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.
Strip
Porcupine Tree Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Raise the kids good, beat the kids good and tie them up
Spread it wide, my wife, my life, push the camera deeper
I can use, I abuse, my muse, I made them all
This machine
Is there to please
Strip the soul
A fire to feed
A belt to bleed
Strip the soul
Kill them all
They are not gone, they are not gone, they are only sleeping
In graves, in ways, in clay, underneath the floor
Building walls, overalls, getting bored, I got faulty wiring
Brick it up now, brick it up now, but keep the bones
(Do you want a western home in the rubble?)
The opening lines of Porcupine Tree's "Strip the Soul" suggest a dark and sinister narrative. The lyrics are spoken from the perspective of a twisted family man who takes sadistic pleasure in tormenting and controlling his wife and children. He sees his home as a place to exert his power and dominance and views strangers as unwelcome outsiders. His language is both possessive and violent, as he talks about beating and tying up his own children and using and abusing his muse.
The chorus of the song is an eerie statement about the societal machine at large. The singer refers to a machine that is there to please and Strip the soul, fill the hole, a fire to feed, and a belt to bleed. This is a commentary on capitalist society's need to extract and consume natural resources and human labor without regard for the impact it has on people's lives. The repeated phrase "Strip the soul, kill them all" is a haunting refrain that suggests that the machine is not only dehumanizing but also deadly.
The final verse returns to the disturbed family man, who has apparently killed his family and hidden their bodies under the floor. The closing question, "Do you want a western home in the rubble?" is a chilling reference to the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the Cold War-era notion of nuclear fallout and post-apocalyptic survivalism.
Line by Line Meaning
This is my home, this is my own, we don't like no strangers
I am possessive of my house and my family, and we don't want any outsiders disturbing our peace.
Raise the kids good, beat the kids good and tie them up
I believe in strict discipline for children, including physical punishment and control.
Spread it wide, my wife, my life, push the camera deeper
I objectify and exploit my wife for my own pleasure, and I violate her privacy without regard for her feelings.
I can use, I abuse, my muse, I made them all
I treat my creative inspirations as mere tools for my own purposes, and I take pride in having complete control over them.
This machine
I view the world and other people as objects to be manipulated and exploited for my own pleasure and gain.
Is there to please
I believe that everyone and everything exists solely for my own pleasure and satisfaction.
Strip the soul
I seek to reduce others to mere shells of themselves, devoid of any true personality, emotion, or humanity.
Fill the hole
I have an insatiable desire for power, pleasure, and control, and I will do whatever it takes to satisfy my cravings.
A fire to feed
My desires and appetites are consuming and destructive, and they threaten to consume me and everything around me.
A belt to bleed
I have no qualms about using violence and pain to assert my dominance and control over others.
Strip the soul
I am relentless in my pursuit of power and pleasure, and I will stop at nothing to achieve my goals.
Kill them all
I am willing to destroy anyone and anything that stands in the way of my desires, and I have no regard for human life or dignity.
They are not gone, they are not gone, they are only sleeping
I have harmed and oppressed others, but I refuse to acknowledge their suffering or take responsibility for my actions.
In graves, in ways, in clay, underneath the floor
My victims are hidden and forgotten, buried beneath the surface of my indifference and denial.
Building walls, overalls, getting bored, I got faulty wiring
My need for control and routine has led me to isolate myself from the world and become disconnected from my own emotions and humanity.
Brick it up now, brick it up now, but keep the bones
I am willing to hide my atrocities and bury my guilt as long as I can maintain my power and control.
(Do you want a western home in the rubble?)
I am challenging the listener to confront their own destructive desires and question their own humanity.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: COLIN EDWIN BALCH, GAVIN RICHARD HARRISON, RICHARD BARBIERI, STEVEN WILSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Mar-xe3dt
This is my home, this is my own, we don't like no strangers
Raise the kids good, beat the kids good and tie them up
Spread it wide, my wife, my life, push the camera deeper
I can use, I abuse, my muse, I made them all
This machine
Is there to please
Strip the soul
Fill the hole
A fire to feed
A belt to bleed
Strip the soul
Kill them all
They are not gone, they are not gone, they are only sleeping
In graves, in ways, in clay, underneath the floor
Building walls, overalls, getting bored, I got faulty wiring
Brick it up now, brick it up now, but keep the bones
Do you want a western home in the rubble?
@furkantunc5699
I love how Colin smiles even in this dark, sadistic video.
@michaeledwards6683
This video was so awesome that I'm not even that mad that you took out the best part of the song. When Steven Wilson showed his face, I nearly died from the awesomeness.
@michaeledwards6683
***** You probably have. I actually stopped watching him months ago because I realized how sloppy his researching is in exchange for more accurate and funnier channels, such as The Amazing Atheist and Chris Ray Gun, but my comments tend to get popular on his videos so people often recognize me from his videos.
Wow, that was a long sentence.
@akoc18
that bass line tickles me somewhere around stomach.
@domozkun5544
+A for Anyone i let the pieces lie just where they fell
@michaeledwards6683
+Domoz Kun Being with you is Hell
@rhiannonpushchak655
I see what you did there
@mofoftheyear
Go listen to the full version, this is watered down to the max.
@mofoftheyear
I describe Porcupine Tree as a mix of Porcupine Tree and Porcupine Tree.
@norbertovelazquez7441
Exactly!!