[Blazingmonga]

I'll come back to this, but I have to go now...its a busy time for me!

-David

You know, if it weren't for a little album called Ocean Machine, I'd so have to agree with you. I've said it many times here, but I'll say it again: Truth is the greatest song ever written, but Ocean Machine is the greatest album ever written.

Trippers the lot of you. Infinity is bomb..... Let's face it.

[Blazingmonga]

I'm still debating in my head whether to share my essay with everyone here. Its a bit mad really....hmm.

Like anybody HERE would notice...!

*a-wibble*

[Blazingmonga]

Im not mad! And like you can talk...you...you MAD HEAD you!

I disagree I still love terria the best..

Hey Blazingmonga, I read through your essay (or whatever one should call it) about Infinity... it opened my eyes for some things that I haven't discovered before, so I found it really interesting... There line where you wrote something like "he maybe wrote the whole thing sitting on the toilet and I could be over-analizing things" was too good Thanx again, I wish I was that good at analyzing music and stuff...then I could maybe write something like this about Terria or whatever. But it'd not be the same, since Infinity is ment as a statement, which makes it different from the other albums.

[Blazingmonga]

Hey Blazingmonga, I read through your essay (or whatever one should call it) about Infinity... it opened my eyes for some things that I haven't discovered before, so I found it really interesting... There line where you wrote something like "he maybe wrote the whole thing sitting on the toilet and I could be over-analizing things" was too good Thanx again, I wish I was that good at analyzing music and stuff...then I could maybe write something like this about Terria or whatever. But it'd not be the same, since Infinity is ment as a statement, which makes it different from the other albums.

Hey, thanks a lot! I'm glad you appreciated it. It was just a bit of fun really. It was a nice challenge to see if I could describe how the music affected me. In some ways I could do the same with Terria or OM, but I dont think it would be the same. Infinity is special to me in that way. I get a lot out of it!

Since you have read this, do you think I should post it here for all to see?

A-wibble...

-David

Hey Blazingmonga, I read through your essay (or whatever one should call it) about Infinity... it opened my eyes for some things that I haven't discovered before, so I found it really interesting... There line where you wrote something like "he maybe wrote the whole thing sitting on the toilet and I could be over-analizing things" was too good Thanx again, I wish I was that good at analyzing music and stuff...then I could maybe write something like this about Terria or whatever. But it'd not be the same, since Infinity is ment as a statement, which makes it different from the other albums.

Hey, thanks a lot! I'm glad you appreciated it. It was just a bit of fun really. It was a nice challenge to see if I could describe how the music affected me. In some ways I could do the same with Terria or OM, but I dont think it would be the same. Infinity is special to me in that way. I get a lot out of it!

Since you have read this, do you think I should post it here for all to see?

A-wibble...

-David

Ok, you've posted here about 7 times just asking if you should post. Quit posting about posting and give a link to it. I doubt anyone wants to have a 6 page essay posted on a message board. A link would be fine. Thanks.

Infinity is my favorite. It seems to have a lot more involved in it than any other album I've heard from townsend.

My only wish is that the 4 songs from the infinity ep would be integrated into the LP. Sure, I could just burn a disc with those 4 songs at the end. But, because of the way the ep was mastered, it would cut right into the beginning of om with the guitars of christeen ringing out over it. That doesn't exactly flow well after track 10 of the LP.

What about the EP? I think that "Sit in the mountain", "Om" and "Processional" are integral to the Infinity album. Then again, townsend seems to like putting only 10 songs on an album.

[Blazingmonga]

Ok-daddy-o! Hold your horses!

I doubt that anybody does want to read a 6 page document, thats partly why I am asking. And I would give a link to it if I could, but I can't, so I wont. It's a bit of a personal thing and I am quite self conscious about posting it here, so there.

I will post it for those who do want to see it. If there is anyone!

[Blazingmonga]

OK here is my thing....

