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Pink Floyd

From THE WALL, a no-doubter, top-tenner for me. In 6th grade I listened to it obsessively on my walkman from self made maxell XLII-S tapes. I’m still not sure why this work of art spoke to me so clearly at 12. I was a happy kid with many interests; sports, books, arcade games, computers — and early on, music. I was an introvert and listening to music was already a kind of medicine, even in elementary school. A palpable way for me to wind down and re-charge.

And, I’m still not sure how exactly my taste developed. Casey Casem’s American Top 40 was something I devoured each week, and I was already organically being drawn to the music I still love today. Some of it was the influence my older brothers — but mostly I gravitated to songs that spoke to my DNA. Off the top of my head, the late seventies, early eighties bring to mind — The Talking Heads, the Go-Go’s, The Clash, Earth Wind & Fire, ELO, Men at Work, Queen, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Devo, Bruce Springsteen, Blondie, Paul McCartney, etc.

Near the top of the list was Pink Floyd, who had very few top 40 hits. Mostly it was The Wall and The Final Cut which felt new to me as a young teen. They were sweeping concept albums and I remember pouring over the artwork in the gatefold sleeves. Seeing Roger Waters on the Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour was one of my first concerts and I still remember it well. I also got to see the RADIO KAOS tour at the Oakland coliseum a few years later.

Which brings us to the Alan Parker directed film THE WALL — which was something I watched with great excitement as a young film lover. I already knew the music inside and out but did not see the movie until it was on VHS — right about when my love for cinema was born in the mid to late eighties.

This is ultimately a long form music video with Bob Geldoff playing Pink. But I love the risks the movie took — cinematic risks Alan Parker made is what gives the film shelf life. It already has music that will stand the test of time — but the images do as well. Seeing Young Pink walk the war zone is a stirring piece of experimental filmmaking. RIP Alan Parker who passed away in 2020.

And the song? It’s the center piece of the record. Pink isolated at home alone. Grasping at meaning. Unpacking painful memory. The danger of tipping over the edge and losing sanity (like Syd Barret did) feels very real and lurks in the subtext.