Now I've got that feeling once again

.....I can't explain, you'll definitely not understand.why have I become Comfortably Numb? According to most Floyd followers,this shoulda been the first one to discuss in this blog.But its such an overwhelming experience for me,I could never bring myself to describe it,cos I really can't.
But anyway,I've done it enough injustice now.It is,quite simply,the greatest song I've heard in my entire fuckin life,its an experience that transports me to alternate levels. I enjoy it soo fuckin much that I'm afraid anyday they're gonna declare it illegal. I'm quite in the state that Pink is in during this song(in the movie).
So what is so great about this one?Hmmm.....everything I guess. Waters wrote the lyrics,and Gilmour wrote most of the music,and their collective effort,a rare thing at the time when the album was recorded,does show up as something exceptional in comparision to the rest of the album. Gilmour himself has said about the recording sessions,"We [Gilmour and Waters] argued over Comfortably Numb like mad. Really had a big fight, went on for ages".They were absolutely at loggerheads during the entire recording.Waters had written the lyrics in continuity with the entire album.At this stage in the album,the protagonist Pink is in a state of delirium,nearly comatose.The show is about to start and his manager desperately tries to bring back his consciousness,even as the doctor protests pleading that his condition is too bad.
The lyrics are basically a conversation between the Doc and Pink.The parts that Waters sings (starying with the haunting "Hello,hello....") are the doc's words,as he enquires Pink about his condition.Gilmour's part("there is no pain....") is Pink's reply.Gilmour being basically a musician,prefers to divide the song into 2 parts musically.Dark(the doctor's part) and Light (pink's reply).If u don't know what that means and haven't heard the song,listen to it and you'll understand it perfectly.Needless to say,the words are BEAUtiful.Waters is a magician,theres no two ways about it.
But the reason the song has gone on to become both Floyd and Classic rock's flagship number is definitely Gilmour's magic with his Fender strat.When you listen to the song for the first time,the music does invade your senses much faster than the lyrics and its only after a period that you start to pay attention to the lyrics.Gilmour's overall musical arrangement for the song and his two soarin-like-an-eagle-and-haunting-like-a-haunted-house guitar solos hits you so hard you get addicted instantaneously.He had written the music for it seperately for his solo album and brought it to the recording sessions. The two legends argued over the opening part and in the end Waters won.As it appears to me the conversation apparently ended in a "Ok-you-sing-your-part-I-sing-mine" kind of a truce,cos that is what they did.
The song starts of with Waters dark and haunting voice calling out "Hello,hello,hello....." and later gives way to the Light part sung by Gilmour.The first solo follows which immediately catches hold of me and takes me as high as the first note.Then its a crashing fall as the Dark Knight Returns(whoopsiedaisies!).The second verse is followed by one of the most famous solos in the history of rock n roll.I love the original version(The Wall) but I'm simply addicted to the one Gilmour played in Pulse.Its a couple of minutes longer and many levels higher than the album version.People try to convince me all the time that I'd enjoy it much,much more if I were stoned,but I try to make them realise that if I enjoyed it any more it would be positively illegal.
Man,why have modern day musicians given up on the guitar???Some psycho serial killer please eliminate all the rappers and hip-hoppers and pop stars and boy bands and shakiras and remix artists and punjabi musicians so that its the rule of rock-n-roll all over again.Why wasnt I alive in the 70's?Why,why,why???

Time to kill today

I felt amazed when listening to "Time" for the 1247th time,when I realised I hadn't yet covered it in my blog.Big deal,actually,considering it has been my most-loved-Floyd-no. for a long time now."Comfortably Numb", "Us and Them", "Wish you were here", "Shine on you crazy diamond","Echoes","Dogs" and all others please don't mind.I love y'all more than most things.But there's something about the guitar solo in this one that takes me on another level altogether.Agreed,the solo in "Comfortably numb" is longer,perhaps technically superior and actually even better than the one in "Time".But,well....I dunno,therez no explanation.
The track itself is much more than the guitar solo.Reportedly,Waters wrote it at a stage in his life-he was 28 then-when he realised that he was no longer preparing for anything in life,but was right in the middle of it.It's a feeling most ordinary people have felt at some point or the other in their lives.Maybe the reason I connect so well with this song is that I've already started getting that sort of feeling,which is also a bit disturbing,since I'm only 21 and have hardly done anything that people have defined as worthwhile.My absolute favorite lyrics from this song,which also happen to be all time fave lines are especially moving:
So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.
Every year is getting shorter,never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Apart from the mesmerising lyrics and soaring guitar solo,the sound engineering techniques employed in this number are awesome,to say the least.The song starts with layers of clock noises that were put together by their engineer, Alan Parsons. Each clock was recorded separately at an antiques store, and the band blended them together.It served as an advertisement for the then new quadrophonic sound system.These are the reasons why I consider most bands out of their league.These people weren't just great musicians and lyricists.They were sound magicians.I feel one of their earlier names,"The Pink Floyd sound" suited them much better.It doesn't belong to progressive ,alternative,space or any other genre of Rock music that they are frequently identified with.Its just The Pink Floyd sound....

You gotta be crazy!

