Steven Wilson On iPods (Fire)

[Mrmusicplayer08]

awesome dude, you're burning an ipod

[rorytc2003]

Currently penniless so have to download all great music illegally. Can't wait till I get myself a job when college ends just so I can start the vinyl collection of my dreams. Damn you money! =(

[astronautinsubmarine]

Hahaha. Am I hearing right? Someone is cursing in turkish at 0:06 :D

[wurstgitarre]

@astronautinsubmarine No, he says "Awesome, dude" :)

[TheRoyalFuzzybug]

What song is this in the background?

[Bobby61189]

@TheRoyalFuzzybug "Only Child" from Steven Wilson's debut album Insurgentes

[TheMattmanmm]

i had two coices, whatch some random guy set fire to 121 ipods or steve wilson set fire to one, i chose this because hes AWESOME!

[megadeth7659]

i gotta say i do use an ipod, that being sad i buy the cd's that i use on it i dont download. plus i agree with steven albums are a piece of work entirely, so it should be listend to together. listening to one or 2 songs of an album is like looking at a painting and only looking at the bottom right corner, you gotta look at the whole picture, as in music the whole picture is the whole album.

[megadeth7659]

i gotta say i do use an ipod, that being sad i buy the cd's that i use on it i dont download. plus i agree with steven albums are a piece of work entirely, so it should be listend to together. listening to one or 2 songs of an album is like looking at a painting and only looking at the bottom right corner, you gotta look at the whole picture, as in music the whole picture is the whole album.

[DeftonesFan867]

FLAC or GTFO.

[ajd626]

At the end of the day, the downgrade of sound is not that bad. Also, it doesn't matter if people know who the composer of the track is - composers should just be happy with the process of composing the song. Who cares who listens to it? What does Steven Wilson want? - to make everyone like him? I think he really really does. He's on a mission to 'save' this 'lost generation'. What a cliche!

[1stcrayvenaa]

I enjoy watching apple products burn

[organs]

Steve Wilson is my hero.

[Pho3niXnz]

I have no singles on my iPod, they are all FULL albums. I also buy physical copies of all of my music. It's a much better feeling to actually own something that you can hold rather than something you cant.

[somberlight]

@Pho3niXnz, same here. i have a head and mind that will not under any circumstances shut the fuck up, so i need something to sidetrack the attention completely elsewhere. thats where my mp3 player is lovely, and thats just because theres no portable lp-systems, heh.

[Hypnails]

@Pho3niXnz I do that too. It costs so much more, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

[nenbran]

So...why does he sell his music on iTunes then?

[EvilDudeoftheDead]

@nenbran He wants people to hear his music, and he understands that some people have no ability to buy his CDs, because, well, despite his efforts *and skill*, neither him nor his plethora of bands are famous enough to be sold everywhere, like, for instance, Alaska...WHICH IS BULLSHIT!

[naccienac]

@nenbran Read the topcomment and you'll understand :) (I hope)

[xblizbroke]

@nenbran He's against downloading music illegally because it's stealing and most of the time people download single songs and he's grown up with an album mindset. Buying his album on iTunes still includes most of the artwork. I'm pretty sure he's not against digital music as a whole, but just against downloading single songs, because he tries to convey his message musically through the whole album

[NapoleanXV]

@nenbran Musicians, like many others, enjoy consuming food and beverage, usually everyday.

[gogolplex74]

I watched this video on my iPhone

OK I'm gonna burn it

[DeepAbsentia]

He is Jesus.

[calcuttr1]

Jesus you people are a bunch of fucking posers. If you buy an album, there will be songs you love and some you aren't so fond of. If I want to listen to track 9, then I'm not gonna sit through tracks 1-8 first, then the rest of the album afterwards, just so that I can say I've 'appreciated the whole piece of art in its entirety'. If Wilson was committed to this shite about 'the death of real music', maybe he should have released disk 1 of Incident as the original 55 min track without breaks???

[mukmewx]

@calcuttr1 I can see your point, but do you at least see ours?

