Search - Porcupine Tree :: Fear of a Blank Planet

'sullen and bored the kids stay'

Deven Gadula | san francisco, ca, united states | 11/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fear Of The Blank Planet is definitely a concept album. We all agree with that. So what is the concept? It is an album about a teenager who told his doctor he was having problems falling asleep, received a prescription medication which altered his perception and attitude towards life. Or is it about something deeper? This album combines the hard sound with an equally heavy tone of the message the music carries with it. It is sad, depressing but it only fascinates and involves us so much because we know that the picture painted by Steven Wilson can be found in so many family albums of the 21st century and the problem becomes more prevalent every year. Sure, Steven is painting a picture which is a bit of a worse case scenario, but 'sullen and bored the kids stay' more and more in our culture of video games, reality tv, bad movies and a drug industry equal in power to our congress, with a cure for every mood we feel. Our disappearing walks in the park or a forest or at the beach, unread books by even Mark Twain, Hesse and Dostoyevsky, and an overall lack of focus on a big picture of life which we seem to be too busy and distracted for...affect our children. Steven is bringing our attention to this fact from the eyes of our kids hoping that such vision could open our own eyes. Perhaps next time we see our child glued to a video game we can visualize the outcome of such upbringing. I had read somewhere that Steven's concept was influenced by a book called Lunar Park. So I have read that book (no, I stopped 4/5 into it, it was not worth another evening) and I seriously doubt there is any truth in that, and reading such books is just a step away from watching a reality show - a complete waste of time. The music of Fear Of A Blank Planet is very even. However, being one of those long time lovers of Porcupine Tree I miss their gentler side (The Incident brought more of it back to a growing crowd of us) and my favorite songs here are The Ashes, Sentimental, Way Out Of Here and Anesthetize for its emotional values and Sleep Together for Richard's incredible ending. But that only leaves the title song and that is a great song, we all agree.

So appropriate it was for Steven to bring Alex Lifeson along to contribute towards this album. Such brilliant move increases the size of our crowd introducing new fans to the work they can appreciate, but it also brings along a man whose words are perfectly placed to become a motto we can all relate to after listening to The Fear Of A Blank Planet: 'life is just a candle and a dream must give it flame'. And by dream I don't mean wishing away....



I have a bit of wishing away of my own... First of all, I would like to add that keyboards parts are fantastic. I can hear Richard Barbieri's sounds of organic keyboards building up under the radar, adding to landscapes making us so dependent and hooked on this music. The final moments of the album are fantastic. I am a big fan of Richard Barbieri's from his time with Japan, David Sylvan and their Rain Tree Crow and I have to say that I am patiently waiting for a day when I could hear a few songs of Porcupine Tree with David Sylvan as guest musician and vocalist singing along Steven Wilson, or vice versa. It might never happen but it does not hurt me to ask.

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