Pink Floyd – Paranoid Eyes

I’ve admitted before that my favorite song is by Paul Simon, but my favorite album of all time is easily The Final Cut by Pink Floyd. As I’ve written, it’s difficult for me to separate Roger Waters’ works into single tunes, since they are so closely interwoven with the whole, but this one stands well on its own.

The lyrics perfectly bring us into the veteran’s post-war world, the world they made and that we inhabit, as the album reminds us. The instrumental break in the middle is noteworthy as well, in that it doesn’t contain a solo per se, but a musical shift which changes the dynamics subtly to help bring us into the final verse. Sonically, there is almost too much here to even begin discussing, which is one of the reasons this album is so remarkably unique. I encourage you to give the entire song cycle a listen.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Events moving at a rapid pace in my own life have led me to put this blog on hiatus for the foreseeable future. I enjoy writing about music, but my primary job is the making of music, and thence must my attentions be turned for now. I hope you take some time to enjoy the archives in my absence. 

Safe travels…

Waylon Jennings – The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want To Get Over You)

The outlaw country movement of the 1970s was similar to the punk movement in that it emphasized a return to simplicity, and Waylon Jennings certainly exemplified that approach.

Actually being able to hear the space between notes is a rarity in modern recordings of almost every genre, and a track like this is a good reminder of the power that emptiness holds if we will but allow it to exist.

Gary Floater – Dust Off the Dulcimer (One More Time)

We return to the legend of Gary Floater, the fictitious songwriter created by Owen Temple and Adam Carroll, a phantom outlaw for whom they have thus far created two “tribute albums.” This one is awesome from the very start.

Within a few lines, we are taken into Grandpa’s living room and know the man well. Songs like this help reinforce the point that just because something is ostensibly a novelty tune, that approach has absolutely no bearing of the quality of craftsmanship.