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From: jez12
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  • I love Gavin for saying all those things about my generation (I was born in '91) and I am moreso thankfull that I am one of few my age who thinks about the downfall of attention to music in the same manner that Gavin does.

    Also, I completely agree with him on the things he said earlier about showing off on your instrument. Playing a damn instrument is about the MUSIC, not about swinging your dick around on a stage! If one wants attention, they might consider becoming the next Rick Santorum.

  • Everything he said from about 4:00 on describes my problems with my generation.

    although i myself have fallen into this same rut of being in my room with headphones on for long amounts of time, mostly what i spend doing is listening to albums repeatedly and learning from and how to play the music. I take solace in the face that i still jam with other people as much as possible and that im not entirely brain dead like some other members of my generation.

  • 3:14

    Those words sum up my iPod

    I really would like to listen to all that stuff but somehow i can't choose between the new stuff i would like to listen, and i end up by simply play a track i perfectly know.

    This video, These words are actually moving, at least they are to me.

    I really can't think of another person that said that before he did.

  • why does he say soccer if he's english?

  • @alfiebonassward96 Probably because he thinks more american people will watch this than english. He's pretty considerate.

  • 3:50 hahahahahaha too much hahahahahaha

  • Great teacher...!

    Peace gav:)

  • I'm 18, and I feel almost embarrassed by my small music collection compared to many friends who aren't even musicians. Thing is though, browsing through, I see a couple of plays on each track, many with none. When I get an album, that will get listened to again and again and again and again. Like Gavin said, the choice provided by a vast library straight away is too much, I like to have my collection slowly building with music that I love and appreciate to its fullest.

  • @Mp5Drummer You, sir, just restored a little portion of my faith in this world! Thank you.

  • I think I learned more in that interview than in a lot of DVD's for drummers, which are great. Sometimes is not having better technique, faster frasings, etc that will help you being a better musician .. sometimes is just the understanding and creative part that you should work on. Great video .. THANK YOU for sharing, and This is a video that should be watched by ALL the musicians!

  • This left me completely speechless, and made me realise a ton of things that were right there in front of me all along. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do now, so I'm going to sit down and just listen to my favourite Porcupine Tree albums, again and again and again.

  • he's so right and I hate myself for being what he just described

  • i can not agree more

  • As a 16 year old, I WISH I could spend a night with friends simply listening to interesting music.

  • @darkalleyheroes I got the chance the other day. House party, yet me and 2 others ended up in a room, commandeered a speaker and listened to our favourite Dream Theater album, and it was awesome!

  • @Mp5Drummer I once did the same thing trying to get my friends into in absentia, glad to know others find that a sweet bonding experience as well :D

  • i dont claim to be anywhere near gavin as a musician.....im 21 but still that 13 year old who looked at a guitar as his first girlfriend....yes Ive playing playing ever since.......only point i wanna make....i can totally see where gavin is coming from when he says there are distractions....what i think is.....if you can out live those distractions for music.....you will be a greater musician than Gavin is...or ever will be......and yes...no hate messages here..this is a friends account....

  • He is so brilliant!!!

  • lolzz..:P the *synth sounds* Kinda funny :P

  • Thumbs up if you were watching this video like me:1. sitting in your own room, 2.with headphones on and 3.staring a computer monitor.

  • Interesting how his opinions and point of view mirror Steven Wilson's...coincidence?

    If so, it's a very fortunate coincidence for the world of music!!!

  • funny how he says bout being 'sat staring at a computer monitor' which is what every1 has to do to watch this interview lol

  • guys it's not like there weren't times where gavin read or played a sport or did other things. I love the drums as much as any human alive but I still do lots of other things. It's not really about how much you practice. It's about what you practice and how much your getting out of what you are practicing. It's impossible to say what Gavin would have ended up like if he grew up in a 90's-2000's generation

  • 3:49 best moment of my life 

  • 3:51 made me almost pee myself. xD I'm a synth player and he is exactly right.

  • this should be broadcasted on a massive screen in each town. this man knows what he's saying. and i agree 100%

  • ARGH How did he know I was sitting in my room with headphones on staring at a computer monitor!?!?

  • he almost started to cry in the end? i really adore him for his cleverness and feelings. superb drummer. gavin is a great inspirational source for me.

