Respawn Entertainment: Days of Glory

Chapter 934 Pink Floyd
Returning to the album "The Dark Side of the Moon," what makes this album great is that all the songs, when put together, can fully express Pink Floyd's complete philosophy.

Looking at all the great rock bands on Earth, it seems only Pink Floyd could achieve this. And not just this one album!
"Speak to Me," the first song on the album, begins with the sound of a heartbeat, which echoes the heartbeat at the end, suggesting that this is an album about people, humanity, and society.

Besides the heartbeat, the song also features five other sounds: the ticking of a clock, the sound of a cash register starting up, the sound of a helicopter propeller, the laughter of a madman, and the scream of a woman, which correspond to the later lyrics "time, money, on the run, brain damage, the great gig in the sky."

In classical music, this song would be considered an overture. This arrangement is a classic example of why Pink Floyd's music is considered highly experimental.

Next is the second song, "Breath," which tells the story of a person's birth. The rabbit digging a hole in the lyrics is like a depiction of life.

We are like rabbits, avoiding the sun, digging one hole after another to complete our tasks and transport goods, enjoying temporary comfort, but in the end, we dig our own graves.

The satirical lyrics may not seem unusual today, but if you jump back to the 70s when this album was made, you'll find its avant-garde ideas.

While other big-name bands were still lingering in love, sex, and drugs, Pink Floyd had already begun discussing philosophical questions.

The third song, "On the Run," sounds like it's about running, but there's a hidden question: does it mean that we have to struggle for ourselves right after we're born? This seemingly absurd depiction is, in fact, the reality of survival.
Especially in today's social reality, parents who want to win at the starting line start getting worked up as early as when they are trying to conceive. Is it a problem of whose knowledge or their own?
Speaking of this, Bian Lang made up his mind to learn English back on Earth because he wanted to be able to understand Pink Floyd albums. At the time, he only wanted to understand "The Wall," and then he slowly listened to each album one by one.

The fourth song is "Time." The first part talks about people wasting time, and after a guitar solo, it depicts how people try their best to catch up with the sun they once ran away from, and to catch up with the time they had wasted. How similar this is to everyone's experience!
The third part of the song is a reprise of the melody of the second song, "Breath," with the lyrics "home, home again." This refers to a person in their seventies reminiscing about their hometown and their happy moments, but the hometown and those happy moments can only exist in memories now.

The fifth song, "The Great Gig in the Sky," will not be discussed in detail here.

The five songs on Disc 1 have come to an end, and in summary, they depict a person's life through these five songs.

Then came Disc 2, which started satirizing society.

Pink Floyd's first satirical song, "Money," immediately captured the root cause of society's problems: capitalism!
Shui Ye has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with Western capitalist society. There's an interesting part in the lyrics: "Money, get away; Money, get back."

People in today's society are trapped in the vortex of capital. They want to break free from its control, but in the end, they are forced to become its appendages. Yet, they truly believe that they can "let wine and meat pass through their intestines, but keep Buddha in their hearts." On one hand, they say, "How can the affairs of scholars be called stealing?" On the other hand, they themselves become "gentlemen who remain poor."

Even a company like Rolling Stones cannot operate perfectly well without the intervention of capital. Although Hongta does not interfere with the school's operations, it still provides substantial financial support.

The seventh song, "Us and Them," addresses three major problems in human society: war, racial discrimination, and class conflict.

These problems, at their root, stem from the driving force of capital. Rock musicians, with their inherently rebellious nature, have always been most enthusiastic about criticizing capital.

The eighth instrumental track, "Any color you like," needs to be understood in conjunction with the album cover.

You can choose any color from the seven colors of light: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet! However, no matter which color you choose, you are white light. You seem to have made a choice, but you have not made any choice at all.

No matter which color you choose, you cannot escape the white light of capital. Your starting point is capital, and your destination is also capital. This is an unchangeable outcome.

The ninth song, "Brain Damage," asks: Since we can't escape this vicious cycle, is there a way to forcibly decouple from society?

