"Music is art, not software"

“I do believe there is an art to listening, but it’s being compromised,” he says. “The music media we have is very convenient, the iPod and the MP3, but the quality of experience is quite low. I remember listening to music on vinyl, poring over the sleeve, looking at the lyric sheet, even following the needle across the record. I realize that’s a rose-tinted view, but I do believe there was something in that magical, romantic, tactile relationship with the album. It’s been lost by the reduction of music to content. Music is not software, music is art.”

Porcupine Tree’s steadily growing fan base argues that Wilson isn’t the only one who thinks so.

“It tells me I’m not alone,” he says. “Vinyl sales are rising not just because people my age are feeling nostalgic, but because kids are getting into it. One of the interesting things history tells us is that for every action there is an opposite reaction. And with the current trend toward convenience, there is a reaction against that. People are looking for something more organic and special from music. They come to our shows because they want something with more substance, a bit more epic, something less frivolous than downloading the latest Britney Spears single from MySpace. And it’s not just music, but a general social trend. With this incredible influx of technology, there is a sense of people looking for something more soulful from their lives, something more real. Kids are getting bored with the idea of computers and cellphones. And what do kids do best? They rebel. They rebel against the norm, and the norm is download culture.”

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2010/04/porcupine-trees-steven-wilson-in-mp3-era-rock-fans-looking-for-music-with-soul.html