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[[quoteright:303:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/porcupine_tree_stupid_dream.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:303:''I come in value packs of ten.'']]
''Stupid Dream'' is the fifth studio album by Music/PorcupineTree, first released on March 22, 1999, in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom. This album moves away from the band's early PsychedelicRock[=/=]SpaceRock sound towards a more song-oriented direction that's poppier yet still firmly in ProgressiveRock territory. The title refers to frontman Music/StevenWilson's cynical outlook on the music industry, calling the idea of seeking fame and a glamorous lifestyle as a musician a "stupid dream" that only causes struggles through hard work.
!! Tracklist:
# "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" (6:17)
# "Stop Swimming" (6:53)
!! Principal members:
* Music/StevenWilson - Lead vocals, guitar
* Colin Edwin - Bass
* Richard Barbieri - Keyboards
* Chris Maitland - Drums, backing vocals
!! Play it back and trope things at the screen:
* AfterTheEnd: "A Smart Kid" is set in the years following a nuclear war. The sun has not shone since then and the only known survivor is left stranded.
* AlbumTitleDrop: Given in "Piano Lessons":
--> "And even though I got it all now\\
My only '''stupid dream'''\\
Is you and me together\\
And how it should have been"
* AlternateAlbumCover: The original CD, reissue CD/DVD, and reissue vinyl editions have different covers depicting a CD factory worker inspecting a CD.
* BlasphemousBoast: "Slave Called Shiver"
--> "I may be nothing now, but I will rise\\
I'll have more followers than Jesus Christ"
* BreakupSong: The narrator of "Don't Hate Me" just experienced a breakup on a lonely late night in London and hopes his ex has no hard feelings toward him.
* DownerEnding: The album ends with the bleak "Stop Swimming", a song about giving up on individuality and just going with the flow.
* EpicRocking: "Even Less" (7:11), "Don't Hate Me" (8:30), "Tinto Brass" (6:17), and "Stop Swimming" (6:53)
* EverybodysDeadDave: "A Smart Kid" is about the last survivor of a nuclear war, stranded on Earth and hoping aliens would come and rescue him.
* GallowsHumor: The Smart Kid hates the idea of being stranded alone on a now dead Earth after a nuclear war but will make the most of it nonetheless.
--> "Stranded here on planet Earth\\
It's not much, but it could be worse\\
Everything's free here, there's no crowds"
* {{Instrumentals}}:
** The title track is a short string drone and choir interlude.
** "Tinto Brass" is a jam that wouldn't sound too out of place on any of the first four Porcupine Tree albums. It's also the only song on the album credited to the full band; the rest is credited only to Steven Wilson.
* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: The narrator of "Even Less" had a friend who drowned, apparently by suicide, and is hailed as a martyr, much to the annoyance of the narrator who knew him.
--> "I may just waste away from doing nothing, but you're a martyr for even less."
* NewSoundAlbum: This album saw Porcupine Tree focus shift from largely instrumental psychedelic rock to more song-oriented prog rock with occasional instrumentals but more prominent alternative rock leanings.
* NothingIsScarier: The spooky "Don't Hate Me" is a "nothing at all" variant. The first verse describes a lifeless late night in London with no one at the stations that the last train passes through. The second verse describes a single light illuminating a window with the only thing inside being the smoke from a cigarette lit just before a breakup.
* NumbersStations: "Even Less" ends with the numbers, "0096 2251 2110 8105" read aloud by a woman. This is taken from a numbers station recording.
* ShoutOut: "Pure Narcotic" has one in the first verse, to the Music/{{Radiohead}} album ''Music/TheBends''.
* SuicideBySea: The narrator of "Even Less" had a friend who committed suicide by drowning in the sea and whose corpse was washed ashore.
--> "A body is washed up on a Norfolk beach\\
He was a friend that I could not reach\\
He thought I was cold but I understand\\
But for the grace of god goes another man"
* TakeThat: Multiple songs, most notably "Piano Lessons", blast the music industry. The album cover satirizes the mass production of music by depicting a Platform/CompactDisc factory with a worker in a biohazard suit inspecting a disc beside an assembly line.
* WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing: The Smart Kid gave no indication that he took part in the nuclear war, yet he somehow managed to "win" it and become the last person left on Earth.
