Artist: PORCUPINE TREE
Album: STUPID DREAM REMASTERED (DIGI)

Release date: 1999/ 2021
EAN/UPS: 0802644722122
Media type: CD

Stupid Dream is the fifth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in April, 1999. It became the band's best selling album up to the time of its release.

Steven Wilson said of the album: "I just wrote about myself this time, certain insecurities and feelings - all the usual miserable singer-songwriter stuff. I've come round to the idea that the most affecting lyrics are always written from a personal point of view."

"When I was writing some of the songs of the album I was very much aware of this contradiction between being an artist, being a musician, trying to be creative and write songs and, then, at the point you finish an album, the music is finished, the creative side is finished, you then have to go out and sell and market and promote. And that's like a completely different experience. It's not a very creative process. It's quite - in some ways - a cynical process going on having to sell your music. But you have to do it. I mean, if a modern musician is going to survive as a musician, you have to - in a sense - 'prostitute yourself' to try and sell your music and your art. And I was very much aware of that contradiction. If you think about that too much, it can drive you crazy, you know. It's an absurd thing to be doing. That kind of led me thinking about when I was a teenager, when I was just starting out and I was interested in being a musician. And I think a lot of teenage kids have this dream of being pop stars, of being a professional musician. This 'stupid dream' of being famous and 'life is a ball and everything is wonderful'. And, of course, actually the reality is that being a professional musician is a very hard work. It can be very heartbreaking, there's a lot of disappointment, there's a lot of hard work, there's a lot of travelling."

The album cover is linked to this concept as well.

Wilson: "Like sitting down with the record company to discuss how we're gonna market this album. And at that point your record becomes a product. And I just had this image of these CDs just coming off this conveyor belt. And obviously it's at complete odds with the music. But I wanted to have this kind of contradictory feel to the color. The bottom line is, the people that get into Porcupine Tree know that we're exactly not the kind of band that ever consider our music in terms of product and shifting units. So I thought it would kind of be fun to put an image on the album which is a comment on that. What could be a more stupid dream than wanting to make music and sell it."

All songs written by Steven Wilson except as indicated.

TRACKLIST CD:

"Even Less" – 7:11
"Piano Lessons" – 4:21
"Stupid Dream" - 0:28
"Pure Narcotic" - 5:02
"Slave Called Shiver" - 4:40
"Don't Hate Me" - 8:30
"This Is No Rehearsal" - 3:26
"Baby Dream in Cellophane" - 3:15
"Stranger by the Minute" - 4:30
"A Smart Kid" - 5:22
"Tinto Brass" (Wilson/Barbieri/Edwin/Maitland) - 6:17
"Stop Swimming" - 6:53


LINE-UP:

Richard Barbieri
Colin Edwin
Gavin Harrison
Steven Wilson