(no subject)

[rhythmaning]

Recently, I logged onto wikipedia; I can’t remember what I was looking up, but I started to read the article of the day, which was about the Pink Floyd.

Years ago – many years ago, before the Clash came along to blow the cobwebs away, I was a fan of the Pink Floyd – I saw them play a few times. So I read the article with some kind of nostalgic interest; it reminded me of lots of records that I used to have – I think I gave them all to my brother (or more likely, they were his in the first place*) – things like Saucerful of Secrets and Atom Heart Mother.

And then yesterday, I was listening to Stuart Maconie, who had the Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” as his “critical list”. He played a lot of different tracks from the album – one of the best selling albums of all time. I saw Pink Floyd play “Dark Side of the Moon” live, back in 1975 or so, at Wembley.

I don’t think I can have listened to the album since, say, 1978; it didn’t make it through my “new wave” filter – indeed, the only band that I really liked before I was transformed by hearing Patti Smith’s “Horses” in 1977 that I kept listening to afterwards was King Crimson (and their mid seventies records have an edge to them).

But yesterday, on the radio, it sounded amazing – just really good music. Melodic, almost jazz guitars; intelligent drumming; and words – and drum-breaks – that I could remember as if it were yesterday. Just really good music.

I really think I am going to have buy the album. Which strikes me as being very bizarre.


By the way, there was recently an interview with Stuart Maconie in the Independent. The reporter mentioned the track that had really influenced him - "Meat, Meat, Meat" by the Damned. If you have been around as long as I have, you may find this as hysterically funny as I did. Clearly, the Independent no longer has any subeditors to actually check their facts...

* He did take all my Hawkwind records, though…

Comments

[itchyfidget.livejournal.com]

I listened to a lot of Pink Floyd as a teenager, and I think Dark Side of the Moon was the first album of theirs I got, but I have to say that A Momentary Lapse Of Reason is far and away my favourite. It's the only one I've bothered to buy any of as an mp3, and the first two tracks are still brilliant! *shrug* ... horses for courses :)

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I think The Floyd mark a kind of generational watershed - for me, anyway. I wasn't really aware of any popular music until the summer of, I think, 77, when I bought my first single (Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf) and my first album (Out of the Blue, by ELO). By the next year I was onto The Dammed, The Undertones, and Stiff Little Fingers (didn't really get into the Pistols, for some reason). And the next year London Calling came out, and punk was all grown up.

At the time I was listening to everything - AC/DC, Springsteen, Simon and Garfunkel sort of all bundled together. Pink Floyd were nowhere to be seen, and I didn't even realise they represented The Enemy. I never got the chance to reject them. A couple of months ago I picked up a 3 cd boxed set of Pink Floyd, and found that there were some nuggets of pure genius, and some godawful half hours.