The Pink Floyd Thread

[jammindude]

For a landline??

Whatever, boomer. 

[TAC]

Not everyone uses Facebook.

[KevShmev]

Time to stop using myspace and your AOL email account, Tim.

[TAC]

Time to stop using myspace and your AOL email account, Tim.

[Stadler]

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/roger-waters-slams-mark-zuckerberg-rejecting-facebooks-offer-pink-floyd-song

Haha. Waters tells the Zuck, F U. No you can't use a PF song even if I get paid large.

And yet Roger still uses FB (I believe) to promote himself, his music and his tours, and bitches that he cannot use Pink Floyd's official page to do so there as well.  This is rich.

This is bit of a false equivalence.

I occasionally shop at Walmart (I hate that place with a passion, and I try to avoid it, but sometimes it’s just cheap and necessary).

If they wanted to buy one of my throw away melodies for a jingle, I’d probably reluctantly cash the check. But if they said, “hey we want to pay you millions of dollars to use that song you wrote about the struggle of loving your bipolar wife, and how much she means to you” ….I would immediately tell them to go pound sand. Seriously, not only no, but hell no. How about this throw away melody instead?

I get all of that, and if Roger had respectfully declined the request, I wouldn't have said what I said, but since he went balls deep on Zuckerberg while still using his platform to promote himself, he comes off as a bit of hypocrite.  If FB and Zuckerberg are so awful (a sentiment I can mostly get on board with), he should want to distance himself from it as much as possible, no?

I'll cop to being Team Dave as a general matter, but look, Roger is no idiot, but he's also no stranger to the accusations of hypocrisy either.  Someone that strident is ripe for that accusation (and it's one of the reasons I haven't warmed to him more over the years).    He HAS seemed to mellow a bit, but there are pieces of evidence - his interview with Dan Rather a couple years ago - that ideological consistency isn't necessarily his number one priority.   Veering into P/R territory perhaps, but his adamant socialist views seem to be rooted in "other people's money", for example.     

[KevShmev]

I'll cop to being Team Dave as a general matter, but look, Roger is no idiot, but he's also no stranger to the accusations of hypocrisy either.  Someone that strident is ripe for that accusation (and it's one of the reasons I haven't warmed to him more over the years).    He HAS seemed to mellow a bit, but there are pieces of evidence - his interview with Dan Rather a couple years ago - that ideological consistency isn't necessarily his number one priority.   Veering into P/R territory perhaps, but his adamant socialist views seem to be rooted in "other people's money", for example.   

Call me crazy, but Roger's business actions usually tell me that he is very much a capitalist. 

[Cool Chris]

Listened to Nick's Saucerful of Secrets today. I am not a fan of the early Floyd stuff, but I highly enjoyed this. Some of the songs I didn't even recognize. I do not know if I would care much if I didn't know it was Floyd, that Nick was spearheading this project, and my favorite bassist was part of it. Nick didn't want this to be a note-for-note recreation but wanted to capture the excitement and joy of that early era of the band, and I feel he succeeded 100%. I always enjoyed Astronomy Domine, One of These Days, and Arnold Layne as part of later Floyd/David tours. This release seems to likewise give new life to this material. Hoping to watch the Blu-Ray this weekend.

[jammindude]

I was literally just sitting down to watch the Blu Ray when I read this.

[Cool Chris]

I've seen clips on YT but haven't popped it in the player yet. Looking forward to it!

[ytserush]

Unless you are one of those strange peeps out there who thinks the band peaked at the beginning with Syd Barrett, and there are those who think that, it is a pretty much a given that Pink Floyd peaked in the mid to late 70's (Dark Side through The Wall).

Even though I have heard it now 3,311 times, Comfortably Numb is still amazing. It will never get old.

I don’t necessarily think they “peaked” with Barrett, but I have grown to have quite the affinity for the early years in general and Barrett’s material in particular.

His story is fascinating and I’m hoping to possibly read a biography on him soon.