  • OMG he said "World of Warcraft"!

  • I also agree with what he says. Music is appreciated in two different ways; either as entertainment or as an artform. Nothing wrong with either or indeed having a foot in both camps, but there has to be balance and in the last 10 years especially the "Entertainment" camp has become too big because of such TV shows like "The X Factor". As such young people only think of music as entertainment because that side of it has become too big. Appreciating music as an artform is getting lost, its sad

  • 4:34 I'm pretty sure he's talking to all of us...lol

  • Gavin moves me. His talent. Intellect. and passion. In my OPINION, unmatched by modern drummers/musicians today. Thank you Gavin, your sticks and rhythms are the window into my thoughts/emotions. words seem very fickle and meaningless compared to the intensity and voice on your albums.

  • "I'm worried that the kids are just sitting in their room..." damn "...alone..." dammit "...with headphones on staring at a computer screen..." dammit dammit damn it... i'm like pretty much doing all of that right now... but anyway... he's just saying he can't understand it... but i think it's great that i can watch him playing and talking 'bout his experience... though he's right that in todays' world you're often times just overwhelmed by the amout of choices that you have

  • This interview touched me so much. I'm now a changed person, thank you Gavin Harrison.

  • I have been waching the intire interview now and i have agreed on prob everything exept the thing he says in this one about not appreaciating the music enought and having too much to choose from... i do think that i can skate around or do homework, what ever, and still enjoy the music i do not know if im the only one who feels like this?

  • @homohunden2 I agree, Music is basically a part of everything I do, but that doesn't draw my attention away. Maybe our generation is more capable of multitasking?

    The only time I really just sit and only listen to music is with pot :)

  • @homohunden2 I'm pretty sure anyone who skate's around and does homework with music is enjoying it. Gavin's point is that the appreciation is going to be relatively shallow without time and focus on the individual pieces of music, ie getting deeply into a record without distractions.

  • 4:45-5:05 me and my buddy do that with Rush DVDs. We basically study Lerxt,Pratt and Dirkfor hours.Gavin is so right when he says music is precious.

  • @Kingding6 You did mean study Peart, Lee, and Lifeson?

  • @Thermingt0n yes, thats their nicknames

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  • wonder how many needles he wore out 

  • this is nearly the EXACT reasoning behind the entire album Fear of a Blank Planet. brilliance.

  • 3:56-3:59

    hahahaha. This man is absolutely brilliant. And brilliantly witty too.

  • He's so right .I remember dissecting music back in the glory days of rock greats and listening to albums like axis bold as love, or fragile .Thousands of times intill i knew every nuance by heart .

  • Not just kids Gavin .Adults are stuck in the there own virtual worlds as well .And Mr computer will become much more intense as technology advances. Scary isn't it!.

  • Having watched all parts now, all I can say is that Gavin's ego is almost non-existant, there's no douchebaggery (Portnoy, Ulrich), there is just philosophy, skill, feeling, warmth... Love this guy. Love him.

  • 3:51 LOL

  • great technical drummer and everything but cant help but feel he is being narrow minded ! yes also great to know a few albums really well inside and out, but there is more to the world than 5 albums you have listened to relentlessly since you were 15. get a grip.. I say variety and sheer depth of variation is a great thing not bad. embrace it for what it is and move on, not stuck in a dated rut like a grumpy old man !

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  • @idektron I know exactly what you mean, but what i think he wanted to say is not that you have to reduce your musical influences to just one record you listen to death (not that i wanted to say you haven't understood that yourself). I guess he just wants to utter his fear about our generation becoming dissatisfied by the just variety of offerings to keep oneself busy unable to focus on what they really like. And even if he is a bit narrow minded, we have to admit even Gavin isn't perfect. :-)

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  • @idektron I don't think he's being narrow minded. He's laying things out as it pertains to him, his musical development and gives insight as to how he got from point A to point B. I too, would blow my entire allowance money on one record, or raid my parents collection and sit there with headphones listening to one record for hours...days...weeks. I undertand it. Music was everything to me. I have an IPOD full of stuff, but those records from my youth are something special.

