Pink Floyd review

This is for Darren, and i guess anyone else who is interested. I'm about as big of a Pink Floyd fan as one can be, I've got all their albums and some bootleg stuff of middling quality. I'll go down the list of their albums and tell you what I think:

Piper at the Gates of Dawn(PatGoD): Piper is a silly, fun album, good for when you're high as a kite, or just feeling goofy and need a light album to make you laugh, sing, and feel happy. If I had to label it, I'd call it stoner pop, and its definitely indicative of a band who did a LOT of drugs. Standout songs are "Astronomy Domine"(instrumental featuring excellent drums) and "See Emily Play". Heavily influenced by Syd Barrett.

Saucerful of Secrets(SoS): Saucer is the transition album between Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd and Roger Waters' Pink Floyd. Still has some silliness from Syd in it, with songs like Corporal Clegg, but has some more heavy songs on it from Roger. Good album, but not great. I only listen to it once in a while.


Songs from the movie More(More): Not one of my favorites. Never saw the movie, and really only has one good song on it, "Cymbaline". I listen to this maybe once a year, say Oh yeah, thats why i don't listen to that", and move on.

Umma Gumma(UG): Another one that is, in my mind, more of an acid trip put on vinyl than an album. Its 2 discs, one studio, one live. the live puts up a version of Astronomy Domine that is good, as is "Careful with that Axe Eugene". The studio album is good, but not great. And they spend 20 minutes acoustically rambling with "SEVERAL SPECIES OF SMALL FURRY ANIMALS GATHERED TOGETHER IN A CAVE AND GROOVING WITH A PICT". Thats an odd song, with an odd title. Just aural chaos, meant to be listened to while stoned/tripping/both.

Atom Heart Mother(AHM): Solid album, albeit a short one. Its bookended by two tracks that are mostly instrumental, and slightly orchestral, "Atom Heart Mother", and "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast". Both are enjoyable, with only small sections that are dischordant and hard to listen to. And it has one of my favorite songs, "If". Darren, I think you'd really like this album, especially for background music.


Relics(Relics): Basically a collection of previous songs. Good, but no better than previous albums, the songs are no better arranged. I have this one for the collection, but almost never listen to it.


Meddle(Meddle): This is a good album, and features a pig's ear on the front! An easygoing album for the most part, with excellent standout songs "Fearless" and "San Tropez". The title track is mostly instrumental, and gets a little noodly and semi-pointless, but all in all, worth a listen to.

Obscured by Clouds(OBC): This is hands down my favorite Pink Floyd album. Absolutely great stuff from start to finish. Well layed out, with great instrumentals, great imagery, and stunning lyrics. My favorite lyric on the album comes from the triumphant "Free Four": "You are the angel of death, and I am the dead man's son". Darren, I think you'd love this album, and I suggest that anyone who is even a passing PF fan do themselves the service of having a listen.


Dark Side of the Moon(DSotM): What else can I say about this album that hasn't been said before? Its my second favorite album, and is just superb. The only reason I wouldn't rate this ahead of OBC is that Waters' depressing outlook is starting to creep in here.


Wish You Were Here(WYWH): Excellent album, even if it does feature a song that is most played by college douchebags with guitars trying to get laid, the title track. Solid from start to finish, but I would put it on a lower tier than OBC and DSotM. Definitely a Roger Waters album.


Animals(Animals): Good album, with very listenable songs. It tries to be a throw back to Atom Heart Mother and Meddle, I think, but still has Roger Waters writing those depressing lyrics. Still, they work, and the music itself is very good. Stand out songs: Pigs on the Wing, and Dogs.


The Wall(Wall): In my opinion, the most overrated Floyd album out there. I loved this album when I was an angsty teenager, and I suppose it still works on that level, but still, there are some songs on there, like One of My Turns and Waiting for the Worms that would be home in any emo band today. That said, there are still excellent songs on this album, like Comfortably Numb and Run Like Hell.


A Collection of Dance Songs(ACODS): Possibly the worst album of all, this takes from various earlier albums, and puts together songs disjointedly, though many say that this album is a tribute to Syd Barrett.


Final Cut(FC): What a bitter album, full of vitriol, depression, anger, and general hate. This is the album that broke up the band. Waters was going off the heavy end, and the rest of the band just couldn't take his lyrics and heavy-handed direction any more. Rick Wright even refused to play on the album. I very rarely listen to this album. Darren, unless you want to end up in a funk, stay away from this one.

