Fifty years on the dark side of everyday life

– For the fiftieth anniversary of the album The Dark Side of the Moon, of the band Pink Floyd

Agron Shala

Did you catch it now? This is the question that the first leader of the band Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, asked in practice. His idea was for a new song, with a confusing title – Have You Got It Yet? Since most of the time he struck the same chord, the idea seemed simple, but from time to time everything changed. And Barrett kept asking: Did you get it now? It sounded like a mockery of the song's title, unaware that it signaled Barrett's transition to the stage where he would be known as "The Mad Genius". But asking questions, and especially looking for answers, will identify the group's post-Barrett period.

Pink Floyd was formed in 1965 by art student Syd Barrett and architecture students Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Nick Mason. It was this time when the English and British youth began to build the social revolution known as counterculture - with the rebellion against stereotypes, against the political system, moral values, the imposition of thoughts ... The counterculture also brought the musical and artistic movement known as psychedelia - which is related to the use of the synthetic drug, LSD. The use of this drug affected not only euphoria and mood, but also the perception of sounds, colors, objects... Pink Floyd expressed this experience in music and in stage presentation, with synchronized lights and the projection of liquid effects, being became the main representative of theatrical rock. Proof of this is the concert in Pompeii [Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, 1972], which can be thought of as another version of composer John Cage's four minutes and thirty-three seconds [4'33'']. Cage – composer, philosopher, theoretician and pioneer of electronic music – created a piece without any notes, during the performance of which the musicians sat motionless. He thus wanted to explore the sounds of silence and the noises of the audience – things that are not usually heard in concerts. This unique work influenced that by many he was also known as "author of silence". Pink Floyd, on the other hand, as a "noise group" (the well-known musicologist and critic of classical music, Hans Keller, in 1967 on the BBC described them as very noisy), holds a concert without a single person in the audience. The music mattered to the band members, not the number of people in the audience. Unlike Cage, they made another art experiment, to prove that the show must go on and that the artist must insist on what he believes and not on the perceptions and enthusiasm of the masses. In fact, it is the masses that later push the group into isolation, which is evidenced by the most popular rock opera: with the wall built on stage [The Wall, 1979]. Their offer was take it or leave it, there was no compromise and this is evidenced early on by Barrett's insistence that the band's first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), to have no promotional singles.

And so... everything evolves and culminates in 1973! Until then, the group was searching. Barrett's departure and his replacement by David Gilmour has prompted critics to write that the group is quickly over, that without the driving force it can do nothing. Next Albums – A Saucerful of Secrets (1968) More (1969) Ummagumma (1969) Atom Heart Mother (1970) Meddle (1971) and Obscured by Clouds (1972) – were conceptual albums, creative, with certain interesting themes, but representing a cacophony of thoughts and ideas. They didn't have clarity of concept, direction - just like the group didn't have a conductor [leader]. They were in a state like "after the death of Stalin" (a phrase used by Mason, after Waters left the group in 1984), as the members had to find themselves and the common future.

And, the dark side of the moon came... Everything is concrete, especially madness. Now, they caught him! Barrett's mental crisis became an inspiration, as would Waters' selfishness in the future. “If we didn't have crazy Syd and crazy Roger, maybe we would Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep [Middle of the Road's 1971 hit song 'Lemonade', which nobody remembers today],” Mason said.

At Mason's house one day the members of the group gather and discuss the things they are most concerned about. The answer was time, money, madness and death. From these answers the concept for an album is created, which takes place during the concerts of 1972. This was the time when the world trembled with the roughest sounds of glam-rock [Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Gary Glitter, Slade, Sweet, Suzi Quatro ... ] and from stage appearances with extravagant patchwork clothes and faces full of make-up. In a cynical time of the Watergate Affair and the Vietnam War, representatives of this musical trend dealt with esoteric, cosmic and science fiction themes. But Pink Floyd didn't follow the flow. Pink Floyd comes down to earth. Psychedelic escapism ends.

After the concerts, the group works for eight months in the Abbey Road studio, to finalize the ideas of the project with the working title: The Dark Side of the Moon – A Piece for Assorted Lunatics. The recordings, for the first time in history, are made in the 24-channel studio. The result is an experimental album, with rich melodies and intriguing lyrics that move the band from cult status to titans of the rock industry.