  • the Porcupine Tree song Sound Of Muzak seems to be influenced by this interview.

    and Gavin makes some excellent points here

  • 05Ric is another forum to hear Gavin. Very cool to know that there are musicians getting on with it no matter what - in todays world of the Here and Now.

    great knowing of this. 05Ric is @ myspace and here on youtube as well.

  • Some circles call it a social disorder and give us a pill to shut this insightful perception off to "get a life". Others seem to become a passionate artist who dedicate themselves to more lofty goals as being creative with a musical instrument, but still it is a lifetime of attention & devotion. Gavin- I hear you man.

    It is only in the being able to differentiate ourselves from distractions that we can take the time to listen & develop. Hey, be cool & keep well.

  • Wow! I like this. It describes me now. I stopped playing video games at the end of 10th grade high school. Although Im still on the road to music school. (sophomore college student doing core) My time basically consist off Work, School, and to me the most important thing in my life MUSIC. I play Bass guitar and Alto Sax (no videos on my chanell sorry) I just pick up the drums (feb of 2010) Practice them every day. I want to get good like him or portnoy and be future drummer of my current band.

  • so sad what he said and hes right. i see it on my own but i try to change

  • The purest truth I've heard in so much time

  • True Man !!! Genius !! Gav i could become gay only for you !! Kidding !! :)

  • when he does the impression of the synth going through the 2000 sounds i cracked up! rewound and watched it about 4 times lol. great musician, really really inspirational and knows what he's talking about.

  • This guy is right on track! Very wise words from an incredible drummer.

  • "I get worried that kids just sit in their room on their own with their headphones on, staring at the monitor"

    ...I think he is watching me

  • This made me stop playing video games and focus on drumming 24/7.

  • By the way, I have to agree that it is the way that most people listen to music today, and that's disappointing.

  • I can understand what G.H. means when he says that latest technology makes music less important for many people, as they have a lot of choices to listen to.

    I just want to say that ,sometimes, it's not negative ,as we have the ability to listen to many bands that we couldn't listen to if we didn't have youtube, μTorrent and such things ,and then ,we can recognize the things that we loved more and concentrate further on them ,find influences etc.

  • from about 4:00 on that was the most amazing speech ive ever heard i mean music is just so so precious and just to have all this schmaltz coming out of a McDonnell's? it makes me sad

  • I couldn't agree more. We can start and must start changing the world today. Give value to the things that matter most.

  • Gavin is such an amazing guy. Would really like to meet him IRL some time, but not sure if that's possible for me. :(

  • Thanks for the awesome interview. Best of 2010 (sorry haven't seen it earlier) for me :)

  • Why complain? Haha. Put down the PS3 controller and go practice music.

  • he is right tb. If video games tv and internet didnt exist, I'd be WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more into music. I can hear the emotion in someones playing like he was talkin about, but after I went to the store to buy Dragon Age and Modern Warfare 2 a few months back, I didnt even touch my Ipod, much less my drums or guitar, for a whole week. Every musician in my age group that i know is the same as me. I LOVE music but once a great game comes out, I pretty much stop caring about music for a while.

  • well then you don't REALLY love music do you? Or you wouldns't be not playing your drums or guitar or listening to music alot

  • That doesn't make much sense. Who says I can't have 2 things to do that I love, even if one will ultimately be more useless to me?

  • @Drunkwraith, playing aimless computer games is not a passion or a path to spiritual enlightenment unlike music!

  • God Damn it...

    this drummer is making me look through my life and letting me think i've waisted so much time, instead of (what my goal also is) practicing more for becoming a professional drummer. I'm just sitting here, watching this vid...

    I'm glad though i did, but he's so right about all he's saying.

    we are being overflown with to much to choose from. We are always being distracted with everything around ourselves...

    Gavin, you fucking rock and are now N°1 drummer in my eyes.

    thank you

  • Yeah man, you're right... I did agree with what he said, but instead of practicing drums I am watching this video and writing this comment. I will practice more, I promise!

  • Where did he say that gaming stops people from playing drums?

  • I never said that gavin said "etc etc". I just think that is making a false comparison between synthesizers and games. if a guy wants to spend the day playing warcraft or some shit like that, it is his decision, is not the fault of "having to much to choose" thing. For me Gavin is an excelent drummer, but I don't agree with his speech...

