Pink Floyd is entirely responsible for me learning to sleep with headphones on. :p
"Shine On's" two parts bookended the "Wish You Were Here" album, which was a tribute to Syd Barrett, who left the band due to mental illness and/or drug use (likely both).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shine_on_you_crazy_diamond
Pink Floyd wrote: Remember when you were young,
You shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes,
Like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire
Of childhood and stardom,
Blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon,
You cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night,
And exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome
With random precision,
Rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!
Pink Floyd's are all 'concept' work. Many of the songs are amazing on their own, but are best experienced in the context of the entire albums. In fact, their original recording contract had verbiage in it insisting that song not be sold as singles in order to preserve the 'Artistic Integrity' of the albums. I'm not sure what the current status is, but at one point, you couldn't buy the individual songs on iTunes or Amazon MP3.
As great as "Wish You Were Here" and "The Wall" are, I think "Dark Side of the Moon" is my favorite Pink Floyd album. And apparently I'm in good company, as the album spent seven hundred and fourty one consecutive weeks (14+ years) on the Billboard album charts.
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