A Momentary Lapse of Reason(AMLoR): The new Floyd was lighter, and the songs were good, but there was definitely something missing without Waters, some of the depth and breadth of their songs was gone. Still, has some standout songs, such as Learning to Fly, Dogs of War, and On the Turning Away.

Delicate Sound of Thunder(DSOT): Another "Best of" album, this time live, and all done without Waters. Some of the old songs lose their oomph, like Another Brick In the Wall and Comfortably Numb. Not a bad album, but just a rehash.

The Division Bell(TDB): I would consider this a good album that is more than the sum of its parts. Most of the songs are mediocre, but come together in a pattern that is pleasing to the ears. Most of the songs have to do with communication, and many say that the songs were directed towards Waters, but Gilmour denies this, saying it was more with him and his wife. Some of the songs were written by his wife, and it shows, they tend to be the more shallow songs on the album. Lots of piano work on this one. Standout songs include: Keep Talking, Lost for Words, and Marooned.

Pulse: Another complilation/live album. Okay stuff, though Gilmour shows he's getting old when he can't hit those notes he was once able, nor does he have the singing range or talent that Waters had.

Overall ranking of albums:(in order of my tastes)
Obscured by Clouds
Dark Side of the Moon
Atom Heart Mother
Wish You Were Here
Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Meddle
Animals
The Wall
Saucerfull of Secrets
Momentary Lapse of Reason
Division Bell
Pulse
Delicate Sound of Thunder
Umma Gumma
More
The Final Cut
Relics
A Collection of Dance Songs

DRM

If you haven't heard, there is a LOT of hullabaloo about DRM, or Digital Rights Management out there. Its all about how PC game publishers are trying to stop pirates from stealing their game. The fans are up in arms, boycotting the PC ports of excellent games such as BioShock, Mass Effect, and Penny Arcade: Rain-soaked Precipice of Darkness, some of the most outstanding games of the last 2 years. Their gripes:
-It takes too long to activate
-I want to be able to install it on more than 3 PCs
-I don't want to put in a key more than once
-I don't want the game checking in to the server to see if its legal for me to play
-I want to be able to play the game in 10 years, and any activation/check-in servers will be dead by then.
-None of this stops pirates, really.
-All this DRM stuff breaks the game sometimes

I think they're all a bunch of whiners. Activation definitely stops pirates. It doesn't stop all of them, but it stops some of them. Yes, there will always be cracks and hacks, but a Steam/Stardock/check in with papa type of system is simply the best. The people that complain about this are either a)secret pirates, b)like to play ridiculously old games, or c)whiny knobs. If you're a), shut up, because if you are really a pirate, you'll be able to get the game eventually. If you're c), shut up because no one likes a whiny knob. If you're b), here's my suggestion to you and to the game publishers, I hope you like it, but you probably won't.

Keep the DRM system with server check in in tact, but add a few things. First, add the ability to play the game 5 times without a check-in, or up to a week, or something. This should ease the "What if my internet service is out?" Well, then you wouldn't be able to bitch and moan ceaselessly about everything. But yes, you wouldn't be able to play your game either. The solution above solves this. The next gripe, that you can't play old games, is also easy to solve. Put in a check to the Naval Observatory Time Server. If the date is X years(say 5) after the release date of the game, then don't do a server check. Hooray, the game's now free for whoever wants it, but you, as a publisher, if you're still in existence, probably don't care too much at this point. If you aren't in existence, then the users can still play the game. Surely, users can see the benefit of this, and must realize that game companies have to protect their investment, or PC gaming will truly become extinct.

Personally, I don't care. I'm mostly a console gamer, and I could give a crap about activation on PC games. I'll do whatever it takes to get the game running. Whats a few extra key strokes or a few extra seconds checking in with the server?

Pearl

For some reason, I've been wanting to listen to a lot of Janis Joplin lately. I had cassette tapes of her stuff, but lost them in one of my many moves, and unfortunately never got her CDs. That may have to be rectified soon.

Joplin would never make it in today's music world. Fortunately for her, in the mid to late 60s, there was a turn towards blues music, and the rock that was influenced by it. Jimi Hendrix was singing Red House, Voodoo Child, and Mannish Boy. John Mayall was singing Crawling Up the Hill, a Hard Road, Blues City, and the heart wrenching "Death of JB Lenoir".

Joplin grew up knowing the blues, listening to the blues, and living the blues. So that is what she sang in her distinct voice. The whiskey soaked gravelly tunes poured out of her, and carried her heart and soul out with them. A perfect example of this is "Summertime". She did play with Hendrix, but I haven't heard any of that stuff. I can only imagine the pure energy that was on that stage.

