Is There Anybody Out There?
Being a product of the 70’s, I am heavily influenced by the music of the period. The psychedelic music of Pink Floyd has had great staying power on the rock radio stations and remains my second favorite group of that era. Queen and their operatic harmonies is number one.
Now Pink Floyd had a string of great albums (yes albums if you’re from that time) that culminated in the release of The Wall. The album took aspects from all of their previous albums and combined it into one packed punch. The agonizing guitar work, the sound effects and the depressing overall tone of the whole album made for the dream sound for teenage angst. If you weren’t depressed before you had to change back from album 2 side 2 to album 1 side 1, you would just crank it up again and search for the doom and gloom that was the essence of the music.
The song Is There Anybody Out There? is the lonely teen’s cry for help. It has the synthesized squeal that was first heard in the song Echoes on their 1971 album Meddle. Another great album. It then asks the questions that every awkward young man yearns to know. Am I alone in this life? Will I ever find my way in the world? Where do I go from here? Where is here? It is all stated in that one question and the lonely melody that follows.
Sadly, they do not answer the question in any manner that can be used by the average teen. It is left for the listener to seek their own answers. But that is probably for the best. The main character of the album tries to kill himself and is pumped with drugs in order to perform a concert. Not an ending that any sane person would envision but good for Hollywood. It did provide the question that kept me thinking. I asked myself if there was indeed someone or something out there for me. I spent the next several years searching for that answer in all of the wrong places. I spent three years at Ft Sill Oklahoma creating someone who I finally started liking. It took a total of 8 years to find “the someone” out there that I wanted to be with and a few more years before I realized that I was never, ever alone. I had a Father who watched over me and his Son who was there for me whenever I needed Him. Amen.
Now I realize that it is not a matter of Is There Anybody Out There? It is a matter of finally coming to love yourself. When you can love yourself, you develop the ability to love others. That in turn allows you to develop relationships that are more than just casual gatherings of people, to finally get to know people and develop true friendships. That allows you to answer all of those questions that stem from Is There Anybody Out There? Yes, I am.
Icool
Cobb
Now Pink Floyd had a string of great albums (yes albums if you’re from that time) that culminated in the release of The Wall. The album took aspects from all of their previous albums and combined it into one packed punch. The agonizing guitar work, the sound effects and the depressing overall tone of the whole album made for the dream sound for teenage angst. If you weren’t depressed before you had to change back from album 2 side 2 to album 1 side 1, you would just crank it up again and search for the doom and gloom that was the essence of the music.
The song Is There Anybody Out There? is the lonely teen’s cry for help. It has the synthesized squeal that was first heard in the song Echoes on their 1971 album Meddle. Another great album. It then asks the questions that every awkward young man yearns to know. Am I alone in this life? Will I ever find my way in the world? Where do I go from here? Where is here? It is all stated in that one question and the lonely melody that follows.
Sadly, they do not answer the question in any manner that can be used by the average teen. It is left for the listener to seek their own answers. But that is probably for the best. The main character of the album tries to kill himself and is pumped with drugs in order to perform a concert. Not an ending that any sane person would envision but good for Hollywood. It did provide the question that kept me thinking. I asked myself if there was indeed someone or something out there for me. I spent the next several years searching for that answer in all of the wrong places. I spent three years at Ft Sill Oklahoma creating someone who I finally started liking. It took a total of 8 years to find “the someone” out there that I wanted to be with and a few more years before I realized that I was never, ever alone. I had a Father who watched over me and his Son who was there for me whenever I needed Him. Amen.
Now I realize that it is not a matter of Is There Anybody Out There? It is a matter of finally coming to love yourself. When you can love yourself, you develop the ability to love others. That in turn allows you to develop relationships that are more than just casual gatherings of people, to finally get to know people and develop true friendships. That allows you to answer all of those questions that stem from Is There Anybody Out There? Yes, I am.
Icool
Cobb
posted by Cobb at
12:48 PM
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