[calcuttr1]

@mukmewx I am all for albums being treated as musical artefacts to be understood and appreciated as much as one would look at a painting in its entirety instead of focussing on a fragment. I get Wilson's point, and I like Gavin Harrison's video interview on the same subject; I just think that it's pretentious to suggest that iPods are ruining music. The issue isnt the iPod, it's that 80% of 'artists' dont produce albums that warrant a full, dedicated listen, but just a few singles + filler.

[SunflowerEmmeline]

I like this!

Not that I'd burn my own ipod or anything, I like having it...

but this way of listening is killing the music, I agree entirely.

[Kataxu]

I refuse to have anything but whole albums on my iPod. 

[MusicianJester1295]

@Kataxu My ipod is a travel thing, a last resort. I use records or Super audio cds whenever possible. I second your attitude! I only have whole albums on my ipod. I will never have just one track from something! :D

[txikilin]

Too much to discus about quality sound in mp4 and ipods.Would you prefer to go back to walkman and cassettes or vinyls with scratches ? Music over 224 bit rates compression in mp3 is quality enough not to miss wav. The most important thing is your headphones and speakers that most of them are crap. And about music concepts is true. But that is something that pop and punk never understood progressive rock as much as classical music.

[mponce92]

this song.

the iPod burning.

it all blends nicely.

insurgentes = great work

SW's 2nd upcoming solo album will hopefully deliver :)

[veca83]

Hm. I could even say that i largely share WIlson's views on the matter at hand, but this seems like a rather snobbish and immature (and also expensive!) way to make his point. Ironically, this will sooner serve as a lame promotional trick to cater to the all too orthodox core of his fanbase than as a substantial critique of popular infatuation with gadgets and consumerist culture.

[KelLorien]

i used to buy singles, but ever since I got into prog, I've only ever bought full albums. I do have a playlist of my favourite songs that I put on shuffle occasionally, because after all, I don't usually have time to listen to an entire album :/

Nothing beats a well constructed album.

I do hate the degradation of sound, though. There is literally no reason to have low quality tracks for download when you don't even have to put the tracks on CDs anymore...

[greeboidable]

"Now the sound of music

Comes in silver pills"

When I was younger I would sit and listen to Tales from Topographic Oceans, start to finish.

Many people treat music as a badge of identity for their peers, or as just noise to drown out the silence.

I can't even read when I'm listening to music in case I miss a cymbal, or a bass lick or a little hammer-on in a chord or something.

But we're all different. Even if these people are wrong and they are denying themselves an experience.

[IDontDoDrumCovers]

i would so love to hang with steven wilson some time

[InstinctualJealousy]

I love listening to albums as such. People overlook so many bands just by judging them on their weak, radio friendly hits. Usually the real meat of the album (especially on older records) is what wasn't played on the radio. This is especially true of Black Sabbath, a band that must be appreciated by full albums. Last time I listened to music "by the single song" was... back when I was 12 or so. I appreciate the ALBUM now more than ever.

[JaskaJunior]

awesome dude....

[Metaalhoofdje123]

i like steven wilson and his music but i do not like this behaviour at all...

[jamesskater]

hes jsut another fucking douche bag with shitty music.

[BrixSnBs]

@jamesskater No you're just another fucking douchebag with no life, projects, personality, who does'nt have anything better to do, than thrashing some guy, who's music you've probably never given a decent listen, and you don't even have the dignity to construct a proper sentense. And now you're probably gonna go cream in your pants over the fact that someone responded to your stupid post, and respond with an autopilot answer... Cheers :)

[willregnier]

@jamesskater YOU'RE INSULTING GOD

[InstinctualJealousy]

@jamesskater Eyes of the ignorant.

[FlyteDanny]

i ve listened to the PT albums on Ipods and they suck hard!! they lose everything a quality production can offer, =S

[txikilin]

@FlyteDanny Get a pair of good headphones.

[BelialO]

It's a shame, but my respect for Steven Wilson has gone down..

[InstinctualJealousy]

@BelialO Because he's destroying a shitty Apple product?

Don't. He's just having fun and promoting himself. And saying that the PMP and illegal downloading of single tracks is the death of music. He could be destroying any other media player and it'd mean the same thing. On my Zen there is only albums though. :) Same for my computer. No random scattered tracks and fucked playlists.

