Porcupine Tree: "Piano Lessons" and "Halo"

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Yes, it's the third week in a row with a Porcupine Tree post (with two others before that). They're that good and I'm that much into them at the moment. In case you've missed them:

-- "Fear of a Blank Planet";

-- "Time Flies";

-- "Russia on Ice"; and

-- "Even Less."

Let's go back to the album on which "Even Less" is the first track, Stupid Dream (1999), with the second track, "Piano Lessons." Here's the video:

And here's a live version of "Halo," from the Arriving Somewhere... DVD (from performances in Chicago in October 2005). The song is originally from the album Deadwing (2005), which had a decidedly harder (and less commercial) sound to it than Stupid Dream. (I delve a bit into the evolution of the band's music here.)