Convergence
One of my strange idiosyncratic fantasies is to meet famous people who I like and introduce them to the works of other famous people who I like. My taste in the arts is so eccentric1 that this doesn’t happen too often, which is why I was delighted to notice this on the homepage of Steven Wilson, the intimidatingly talented (and prolific) frontman of Porcupine Tree. Number eight, in particular, is what made me happy:
That would be The Dear Hunter, one of my other very favorite bands, and much less well-known. I have actually thought several times that Mr. Wilson would enjoy their music and appreciate the ambition of their ongoing surrealist pageant – now in its third “act.” I also imagined it would take some very lucky word-of-mouth to bring such an obscure gem to his attention. So I’m glad that it happened, even if I didn’t get to do it. (Not that I would. The one and only time I’ve met Steven Wilson, he gave me a funny look and then almost accidentally pushed me off a ten-foot ledge outside the Phoenix Theater. Social grace, I do not have.)
I now expect to see neglected genius Kevin Gilbert up there within the year. Come on, karma! Look alive!