  • You don't seem to quite understand what he means. With the current technology, kids are blinded by choice. You can carry thousands of albums in a portable player at once. MySpace has probably millions of new bands trying to get their music heard. Etc.

    Nowadays people don't really sit down for an hour and listen through an album. They just shuffle through from song to song and from album to album. That is in many cases the average person, and what Gavin is talking about. Average doesn't mean all

  • And it's very rare to see anyone say that Gavin doesn't know what he is talking about or he is a "bad philosopher".

    I think the consensus is that Gavin is a really intellectual musician and his vast amount of experience can be undeniably heard.

  • And again, Gavin did not say that if someone decides to play Warcraft all day, it's the fault of having too much to choose.

  • @jez12 I don't think that there is a problem on having too much too chose, I think that's aweosome. If you prefer to play games or anything and not to dedicate to music the correct amount of time, then music is just not your thing. And again, I think the problem is not having too much too choose, the problem is choosing everything.

  • You totally missed the core point of his speech...

  • I totally agree with what Gavin is saying about the amount of information we're bombarded with.

    But I must add that if you're able to filter some of it and can recognize quality, then you... I mean... you've got tons of inspiration.

    Feels good when I finish work, get home, put on some Josh Freese performance to get adrenaline flowing and start practicing.

  • He speaks the truth, from a generation before mine, with an outlook I unfortunately can't fathom because of the way multi media has been shoved down our throats. A shame really. Though I found it funny he was going on about him owning an ipod when SW is so vehemently against them...must make for some band drama ahahah.

  • In some ways, I agree that an album has to be listened to many many times in order to be fully appreciated, but at the same time, if you're only listening to a couple of favorite artists, you are missing out on so many other types of music. It's difficult today to decide how to manage time... when I'm listening to music and doing homework or something I am distracted by the music, but When I just listen to music without doing anything else, I'm distracted with the thoughts of everything else.

  • that series of videos just sent me away for an hour...i was so pissed of when he stopped talking....i sware everything he said i could relate to, an when you go outside the streets are full of scumy chavs and plebs smoking weed and shouting abuse....:/ it would be amazing to just slowly kill of common people, and end up with a pure race of fantastic and wise musicians :) gavin harrison, brann dailor, thomas haake,...to name just 3

  • @punkrockdrummer1990

    Did you EVER REALY think about what you just said?

  • yer....wat was rong?

  • @punkrockdrummer1990

    I totally agree with Gavins thoughts too but he is not willing to kill people with other opinion! Look at Nazi-Germany or other dictatorships and you see what will happen!

  • hmmm yer but people should learn to be less common its just realy ugly, plus its people choice to stand and try an pick fights with random people they dont know just so they can enjoy inflicting pain on people,...i think people like that should just be gassed,....if i was totaly honest....im the most human way possible

  • Everything you've said shouts "POSER!" Even your name "punkrockdrummer1990."

    First of all, you are only 19. You aren't old enough to understand most important things(I'm in the same boat).

    Second of all, you have punkrock in your name. Punk rock is all about fitting in and posing now a days. It started out as unique, but quickly turned into the next bandwagon.

    You are a 19 year old punk rock guy who supports Obama or is independant. You frown on people with regular jobs or other opinions.

  • that user name was done years ago when i was 14.....and thats strong coming from a guy called "AirmetalDrummer"......think before you speak....it stops you looking like a fool,

    anyway why do you care? we all do our own thing, just be happy about it lol

  • What about my name is as bad as punkdrummer1990?

    And the whole "why do you care, we all do our own thing" argument would work, except you blasted your opinion everywhere and replied to other people touting your opinion.

    So when you do that stuff, it opens you up to this.

    You make no sense, and you are terrible at getting back at people.

    FAIL!

  • LOL! UR SUCH A WANKER ;)

  • Thank you for proving my point yet again.

  • GENIUS !!!!

  • I'd hate to be a kid nowadays. Blinded by choice is no way to truly appreciate anything.

  • He speaks the truth, I totally buy albums and just close my eyes and listen to it over and over. Every time you listen to it something new will pop up or make itself known in some way. I remember telling my girlfriend this and she was amazed that I could just sit there and listen to a whole album as if it was a movie, but really this is how music should be experienced.

  • Wow, he's got some really good points.

