By my sophomore year in high school I had heard of Pink Floyd, and I knew they were great, but it wasn’t until my introverted genius friend Nikita showed me them that I knew how great they really were. During this time, Apple Music and Spotify weren’t as poppin’ as they are now, and I was forced to listen to music by illegally downloading it onto my phone, or through cds, which I hard started a collection for at the time.
My friend Nikita was a pale, slender, tall, introverted geeky Russian kid who could solve a Rubik’s cube in 30 seconds – I think you get the visual. When I one day asked him about what type of music he listened to, I was surprised to hear that it was Pink Floyd. “Aren’t they for hippies, and people who smoke weed?” I thought. He explained to me that these albums of theirs were like movies. Each song flowed seamlessly into the next and up until that point I only knew generally about how albums were somewhat thematic in nature, or at least that each song on the album was similar, but I hadn’t really understood the idea of an album being like one really long song. On the bus he showed me the favorite, “Time” and I instantly enjoyed it. He then told me to listen to “Us and Them” once I got home.
So Nikita burned Pink Floyd’s entire discography onto a one single cd and told me that I should start off with Dark Side of The Moon. It was their most famous album, and it was probably the most accessible to new ears. So I went home that night and started the album from the beginning with the intention to finish it in one sitting.
(I leave the links for convenience but I definitely recommend you listen trough a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music for the best quality and cleanest transitions.)
Speak to me
I started the album and I didn’t hear anything but a low hissing sound for a few seconds. Slowly a heartbeat crept in, getting louder and louder, and continuously it played. Then sounds started to flood into the mix; Clock ticks, machinery, money machines, and men talking about “being mad”. I should warn the listener, though, this song is somewhat anxiety inducing, and its intentionally doing so. I was amazed that an artist, any artist would have the audacity to start an album like this. I felt like this intro alone changed the way I looked at albums. At this time I had thought of an album more of collection of songs, with maybe a few interludes that make the album flow nicely, and I was especially surprised once the second song started, or rather, once I realized it started.
Breathe (In The Air)
The scream in the beginning scared me to DEATH when I first heard it since I had my eyes closed and I was listening very carefully. I even had to take my headphones off for a second because It shook me pretty good.
By the time I realized this song started, it was already halfway through, and I was a bit confused to be honest. I didn’t know exactly when the switch happened and I still thought this was the first song. This is something that happens all throughout the album. since every song blends so well into the next, it makes it seem like the whole album exists as a single piece. One linear composition, almost like something out of classical music.
…
Needless to say, I didn’t end up finishing the album in one sitting. It was just too intense for my little sophomore ears, but this was definitely a game changer for me. It taught me the value of keeping the listener’s attention throughout an album, and it changed my view of an album from just being a collection of songs to being a composition and an individual’s piece of work. I hope this little introduction
My Sound Science 
I’ve heard of Pink Floyd before but never really listened to their music because, well I don’t really have a reason. After reading this though, I just might give their albums a go as I would like to hear this “intensity” you speak about. Your description of the seamless transition of songs in this album reminds me of a much more recent album with the same concept. “SYRE” by Jaden Smith features four songs titled B, L, U, E that when listened to one after another sounds like one song and it’s honestly my favorite part of the entire album.
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I grew up listening to artists like Pink Floyd because of my dad, but I never was able to really grasp the beauty of their style until I was older. Some intricacies of their work still elude me but I have a deep appreciation for them. It was nice to read from the perspective of someone with a more sophisticated musical intelligence. Great job!
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You need to spend more time proof reading. Aside from some constructions that could have been fine tuned and a few typos, I mention this mostly because you post ends mid sentence. I am sure it was just a mistake, but it’s really important to have a completed project and not something halfway done.
I would like to see you incorporating a little more media in your posts. I appreciate the presence of two music videos, but I do feel like you could try to use different types. I am not requiring everyone to do the same kind of things, but an image or two would also have been welcome.
All that said, I think there was a definite improvement on last week’s post, and you were able to still discuss a topic you are very passionate about, but also connecting it to a personal story and blending some technical elements with the more accessible narrative. Keep doing this, just pay attention to your overall form.
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Karim I love hearing your thoughts behind music I feel like you can talk about it more than anyone I know which is kind of refreshing. My dad’s a huge Pink Floyd fan these songs remind me of him blasting at night when I was younger. I personally, can’t get into all of Pink Floyd I need more words or something to scream in the shower or car or something! You’re a really good writer, give me something good to listen to next week!
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