That's what it means to become a madman! Of course, this song is also said to have been written by Pink Floyd for their former lead singer, Syd.

The final song, "Eclipse," serves as a summary of the entire album.

The lyrics "all you touch and all you see" from "Breath" resonate in the end. In this final moment, everything will be hidden in the dark side of the moon, forever invisible to the naked eye. Everything has departed; the sun has been swallowed by the shadowy moon!

When a solar eclipse occurs, the sun you see is actually the dark side of the moon! And there's actually a hidden message: "There's no dark side of the moon, really; matter of fact, it's all dark."

It's a wake-up call for everyone: what is the dark side of the moon? Everything is dark; those dark things hidden in the dark side of the moon are just people's self-deception and anesthesia.

The album concludes with the return to the initial heartbeat. People come and go, leaving without a trace.

To understand why Pink Floyd is so great and why they put so much effort into these things, Bian Lang believes a crucial reason is that the band has a fatal flaw: none of the four members of Pink Floyd have a "god-like voice."

Lonely Grandpa and Water Grandpa, who sang most of the songs, actually had very weak and unremarkable voices.

Of course, this conclusion is drawn after comparing with truly divine voices. For example, world-class divine voices like Freddie Mercury of Queen, Meine of the Scorpions, and Bono of U2.

Of course, their voices are much better than the average person's. But Pink Floyd are men who are destined to be kings of rock! How can they be compared to ordinary people! Not having an outstanding voice is indeed a problem. If they couldn't solve it, Pink Floyd would have been destined to be a second-rate band. But fortunately, not having a great voice is precisely the reason why they became legendary.

Because they finally solved the throat problem perfectly!
First and foremost, there are effects pedals. Pink Floyd are practically the pioneers of using effects pedals and various devices, and as trailblazers, they've almost pushed the boundaries of what's possible for others. They even had a dog bark throughout the entire song.

When the effect of a piece of music is exceptionally important, the atmosphere becomes the goal to be pursued, while the vocals can actually become an obstacle. Secondly, there's harmony, which is Pink Floyd's second greatest strength! Undeniably, Pink Floyd's harmonies are among the most beautiful of any band of their time. Their harmonies are so sophisticated that they could even be soloed on their own as "The Great Gig in the Sky"!

Through harmonies, the human voice has become symbolized, devoid of personality, essentially just another instrument; you don't need to care who's singing. But this is different from the Beatles. The Bugs didn't have a vocal disadvantage; instead, they had two lead singers, Lennon and McCartney, both with top-notch voices. You could tell who wrote the song just by hearing who was singing.

Of course, if you ask Pink Floyd why they don't just stop singing, they'd disagree: "What am I going to do with all these meaningful lyrics I wrote!"

Therefore, Pink Floyd's singing parts are mainly used to promote political ideas. They can be used for poetry recitations or any other singing, and it doesn't matter who sings them; they won't be too good or too bad.

Pink Floyd's vocal disadvantages also became the source of their charisma: an endless pursuit of sound effects and music!

If there were a lead singer with an amazing voice, Pink Floyd's unique qualities would be in danger. The world would have one more lead singer band, and the original, legendary Pink Floyd might be gone.

When composing music, the proportions of various qualities need to be balanced. If you have a good voice, the main expressive power will be focused on your voice, and the highlights will mainly be concentrated on the vocals. Instruments are not as important in comparison, so there won't be any amazing solos like those by the legendary singer Lonely Grandpa.

Imagine if Water had the voice of an empress, would he still play with effects pedals every day and become a god?
Instead of wasting time studying diligently, he'd be better off taking more drugs and chasing girls! So, Master Shui was a self-taught master who played to his strengths and avoided his weaknesses.

What I'm really saying here is that your voice is a gift from your parents, a natural advantage. This advantage can be useful sometimes, but it can also hinder your development in other areas. However, Bian Lang from Water Blue Star is a master who excels in everything except his voice!
In addition, lead singers with amazing voices usually have a strong idol aura. Most people can easily remember a handsome lead singer before they can remember a band, which is a huge advantage in the music industry, which is full of heroes.

