kids memorize scripture, because then you might not play it. But there's something about this, with Beatles-esque "Kinetic Typography" that just… well, trust me. Press play.

(Hat tip: the accidental seminarian)

"Christian artist" vs. "Artist who happens to be Christian"

Our daughter Shelly is an avid reader. You have no idea. We have had to discipline her for reading too much. "If you don't put the book down, we will take it away!"

Satisfying this appetite is hard work; my wife Kay searches out new authors all the time, and we probably put a strain on our local public library system. The results are hit or miss:

Kay: "So these didn't work. I guess we can scratch Christian fantasy."
Shelly: "Is that what was wrong with it!"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Shelly: "They didn't blow stuff up or anything."
Kay: "The problem is these authors let their religion interfere with their storytelling."

Smells like Teen Spirit — Ungarbled at last!

I always liked Nirvana's Smells like Teen Spirit:

"Fallen Angel: The Outlaw Larry Norman" movie review

In 1977-1978, a small revival swept through the American School In Japan and a number of upperclassmen came to the Lord. There were rumors of a revival taking place among hippies in the United States, and how they were called "Jesus People." And at Lake Nojiri where long-haired American teens hung out during the summer and listened to music, a record appeared. It was called In Another Land and was by this guy called Larry Norman. He had long hair and sang rock songs about Jesus, and his music had come all the way over to Japan.

Decades later, I attended a life celebration of a fellow who expected to die. And who should show up to honor him, but Larry Norman! So I got to hear Larry tell crazy stories and sing old tunes, including "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" which I remember so well from those rapture-crazy days of the mid-70's to mid-80's. We sang it often in those days. Though Larry was physically frail, and I had abandoned the rapture teachings I learned from reading The Late Great Planet Earth, there was something magical about hearing him sing it. It brought back memories of high school and college, and the young faith I carried.

Last year, Larry died.

And last week, I saw the world premiere of Fallen Angel: The Outlaw Larry Norman.
I was moved, troubled, and inspired:

New genres of Songsmith art

On the heels of my previous Songsmith post:

The creators of Songsmith could not have imagined the novel ways their program might be applied to create new forms of art! Doing a search on YouTube reveals a growing number of entertaining music videos. But here's a new twist: What happens if you generate notes from stock charts?

Fun with Songsmith

Found on Slashdot: Microsoft has come out with a new music program called Songsmith. All you do is set the tempo, and sing, and it comes up with a chord progression in the accompaniment style of your choice!

After watching the engaging infomercial, I had to download it and give it a try. The results are curious, but it really does try to match your pitch, whatever it is. And so I give you my new composition, Feel the Beat! (Apologies to Strongbad.)

Songsmith is being relentlessly mocked, but I have to admit, it's kind of fun. The demo lasts only six hours, though -- an awfully short time-bomb. I wonder how much it costs? No, no, I'm not going there.

And thanks to Internet culture, a new category of music is born. Check out this new version of Tom Sawyer by Rush. Oh, oh, and White Wedding by Billy Idol!