Storm Thorgerson on A Foot in the Door
December 22, 2011 2:55 PM Subscribe
With the release of the Pink Floyd's remastered sampler collection A Foot in the Door, here is a new interview with album cover designer Storm Thorgerson. (Previously)
"Best of"?!?
The album format was born for Pink Floyd - - each one is a complete tale in itself.
It's like taking individual chapters out of an author's books and stringing them together into some kinda Frankennovel.
posted by fairmettle at 3:09 PM on December 22, 2011 [4 favorites]
The album format was born for Pink Floyd - - each one is a complete tale in itself.
It's like taking individual chapters out of an author's books and stringing them together into some kinda Frankennovel.
posted by fairmettle at 3:09 PM on December 22, 2011 [4 favorites]
you're going to hate me but i've never listened to pink floyd. i wouldn't even know where to start. i was going to wait until i turned 30.
posted by Avenger50 at 3:11 PM on December 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Avenger50 at 3:11 PM on December 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
"The Fletcher Memorial Home?" Nothing about The Final Cut should ever be included as a "Best of" anything.
posted by Golfhaus at 3:12 PM on December 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Golfhaus at 3:12 PM on December 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
Yeah, Wish You Were Here is the perfect entrance into Pink Floyd. Then Dark Side Of The Moon. Where you go from there is up to you. Some might move backward into Meddle, some might jump into The Wall. But WYWH and DSOTM... essential.
Also, these are ALBUMS. No shuffle, no background listening. Sit down, turn on the music, and dive in with your full attention.
Even after decades of listening, I still find new things and moments which astound me.
posted by hippybear at 3:20 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
Also, these are ALBUMS. No shuffle, no background listening. Sit down, turn on the music, and dive in with your full attention.
Even after decades of listening, I still find new things and moments which astound me.
posted by hippybear at 3:20 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
> you're going to hate me but i've never listened to pink floyd. i wouldn't even know where to start. i was going to wait until i turned 30.
I don't hate you, either, because you might have answered the question I came in here to ask; who the hell is the target market for a Pink Floyd best-of in 2011?
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:21 PM on December 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
I don't hate you, either, because you might have answered the question I came in here to ask; who the hell is the target market for a Pink Floyd best-of in 2011?
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:21 PM on December 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
I find it interesting that Thorgerson says he's not a surrealist. I've always thought he was, based on the art I've seen by him over the decades.
posted by hippybear at 3:24 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by hippybear at 3:24 PM on December 22, 2011
Also, these are ALBUMS. No shuffle, no background listening. Sit down, turn on the music, and dive in with your full attention.
Preferably in a recliner with the lights down and your eyes closed.
posted by MikeMc at 3:25 PM on December 22, 2011
Preferably in a recliner with the lights down and your eyes closed.
posted by MikeMc at 3:25 PM on December 22, 2011
> "The Fletcher Memorial Home?" Nothing about The Final Cut should ever be included as a "Best of" anything.
I was at a party - a pretty good one - where the host's girlfriend threw that album on because she wanted everyone to get the fuck out. It worked. So it's on my personal Best Albums To Ruin A Party With list.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:26 PM on December 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
I was at a party - a pretty good one - where the host's girlfriend threw that album on because she wanted everyone to get the fuck out. It worked. So it's on my personal Best Albums To Ruin A Party With list.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:26 PM on December 22, 2011 [3 favorites]
it's on my personal Best Albums To Ruin A Party With list.
A while back, that would have been My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts. But now musical tastes have caught up with that decades-ahead-of-its-time album enough that it doesn't work anymore.
posted by hippybear at 3:28 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
A while back, that would have been My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts. But now musical tastes have caught up with that decades-ahead-of-its-time album enough that it doesn't work anymore.
posted by hippybear at 3:28 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
I am in my mid thirties. I grew up listening to Pink Floyd. I used to trace album covers and color them in while listening to the music. Pink Floyd had some of the best, they are the main reason I started drawing and photographing end ended up with a bachelors in design.
The first CD I bought with my own money was Atom Heart Mother, because I had scratched my dads album when I was 6.
I am completely in the market for remastered full albums, specially if they came with full size lp covers or links to very high res images of the covers. Not so much for best if albums.
posted by Ayn Rand and God at 3:31 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
The first CD I bought with my own money was Atom Heart Mother, because I had scratched my dads album when I was 6.
I am completely in the market for remastered full albums, specially if they came with full size lp covers or links to very high res images of the covers. Not so much for best if albums.
posted by Ayn Rand and God at 3:31 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
I guess I'm the one guy in the world who likes "The Final Cut." And this coming from a guy who survived high school ENTIRELY because "The Wall" was there for me.
posted by jbickers at 3:31 PM on December 22, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by jbickers at 3:31 PM on December 22, 2011 [8 favorites]
So are these just reissues, or is there any substance to these "Immersion" and "Experience" editions?
posted by Pyrogenesis at 3:32 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by Pyrogenesis at 3:32 PM on December 22, 2011
We don't hate you. Start with Wish You Were Here, beginning to end.
Upon entering college, my knowledge of PF began and ended with the radio-friendly edits of Brick and Money. And since this happened to be a comparatively conservative college, my knowledge may well have stagnated their had it not been for one particular roommate, Howie, who introduced me to Wish You Were Here. Beginning to end, then back to the beginning, for months, on headphones, then on his big-as-an-oversized-TV speakers, at volumes guaranteed to make enemies in an Amy Grant-friendly crowd.
