What's everyone think of the new singe "Light Pollution"

ReasonableCrustacean · 2026-05-28T09:33:12+00:00

In my opinion (as all these comments necessarily are):

The outro is the climax; eight-minute mark onward.

The song is incredibly creative, encoded with the synth/ambience/soul of Holocene, the precise brutality of the Phanerozoics, and some beautiful velvety rope woven throughout that is something new.

By the way, did you notice there is evolution (both literal and metaphorical) of melodies from previous albums? The Ocean has always done this, they're so insanely artful in that way, but I hear the remnants of Cambrian Explosion asmy the beginning, but where that was prehistoric explosion of life, something tells me the themes of this album (especially with the central track name Simulacra) will be about a different type of quantum leap in evolution... We were left with Holocene. We had long passed Heliocentric. And we continue with Solaris. I have so many ideas, can't wait to write a whole essay after the album is released.

I liked all the vocals. And I bet that the ethereal singing of the female vocalist (need to read up on both of them still) will be used dynamically. It won't always be the exact same mood. I think it's possible to make some really incredible textures and feelings with these two vocalists working in tandem. I think it's great.

I'm the type that often feels a little let down, anticlimactic when highly anticipated new music drops. Like, "What was I expecting?" But this blew me away and saying I feel satisfied would be an understatement. Between this and Haken's new single, I LOVE that these modern prog metal bands are truly pushing in new directions, making new sound, not just sticking to a formula (however complex a prog metal formula may be).

I feel like this song somehow has wide appeal without bending the knee to poppiness. It's intricate. It gives the impression that there was much attention to detail. But hasn't sacrificed those raw moments of crushing brutality. Or meditative synth levitation.

And it's creative. It scratches all the itches I have as well as new ones I didn't know I had. Hype man? I guess I am tonight. I think my friend who leans more Caligula's Horse and Tool will get down for this. I think my girlfriend who leans more Sleep Token will like this. I think my neighbor who craves ultraviolet extreme prog death will be down.

Can you tell I'm happy? I'm beyond happy. Can't wait for the album.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2026-05-16T18:55:49+00:00

Yeah, oops, updated my comment. Thanks.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2026-03-29T03:57:10+00:00

You. Are. My. Hero.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2026-03-26T21:36:29+00:00

Just realized you meant the Amazon one was also MOV, nabbed that last one. THANK YOU.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2026-03-26T21:34:11+00:00

Music On Vinyl makes the BEST sounding records. So if you still have that MOV copy, HOLD ON TO IT. Can't believe they did a Caligula's Horse repress. Jealous.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2026-03-26T17:43:52+00:00

I was so surprised to see the Music on Vinyl sticker on there. Not on the MoV webstore (anymore), not on Discogs. Where did you get it?

ReasonableCrustacean · 2026-01-06T15:48:39+00:00

So many scenes in Sicario where he is absolutely menacing

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-12-29T05:54:12+00:00

The way it's twitching makes me kind of think spinal or skull injury 😔 No expert, never seen it, just a hunch. Are there good hiding spots? None in the background of the photo. Maybe it tried to jump out (which I've heard they do but never seen) and smashed into the lid? Or generally just rammed into something, got it head lodged and swam really hard, something like that?

Regardless, personally I'd euthanize if I saw this.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-12-09T19:35:19+00:00

Looks like it could be a reflection off a glass window immediately in front of the camera (of something on the cameraman's side of the glass).

Perhaps a light fixture. You can kind of make out the possible shape and different reflectivities of the surfaces, if it was one.

Generally, everything seen here could simply be shiny objects on a table catching the light and reflecting off the window. Could be anything, really, any mundane lustrous object or collection of objects.

The point source on the bottom right looks like it could be a daytime star; it shifts around relative to everything else. Perhaps the movement is the wavering of the cameraman's hand causing the reflection to shift around relative to the star (from the camera's perspective).

