Stupid Dream

Porcupine Tree

1999

3.18

Rating

Votes

24%

41%

22%

12%

Distribution

Rock

User Submitted Album

Album Summary

Stupid Dream is the fifth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It was first released in March 1999, and then re-released on 15 May 2006 due to the band's rising popularity on major record label Lava Records with their releases of In Absentia in 2002 and Deadwing in 2005. The album, along with Lightbulb Sun in 2000, represented a transitional period for the band, moving away from the band's earlier work in instrumental and psychedelic music, but before they took a more metal direction in 2002 onwards. The album takes a commercially accessible pop rock sound while still retaining heavy progressive rock influences. The album's title is a reference to frontman Steven Wilson's view of the music industry; while many aspire to be a musician for fame and glamorous lifestyle, he feels it's a "stupid dream" because it actually leads to a life of hard work and struggle.

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Dec 23 2025 Author

I had A stupid dream That I could change things But I’m a martyr To even less To even less To even less Another 5 star album from Porcupine Tree (and to be fair, everything from Up the Downstair to Fear of a Blank Planet is a 5 star album) - this one finds them in the transitional period between the psychedelic era and the metal era. Lightbulb Sun in probably the better ‘album’ of the two released in this period but Stupid Dream is still packed with ideas and great pop songs. I'll leave now, this can't continue But I forget which door I came through And I know that the lift can be painfully slow So I think I'll leave by the window…

Dec 29 2025 Author

This album grabbed me from the start. Can't say I'm overly familiar with this band but I certainly enjoyed this release and am keen for more. Faves: Even Less, Don't Hate Me

Dec 27 2025 Author

I liked this quite a bit… not yet as much as Fear of a Blank Planet… but I would gladly listen to this again.

Dec 21 2025 Author

Second album by this band in fairly close succession. I liked this better than the last - still pretty gloomy tone to the lyrics but it benefitted by the music being more sprightly and with a lot more variety to it.

Dec 24 2025 Author

Didn’t know this band at all. When I read the brief description I decided to wait to listen until later in the day when I had a chance to listen on my full stereo system. Glad I did. I think it would have felt like a nothing on my phone. Wasn’t my favourite record but I did enjoy getting to listen to it. I can see how other might love this.

Dec 31 2025 Author

Stupid Dream is yet another album of prog rock band Porcupine Tree. Similar to Fear of a Blank Planet it is a well produced album. "Wilson is easily pegged as a studio junkie, searching for a perfectly manufactured environment for his complicated pop songs". Every form of urgence, spontaneity and rawness has been removed, leaving an album that is rather boring with mediocre songs.

Jan 01 2026 Author

Not sure I’d classify this as prog rock. It’s maybe alternative but I just don’t get much rock out of it. The instrumentals are a bit all over ranging from uplifting to somewhat quirky. There were multiple times I thought the album was relatively lame. Or something I’d revisit. 4.6/10

Dec 25 2025 Author

I've never heard of Porcupine Tree, but this is their second album I've gotten in a row.

Dec 29 2025 Author

I haven't really listened to much Porcupine Tree before - this album was nowhere near as proggy as I'd been lead to believe? I dunno, maybe in the context of their larger discography this is an outlier towards more accessibility, but on the whole this just felt like run of the mill slightly poppy alt rock. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, I quite enjoyed it. 🤷 I see they have another album on the user list, maybe that one brings the prog. Fave tracks - "Don't Hate Me" - reminds me of The Blue Nile, which is a positive. "Tinto Brass" felt a big proggy, I guess.

Dec 21 2025 Author

I mostly know Porcupine Tree from their heavier later work, so I was not expecting this to just straight up sound like "The Bends"-era Radiohead at times. It's fine. Nice enough poppy prog rock. Maybe a bit too frontloaded.

Dec 25 2025 Author

The internet really wants me to think of Porcupine Tree as a prog rock band and there’s certainly one track with a lot of synths and a flute jamming out. Much of the rest feels Beatles-descendent indie rock and one like Rage Against the Machine cover band sound? All and all was pretty interesting to my ear at the end

Jan 02 2026 Author

I hope we’re not getting Daft Punk number of submissions for ol’ Steve Wilson here, but this is a good album. Generally I enjoy pre In Absentia Porcupine Tree most

Jan 03 2026 Author

Very accessible prog rock, really enjoyed this.

Jan 07 2026 Author

Liked this one better than 'Blank Planet,' but it does feel a bit overly dramatic yet stuffed with filler at times. Rounding up from a 2.5 as the atmospheric instrumentals were enjoyable at times, but as it stands this is a pretty bloated LP with way too much fat. Cut 20 minutes off and take the lyrical melodrama down a level and you'd have a killer album.

Jan 07 2026 Author

Rocking

Dec 21 2025 Author

Porc

Dec 25 2025 Author

Somewhere at the intersection of oasis and RHCP but more boring than both

Dec 30 2025 Author

I didn't think Stupid Dream was as good as Fear of a Blank Planet, still interesting if not so much my thing but had its moments. The other one got a 3 so this gets a 2.

Jan 05 2026 Author

Musically interesting but lyrically dreadful. Lots of obvious rhyming couplets that sound like they are written by a 14 year old. I just think you can't do prog rock if you can't write words.