Thank God it didn't end there. I also discovered Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, Frank Zappa (especially Joe's Garage), early Yes, ELP (dodging the tomatoes). Oh yes, Wendy Carlos. Kraftwerk. All of that music was light in an otherwise darkish time.
What was I saying? Oh yeah, seconding a lights-out, no distractions listening session.
posted by vverse23 at 3:37 PM on December 22, 2011
Upon entering college, my knowledge of PF began and ended with the radio-friendly edits of Brick and Money. And since this happened to be a comparatively conservative college, my knowledge may well have stagnated their had it not been for one particular roommate, Howie, who introduced me to Wish You Were Here. Beginning to end, then back to the beginning, for months, on headphones, then on his big-as-an-oversized-TV speakers, at volumes guaranteed to make enemies in an Amy Grant-friendly crowd.
Thank God it didn't end there. I also discovered Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, Frank Zappa (especially Joe's Garage), early Yes, ELP (dodging the tomatoes). Oh yes, Wendy Carlos. Kraftwerk. All of that music was light in an otherwise darkish time.
What was I saying? Oh yeah, seconding a lights-out, no distractions listening session.
posted by vverse23 at 3:37 PM on December 22, 2011
"Wish You Were Here is the perfect entrance into Pink Floyd"
Tis true. Oddly enough just yesterday I was puttering around the house half singing, half humming "Welcome to the Machine". Where have you been? It's alright we know where you've been.
posted by MikeMc at 3:38 PM on December 22, 2011
Tis true. Oddly enough just yesterday I was puttering around the house half singing, half humming "Welcome to the Machine". Where have you been? It's alright we know where you've been.
posted by MikeMc at 3:38 PM on December 22, 2011
I guess I'm the one guy in the world who likes "The Final Cut."
Oh, no. I'd take the title song over all of Pink Floyd's post-60s work.
And I'm not saying that just because I'm stoned.
posted by Trurl at 3:38 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh, no. I'd take the title song over all of Pink Floyd's post-60s work.
And I'm not saying that just because I'm stoned.
posted by Trurl at 3:38 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
When I was 12, I received my first CD player. My father brought home three CDs. Led Zeppelin 4, Doors Debut, and A Collection of Great Dance Songs by Pink Floyd. Pretty cool of the guy. I now detest the Doors, have owned every Zep album, and I wouldn't go near a greatest hits album if you threatend my life. Thankfully, I own and listen to almost all of Pink Floyd's albums. Atom Heart Mother is a must have to my ears. Same with Animals and Meddle. I too love Wish You Were Here. If you turn on your classic rock radio dial, you will collectively listen to most of Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall and Wish You Were Here-- perhaps all in the same day. A shame really. I guess that's why were talking about a greatest hits album.
To the newbie, I would google Syd Barrett to a get a feel for Pink Floyd's beginnings, their first album and their progression. Pink Floyd definately tapped into a bit of mystery and mastery, but I reckon the surviving members of the band could give a damn about this collection considering the rights are owned by Capitol records.
posted by captainsohler at 3:45 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
To the newbie, I would google Syd Barrett to a get a feel for Pink Floyd's beginnings, their first album and their progression. Pink Floyd definately tapped into a bit of mystery and mastery, but I reckon the surviving members of the band could give a damn about this collection considering the rights are owned by Capitol records.
posted by captainsohler at 3:45 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
It is cool to know that his team uses a hassleblad with a digital back; surprised to know that he himself does not take the image.
posted by captainsohler at 3:49 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by captainsohler at 3:49 PM on December 22, 2011
Don't worry, Jbickers, The Final Cut is a favorite of mine as well. I keep the peace with my PF loving SO by maintaining (to her face, anyway) that while it's a terrible PF, album, it's an AMAZING Roger Waters album. Personally, I would say that it's better than any subsequent PF album anyway.
posted by KingEdRa at 3:50 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by KingEdRa at 3:50 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
Golfhaus: “‘The Fletcher Memorial Home?’ Nothing about The Final Cut should ever be included as a "Best of" anything.”
The Final Cut is their best of. Every song on that album is better than anything else they ever did.
posted by koeselitz at 3:50 PM on December 22, 2011 [4 favorites]
The Final Cut is their best of. Every song on that album is better than anything else they ever did.
posted by koeselitz at 3:50 PM on December 22, 2011 [4 favorites]
"To the newbie, I would google Syd Barrett to a get a feel for Pink Floyd's beginnings, their first album and their progression."
A couple of Syd Barrett era singles:
See Emily Play
Arnold Layne
posted by MikeMc at 3:52 PM on December 22, 2011
A couple of Syd Barrett era singles:
See Emily Play
Arnold Layne
posted by MikeMc at 3:52 PM on December 22, 2011
When you see my username again, I will have listened to Wish You Were Here with the lights off.
posted by Avenger50 at 3:53 PM on December 22, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by Avenger50 at 3:53 PM on December 22, 2011 [8 favorites]
"kerrrrrrrrrching! kerrrching kerching kerching!"
(The real sound of Pink Floyd these days)
posted by Monkeymoo at 3:56 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
(The real sound of Pink Floyd these days)
posted by Monkeymoo at 3:56 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
it's on my personal Best Albums To Ruin A Party With list.