Infinity Gibberings:

In my opinion, and it really only is my opinion, the album can be viewed as an essay of sorts. The opening track serves as an introduction and the closing tracks are more conclusive, with everything in-between involving the dissemination of various ideas. The introduction poses a question that is discussed during the bulk of the album and is answered in a way by the ending tracks, particularly "Dynamics". Each track is important independently, although all the tracks can definitely (in my opinion etc) be seen to relate to similar themes and each other, weaving a tapestry of sorts, or telling a story. Not everyone sees this and everyone that does has vastly differing opinions on what is being told, but most will agree that the album is indeed a 'singular' entity (i.e. as opposed to a collection of similar songs), that progresses across some very wide terrain.
Indeed, I believe my views are somewhat proven by the very fact that I am here now writing this very thing, which if I tried could be shaped into a proper essay itself, and I am not alone in doing this. I have read many and varied hypothesis on this same subject, all beautifully detailed in their description. It is almost touching to think that people are getting as much out of this album that I have, and in their own special way (awwww...), same as I did. I think that this album, more than the others, has its own special cult attached to it, and that just goes to show how special it really is.
Similar things could be said for the other truly progressive albums, (Ocean Machine, Terria) but I think what separates this album here is the fact that it is so personal. If Ocean Machine is about water (or uses it as a theme in some way) and Terria is about the earth, then Infinity is about life itself, about all life, about your life. The way that this encompasses everything else I think means that no matter what kind of a person you are or what you believe (if anything), the chances are you have thoughts on life, and Infinity will touch upon that. Its just a question of whether you will hear it or not, because it definitely has something to say.
If a connection is made then there is a vast amount of information contained in this album, even though it isn’t that long. I would say that there is almost too much information because these conclusions I have arrived at have only come with repeated listening (but you probably guessed that!). If this is a progressive album, then you really have to let it progress, let it grow on you. I don’t know if other people ever felt the same way, but I hated this album at first...even though it has pretty much defined parts of my life and changed things permanently. The same happened with "City", simply because there is just so much information to take in and it can somewhat overload you at first, but the more you listen the more you hear. In this albums case this works to tremendous advantage because it really does have a lot to say, and you really wont hear it at first.
The first thing that really struck me about this album, the thing that got me thinking, was that after I had heard it a few times and was beginning to get interested in it, I couldn’t tell where one song ended and another began! Although perhaps this is an obvious product of a fine production, none the less it got me thinking that maybe there was some underlying principle involved here, some theme that was implied throughout - something tying it all together. It wasn’t long before I started to ask questions, to try and figure out what it was that I was feeling, or what it was I was 'supposed' to be feeling, to find these themes. I would like to add that although obviously this all sounds very anal to most people (except maybe the select die-hard Infinity fans who know exactly what I mean) that I couldn’t help going through this process, the music is of such high quality its like its all laid out waiting for me. Listening this closely to music this good is not exactly difficult, and that is something I am definitely not alone in.
The first theme that stood out was that it was as if the album was trying to address life as a whole, and this was apparent both in the lyrics and the actual progression of the album itself from track to track when viewed as a whole. This 'theme' obviously brought with it several sub-headings and questions what it is to live and what purpose we can attach to that. Another important question being asked, or rather another thing that this album seems to be questing for is a home. If it is asking about the nature of your life then it is also asking about what you consider to be your home, like the character on in the ‘story’ is trying to find their home, somewhere to live their life. I don’t think it can be thought of as a physical home, more as a spiritual one, a kind of headspace that you would like to live in. Anyway the most important thing is that there is a lot of questioning and a lot of searching for answers throughout and that is something both heard and felt. This broad-brush approach brings together all elements of life, from the dark to the light with everything in-between, and perhaps this is the key to it touching my life so vividly, the fact that it is taking an objective, impersonal viewpoint means that I can apply what it has to say directly and personally to myself.
For me, the best way (I'm afraid) for me to convey all this is to simply and rather bluntly just break down the album track by track. This is probably the bit where my own views separate from other die-hard fans, because these conclusions are inevitably utterly personal and revolve around my experiences relating to and because of the album, and what I personally learnt from it. Maybe even if the overall message I see is the same as what another sees, it’s like reading a book - everyone has a different mental image of the characters and places involved. These are simply the messages I get and the images I see from what I hear. Anyway, on with it...