  • 3:52

  • I really fucking relate to this dude actually.

  • jejeje, he listens to those records and thinks "wooow, that;s magic"... the same happens to me when i listen to him playing anesthesize, sound of muzak, trains, blackest eyes, etc... man, this man is magic, what he does is magic!!!

  • Which wallet is his? It's the one that says Bad Mother Fucker

  • He's totally right. Imagine how much deeper music would be if we had to listen to an album hundreds of times and keep finding new things in the same music instead of listening to only singles from albums engineered by record labels for about a week until you download the next single.

  • "Imagine how much deeper music would be if we had to listen to an album hundreds of times"

    Haha, I don't have to imagine that. When I was a kid I had only one new cassette a year - and I would listen to it thousands of times.

  • Same views as SW about today's kids, virtual lives, computergams shit.. And they're right.

  • hahahaha, 2000 sounds: uh oh ah pzz ggg

  • 3: 50 thats brilliant! haha.

  • Bravo Gavin.

  • amen

  • thank you gavin ! you are our inspiration :-)

  • I just watched this interview and became extremly inspired. I think im going to sit down at my drumset and play along to "Halo" By porcupine tree. Walk away from this damn computerscreen...

  • dude speaks sense, i pods are evil money makin fucked up gadgets, vinyl sounds way better .

  • THE best drummer alive today .

  • goddamn he's intelligent...

  • Absolutely nothing to add after his words!

  • Respect for this man. I agree with every word he says in this interview.

  • @random405 With all do respect,i "borrow" your words for this man.Couldn't have put it better myself.

  • Many thanks for posting this entire interview jez12!

    I think we can all learn a little from Gavin. I was one of the lucky ones to have seen him live and I can recommend if you haven't seen him play live, do yourself the favor! You will not regret it :D

    Cant wait for the new P-Tree album to be released!

  • this is pure true shit.

  • I wish that more musicians would really latch on to these ideas. It's so true.

    I've got the same issue. I've got 40GB of music, and usually I just listen to maybe 5-10 artists for months at a time.

  • LOL

    "Vic Firth and Gavin Harrison, the perfect pair." AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry Vic but Gavin is in a league of his own, you can't pair with this man.

    Fuckin Vic Firth.... lawl

  • 4:36 ...... That's exactly what I'm doing at this very moment!

    I should change my routine...

  • haha when he was talking about the guys with their headphones on staring at computer screens i realized thats me right this second..... i think i'll go outside.....

  • same exact thing here. lol.

  • Good man, he makes some good points.

  • I had to laugh about his facial expression while he's mentioning World of Warcraft :D

    So true what he's saying about these times. And it's important that thoughts like those about listening to music intensively are kept alive.

  • The fact that this interview is on youtube is insanely ironic.

  • On the other hand, this interview can open the minds of youngsters using YouTube and the Internet, the opposite way, Gavin describes.. ;) He is a legend in any case..

  • Man, this guy is amzing... So wise and inspirational.

  • Fuck. I felt guilty at 4:33

    ..

  • Fear of a blank planet is completely dedicated to this topic

  • Damn, me to.. I'm gonna go practice some more now. :P

    @ Arscheierfotzen: Fear of a Blank Planet is slightly more dedicated to a more heavy topic. It's more about pornography and drugs, though includes such things as playing Xbox and ignoring your parents.

  • far out i have watched these 6 interviews so many times.. i could listen to gavin all day.. he could talk about anything and i would be inspired.. he is amazing.

  • thank you for the reality but what should we do today with all the overdose on information we get. how should we find the way out of this mass?

  • With headphones and monitor aside, I dig this interview. I knew Mr Harrison was a thinker a teacher and a numerical tinker; when I bought "...Illusions" back in '97 . It felt like wizardry among no-others. And no others could comply with my studies then, just my R-5 . It is difficult to find gems in abundance , but such are gems...

  • "It was a night out listening to an album".....WORD. Amen, Gavin. This man is a great musician AND A great human being. Excellent philosophies.

  • Brilliant interview! I was lucky enough to tech for Mr Harrison 9 years ago and really wish i'd made more of the opportunity and spoken to him more. He's a fantastic musician. It's tough though with these guys. They're so focused. Unless you are an interviewer they tend to keep their cards close to their chest. Plus I was a 21 year old know-it-all! I'm glad he is spilling the beans now though. So funny about the ipod. I totally agree!

