Grimble Gromble the Gnome

I thought this blog needed a bit more Pink Floyd, as I have not uploaded any of their song since 2015. So here is The Gnome from their first album. It is kind of silly compared to their greatest works, but it's a catchy tune and it's a million times better than the rubbish we get on radio these days. The Piper at the Gate of Dawn had plenty of folkloric elements, come to think of it.

Syd Barrett (1946-2006)

Today is the anniversary of the death of Syd Barrett, the founder of Pink Floyd, my favourite group, bare none. He died on the 7th of July 2006, overshadowed by the group he had created. We owe him a lot. To commemorate his death and to put everyone in a psychedelic mood, I have decided to upload a song from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It is Flaming. You can't get more psychedelic than this song. Enjoy.

The Scarecrow

"...and the spectacle of a scarecrow in a field late on a winter afternoon has cost him more than one sleepless night."

M.R. James, "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad"

A blogging friend put yesterday a song of Pink Floyd on her blog. Being in a psychedelic mood and since any reason is good to listen to Pink Floyd, I decided to put here a song from their earliest album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It was back when they still had Syd Barrett as the leader. Sure, it's no Dark Side of the Moon, but it was a promising debut nevertheless. I decided to put The Scarecrow here,for many reasons. The wikipedia entry says that the song has existentialist themes, which is true of maybe any good Pink Floyd song, and you know how into existentialism I am. Scarecrows are also autumnal creatures, that I associate with Halloween. There is something just unsettling and threatening about them, these still, ghostly watchers. Of course, there is also the Batman villain of the same name that popularises the scarecrow as a malevolent entity. His scenes in Batman Begins are among my favourite (have a look here and here).

Anyway, the scarecrow of Pink Floyd is not a dangerous fellow, he is actually a sympathetic figure. Nevertheless, even the rare video clip I will show has something a bit spooky, even if the background is summery. Maybe it is the look of the scarecrow itself, maybe it is the strange (meant to be drug induced?) trance of Roger Water and Nick Mason at the end of the clip. Maybe it is because English summers can have autumnal undertones, maybe because the scarecrow looks mummified and skeletal. Anyway,enjoy the music and shine on.

RIP Richard Wright

I thought I wouldn't blog today, but I just learnt some very sad news. Richard Wright is dead. At 65. Being dead was sad enough, but at this relatively young age, and from cancer, that's quite depressing. He was one of the original members of Pink Floyd. I can't express how much their music meant to me when I was a teenager growing up in 90s Québec. I absolutely, utterly love Pink Floyd. I could live without almost any music from the XXth century, but theirs. I was guttered when I learned the death of Syd Barrett in 2006. I am guttered today.

I put here in his honour the song Time, from their great albukm Dark Side of the Moon, which made me discover them. And the song is de circonstances (and Wish you Were Here might have been a bit cliché now). RIP Richard Wright, but the music survives, per omnia seculae seculorum.