A while back, that would have been My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts...
posted by hippybear
Bush of Ghosts was that album during my brief college dorm career in the early 1981-82. Although we weren't very social, and didn't really have many parties. It was more of a "Please leave because we don't want to share with you" album.
posted by marxchivist at 3:56 PM on December 22, 2011
A while back, that would have been My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts...
posted by hippybear
Bush of Ghosts was that album during my brief college dorm career in the early 1981-82. Although we weren't very social, and didn't really have many parties. It was more of a "Please leave because we don't want to share with you" album.
posted by marxchivist at 3:56 PM on December 22, 2011
I know what your saying The World Famous. But that one sentence is part of a whole paragraph. Correct: it is definately a Brit Pop Psychadelic (reminds me of the Kinks) album that is seperate from the rest of their work.
posted by captainsohler at 4:02 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by captainsohler at 4:02 PM on December 22, 2011
Piper is all I listen to nowadays. I would give a lot for a fully sanctioned early singles collection. One that included Scream Thy Last Scream and Vegetable Man.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:03 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:03 PM on December 22, 2011
Also, these are ALBUMS. No shuffle, no background listening. Sit down, turn on the music, and dive in with your full attention.
Preferably in a recliner with the lights down and your eyes closed.
After three or four very nice bowls.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:17 PM on December 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
Preferably in a recliner with the lights down and your eyes closed.
After three or four very nice bowls.
posted by Meatbomb at 4:17 PM on December 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
I don't think you're quite ready for the court of the crimson king.
posted by Artw at 4:28 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 4:28 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
I'm all alone in this, but I love Atom Heart Mother. The Bside is solid, and the A side is pure orchestral chaos. If you listen closely, you can hear DSotM in there, gestating.
Fearless is one of my favorite songs ever, though.
It wasn't until the internet that I was ever able to find out that I'll never walk alone.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 4:36 PM on December 22, 2011 [5 favorites]
I am completely in the market for remastered full albums, specially if they came with full size lp covers
They have some of them
posted by MikeMc at 4:44 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
They have some of them
posted by MikeMc at 4:44 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
you're going to hate me but i've never listened to pink floyd. i wouldn't even know where to start. i was going to wait until i turned 30.
my vote would be for dark side of the moon to start with - it's the classic floyd album - i would not start with some cut up "best of" album
the other albums i would recommend are meddle, wish you were here, animals, the wall and do not overlook obscured by clouds, which although it's a movie soundtrack, shows the band playing short, non-concept album songs, something i wish they'd done again - and the instrumentals are nice, too
ummagumma, which is where i started with pink floyd, has a good live record, but the studio record is very patchy and experimental - so are atom heart mother and the more soundtrack
relics, if that's still in print, is a good collection of singles and other rarities
a saucerful of secrets is an alright space/psych rock album, but not a great one
a piper at the gates of dawn is a classic album, but it's a different band altogether and should be approached as such
the final cut just kind of left me cold and depressed - and i've yet to get through their post waters studio albums - way too long and draggy
posted by pyramid termite at 5:00 PM on December 22, 2011
my vote would be for dark side of the moon to start with - it's the classic floyd album - i would not start with some cut up "best of" album
the other albums i would recommend are meddle, wish you were here, animals, the wall and do not overlook obscured by clouds, which although it's a movie soundtrack, shows the band playing short, non-concept album songs, something i wish they'd done again - and the instrumentals are nice, too
ummagumma, which is where i started with pink floyd, has a good live record, but the studio record is very patchy and experimental - so are atom heart mother and the more soundtrack
relics, if that's still in print, is a good collection of singles and other rarities
a saucerful of secrets is an alright space/psych rock album, but not a great one
a piper at the gates of dawn is a classic album, but it's a different band altogether and should be approached as such
the final cut just kind of left me cold and depressed - and i've yet to get through their post waters studio albums - way too long and draggy
posted by pyramid termite at 5:00 PM on December 22, 2011
Also, these are ALBUMS. No shuffle, no background listening. Sit down, turn on the music, and dive in with your full attention.
Preferably in a recliner with the lights down and your eyes closed.
After three or four very nice bowls.
vverse23 mentioned headphones.
posted by ovvl at 5:00 PM on December 22, 2011
Preferably in a recliner with the lights down and your eyes closed.
After three or four very nice bowls.
vverse23 mentioned headphones.
posted by ovvl at 5:00 PM on December 22, 2011
i've yet to get through their post waters studio albums - way too long and draggy
both A Momentary Lapse Of Reason and The Division Bell are outstanding albums. Of the two, I'd say The Division Bell is the stronger effort, although the pop sensibilities on A Momentary Lapse Of Reason make it quite appealing. (It's also the only PF tour I ever got to see, so it holds a special place for me.)
TDB is really strong in its concept, and the closing track never fails to devastate me when it finally comes around.
I encourage you to at least give TDB the listening it deserves. AMLOR is good, but TDB is actually great.
posted by hippybear at 5:06 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
both A Momentary Lapse Of Reason and The Division Bell are outstanding albums. Of the two, I'd say The Division Bell is the stronger effort, although the pop sensibilities on A Momentary Lapse Of Reason make it quite appealing. (It's also the only PF tour I ever got to see, so it holds a special place for me.)
TDB is really strong in its concept, and the closing track never fails to devastate me when it finally comes around.
I encourage you to at least give TDB the listening it deserves. AMLOR is good, but TDB is actually great.
posted by hippybear at 5:06 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
I miss album covers. CD art was too small to see any detail to and no one pays too much attention to the jpg covers included with MP3 albums. Album art and liner notes and maybe even stickers or a poster were all part of the vinyl album listening experience. You'd buy the thing, take it home, pull the shrink-wrap off, check out the cover, pull the inner sleeve out (which had more art), gingerly pull the disk out of the inner sleeve, put it on the turntable, drop the needle on the first track and listen to side A sitting in front of the stereo while trying to figure out what the cover art means and reading the lyrics on the inner gatefold.
posted by octothorpe at 5:55 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 5:55 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
My best friend always had a cooler record collection than I did when we were growing up...he practically lived in used record stores. He had/still has a whole crate of rare PF imports, bootlegs, unlabeled stuff. Stuff you had to ID by the stamping numbers on the record hub. Couple recordings of rehearsals of The Wall, which quickly made you understand that Roger was a real prick at that point in their careers. A scratchy old white-label of the Screaming Abdabs. A BUNCH of terrible-quality live recordings, but were just awesome to hear. Those guys would absolutely wreck a stage at a live performance back in the late 60's.
He also had the first gold edition remaster of Dark Side on CD, but for one reason or another, he'd left it, and a bunch of other stuff in storage at his folk's place, which was destroyed when his parents' house spontaneously exploded last July, which is a whole 'nother story. Fortunately he had all his records at his home, so they weren't lost.
posted by rhythim at 6:04 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
He also had the first gold edition remaster of Dark Side on CD, but for one reason or another, he'd left it, and a bunch of other stuff in storage at his folk's place, which was destroyed when his parents' house spontaneously exploded last July, which is a whole 'nother story. Fortunately he had all his records at his home, so they weren't lost.
posted by rhythim at 6:04 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
- i would not start with some cut up "best of" album
Agreed. I guess I understand the reasoning of a "best of" and I did buy Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd when it came out several years ago.
But, titling this latest compilation A Foot in the Door really sets up the wrong expectation of their music, in my opinion. Yes there are powerful individual tracks throughout their discography, but more than just about any other band, Floyd albums should be heard as a whole.
As far as first listening, I always recommend Dark Side first, then Wish. I like how their disillusionment comes through in the latter album. (The warm human heartbeat of DSOTM is replaced by cold, mechanical pulsing in WYWH.) And Shine On You Crazy Diamond, taken as a whole, is a stunning piece of work, showing their longing for their old friend Syd, and, in my mind, their old selves as well.
posted by The Deej at 6:06 PM on December 22, 2011
Agreed. I guess I understand the reasoning of a "best of" and I did buy Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd when it came out several years ago.
But, titling this latest compilation A Foot in the Door really sets up the wrong expectation of their music, in my opinion. Yes there are powerful individual tracks throughout their discography, but more than just about any other band, Floyd albums should be heard as a whole.
As far as first listening, I always recommend Dark Side first, then Wish. I like how their disillusionment comes through in the latter album. (The warm human heartbeat of DSOTM is replaced by cold, mechanical pulsing in WYWH.) And Shine On You Crazy Diamond, taken as a whole, is a stunning piece of work, showing their longing for their old friend Syd, and, in my mind, their old selves as well.
posted by The Deej at 6:06 PM on December 22, 2011
…and if you've had enough of Pink Floyd's recordings of Pink Floyd, you could always pick up Rebuild The Wall, which performs The Wall as a bluegrass album.
posted by jepler at 6:16 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by jepler at 6:16 PM on December 22, 2011
So it's on my personal Best Albums To Ruin A Party With list.
I recently discovered that my local bar has the entire single-track of Thick as a Brick on the jukebox. I play it when there are too many frat boys around.
posted by cmoj at 6:32 PM on December 22, 2011 [4 favorites]
I recently discovered that my local bar has the entire single-track of Thick as a Brick on the jukebox. I play it when there are too many frat boys around.
posted by cmoj at 6:32 PM on December 22, 2011 [4 favorites]
I'm all alone in this, but I love Atom Heart Mother.
No you're not. It's been a while since I put that on, but I loved the quirkiness.
The Final Cut is their best of. Every song on that album is better than anything else they ever did.
We're going to have to agree to disagree there. TFC is the one PF album that I wouldn't be upset if I never got to listen to it again. I'd rather listen to "Several Species..." on repeat for the length of that album.
posted by Golfhaus at 6:53 PM on December 22, 2011
No you're not. It's been a while since I put that on, but I loved the quirkiness.
The Final Cut is their best of. Every song on that album is better than anything else they ever did.
We're going to have to agree to disagree there. TFC is the one PF album that I wouldn't be upset if I never got to listen to it again. I'd rather listen to "Several Species..." on repeat for the length of that album.
posted by Golfhaus at 6:53 PM on December 22, 2011
AHM, DSOTM, and WYWH were all issued in quadraphonic back in the day. (The first two had quad mixes done by Alan Parsons.) The quad mixes are all available if you look around. And they're worth getting. They've refreshed my listening to all three of those albums.
posted by hippybear at 6:56 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by hippybear at 6:56 PM on December 22, 2011
I recently discovered that my local bar has the entire single-track of Thick as a Brick on the jukebox. I play it when there are too many frat boys around.
Well played, sir! Very well played, indeed!
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:12 PM on December 22, 2011
Well played, sir! Very well played, indeed!
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:12 PM on December 22, 2011
I have loved different stretches of Pink Floyd for different stretches of my life. First, as an awkward 14-year old it was the entire Dark Side of the Moon album. Later, when I was angry, it was Animals, and when I was less depressed it was Meddle. By the time I'd left high school I had most of the LP's, and knew every. single. note.
In my twenties I let them go for long stretches of musical discovery elsewhere, but kept coming back to check in. These visits would reward me with fresh ears. Holy crap, is "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" that beautiful? How have none of my friends heard "Fat Old Sun?" How did I not realize that "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" outrocks anything ever? And so on, and then it was back to whatever was going on in the 1990s.
My favorite album has most often been Meddle. I can't defend it in any critical sense, really. It's just full of perfect moments, and one gets the sense that the band is still a unit. It even has humor. I used to clean horse stalls while listening to it on headphones, and the whole experience was perfectly fun, somehow.
Now that I'm almost 40, having listened to this band regularly for 25+ years, the Pink Floyd song that I love the most and would have to include on any compilation comes from Meddle, and it's called "Seamus."
If you're not familiar with this song, it is an acoustic twelve-bar blues, with David Gilmour singing about a dog:
It must be a joke, right? Well, they actually perform the song live. And somehow I think it is wonderful, like they took everything they've done up to that point, turned it upside down, and became a cheap backing band for a dog who outperforms them.
(For their next album, instead of putting the mic in front of a dog, they'd put it in front Paul and Linda McCartney, but couldn't use the material because it sounded too stiff and prepared.)
And "Seamus" just sits there, unlike anything else. There's a long tradition of blues songs about dogs, and the fact that Pink Floyd put their hat in that ring is, well, amazing. One tends to listen to this band in a very serious way, getting absorbed into the texture and the psychology of it all, but when it comes down to it, they were much stranger than most of their audience gives them credit for. And every time I hear that dog singing from way back in 1971, I get a huge grin and I want to cheer hallelujas to the rafters.
posted by swift at 7:21 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
In my twenties I let them go for long stretches of musical discovery elsewhere, but kept coming back to check in. These visits would reward me with fresh ears. Holy crap, is "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" that beautiful? How have none of my friends heard "Fat Old Sun?" How did I not realize that "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" outrocks anything ever? And so on, and then it was back to whatever was going on in the 1990s.
My favorite album has most often been Meddle. I can't defend it in any critical sense, really. It's just full of perfect moments, and one gets the sense that the band is still a unit. It even has humor. I used to clean horse stalls while listening to it on headphones, and the whole experience was perfectly fun, somehow.
Now that I'm almost 40, having listened to this band regularly for 25+ years, the Pink Floyd song that I love the most and would have to include on any compilation comes from Meddle, and it's called "Seamus."
If you're not familiar with this song, it is an acoustic twelve-bar blues, with David Gilmour singing about a dog:
I was in the kitchenAnd there is a dog on the recording, and he is howling into the microphone the whole time. Howling and crying beautifully.
Seamus, that's the dog, was outside
Well I was in the kitchen
Seamus, my own hound, was outside
Well you know the sun was sinking slowly
And my own hound-dog sat right down and cried
It must be a joke, right? Well, they actually perform the song live. And somehow I think it is wonderful, like they took everything they've done up to that point, turned it upside down, and became a cheap backing band for a dog who outperforms them.
(For their next album, instead of putting the mic in front of a dog, they'd put it in front Paul and Linda McCartney, but couldn't use the material because it sounded too stiff and prepared.)
And "Seamus" just sits there, unlike anything else. There's a long tradition of blues songs about dogs, and the fact that Pink Floyd put their hat in that ring is, well, amazing. One tends to listen to this band in a very serious way, getting absorbed into the texture and the psychology of it all, but when it comes down to it, they were much stranger than most of their audience gives them credit for. And every time I hear that dog singing from way back in 1971, I get a huge grin and I want to cheer hallelujas to the rafters.
posted by swift at 7:21 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
My mother never quite understood my fascination with techie stuff, even though her father and brother were both very techie-slide-rule kinda guys. But we totally bonded when I set up her new super-duper stereo with Dark Side remastered on CD and The Wall in Dolby Surround on disc.
A former co-worker used to say that The Wall and Final Cut were Roger Waters dragging the other guys around, and that Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell were really just David Gilmour going solo.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:35 PM on December 22, 2011
A former co-worker used to say that The Wall and Final Cut were Roger Waters dragging the other guys around, and that Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell were really just David Gilmour going solo.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:35 PM on December 22, 2011
@swift, my favorite part of Seamus is about 58 seconds in, when faintly in the background, you can hear someone say "Here is the actual dog." I seem to recall reading somewhere that on the Meddle track, many/most of the howls were actually people doing dog impressions.
posted by Golfhaus at 7:44 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by Golfhaus at 7:44 PM on December 22, 2011
Swift, that was one lovely bit of writing. Thank you.
posted by docpops at 7:48 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by docpops at 7:48 PM on December 22, 2011
many/most of the howls were actually people doing dog impressions
Hmm... the pooch *is* suspiciously on-key, pretty much. Well, hey, at least it wasn't auto-tuned.
posted by hap_hazard at 7:50 PM on December 22, 2011
Hmm... the pooch *is* suspiciously on-key, pretty much. Well, hey, at least it wasn't auto-tuned.
posted by hap_hazard at 7:50 PM on December 22, 2011
No love for Piper at the Gates? In my book, nothing else comes close, although my favorite track of all is Granchester Meadows and I never could get enough of More and Obscured by Clouds (favorite album name of all times!)
posted by rainy at 8:02 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by rainy at 8:02 PM on December 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
Plus Meddle has Fearless. Meddle ftw.
posted by neuromodulator at 8:16 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by neuromodulator at 8:16 PM on December 22, 2011
I was at a party - a pretty good one - where the host's girlfriend threw that album on because she wanted everyone to get the fuck out. It worked. So it's on my personal Best Albums To Ruin A Party With list.
Any party I was at yes, I spent an entire summer in high school learning that album for some odd reason. My friend played guitar and I sang, we probably did the entire album back to front twice a day out of sheer boredom. I saw him 20 years later, First thing he did was pull out the guitar and start playing The Post War Dream. If someone played that at a party I was at, I would be forced to stay there , drink whatever shit beer they had, smoke some ditch weed, and sing at the top of my lungs.