(Note in advance: Forgive me for my lack of technical terms, but hopefully you won’t need to use your imagination too much).


· Truth: This is the opening to the book, the prelude, the introduction. This song is as much of a greeting to the landscapes ahead as it is scene setting. The (fucking awesome) huge riff at the beginning positively demands you sit down and listen. The semi-instrumental nature of this song, with the lyrics "Hallelujah!" and "Hello!" being repeated seem to wake you up and get your attention. I see the "Hello!" as particularly relevant in reference to this being the introduction, with the instrumental-ness almost as if representing the mere fact that this is *only* the introduction and is hence more about breaking you in for what lies ahead. The song sort of says to me; "Wake up, listen, something wonderful is about to happen, you are lucky to be here to hear it you know - yeah YOU!". The spacey military-esque tone to the end of the song, when the siren rings and Gene drums as if for a marching band is like a warning, sinister but at the same time beautiful. The siren ringing towards the end and also earlier gives a definite sense of danger, even though the song itself is quite intensely beautiful. This ambiguity is present throughout the album, where it is as if there are two sides to everything - "where there is lightness there is darkness" kind of thing.


· Christeen: If Truth is the opening, then this is the first chapter. Truth leads onto what is most apparent in life, what is most immediate and most important to most people, what people think of first. That is mirrored by the very immediacy of the song itself, being the most 'poppy' on the album (it was released as a single and everything). This to me is of course all about love, or more precisely the need for it, the lust for love, the desperate feeling of wanting that special somebody, or if you have somebody then it is the desperate need to be with them. More importantly this song is suggesting that perhaps enlightenment could be reached and that you could be truly happy if you knew for sure that you were loved, its begging for an answer, for 'Christeen' to let you know for sure. If this song asks a question, it is "am I loved?” If this song has an answer, then it says yes, but it doesn’t put it in so many words or so definitely. Again an element of fear or desperation is felt towards the end, suggesting that although maybe the answer is 'yes' that things just simply aren’t that simple. This sort of swings the song around from poppy innocence to something more aggressive as it leads onto the next chapter.


· Bad Devil: This song serves as a sort of contradiction to me. The song itself is very bouncy and happy, and has a great 'family' feel to the vocals, but the lyrics are simply perverted at times (i.e. not suitable for all the family), contrasting the innocence of Christeen. This to me is saying that although love is wonderful and that it is great to seek, it is easy to pervert, and that there are evil forces at work in the world who seek to do exactly that. It confirms to me that things really aren’t that simple. At the same time as suggesting the presence of evil, it also suggests that it is possible to deal with these things, to get on and make your own way; "Train wont stop...never gonna stop...". The "Bad Devil" of the title isn’t as relevant to me exactly...although I think it perhaps does suggest that if we are all devils, it is the bad ones that you have to watch out for. I would say then that the moral of this song is that maybe there are bad things happening around you, that you have to deal with them if you want to move on.

· War: This song is very chaotic and totally drags you in as it starts almost predictably but then goes totally fucked towards the end. This one sounds like it is about the inescapable truth in every situation, that sometimes things go wrong, sometimes things die and that is something you have to deal with. In this case the enemy is really humanity itself, rather than individual people. This says to me that some things are just corrupt and that no amount of wanting or hoping will change that, like its written into your genetic code that humanity is imperfect, but that doesn’t mean you have to give in. Like you can be victorious by admitting defeat, the point is to keep on going because you can then go on to confront things in other ways. If you can see the sadness and fear in the world then maybe you cant stop it but you can rationalise it, you can reduce it to a number, a statistic, you can put it somewhere. That isn’t going to make you happy, but that’s just the point...sometimes that’s the way the world goes. You can’t always win outright. Also, the military/marching band kind of drums present in Truth recur here, as if the ominous presence they suggested before was real.

