Half a century of “The Dark Side Of The Moon”, the Wizard of Oz in the Valley of the Moon

This is the disc of myths. The disc of the Valley of the Moon and the pyramids of Egypt. The disc that plays in sync with the movie Judy Garland and the Wizard of Oz. It is the register of an encyclopaedic knowledge, that of names like Gerry O’Driscoll, Alan Parson, Clara Torri, Collector Roger, Paul McCartney, Peter Watts. This is the disc called disco; neither cassette nor cd: disc. “Do you have the disk of the far side of the moon?”. It is the disc that can be listened to in its entirety, from one end to the other, from one beat to the next. Systole diastole systole diastole respiratory. Those who drink put it on and help themselves to drink, those who smoke light a cigarette, those who don’t close their eyes. It is the disc of light faceted in six colors, that of the cover that’s in thousands of t-shirts. This is the disc of infinite pieces. It is a journey, a flight, a warning, an awakening, an eclipse. It is the register of all that is begged, what is borrowed and what is stolen. It’s the record of giggles, the record that, when you listen to it —if you hear this whisper– tumors

He March 1, 1973 —Half a century has passed— came out in UNITED STATES the eighth disc of pink floyd and rock began to take the final steps towards its final closure. It lasted a bit longer, maybe until 1997, until Radiohead coat Ok ComputerIt may have reached the first decade of the new century, but looking back, the 70s were the years of experimentation, breakthrough, discovery, hysterical brilliance, the promise of eternal youth.

I don’t want to glorify nostalgia. Even though I don’t like or understand what my kids are listening to, with these singers always seeming to get the vowel wrong, I don’t think my music is any better than theirs. In any case, my music spoke to me and continues to speak to me. And they will have to see how they appropriate the generational leap when they become parents. But: The Dark Side of the Moonwhat shit Breath, Time, The big concert in the sky, Money, us and them. It does not seem to me an inaccuracy or a hyperbole to call it perfect.

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Once they asked James Joyce what had been for him the most significant event of the 20th century. It was the 1920s, the great European migrations had already passed, the first war and the Russian revolution had already taken place. And he said, “The publication of the Ulisesof course”. What was more crucial for humanity: reaching the moon or seeing its dark side?

There’s a great book on Pink Floyd called floyd red. It was written by an Italian poet and philologist, Michele Mariand it came out exactly ten years ago by The Equilateral Beast. What is remarkable about the novel is that it tells the story of the group without trying to unravel the mysteries it contains. I think it’s the best way to be in the world: with the certainty that it is better that there is something that escapes. There is something curious in this book: a fictional but credible account of David Gilmour. He says the band’s best album is wish you were Hereeven if imagine that Roger Waters will choose The wall. They are two very high mountains, but I have no doubt that the best and most emblematic is The Dark Side of the Moon. To begin with, it’s the only one we name in Spanish — the same thing that is done in other countries, in other languages ​​— and naming something is a way of appropriating it. The album is so great that even the reggae version The dub side of the moon it’s really good.

The Dark Side of the Moon it sold fifty million copies, it spent more than ten years among the hundred best-selling albums, it is part of history. In 1993, pink floyd without Waters, he gave a concert for the twenty years of the album, which was called Impulse. The cd was a double case with a flashing red led. I loved this record and I love this direction. I loved watching him in the silence of the night. For years I changed the batteries; I had two. The original triangle on the lid here had turned into a circle that looked like a black eye about to have an eclipse. Floyd always had the best cover.

The paradox of this concert and those he gave Waters Sin Pink Floyd in 2007 when he first came Argentina is that they tried to respect the album almost verbatim. Without new solos, without experimentation, without improvisations. Gradually the album became a monument, and the concerts became rituals. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing, but given the choice, I think it’s not good.

And even The Dark Side of the Moon prevails over its creators. When the songs play on an FM that makes nostalgia a cult, they seem out of place. They are too alive. These are the songs that gave us wings and the strength to shake them.

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