Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene! (Popular Culture and Philosophy) [Paperback]

George A. Reisch (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2007 | Series: Popular Culture and Philosophy

Pink Floyd’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 music’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 band’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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Open Court (November 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812696360
• ISBN-13: 978-0812696363
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #849,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A bit pretentious, February 18, 2008

By 

Lincoln - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene! (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

Let me start by saying that I am a 36 year old English Pink Floyd fan and count Roger Waters as one of the best lyric writers (and most underrated) of the last century. I expected great things from this book and there are some interesting chapters obviously written by fellow Pink Floyd admirers.

However, the "philosopher" writers tended at times to try and show off about how much they know about previous philosophers and tried to shoe-horn their opinions and characters to fit their arguments. Obviously they are American (and not used to English culture) as some of the arguments are just inaccurate... examples..

Pgs 246 - 248 Clever overblown discussion about Nietzsche and Syd Barrett especially the song "Octopus Ride"... again, an Octopus RIde was a fairground ride so nothing too clever or "philosophical" in these lyrics.

Pg 269 - Comparing the lyrics from the Final Cut of "maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control" as a nod to Syd Barrett... umm, no. This is a reference to the IRA bombing of the Royal Marine orchestra in London in 1982.

There's several more of these inaccuracies or contrived writings but overall the book is a lot of fun but doesn't offer any new insights into Pink Floyd. The first chapter is also a weird choice discussing a reggae cover of DSOTM... definitely out of place in this book.

Recommended for the total PF addict only!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shedding Light on the Dark Side of The Moon, February 3, 2008

By 

J. J. Kwashnak "voracious reader" (Monroe, LA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene! (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

Pink Floyd's music has always been a trippy joy for many, but unlike many of their contemporary counterparts in rock, many have found a unique deepness to their lyrics. Couple that with the stormy story of the band's existence and you have an area ripe for exploration. That is exactly what a number of writers do in this entry into the Popular Culture and Philosophy series. Most writers focus either on the "classic" period of Pink Floyd's music (Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall) or upon the unfortunate breakdown of member Syd Barrett. As one might expect, Dark Side of the Moon is minded extensively for insights into alienation, madness and existence. If anything, too much time is spent on Dark Side of the Moon, often trying to mine the same set of lyrics. Some essays touch upon the other albums but not to the extent of Moon. Other essays look at the sad descent of Syd into alienation and madness, and bring connections of his experiences to the band's lyrics showing his influence even when not there.

This volume brings onboard a broad spectrum of writers, including several who are not philosophers or philosophy professors. As a result much of the book carries more discussion of Pink Floyd and the philosophy of life and existence as opposed to viewing the band's work in terms of classical philosophy. There are good examples of the latter - Nietzsche, Foucault and Camus are all mined for insight in essays, but are not used as heavily as earlier volumes. The result is a more accessible entry in the series for non-philosophers to enjoy, gain insight and hopefully listen to Pink Floyd's music in a new way.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pink Floyd and Philosophy, December 12, 2008

By 

James R. Sloan (Poca, WV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pink Floyd and Philosophy: Careful with that Axiom, Eugene! (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Paperback)

If you are Floyd fanatic like I am, and are into DEEP thinking like I am, you'll love this collection of essays.

Floyd is deeply deconstructed by a number of different authors, who have taken seemingly every aspect there is to be had and dug to the very bottom of it, and then some. Turns out it is all very simple, put together by men who really had absolutely no formal musical training (except for Rick Wright, God rest his soul - Nick Mason couldn't read a drum score until 1987!), but with very precise ideas about what they wanted it all to say to those who really cared to listen.

Much of the material the authors haved gleaned in a dark room, some properly motivated by various intoxicants, just like it should be. Floyd is best experienced by itself, not as "background noise". You put on a Floyd album and every time it's an event. Put everything down and just listen to the album: don't read the paper, or watch TV, or write product reviews like I am now while "Dark Side" is on. Just listen and nothing else.

Then read this book and see how much of the material covered that you actually thought of while listening! It was shocking to discover that these authors had much the same interpretations of all aspects of Floyd than I did! Even saw the same things when they closed their eyes and just sunk into the whole thing!

Pink Floyd is truly the greatest band in rock and roll history, due to the intellect and angst of all sorts injected into the music and lyrics. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING you hear, music and lyrics both, mean SOMETHING.

Those at the mid-70's shows that hollered for "Money" had no business at the shows. They just spoiled it for any true Floydian around them.

The music of Pink Floyd is a total aural and visual experience, not just fluff. We need many more bands out there like that, but there will never be one.

So now we true Floydians just have to hang on in quiet desperation to what we have, keep replacing CD's that go bad, and keep thinking.