[TheWhiteShaded]

KILL IT WIT FIRE

[Pacisdiligo]

I too lament the loss of the whole album concept. I grew up in the 70's and, for me, buying and listening to the album in its entirety was the norm. Sometimes the tracks would fade/segue into the next (something lost in downloading). Other times the album would be a "concept" work and make sense only as a whole. There's lots to love about the digital revolution, but it comes with a price and some loss.

[AsylumSeaker]

I love Wilson and all his works, but I think he's a bit old fashioned.

Not that I like iPods specifically, I think they're a lame device, but mp3 devices in general have their place, as does mp3 culture. It's a positive thing.

[sorms1]

pyro!

[vince71362]

jmrocker,

you are quite an ill educated asshole aren't you?

Why don't you go back to your job flipping burgers at the fast food joint and ask your employer not to bother with giving you a paycheck.

After all, it requires less talent, less thought, and less energy than making and recording music, therefore is less valuable than the music you think should be free. Now that I think about it, you should actually be paying your employer for letting you have a job at all.

Dumbass.

[MikeEnRegalia]

I think it's a bit hypocritical for Mr. Wilson to blame mobile mp3 players and downloading for the downfall of intelligent music, but still offer his new albums on all the major download stores.

[builditwithlegos]

I don't think he's blaming the downfall of good music on downloading or iPods. Firstly, good music has only fallen from the public ear; there is still good music out there it' just hard to find. What I think Wilson is blaming iPods for is the desecration of music. People can listen to music whenever they want and can download tons of music without care, leading to the devaluation of the art. When music was harder to get it was appreciated more and enjoyed, rather than used as a way to kill time.

[JasonCliffordClement]

I agree with this.

Also, he is not against music downloading. You have to understand that he's against the "singles" generation. He's an album person. He grew up with vinyls and stuff, where the album had a constant flow. You sat down, you listened to the WHOLE album, and it blew your mind...

[JasonCliffordClement]

...he is against these downloads of "singles" and all the such, and the fact that music is now a past time and not an art.

I mean, some of my friends have songs on their ipods and they don't even know what the ARTIST is!

It bothers me too. I sold my ipod touch for a mcchicken.

[Zehydra106]

must've been a an expensive mcchicken, lol.

[theWERRD]

@JasonCliffordClement i bet steven wilson doesnt like mcdonalds either : )

[raxc5]

do you not get the joke.

[jmrocker]

I disagree with him. If it weren't for downloading, I'd be listening to Nickleback, Three Days Grace, Slipknot, Korn, and stuff like that. Also, if you think people should have to pay for your music, then you don't deserve any fans at all.

[MrRBeast]

You are wrong my friend, I have never listened to NickelBack and I would never use an i-pod. Sound quality not as good, and cheats artists out of their money, trust me I know. Steven Wilson Rules!!

[jmrocker]

Well personally, I don't care that much about sound quality. Also, there is no way I would have found better bands without downloading. NONE of my friends liked any of the bands I like until I discovered them by downloading. I got all of my friends into metal, and I got all of my friends into prog after that.

[SlaveExplosion]

Downloading is fine for finding new bands n stuff. But not liking quality audio? You must ONLY be listening on earphones. I have a decent sound setup and mp3 and FLAK sound so fucking horrible its not funny. Mp3 strips down the harmonics of the recording, which practically strips the life from it. You saying I dont care much about quality audio is pretty much the whole reason why hes smashing the ipods lol

[jmrocker]

@SlaveExplosion Haha, you're right about that. I only listen to music on headphones. I have an iHome, but no money for a sound system or anything. Headphones are the best I have access to.

[Flatliner0452]

@SlaveExplosion you must have downloaded some strange FLAC files then, FLAC doesn't lose audio quality when compressed like mp3 does.

[SlaveExplosion]

@Flatliner0452 Yeah FLAC's ok (lol @ my spelling too haha) sure. But your still getting it for free, but it's still not totally CD quality. And I mean, how many people actually download FLAC over mp3. Most of the general public use Limewire to download. So they are basically just getting like one song at a time. I only download to see if I like the album, they I buy.

[LeeL29]

@SlaveExplosion completely wrong, FLAC format is an exact audio rip of the cd.

[InstinctualJealousy]

@LeeL29 Correct. But it's still nice having the physical stuff that comes with a real CD sometimes.