For a band like Pink Floyd, among a group of idol-like lead singers, to achieve top-three global record sales by purely making music and melodies is an incredibly difficult feat, even in places like Europe and America where the general public has a high level of musical appreciation.

Therefore, we might say that Pink Floyd is closer to the concept of music than other bands with exceptional vocals. Because other bands are more about "songs," while Pink Floyd is about "music."

Pink Floyd's disadvantage in this regard is quite obvious, because most people's initial impressions of the members of Pink Floyd are probably very vague.

Many people who never listen to music may have heard of John Lennon, one of the most legendary idols of the last century, but Pink Floyd, whose status was similar to that of the Beatles, did not have a distinct personal image. This, of course, also proves Pink Floyd's achievements and greatness in music from another perspective.

Of course, playing with sound effects can easily go to the other extreme: completely ignoring the music. This also reflects the importance of Lonely Grandpa.

For a time, Shui Ye went insane, wanting to abandon all instruments and create an album using pots, pans, and some effects. It was Ji Mo Ye's balancing act that stopped Shui Ye from going to such extremes. Ji Mo Ye is, after all, a musician; he pursues what sounds good. After all, if noise counts as music, then what's the point of playing the guitar?

Stripped of their dazzling vocals, the essence of music is fully revealed in Pink Floyd's work.

Generally speaking, the track for each instrument in a band is completed by the person playing that instrument. The guitarist doesn't help the drummer write the drum part, and the bassist doesn't interfere with the guitarist. In other words, each position must be top-notch, writing the highest level of music for that position, so that the overall song can be the best.

To reach the level of Pink Floyd, being at the very top is not enough; every position must be filled by a god-like genius.

Pink Floyd is truly enviable; these four are almost flawless. If you include Syd, that's five geniuses. It's unbelievable that five geniuses would come together before they even became famous. It can only be described as a miracle.

Their top albums are like a waterfall of inspiration slamming into your face, overwhelming you until you're completely stunned. After listening to each piece, even Bian Lang, who was listening to Pink Floyd for the first time back then, wanted to change clothes, take a shower, and weep in worship for ten minutes.

This explains why Bian Lang loves Pink Floyd so much: "Because perhaps only they have brought rock music to its musical limits."

Although this idea is somewhat biased, perhaps musical styles are sometimes divided into noble and lowly categories.

In the grand scheme of history, much of today's popular music will fade into oblivion. Centuries from now, how will people judge rock music? What artistic level has rock music truly reached? Can it truly be considered "art"?
When Bian Lang first fell in love with rock and roll, although rock and roll had already integrated into and influenced almost all music genres worldwide, and the idea that rock and roll was dead had been around for decades, this kind of music was synonymous with rebellion and hooliganism in the Chinese context and was not recognized by mainstream media.

Many Chinese people used to regard rock music as a way to vent their emotions, but as they grew to like it more and more, they couldn't help but start to worry about the identity of rock music.

Is rock music just a vulgar genre, unworthy of serious consideration? Is rock music merely a temporary frenzy, forever incomparable to a behemoth like classical music?

These questions were only answered after Bian Lang gradually came to understand Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd practically represented the pinnacle of rock. Their exploration of sound effects, their ability to touch the soul, and most importantly, their epic scale! Just look at the Berlin Wall concert; it was just Ayrton from Pink Floyd alone, yet he could fill tens of thousands of seats with a massive performance that was profound, magnificent, exhilarating, and deeply moving.

Pink Floyd orchestrated everything like gods, something even classical music couldn't achieve, right? Even a great band like The Insects was still quite immature in its early days, and even in the end, they couldn't reach the epic scale of Pink Floyd, could they?
From then on, Bian Lang felt relieved. With Pink Floyd, you no longer have to worry that the rock music you like is just young people playing around, or that you will regret it when you look back on the rock music you once liked in your old age.

Because Pink Floyd represents an ultimate meaning that transcends time and space.

Therefore, all of this will be perfectly transplanted to Bianlang and Rolling Stone on Water Blue Star!

(End of this chapter)