Tuesday 1 April 2008

I Love Pink Floyd........



.......ok I don't. A pretty poor April Fools! I really don't like Pink Floyd. Ok, the Syd stuff is good, but that Floyd was almost a different band. The post Syd stuff...all of it...just makes me feel bored.

I guess I have associated memories for some of it as well. There was a guy at school, Kevin, who got into them about the same time I started listening to punk. Kevin was rolling his own and mellowing out; I was altogether speedier and bouncing off the walls. And I hated Kevin. Whenever I see the Dark Side image I just smell spliff and patchouli and see his smug face. And then there was the english rose and the acid, the summer of 1985...but I'm not going to go there. Bad memory. Really. Very bad memory.

So anyway, I'm older now. My tastes have broadened over the years to include things that I never thought I'd be into; ELO anyone? Loved them as a little kid, couldn't stand the thought of them through my teens and twenties, but never actually listened to them to hear what I thought I hated. Big, lovely surprise to find I liked them. Shouldn't be too surprised though, I do like Super Furry Animals after all...

So I feel I should give them another go. But I'm reluctant. They really are the last man standing in my dislikes list. I've given everything else a go, even if I found I still didn't like it. But Pink Floyd...I just can't bring myself to go there.

But - any Pink Floyd fans out there - if I was to sit down and listen to one again, where should I start?

9 comments:

Ed said...

I still love Wish You Were Here. If you find yourself bored by post-Syd stuff, suggest you don't try:

Animals
The Final Cut
A Momentary Lapse Of Reason.

Ed, 17 Seconds

ally. said...

don't do it don't do it. i hate them without hardly having heard any purely cos of school horror boys. blind hatred is much more fun than informed dislike. there's so much more to stuff than just the music. it's the same with queen only more so. queen i would torture happily. really horridly. i've often dreamt of seting up a big machine gun nest outside we will rock you. or at least doing something dreadful to that big abomination of a statue thing.

Simon said...

Ally, you've made me laugh out loud in a quiet office. Not sure that's a good thing or not! They all think I'm mad here as it is!

For years I've been getting by on blind hatred. I thought maybe it was time to let go, seek closure as they say. But I'm still laughing, thinking of launching that statue from the front of the Dominion and off somewhere.

Simon said...

Ed, ta for the warning!

davyh said...

Ally, look away now....

Simon, in order to identify the best Floyd starters for you I'd really need first to understand what it is that bores you about what you've heard of the post-Syd stuff...

Is it the ponderousness you do not like? Do you miss the quirky doodles?

If so you would do well to try a few things from 'Atom Heart Mother' or 'More'. Try 'Fat Old Sun' 'Summer 68' and 'Green Is The Colour'.

I like 'Meddle' very much - especially 'Pillow Of Winds' and 'Fearless' - 'Echoes' will bore you if you are not fond of the big, swirly epics but, well, it is magnificent in its own way. Have a look.

Ally, you can look again now.

davyh said...

PS: It works both ways. I hate ELO!!!

Simon said...

It's the big slow sleepwalking giants that annoy me. Anything that sounds like it should be played in a stadium with smoke machines and lasers.....

From memory I think that's all of them isn't it?

davyh said...

Ha! Well, most. But those early albums after Syd left are a bit more English pastoraladelica, and there are some gems to be unearthed therein.

Unknown said...

I'm manning the barricades with Ally......