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#1
08-09-2005, 02:15 PM
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Could Dopers tell me their thoughts on Pink Floyd?
A very dear friend, upon hearing that I'd never heard any of their music, bought for me and sent me a copy of their album The Wall. (Thanks a bunch - you know who you are.)
Anyway, I've been listening and when I have time, reading some of the stuff about them online. But I would love to hear what Dopers think/thought of them, any opinions or comments. Anything at all, really. Anybody? 
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#3
08-09-2005, 02:25 PM
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Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon are two must-haves in any record collection. Dark Side is more accessible as an album, but I find myself listening to Wish You Were Here more than almost anything else.
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#5
08-09-2005, 02:51 PM
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Great music, no doubt.
Oh by the way, which one's Pink?
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#8
08-09-2005, 02:54 PM
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#9
08-09-2005, 03:05 PM
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Start here, the Wikipedia write-up on Floyd.
Learn about all the different era's: Syd Barrett led years ('65-'68), Post-Barrett ('68-'70), Breakthrough era ('71-'75), Roger Waters led era ('76-'85), David Gilmour led era ('85-?). Watch Pink Floyd's Live 8 reunion performance for free. Then go out and buy Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd. And BAM! You're a fan for life! 
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#11
08-09-2005, 03:27 PM
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"musical alchemy"
Personally I think they topped out at The Wall. If you're a mellow sort you're safe with anything Post-Barrett (More, Obscured by Clouds, Animals, Dark Side). Barrett was a bit of an acid boy. The music is still terriffic, especially considering when they were doing it. But it's ... out there.
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#12
08-09-2005, 03:33 PM
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I got Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here in ninth grade. I stopped liking the band pretty quickly, though. (Ninth grade was actually quite a turning point/transitional time in my music listening phase.) I think the band's dull and pretentious, and ... well ... I just don't like it.
That said, I love Syd Barrett, so by extension I like the early singles ("Arnold Layne," "See Emily Play") and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. So I think that for a few years there, at least, Pink Floyd were doing something right. 
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#13
08-09-2005, 03:34 PM
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Love 'em. Something I have noticed though (and I am sure this will be contradicted by some of the above posters stating their sex) is that women hate Pink Floyd. Every girlfriend I have ever had. Every female friend. The best response is "meh" and it goes down from there... very far down. In fact I have taken to asking as many women as I can about this and it seems almost universal.
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#15
08-09-2005, 03:39 PM
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Pink Floyd was probably one of the most influential bands of the late 60s/early 70s, and when they were good, they were really good. They were never as good as the fanboys would tell you, but who is?
My stepdad is always quick to point out that all their stuff kinda sounds the same, and he's definitely not entirely wrong, but that's kind of the point of psychedelia. If you like The Wall, you'll probably also like a lot of their other stuff.
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#16
08-09-2005, 03:43 PM
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#17
08-09-2005, 03:48 PM
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#18
08-09-2005, 03:49 PM
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Pink Floyd is great. "Wish you were here" is my favorite by them.
Other Great Albums by Floyd Echoes (it is very far out man) Animals Momentary Lapse of Reason Umma Gumma is extremely psychedelic and excellent to listen to in a dark room with maybe a color organ or a good Windows Media visualization If any friends have Pipers at the gates of dawn, borrow it, you may not like it, I do. Very early Syd Barret Floyd. Atom Hearts Mother (same at Pipers, try to borrow) Rest are all Good except the Final Cut is the worst.
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#19
08-09-2005, 03:51 PM
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My Sisters both like listening to a Floyd.
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#21
08-09-2005, 04:04 PM
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#22
08-09-2005, 04:09 PM
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and I'm starting to write like I'm in there with him...
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#23
08-09-2005, 04:16 PM
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Oh, and to answer the semi-poll above, my wife hates them with a passion.
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#24
08-09-2005, 04:27 PM
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I think they were rather simplistic musically, but I admire what they did with production. They had a great facility for evoking a particular thought or emotion with the combination of arrangement, lyrics and choices in sound. Animals, Wish You Were Here, and Dark Side are my favorites (in no particular order). I found The Wall a bit over-produced, certainly in part due to the involvement of Bob Ezrin.
Syd Barret's stuff was interesting for its weirdness and whimsical lyrics, but I've never quite understood why some have elevated him to such a high level of esteem.
