Pink Floyd

Naughty.
Yes Fisbey. You know they are. Maybe even the best band ever.

Why though - I agree they're good and good musicians etc - but they're a bit morbid aren't they?

I dunno about morbid, but serious, yes. There weren't many laughs, but then in the 70's we did take it very seriously, and PF took it to mind numbing horizons that we hadn't imagined before. Christ, it was the dawn of something so powerful that it rivalled classical music in it's own territory, which "pop" had never been able to do. PF was where pop music grew up into something that was serious - that was the point. Stangely, it still seems to be listenable today - especially up to WYWH anyways.
I suppose it depends on your age, but I was at school at the time of Obscured By Clouds, Atom Heart Mother and DSOTM, and I was impressionable and I wanted to grow up so bad to be a part of the older crowd that had parties where everyone just sat on the floor. I was desperate to be part of that, but I was just a schoolkid. Apart from my own personal standpoint, I do think they were pretty special and I'd definately say that they were THAT good.

Yes, me too - I still remember how haunting Atom heart mother sounded when I was young, and yes, I too wanted to be part of that (thanks to my big brother). Don't know, I think maybe the music is THAT good, but the lyrics - mmmm not sure.

quote:

Originally posted by Fisbey:
Yes, me too - I still remember how haunting Atom heart mother sounded when I was young, and yes, I too wanted to be part of that (thanks to my big brother). Don't know, I think maybe the music is THAT good, but the lyrics - mmmm not sure.

I think Rock lyrics should never (well, almost never: there's Dylan) be considered separately from the music. The words on Wish You Were Here, for example, seem wooden and sad when viewed on the page; listened to during playback, they become part of a much greater whole. The magic of mid-70's Floyd is how much compassionate empathy comes through what is, on paper, depressing, caustic stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Fisbey:
Why though - I agree they're good and good musicians etc - but they're a bit morbid aren't they?

Not as morbid as Cathedral.

Compare


Lifeblood flows down the rivers of sorrow
Love a distant dream we've left behind
Utopic fortunes we see in tomorrow
Blind illusions as all hope fades and dies
Sleeping forest under shimmering moonlight
Enchantment reigns in your mystical haze
Ghosts of life awake unto twilight
As the living rest in cold empty graves
All that's weary beneath the sun
Fades to darkness now his death has come


with


I've got a bike
You can ride it if you like
It's got a basket
A bell that rings
And things to make it look good
I'd give it to you if I could
But I borrowed it
You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world
I'll give you anything
Everything if you want things


I still think Piper At The Gates Of Dawn is one of the best ablums ever made and I've had it for almost 40 years. I still treasure my 45s of Arnold Layne, See Emily Play and Apples And Oranges.

I like a lot of later PF stuff too - particularly Wish You Were Here. However, I prefer Madcap Laughs and Barrett.

So are they that good - well probably.

Rotf

PS .. bhazen is right, of course, rock lyrics don't look that great when written down - the only exception I'd make is Half Man, Half Biscuit when you need a reference manual to work it all out - though the web site does a pretty good job.

All 'art' is essentially useless tosh. It doesn't matter whether it's a Beethoven symphony, the Mona Lisa or PF's DSOTM.

Art doesn't cure cancer or feed the starving.

But.......... it has that wonderfully intangible ability to lift one's spirits - and you can't put a price on that.

Humans eh? Illogical buggers.

John.

Oh er, what was the question? Yes I like 'em.

That's my point - I don't personally find Pink Floyd particularly uplifting

quote:

Originally posted by Fisbey:
That's my point - I don't personally find Pink Floyd particularly uplifting

Careful with that Axe, Fisbey.

Or one of these days he's going to chop you into little pieces ?

I agree that in the scheme of things art (Garfunkel?) is (Peter?) tosh, but sonically-lyrically 'proper' Floyd did actually lay down 'the human condition' pretty definitely.

I notice that quite a few youngsters when hearing proper PF recordings do 'get' it.

quote:

Originally posted by Chumpy:
I agree that in the scheme of things art (Garfunkel?) is (Peter?) tosh, but sonically-lyrically 'proper' Floyd did actually lay down 'the human condition' pretty definitely.

I notice that quite a few youngsters when hearing proper PF recordings do 'get' it.

Proper PF certainly did, but the lyrics were a bit drab after Syd left (still Roger Walters wrote some good songs too) - here are some proper Floyd lyrics from their best album

Lucifer Sam, siam cat.
Always sitting by your side
Always by your side.
That cat's something I can't explain.
Ginger, ginger, Jennifer Gentle you're a witch.
You're the left side
He's the right side.
Oh, no!
That cat's something I can't explain.
Lucifer go to sea.
Be a hip cat, be a ship's cat.
Somewhere, anywhere.
That cat's something I can't explain.
At night prowling sifting sand.
Hiding around on the ground.
He'll be found when you're around.
That cat's something I can't explain.