Now that opening line means a lot of things.For starters, this is what my Dad said to me when he glanced at the playlist.The song playing was 'Dogs' from the album 'Animals'."A 17-minute song", he said,"you've got to be crazy!Is it even legal to make songs that long?".Wise guy,my Dad!Usually it's me who comes up with such wisecracks,but I'm not easily amused when listening to Floyd.Anyway,call it serendipity or whatever,the song too starts with the same line,"You gotta be crazy,you gotta have a real need..." ,so for a second I wondered, did Dad intend it to be that witty?naah...he never heard of Floyd, so he was indeed astonished.
I,for one, had listened to Meddle before Animals, so I had the experience of a 23-minute number with me and the length of the song was certainly not what I had in mind when venturing out to listen to this one. However,I did find the title interesting.What could a song named Dogs be about? The song starts off with a catchy,fast paced acoustic guitar rhythm before the vocals start.Gilmour's mark is all over the song as it relies heavil on the guitar and contains many beautiful solos.In that sense, I think it's one of Floyd's underrated songs.The entire album in fact,focuses much more on music than perhaps any other Floyd album,and if it wasn't for Waters' amazing play of words, one could've missed the lyrics entirely.But not here.As a matter of fact,this happens to be my favourite Floyd song lyricswise.As is pretty well known,the album is inspired from George Orwells' classic Animal Farm.Like the book,in the album too,animals represent different sections of the society.Dogs are supposed to represent the ruthless businessmen who'll stop at nothing to make themselves rich and more powerful at the expense of others.The lyrics convey this beautifully.Sample this,for instance
"You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking
And after a while, you can work on points for style
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake
A certain look in the eye, and an easy smile
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you
You'll get the chance to put the knife in."
Waters' words always seem to me to have a subtle anger or at times a helplessness hidden,which at times makes for a highly effective satire,as in this particular song.I find those element badly missing in the post-Waters Floyd albums.True,they are less cynical and more cheerful in content,but somehow,I miss the madness badly.

No one sings me lullabies

But I don't need that.As long as "Echoes" is around,I never want to sleep.Yea well,me back after a long hiatus,kinda self imposed cos whenever i sat down to choose between analysing a Floyd number and listening to it,I invariably and quite predictably end up choosing the latter.no wonder,really,cos the latter's the reason I would ever choose to do the former anyway.So I think i've made it pretty clear now that i've just had my Floyd dose and this time the number that rocked me off my rockers was "Echoes" from the album "Meddle".
It never ceases to amaze me how anyone could ever write a 23 minute number.I mean,did they plan it,or did they simply get carried away by their own music,cos that does happen to me very often(i mean with their music).perhaps that may be the reason why despite this one being one of their most critically acclaimed masterpieces,is nowhere in the league of the three mega albums,"DSOTM","WYWH" and "The Wall",as far as the ratings go.well,fuck the ratings!fuck critics too!just play the song.Now i've no friggin idea how it feels to be 'on a high'.Call me a sissy,a no adventure guy,or just plain uninitiated,but i don't think i'll ever venture far enough to try out dope,or even alcohol for that matter.but i've seen people who do that,and i don't think they're any higher than me-just-after-echoes.
Ok,Now about the song itself:According to wikipedia,"The song has a marine theme and starts with a sonar-like sound created by Wright, who sent his grand piano through a Leslie rotating speaker (this sound was created by Wright accidentally, and started the whole Meddle project)."Shiver me timbers and hang me from the yardarm!!!!Who starts an entire epic project along the lines of a freak accidental sound!well,Pink Floyd did that,and what a result!the song almost immediately places you on a beach where the sea is "green and submarine",and the effect is accentuated by the poetry(i hate to refer to such beautiful wordplay as lyrics,it places them in the league of lesser mortals).And while you're still not through enjoying it completely,the slow,marine rhythm is replaced by a fast-paced,disco type beat.you begin to curse them for breaking the rhythm and then Gilmour jumps in with his guitar.Now,what would you need to produce a slide guitar type sound?well,a slide guitar obviously.not Dave!he somehow manages it with his ol'Fender.anyway,the next thing you know,the song proceeds to windy sounds and shrill screams.what is it,you wonder?a group of whales,'course!and what does Dave need to produce the sound?well,again the ol'Fender,but this time accompanied by a custom effect pedal,of which only four exist,and three are owned by him.It's things like these which a prevent any neighbourhood run-of-the-mill rock band from trying to play Floyd.It's a fact i enjoy as much as i rue.
What next,there is the sea,so there must be Gulls,and this time it is another interesting play of the guitar to achieve this sound.now i'm not exactly sure what reversing the cables to a Wah-pedal means,but it sounds one helluva creative thing to do.Anyway,now you're in the middle of the song,and as the echo dies down,Wright's keyboard solo begins,which is pretty ordinary to me,but it is followed by a multiple guitar solo,which kinda wakes you up from the slumber induced by the intoxicating rhythm.It is the only part where the song sounds anywhere close to a traditional rock number,but it again jumps into the marine beat which started the song,and so you end at the same note as you started, very intoxicated,very "high".
Well,what can i say,
no one makes me close my eyes
And so I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky

Just another brick...

It's uncanny,really!my tendency to listen to this legendary Floyd number seems to synchronize well with mid sems and end sems.At times,I'm inclined to believe that probably I seek Floydian relief in every ominous situation,perhaps I've become too much of a Pink Floyd maniac.But then,this one is hardly my fave Floyd number.Far from it,in fact!I hardly ever listen to it otherwise,the band has produced much better music,and Waters has written far more mesmerising lyrics....
Perhaps it is the lyrics after all.No,its not at all the way it seems.I'm not in the least reminded of teachers " who hurt the children in any way they could".I'm long past that stage now.Profs hardly bother me any more,and they certainly don't "pour their derision on everthing we do".It's the later part of the chorus,"All in all,its just another brick in the wall".Every time I listen to it,I become more and more a passionate fan of Waters' sheer genius.The concept that he conceived,the mini-opera of an album that he created!Maybe not their best music,but definitely their most relevant concept album.This is exactly how it feels,another brick in the wall,yet another brick in the wall......