Porcupine Tree - My Ashes - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Does anyone else agree this could and should have been a Blackfield song instead?

Originally posted by Gandalff

Don´t be such sorehead!

Hmmmmmmm, never thought of this. They keys don't sound very Blackfield-y IMO, although it doesn't really feel like that much of a PT track overall. The lyrics/guitar/vocals are very Blackfieldian though.

Will have to vote later.

For those who haven't heard Blackfield:

Some Day lyrics -

When you were a boy
You had no place inside your parents' world.
You were falling like the leaves
from an old and dying tree

You went to school,
But the teachers made you feel a fool
While the children played with joy
You're the one who were avoid

Some day you will find a better place to stay
You'll never need to feel this way again

Show a smile,
They'd like to have you in the members club
They'll buy you drinks and tell you lies
They pure ambrella with some ice.

No one cares,
About that f***ing pretty face you have,
It means nothing much this life
So find the highest cliff and dive.

Some day you will find a better place to stay
You'll never need to feel this way again

My Ashes Lyrics -

All the things that I needed
I wasted my chances
I have found myself wanting
When my mother and father
Gave me their problems
I accepted them all
Nothing ever expected
I was rejected
But I came back for more

And my ashes drift beneath the silver sky
Where a boy rides on a bike but never smiles
And my ashes fall on all the things we said
On a box of photographs under the bed

I will stay in my own world
Under the covers
I will feel safe inside
A kiss that will burn me
And 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

Of course folks are used to My Ashes being a part of the record by now and most wont admit it's out of place. Christenings was written during the Deadwing session but was instead released on Blackfield 2. My Ashes could have very easily ended up a Blackfield song and no one would have been the wiser. It has the signature Blackfield formula written all over it. The plodding melancholic verses that transitions into a dreamlike uplifting chorus. Considering how close the recording sessions between 2 and FoaBP were, it's completely understandable that some Blackfield found it's way onto the album.

Edited by TheClosing - March 15 2011 at 13:24

Of course not. It sounds more PT than PT.

Originally posted by TrevRockOne

The intrinsic flaw of the question: Richard Barbieri wrote the song.

Richard wrote the music.

The lyrics are taken from the last chapter of the novel "Lunar Park" by Bret Easton Ellis.

Yes the song has a Blackfield ballad feel to it but I cant think of it as anything but PT.Totally fits into the FOABP concept based on the book. Strange that it was placed as the second track.

Edited by CryoftheCarrots - March 15 2011 at 18:55

"There is a lot in this world to be tense and intense about"
MJK

I remember when Steve was asked if Blackfield influenced My Ashes since it was written at the time of 2. He stated Rich wrote "most" (not all) of the My Ashes. Still, that chorus especially is all Blackfield.

Had a listen to FOABP today, definitely much more PT than Blackfield IMO. The (electric) guitar at the chorus is definitely very PT-ish.

Originally posted by TheClosing

Not be pedantic, but there's no electric guitar during a refrain. Also you might find it interesting to note that the electric guitar is actually played on a synth. It's very Barbesue; however, it's not a core component of the song.

The turn out of this poll isn't surprising considering FoaBP is probably the first taste of PT for the majority of the posters on this site, which is why the heavy influence might not standout like a sore thumb.

Ugh, I definitely did mean the keys during the intro/verse. That's quite embarassing!

Stupid Dream was my first PT, and although I do agree it's definitely quite Blackfield influenced, it still has the feel of a PT song overall to me. It could be because it sits in the album quite well, but it still feels like a PT song.

It does sound like it could have been in a blackfield record, but the truth is that if you take out any of the songs in FOABP I feel that the structure of the record would fall to pieces... Every song fits perfectly

I look up, I'm almost blinded
by the warmth of what's inside me
and the taste that's in my soul,
but I'm dead inside as I stand alone...

Poll Question: More Field than Tree?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Yes!	4	[13.79%]
No!	25	[86.21%]
You can not vote in this poll