Here’s a band that was popular in the 90s, often considered the logical progression of what Pink Floyd started. Sadly, they seem to be relative unknowns today, including the amazing musician, composer, singer, and guitarist Steven Wilson. You’ll be seeing Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson (with his solo work and other projects) relatively often in this series, because I’m such a huge fan.

Porcupine Tree was even more the quintessential angsty teenage band than Nirvana. Hell, they have an entire album, called Fear of a Blank Planet, that is literally about “two typical neurobehavioural developmental disorders affecting teenagers in the 21st century: bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder, and also with other common behaviour tendencies of youth like escapism through prescription drugs, social alienation caused by technology, and a feeling of vacuity—a product of information overload by the mass media.” So it’s kind of funny that I discovered, and fell in love with, their music when I was already well into “adulthood”.

Anyways… this one doesn’t come from Fear of a Blank Planet, but from their album Lightbulb Sun. The lyrics are almost sort of nice guy bemoaning, sadly. They’re basically the dude (not necessarily Steven Wilson himself, as the vast majority of his albums are concept albums, so they tell stories with characters) bemoaning the loss of a girlfriend who he thinks was just using him. The lyrics are… fine… but the guitar solo is what makes this song. It’s so powerful, and I adore it.

As usual, there’s no video to this one, just audio. The solo starts at 3:25 and ends at 5:05.

Enjoy.