am i the only one who dislikes pink floyd?

The humour is in songs like Have A Cigar, Money and even Another Brick In The Wall, but it's very understated humour.

I love DSOTM & WYWH, but I find The Wall extremely self-indulgent. I am a huge fan of David Gimour's singing & guitar playing and am therefore able to forgive some of Waters' pomposity. Having said that, I don't own most of these albums. I have the BIG albums and quite frankly I think that's enough.

Quote from chema

until not long ago, i only knew their most famous songs, such as money, wish you were here, another brick in the wall...

a collection of their discography was available at newsstands a couple of years ago, and i didn't miss the chance. i was a fan of other progressive acts, such as genesis or kate bush, so i would probably enjoy pink floyd as well, i thought.

therefore, i discovered pink floyd when covid started, with the lockdown and all. i guess that didn't help, because of the bad memories attached. for a while, i fooled mysel into believing that i liked them, but i really didn't, much as i tried. i find them boring, depressing, pedantic and pretentious.

actually, i don't mind their first two albums, when syd barrett was in the band. they made experimental music that reminds me of the beatles (in their most psychedelic form) and the early genesis.

but their next concept albums, with lyrics that try to save the world, put me off. i don't care if they have sold billions of copies.

besides, the fights between roger waters and pretty much any other band member, were very ugly. nothing to do with the friendly jabs between peter and tony.

and how about sense of humour? if there is any humour in pink floyd's songs, music videos or live performances, it's certainly hard to find.

conclusion: as fas as i'm concerned, genesis >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> pink floyd.

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I'm a very big fan of the band, although I think I feel the same about The Final Cut as you seem to feel about their entire discography after Syd left. I personally love Wish You Were Here and Animals as a pair.

I have to say, a sense of humor is categorically not something I look for in any music, and if present I usually find it really off putting. And fights within a band, ugly though they may be, never influence how I hear that band's music either. I love Suede who had equally huge fights and the Smashing Pumpkins who were worse.

I get not liking a band, just not for those reasons. There are also bands I feel like I 'should' like based on other bands I like, but don't at all. Metallica, Pearl Jam, Yes are obvious ones.

I don't think I outright dislike Floyd, it's more that their stuff mainly doesn't connect with me and I can't work up much enthusiasm for it. I can kind of see why they're so well-liked though. And I really like Meddle.

I have a theory that artists can gain significant kudos if they become reclusive and/or die young. I think there's an element of that with PF in that their reputation is boosted to some extent by having had a prominent member who did both those things. I think it contributes to why they're the "cool", acceptable prog band. I reckon Genesis would've gained such regard if Peter Gabriel had left then remained out of sight and died as a troubled, mystery figure after about 10 years.

I agree with thewatcher that a sense of humour isn't high on my list of priorities in my music listening. Rock music and humour rarely mix well. We're on a fan forum for one of my absolute favourite bands and for me, even their instances of incorporating humour were generally pretty naff, especially post-PG. But humour can be present in other kinds of ways, not just in jokey lyrics, attempts to do "fun" songs or wear snorkels on stage. For example - and this'll likely sound utterly bizarre - I've always thought there's something oddly humorous about King Crimson. I can't pinpoint what but it's there, as part of their unforced eccentricity. A band can also inject humour into gigs via their banter. In this regard Crowded House were one of the funniest bands I ever saw.

By the way, I don't see this thing of "I like some prog acts so I should like this other prog act." It's too close to "Cats have 4 legs, my dog has 4 legs, so my dog must be a cat."

*cue discussion "is Pink Floyd really prog"

I used to love PF when I was a kid, later I couldn't connect to them anymore, even later on I found my way back to them, meanwhile I kind of lost of touch again. I guess I have a on/off relationship with Pink Floyd.

I completely don't get the attitude of "you're only a *insert genre* fan if you listen to *insert canon of bands*". You're only a fusion jazz fan if you listen to Miles Davis and Mahavishnu Orchestra, you're only a funk fan if you listen to Parliament/Funkadelic, you're only a prog fan if you listen to Genesis, Yes, EL&P, and King Crimson... What about you're only a music fan if you don't give a shit about what some snobs think everybody else is supposed to listen to.

Personally I have mixed feelings about Pink Floyd. Certain albums resonate with me better than others. Dark Side of the Moon, there most popular gives me about 50/50 enjoyment, only because this album get's played the most on radio stations and bores me slightly.. Wish You Were here sits better amongst their albums, along with Atom Heart Mother, Animals and the Wall.

I do not own all their albums. My collection consists of

Atom Heart Mother

The Wall

Animals

Dark Side of the Moon

Endless River

Wish You Were Here

I have heard a few tracks from other albums, but could not be bothered.

I think Meddle is great, love the underwater sound of Echoes.

And The Division Bell has some really gorgeous moments. The instrumental 'Marooned' is great, Rick Wright's song 'Wearing the Inside Out' is smoky, sophisticated and jazzy, and the closer 'High Hopes' I find pretty amazing. The final chorus where the drum smacks just as Gilmour starts singing "the grass was greener...". Spine tingling.

