Thursday, June 27, 2013

Pink Floyd! What it does to one's soul- A journey, An exploration


                           

                            Pink Floyd!





What a weird name!? That's the first thought which came to my mind when i heard about them. As a guy who was more of an admirer of the older era like The Beatles, Eagles and someone who really wasnt into metal (Like my peers... some years back) , getting introduced to rock and its various genres was a a big step for me.

As a person I have been bloody choosy about everything and the same logic applied to my music as well for the simple fact of the fear of being disappointed.

But with Floyd, it was something completely different. It was a sort of a journey. An exploration , with each find being more closer to the soul than the former.

Their music sort of talks with you, about what you feel and ,what one needs to do and how things need to happen.

And hey... even though this belongs to the psychedelic genre , u needn be on d very same to enjoy this. Plain tranquility and i have felt that the music works wonders.

I feel like talking about their songs but i really dont know where to start. Should i go in a chronological order!? Should I go in an alphabetical order!? Should I go in a popular songs order!?

I am just going to talk about which ever song that come to my mind.

WISH YOU WERE HERE :

What a brilliant song this is. The genius of the band comes to the fore. Gilmour and primarily Waters have done a phenomenal job with respect to this song. Trivia has it , that Syd Barrent who had quit the band earlier and gone AWOL (pun intended) suddenly turned up in the studio while this song was being recorded. And termed the song as 'somewhat ok and nothing new'. What Syd had in  his mind was something only he would know. But it was quite an emotional reunion for the band , though for a limited time as Syd left again the very same day.

 ' We are just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year.. Running over the same old ground,How we found'

These lines just epitomizes the pain one feels at losing someone, and more importantly when missing the same person.

"And did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?"
ATOM HEART MOTHER:

It is one of the lesser known songs of Floyd. Gilmour and Waters hated this song and wanted to trash it, and were relatively surprised at its success.
The first thing i felt about this song was, the incredible length of the song. At about 24 minutes , it happens to be the longest song I happen to have ever heard. The sheer continuity is what stuck me the most. Sheer Brilliance according to me, and i dont profess to be a master when it comes to music.

SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND:

Most people are not aware of the fact that there are two parts to this song. Both about 13-14 minutes long. And each part happens to be further divided into 4 or 5 parts each. So its  basically a sequence of songs strung together which combine to form a beautiful melody. This song was a tribute to Syd Barret.

 "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun"
This song just makes you feel that you may have ups and downs in one's life, but it is important to remind yourself that you can be good, since you were good once and if you are a misfit, then there is nothing wrong coz you are the one who would go on to change the world.

This song also tells me how things can go wrong!? How one's inexperience, our immaturity , our impatience and our unjustified sense can ruin what the gloried future might have held!

"You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon."
And if one doesnt realize his imeptness, arrogance and mistakes soon , then there is a high chance no one would ever listen to you ever again, including you yourself!
Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far.
 And all you would have with you are yesterday's wins but not the present and the future.

And we'll bask in the shadow of yesterday's triumph,
And sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child, you winner and loser
The instrumental parts... close to Cosmic... Close to the stars... Trust Me!

SEE EMILY PLAY:

One of their earliest songs when if i am right SYD was still a part of the band. Reminds me more of the Beatles era. Not surprising giving the fact this song came way back in 1967. Its contemporaries would include 'Lucy in the SkY with the Diamonds' and other similarly quirky and great songs. Oh! These songs just have a feel to them which is unparalleled. Some friends of mine express their shock and at times disgust as to how i can like such old songs which are completely in a different tune compared to the songs of the current era. But they ! That's where the beauty lies. It gives you simple happy go lucky feeling. These songs arent complex, i assume there are not many chords and stuff involved... In short they are just plain simple!

Another Great song from this era out of the Floyd Stable was ASTRONOMY DIVINE. Oh yea it was Divine! With its psychedelic delay effects and echo sounds it clearly is an experience on its own.Space Rock as they would call it.

US AND THEM:

Us and Them happens to be song from the album ' The Dark side of the Moon'. This album was one of the last albums Roger happened to work on before he left the band.

Impeccable lyrics, meaningful ones. Music that talks to you and an experience which makes you feel out of this world.
The one of the only Floyd songs I know to have a spoken part in it
Well I mean, they're gonna kill ya, so like, if you give 'em a quick sh...short, sharp shock, they don't do it again. Dig it? I mean he got off light, 'cause I coulda given 'im a thrashin' but I only hit him once. It's only the difference between right and wrong innit? I mean good manners don't cost nothing do they, eh?
The opening lines of the track

Us and Them
And after all we're only ordinary men
Me, and you
God only knows it's not what we would choose to do
Need I say anything else!?

Other great songs from this album include 'Money', 'Brain Damage' 'Eclipse'

THE WALL ALBUM: (Another Brick in the Wall-Parts-1 &2  , Comfortably Numb):

Now what do i say about this album and these songs in particular!?

Another brick in the wall was wrongly misconstrued as an anti establishment anthem. It actually means a lot more. It means please do not do what the society feels is right! Please do what you feel is right! The society is a bunch of Hyprocrite NynCompoops who just know to pass comments and judgements and expect you to follow a specific set of rules laid down for their own convenience!
It talks about individuality, It refers to one's uniqueness and how we need to understand this very aspect.

Comfortably Numb happens to be one of the best guitar solos of all time. This song tells me the importance of how I would feel if I did what makes me happy. How numb and comfortable I would feel. It bothers on the concept of doing what you feel like and what is right for you

Its basically about your fight to handle your won world! Finding out what is wrong and treating it.

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move
But I can't hear what you're saying

When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like
Two balloons
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain
You would not understand
This is not how I am

COMING BACK TO LIFE & THE DIVISION BELL ALBUM :

Yes, I listen to songs every day , and YES, I listen to this particular Song every day. Yes every other day. My day is incomplete if I dont listen to it.

This song has had a such a huge impact on me.

It talks about the feeling of loneliness , the feelings of memories not to be experienced in real time again. The pain of losing your loved one and the pain and determination of recovering from the same. It means a lot to a person when he going through a tough time on his personal front, and that is when he could relate to it more and feel the song more. But this song is like Single Malt , Scotch.. or Wine... It just gets better with every time I listen to it,so much so that maybe its sort of an addiction.

Where were you when I was burned and broken
While the days slipped by from my window watching
Where were you when I was hurt and helpless
Because the things you say and the things you do surround me
While you were hanging yourself on someone else's words
Dying to believe in what you heard
I was staring straight into the shining sun

Lost in thought and lost in time
While the seeds of life and the seeds of change were planted
Outside the rain fell dark and slow
While I pondered on this dangerous but irresistible pastime
I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the moment had arrived
For killing the past and coming back to life

I took a heavenly ride through our silence
I knew the waiting had begun
And headed straight..into the shining sun
This came out in the last album , and surely the band did reserve one of its best compositions for the last.

Other great songs from this album were High Hopes... and particularly 'Marooned'.
Marooned happens to be an instrumental, a pure instrumental which if i am right went on to win a Grammy for the 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance' It happens to be serene and just fantabulous!




Well... I could talk of atleast a dozen or more Floyd songs , but i leave it for now. Floyd Surely is an experience.. a journey... and not just music.......







Adsesnse

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