[AsylumSeaker]

You must be encoding your .flac incorrectly, it's a lossless format. .flac simply compresses the files in the same way that .zip or .rar does, it doesn't remove any information.

[Cabaretisfreedom]

Not at all - I'm a musician, if people don't pay for my music, I will starve... Painters, sculptors, architects... musicians and actors seem to be the only forms of artist who people like you are apparently able to decide whether or not they "deserve" money.

[jmrocker]

Well that's fine. I don't think they should make downloading music legal or anything, but I still think you're a douche if you charge people for it.

[AliceDamnation]

Why?!

[beelzebub686]

can Apple sue Steven Wilson for that?

i hope they don't...

[Shpangledash]

No, its his property once he buys it therefore he can do what he wants with it

[mooghammondb3]

Sorry, but I just can't see why Porcupine Tree is classified as progressive rock.

[Slithered]

If you can't see it, it's just you haven't listened to them.

[johrizz]

That's like saying the Pope is not a Christian xD

[Flatliner0452]

it really doesn't matter what they are classified, they are good at what they do and thus I listen to them.

[Sydoncid]

I'm totally into vinyl albums, really, but you can't totally shun technology. If it weren't for my ProgRoots podcast, I would never have gotten turned on to PT, who I'm VERY into right now. (and actually PURCHASED two of their CDs) Hey, it's the nature of the beast. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. You can always play for a few friends in somebody's basement and keep it real!!

[Estonianwoodsman]

That's bullshit. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are both Americans. Apple was founded and is currently in the United States.

[sonoflife74]

if he hated apple and ipods, his music wouldnt be available through itunes. Music, like everything, is relative...but i agree, i dont like listening to music "on the go"...i will only dive into albums in my home on my stereo system.

[davidoff013]

Steven isn't a big fan of downloading, he prefers people buying an actual piece of art, something tactile. ;-)

[Marlfox555]

even still I buy CDs (and vinyl when I find something really nice) and it all finds itself on my computer for a couple of reasons:

1. it's far easier to keep my collection organized

2. it's far easier to listen to an album with a few mouse clicks than to worry about safely managing multiple records.

3. It keeps my audio setup fairly simple: a computer an amp a mixer and speakers.

that said the statement is more about the decline in the appreciation of good music than the advent of downloading

[davidoff013]

True. But what I said is a direct quote from Wilson himself.

[Marlfox555]

true but the quote is meaningless without the context...

if steven were completely opposed to downloading he wouldn't offer his music for download online

[davidoff013]

But that's not the only way he's offering his music.

[Marlfox555]

actually for some of the In Absentia and Signify B sides it is.... not to mention Recordings which goes for $200 - $500 on Amazon.

[4Nightfox4]

haha, for one, a band's music label will make next to all corporate decisions for them, and two, if every band did so, there would be no music coming out of them anyway, since they'd be dirt poor and still in a garage.

[sonoflife74]

true, in most cases. TOOL still has yet to release any music on itunes (pretty sure it was their decision). Zeppelin too. TOOL doesnt care if you like their music or not. They dont whore themselves out like all generic pop rock groups today. "Hooker with a Penis" is about that.

[SlaveExplosion]

This man is my idol

[masterjosue24]

"Awesome dude!"

[Vilvago]

My favorite Ipod destruction :P

Some of the coolest minutes that I've spended seeing all of the videos XD

Steven is the God of the music :D

[tobymills69]

He isn't doing this because he hates i pods, he is doing it because he hates the downgrade in sound quality to mp3 etc and because he hates randomized play lists, he believes albums should be enjoyed as entire piece of art; as a hole, not simply the 2 or 3 songs that jump out at you shoved in a play list.

[Tataru5117]

@tobymills69 then its should be called "steven wilson on mp3 players"

[MegaYoMAMMA9000]

@tobymills69 Well I listen to my iPod responsibly. I put entire albums from CD's on it and I don't use random playlists or whatever the crap that is. The quality isn't really much worse than the CD. Hard to tell a difference when you have decent headphones.

[adrian5b]

Funny thing is that everyone automatically thinks this videos were made because he hates iPods, because it is what it seem obvious, but Steven Wilson has such a wide artistical gate that this could mean something really different, just as his lyrics, you can give them as many interpretations as you wish.

