When one is stuck in a vortex, unable to prevail upon the better senses of creativity to create this thing called fiction, the tendency of all writers is to retreat toward the familiar, the comforting, the reliable works of art that transport us to a different place. The sonnet that inspired you to write, a viewing of the Bruegel that makes you want to paint, or watching a Welles or Fellini masterpiece: these are the things that inspire us, make us want to be better.
Me, I listen to PINK FLOYD. All the way up to 11. And it is TOTALLY AWESOME.
I’ve been quite the Floyd tear of late, indulging in particularly in Wish You Were Here. Wife recently got me a Christmaskah present of a Talking Heads box set, which is awesome, and I am listening to with great fervor. But I keep coming back to the Floyd, the quartet of Brits who gave us such classic LPs as Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, and Ummagumma. (You know Ummagumma, don’t you? Come on, it has “Careful With That Axe, Eugene,” which is about Eugene cutting off one or another limb, and “Astronomy Domine,” which is best served with copious amounts of Orange Sunshine.)
The thing about Pink Floyd was their mystique. The band possessed an essential weirdness and ambiguous, psychedelic intentions, which a 16-year-old could only marvel at – what, exactly, was Dark Side of the Moon about? There were no dumb love songs or Def Leppard paeans to rock and roll that were popular among my high school classmates.
Hey, you
Pink Floyd made a 30-minute song, split into nine parts! They put a song that filled the entire back of an album! Plus, the band kept a low profile, only adding to their mystery: you can’t explain what you can’t see. Their bombast and pretense, obvious now with the passing of years, fit perfectly into the bombast and pretense of being a misunderstood teenager who thought he was smarter than everyone else, at least those in his English classes.
I mean, didn’t these lunkheads realize that “Mother” and “Comfortably Numb” were poetry?
For a nerdy, loser teenager who sought solace in music, Pink Floyd was the perfect soundtrack to hanging out on Saturday nights, driving around the suburbs, nothing to do. (Of course, we were stoned out of our minds. And the guitar solos rocked!).
But instead of keeping this essential aura around them, they had to ruin things. Pink Floyd went back into the studio a few years ago without bassist Roger Waters, which is kind of like making a Rolling Stones record without Mick or Keith, or having sex without a penis (wait, that didn’t sound like I intended. Never mind.). The band put out a forgettable album and went on tour for about $200 a ticket at football stadiums and made about a trillion dollars. Waters sniped in public with other band members, all the dirty laundry was aired, etc.
(Now, apparently, Waters will play a concert with the rest of the band for something called Live8, in Hyde Park. Hopefully, they’ll fight on stage).
I can’t really say that this ruined the band for me, but the ugliness both in and outside the studio yet trashed another cherished memory. It makes me long for a simpler time, a happier time, a more innocent time. If that doesn’t want to make me relive the past – on paper, of course – nothing will.
Next (and related): How Another Floyd Ruined Halloween
Great to have you back BF
)
I love talking heads…….”And She Was”
Great to have you back BF
)
I love talking heads…….”And She Was”
Great to have you back BF
)
I love talking heads…….”And She Was”
I’m like you, I don’t take kindly to big band changes.
BTW you made the naughty list. Course you probably already knew that huh?
Merry Christmas!
Lois Lane
I’m like you, I don’t take kindly to big band changes.
BTW you made the naughty list. Course you probably already knew that huh?
Merry Christmas!
Lois Lane
I’m like you, I don’t take kindly to big band changes.
BTW you made the naughty list. Course you probably already knew that huh?
Merry Christmas!
Lois Lane
I never really got into Pink Floyd but enjoy the songs that I know. Your post has inspired me to re-check them out.
I envy you. I’ve been wanting that Talking Heads box set for a while now.
I never really got into Pink Floyd but enjoy the songs that I know. Your post has inspired me to re-check them out.
I envy you. I’ve been wanting that Talking Heads box set for a while now.
I never really got into Pink Floyd but enjoy the songs that I know. Your post has inspired me to re-check them out.
I envy you. I’ve been wanting that Talking Heads box set for a while now.
Although this is an older post of yours, I find myself consumed with feelings of artistic and mental synergy upon reading it.
I understand all too well the pretense of being the ‘smartest kid in english’ and the joy of listening to progressive rock cranked all the way up in a car while under the influence, so to speak.
By the by, I happened to click on my ‘Sound and the Fury’ link in my profile and your Blog-Name intrigued me. I believe Faulkner to be one of the greatest writers of the earlier 20th century, if not all-time (though such designations are opinionated and meaningless, they display my respect for his style and themes).
Drop by my site if you want; I merely endeavor to be as witty and insightful in writing as someone such as yourself.
Although this is an older post of yours, I find myself consumed with feelings of artistic and mental synergy upon reading it.
I understand all too well the pretense of being the ‘smartest kid in english’ and the joy of listening to progressive rock cranked all the way up in a car while under the influence, so to speak.
By the by, I happened to click on my ‘Sound and the Fury’ link in my profile and your Blog-Name intrigued me. I believe Faulkner to be one of the greatest writers of the earlier 20th century, if not all-time (though such designations are opinionated and meaningless, they display my respect for his style and themes).
Drop by my site if you want; I merely endeavor to be as witty and insightful in writing as someone such as yourself.
Although this is an older post of yours, I find myself consumed with feelings of artistic and mental synergy upon reading it.
I understand all too well the pretense of being the ‘smartest kid in english’ and the joy of listening to progressive rock cranked all the way up in a car while under the influence, so to speak.
By the by, I happened to click on my ‘Sound and the Fury’ link in my profile and your Blog-Name intrigued me. I believe Faulkner to be one of the greatest writers of the earlier 20th century, if not all-time (though such designations are opinionated and meaningless, they display my respect for his style and themes).
Drop by my site if you want; I merely endeavor to be as witty and insightful in writing as someone such as yourself.