I had never listened to Pink Floyd before I met my friend Bob.While in college, I had the privledge of meeting him. He and I coincidentally grew up together but hadn't seen each other in 13 years - the next thing we knew we lived a couple doors down from one another on the same freshman hallway.
Bob had the unfortune of going to an awful high school - a rival of mine. Luckily, Bob worked hard in high school and was able to escape the abysmal conditions he grew up in. I'm convinced these tough years shaped Bob into the person I grew to know.
Bob knew far more about Pink Floyd than anyone I'd met before or since. We'd sit in one of our rooms, listen to Roger & Syd's lyrics and talk about "what it all meant". If you're familiar with Pink Floyd, you probably know these discussions can last hours - or months actually. I was always happy when Bob and I had these conversations because I wouldn't just learn about the imagery of the poetry of the lyrics, but I'd (as sheepish as it sounds - you like that imagery Bob?) learn something about myself.
Common misconceptions abound about this band. These guys were writing music about what was happening to ordinary people; oppression in Great Britain, capitalistic abuses, the advancement of industry, drug abuse, & the plight of humanity were common themes in their music - ideas that 18 year olds in rural Ohio found ways to relate to and understand. These discussions were, in all seriousness, a very important part of my personal development.
One of my favorite Pink Floyd quotes comes from their "The Wall" CD (not one of my favorites):
"There is no pain you are receding A distant ship, smoke on the horizon. You are only coming through in waves. Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying. When I was a child I had a fever My hands felt just like two balloons. Now I've got that feeling once again I can't explain you would not understand This is not how I am. I have become comfortably numb." - from Comfortably Numb
It was quotes like these that separated Roger Waters/Syd Barrett from the other frontmen of their day. There's no doubt, that bands like The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, & The Grateful Dead all produced profound music - but in my opinion, none of their music reached the high desert plain that Pink Floyd was able to reach. Much of their music was hard at first to digest. But with Bob in the room - forcing me to "listen closer" - I began to understand the genius of the band.
I was on a train from Washington D.C. to Metropark, NJ two days ago, listening to "Comfortably Numb" (the live version) and began to realize that genius and creativity that was a part of Pink Floyd is much harder to find these days.
Realizing that doesn't make me sad - it makes me appreciate all that Pink Floyd has done even more. And remember:
"When the fat old sun in the sky is falling
Summer evenin' birds are calling
Summer's thunder time of year
The sound of music in my ears
Distant bells, new mown grass
Smells so sweet
By the river holding hands
Roll me up and lay me down
And if you sit don't make a sound
Pick your feet up off the ground
And if you hear as the warm night falls
The silver sound from a time so strange
Sing to me, sing to me
When that fat old sun in the sky is falling"
- Fat Old Sun
