Editing Porcupine Tree (section)

===The Snapper years (1998–2001)===

====''Stupid Dream''====
Wilson, Barbieri, Edwin, and Maitland spent all of 1998 recording their fifth studio album, a release that reflected the band's move towards a more song-oriented writing. Wilson acknowledged this time he was "much more interested in songwriting as an art form, as opposed to soundscape development" and commented he took influence from [[The Beach Boys]]' ''[[Pet Sounds]]'', [[Todd Rundgren]], [[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]], and "anything with really good ensemble singing". He also indicated that he was "interested in the idea of the pop song as a kind of experimental symphony".

{{listen
|filename=Porcupine Tree - Pure Narcotic.ogg|title="Pure Narcotic"|description=is a single from ''Stupid Dream''. "Pure Narcotic" is an acoustic song without drums. [[Radiohead]]'s album ''[[The Bends (album)|The Bends]]'' is mentioned by name in the lyrics.  ''[[Stupid Dream]]'' evidenced a change of direction in the sound of the band, being a more song-oriented record.|format=ogg}}

The band recorded the album without a label, but signed with [[Snapper Music|Snapper]]/[[Kscope]] before releasing ''Stupid Dream'', in March 1999. The album was supported by a tour of the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, Poland, and the United States. The three singles taken from the album: "[[Piano Lessons (single)|Piano Lessons]]", "[[Stranger by the Minute]]", and "[[Pure Narcotic]]", all achieved mainstream exposure in the US and in Europe, and placed well in the UK independent charts and on radio-station playlists. Although the album was a departure from their earlier sound, it brought the band new-found popularity and went on to become the band's best-selling and most acclaimed release up to that time.

====''Lightbulb Sun''====
Completed for February 2000, with string arrangements provided by [[Dave Gregory (musician)|Dave Gregory]] of [[XTC]], Porcupine Tree's sixth studio album, ''[[Lightbulb Sun]]'', built on the mix of songwriting, soundscaping, and rock dynamics of ''Stupid Dream''. The album was released in May 2000, preceded by the single "[[Four Chords That Made a Million]]". A sold-out show at the [[Scala (club)|Scala]] in London began a short run of UK shows, that were followed later in the year by European festival dates and a major tour supporting [[Dream Theater]]. The band continued touring through the end of 2000 and start of 2001, including their first major tour of Germany. A special double CD edition of the ''Lightbulb Sun'' album was issued in [[Israel]] and Germany.

In May, the band released a compilation [[B-side]] album called ''[[Recordings (album)|Recordings]]'', which featured nine tracks from the ''Stupid Dream'' and ''Lightbulb Sun'' sessions that had been left off both albums. In May 2001, Porcupine Tree did three consecutive dates as a support band to [[Marillion]], in France, Germany, and the Netherlands.<ref name="Porcupine Tree Gig">{{cite web|url= http://www.porcupinetree.com/tour.giglisting.cfm|title= Porcupine Tree – Complete Tour History|publisher= porcupinetree.com|access-date= 2 April 2008|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100726143357/http://www.porcupinetree.com/tour.giglisting.cfm|archive-date= 26 July 2010|df= dmy-all}}</ref> In June, the band played a short US tour, starting with an appearance in [[NEARfest]] of [[Pennsylvania]], and culminating in a sold-out show at [[The Bottom Line (venue)|The Bottom Line]] in New York City. Shortly afterwards, the band announced that they had signed a new international record deal with [[Lava Records|Lava]]/[[Atlantic Records]].