The first time I heard the name Pink Floyd was back in 6th Grade. At the time, I didn’t have much interest in music, and my involvement with it was fleeting. A concert CD of the “Dark Side of the Moon” album ended up gathering dust in the corner of my closet before I eventually returned it to its owner without even giving it a listen. The owner had emphasized that my life and musical tastes would be forever changed if I listened to that album. However, it wasn’t until a few years later, when my favorite podcast released an episode about the same album and the band itself, that I recalled what that person had said. It was then that I realized they might have been onto something, and that Pink Floyd’s music was indeed worthy of fascination.
Listening to the album The Dark Side of the Moon, one can review life in about forty-three minutes, with “all the tears and smiles” and all that we give to this world, and all that we borrow from it. One can write thousands more words for this album and not get to the end!
Pink Floyd is one of history’s biggest, most famous, influential, and enduring rock bands. By combining progressive and psychedelic rock music with deep philosophical, social, and political themes, Pink Floyd immortalized its name in history as a group emerging from the identity crisis and alienation of the 60s and 70s. This group resulted from the emergence and expansion of a new era of media realities. These facts affect the media world, and music is not separated from this category. The spread of electronic music allowed this group to display the sociological concept of alienation and its resulting atonal nature in music. The deep themes of the songs, in addition to affecting the world of music, have also influenced societies and nations; among the most famous of these songs, we can mention “Another Brick in the Wall.” Pink Floyd has undeniably impacted the creation and formation of progressive rock and ambient styles. Reputable sources of music have placed this group among the top groups in the history of rock music, including Rolling Stone magazine. The group was placed in the 51st list of the top 100 artists. Over 250 million copies of this group’s works are available worldwide, but only about 75 million copies have been sold in America. This group’s name has been among the best-selling music groups in history. The Dark Side of the Moon album is one of the most unique albums in music history, which has maintained its position on the best-selling albums chart for more than 900 weeks.
The history of this group dates to 1965 in London, England. Pink Floyd has collaborated with many musicians over the years. The primary and essential members of the band are as follows:
In addition to these five prominent members, in some of Pink Floyd’s albums and tours, other musicians also participated as temporary members or collaborators, for example, saxophonist Dick Parry, who played on tracks such as “Money” and “Us and Them” has participated as collaborators. Pink Floyd also has a member, Pea, who is mentioned as one of the group’s founders in some sources. Bob Klose was one of the original members of Pink Floyd. He started working as a guitarist and was one of the group’s founders in 1965, along with Syd Burt, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and Roger Waters. However, after collaborating on recording two songs, Bob Close left the band to pursue a degree in physics before the band changed its name. Bob Close continued his work in this field and had successful activities. Although Bob Close was only a member of Pink Floyd for a short time, he is remembered as one of the group’s founders. The core members of Pink Floyd, who studied at various universities in London, including the Polytechnic of North London and Regent Street Polytechnic, worked together on multiple bands in the early 1960s, and finally, in 1965, formed the group ” The Pink Floyd Sound,” started as an independent band. The name “Pink Floyd” is derived from two nicknames used by two blues musicians at the time, “Pink Anderson” and “Floyd Council.” The band members chose these two names as the band name and used the name “The Pink Floyd Sound” to distinguish themselves from other bands.
Syd Barrett, the band’s poet, guitarist, and lead singer, left in 1968 due to mental health issues. David Gilmour joined the band, and Roger Waters played the band’s lead singer. He took on the task of writing lyrics and leading the whole group. At this time, “The Sound” was removed from the group’s name, and the group continued to operate under “Pink Floyd.” At the beginning of their activity, the group appeared as a pop and rock band, but over the following years, due to the more experiences and efforts of the members, they turned to releasing artistic and conceptual works.
The history of Pink Floyd is divided into four decades.
Pink Floyd in the 60s
Pink Floyd was active in the 60s and released many albums and concerts this decade. In 1967, Pink Floyd’s first album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”, was released. This album is one of the most essential works in the psychedelic rock style. In 1968, Pink Floyd’s second album, “A Saucerful of Secrets”, was released. This album contains tracks that are still considered to be the group’s masterpieces. In 1969, Pink Floyd starred in the movie “More” as well as writing the soundtrack for the movie.
Pink Floyd in the 70s
In the 70s, Pink Floyd was known as one of the world’s most prominent and successful music groups. At the end of this decade, in 1979, Richard Wright left the group due to personal problems with Roger Waters. In 1970, the album “Atom Heart Mother” was released, which includes a track of the same name and is considered one of the group’s highlights. In 1972, the album “Obscured by Clouds” was released, the soundtrack to the film “La Vallée”. In 1972, Pink Floyd released a unique and successful album called “The Dark Side of the Moon.” This album is recognized as one of the most outstanding works in the history of music, and Pink Floyd it is considered one of their most important developments in the style of psychedelic rock. In 1975, the album “Wish You Were Here” was released, which is known as one of the outstanding works of Pink Floyd due to tracks such as “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” and “Wish You Were Here”. In 1977, the album “Animals” was released, which included tracks such as “Dogs” and “Sheep”. In 1979, the album “The Wall” was released, known as one of the most prominent and best-selling albums of Pink Floyd.