[Estonianwoodsman]

If he hates ipods then how does he listen to music on the go? Does he bring his record collection and a record player with him? Does he still use a portable CD player? And finally, what's wrong with buying the CD's then applying it to your ipod? Why pick on Apple? I think he's just jelous that England doesn't have a company that can produce such a great product.

[petwar83]

i read in an interview that he doesn't listen to music on the go. he said he can't do that, and that he needs to be in a certain mood to sit down and listen to an album.

it's more fulfilling then having it on in the background while doing paperwork.

[progkidjoel]

He doesn't hate iPods...

He hates the illegal download culture that iPods represent. And theres no need to make cultural stereotypes - America wouldn't exist if it wasn't colonized by England.

I use an iPod - Steven Wilson is my idol, and although he doesn't like iPods, it won't deter me. I love listening to music when I'm walking, in bed, or anywhere, and I think you missed the point that his opinion isn't the biggest deal in the world.

Basically, you need to think a little more..

-Joel

[bajsebob]

"If he hates ipods then how does he listen to music on the go?"

wtf, are you completely retarded? do you think everyone's always listening to music?

[Estonianwoodsman]

I'm sure he flies a lot being he's in a touring band. So i just wonder if he doesn't listen to music while flying. Based on his attitude towads ipods i would say that he doesn't. I understand what you're saying. He could just read a book. And no, I'm not retarded. I have the IQ score to prove it.

[idleinthoughts]

well to put up your IQ to prove you are not retard is quite strange...

anyway I too hate iPods and all its less beautiful cousins. Not because it can play music on the go, but cause I hate people who stuff their ears 24X7! Its the same with mobile phones... It's nothing personal against iPods but against people who think having it plugged in all the time is trendy!!

[Estonianwoodsman]

I agree. Music starts to become a white noise if you listen to it constantly. It starts to lose it's value.

[MrRBeast]

Boy you are stupid, England with some of the best music ever? Beatles, Floyd,the Who the brittish invasion?? And if it wasn't for them knowing talent, Jimi Hendrix would still be called James Marshall.

[Estonianwoodsman]

@MrRBeast What the hell did i say? I agree 100% with what you're saying. Most of the rock n' roll "greats" came out of England.

[cardinalis]

that might be the most awesome thing i've seen. ever.

[Vyran]

...so...I take it he would not enjoy the fact that I have used my iPod to introduce many people to Porcupine Tree when I'm not, well, carrying all of the CDs I have around with me?

[tehmushroom]

Vyran, my perception of these videos is that SW's against corporations (like apple) making close-ended, restricting products to listen to music (maybe because that's my gripe with the ipod), but not generally all mp3 players (like a drag-and-drop creative)..although you do have all the freedom to do what you want with your money!

[Vyran]

I don't see how the ipod is any more or less restrictive than any other mp3 player. iTunes actually gives you a lot of control over what you can do with your music. Also, Creative (just picking that out since it was the company you mentioned) is just as much of a marketing, product-producing entity as Apple or any other electronics company. It's not "the good guy."

[tehmushroom]

restrictiveness in my perception is very subjective, and the ipod is extremely restrictive to the way i want to use mp3 players, in that it requires me to use a particular software (without giving me a choice), doesn't allow me to make folders, doesn't allow me to play certain file formats (wmv), apple drm in my opinion is what music nazism would feel like.i was saying that *some* creatives had drag/drop capabilities. please let me know if any of my points are innacurate, i've never used them b4

[tehmushroom]

..but then again, apple can be considered to be a product that's not made for me, so while i don't use ipods, i don't discourage others from buying them..i can only try and interpret what the destruction of the ipod by SW meant..but you've got to wonder about their drm strategy they've adopted, "we restrict our customers, the pirates can use their media in any way imaginable" is a bit strange, especially if you think in terms of the desire and the culture of sharing something that's close to you

[Vyran]

No, you're right. I guess that's just a matter of personal taste - other mp3 players give you varying degrees of choices with software and file formats, but the ipod comes as part of an implicit package. I'm pretty used to the system, so I have no problems with it.

