pink floyd

Holdouts

Nov 212008

Can you imagine the 1970s dollars and pounds that must have been waved in the direction of the former members of The Beatles to reunite? In a memorable parody of those offers that the tightasses who own the rights to Saturday Night Live continually wipe clean from YouTube, producer Lorne Michaels, offered John, Paul, George, and Ringo a whopping $3,000 to come back together. Bless the boys for resisting the temptations they must have faced, although that “Free As a Bird” thing and news of Paul releasing his avant-garde recording, “I Could Have Slept With Yoko First,” have threatened to make that blessed holdout a distant memory.

Recently, the members of ABBA have made much of the fact that they shan’t be working together again for any amount of money or good cause. Good for them! Who really wants to see those once-hot Swedish guys prancing about in silk jumpsuits at 60?
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Albums That Shun Company

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 132008

While driving to a client meeting this morning I heard “Interstellar Overdrive” on our local AAA station. As I considered just how much of a waste of time that recording is and began thinking about – as I often do, when faced with revisiting what was once a treasured find in my record collection – how much more I like the two solo Syd Barrett albums than Piper at the Gates of Dawn, I realized something else: I can’t listen to my Syd Barrett albums with anyone else. Years ago I’m sure I spun them with friends in my presence, but today, beside the fact that my closest friends and wife have never cared for those albums, I don’t want to spin them with anyone else around. They’re for me to listen to in private. I have my own feelings about them, and I don’t want anyone else distracting me from the relationship the albums and I have.

I’m not sure why I feel this way about these Barrett albums, in particular, and I’m wondering whether I feel this way about any other albums in my collection. Some albums I choose not to play for others because they may be grating or too intense – in no way do the Barrett albums satisfy the “it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it” objectives of much music we choose to play in social situations. Although the Barrett albums are loaded with backstory and a unique mood, they’re not the same as playing the third Velvet Underground album or some mystical folk-rock or ’60s jazz album that your beard-stroking friends might appreciate hearing played in the background. When I want to spin my Barrett albums, I do so alone. Maybe I don’t want to get caught sucking my thumb.

Do you have albums that shun company?

Rock Flicks That Actually Helped You Appreciate a Band You’d Not Previously Liked – and Perhaps Even Despised!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 192008

True confession – and not one that I’m comfortable sharing: the first time I ever found myself even barely appreciating the music of Pink Floyd was when a friend dragged me along to see the movie The Wall. Maybe I’d heard “See Emily Play” and liked that song, but I had not yet bought Relics and spent any time contemplating how much more I liked Syd Barrett-era Floyd than the stuff that The In Crowd at both my school and in my neighborhood were digging on their hi-fi systems with 5-foot high speakers and all kinds of fancy components I was still years away from owning myself.
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I Really Don’t Care for Gnome Rock

Posted by sammymaudlin

Jan 102008

UPDATED AGAIN WITH TOMORROW’S CONTRIBUTION (THANKS TO TOWNSMAN SATURNISMINE)
UPDATED BELOW THE FOLD WITH BOWIE’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE GENRE (THANKS TO TOWNSMAN SHAWNKILROY)

I LOVE Syd Barrett and even kinda like this song but I fear it may be the song that launched the Gnome Rock genre. Is Syd to blame? Tell me. I can take it. Is he responsible for…
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Hoist Up Your Freak Flag – It’s Hump Day!

Posted by sammymaudlin

Dec 042007

I gotta wash this ZZ Top / Thorogood shit out of my consciousness. It reminds me of Lou Reed’s words, back when his music sounded like it was supposed to: “And since I don’t have to choose I guess I won’t…”

eMusic just released two live Pink Floyd tunes, Interstellar Overdrive and Nick’s Boogie from Peter Whitehead’s Tonite Let’s All Make Love In London documentary. Most of us have probably seen it, but if you haven’t it is a pretty nifty time/place capsule that includes a healthy dose of The Floyd before they officially released anything. The YouTube clip is from the film.

I immediately downloaded the tunes upon release and though I enjoyed them enough, I must say that they aren’t nearly as satisfying as listening while watching a hunched Syd meld with his guitar while the rest of The Floyd looks mildly unclear on their own concept.

Oh and shots of painted boobs help too.

So if you’re tiring of deciding who’s dumber, “dumb or dumber”, take a break from your workaday, crank up The Floyd and fly your freak flag high and strong.

Even More Surprising Than My Slowly Building Respect for Pink Floyd…

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 012007

I just watched a Syd Barrett documentary on VH1 Classic that was surprisingly good and touching. I love the 2 Barrett solo albums and his work with Pink Floyd is almost always “cool,” even when not “great.” However, I usually keep my enjoyment of Barrett to myself. Other people tend to ruin it for me by focusing on the crazy/drug stuff that most people, I sense, like to live through vicariously. By watching this documentary, which was driven by interviews with the Floyd guys, I’ve not only gained a little more respect for the members of the classic version of Pink Floyd, a phenomenon that creeps forward with each passing year of my long-overdue maturity, but I came to an even more surprising realization and feeling of warmth and tolerance. There’s a brief bit with Robyn Hitchcock, who talks about the natural ease of Barrett’s solo albums. It’s never been a secret that Hitchcock was a Barrett fan, but it was my perceived take on his fandom and his seeming fascination with the KEEEERRRRAAAAAZY diamond side of the artist that turned me off on Hitchcock’s music beyond its frequent mediocrity and that made me think twice, tonight, about watching this Barrett doc. As it turned out, from the 2 minutes Hitchcock spoke on the solo Barrett albums, I got a rare taste of Hitchcock’s better side, a side that I’ve only been able to enjoy on his Element of Light album and the song “Winchester”, in particular. I also admire the guy’s hair. Now, if only I could determine another half dozen Hitchcock songs I’d really like to hear on a regular basis…

Tribute to Syd Barrett Planned in UK

Posted by Mr. Moderator

May 082007

Hurry! Book a flight to London! Producer Joe Boyd discusses the upcoming May 10 tribute to Syd Barrett.

On 10 May, a diverse group of singers and musicians will pay tribute to Syd. They – the list currently includes Chrissie Hynde, Vashti Bunyan, Kevin Ayers, Mike Heron, Robyn Hitchcock and others we’re not allowed to mention – will sing songs from all of Syd’s “periods”.

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