Pink Floyd stands out in my music collection for one reason: Just a few full albums, but an unusually large number of tracks acquired individually. That's because most of their albums (besides a couple I've skipped entirely) have had tracks I greatly enjoy along with tracks I don't want to hear at all.

For the record, I don't think of anything as really being "Pink Floyd" if it came after THE WALL... and even that one barely qualifies.

I have been enjoying the process around the evolution of 'Dark Side'.

The early show in Brighton and the slow transition towards the album we know.

They were inspired and driven then.

They created a masterpiece,

Unfortunately they never matched it.

Nope!

Quote from bromleybruce

I have been enjoying the process around the evolution of 'Dark Side'.

The early show in Brighton and the slow transition towards the album we know.

They were inspired and driven then.

They created a masterpiece,

Unfortunately they never matched it.

I love Pink Floyd. Meddle's great. One of These Days is tremendous as is Echoes. DSOTM WYWH A and TW are masterpieces.

Their earlier stuff can be hit or miss, some great stuff . The final cut is nothing to get into . The last two however were really great albums and I never tire of them.

Meddle has always been my favourite along with the heralded string of albums they did with DSOTM, WYWH and Animals.

I also really love Saucerful of Secrets and rank it up there among the best..

I'd say in the last couple of years my most played Floyd album has been Division Bell - so I'm definitely on board with the Gilmour-led group.

The Final Cut is really the only album of theirs I don't like which explains why I have never been greatly interested in Waters' solo output.

I like about three quarters of The Wall.

I tend to think it's a bit over-rated and admittedly my view is probably tainted by the fact I was a Floyd fan when that album came out, my being in high school and seeing all these "fans" coming out of the woodwork, walking into class singing "We don't need no education..." but upon further discussion with them (being the music snob that I was) discovering what I already suspected, that they really only knew the hits off one or two albums.

Quote from Witchwood

Meddle has always been my favourite along with the heralded string of albums they did with DSOTM, WYWH and Animals.

I also really love Saucerful of Secrets and rank it up there among the best..

I'd say in the last couple of years my most played Floyd album has been Division Bell - so I'm definitely on board with the Gilmour-led group.

The Final Cut is really the only album of theirs I don't like which explains why I have never been greatly interested in Waters' solo output.

I like about three quarters of The Wall.

I tend to think it's a bit over-rated and admittedly my view is probably tainted by the fact I was a Floyd fan when that album came out, my being in high school and seeing all these "fans" coming out of the woodwork, walking into class singing "We don't need no education..." but upon further discussion with them (being the music snob that I was) discovering what I already suspected, that they really only knew the hits off one or two albums.

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My step son now 29 is a musician. He (and his muso friends) loves Pink Floyd. Well he says he does. He thinks he knows them . I say he doesn't . He knows an awful lot of songs but seems incapable of listening to an album begining to end which is what Pink Floyd and many others were all about . It just individual songs. Certainly their best works should be listened to as a whole.

Each to his/her own. The albums up to and including Wish You Were Here were fantastic to my ears, and the last three of those outstanding. Dark Side achieved its legendary status for good reason: it works perfectly as a concept piece and as individual tracks. It was also decades ahead of its time. The balance of the Waters years was a case of diminishing returns. Some occasional highs when they regrouped, but for me that early 70s period saw them produce some of the best rock music (prog or otherwise) of all time.

As this is the closest we seem to have to a general PF thread (surprisingly, apart from a couple of splinter threads) I thought I'd mention here that Mason's Saucerful show is on Sky Arts this coming weekend - sorry I can't recal the exact day and time.

Undoubtedly some great music, but lacking warmth and genuine wit after Syd.
Piper, Dark Side and Wish all classics to me, The Wall is a great show, not so much a great album, Division Bell a touch lighter and better for it. Animals close to a classic but edged out of it by too much cynicism. The rest an intriguing mix of noodling and brilliant flashes. Love Gilmour’s guitar and voice, Roger’s ranting when kept in check, Rick’s chords and Syd’s brilliance, also Nick’s attitude. When these ingredients were in balance they were hard to beat, But too much time wasted on squabbling, schoolboy cynicism and attitude rather than soul. But when it does work - superb

Quote from Thelawnmower

Undoubtedly some great music, but lacking warmth and genuine wit after Syd.
Piper, Dark Side and Wish all classics to me, The Wall is a great show, not so much a great album, Division Bell a touch lighter and better for it. Animals close to a classic but edged out of it by too much cynicism. The rest an intriguing mix of noodling and brilliant flashes. Love Gilmour’s guitar and voice, Roger’s ranting when kept in check, Rick’s chords and Syd’s brilliance, also Nick’s attitude. When these ingredients were in balance they were hard to beat, But too much time wasted on squabbling, schoolboy cynicism and attitude rather than soul. But when it does work - superb

For me, looking in from the fringes of the PF universe, this is as good a summary of them as there could ever be.

I like some of PF's music but wouldn't say I was a fan. The last album I bought was The Wall, and saw them perform it live twice at Earl's Court in 1980/81. I can pass on their solo work but love David's Live at Pompeii blu ray, an iconic location with superb musicianship and light show. The blu ray box with supplementary songs from other locations on tour plus documentary shows what Genesis could do as a thank-you to fans.

Thanks Backdrifter