Why have I never heard of this band before?

[catsidhe]

A friend of mine, known as Þorfinn to many (no, not thorfinn, this Þorfinn has been known as Þorfinn for far longer than Thorfie has) has turned me on to a band called Porcupine Tree.

What can I say, but that what I have heard so far is mind-bogglingly good. On The Sunday of Life... especially.

Radioactive Toy is a magnificent piece of music. Remembering that I'm not a musicologist, nor a musician's armpit, but the chords and chord progression, the tempo, it's just generally bloody brilliant.
Space Transmission, where God only has a few brief moments to tell you how he has been imprisoned on Earth in the dark for millennia, while the devil asks why people worship God and not him...
Linton Samuel Dawson... is almost but not quite entirely indescribable.
Swallows Dance Above The Sun.

Look, it won't be to everyone's taste. But it should be.

Comments

[omnot.livejournal.com]

Holy youTube, Batman!

I like! I liiiiike!

[drjon.livejournal.com]

I am curious: how much longer is "far longer"? You're looking at at least 20 years, for Thorfy, so I would think that your friend Þorfinn must be 60YO or more...

[catsidhe.livejournal.com]

About that, yes. There is photographic evidence of him being known as Þorfinn in the early eighties, and he is a signatory on an SCA document in ASXXIII (1988-9) as ᚦᛟᚱᚠᛁᚾᚾ.

[drjon.livejournal.com]

Not saying that's not cool. Just curious, as I said, about why you'd say "far longer". Not sure exactly how long Thorfy's used the name, but his use predates the early nineties also, and is certainly at least in the same ballpark as your friend, I'm thinking. Maybe he's used it a little longer.

It was just your "far longer" usage which caught my curiosity is all.

[catsidhe.livejournal.com]

Maybe I just underestimated how long Thorfy has been known as Thorfy.

Look at it this way: Thorfy is about my age, Þorfinn is about my father's age. I have known both of them as (Th|Þ)orfinn for as long as I have known them, but I just assumed that as Þorfinn is older, that he's been doing it longer.

If you know SCA terminology, Þorfinn was raised to the order of the Pelican in 1986.


Plus, as a mediaevalist, my grasp of time periods less that a generation is a bit shaky.

[drjon.livejournal.com]

So he's about 60? If he was about 60, then "far longer" would be about right.

Sorry, really was just a matter of curiousity.

[catsidhe.livejournal.com]

But all the above is beside the point:

Why did you allow me to remain ignorant of this band until now?

[drjon.livejournal.com]

Because you're not worthy?

More likely: because we'd not heard of them ourselves?

They sound pretty cool, though.

[omnot.livejournal.com]

Master Thorfinn was travelling to Sydney to participate in the SCA when Rowany was newly established. How long ago was that? Very early eighties? Master Thorfinn definitely has precedence, in any case. And really pretty eyelashes. *nod nod*

[drjon.livejournal.com]

Thorfinn Skullsplitter mocks your impudent concept of "precedence".

[catsidhe.livejournal.com]

http://www.oglaf.com/honor.html

[omnot.livejournal.com]

No, Þorfinn Hrolfsson is 69th in sequence in the Order of Precedence, so that cartoon is not quite appropriate.

[drjon.livejournal.com]

Hee hee. "Stop! Hammertime!"