Greetings from Laurel Canyon!
Early in the week I was channel surfing and stumbled upon the VH1 documentary about the making of “Dark Side Of Moon.” Although I’ve seen the doc before I couldn’t help being totally consumed and inspired by this magical piece of music once again.
Critics of the era viewed Floyd’s release as a response to Great Britain’s economic woes in the early 70’s, but one of the more interesting revelations about “Dark Side” came from rock critic David Fricke who pointed out that the dark and depressing lyrics are brilliantly paired with an incredibly uplifting score. The end result is a complete emotional response from the listener.
Fricke’s comment reminded me of a prior radio show I cut at the studios of KCRW a couple of summers ago—5:00 AM, sitting back after dropping the needle on the album’s grand finale “Great Gig in the Sky” into my “graveyard set.” It’s not often one “listen” of a song could be as memorable, but the track is so exceptional. The question arose, what if this was to be the soundtrack of the final four minutes of my life? (I’d be crying with joy.)
My point here is not to get too heavy, but this week’s Idelic “Gig in the Sky” does try at times to touch an emotional nerve. Idelic “Gig in the Sky” is a twist of long gone rockers and emotionally charged progressions. Thrown into mix are two mini sets. Five contemporary artists—Luther Russell, Lord Huron, Woods, Vanaprasta, and Diamond Rings. Then, five long gone punks—Strummer, Thunders, Darby, Johnny Joey and Jay.
All in all, it’s “heavy for the head” as we used to say!
The Idelic Hit of the Week: Vanaprasta – G
