Somewhere in the mid to latter part of 1979, my best friend and I were listening to his older brother describe a new song that had this great line about teachers leaving kids alone. Not long afterwards, I hear the song played at the local skating rink. I'm intrigued...especially by the yelling I hear at the end of the song. I seek the song out at the local department store, but not having much to go on in the way of actually knowing the group name or song title, I stare at the top twenty singles wondering which one it could be. I take a chance on a single called "Another Brick In The Wall Part Two" by someone called Pink Floyd. I figured this HAD to be the song I'd heard since it was the only song and group I didn't recognize immediately. I was incredibly relieved when I got the record home and learned my hunch had been correct.
Some time after that, another friend of mine obtains a copy of the album The Wall and plays it for me. I am immediately taken with the sudden start of the album and the dive bombing airplanes, crying infants, telephone rings, voices and many other sound effects in the album. Not long afterwards, the same best friend whose older brother turned us on to ABITWP2, introduces me to DSOTM via the 8-track his older brother (same one, I think) has stolen. He immediately puts on this song about a lunatic being in the singers head...and the creepy laugh that follows it hooks me. I have to find out more about this Pink Floyd band.
Unfortunately, my grandparents (who raised me) are among that breed of people who fear what they do not understand. This album with a prism on the cover must be some kind of satanic totem or something. However, in October of 1981, after much begging and pleading, my mother finally buys me a copy of The Wall for my 11th birthday. I become obsessed.
In November of 1982, one of my local movie theaters holds a midnight showing of The Wall...on a school night. Much more begging and pleading results in my grandfather taking me (the last time he ever attended a movie with me as yet
) and me being allowed to stay home from school the next day. Memories that stand out are the entire imagery of the film burning itself onto my brain...and my grandfather asking me during the shaving sequence...Grandpa: You understand this?
Me: Yeah...see the events of his early life...
Grandpa: No...no...just as long as YOU understand this.
And then him looking at me during the facist rally and asking me..."You LIKE this?" and me just kind of nodding my head in awe.
A few months after this, I damaged my ankle and had to spend some time home from school. This was before my grandparents discovered satellite dishes and VCR's (cable is STILL not run where my grandparents live) so the only things to watch were network tv and PBS. Fortunately, PBS happened to be showing some really cool stuff at the time...including this show about the effects of extreme isolation on the psyche...this show deepened my understanding of The Wall profoundly...and further fueled my obsession.
By the time I got to high school, I had obtained a couple of copies of DSOTM, and high school saw me obtaining WYWH, TFC, AMLOR, Live at Pompeii, Delicate Sound Of Thunder (VHS and cassette), Meddle and every book I could find about the band.
1992 saw me buying my first copy of Animals because I was jonsing for some Gilmour guitar work I didn't already have encoded in my DNA.
Sometime during the last three years, I've bought AHM, OBC and More. I believe the only albums I don't currently own are Piper and Saucerful...I'll get them eventually.
Got to see Roger again in l999 and 2000, the In The Flesh Tours, in NY and NJ.
