man wilson has talked so much about this whole internet thing and download culture and alienating thing that i don't even know where to start. you should try to look up some interviews from 2007/2008 because he has talked about it a lot and he's fully aware that it's because of the internet that porcupine tree is as popular as they are today. his gripe really isn't with downloading but with that he doesn't want people to listen to their music in inferior quality since it affects the music's subtlety and sw's music generally relies on complex production. packaging is another thing like you said and although this depends on the artist, he believes albums are an entirety and should be listened that way as well. i think he has valid arguments and although i don't really agree with how nitpicky he can be about some things, he probably sees things in different way as being the artist. i can definitely understand his argument about the quality of the music because even today i still discover new elements of some songs i have already heard dozens and dozens of times. the whole sound quality and production deal is a pretty big thing for pt and wilson! they are also one of the forerunners in bringing music to 5.1 format.
about the whole information revolution, internet, reality tv, blah blah alienating thing, i'll skip on that (for now at least) because there is seriously so much material about that. just go watch some interviews, they can be genuinely interesting.
anyway i have been looking forward to this album for ages. it's supposed to be really eclectic so i'm definitely looking forward to hearing what all it has to offer. i'm sure it's true because if you just look at sw's different projects you have everything from rock to metal to psychedelic to ambient to electronica to noise to krautrock to pop and so on. i especially like the second insurgentes trailer, it took some time for the song to grow on me but it's fucking good, especially the noisy bit near the end. i really like the piano and the vocals too.
anyway im expecting it to take considerable amount of listens for some of the songs to grow on me while others i will surely like right away.
btw fucking sucks when i finally got money to buy the special edition it sold out earlier on the same day.
i need to get the documentary from somewhere but i doubt it will be hard to find. still a bit disappointed.
