What Do You Want From Me?

I love how music evokes images and emotions in the mind and can even tell stories without words.  I've been listening to some Pink Floyd in my car recently and a song that has captured my imagination is “What Do You Want From Me?”

The opening has a slow plodding beat that is heavy on the drums and a funky wah-wah Hammond organ that comes straight out of the 70's.  What I see in my mind's eye is that Keep on Truckin’ guy drawn by Robert Crumb taking those exaggerated steps.  Anyone who grew up in the 60's or 70's knows exactly what I'm talking about.  Wikipedia informs me that those guys drawn walking over various landscapes "became iconic images of optimism during the hippie era."

So, that guy is strolling along taking a step for every beat, big goofy grin on his face, giving a thumbs up to bystanders as he struts down the middle of an inner city street.  If I were to make an animation of it I would postpone the entry of David Gilmour's guitar for a minute or so to let the stroll unfold at a more leisurely pace.  I may even give him one of those floppy hats with the brim in the front that was one of  the more ridiculous accoutrements of the 70's funk era.

So, he's "optimistic" I guess, but also oblivious.  Gilmour's guitar soars in overhead like an F-16 fighter and starts strafing the street and buildings with heavy fire.  Debris is flying up all around our guy and he does not even notice as he continues to stride confidently down the street.  Trash cans are exploding, glass windows are shattering, a dog is hightailing it down an alleyway to escape the carnage, but our guy is unfazed.  Listen to the beginning of the song again and tell me you don't envision this scene unfolding as clearly as I did.

Now that I've fully formed this movie in my mind by putting it into words, it occurs to me that my subconscious has created a metaphor for the extremes embodied by the Vietnam War and the Hippie movement.  On one side were young people with absolutely no freedom, following orders to kill and destroy.  On the other side were young people who eschewed authority and absolutized freedom, even freedom from responsibility.  This tension resides in my very head and pleads with the universe, "What do you want from me?"

And the universe replies, "Balance."


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