[SoulfulSausages]

yeah great point! me too, I have been able to intorduce many friends to his music courtesy of my ipod so they now go out and buy his music on cd

[mikemost]

Vyran... it's not the device that he's against, it's that these devices inhibit the listener from experiencing the full potential of albums as a whole, and it entices new "artists" to make catchy samples strictly in order to make money, as opposed to original full length pieces that should be listened to in their entirety. See quote below:

[mikemost]

"I put a lot of thought into the idea that someone will listen to my record from beginning to end and I can take them on a kind of musical journey," Wilson says. "So, the idea that somebody might program my music in a play list, or they might have their iPod on shuffle and hear a track from 'Insurgentes' after a Coldplay track and then followed by a Britney Spears track, or whatever it is, again is an ugly idea to me."

- Steven Wilson (goTriad interview, 4/16/09)

[Vyran]

Mainstream musicians, and often the producers that have a large effect on their creations, have always tried to make big-hit singles, and occasionally even when an album has an overall purpose or is supposed to tell a complete story song-by-song, some tracks that make up the chapters of those stories are picked out as single material anyway. Ayreon, which mostly creates albums entirely built on epic stories, still releases singles from time to time.

[Vyran]

Steven Wilson may not be pumping out singles, and he certainly isn't just a cover-of-Rolling-Stone object of commercialism, but at the same time, he's still as much a part of "the machine" as the monster that is portable music. He too has released singles and made music videos that cut parts of his work into bite-sized bits meant to catch peoples' attention. He's remixed and patched up his past works, released "samplers," and has even just put some songs, unchanged, on multiple albums.

[Vyran]

So, while Wilson may not like the fact that his songs can be thrown into the pot with works from "artists" he doesn't like (though I don't like Coldplay or Britney Spears either, and couldn't imagine a combination like that being made on purpose), a protest of the scheming manipulative music industry doesn't seem to be as meaningful to me when coming from someone who has contributed to or produced over 30 albums of other peoples' music.

[tehmushroom]

Vyran, i'm not contesting what you're saying..just pointing out that your points are based on your interpretation of what SW does in the video. PT music + merchandise + gig tickets are quite expensive in my experience, and very much a part of the machine, but he could just be being post-modern or ironic : ) i hope you enjoy his music man, composers like him are very fringe, not to forget - the man's been doing this for 20 years now

[Vyran]

Yeah, I know we're just throwing ideas out there - don't worry, I'm not defensive over something. Neither of us knows exactly what the purpose of the ipod-smashing video series is...and it's very true that he could have an ironic sense of humor. But yes, I think most of what he's done is amazing - I discovered Porcupine Tree only a few months ago and it became one of my favorites in a week. What I've said has all been speculation, but it doesn't stop me from enjoying the music.

[serenavox]

The thing is that artists need to make enough money to survive off what they do and to continue making the music we love. So of course he's going to promote his music and give people who wouldn't normally have the attention to listen to say, Anesthetize in one chunk a chance to listen to the tidbit and see if they like what they hear and if they like it enough, they may actually sit down and listen to the longer pieces. They're people too and they need to make a living just the same as you or I.

[emotivenextway]

I got scared when I read "Steven Wilson on iPods".

I thought he would just listen to some music on his iPod.

[TenshihanQuinn]

I love that someone ELSE feels the same way about these fucking things as I do!!!

[tehmushroom]

There are loads like you buddy, just that we just find a player that does what it wants for us and ignore the whole ipod clique..

[TenshihanQuinn]

Cool !

Yeah, what you wrote below about the whole mega-corp thing, pretty much sums it up for me, mate!

Cheers! :)

[Shopaholic0694]

I'm wondering if you could destroy an iPod using a vise.

[blah152]

Ipod haters everywhere are lovin' you. Also, AMAZING ALBUM! thanks for the best release so far this year. now i can't wait for PT's new album.

[olninyo]

i saw steven at a signing in bristol, it was amazing.

[rezurrxtion]

He's a man on a mission.

[diamondjoanna]

what a lovely hairstyle.....!

[nemesis2987]

lol :P

[dylanhicks48]

SWEET!

[Robertpianosax]

He's at it again :D

[Fjeern]

HAHA! Awesome, Steven Wilson!