The Endless River
They became dinosaurs way before I had ever heard of them, or their music. I was about 14/15 and had stayed up late one night and flicking across TV channels, at the time, there was only the 4! I caught a film mid way through and in the scene a train flashes past a young boy stood in a darkened tunnel, the faces that look out to him from the train are deformed by pig like masks they then walk into a meat grinder and animated out of the other end and behind all this weirdness, and slightly discomforting video, was up to that point the greatest sound I had ever heard.
It turned out to be, The Pink Floyd (rock dinosaurs, in 1990!)
As I then spent the next hour watching the ever more disturbed evolution of, Bob Geldof, as 'Pink' descendin from a rock star to fascist leader as a metaphor for madness. I was hooked, instantly and needed to find out more about Pink Floyd. I rememeber the following day telling my best friend at school about this most disturbing of films. His step father, whose musical taste we both seemingly inheritated, had all the albums and a few days later my friend had created a Pink Floyd mix tape. From the late 60's to the 1980's and the last album released up to that point, a momentary lapse in reason. It was a mindblowing experience and at the age of 15 altered my perception of reality. It sucked me out of the mainstream pop culture and deposited me in what I would term, classic rock, music with meaningful lyrics; the un-trendy 'Concept Album'!
This song, I swiftly fell in love with, beyond anything I had heard musically at all. It led me to the beatles...(and boy, was that not also a mind bending experience). On the mix tape we went from 1967 to the early 80's and what become one of my most favourite Floyd songs,
Their most underrated, and most bitter, cynical album; The Final Cut is heart renching and depressing but it made you think. It turned a normal 15 year old into a 15 year old that started to realise that the world is not such a pleasant place after all. The emotive power of music & words should never be underestimated. This is certainly the case when you have such talented musicians and writers; In Gilmour & Waters as I was soon to discover you had another pair of British combinations that created a great band; Like Lennon & McCartney & Page & Plant. Gilmour & Waters stand in the same Pantheon.
From the Syd Barret inspired, See Emily Play to the Waters dominated, Final Cut & Wall. After a few more days listening you fall across what is 'Perfect Floyd' when the band wer so well balanced between words and music that they made two of the greatest albums of the 1970's; The Dark side of the Moon & Wish you were here. Two albums I still cannot listen too without becoming that 15 year old with all those 'Hopes and Fears' taking solace from the words and music. These two albums produced two heart achingly painful songs. Simple, yet profound and full of emotion about wasted time and lost friends;
'Time' becomes more gut wrenchingly relevant and painful the older I get when I listen to it. In many ways it can crush your soul at times because the words are so damn salient to absolutely everybody and we still ignore them and then regret we did ten years later, having 'missed the starting gun' as Roger Waters said.
A song about the lost founder member, Syd barrett, destroyed by drugs...but the song as with all truly great songs applies to you, personally and it becomes about, you and the people you have lost along the way. Now only memories and no more...
Of course, Pre-internet I had to read about the history of the Pink Floyd via books and magazines; No wikipedia then, as is now. Anyone remember 'Rock Family Trees?' And so, over the last 25 years I have bought every album, in more than one format also. Special editions, limited edition box sets. Even fortuitously I even got to see them live in 1994. Travelling down from Stoke on Trent to London to see them. It was for this 18 year old the greatest night of my life up to that point. It was also my first ever concert and to start with the Floyd was incredible.
And now, thinking the Division Bell Album they toured with in 1994 was probably their last album but always hoping that this was not the case and they would at some point, perhaps do just one more album. I have had to wait 20 years for them to do this...20 years. A lot has happened in 20 years. I don't even recognise the 18 year I was for a start. So, we have 'The Endless River', the instrumental off cuts from the division bell, new but not new. It doesn't matter to me as it is regardless, fresh Floyd. It counts, it's an album. It is now, most certainly the last ever new Pink Floyd album. And this has now dawned on me. Dawned on me that the journey I started as 14 year old has now truly come to an end, musically 25 years later. My favourite band I can no longer persuade myself that they may just do one more. It marks the end of, 'The Pink Floyd', as a musicall entity but what a musical entity they were.