--> "There was a war, but I must have won."
----
[[caption-width-right:303:''I come in value packs of ten.'']]
''Stupid Dream'' is the fifth studio album by Music/PorcupineTree, first released on March 22, 1999, in the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom. This album moves away from the band's early PsychedelicRock[=/=]SpaceRock sound towards a more song-oriented direction that's poppier yet still firmly in ProgressiveRock territory. The title refers to frontman Music/StevenWilson's cynical outlook on the music industry, calling the idea of seeking fame and a glamorous lifestyle as a musician a "stupid dream" that only causes struggles through hard work.
!! Tracklist:
# "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" (6:17)
# "Stop Swimming" (6:53)
!! Principal members:
* Music/StevenWilson - Lead vocals, guitar
* Colin Edwin - Bass
* Richard Barbieri - Keyboards
* Chris Maitland - Drums, backing vocals
!! Play it back and trope things at the screen:
* AfterTheEnd: "A Smart Kid" is set in the years following a nuclear war. The sun has not shone since then and the only known survivor is left stranded.
* AlbumTitleDrop: Given in "Piano Lessons":
--> "And even though I got it all now\\
My only '''stupid dream'''\\
Is you and me together\\
And how it should have been"
* AlternateAlbumCover: The original CD, reissue CD/DVD, and reissue vinyl editions have different covers depicting a CD factory worker inspecting a CD.
* BlasphemousBoast: "Slave Called Shiver"
--> "I may be nothing now, but I will rise\\
I'll have more followers than Jesus Christ"
* BreakupSong: The narrator of "Don't Hate Me" just experienced a breakup on a lonely late night in London and hopes his ex has no hard feelings toward him.
* DownerEnding: The album ends with the bleak "Stop Swimming", a song about giving up on individuality and just going with the flow.
* EpicRocking: "Even Less" (7:11), "Don't Hate Me" (8:30), "Tinto Brass" (6:17), and "Stop Swimming" (6:53)
* EverybodysDeadDave: "A Smart Kid" is about the last survivor of a nuclear war, stranded on Earth and hoping aliens would come and rescue him.
* GallowsHumor: The Smart Kid hates the idea of being stranded alone on a now dead Earth after a nuclear war but will make the most of it nonetheless.
--> "Stranded here on planet Earth\\
It's not much, but it could be worse\\
Everything's free here, there's no crowds"
* {{Instrumentals}}:
** The title track is a short string drone and choir interlude.
** "Tinto Brass" is a jam that wouldn't sound too out of place on any of the first four Porcupine Tree albums. It's also the only song on the album credited to the full band; the rest is credited only to Steven Wilson.
* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: The narrator of "Even Less" had a friend who drowned, apparently by suicide, and is hailed as a martyr, much to the annoyance of the narrator who knew him.
--> "I may just waste away from doing nothing, but you're a martyr for even less."
* NewSoundAlbum: This album saw Porcupine Tree focus shift from largely instrumental psychedelic rock to more song-oriented prog rock with occasional instrumentals but more prominent alternative rock leanings.
* NothingIsScarier: The spooky "Don't Hate Me" is a "nothing at all" variant. The first verse describes a lifeless late night in London with no one at the stations that the last train passes through. The second verse describes a single light illuminating a window with the only thing inside being the smoke from a cigarette lit just before a breakup.
* NumbersStations: "Even Less" ends with the numbers, "0096 2251 2110 8105" read aloud by a woman. This is taken from a numbers station recording.
* ShoutOut: "Pure Narcotic" has one in the first verse, to the Music/{{Radiohead}} album ''Music/TheBends''.
* SuicideBySea: The narrator of "Even Less" had a friend who committed suicide by drowning in the sea and whose corpse was washed ashore.
--> "A body is washed up on a Norfolk beach\\
He was a friend that I could not reach\\
He thought I was cold but I understand\\
But for the grace of god goes another man"
* TakeThat: Multiple songs, most notably "Piano Lessons", blast the music industry. The album cover satirizes the mass production of music by depicting a Platform/CompactDisc factory with a worker in a biohazard suit inspecting a disc beside an assembly line.
* WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing: The Smart Kid gave no indication that he took part in the nuclear war, yet he somehow managed to "win" it and become the last person left on Earth.
--> "There was a war, but I must have won."
----
