Today we're in (supposedly) the worst financial crisis since the twenties. Funny how that sort of once-in-a-lifetime superlative seems to crop up pretty often. Sort of like lunar eclipses and close approaches of Mars.
None of it bothers me as much as the passing of Richard Wright, dead today from cancer at age 65. If you don't like Pink Floyd, you're excused now; I don't really want to talk to you anyway. I swear to God, five minutes before I found out (ten minutes ago), I was hearing a Pink Floyd song in my head as I drove up to my house. The song was "Welcome to the Machine." Why that song at this time? Probably because it was my oldest son's first day of preschool.
You've been in the pipeline filling in time
Provided with toys, and scouting for boys
My guess is that Richard Wright will begin to get more recognition. I can't say that he was some groundbreaking genius or pioneer synthesizer musician, although maybe he was. He wasn't the main songwriter in Pink Floyd, though he did write a bunch of good stuff. What places him in the pantheon for me, though, and occasions a deep sigh and a dark mood with his passing, is his piano playing throughout
The Dark Side of the Moon. If it's possible to reach across the anonymous void and attain certain knowledge that you are not alone in the universe, the expressiveness of Richard Wright's playing in the song "Us and Them" gets it done. Like the individual notes are reaching right into your brain and triggering synapses that tap directly into your soul, almost as an extension of the instrument. That quality is exceedingly rare in
any music.
Sad, too, how he was treated callously by his bandmates from
The Wall on.
I was pleasantly surprised when Pink Floyd put the old rancor behind them to reunite for Live 8, and genuinely moved by their performance in a way that could not be explained by the pretty-darn-good musical standard maintained.
Why does it happen that fantastic bands so often fall into fratricidal behavior that leaves bitterness lingering for decades? The Beatles, The Eagles, especially Creedence Clearwater Revival? How could you give up something so good - the ability to tap into that rare elixir - and make that same leap into meaningless solo careers?
To find out, I started my own band. The elixir wasn't as good, but we did the same thing as those others. Various band members who were best friends and (more or less) grew up together now won't speak to each other. I can't say I'm any wiser for it, but at least now I've seen it up close (apart from the "fantastic" aspect).
I think it's like getting a divorce, although I've never done that. I've seen a few up close, though. Not that close.