But anyway, back to the original point, that she wouldn't make it in today's music. She wasn't a typical beauty, and her voice, while powerful, strong, and unique, was anything but smooth, which is really sought even with rock and power singing groups today. She'd be limited to small time stuff, and possibly a punk band or something like that. Would the lack of notoriety be worth having her talent live on past the age of 27? I guess we'll never know. If she was alive today, she'd only be 65, but heroin took her away from us in 1970.

Do yourself a favor, go download Summertime, and listen to some real music.

Bruins and BS

Below is an email I sent to Bill Simmons of ESPN. I'm sure many others have written him similar emails, but his new article puts it well:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080421

And here's my email:

I consider myself a huge Bruins fan, and have been for almost 30 years. I've seen the highs, and the lows. I've watched one of the best players of our time crumble as his knee turned to bone. I've seen an outstanding goalie get rushed out of town because he was the team rep for the union, and had the audacity to suggest that the owner of one of the most popular teams in hockey pay his players more because they and the fans deserved to have a happy team. I've seen a team draft two incredible young players in one round, giving me hope for the future. I've seen a team smartly prepare themselves for the lockout by shedding big contracts, only to pick up losers and old washed up stars. I've seen the death of an arena that was an icon, I've seen one of the highest scoring stars of the game get traded for the equivalent of trading 3 nickels for a quarter. I've seen a team put all their hopes and captaincy on a Czech defenseman that really looks like he doesn't want to be there every single night.

Most of all, though, I've seen a team deteriorate over the years from an exciting, hopeful, popular team, to a team that has become nothing but a holding area for players to try to get better contracts. The Bruins are the airport lobby of the NHL, players hate going there, but go there when they want to get somewhere better. No one is enthused to be there, and the fans are sensing it now. They can't get behind guys like Bergeron, Kessel, and Lucic(my pick for the next Cam Neely) because they know that in a few years, those guys will be gone, and the Bruins will have nothing to show for it.

I understand why the Bruins are dead to you, and I can commiserate with you about how Jacobs just sees the dollar signs and doesn't have an ounce of passion for the team. But I still love them. I'll be a Bruins fan to my grave. The point of this email, however, is to ask you for advice. Like a guy who's in a bad marriage, but believes in his vows, I'm going to see this through, out of sheer stubbornness, no matter how miserable I get. Any suggestions on how to make my life as a fan more tolerable? Should I try to take it not so seriously, like I tried to do after the Thornton trade?(the "taking up fishing" approach) Or should I put my hopes in the young guys I mentioned above, simply enjoying watching them grow as players, even though I know they'll move on?(the "I'm doing this for the kids" approach) Or, should I still claim to be a Bruins fan, but take an interest in another team like the Capitals(the "cheating with the secretary" approach)?

Cuss

I think the word cuss is funny. And I think that anyone who uses it is 93.2% likely to be highly religious, and/or from the midwest or south. This is what the cuss_o_meter has to say about me. As the Dude would say, "The fuck you talkin' about?"

Created by OnePlusYou

That number's way too fucking low. Shit. And yes, I managed to find a shot of the exact moment when he says that line. And yes, I know that picture is from that line from memory.

Cleaning Time

for my sqrt(-1) users, I'm cleaning out some old drafts that I either can't remember what i was going to do with, or just got bored with.

Its either that, or rant about the Bruins again..

edit: Oh, interesting, it puts them on the date that I started them on. I don't think I want that.

Alternative History

Here's an interesting alternative history idea: On the golden anniversary of the golden gate bridge, the span flexed and flattened under the weight of 1,000,000 people, and if there was any weaknewss in the bridge, it would have cracked, crumbled, and thousands would have plunged to thier death. Also, the bay area would have been effected greatly, causing traffic from Marin county to San Fran cut down to a near halt, and so on and so forth. Maybe no tech boom in the area, though, thigns tended to recover pretty well after the San Fran earthquake, when there were some 3,000 deaths. But this would be a good 15% of the area's population. Yipes.

One Movie

This was a blog post title that I honestly have no idea where it came from. I put in blog titles and quick reminders to myself to talk about later, but I have no clue. Maybe it was about "Johnny Get your Gun" which was used for the video "One" by Metallica. Doubt it. Maybe it was about one movie that I liked. Oh wait, I think I remember now. It was "If you could recommend one movie to someone that has never seen a movie before, what would you suggest?" I think I came up with Big Lebowski, maybe Touch of Evil. I don't remember, but it was a difficult choice.