Pink Floyd - The Story of "Wish You Were Here"

Another BBC one which'll no doubt be taken down, featuring on guitarist David Gilmour. I've always come back to Floyd, the master of disappointment. they go down into the undertow of emotions, like REM.

 
SlipNet said:
This will only last a few weeks on YT due to publishing rights, so enjoy it while you can.
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It is still up and when I came to this section
Roger Waters sings part of a song and makes a comment including this:
"Can you free yourself enough to experience the reality of life, as it goes on before you and with you, and as you go on as part of it or not? Becasue if you can't, you stand on square one until you die."
 
Thanks SlipNet, it's a good documentary. Floyd is probably my favorite band since teenage years and it was good to listen to them again. The Syd story is a sad one, the madcap turning mad. I wonder what exactly happened to him and I've read he might have had a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia which was exacerbated by the psychedelics. His appearance in the studio while the band was recording Wish You Were Here is an eerie synchronicity.
 
Floyd are an interesting band in that they have quality bookended by less good (to me) albums. Meddle, Dark Side, Wish You Were Here and Animals are terrific, but the early stuff I don't like, although I obviously have sympathy for Syd. The later albums are a bit meh for me too. A bit too much Waters and not enough Gilmour on The Wall and Final Cut. The post Waters albums are good though not as great as their mid 70's peak.

From what I've read, Syd was wrecked by psychedelics and ceased to function as a normal person, very sad tale. It's hard to pinpoint where mental illness and drug abuse overlap, but clearly the guy just didn't know when to stop. It must have been a very strange time, the late 60's. The psychedelic gold rush claimed a lot of casualties.
 
Floyd are an interesting band in that they have quality bookended by less good (to me) albums. Meddle, Dark Side, Wish You Were Here and Animals are terrific, but the early stuff I don't like, although I obviously have sympathy for Syd. The later albums are a bit meh for me too. A bit too much Waters and not enough Gilmour on The Wall and Final Cut. The post Waters albums are good though not as great as their mid 70's peak.
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I have a very similar perception of their work, although I've enjoyed most of their albums over the years, including the early stuff. The only absolute exception is The Final Cut, which I could never get into, just too much Waters and too little Pink Floyd. Dark Side, Animals and WYWH are incredible and I would add Atom Heart Mother. Meddle too, but I've listened to it so much when younger that I kind of got fed up with it.

From what I've read, Syd was wrecked by psychedelics and ceased to function as a normal person, very sad tale. It's hard to pinpoint where mental illness and drug abuse overlap, but clearly the guy just didn't know when to stop. It must have been a very strange time, the late 60's. The psychedelic gold rush claimed a lot of casualties.
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Very well said. As for psychedelic gold rush and casualties, before experimenting with the stuff in college I read a lot about it and it did seem rather safe, relatively speaking, the biggest warning being predispositions to mental illnesses. But having abused it for a while I understand the allure and to some degree also the dangers involved.
 
Courageous Inmate Sort said:
and I would add Atom Heart Mother
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Yeah, that's a pretty good album too, I missed that one out for some reason. Fat Old Sun is a great song. In fact that album is the one where Gilmour comes into the picture more, and the music improves as a consequence, just my opinion though.

Courageous Inmate Sort said:
Very well said. As for psychedelic gold rush and casualties, before experimenting with the stuff in college I read a lot about it and it did seem rather safe, relatively speaking, the biggest warning being predispositions to mental illnesses. But having abused it for a while I understand the allure and to some degree also the dangers involved.
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Yeah, peak high experiences, I think many people are tempted by the chance of feeling their being in a new way. I did try psychedelics once (I won't say which one), and I just thought after it, "whew, that was intense; now, let's not push our luck, don't try it again". Amazingly I went to work the next day after it, happy as you like. To be honest it wasn't a mind blowing experience for me, and I didn't learn much about myself either. I would suggest caution to anyone tempted by such things.
 
In the recent assembly in London for the liberation of Julian Assange, Roger Waters played "Wish you were here" on the stage and also talked a bit on the meaning of the text. John Pilger was also speaking:

 
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