"tell me true..... tell me why...was Jesus crucified..
posted by Ad hominem at 8:49 PM on December 22, 2011
Any party I was at yes, I spent an entire summer in high school learning that album for some odd reason. My friend played guitar and I sang, we probably did the entire album back to front twice a day out of sheer boredom. I saw him 20 years later, First thing he did was pull out the guitar and start playing The Post War Dream. If someone played that at a party I was at, I would be forced to stay there , drink whatever shit beer they had, smoke some ditch weed, and sing at the top of my lungs.
"tell me true..... tell me why...was Jesus crucified..
posted by Ad hominem at 8:49 PM on December 22, 2011
I recently discovered that my local bar has the entire single-track of Thick as a Brick on the jukebox. I play it when there are too many frat boys around.
This backfires sometimes, I saw someone try to drive hipsters out of a bar by putting on Cannibal Corpse and a different regular got so mad he hurled a shot glass at the guy and they both guy 86ed.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:51 PM on December 22, 2011
This backfires sometimes, I saw someone try to drive hipsters out of a bar by putting on Cannibal Corpse and a different regular got so mad he hurled a shot glass at the guy and they both guy 86ed.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:51 PM on December 22, 2011
You can hear someone say "Here is the actual dog."
And this whole time I thought he was saying "very theatrical."
posted by swift at 9:00 PM on December 22, 2011
And this whole time I thought he was saying "very theatrical."
posted by swift at 9:00 PM on December 22, 2011
In this brave age of Total Media Availability, there's no reason to listen to a Pink Floyd greatest hits album. As for where to start, I'm gonna be contrarian and say skip the studio albums entirely and go straight for the bootlegs. Specifically, any show between 67 and 73. Here are my recommendations :
09/13/67 (with Syd Barrett)
11/13/67 (with Syd Barrett)
09/17/69 (The Man and the Journey, AKA Amsterdam 69)
10/25/69 (with Frank Zappa) (AKA Let's Be Frank)
02/11/70 (Project Birmingham, AKA Violence in Birmingham)
04/29/70 (Interstellar Encore)
09/26/70 (Electric Factory)
11/21/70 (Smokin' Blues)
11/20/71 (From a Time So Strange)
03/12/72 (The Great Gig on the Moon)
11/15/72 (Echoes of the Past)
05/09/77 (Firemans' Oakland Master, AKA Oakland 77, AKA Plays the Animals)
07/06/77 (Azimuth Coordinator II)
A Tree Full of Secrets (compilation of early singles, rarities, and unreleased material)
Have You Got It Yet (Syd Barrett rarities compilation)
Between 67 and 73, they were truly masters of their craft, taking music in new directions and truly collaborating as a BAND. The only thing that comes close on an official release is the live side of Ummagumma. If you are truly, sincerely interested, MeMail me for details.
Okay, okay, okay, I guess some of their studio albums are pretty good ;)
DSOTM is probably the best place to begin your journey. This was the band at their height; even though WYWH is an excellent album, but by that point the forces that would inevitably tear apart the band had already taken hold. You can tell this when you compare pre-73 bootlegs to post-73. They're just not collaborating the same way anymore.
From DSOTM, move on to WYWH, then Meddle. From there, head to Obscured By Clouds -- an underrated album, but one of their most melodic. After that, go to Relics and Piper, immensely enjoyable albums that aren't in any way representative of their overall sound.
More, Ummagumma, Saucerful, and Atom Heart Mother are kickass albums, but for that period of their history, it's really hard to beat the bootlegs. And as much as I hate it when the band members denigrate these albums -- referring to them as their "wandering period" and such -- they really don't do justice to what is, in my opinion, the best period of one of the best rock bands ever.
I'm not such a huge fan of Animals, although others are. Dogs gets old after a few listens and becomes kind of a slog.
Don't start with the Wall. I personally hate it, although I loved it when I was a teen. I dunno if I burnt out on it or what. But I feel like the narrative of "poor spoiled rockstar, someone must be forcing him to have all that sex and do all that cocaine and be loved by millions, oh the poor baby" is just so tired and used and old. Then again, people my age still romanticize about Kurt Cobain, so it's like, whatever.
The Final Cut.... ugh.... I think I've listened to it all of three times in its entirety. Nothing to see here folks, move along. If you're really into Roger, you should listen to Amused to Death, which is actually a really great album that I think doesn't gets as much credit as it deserves.
I've never been able to listen to either A Momentary Lapse of Reason or The Division Bell straight through. They bored the crap out of me. And even though I think it was a total dick move for Roger to be like, "I'm gonna take my toys and go home, so that means you can't be Pink Floyd anymore", I have to admit he was right. The Floyd at that moment in history just had nothing left to give us. Somewhere there's an alternate history timeline where maybe Roger wasn't such a dick about it, and they all just decided to give it a rest for a while, going their separate ways in peace, only to get back together years later for the inevitable reunion tours.
... or better yet, for the REALLY hardcore, an alternate history timeline where they took a year off from touring after DSOTM, and instead of being hustled into doing arena tours they'd grow to hate, holed up in a country estate somewhere with their friends -- a la Exile-era Stones -- and produced an album that BLEW EVERYBODY'S FRICKIN MINDS, followed by 40 more years of albums, sporadic tours, and success on their own terms.
