George A. Reisch
Pink Floydâ€™s sound and light shows in the 1960s defined psychedelia, but their later recordings combined rock, orchestral music, literature, and philosophy. ,Dark Side of the Moon, and ,The Wall, ignored pop musicâ€™s usual strictures to focus on themes of madness, despair, brutality, and alienation. Here, 16 scholars set delve into the heart of Pink Floyd by examining ideas, concepts, and problems usually encountered not in a rock band's lyrics but in the pages of Heidegger, Foucault, and Sartre. These include the meaning of existence, the individual's place in society, the contradictions of art and commerce, and the blurry line between genius and madness. The bandâ€™s dynamic history allows the writers to explore controversies about intellectual property, the nature of authorship, and whether wholes, especially in the case of rock bands, are more than the sum of their parts.
Philosophy,Music,Nonfiction,Psychology,Culture,Pop Culture
Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene!