Brain Damage... one of the best songs ever. Do you agree?

[RedShoe]

The lunatic is on the grass.
The lunatic is on the grass.
Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs.
Got to keep the loonies on the path.

The lunatic is in the hall.
The lunatics are in my hall.
The paper holds their folded faces to the floor
And every day the paper boy brings more.

And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.

The lunatic is in my head.
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade, you make the change
You re-arrange me 'til I'm sane.
You lock the door
And throw away the key
There's someone in my head but it's not me.

And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear.
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.

"I can't think of anything to say except...
I think it's marvelous! HaHaHa!"



Why does this describe like 90% of us?
The best line in the song,
"There's someone in my head but it's not me."

[Morbid]

Great song. Great band. It's a shame that more bands these days don't have the same creativity that Pink Floyd did.

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Great song! It was based in part on the psychological breakdown and mental illness of founding member Syd Barrett (who passed away last year).

Barrett had been kicked out of the band for his increasingly erratic behavior a few years before Dark Side of the Moon was recorded.

One of the greatest rock albums of all time (produced by Alan Parsons).

ADG

[Paul Markham]

I saw Roger Dawltry interviewed a couple of months ago and he said the biggest difference between today and 60s/70s was the control or management over the bands. He said the record companies did not understand what the bands were doing so left them alone. Todays it's all about control and the bands are not allowed to develop.

Would Hendrix be allowed to set light to a guitar today?
Would Tommy, The Wall, Sgt Peppers, Disraeli Gears and many more of ever got passed the marketing men today?

Added to this the element of MTV and the video needing to be good and you see where the creative talent is.

Look at todays music and the DVD, then compare it with I am a Walrus by the Beatles and the video. The Beatles were one of the best at videos in their day and it's of the four of them clowning around in a field and people dressed in weird outfits.

In the early days it was all about the music and many of the greats would never of made it today. Not because the music was not good enough but because they did not fit into the marketing mens slot.

And just thought about it, The Beatles learned their trade in Hamburg, I put on The Who for $60 at a weekly youth club dance twice, saw the Rolling Stones in a pub. Dylan played in a dingy basement folk club. These guys worked an apprenticeship that sorted out the wheat for the chaff. To me it seems like todays bands are not schooled in the same way.

[Humpy Leftnut]

Excellent points Paul. People get into music nowadays hoping to make it big, not just to hear their song on the radio, or a pat on the shoulder after a gig. They don't even want to do a gig, they just want to skip all that nonsense. Shame really.

[RedShoe]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Would Hendrix be allowed to set light to a guitar today?

Yes.

If Britney Spears can shave off all her hair then wear a nasty wig, and 2 weeks later claim to have spent 30 days in rehab, then yes, I believe Hendrix could set a guitar on fire. It wouldn't even make the 6 o'clock news.

[RedShoe]

Originally Posted by Humpy Leftnut

Excellent points Paul. People get into music nowadays hoping to make it big, not just to hear their song on the radio, or a pat on the shoulder after a gig. They don't even want to do a gig, they just want to skip all that nonsense. Shame really.

Every tool on American Idol says the same fucking thing. "I WANT TO BE FAMOUS" None of them do it... just to do it.

[psili]

I remember listening to that song in high school, in my buddy's car with a savage sound system. At the very end of it, there's a silent point before the track ends and you can faintly hear "If you hear this, you're dying."

Or it could have been the shrooms.

*shrug*

[Angelo22]

That's a song!!!
Music should've remained that way.... not the contemporary shit that has 90% of the market these days

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by RedShoe

Yes.

If Britney Spears can shave off all her hair then wear a nasty wig, and 2 weeks later claim to have spent 30 days in rehab, then yes, I believe Hendrix could set a guitar on fire. It wouldn't even make the 6 o'clock news.

How much do you think the Insurance people added to the premiums to cover Britney shaving her head?

As for a naked flame, drugged up deranged rock star with a can of lighter fuel in his hands and an audience in an enclosed theater and I think a bald talentless pop star is easier to insure.

I agree it would not make the 6.00 news, unless the rock star decked the safety and fire control officers as they ran across the stage armed with fire extinguishers.

Trust me it's a different world. Anyone remember a band called The Crazy World of Arthur Brown? Drugged up to his eyelids wearing a flaming head dress.