Albumi The Dark Side of the Moon there are 10 themes, of which three are instrumental (Speak To Me, On the Run and Any Color You Like) and a song without verses (The Great Gig in the Sky). There are many interpretations of the band's concept, but it can be said that the album as a whole deals with the life of the common man. Speak To Me in a way it means asking for help; Breathe talks about life under obedience (Hurry, rabbit, hurry / Dig the hole, forget the sun); On the Run reflects stress and anxiety; Team is youth wasted (You walk on a piece of land in your village / Waiting for someone or something to show the way), loneliness and seeking rest (At home, again at home); Great Gig in the Sky it is the fear of death; Money speaks of greed as a sin (Money is fuel); us and them for the conflict, for the situation between the two elections (Sometimes happy sometimes sad / In the end we just go round and round and round); Any Color You Like for lack of elections; Brain Damage for madness (The devil is in my head); WHEREAS Eclipse about life as an illusion or as a grim reality (And everything under the sun is in harmony / But the sun is darkened by the moon). In other words, this album talks about the dark side of everyday life.

The Dark Side of the Moon is the most avant-garde and innovative album in terms of sound engineering [engineer was Alan Parsons], full of heartbeat effects, ticking and chiming clocks, manic laughter, terrifying screams, electronic noises... And , in the words of ordinary people. Waters writes the questions on pieces of paper: When was the last time you hit someone? Were you right? Would you do it again? What does the dark side of the moon mean to you? Paul McCartney and his wife Linda also answer these questions, but their answers were "too clever" to be included in the album. The correct answers were of unknown names, including the studio guards (in the album lyrics at the end of this article – translated by Besnik Hamiti and the author of this article – they are in quotes).

Waters was the main architect of this project, where he also proves himself as a poet, but Gilmour was the one who added beauty to the music, with unique vocals and solos. In fact, the whole set worked like a precision clock. Harmony everywhere, even among members. Richard Wright (whom Waters fired in 1979) is driven like never before to work on one of rock's most unique works: Great Gig in the Sky. He is also encouraged to convert the instrumental he made for the film Zabriskie Point (1969) – directed by Michelangelo Antonioni – in the song Us and Them.

But something else also makes this rock classic special: it is a pioneering album in progressive rock and modern electronic music. Meanwhile, the topics it deals with are current even today. This album knows no age: it stayed on the charts for 972 weeks, to date it has sold 45 million copies (when the CD came out in the 1980s, a German company produced nothing but this album for months), while remixing and is launched in each jubilee year. The uniqueness is also about the most iconic cover, simple and bold, and yet enigmatic - like everything else on this album: the spectrum of colors in the prism (performed by Storm Thorgerson of the team Hipgnosis).

Pink Floyd has always been described as an enigmatic and difficult group to imitate. However, their masterpiece is very simple. What characterizes them most is the courage to experiment, proper research and precision in thought, articulation and interpretation. This was also proven with the next two innovative albums, Wish You Were Here (1975) and The Wall. But Waters' ego dims the spectrum of colors, the harmony, as the group plunges into the dark side of the moon: the members become characters in the fable they created — about choices and the lack of choices. So things went as the guard Gerry said at the end of the album: “Truly, there is no dark side of the moon; in fact, everything is dark". But the legacy lives on, always fresh.

The Dark Side of the Moon it is still heard today, by every generation. Film critic Ty Burr heard this album as a 15-year-old. He listens to it again and says: If the album hasn't aged, neither have we. Therefore, listen to it to be forever young. /Telegraph/

***

TALK TO ME
(Speak to Me)

"I've been crazy for many years, absolutely years, for a long time, working hard for bands..."

"I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like most of us... it's very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."

***

HE BREATHED

Lyrics: Roger Waters (song Breathe (In the Air))
Translation: Besnik Hamiti

Breathe, breathe air
Don't be afraid to feel
Go away, but don't forget me
Search around and choose your place

As long as you live and as high as you fly
The smiles you give and the tears you shed
Everything you touch, everything you see
It is the life itself that you will live

Hurry up, rabbit, hurry up
Dig the hole, forget the sun
And when you're finally done
Don't stop, dig the next slowly

As long as you live and as high as you fly
But only if you ride the wave
Balanced to the greatest
Soon you will have the grave.

***

ON THE RUN
(On the Run)

"I live today, I'm gone tomorrow, this is me, hahaha..."

