I can't believe nobody has even mentioned Trains! For me, it was the highlight of the album. The vocal harmonies, that vibrato-heavy acoustic guitar solo, the best bridge ever? It's one of my favorite pop tunes period.

Anyway, In Absentia has some of my favorite PT songs, but I think Fear of a Blank Planet and Deadwing are more consistent. I don't really care for Gravity Eyelids, The Creator has a Mastertape, or Strip the Soul.

While Porcupine Tree is without a single doubt my favorite band of all time, I don't listen to this album as often as the others (post-delerium years), which is weird since the songs on the album are fantastic....

For the record, my favorite PT albums are Deadwing and The Incident (YES, THAT "THE INCIDENT").

Many listeners give The Incident a hard time. I think it is a great record, but I think it is slightly inferior to the previous three records. I also don't like how much "Time Flies" borrows from Floyd's "Dogs." Steven Wilson openly admits that the guitar pattern is borrowed from "Dogs," and I wouldn't have as much as a problem with it-- if it were just a snippet, but to use the "Dogs" guitar pattern for the 12 minute centerpiece of the album seems to be "borrowing" to much, especially noting how creative and inventive Wilson is.

Truth be told, I haven't listened to Pink Floyd in quite a while, so I can't really say how much of it was borrowed. Though I honestly think "Time Flies" doesn't flow nearly as well as some other songs on the album (like "Remember Me Lover" for instance).

Now I do agree that the album lacks something that the other albums had (can't put my finger on it, exactly), but I honestly like it more than FOABP, which is a bit too 'angsty' for my taste and had some really questionable writing/lyrics.

Is it the references to Xbox and iPods? I've never understood why people pick on those lines so much. Is it forbidden to mention modern technology?
Also, I really need to give The Incident a listen. I don't know why I haven't tbh.

Give "Dogs" a listen. It is on Floyd's Animals record, which is my favorite Floyd record, and the 17-minute "Dogs" is my favorite Floyd track.
Word of warning though-- it puts "Time Flies" to shame. And, for me-- the inclusion such a borrowed bit taints all of The Incident to an extent.

Okay I'm not sure if that song puts "Time Flies" to shame (although that has more to do with the fact that I'm a massive Steven Wilson fanboy more than anything :D), but "Time Flies" definatly feels like a tribute to "Dogs"

Time Flies is a bit faster paced though...

In any case, I definitely need to revisit Pink Floyd. Though I'll probably start with some of the later albums first, since "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" is a bit too trippy/mind@#ck for me

Anyway, thanks for the great Pink Floyd song RMR :)

Nah, I'm OK with the references (Although singing about technology that could become outdated in a few years is never a good idea, IMHO.) It's just the whole theme of teenage alienation that I can't really connect to.

Also I get that "when I was your age..." vibe from Steven in that album, that I also tend to get when watching his interviews, so maybe that has something to do with it. :)

Now regarding The Incident. I was actually quite disappointed when I listened to it the first time. However the more I listened to it, the more I appreciated it and now it's one of my most-listened records by them. So give it a few more shots if you don't like it initially. :)

I personally thought some of In Absentina was in one ear and out the other. Half the songs just didn't stick with me. I'd be lying if I said I didn't like songs like Blackest Eyes and Trains, though. And that riff on Wedding Nails is fantastic.