An iconic prism

Pink Floyd’s iconic prism



The song I Sold My Bed, But Not My Stereo (worth a listen) by Capital Cities has a line in it that says “have you heard my Pink Floyd cover?” To most people this line wouldn’t stand out but I sort of pondered it a bit and decided that many people growing up may have no idea of who Pink Floyd even is. It’s completely natural for a 15 year old to be listening to Capital Cities, hear this line, and have never heard of the band Pink Floyd. This would mean that a 15 year old born in 1998! would have to delve way back in classic rock to stumble across Pink Floyd. This got me thinking that I’m getting old.

In my mind it’s almost impossible for me to understand that some people may not know Pink Floyd even exists. To create an analogous situation, a baby boomer would be be scratching their head how someone of my generation would never have heard of the Rat Pack. It makes me understand how when you age, you are constantly being replaced by a younger generation. The great thing is that you don’t even know it’s happening, it just does. I say it’s great because it defines a meaningful concept of change. The only thing constant is change.

What makes this post worthwhile is that Pink Floyd isn’t just another band. Once again I’m going to be an old person again exclaiming how things were so much better back then (I wasn’t even alive while Pink Floyd was at their height for what it’s worth), but it’s the truth. Missing out on Pink Floyd is like never hearing of the Yankees. The lyrics, the guitar, the messages, and the performance all came together to create one of the best bands ever. As time (a Floyd song about how time can slip by, but many people do not realize it until it is too late) passes, greatness is forgotten by the younger generation. Times change, interests change, bands are forgotten and new ones emerge. All natural aspects of life that you get to witness as you go through life. One of the advantages of getting older.

I think it’s tough for an older generation to see young people and know that they are not going to go through life the same way. As an elder you want to take the young’n and put Pink Floyd on your record player and be like, “Listen Sonny, this band blows the doors off of Justin Bieber.” Problem is that you can’t force this type of thinking on young minds because it debilitates thought. They have to want to listen to Pink Floyd and as time passes, Pink continues to get pushed further and further into history. It’s a scary thought comparing Pink Floyd to One Direction. Nevertheless, that is the case and embracing this is important. Nobody like a crotchety old fart.

Check out Capital Cities cover of Breathe which I have to assume is the Pink Floyd cover mentioned in the song that inspired this post.