"First coming to public awareness in the late 1960s, Brown quickly became known for his outlandish performances, which included the use of a burning helmet (notably on Top of the Pops) whilst miming to the track "Fire" (a practice employed by most of the show's performers; Brown himself had to mime to the tune as the strap holding his helmet to his head inhibited the mobility of his jaw). Perhaps his most memorable mishap occurred in Windsor, England, when the methanol that fueled his crown poured over his head and caught fire. Fortunately, two bystanders doused the flames by pouring beer on Brown’s head, preventing any serious injury."

I can see Britney doing that. In my day dreams.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Humpy Leftnut

Excellent points Paul. People get into music nowadays hoping to make it big, not just to hear their song on the radio, or a pat on the shoulder after a gig. They don't even want to do a gig, they just want to skip all that nonsense. Shame really.

So far this year I've seen Lionel Richie, Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and in the next few months we have tickets to see Rolling Stones and Genesis.

I doubt if any of these guys need to do it for the money, they do it for the pure love of it and the adrenalin rush. I've seen more bands in the last 5 years than I did in the years 1975 to 2002. The best was May 5th 2005. Cream Reunion Royal Albert Hall. Cost me over $3,000 and worth every fucking penny.

[kenny]

Originally Posted by psili

I remember listening to that song in high school, in my buddy's car with a savage sound system. At the very end of it, there's a silent point before the track ends and you can faintly hear "If you hear this, you're dying."

Or it could have been the shrooms.

*shrug*

The Great Gig in the Sky, at 3:33

"If you hear this whisper you're dying"

[mattz]

Yeah, pretty good song, I like comfortably Numb better though

[TBrown]

Originally Posted by psili

I remember listening to that song in high school, in my buddy's car with a savage sound system. At the very end of it, there's a silent point before the track ends and you can faintly hear "If you hear this, you're dying."

Or it could have been the shrooms.

*shrug*

do the voices say anything else?

[kenny]

Originally Posted by kenny

The Great Gig in the Sky, at 3:33

"If you hear this whisper you're dying"

Ok I was wrong. I figured out what it is.

At 0:38)

And I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do; I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it?you've gotta go sometime.

? Gerry

(At 3:33, faintly)

I never said I was frightened of dying.

? Myfanwy 'Miv' Watts, wife of roadie Peter 'Puddie' Watts

[TBrown]

These guys were real artists..they had the ability to express their feeling in their songs....no popshitbritney can do that today. Pink Floyd rulez

[RedShoe]

Originally Posted by mattz

Yeah, pretty good song, I like comfortably Numb better though

You're wrong.

They are all equally good.

[psili]

Originally Posted by kenny

Ok I was wrong. I figured out what it is.

At 0:38)

And I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do; I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it?you've gotta go sometime.

? Gerry

(At 3:33, faintly)

I never said I was frightened of dying.

? Myfanwy 'Miv' Watts, wife of roadie Peter 'Puddie' Watts

Thanks kindly for at least confirming I heard something.

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Originally Posted by RedShoe

Every tool on American Idol says the same fucking thing. "I WANT TO BE FAMOUS" None of them do it... just to do it.

Contestants on American Idol trade fame for fortune (a common trade-off overall in today's music industry). Basically by the time they are a household name, singers/bands have already signed longterm deals with a corporate agency, which essentially puts whatever future career they are to have into the hands of people that put profits above all else.

For example, I have heard that not just the winners, but the popular runners-up, must do American Idol Tour gigs, etc., as part of even getting to be seen on the show in the first place.

Creativity, particularly originality, and actual musical skills, is of less importance to the music companies, as is formulating a "product" that sells, even if that means they foist total drone/clone acts on the public.

The virtual monopoly that a handful of companies have, and their conservative corporate mentality ensures that even most of the bad boy/girl acts are for the most part cultivated and contrived.

The result is vacuous songs sung (or rather lip-synched) by sugar-coated pre-packaged stars, known as much for their dance steps, as their musical ability. Who needs a band? Pipe in the samples. Replace actual instrument playing with sampling, and musicians with turntablists.

In fact, many of the acts no longer have to worry about such skills as musicianship or songwriting, since that is all handled for them too.

Granted, there are still artists who buck the tide, and I still hear good new music each year that gives me hope that a new scene will emerge that is more liberating than the current souless one, but I am happy that I can always put on an old LP, CD, etc. and still be transported to musical nirvana.

ADG