***

time

Lyrics: Roger Waters (song Team)
Translation: Besnik Hamiti

Tick-tocks leave behind the gloomy moments of the day
He smashes and throws away the clocks carelessly
You walk on a piece of land in your village
Waiting for someone or something to show the way

Tired of lying in the sun, stay home and watch the rain
You are young and long life has plenty of time to kill today
And one day he finds out ten years behind his back
No one told you when to run, you have lost the starting point

And runs and runs to catch the sun, but it sinks
In the race to come from behind you once again
The sun is relatively the same, but you are old
One breath less, death not so far away

Every year it gets shorter, you never seem to have time
Plans that go astray or half a page of scribbles
To hover in silent despair is English
Time passed, the song ended, I thought I have something more to say

At home, again at home
I like to be here whenever I can
When you come grumpy and tired
I burn the bones next to the fireplace
Somewhere far away, beyond the fields
Ringing of the iron bell
He calls the faithful to fall on their knees
Enchanting magic softly spoken to hear

***

THE BIG CONCERT IN THE SKY

(The Great Gig in the Sky)

"I'm not afraid of death, whenever it comes, I don't worry. Why am I afraid to die? There's no reason for it, one day you have to go."

"If you can hear this whisper, you're dying..."

"I never said I was afraid of death..."

***

money

Lyrics: Roger Waters (song Money)
Translation: Besnik Hamiti

Money, leave.
Find a job that pays well and you're free.
Money is fuel
He grabbed that cash with both hands and hid it in the chest
New car, caviar, dreams as big as Istanbul,
I'm thinking of buying myself a soccer team.

Money, come back,
I'm fine, Jack, don't even touch my den
Money is a hit
Don't tell me brochulla that I have to do well
I'm traveling with a first class arrangement
But I think I need a private plane

Money is a crime.
Share fairly but don't risk my cake
They say that the money
It is the root of all evil
But if you ask for a raise, don't be surprised
That they don't give you anything

"Huh! I was right!"
"Yes, I was absolutely right!"
"Of course I was right!"
"Ultimately you were right. That guy was looking for a babysitter!"
"Yes!"
"Why do people do this?"
"I don't know, I was too drunk at the time!"

***

WE AND THEM

Lyrics: Roger Waters (Song Us and Them)
Translation: Besnik Hamiti

Us and them
At the end of the day, we are just simple people

Me and you
This is not our choice, God himself knows

"Forward!" gave orders from behind
And who was at the front died
The general sat down and the lines on the map
They moved side to side

Blackened and bruised
And who knows which is which and who is who?

Sometimes happy sometimes sad
In the end we just go round and round and round

Haven't you heard, it's a battle of words?
The one holding the poster shouted
Listen, the gunman said to him
There is a place for you too

“Well, I mean, they'll kill you, so if you give them a hard, hard hit, they won't do it again. Do you understand? I mean he got away easily, I was able to shake him, but I only hit him once. It's just what separates right from wrong, right? I mean, politeness doesn't cost a thing, right? Eh?”

Hopeless, homeless,
You can't avoid them because you see them everywhere

With or without
Who denies that this is likely to be fought for?

I left the road
I still have a lot of work to do
Things come to my mind
No metal in your pocket
For a tea and toast
The old man gives soul

***

ANY COLOR YOU LIKE
(Any Color You Like)

***

BRAIN DAMAGE

Lyrics: Roger Waters (song Brain Damage)
Translation: Agron Shala

The old man is on the lawn
The old man is on the lawn
I remember the games, the wreaths and the laughter
I have to keep the tantrums under control

The ghost is in the hall
The ghosts are in my hall
Their faces in folded newspapers on the floor
Every day the newspaper distributor brings more

And if the dam breaks many years ahead of time
And there is no free space left on the hill
Your head explodes with dark forebodings
We'll meet on the dark side of the moon

The devil is in my head
The devil is in my head
He takes the razor, he brings the change
It clears my mind again

You close the door and throw away the key
Someone lives in my head, but it's not me.

And if the cloud thunders in the ears of the heart
You scream and no one seems to hear
And if the band you make music with starts playing other tunes
We'll meet on the dark side of the moon

"I can't think of anything to say, except...
I think it's amazing! Eat, eat, eat!”

***

Blackout

Lyrics: Roger Waters (song Eclipse)
Translated by: Agron Shala

Everything it touches
And everything you see
Everything you taste
Everything you feel

And everything you love
And everything he hates
Everything you don't believe
Everything that protects

And all that gives
And everything you get
And everything you buy
Beg, borrow or steal

And everything he creates
And all that destroys
And everything you do
And everything you say

And everything I eat
And everyone you meet
And all that doesn't matter
And everyone who fights it

And all that is now
And all that has passed
And all that comes
And everything under the sun is in harmony
But the sun is darkened by the moon

"Truly, there is no dark side of the moon
In fact, everything is dark"

/Telegraph/