Pink Floyd in the 80s
In the 80s, Pink Floyd was affected by changes in the music industry and within the band. In this decade, the relationship between the group members was very strained, and finally, in 1985, Roger Waters (Roger Waters) left the group, and David Gilmour (David Gilmour) took over the group’s leadership. In 1983, the album “The Final Cut” was released, considered the last album with Roger Waters, an influential member of Pink Floyd. In 1987, Pink Floyd released the album “A Momentary Lapse of Reason,” considered one of the group’s outstanding works of the 80s. In 1989, the album “Delicate Sound of Thunder” was released, which included live recordings of Pink Floyd’s “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” world tour. Pink Floyd also took part in several tours in the 80s, including the concert “The Wall – Live in Berlin” in 1990, which received significant attention from the world media. Pink Floyd organized the concert, and its purpose was to support dismantling the Berlin Wall and facilitate aid to countries that were damaged during the Cold War. In this concert, Pink Floyd joined artists such as Van Morrison, Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell, and the Scorpions on stage and performed music from the album “The Wall.” Also, in this concert, artists such as Thomas Dolby, Tim Curry, Marianne Faithfull, and Albert Finney were used to sing parts of the lyrics of this album. The three principal members of Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Roger Waters took the stage in this concert. But Richard Wright, another member of Pink Floyd, did not participate in this concert and appeared only as a guest artist. The concert was held in West Berlin on September 21, 1990, and was attended by over 300,000 people to celebrate the Berlin Wall’s fall and support each other and the countries affected by the Cold War. In the 80s, Pink Floyd faced changes in the music industry and changes within the band. The lack of cooperation between the band members, the smaller number of released albums, and the change in the band’s music style were among these developments.
Pink Floyd in the 90s
Pink Floyd was less active in the 90s than in previous decades. However, the group members still had activities in the field of music. In 1994, the album “The Division Bell” was released, known as the last album with David Gilmour, another member of Pink Floyd. The album includes “High Hopes” and “Coming Back to Life” tracks. In 1995, Pink Floyd went on the world tour “The Division Bell Tour,” which included some tracks like “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” and “Comfortably Numb”.
Dissolution of Pink Floyd
After the 90s, the members of Pink Floyd did not officially work under the group’s name, and each continued their activities separately. David Gilmour After the dissolution of Pink Floyd, David Gilmour continued his activities independently and released several albums. The albums “On an Island” in 2006 and “Rattle That Lock” in 2015 are among Gilmour’s successful works. He also went on tours in Europe and America in the following years. Roger Waters After leaving Pink Floyd, Roger Waters continued his activities independently and released several albums. In the following years, he covered political and social issues, such as the war in Iraq and Palestine. Richard Wright After Pink Floyd stopped, Richard Wright continued his activities independently. In 2008, he released the album “The Breakthrough” and was a keyboardist on the “David Gilmour Live at Gdańsk” tour. Sadly, Richard Wright passed away in 2008. Syd Barrett He, who was very limited in his artistic activity due to mental and health problems and left after a while, died in 2006 and became one of the founders of Pink Floyd and one of the prominent music artists. Rock remembered.
In 2005, the four original members of Pink Floyd, including David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, and Roger Waters, together with other artists, with a concert titled ” Live 8,” went on stage. The concert was a historic comeback for the band members, who reunited for a charity act after their splits. This concert was held to draw attention to more issues, such as poverty and related diseases. But this return was not considered a revision of the group’s dissolution.
Dark Side of the Moon
Pink Floyd made the background, events, and consequences of Syd Burt’s story the album’s focus without directly referring to him. By examining the album, The “Dark Side of the Moon”, we realize that the main themes of the lyrics are greed, the passage of time, death, and madness. After making the album, Pink Floyd chose the term “The Dark Side of the Moon” as the name. “The Dark Side of the Moon” refers to something that exists, but we cannot see. That “thing,” according to Pink Floyd, is the “madness” that exists in all of us but is hidden; That is, we hide it in ourselves and do not show it to anyone, and from a psychological point of view.
Album cover design of Dark Side of The Moon
The design on the cover of the album “The Dark Side of the Moon” shows a prism that shines white light on one Side, and the color spectrum comes out on the other Side. In this design, due to the mistake of the cover design group, the indigo color is not in the light spectrum. The extension of the color spectrum of light, which was on top of the heartbeat design, was also chosen as the middle design of the album. For the back of the cover, they used another glass prism design, which extends the spectrum of the light emitted from the prism on the cover, shines into it, combines, and comes out as white light. Light, which was one of the most critical components of their concerts.
“The Dark Side of the Moon” was released on March 1st, 1973, in the US and two weeks later in the UK. The album remained on the US Billboard chart for fifteen years. “Dark side of the Moon” is the best-selling progressive rock album ever and the fourth best in music history. One of the exciting ideas used in “The Dark Side of the Moon” is using different people’s voices in the songs. To record these voices, people were seated and given flash cards with various questions written on them, and people were asked to answer those questions. Among the questions, some reflected the concepts inside the album: “When was the last time you used violence?” Were you right or not?”