I really like that stuff a lot too though it's clearly different than what came after. Doesn't make those songs any less great.

[Cool Chris]

Had the Saucerful of Secrets BD while I've been tooling around the house today, so not fully watching it uninterrupted, but seeing enough of it to finally say this is a spectacular release. I commented on the audio earlier, but seeing it live brings it up to a whole other level. Great editing, lighting, cinematography, everything. And to hear the guys talk about the project, you can tell how much it meant to all of them, and how much fun they had along the way. Bravo guys.

[Progmetty]

I was gifted the Saucerful of Secrets BD and bought Us+Them BD last month.

The Us+Them BD is an amazing watch, I really regret missing that tour. The Pink Floyd songs were great, but I found myself enjoying the songs from Is This The Life We Really Want even more. I just wish he'd played the title track. I re-visited the album and still think it could have easily been the follow up to The Wall or The Final Cut.

With the caveat that hating on Facebook is like hating on the phone company at this point. You can hate on them all you want, but there’s nothing you can do about it because you’re still going to use the telephone

Agreed. And same exact thing goes for criticising capitalism; there's no realistic mean of criticising capitalism from without, you have to be within if you have any hope of reaching enough ears, you'll need to play by its rules and use it's methods to have your voice and art heard, otherwise you're no different than the talented guitar player at the subway station with a tip cup on the floor.

[Stadler]

I was gifted the Saucerful of Secrets BD and bought Us+Them BD last month.

The Us+Them BD is an amazing watch, I really regret missing that tour. The Pink Floyd songs were great, but I found myself enjoying the songs from Is This The Life We Really Want even more. I just wish he'd played the title track. I re-visited the album and still think it could have easily been the follow up to The Wall or The Final Cut.

With the caveat that hating on Facebook is like hating on the phone company at this point. You can hate on them all you want, but there’s nothing you can do about it because you’re still going to use the telephone

Agreed. And same exact thing goes for criticising capitalism; there's no realistic mean of criticising capitalism from without, you have to be within if you have any hope of reaching enough ears, you'll need to play by its rules and use it's methods to have your voice and art heard, otherwise you're no different than the talented guitar player at the subway station with a tip cup on the floor.

Why would you criticize capitalism?!?   

[Progmetty]

Why would you criticize capitalism?!?   

I know!!


Anyone had a chance to listen to the remixed AMLOR? I finally got around to the whole thing and I really don't like it. They had a podcast made specifically to speak to Gilmour about it and he says that mainly it was done to make the album sound less dated in the 80's and more timeless like the 5 albums that came before it, which he had expressed before that he was dissatisfied with the sound in retrospect they shouldn't have dove so quickly into all the technologies that were showing up in the mid to late 80's, cause they were very soon bypassed and considered a trend of the time.

All good points and there's a possibility that if someone listens to remixed AMLOR for a first time experience with the album; they'd love it more than the old mix. But I find it as bland sounding as The Endless River and most of The Division Bell. I can't quite place it but I'd say it's probably the keyboard sound that's so heavily changed.

[KevShmev]

Why would you criticize capitalism?!?   

I know!!


Anyone had a chance to listen to the remixed AMLOR? I finally got around to the whole thing and I really don't like it. They had a podcast made specifically to speak to Gilmour about it and he says that mainly it was done to make the album sound less dated in the 80's and more timeless like the 5 albums that came before it, which he had expressed before that he was dissatisfied with the sound in retrospect they shouldn't have dove so quickly into all the technologies that were showing up in the mid to late 80's, cause they were very soon bypassed and considered a trend of the time.

All good points and there's a possibility that if someone listens to remixed AMLOR for a first time experience with the album; they'd love it more than the old mix. But I find it as bland sounding as The Endless River and most of The Division Bell. I can't quite place it but I'd say it's probably the keyboard sound that's so heavily changed.

I haven't heard it, but based on your review alone, I have zero interest in doing so now. It is their music and they can do what they want with it, but I am never a fan of bands doing remixes and retroactively removing elements of that era/time period from the album, as I view albums as a snapshot in time, and for good or for bad, the 80's elements are a big part of A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and rewritten history is not something I have interest in hearing.

[Phoenix87x]

wasn't even aware that there was a remixed version. Just listened to it and yeah, no thanks. Feels like they sucked the soul out it.

Just leave stuff the way it is please.

[Nel]

Wait, is it like a NEW new remix or are we talking about the one that came out along with all the other albums being rereleased a few years back?

[NoseofNicko]

Am I the only person in the world who likes Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict?

[jammindude]

Am I the only person in the world who likes Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict?

No

[NoseofNicko]

I find some of the looped sound effects sound like pretty cool beats.

[svisser]

Am I the only person in the world who likes Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict?

No

That is their best song. It's just so great no one can fathom how great it is.

[Orbert]

Am I the only person in the world who likes Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving With a Pict?

I've always loved that track.  It cracked me up the first time I heard it, and pretty much every time since.

[NoseofNicko]

Listened to Ummagumma for the first time. I like it. I think The Narrow Way is very underrated, the second part’s riff is really dark and pretty great and the third part has some really nice chord progressions.

Edit: Listened again. I even like The Grand Vizier's Garden Party, but I love experimental music.

[Orbert]

Ummagumma is a cool concept, and the execution is pretty good, too.  I tend to listen to the live half more than the studio stuff, but it's all pretty good.

[jammindude]

Ummagumma is IMO “the worst of the best”

It’s the worst PF album, but that only speaks to the strength of their catalog. I still enjoy spinning it from time to time

[KevShmev]

I dislike the studio disc of Ummagumma a lot, but the live disc is quite nice.  The versions there of Astronomy Domine and A Saucerful of Secrets are both really good.

[Orbert]

I like all four of the live pieces.  They're from a different time, when stuff a lot stronger than cannibus was pretty popular and available, and Pink Floyd was often a big part of the experience.  By some accounts, those extended jams could go on for half an hour or more, and some of those accounts were written by people who were sober.

[Cool Chris]

I remember back when I was getting in to PF I listened to this a lot, and really wanted to like it. I enjoyed the first CD a bit, but the second was just lost on me, no matter how many listens I gave it.

This also reminded me that between after this, it wasn't until 1988 that they released another live album. That is crazy. Their contemporaries released how many live albums over that span?

[Orbert]

A lot of the appeal of Pink Floyd, to me anyway, is the amazing arrangements and production on their studio albums, especially that incredible run from Meddle through Animals.  As much as I love live albums (I grew up in the 70's, after all), I always figured that it was next to impossible to capture the brilliance of their studio albums in a live setting.  And while live videos like Pulse reveal that they do put on a great live show, I'd still rather listen to the studio versions anyway.

In other words, I didn't really miss not having a live Floyd album in the 70's.  Their early stuff was more rooted in improvisation and jam, which is why I like the songs on the live half of Ummagumma more than their studio counterparts.  Capturing a great jam in the studio is as rare as recreating the glory of layered guitars, keyboards, and vocals in a live setting.  They're practically different media.

[Stadler]

A lot of the appeal of Pink Floyd, to me anyway, is the amazing arrangements and production on their studio albums, especially that incredible run from Meddle through Animals.  As much as I love live albums (I grew up in the 70's, after all), I always figured that it was next to impossible to capture the brilliance of their studio albums in a live setting.  And while live videos like Pulse reveal that they do put on a great live show, I'd still rather listen to the studio versions anyway.

In other words, I didn't really miss not having a live Floyd album in the 70's.  Their early stuff was more rooted in improvisation and jam, which is why I like the songs on the live half of Ummagumma more than their studio counterparts.  Capturing a great jam in the studio is as rare as recreating the glory of layered guitars, keyboards, and vocals in a live setting.  They're practically different media.

For me, and I understand that it may just be me, but having seen Floyd live, the "experience" is so much a part of the event that it's hard to translate that to CD.  I love the early live Floyd, primarily because it's different, it's improv a lot like Crimson was and so it was interesting.  I love Floyd and I enjoy the live CDs (Pulse moreso than Delicate, but Delicate has aged well for me) but I can't help listening and thinking back to seeing them in Yankee Stadium and equating the visuals to that (which were STUNNING).  The Wall Live is an interesting document but it feels so incomplete without the spectacle (which to me is one of the great misses in music history; a video document of the original Wall shows.)

[Orbert]

I'm sure it's not just you.  Lots of people really love the experience of seeing, hearing, and experiencing a live show from a great band.  So do I.  But for me it still comes down to the music.  The show can be amazing and add a lot, but I'm still there for the music first and foremost, with the "show" a distant second.

The first time I watched Pulse on my home theater, my mind was blown (though admittedly it had some pharmaceutical help).  Incredible experience, and the closest I'll ever come to experiencing an actual Pink Floyd concert.  Absolutely worth the time invested in it.  Very cool.  And now that I've done that, I'm fine listening to the studio albums.  Even a band as amazing as Pink Floyd, I don't get off on "watching" the music.  I listen to music.  And without the visual experience to accompany it, the live show just doesn't grab me.  Even on later stuff like the live version of "Comfortably Numb", that guitar solo is incredible, and I've watched it a few times.  But listening to it without the visual is kinda boring.  It sounds like a two-minute guitar solo stretched out to 10 minutes or whatever it is.  It's just not nearly as interesting without the "experience" of the visuals and the live show.

[Azyiu]

And without the visual experience to accompany it, the live show just doesn't grab me.  Even on later stuff like the live version of "Comfortably Numb", that guitar solo is incredible, and I've watched it a few times.  But listening to it without the visual is kinda boring.  It sounds like a two-minute guitar solo stretched out to 10 minutes or whatever it is.  It's just not nearly as interesting without the "experience" of the visuals and the live show.

I am absolutely with you on that one. I sometimes literally skip the live version of "Comfortably Numb", especially the Delicate Sound of Thunder version; each time it plays on my iPod / iTunes. I love the original guitar solo, but the audio only version doesn't really "bring me" anywhere so to speak. Slightly off topic, but Steve Vai's "For The Love of God" is the same to me. He sometimes (especially earlier in his career) just kept on dragging the end for a full 5 minutes...

[Cool Chris]

I was going to type out an erudite rebuttal on your thoughts of PF's live material, but think I will settle for saying y'all are crazy 

I've said many times DSoT is maybe my most viewed film of any type, and possibly my most listened to album, and gun-to-the-proverbial-head, CN from that release is my #1 favorite song, so on that one I am biased. I was so excited when Pulse was released, but it was a bit of a letdown, as I didn't enjoy the material from TDB as much, and think playing DSotM in its entirety is a little bit of a slog.

Regardless of the merits of a 70s PF live album, I was just expressing surprise that there was never a release. I get the reasoning, even if I don't fully agree with it. I just figured it was something all bands did at some point in the decade, that's all.

[Stadler]

It would be a fascinating document, since their music evolved so much live.  On the Immersion box sets there's a composite of a live show - meaning, if you have DSOTM and WYWH, there are live tracks on both sets that together are most of a '74 show from London, I believe - but nothing complete that I know of.   The Early Years box set covers some of that stuff now; there are live versions of The Man And The Journey, Echoes, and Atom Heart Mother (which evolved a lot on stage) but there are still no complete shows from the DSOTM roll out, or the subsequent tours where they played You Gotta Be Crazy and Raving And Drooling.

[Cool Chris]

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets hitting the road in 2022. Thought about hitting this up on the last tour but ultimately passed. Love the BD release, gave me a full appreciation for what Nick and the guys were bringing, and they hit it out of the park. And the date in Seattle is on a Saturday, which makes it much more tempting.