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#25
08-09-2005, 04:28 PM
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I like them. These days (since Live 8; I hadn't listened to them in some time before that) I find their stuff less totally depressing than I used to. In fact if I could find my copy of Dark Side, I'd play it. It's got plenty of atmosphere, some catchy songs, and how do you not love The Great Gig in the Sky?
The downside of Pink Floyd, in addition to depressing songs, is Roger Waters's habit of taking himself SO. FUCKING. SERIOUSLY. [Illustration: Money and Have a Cigar are biting and funny, but Welcome to the Machine is self-pity.] I could never get into The Wall for that reason, and I don't think it's a good place for a Floyd newbie to start. It's a double album, too.
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#26
08-09-2005, 04:39 PM
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I love them and I'm female. I also concur with most posters who said that Wish You Were Here and Dark Side of the Moon are the best, with a higher preference for Wish You Were Here .
Excellent stoner music! 
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#27
08-09-2005, 04:40 PM
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I'm female and I love them. (Though I must admit, I've listened to the albums so often over the years that now I rarely put them on.)
Wish You Were Here and Animals are the best, IMO.
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#28
08-09-2005, 04:47 PM
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I do like Pink Floyd. But I used to LOVE Pink Floyd in my high school and college days. Now I basically am Pink Floyded out.
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#29
08-09-2005, 04:57 PM
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I'm really shocked to see so many people listing Wish you were here as a favorite - I think that the reality is that that album has two great songs ("welcome to the machine" and the title track) and a whole lot of dicking around, but those two songs are so good that people just remember them and think that it's their favorite Floyd record (kind of like how everyone says that "Remain in Light" is the Talking Heads' best record because they get so overwhelmed by "Crosseyed and Painless" and "Once in a lifetime," when the truth is that Fear of Music is the far superior album).
As for Floyd, I like them a lot. Meddle and Animals are my favorites, though I think that there's no question that Dark Side of the Moon is their best record. The thing that makes Floyd work is that they were songwriters first and foremost, but the studio side of things was interesting (and groundbreaking) enough to heighten their appeal. They're great in all of the ways that bands like Yes and Rush weren't. They were epecially successful at building a particular sort of mythos around themselves, which inspired that cultish behavior in their fans. As for Syd Barrett, it seems that most people don't realize that the reason he's viewed as a genuis is not The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (a pretty boring album, really), but his absolutey incredible psychedelic folk solo album, The Madcap Laughs. That record is not to be missed.
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#30
08-09-2005, 05:21 PM
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#31
08-09-2005, 05:48 PM
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I'm female. I love Pink Floyd.
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#32
08-09-2005, 05:57 PM
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I'm female...
but I love Syd Barrett. I don't care much for Pink Floyd without him. They're not bad, I just find them "meh."  (I like some of their stuff, but I had to say "meh"!)(I love Madcap and the Peel Sessions!)
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#33
08-09-2005, 06:33 PM
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#34
08-09-2005, 06:37 PM
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I was an early fan of the Pink Floyd (as they were billed when I saw them), learning about them in college. My roommate had their albums, and I loved them, especially Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother. I got Meddle (loved it) and picked up Dark Side of the Moon the week it was released.
I found Dark Side a bit of a disappointment. It was watered-down Floyd, made accessible (with Zappa's use of the term). Not bad, and a few songs were up to their usual standards, but it was a minor disappointment. I wasn't surprised it was more popular than their earlier albums, but it was no where up to their level. Wish You Were Here was better, notably because of "Shine on You Crazy Diamond." But I didn't care for Animals and The Wall seemed like claptrap. I do like The Division Bell, though. Pink Floyd was best with songs eight minutes or longer. And they did give one of the best live concerts I've ever seen.
__________________
"One never knows, do one?" Provider of quality fantasy and science fiction since 1982.
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#35
08-09-2005, 06:49 PM
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Long time fan here. I don't think that The Wall is really the best album to start with, but I suppose that's a moot point at this juncture.
I'm probably in the minority in that I think that Syd is given WAY too much credit in the Floydian Universe. Sure, he got the band rolling, and his ghost (yes, I know he's still alive) seems to drift through a lot of Floyd's great music. But if Barrett hadn't self-destructed, I don't think that Dave Gilmour would have been called in to fill in and eventually supplant him. I'm quite envious of anyone who gets to listen to the Pink Floyd catalog for the first time...I think you're in for a real treat. I suppose you've already come across the Brain Damage site--if not, check it out. The Electronic Press Kit for the 30th Anniversary Edition of DSOTM is really cool. And, even though it's "just" the Gilmour-led incarnation, the VHS of PULSE is one of the best concert videos you'll ever see.
