Good Lord ain’t that the truth! hat one’s like Roger locked himself in the studio with a case of bourbon, a microphone and walpepered the room with pictures of daddy. Blluuurgh…message and all but certainly not a pleasant little album.
and I’m starting to write like I’m in there with him…
Mt first reaction when they introduced CD technology was “Thank Og, I can stop buying Dark Side of the Moon every 8 months!” MF pressings, Japanese pressings, all in search of the perfect, crackle-free track.
Oh, and to answer the semi-poll above, my wife hates them with a passion.
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.
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.
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! 
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.
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.
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.
If you really like Syd, pick up the Peel Sessions with Syd Barret. Really great live stuff. I don’t know too many people that like them, but they are special. Actually I don’t know too many people that like Pipers, Madcap or the Peel sessions.
I’m female. I love Pink Floyd.
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!)
Not at all; “Shine On” is my favorite track.
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.
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.
DVD coming soon (perhaps before the end of the year)!
:eek:
I said… :eek:
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.
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.
Female. Need I say more?
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.