Hey, it's my alternate history timeline, I can do what I want!
posted by Afroblanco at 9:29 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
09/13/67 (with Syd Barrett)
11/13/67 (with Syd Barrett)
09/17/69 (The Man and the Journey, AKA Amsterdam 69)
10/25/69 (with Frank Zappa) (AKA Let's Be Frank)
02/11/70 (Project Birmingham, AKA Violence in Birmingham)
04/29/70 (Interstellar Encore)
09/26/70 (Electric Factory)
11/21/70 (Smokin' Blues)
11/20/71 (From a Time So Strange)
03/12/72 (The Great Gig on the Moon)
11/15/72 (Echoes of the Past)
05/09/77 (Firemans' Oakland Master, AKA Oakland 77, AKA Plays the Animals)
07/06/77 (Azimuth Coordinator II)
A Tree Full of Secrets (compilation of early singles, rarities, and unreleased material)
Have You Got It Yet (Syd Barrett rarities compilation)
Between 67 and 73, they were truly masters of their craft, taking music in new directions and truly collaborating as a BAND. The only thing that comes close on an official release is the live side of Ummagumma. If you are truly, sincerely interested, MeMail me for details.
Okay, okay, okay, I guess some of their studio albums are pretty good ;)
DSOTM is probably the best place to begin your journey. This was the band at their height; even though WYWH is an excellent album, but by that point the forces that would inevitably tear apart the band had already taken hold. You can tell this when you compare pre-73 bootlegs to post-73. They're just not collaborating the same way anymore.
From DSOTM, move on to WYWH, then Meddle. From there, head to Obscured By Clouds -- an underrated album, but one of their most melodic. After that, go to Relics and Piper, immensely enjoyable albums that aren't in any way representative of their overall sound.
More, Ummagumma, Saucerful, and Atom Heart Mother are kickass albums, but for that period of their history, it's really hard to beat the bootlegs. And as much as I hate it when the band members denigrate these albums -- referring to them as their "wandering period" and such -- they really don't do justice to what is, in my opinion, the best period of one of the best rock bands ever.
I'm not such a huge fan of Animals, although others are. Dogs gets old after a few listens and becomes kind of a slog.
Don't start with the Wall. I personally hate it, although I loved it when I was a teen. I dunno if I burnt out on it or what. But I feel like the narrative of "poor spoiled rockstar, someone must be forcing him to have all that sex and do all that cocaine and be loved by millions, oh the poor baby" is just so tired and used and old. Then again, people my age still romanticize about Kurt Cobain, so it's like, whatever.
The Final Cut.... ugh.... I think I've listened to it all of three times in its entirety. Nothing to see here folks, move along. If you're really into Roger, you should listen to Amused to Death, which is actually a really great album that I think doesn't gets as much credit as it deserves.
I've never been able to listen to either A Momentary Lapse of Reason or The Division Bell straight through. They bored the crap out of me. And even though I think it was a total dick move for Roger to be like, "I'm gonna take my toys and go home, so that means you can't be Pink Floyd anymore", I have to admit he was right. The Floyd at that moment in history just had nothing left to give us. Somewhere there's an alternate history timeline where maybe Roger wasn't such a dick about it, and they all just decided to give it a rest for a while, going their separate ways in peace, only to get back together years later for the inevitable reunion tours.
... or better yet, for the REALLY hardcore, an alternate history timeline where they took a year off from touring after DSOTM, and instead of being hustled into doing arena tours they'd grow to hate, holed up in a country estate somewhere with their friends -- a la Exile-era Stones -- and produced an album that BLEW EVERYBODY'S FRICKIN MINDS, followed by 40 more years of albums, sporadic tours, and success on their own terms.
Hey, it's my alternate history timeline, I can do what I want!
posted by Afroblanco at 9:29 PM on December 22, 2011 [6 favorites]
That's an extremely wretched collection. I just can't imagine putting that together and saying "Yes, we have captured the essence that is Floyd. To the azimuth coordinator!"
posted by Palindromedary at 10:16 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by Palindromedary at 10:16 PM on December 22, 2011
Some of those bootlegs were chosen for historical reasons. For example, Azimuth Coordinator II is an unremarkable show, except that it captures the Spitting Incident, which was a turning point for the band.
Know Your Floyd.
posted by Afroblanco at 10:47 PM on December 22, 2011
Know Your Floyd.
posted by Afroblanco at 10:47 PM on December 22, 2011
I am curious what else you think is wretched in that collection. Have you even listened to any of them?
posted by Afroblanco at 10:48 PM on December 22, 2011
posted by Afroblanco at 10:48 PM on December 22, 2011
Seamus is a palette cleanser for Echoes.
posted by euphorb at 11:10 PM on December 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by euphorb at 11:10 PM on December 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
jbickers: "I guess I'm the one guy in the world who likes "The Final Cut." And this coming from a guy who survived high school ENTIRELY because "The Wall" was there for me."
I also like The Final Cut. Fuck the haters.
posted by Splunge at 12:03 AM on December 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
I also like The Final Cut. Fuck the haters.
posted by Splunge at 12:03 AM on December 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
I was referring to the topic of the thread, not your bootleg list.
Looking at it, I think it's largely a fine list, though I think Tree is far too huge and sprawling to include on any recommendation list for someone new to the field. I would also question your lack of Pompeii and the BBC sessions of 1970 and 71, which, aside from being the best-sounding Pink Floyd boots available, contain remarkable performances. Yes, these are obvious choices, but for extremely good reasons.
Pre-DSotM is my favourite live period of the band as well.
posted by Palindromedary at 12:10 AM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
Looking at it, I think it's largely a fine list, though I think Tree is far too huge and sprawling to include on any recommendation list for someone new to the field. I would also question your lack of Pompeii and the BBC sessions of 1970 and 71, which, aside from being the best-sounding Pink Floyd boots available, contain remarkable performances. Yes, these are obvious choices, but for extremely good reasons.
Pre-DSotM is my favourite live period of the band as well.
posted by Palindromedary at 12:10 AM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
I also like The Final Cut. Fuck the haters.
Hear fucking hear. It's like the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band of Pink Floyd albums (and not just because it's really a solo album).
posted by No-sword at 2:26 AM on December 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
Hear fucking hear. It's like the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band of Pink Floyd albums (and not just because it's really a solo album).
posted by No-sword at 2:26 AM on December 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
Nick Mason's drumming was at its absolute peak of perfection for Live at Pompeii. To my way of thinking, Meddle (for which L@P is effectively a live music video) is the last Floyd recording before showmanship started pushing aside musicianship. Not that there's anything wrong with showmanship, if that's your thing. It's not really mine.
posted by flabdablet at 3:02 AM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 3:02 AM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
Animals is more despondent, IMO, than The Wall. Personally, The Wall reeks too much of high school for me, but it's the rather existential approach of Animals that makes listening to it so much of a draining experience. Save listening to that album for a dreary winter day with limited sunlight...then follow it up with a real palate-cleanser like A Saucerful Of Secrets (which puts paid to the concept of scary psychedelia).
Also, if you are going to listen to Wish You Were Here, you'll need the history lesson of both Saucer and Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, as well as the Syd Barrett singles collection, to fully grasp the sadness of that album.
posted by stannate at 6:12 AM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
Also, if you are going to listen to Wish You Were Here, you'll need the history lesson of both Saucer and Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, as well as the Syd Barrett singles collection, to fully grasp the sadness of that album.
posted by stannate at 6:12 AM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
I used to get rather toasted and listen to Ummagumma with headphones in the dark. And yeah, it occasionally scared the crap out of me.
That's great music.
posted by Splunge at 9:37 AM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
That's great music.
posted by Splunge at 9:37 AM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
Absolutely my favorite moment on WKRP
posted by humboldt32 at 10:23 AM on December 23, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by humboldt32 at 10:23 AM on December 23, 2011 [3 favorites]
I heard The Wall a lot as a kid--my older sister would play it. My parents' friends would play Another Brick In the Wall (part two) on acoustic guitar at parties. When I was about thirteen, I heard Final Cut for the first time and man, I was hooked. It probably did something terrible to me, and enabled years of moping that followed.
I outgrew The Wall, as I think most Floyd fans do.
These days, I am all about Animals, Dark Side, WYWH. And when my wife is away, I bust out the old vinyls of Meddle or Atom Heart Mother. And I love solo Roger Waters. I saw him do Dark Side of the Moon live a few years ago and it was fucking epic. I will even listen to that one track on Amused to Death with Marv Albert on it.
Pink Floyd is my nerd band. Um. One of them.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:56 PM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
I outgrew The Wall, as I think most Floyd fans do.
These days, I am all about Animals, Dark Side, WYWH. And when my wife is away, I bust out the old vinyls of Meddle or Atom Heart Mother. And I love solo Roger Waters. I saw him do Dark Side of the Moon live a few years ago and it was fucking epic. I will even listen to that one track on Amused to Death with Marv Albert on it.
Pink Floyd is my nerd band. Um. One of them.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:56 PM on December 23, 2011 [2 favorites]
To my way of thinking, Meddle (for which L@P is effectively a live music video) is the last Floyd recording before showmanship started pushing aside musicianship.
really? - obscured by clouds doesn't strike me as being a showy album - i don't really think dark side was, either - if you've ever heard live pre-release bootlegs, you might be surprised at how plain-sounding that group of songs was before they got big - i know i was
after that, yeah, they started taking themselves pretty seriously
posted by pyramid termite at 5:41 PM on December 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
really? - obscured by clouds doesn't strike me as being a showy album - i don't really think dark side was, either - if you've ever heard live pre-release bootlegs, you might be surprised at how plain-sounding that group of songs was before they got big - i know i was
after that, yeah, they started taking themselves pretty seriously
posted by pyramid termite at 5:41 PM on December 23, 2011 [1 favorite]
obscured by clouds doesn't strike me as being a showy album
Apart from being, you know, film music :-)
Dark Side was the first time Pink Floyd made anything that could reasonably be called a "concept album". It's a great record, no question; every track is strong, and they cohere just beautifully. But for my money, Meddle is an absolute high point, displaying a raw musical drive and energy and a love of being in the moment that Dark Side just (but only just) lacks. I rate Dark Side as the first of the slick Floyd albums. It was, incidentally, also the first one I ever listened to. I was 11 when it was released.
By the time they did The Wall I couldn't find much to choose, musically, between Pink Floyd and Andrew Lloyd Webber; to my ear it was all just Big Show Tunes. But to each his own.
posted by flabdablet at 3:39 AM on December 28, 2011
Apart from being, you know, film music :-)
Dark Side was the first time Pink Floyd made anything that could reasonably be called a "concept album". It's a great record, no question; every track is strong, and they cohere just beautifully. But for my money, Meddle is an absolute high point, displaying a raw musical drive and energy and a love of being in the moment that Dark Side just (but only just) lacks. I rate Dark Side as the first of the slick Floyd albums. It was, incidentally, also the first one I ever listened to. I was 11 when it was released.
By the time they did The Wall I couldn't find much to choose, musically, between Pink Floyd and Andrew Lloyd Webber; to my ear it was all just Big Show Tunes. But to each his own.
posted by flabdablet at 3:39 AM on December 28, 2011
« Older The U.S. and Pakistan | Counterparties Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
How many best of sets do they have now?
posted by punkfloyd at 3:07 PM on December 22, 2011