· Soul Driven Cadillac: I see this as the conclusion to War, and they both overlap indistinguishably...almost as if each song was debating with the other. If War has one outlook on life (Shit, I am personifying songs!) then this questions it and asks what the point in that is. Its almost as if this song hears what has been said and then panics...and the panic attack is what you hear. The initial comfort of "Please don’t hesitate to call", etc, breaks down into what may well be the most distorted and utterly fucked ramble to ever be put to music. I see the (barely decipherable but relevant on at least a sonic level) 'speech' as sort of saying, "Ok, so this is how it is, this is the way things are, this is how it is going to be from now on", a sort of rebirth or realisation. In the end it comes back to the moving simplicity of "Don’t give in/Have patience", which is almost like it is caving in to the reality brought to light in War, but is still holding on to whatever hope there is in yourself. There is confidence here when there is none logically, if you take what has been said previously, and I think that is beautiful. Like the point is...there is no point, you just have to do what you can.

· Ants: This one to me sort of ups the pace, like a sort of musical kick up the arse, to say "well, get on with it!". I know that if you read the lyrics it is about money, and suggests that it is about worker 'ants' working to earn a living, that’s not what I hear in the context of the other songs. To me it sounds just like a racing barrage of chatter, like you have walked out into a crowd or a marathon or something. Sort of like a transition, with this song taking you up an energy level.

· Wild Colonial Boy: Here the importance of immaterial possessions is underlined, because that’s all that really exists and anything else is a cruel fantasy. You have to hold on to the things you have because the world is a barren place and anything you do have is either a blessing or unreal. Whichever it is, it is quite possibly all that you have. This song and the one before it are linked by a sort of 'liveliness', like these two songs are more in-person than before, less of a commentary and on a more personal level. The high-pitched voices at the end of this song mirror that of the song before, as if Ants exists to subconsciously prepare you for this song. Sort of in the same way you introduce your friend to your gran before they have a chat.

· Life Is All Dynamics: The way that the previous song leads onto this reminds me of going for a small walk, leaving your house and strolling out into your garden or away from everything else in some way. You have left the emotional roller coaster, gone home, and are now contemplating all that has been said. To me, the whole album exists just for this song; like all the questions raised are answered here, or if they aren’t answered then they simply cease to be relevant after this song has said what it has to say. It’s like, although maybe you have learnt a lot from the previous songs, there is one underlying fact that is far more important and that you mustn’t and cannot forget. To me, that fact is that no matter what happens to you, or the world, or the universe, that it doesn’t always have to be that way...that things don’t and cant always swing in one direction. No matter how bad things are or how low times may be, you are bound by the very nature of the universe to have a chance for improvement. Your very existence and ability to realise this is proof enough for me that this is true, because when you hear "Living hides the dead/Flowers need to bloom" you know it, you FEEL it, and that is the most real thing you will ever experience. The fact that you can feel that justifies your own existence because right then things have improved. This happens spontaneously, without the world around you changing, because it all comes from within you, and that is where it all begins and it all ends. Its like walking out of all the chaos, walking up a mountain and taking in all that you can see and for that moment it doesn’t matter what is at the bottom of the mountain, all that matters is that you are at the top. I don’t care how sad this sounds or how nerd-boy-fantastic this all is, but I see this as a critical life lesson. There is something in this song that needs to be heard and now that I have heard it I cannot go back, I have learnt that in life things can go either way...but that is what makes life liveable.


· Unity: To put this bluntly, I just see this as the come down after you have creamed your metaphorical brain-pants in the previous song. Listening to this song following on from the previous song is like basking in that same moment, holding on to it for just a little bit longer. It’s like giving your brain a massage after the fucked up time it has just had and allowing you to get to grips with what has just happened. This song mentions "home", as if it is where you have just arrived, which is also important because the album is sort of trying to find where that is, and you really feel at home in this song. Towards the end it does kind of swell in intensity, and although it never really stops being beautiful the scale of the intensity is almost too much, almost chaotic. Sometimes beauty can be chaotic too.

