Pink Floyd − 29 April, 2008
I discovered Pink Floyd as a teenager. Kids I worked with at a summer job assumed that because I liked Pink Floyd, I was a “druggie”. They were wrong. I had never done drugs, and I didn’t drink, either. I just really liked the music. I was a classically trained pianist, and a depressed teenager. The depression probably attracted me to Floyd more than the classical training.
However, I still like Pink Floyd 20 years later. With the exception of the Barenaked Ladies, I don’t listen to popular music anymore. I prefer jazz or classical. I like to think that my background in classical music enables me to appreciate Floyd long after my taste for popular music has faded.
Pink Floyd is timeless. My kid brother liked them when he was a teenager in the early 90’s. My husband’s kid brother liked them when he was a teenager a decade later.
As a young person, I didn’t pay much attention to lyrics. Music was a primarily aural experience. As an older adult listening to Pink Floyd, I’m certain that I had no clue what the music was about when I was young. I wonder whether my brother or my husband’s brother understood the lyrics. I don’t think that young people have the grasp of history or adulthood to fully understand Pink Floyd. I could be wrong. I think that the darkness and cynicism appeal to them, and perhaps, like me, they sense the quality of the music.
Long after most of today’s pop bands have passed into obscurity, teenagers will be discovering Pink Floyd. Not all of them; just the segment that shares whatever common thread this 42-year-old shares with her 31-year-old brother and her 21-year-old brother-in-law.
However, I still like Pink Floyd 20 years later. With the exception of the Barenaked Ladies, I don’t listen to popular music anymore. I prefer jazz or classical. I like to think that my background in classical music enables me to appreciate Floyd long after my taste for popular music has faded.
Pink Floyd is timeless. My kid brother liked them when he was a teenager in the early 90’s. My husband’s kid brother liked them when he was a teenager a decade later.
As a young person, I didn’t pay much attention to lyrics. Music was a primarily aural experience. As an older adult listening to Pink Floyd, I’m certain that I had no clue what the music was about when I was young. I wonder whether my brother or my husband’s brother understood the lyrics. I don’t think that young people have the grasp of history or adulthood to fully understand Pink Floyd. I could be wrong. I think that the darkness and cynicism appeal to them, and perhaps, like me, they sense the quality of the music.
Long after most of today’s pop bands have passed into obscurity, teenagers will be discovering Pink Floyd. Not all of them; just the segment that shares whatever common thread this 42-year-old shares with her 31-year-old brother and her 21-year-old brother-in-law.
