I am going to bypass my normal procedure of revising my audio memory of the album prior to this 2016 Sunday ritual given the amount of overdosing I'd done on Animals (the album, I mean, I am herbivorous in the literal sense of the word). Amazing how George is able to make the sound alive with his descriptions - the doom-laden looping of "stone... stone... stone..." - indeed, how can one forget that loop?
And the other standout sonic feature of the album? Another stellar phrase - "best illustrated by the way the vocals at the end of each line mutate and crossfade into an electronic banshee wail, only to be abruptly cut off with a thunderblast".
With descriptions like these, why would I need to dust off (metaphorically speaking, it is all in digital format now) the album for yet another listen? Thanks for a riotous glimpse into a past memory.
Finally, kudos on the surprising parallel drawn with the caste system. There is a 4th one as well and maybe if Waters had chosen to portray another species you may have thought to map it....
The sense of Animals being more punk than punk is right on - punk comes off as good clean fun by comparison. And Timon of Athens was a perfect stage/literary connection to make; Timon's venomous malediction at the Wall of Athens is an early high-water mark for artful bile. That the next PF album would be The Wall is surely just a minor coincidence, but it's still a fun association to add to the mix.
Perhaps that's why Animals is the only Pink Floyd album I hold in high regard - I think the band vastly overrated. I have always thought The Wall a sell out. The best way to sell records? Make teens sing "We don't need no education". Back then I was a teen myself and I already understood its utter stupidity.
I am going to bypass my normal procedure of revising my audio memory of the album prior to this 2016 Sunday ritual given the amount of overdosing I'd done on Animals (the album, I mean, I am herbivorous in the literal sense of the word). Amazing how George is able to make the sound alive with his descriptions - the doom-laden looping of "stone... stone... stone..." - indeed, how can one forget that loop?
ReplyDeleteAnd the other standout sonic feature of the album? Another stellar phrase - "best illustrated by the way the vocals at the end of each line mutate and crossfade into an electronic banshee wail, only to be abruptly cut off with a thunderblast".
With descriptions like these, why would I need to dust off (metaphorically speaking, it is all in digital format now) the album for yet another listen? Thanks for a riotous glimpse into a past memory.
Finally, kudos on the surprising parallel drawn with the caste system. There is a 4th one as well and maybe if Waters had chosen to portray another species you may have thought to map it....
The sense of Animals being more punk than punk is right on - punk comes off as good clean fun by comparison. And Timon of Athens was a perfect stage/literary connection to make; Timon's venomous malediction at the Wall of Athens is an early high-water mark for artful bile. That the next PF album would be The Wall is surely just a minor coincidence, but it's still a fun association to add to the mix.
ReplyDeletePerhaps that's why Animals is the only Pink Floyd album I hold in high regard - I think the band vastly overrated. I have always thought The Wall a sell out. The best way to sell records? Make teens sing "We don't need no education". Back then I was a teen myself and I already understood its utter stupidity.
ReplyDeleteBack when albums had sides, I'd leave side one of this on while rarely flipping it. Here's my take:
ReplyDeletehttp://everybodysdummy.blogspot.com/2010/12/pink-floyd-12-animals.html