Porcupine Tree started out as a "fake" band, the only real member being multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson. Wilson's first two releases, Tarquin's Seaweed Farm (1989) and The Nostalgia Factory (1990), were both released on cassette tapes. In addition to the band's trademark psychedelic sound, these two tapes also contained heavy ambient and pop influences. Wilson's favorite tracks were then compiled into the CD On the Sunday of Life... (1991), while the more ambient-leaning tracks were also collected in Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape (1994). The first of these two featured many new versions of songs.
Wilson then went on to release Voyage 34 (1992) and Up the Downstair (1993), which refined the sound of the previous albums and removed the pop influences. Both of these were later re-released, the first as Voyage 34: The Complete Trip (2000), which included an extra two remixes (a total of four), while Up the Downstair was remastered at 2005 with real drums added in place of the drum-machine beats.
The Sky Moves Sideways (1995), often considered the band's best album by long-time fans, largely uses the spacey nature of previous albums. By the time of Signify (1996) Wilson had a full band at his disposal: Chris Maitland (drums), Colin Edwin (bass), and Richard Barbieri, formerly of Japan, on keyboards.
The band's next two albums, Stupid Dream (1999) and Lightbulb Sun (2000), saw them take on a more alternative rock-oriented sound, while still drawing influence from as far back as Up the Downstair. During this period, the band garnered increasing recognition, both in their home country and abroad. Finally, they were signed to Lava Records (a major American record label) in time for the release of In Absentia, with Gavin Harrison replacing Chris Maitland on drums. This album shows high metal influences, due in part to Wilson's work with Opeth on their album Blackwater Park. The band continued this sound for their 2005 release, Deadwing, which has the heaviest and most noticeable metal influences.
In April 2007, the band released Fear of a Blank Planet, an album clearly influenced by the post-rock genre, but also sees them expanding the metal side of their music, yet still remaining true to older facets of the band's sound.
In April, 2007, the band embarked on a six-month world tour in support of Fear of a Blank Planet, one that included Europe, the U.S., Japan, and Australia. The new album was featured, and the show featured the films and projections by the band's long-time visualist Lasse Hoile.
Fear of a Blank Planet is already the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful album of the band's career, charting high in most countries (even giving the band their first top-forty album in their home country). Porcupine Tree spent most of 2007 on tour promoting the album, and a new EP Nil Recurring containing material left over from the album-writing sessions was released on the band's own label Transmission in September.
The band started recording their tenth studio album The Incident in February 2009. This was confirmed by the band, posting this message on their official website: "Writing for the next PT studio record is well underway, with the band recently spending two weeks scheduled in the English countryside working on new tracks. Recording of these pieces and a new 35 minute SW song cycle were due to start in February..." A tour was announced on the band's website and MySpace, along with dates, following release of the new album. Around March and April, Wilson commented the 35-minute song kept evolving and now it has become a 55-minute song, occupying the entire disc.
On 20 May 2010, Porcupine Tree released their second live concert film on DVD and Blu-ray, titled Anesthetize. It was recorded live on 15 and 16 October 2008 in the Netherlands at the 013 Tilburg venue.
On 17 June 2010, the band announced on their website that a new live album titled Atlanta, recorded during the tour of Fear of a Blank Planet at the Roxy theatre, Atlanta, on 29 October 2007, would be released in a near future. This album was released via online distribution only, without any class of physical format; all the sale proceeds were donated to Mick Karn for his treatment against cancer.
In June 2012, Wilson re-emphasised his continued focus on his solo career.
On November 1st, 2021, the band announced their eleventh studio album Closure / Continuation, to be released in June 2022 on Music For Nations, along with their first single in over 12 years, Harridan. The release is the first without bassist Colin Edwin since he joined the band in 1993.
My Ashes
Porcupine Tree Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wasted my chances
I have found myself wanting
When a mother and father
Gave me their problems
I accepted them all
I was rejected
But I came back for more
And my ashes drift beneath the silver sky
Where a boy rides on a bike and never smiles
And my ashes fall over all the things we've said
On a box of photographs under the bed
I will stay in my own world
Under the covers
I will feel safe inside
The kiss that will burn me
Cure me of dreaming
I was always returning
And my ashes find a way beyond the fog
And return to save the child that I forgot
And my ashes fade among the things unseen
And a dream plays in reverse on piano keys
And my ashes drop upon a park in Wales
Never-ending clouds of rain, and distant sails distant sails
The lyrics of Porcupine Tree's My Ashes are open to interpretation, but they seem to tell a story of missed opportunities, acceptance of personal struggles, and the desire for safety and comfort. The first verse implies regret over wasted chances to attain things that were necessary. The second verse suggests that the singer's parents had problems that they transferred onto him or her, but the singer accepted them anyway. This could be interpreted as the singer accepting their flaws and struggles, and coming to understand that everyone has their own problems. However, the third and fourth lines of the verse - "Nothing ever expected / I was rejected" - indicate that the singer may have been rejected despite their acceptance.
The chorus of the song is where the title comes from: "And my ashes drift beneath the silver sky / Where a boy rides on a bike and never smiles / And my ashes fall over all the things we've said / On a box of photographs under the bed." The imagery here seems to imply that the singer has died, and their ashes are scattered across different places that are significant to them. The boy on the bike could represent a lost innocence, or someone who the singer failed to connect with. The box of photographs under the bed could represent memories that the singer wishes they could change.
The final verse speaks to the singer's desire for safety and comfort. They want to stay in their own world, where they feel secure. However, the kiss that will "burn" them could represent a desire for something more intense or risky than safety. The last two lines of the verse suggest that the singer has forgotten something important, but their ashes will "return to save the child" - perhaps representing a desire to reconnect with a childhood innocence.
In summary, My Ashes is a powerful and somewhat cryptic meditation on missed opportunities, acceptance, and the desire for safety and comfort.
Line by Line Meaning
All the things that I needed
I had desires once
I wasted my chances
But now these days are gone
I have found myself wanting
And the things that I was promised
When a mother and father
When my parents
Gave me their problems
Stuck me with some troubles
I accepted them all
And although I'm not to blame
Nothing ever expected
I wasn't told the price I'd pay
I was rejected
But I hung around anyway
But I came back for more
Waiting for the day
And my ashes drift beneath the silver sky
Now I stand before her
Where a boy rides on a bike and never smiles
And she looks at me with her tired eyes
And my ashes fall over all the things we've said
But seeing me she doesn't wonder
On a box of photographs under the bed
She knows
I will stay in my own world
And I remember
Under the covers
The thought that I will never forget
I will feel safe inside
I'll never forget where I come from
The kiss that will burn me
The places I've been
Cure me of dreaming
The roads that I have traveled
I was always returning
This love that I've been feeling
And my ashes find a way beyond the fog
Like some forgotten dream
And return to save the child that I forgot
That we've both been in
And my ashes fade among the things unseen
And I've grown accustomed to this face
And a dream plays in reverse on piano keys
But except for a name and a place
And my ashes drop upon a park in Wales
But nothing really ever changes
Never-ending clouds of rain, and distant sails distant sails
I'm standing in a wind of change
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: RICHARD BARBIERI, STEVEN JOHN WILSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind