Tuesday, March 7, 2023

I'm always looking for new music and sometimes, just like with books, it also means looking at the classics.  This is the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon."  I've never listened to it before, for a lot of reasons:

(1) I wasn't a teenager when it came out.  

(2) I didn't have a normal college dorm experience so I was never exposed to it.  

(3) I've never experimented with pot, drugs, or this genre of music.  

I had heard a couple of the songs, "Money" and "The Wall" on the radio throughout my life but I never knew which album they were on.  So I'm now listening to it, stone cold sober, at almost 60 years of age.  

The opening song felt like I was in a crazy person's brain, confused, hearing voices, not really here, there, or anywhere definable.  Some of the following songs felt like I was on heavy cold medicine with part of my brain focused on the music up front while another part of my brain took note of the voices going on in the back of the room.  

Its lyrics also feel very philosophical like I did when I was in my teens: "what is life," "why am I here," "who am I," etc.  Surprisingly, it's also a very familiar place to be as you're approaching the end chapters of your book of life.  

I can't say I loved the album, but I also didn't hate it.  I think it would be an interesting album to listen to in the background the next time I'm sick.  It has a mentally spacey yet relaxing vibe to it.  And being deliriously sick and strung out on cold meds is likely the closest I will ever get to experiencing the album as a lot of devotees have.  I think it's important to read, listen to, look at, and experience "the classics" in our culture.  There are reasons why they have stood the test of time, whether for their artistry or commentary on our society.
 

2 comments:

CyberKitten said...

The best way to listen to this is in the dark with headphones - possibly slightly drunk... [grin]

I grew up with this sort of thing and have probably listened to this album hundreds of times. Formative, I think is the word! Whenever I used to tag along with my older brother & his mates to the local record shop they'd always find my in the Progressive Rock section... until I discovered *Punk* Rock that is [lol]

VV said...

Great memories! 🥰

CK, here’s the tattoo

  From sketch to transfer to tattoo