  • Porcupine Tree is what's on my iPod. :)

  • cool interview. Its nice to see a drum interview that's not about pedals or sticks or gear, but more so, about the player and where they're coming from.

  • 3:50 was so funny and again - as everything he said - so true!

  • The part when he talks about being blinded by the huge choice of 700 albums on iPod - that's SO true!!! The bigger the memory of the player is, the more difficult is for me to choose. The gluttony of the modern society is killing the joy of listening to music. It's few months that I stopped downloading tons of albums and started to buy records and listen to one at a time and you know what? I enjoy it so much more. There really is something to it.

  • He is so smart person...amazing how manny good things he say,and talking about music and life and all that..Amazing drummer,thanks on the post ;-) gretzz

  • Wow, what a great outlook on music.  It's sadly true too, people don't appreciate music the way it should be, I'm so thankful for my friends and that they have the same opinion as me, and we can just sit and listen to an album once a night.

  • 3:50-3:54 lets do "displacement" with this... yeah

  • Amazing interview!

    Gavin is such a creative and talented drummer....and he is also a humble, open-minded and entertaining person.

    Thanks for sharing this.

    Keep drumming!

  • Hmm, i guess i'm not alone. I don't like when i see people listening to like 50000 songs, and not savouring any of them. if people only get a little bit out of there music, they need thousands of songs to get any kind of high. I don't listen to much music or the radio, i find the few things that i genuinly like, and i listen to those ONLY if i'm able to really feel them, not just have them in the backround while i'm playing Starcraft.

  • It really is a matter of generation !

    I remember sitting together with a drummer friend of mine between Oct`82 and March`83 2,3 times a week listening to records, and at least once a week and we would listen exclusively to Genesis` "Selling England by the pound"...

    Still today I can sing (I sound terrible :) ) all the grazy lyrics and odd phrasings of PG and PC`s drumming on that record...grazy...

    I don`t own an ipod, never had a walkman either...just for that very reason...no magic left...

  • he nearly starts to cry. cute.

    and he's absolutely right. the whole industry of entertainment makes you drown in distractions.

    I do not believe in conspiracy theories, but the effect is the same.

  • I think the song Fear of Blank Planet portrays what hes talking about from 4:00 on

  • yeah i totally agree... i honestly wished music was like how it was back in the day where you go buy a record and listen to it with a friend 3 times like Gav said. Now everyone just downloads songs on their computer and listen to 15 seconds of a song and then just turn it off... I feel that right now its people that are open minded musically, older people or musicians in generally that listen to CDs many times and enjoy the beauty...

  • 4:40  ouch

  • I must say it's not so different today if you're equipped with half a brain. you've got 2 choices : Wasting time (100+ TV channels) or hanging out with yer friends doing... whatever (because these days you don't even get to play in a park since most kids are wasting time in front of their tv sets or pc screens) 2 : play drums.

    But the ipod thing is so true, I don't know what to listen to because I've got so many... hopefully I end up listening to PT 90% of the time :o)

  • Quality is the futur ...well i hope it will be. enought of quantities .

    your so humble. thanks a lot. means a lot to me

    Greg

  • Amazing commentary. I can remember burning up many Saturdays with my friends hitting the bins in Boston and Cambridge and then playing the albums we scored until the grooves wore out. One of my all-time favorite scores was Nektar "Recycled." It was a promo that WBCN wouldn't spin (like so many others) and so they dumped it at Deja Vu Records, I believe it was. Great for me...I loved that album. Talk about early prog! Gavin's right, that was a night out.

  • 100% agreement here. Mr. Harrison is a great drummer, and a great thinker.

  • LOL i dont feel a kid at all, i feel his age. thank mom for her education!

    i grew up like him, eventhough im so young..

  • Drummer. Motivator.

  • So true...

  • Thank you so much for uploading all of these. Seems that Gavin is an excellent human being (besides being a god at drumming). This last part was really on the "Fear of a Blank Planet" vein and, being 21 years old, I can (sadly) relate to it. When he mentioned the dude staring at the monitor with his headphones... that was me in that exact moment. I also feel overwhelmed by choice and offer.