· Noisy Pink Bubbles: This shifts the tone back a notch, like a sickly sweet sort of warning.... saying, "Don’t forget, things go BOTH ways". It’s dark and chilling but at the same time you have to understand that because everything you have learnt should still apply here. In a way this is where the title of the album really comes into play because its as if it puts you right back where you started (try listening to the album on repeat...but ignore the extra tracks if you have the re-release) so you can go through it all again, forever and ever. It reminds you of the bittersweet nature of living, and the way that it takes you back to the start of the album (i.e. it doubles back) suggests that life is all about cycles; "…all I can say is its day after day, god I know". Take things one day at a time because things will come around soon enough.

All this rambling is kind of futile though, and this really couldn’t be any more subjective, but I just wanted to try and put down in words what I get out of each song. What I get out of the album as a whole varies immensely and it is hard even now to put down exactly what I think of when I hear the album, because I don’t really have any one personal opinion that I would think of as totally true. It is also the case that the things I get out of the album are so intensely emotional, verging on spiritual, that it is pretty nigh on impossible to put down in writing. I think maybe that’s one of the reasons why I am doing this, because I want to actually know myself what it is I hear.
The paragraphs I have just written about the individual songs could almost be thrown away because they are more of an ‘average’ of what I think each track means, and that’s probably also why it is so hard for me to write. The actually meaning I take from the album as a whole is more specific however, and really feels like a sort of spiritual backbone to all things. Like the things I hear in Infinity aren’t really special as such simply because they are matters of fact but the fact that I can hear them is special, the fact that they have been captured and put on this record is special. Like I was already waiting to hear them, like there was already an Infinity shaped hole in my mind and all I needed was the Infinity shaped peg to go with it before I could feel whole.
I think that the things I have got out of this album, the things that have made me want to type this piece of crap, really only stem from the few times when I have been listening to it whilst in the right headspace. Most of the time when I listen to it it’s just really special music and not strictly a special experience, but the few times it has been special for me have been so incredibly special that it has forced me to feel this way. I think that the first time I really, really ‘got’ this album the major thing I felt after the whole piece had finished was satisfaction. It’s like after hearing this I felt reassured that things were going to be ok and that I didn’t have as much to worry about as I thought. I think I arrived at this conclusion because the album suggested that life carries on, that it is infinite and that that simple fact was demonstrated through the course of the album, sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy. By listening to all these questions and all the soul searching, I had found my ‘home’, same as the subject of the album seemed to have.
Another thing that needs to be mentioned is that it has to be said that I am a complete fan boy, and I am not ashamed of that. The things I get out of this album are totally my own, and I know that Mr Townsend probably wrote the thing sitting on the toilet. I also know that whatever meaning he really attached to these songs and this album are totally different from what I see. I also know that I am reading far too far into all this, and that maybe these songs sound the way they do simple because it sounds good (which it definitely does) and that’s all there is too it. I also know that I don’t care. I think that if I have taken this album the ‘wrong’ way or too seriously then it is really not my fault, the songs have been written such that I can apply them to myself and my own way of thinking and so the only person to blame is Mr Townsend himself. I could not and cannot help hearing things this way and in my own way, that’s what makes this music so special. Its like its been written for me, same as it has probably been written for whoever else gets something out of it. What happens from the subjective perspective of an honest hardworking listener is entirely up to them and all this is entirely up to me. If you disagree then that’s entirely up to you, but it wont change a thing.

∞

On your copies of infinity do you guys have a gap of about 30 seconds until 'Noisy pink bubbles' kicks in? The beginning of it is awesome, the hook is really strange, a bit dreamy. I guess ambient is the word I am looking for.

OK here is my thing....

Whoah! That was amazing! I usually don't read these "fan-interpretations", but this one caught me off guard or something. I stand up and applaud you for this one! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and listen to Infinity again...