Tuesday, June 06, 2006


Hitting the Wall
or
I Should've Been a Stoner

This weekend while unpacking still another box I came across one of my all time favorite cassettes. I know that it is a mark of still being in the stone age that I still have some cassettes, but I have a tough time replacing anything I can still use. On top of that this is one of the few albums that I can listen to start to finish any time without feeling the need to fast forward through any songs. The cassette in question was Pink Floyd's "The Wall". I remember really hearing this album in its' entirety for the first time as a teenager. It's of course been a classic with stoners for many years and to be honest most of my best friends at the time were dropping out of school and getting pretty heavily involved with drugs. I personally have never used drugs. Not even a little. Seeing my friends make bad decision after bad decision during this time probably went a long way in convincing me that I didn't really want to give it a go. I'm also very frightened about not being in control of myself and would find it hard to give up that control. Still the album is very good musically and lyrically and I love the way that it tells a story. I think they do a compelling job of documenting a man's descent into madness. From the loss of his father to an oppressive youth to a dependence on drugs to help him cope with wanting more out of the world than the harsh and often mundane reality. I think most of us have at the least felt this way at some time in our lives.
This will always be an all time favorite of mine which is probably even more curious since I've never gone to any great length to listen to other albums of theirs. Don't get me wrong I've heard them, but they lack the story and therefore the emotional impact that "The Wall" holds for me.

7 comments:

Nate said...

I think its cool that the album still has that good vibe for you.

I tried listening to The Cure's "Disentegration" album awhile back, and it really didn't do it for me any more. but REM's "Document" was still a listen that makes my heart pound.

Don't do drugs, but if you ever wind up with prescription Oxycodone, chase them with Crown Royal. Television becomes much more interesting.

Dagromm said...

First of all don't even compare The Cure to Pink Floyd. It embarasses everyone involved. Secondly, I agree drugs are bad. Unless you can figure some way to score them legally.

Q said...

Dag, I have got some medicinal cocaine. You should come over and hit a line or two. It's also interesting to take some phnetermine and then follow up with some morphine, I made this mistake with my last bout of anal. The 'mean really increases the woozy side effects of the morphine, like crazy increases. Holla!

With respent to Pink Floyd, "The Wall" wasn't as good as "Dark Side of the Moon" to me. Though both albums rate very high up there on my list. Those albums to me have a great rock feel and have stood up well over the course of time. You should also check out Young Jeezy's latest CD, it's so good it will make any woman you look at show you her tits. Not really, but it is still very interesting without being well thought out, well written, well produced or actually good at all.

Nate said...

You didn't like the Cure? You just don't understand me. Just like my parents...those mean kids in high school...society in general...now I gotta go listen to some Morrissey. You know, that song where he's sad, and not accepted? You know the one. what an artist!

Dagromm said...

I completely like one to two songs of The Cure in the same way that I like Tim Burton movies. I just don't like them every day or if they don't have Johnny Depp and/or Wynona Ryder.
Burn me a copy of Dark Side and I'll give it another listen, but if it was any good they would've made a movie of it.
Young Jeezy isn't as good as one would think. Hip Hop today is all about who you know. If you know somebody they'll make an album for you then cross sell you on every other album on the label to try and fool the public into thinking you must be good because you've got all these projects going on with these big name stars, who probably suck as well.

Nate said...

Pop Poppins rulz!

Cyber D said...

I hate it when your post dies in the transfer. You write all this good stuff and then it doesn't take. Just wanted you to know I did have something good to say but lost it.