Prozac and Whimsy

I’m not going to do any of that new year new me bullshit. I am instead going to plough on being the same me I think I am or the me I want to be at the very least. Things on here are going to change a little but nothing drastically as I am very much a one trick pony (I have a brilliant story about a one trick pony that I’ll maybe share another day, but I think it is a story that I find funnier than anyone else). So there will be more comically open confessions of my inadequacies and mental imbalances as there ever was but there is going to be a lot more music chat.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t listen to music in one way or another, be it in the shower or in the car on the way to and from work, or when I’m cleaning the kitchen and making lunch on an evening. Music makes everything make sense in my head and in my world. I know I’m not possibly going to be able to post about this every single day and even trying to would be setting myself up for failure but I’ll (try) and cover it all, even the bits where I spend days tumbling down certain rabbit holes.

This brings us nicely to what I have spent the last 24 hours listening to on repeat. Last year, Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here Turned 50. It’s not their most popular album as that is clearly Darkside Of The Moon and it’s probably not even my favourite as that would definitely maybe be Meddle, but me picking Meddle might just be the dregs of me being a snobby music tosser (All of that is a whole heap of stories for other days) But is it their best? I think so (In short fuck The Wall, there is no good double album)

First one final tangent (I love tangents me) I tend to listen to music via my phone, streaming either to the car stereo, a small stereo in the kitchen or a Bluetooth speaker. I am mostly nearly almost completely deaf in my right ear so ultra hi def remasters and other technical marvels are mostly lost on me (This is also true for shit like 4K movies, I’m a speccy four eyes twat and my eyes aren’t hi def so a lot of that is lost on me as well) Anyway, back to Pink Floyd…

To mark 50 years of a magnificent album there is now a wealth of different levels of deluxe boxsets for discerning fans with varying budgets. I have been losing myself in the 3 disc version on Spotify (yeah I know, Spotify sucks balls but I share a subscription with my Dad who wouldn’t understand Tidal or Deezer or Bandcamp or any other slightly more ethical service) The first disc is your regular album all polished up nicely. The third is all live tracks and a lovely little reminder for people my age that we’ll never get to see a band this good at their absolute peak.

The second disc is where all the treasure is hidden. We have not one, not two but THREE different versions of the title track, each different in beautiful ways. The first featuring French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli who adds a certain something you never even knew was missing in the first place. You can see why it wasn’t added to the album but fuck me it adds a new layer of maudlin sadness to a song that can already make me cry if it catches me unaware (songs to cry to is an entry for another day) The next version is labelled as Take 1 and if this is really honestly true that this was their first run at it these men are fucking wizards. The third is an instrumental pedal steel version that feels like it could soundtrack a heart-breaking montage in your own life.

I’m choosing to ignore the back to back versions of The Machine Song as it is the weakest track on the album by the most boring member of the band (Roger) Instead we’re going to focus on the two different versions of Shine On You Crazy Diamond. The first is an 18 minute instrumental that makes you yearn for Richard Wright and appreciate what he added even if the lunatic in the band (also Roger) didn’t. It is an interesting thing but feels like edging as you constantly keep waiting for the vocals to kick in, or you even just add them in yourself in a moment of self indulgent karaoke masturbation. The second version is a full 25 minute run through of parts 1-9 from start to finish in a lovely new stereo mix. It is mostly unnecessary as essentially nothing changes but all of my fond memories are tied to music in one way or another and I saw in 2026 listening to it drunk on honey rum having spent the evening indulging my whimsy (more on that soon) And talking to friends who mean the world to me. It was the first New Years Eve where I didn’t have a little cry and go to bed before midnight in a very long time. And for that I am truly eternally grateful.