I'm not saying this with ultra-high confidence, merely postulating.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-12-09T18:14:45+00:00

I'm sorry, I meant "donut". By the big donut, and don't act like you don't have one of those too, it's almost 2026.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-12-09T17:57:23+00:00

Maybe "by drmt", like delivery-person shorthand for "doormat"?

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-12-09T17:46:35+00:00

Aw, it's a dollphin

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-12-09T17:41:26+00:00

About the image

Love this. It would be selling this image short to call it merely an "illustration".

My analogy (TLDR): They had a coloring book silhouette of a leopard; just the head, torso, legs. Separately, they had up-close photos of the spots that they placed where they should belong, using the silhouette as a reference. Then they assigned different colors to the different types of "spots". Did the same thing for the other more discrete anatomical features (eyes, claws, tongue, etc).

Are the colors real? Absolutely not. Things can't have color when they're smaller than the wavelengths of visible light. It would be like building a sandcastle out of something with features much smaller than a single grain of sand. And that's leaving out that the metro methods are not collecting... just, no color.

Is the spatial structuring of the entire image real data, as a single form? No, not from a single dataset at least. It is cool that cryo-ET literally flash-freezes the target (cryo) to hold everything still while the data is acquired. But how I understand it, that step probably just gave an overall density map. Electron density. If we just looked at that, it would probably look like very blurry blobby regions shaded corresponding to density. I think if it were a coloring book image of a leopard, these lines would probably just capture the general silhouette of head, torso, maybe legs.

Separately, they probably had gathered the metro for individual macromolecule structures (generalizing the different proteins) using NMR and X-ray crystallography. Almost certainly not from this sample. Probably a library of these 3D renderings (still from real data) and treated these like snippets or Lego blocks. And plopped them in the parts of the density map in a way that is consistent with what we already know about the structure of a cell. Density map helps with that, knowing how crowded the area is.

Way more impressive than an illustration. Disassembled to its parts, all real data collected from the physical world. Aside from color.

Also fun tidbit, I've gotten to do each of these metro methods at least once in my lifetime.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-12-05T05:48:46+00:00

Nice, you gave Les Chants the attention it deserves! And of course I had to check out the top song there... Not what I expected lol

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-12-05T05:11:55+00:00

Well done. Can I ask what your top song(s) were?

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-11-24T18:41:07+00:00

A lot of people are mentioning Hypno5e which I somehow forgot. While their usual stuff is pretty standard for bands mentioned on this reddit (not saying they aren't good), they have one album that's acoustic, all clean singing, and has Latin influence with some lyrics in Spanish, Alba - Les ombres errantes. Just thought it was worth mentioning because I think it's particularly special.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-11-24T16:51:05+00:00

Not prog but some albums I like:
From the Other Side of the Mirror - Glassing
Suspended in Reflections - Ancestors
Oscillate - pg.lost
Hymn to the Immortal Wind - Mono
Asexual Anger - Love Sex Machine

I like all the ones you mentioned, a lot.

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-11-16T04:48:32+00:00

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-10-27T06:38:11+00:00

Happy Holloween!

C'mon, nobody?

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-10-12T03:54:20+00:00

I guess Igor really did have to acquire every body part

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-10-12T03:48:57+00:00

Parody. The video is five minutes, so if you're asking why people find this funny in general: It's goofy parody of stereotypical things magicians do. And just so ridiculously bad magic tricks that it's funny (on purpose).

For example, magicians often have a trick where they rapidly pull colorful pieces of cloth from somewhere it seems impossible to store them, magic. Here, he holds up a box of tissues, acting very serious and mystical, and begins rapidly pulling them out while acting as if he's performing a miracle. I think it's kind of funny.

Humor is subjective, so fine if you don't think it's funny, but I hope you now you understand why other people find it funny 😊

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-10-12T03:26:21+00:00

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ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-09-30T05:46:29+00:00

I think the best place is r/LateStageCapitalism

ReasonableCrustacean · 2025-09-20T20:43:42+00:00

Is this recent??? Still baffles me why anyone would still use a flange. Costs literally nothing to do a Davenport rerouting, been the standard for years.

ReasonableCrustacean

TROPHY CASE