It turned out to be, The Pink Floyd (rock dinosaurs, in 1990!)
As I then spent the next hour watching the ever more disturbed evolution of, Bob Geldof, as 'Pink' descendin from a rock star to fascist leader as a metaphor for madness. I was hooked, instantly and needed to find out more about Pink Floyd. I rememeber the following day telling my best friend at school about this most disturbing of films. His step father, whose musical taste we both seemingly inheritated, had all the albums and a few days later my friend had created a Pink Floyd mix tape. From the late 60's to the 1980's and the last album released up to that point, a momentary lapse in reason. It was a mindblowing experience and at the age of 15 altered my perception of reality. It sucked me out of the mainstream pop culture and deposited me in what I would term, classic rock, music with meaningful lyrics; the un-trendy 'Concept Album'!
This song, I swiftly fell in love with, beyond anything I had heard musically at all. It led me to the beatles...(and boy, was that not also a mind bending experience). On the mix tape we went from 1967 to the early 80's and what become one of my most favourite Floyd songs,
Their most underrated, and most bitter, cynical album; The Final Cut is heart renching and depressing but it made you think. It turned a normal 15 year old into a 15 year old that started to realise that the world is not such a pleasant place after all. The emotive power of music & words should never be underestimated. This is certainly the case when you have such talented musicians and writers; In Gilmour & Waters as I was soon to discover you had another pair of British combinations that created a great band; Like Lennon & McCartney & Page & Plant. Gilmour & Waters stand in the same Pantheon.
From the Syd Barret inspired, See Emily Play to the Waters dominated, Final Cut & Wall. After a few more days listening you fall across what is 'Perfect Floyd' when the band wer so well balanced between words and music that they made two of the greatest albums of the 1970's; The Dark side of the Moon & Wish you were here. Two albums I still cannot listen too without becoming that 15 year old with all those 'Hopes and Fears' taking solace from the words and music. These two albums produced two heart achingly painful songs. Simple, yet profound and full of emotion about wasted time and lost friends;
'Time' becomes more gut wrenchingly relevant and painful the older I get when I listen to it. In many ways it can crush your soul at times because the words are so damn salient to absolutely everybody and we still ignore them and then regret we did ten years later, having 'missed the starting gun' as Roger Waters said.
A song about the lost founder member, Syd barrett, destroyed by drugs...but the song as with all truly great songs applies to you, personally and it becomes about, you and the people you have lost along the way. Now only memories and no more...
Of course, Pre-internet I had to read about the history of the Pink Floyd via books and magazines; No wikipedia then, as is now. Anyone remember 'Rock Family Trees?' And so, over the last 25 years I have bought every album, in more than one format also. Special editions, limited edition box sets. Even fortuitously I even got to see them live in 1994. Travelling down from Stoke on Trent to London to see them. It was for this 18 year old the greatest night of my life up to that point. It was also my first ever concert and to start with the Floyd was incredible.
And now, thinking the Division Bell Album they toured with in 1994 was probably their last album but always hoping that this was not the case and they would at some point, perhaps do just one more album. I have had to wait 20 years for them to do this...20 years. A lot has happened in 20 years. I don't even recognise the 18 year I was for a start. So, we have 'The Endless River', the instrumental off cuts from the division bell, new but not new. It doesn't matter to me as it is regardless, fresh Floyd. It counts, it's an album. It is now, most certainly the last ever new Pink Floyd album. And this has now dawned on me. Dawned on me that the journey I started as 14 year old has now truly come to an end, musically 25 years later. My favourite band I can no longer persuade myself that they may just do one more. It marks the end of, 'The Pink Floyd', as a musicall entity but what a musical entity they were.
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