Structure of the Dark Half of the Moon album
The first five songs are one piece, and the other five songs are another piece, and each one reviews life and human nature in some way. The duration of the whole album “The Dark Side of the Moon” is 42 minutes and 50 seconds, and Roger Waters writes the lyrics. In an overview, “The Dark Side of the Moon” album begins with a heartbeat, the beginning of life. The second song tells us about the futility and mundaneness of the things we do in life that are accompanied by madness. This song also mentions that each person has their own life and experiences. The third song takes us to the airport, which has a stressful atmosphere and shows how life in the modern world can lead to discomfort. The fourth song is a flip to those busy with worldly issues and who have given control of their lives to these issues. The fifth song is about death. The second piece starts with the sound of small change and is a reminder of greed and consumerism. The seventh song is about the isolation of depressed people due to their withdrawal from others and their conflict with their psychological world and the relationships around them. The eighth song refers to the fact that people in human society don’t have much choice and must make themselves the same color as the congregation. In the ninth song, we hear how a person may have a psychological disorder due to sudden success and fame. The tenth song talks about incompatibility and unity, two opposite concepts, and points to the common characteristics of all human beings. Finally, with the sound of a heartbeat that stops, “The Dark Side of the Moon” album ends.
Speak to Me
The song begins with a heartbeat and is an introduction to the album. It’s as if he tells you, “This is the story’s beginning!” In this song, we hear snippets from the rest of the songs on the album; in fact, we are reviewing the whole of life! We hear the voices of those interviewed for the first time. Freddie says he has always been crazy, or someone else says, “In these few years, I’ve been crazy, and my life has reached my limit.” The song “Talk to Me” is named because of these interviews. the end of this song is the beginning of the next song. In many cases, this song is not considered independent and is played together with the next song.
Breathe
The lyrics of “breath” are addressed to a baby whose life has just begun in this world. This illustration examines life, humans, the right to choose, and freedom. In the modern world, if we are not riding the highest wave, that is, if we are not the same as the majority, we will not be accepted, and we will witness the death of our social life.
On the Run
The voice of the airport operator, hurried steps and sharp breaths, three and a half minutes, along with the sound of the synthesizer, which is pure anxiety! this song shows us modern-style travel and the stress, rush, tension, and fear that comes with it. It is as if this journey we left behind is life itself: Staying in the past and not understanding the present or staying in the present and not understanding the future, each of which is destructive in some way. If you listen to this song with headphones, you can notice the sound stretching from the left ear to the right ear.
Time
The song begins with a variety of sounds from the clock. The intro of this song is one of the most famous intros in the history of music, which lasts about two and a half minutes, and the sound of various instruments is added to it to reach the text of the song. We realize that this song is about the passage of time. In the modern world, we constantly feel that we are running out of time and suffering from “time poverty.” Life is not about continually preparing for the following events but taking control of them and creating our destiny. The end of this song has the structure of the second song, “Breathe.” part of the song, the concept of “home” is raised, where a person takes refuge from all the evils, darkness, and fatigue outside. Also, in the review of the album “Dark Half of the Moon”, it can be said that this song indicates that the magic of time can bring us all to our knees.
The Great Gig in the Sky
Only interviews are used in this song. At the song’s beginning, we hear: “I am not afraid of dying; I don’t care when it happens. Why should I be afraid? No reason! Whatever we do, it will eventually happen to all of us.” The following sentence is heard at the song’s end: “I never said that I was afraid of dying.” and then ends.
Money
The second piece has the beginning of such a masterpiece! The song “Money” begins with the sound of change, the counting machine, the tearing of bills, and the pounding of calculator buttons. We see that this song critically examines the capitalist system and the importance of money and material things in modern life.
Us and Them
The longest song is critical of the war and talks about soldiers who face each other without knowing the reason for the war and having the right to choose, and from the superiors who can destroy the life of a nation with a gesture. We find out that this song is not about the nature of war but, from a psychological perspective, about man’s violent nature. Host! Humans attack each other with words, which are their most dangerous weapons.
Brain Damage
We see that this song, directly and indirectly, refers to the psychological state of the friend and former bandmate of the pink Floyd group, Syd Burt. For example, the phrase “And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes” (And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes) refers to the times when Syd has repeatedly played something other than their songs in concerts. Many psychological currents can be found in this song. The song considers surgeons (and perhaps psychiatrists) as those who try to make people with disorders sane and healthy by making changes in the brain and a kind of “rearrangement.”; It is as if there is a crazy person inside the head of people with psychological disorders who does not belong there and should be cut from there! this song is a kind of empathy for people with psychological disorders. In one part of the song, we hear: “There’s someone in my head that’s not me!” (There’s someone in my head, but it’s not me) and reminds us of the concept of alienation. From a psychological point of view, people may be torn between different attitudes and values, especially when a person’s value system, which is rooted in the teenage years and the period of identity formation, is faced with rapidly changing social conditions and demands. In trying to adapt to these things, man becomes alienated from traditions, which causes guilt, doubt, confusion, and considerable inner suffering. People’s sense of self-worth can also be lost.
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