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#36
08-09-2005, 06:53 PM
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#37
08-09-2005, 06:54 PM
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 I said.... Damn. All these years later, my mom could read this and nail me with the truth about why I had to lock the door to my room to listen to Wish You Were Here.
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#38
08-09-2005, 06:57 PM
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I like some Pink Floyd and I'm female. Dark Side and The Wall are probably it.
I loathe Yes, so that bit's right. OK-question. I remember being told as a child and as a teen that one of the quirks of Pink Floyd was that they NEVER toured. I said this to someone recently and they laughed at me and said that not only does/did PF tour, they had the best laser light shows. Am I mixing up bands here or did PF at one point not tour? Enquiring minds want to know.
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#39
08-09-2005, 07:12 PM
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Female. Need I say more?
__________________
People tell me I'm a hypochondriac. Ugh, it makes me sick.
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#40
08-09-2005, 07:13 PM
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I had an appreciation of classic psychedelia, but was retrograded to the front of the line with Pink Floyd's Live from Pompeii around '90. I had true respect for The Wall, but didn't realize its intensity until both albums were sonically imprinted by my friend Leroy. We sat in total darkness in his basement listening to his original record albums through a smuggled speaker and amp set up from Okinawa. Beyond all available American technology we listened to Ummagumma and grooved with a pict at a gathering of several species of small furry animals.
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#41
08-09-2005, 07:18 PM
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Oh, to answer: I started out with "Comfortably Numb", then got The Wall, then I worked backwards. I haven't gotten The Final Cut yet, although judging by certain responses, I'll be a bit cautious (*laugh* at "bourbon and wallpapered daddy pictures" comment).
Floydian since 2003.
__________________
People tell me I'm a hypochondriac. Ugh, it makes me sick.
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#42
08-09-2005, 08:01 PM
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They are definitely an interesting band. I've listened to Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, and The Division Bell. All are very good. Even the songs that I'm not fond of I find to be of high quality. Just not my thing.
I'd say they are worth a listen. You'll probably find something of theirs that you will like.
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#43
08-09-2005, 08:04 PM
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About 20 years ago I got caught on a camping trip with about 50 Floyd fans who wouldn't stop playing The Wall.
Since then I havn't been able to stand Pink Floyd.
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#44
08-09-2005, 08:06 PM
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Pink Floyd were notorious in the 70s and 80s for never giving interviews (a habit that continued until the Waters/Gilmour feud sent each camp scrambling to get its story told), not for refusing to tour.
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#46
08-09-2005, 11:51 PM
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I liked them back when they had their first Top 100 hit, but after finishing elementary, junior high and high school, sowing my wild oats, attending trade school, going to college and getting a diploma, starting my second career, getting married and settling down and having kids, I sort of fell away from listening to them. I think that they may have fallen off of the charts some time after that.
Now I'll read the thread and see if someone already beat me to this rather obvious joke. By the way, I like their stuff, both with and without Syd.
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#48
08-10-2005, 01:33 AM
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It was worth it though, in that they were aiming for multimedia excess and they got it. The show included quadraphonic sound, backscreen projection, laser lights (when they were new), flash pots, a twenty-foot wide crystal ball that opened into a lotus blossom*, a flying hospital gurney as big as a truck, the infamous giant inflatable pig, leftover sets from The Wall and whatever else that they could throw into a college basketball stadium. *The crystal ball was as wide as two semi trailers and split in two for travel. When U2 played the next week they left their (much smaller) crystal ball in the truck.
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#49
08-10-2005, 04:29 AM
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Male - really like "Wish you were here", thought "The Wall" was an interesting concept album and movie, but the tendency to pretentiousness and worst of all, fretwankery, puts me off ever getting an album. I really hate prog rock...
...yet curiously, I'm all about The Tull. Well, no-one said I had to be consistent.
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#50
08-10-2005, 04:57 AM
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I bought 'Dark Side of the Moon' when it came out in 1973.
Recently I upgraded from my collection of vinyl to CD and am listening to it as I type this! Of course I'm an old codger. I like the Who, the Beach Boys, Queen, Simon + Garfunkel and the Police. [thin, quavery voice ON] They don't make records like they used to, you know. [thin, quavery voice OFF]
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