Post by The Lunatic on Dec 12, 2016 17:25:02 GMT
I adore Pink Floyd above pretty much anything else, but why? What is it that appeals to me so? Obviously it comes down to chemistry at some point, but even apart from that, there are things that I appreciate with my head as well as my heart.
Here's a little list of My Favourite (Floyd) Things:
- First of all, their sound just appeals to me.
- As Rick said, with other bands they're doing this genre or that, but Pink Floyd just sounds like nothing but Pink Floyd most of the time. The sound changed through the years and lineup changes, but it was always that intangible thing that was Pink Floyd.
- The interplay between Rick and David: particularly when they're trading solos, but also when Rick is quietly in the background, supporting David's soloeywanderings.
- Their lyrics: sometimes profound, sometimes abstract, sometimes concrete, and sometimes nonsensical, but frequently uncannily prescient, clever, spot-on... and at the very least, they sound good.
- Their musical soundscapes are as spot-on as their lyrics. I mean, this is subjective, but I think we can agree that so much of their musical imagery is remarkably direct. Case in point: 'Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast' sounds exactly like one might imagine a fresh, sunny morning in the English countryside. Drip, drip, drip...
- The name. It's so completely nonsensical that it's free to mean something else entirely than just the basic meaning of the words, which have nothing to do with anything, therefore the phrase 'Pink Floyd' means pretty much nothing apart from 'that band whose music is the most fortunate stuff me ears have encountered'. There's no symbolism in the name, it just is.
- Syd Barrett: his legend is so very fascinating. Every band should have a lunatic around to make history more interesting!
Jokes aside, he did inspire much of Roger's finest moments and produced a remarkable body of work of his own.
- They are masters of slow tempos. I can tell you from experience that often, playing slow tempos is harder than playing quickly; I suppose it's because there's more time to overthink what you're doing and make a mistake, and people are more likely to notice. Though Nick would have it that it's his fault cause he isn't good enough to play fast.
- Their musicianship isn't a bit flashy; in fact, if you're going to judge their musicianship from a purely technical basis, then they're rather subpar (particularly for progressive rock, as most prog bands try to show off their musical awesomeness desperately and whenever possible, even if to the disservice of the song, their audience's attention span, etc.); but they play exactly what is needed and somehow create wonderful atmospheres with fairly simple components. (Plus, studio tricks.)
- They were an AWESOME live band. What they could play, they could play really well. I wish I'd gotten to see them!
- Slide guitar and organ = match made in heaven. Though that just takes us back to our Rick-and-David discussion.
- Their production and mixing: four serious audiophiles in that band, I tell ye. It's a joy to my heart, soul, body, mind, but especially me ears.
I think that's definitely enough for now...
Here's a little list of My Favourite (Floyd) Things:
- First of all, their sound just appeals to me.
- As Rick said, with other bands they're doing this genre or that, but Pink Floyd just sounds like nothing but Pink Floyd most of the time. The sound changed through the years and lineup changes, but it was always that intangible thing that was Pink Floyd.
- The interplay between Rick and David: particularly when they're trading solos, but also when Rick is quietly in the background, supporting David's soloeywanderings.
- Their lyrics: sometimes profound, sometimes abstract, sometimes concrete, and sometimes nonsensical, but frequently uncannily prescient, clever, spot-on... and at the very least, they sound good.
- Their musical soundscapes are as spot-on as their lyrics. I mean, this is subjective, but I think we can agree that so much of their musical imagery is remarkably direct. Case in point: 'Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast' sounds exactly like one might imagine a fresh, sunny morning in the English countryside. Drip, drip, drip...
- The name. It's so completely nonsensical that it's free to mean something else entirely than just the basic meaning of the words, which have nothing to do with anything, therefore the phrase 'Pink Floyd' means pretty much nothing apart from 'that band whose music is the most fortunate stuff me ears have encountered'. There's no symbolism in the name, it just is.
- Syd Barrett: his legend is so very fascinating. Every band should have a lunatic around to make history more interesting!
Jokes aside, he did inspire much of Roger's finest moments and produced a remarkable body of work of his own. - They are masters of slow tempos. I can tell you from experience that often, playing slow tempos is harder than playing quickly; I suppose it's because there's more time to overthink what you're doing and make a mistake, and people are more likely to notice. Though Nick would have it that it's his fault cause he isn't good enough to play fast.
- Their musicianship isn't a bit flashy; in fact, if you're going to judge their musicianship from a purely technical basis, then they're rather subpar (particularly for progressive rock, as most prog bands try to show off their musical awesomeness desperately and whenever possible, even if to the disservice of the song, their audience's attention span, etc.); but they play exactly what is needed and somehow create wonderful atmospheres with fairly simple components. (Plus, studio tricks.)
- They were an AWESOME live band. What they could play, they could play really well.
I wish I'd gotten to see them!- Slide guitar and organ = match made in heaven. Though that just takes us back to our Rick-and-David discussion.
- Their production and mixing: four serious audiophiles in that band, I tell ye. It's a joy to my heart, soul, body, mind, but especially me ears.
I think that's definitely enough for now...
