I suppose I'm odd in yet another way. Like most people, there are songs that will always be "summer songs"; I could hear them on Christmas Eve, or the cold, dark depths of mid-February, and I'm suddenly in the heat and humidity of mid-July, the sun high in the sky, the world green. Just so, I also have a far smaller set of songs (actually whole bands) that are, for lack of a better word, autumnal. It could be a week out from the summer solstice, 90+ degrees, and if one of these songs pops up on my playlist, the light dims thanks to the thick cloud cover, the air doesn't go cold but has a chill, I can actually hear and smell the crisp, dead leaves on the ground.
I'm not sure why, but the bands that bring that whole fall feeling tend to be British, none more than Pink Floyd.
Pink Floydish in sound and feel, Porcupine Tree can do it, too, especially when leader Steven Wilson is reveling in gloominess, such as this:
Then there's Marillion, closer to Genesis than Pink Floyd when it comes to influences, but also quintessentially British in feel. Their concept album Brave deals with suicide; "The Great Escape", well, what else do you think it's about? I still think the second solo on this song isn't just Steven Rothery's best, but one of the great guitar solos of all time in terms of emotional impact.
All these depressing songs. . . If it weren't for the drought, it should be raining.
I'm not sure why, but the bands that bring that whole fall feeling tend to be British, none more than Pink Floyd.
