A Pink Floyd story that doesn't mention drugs

Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" just celebrated its 1,500th week on the Billboard chart, a pretty mind-boggling achievement any way you slice it. And while I'd love to play the jaded 20something hipster, I gotta say "Dark Side" is a pretty mind-boggling record. I mean, it sounds AMAZING, still, to this day. And for all its pretentions, it's also a pretty solid piece of songcraft. The Beatles (especially "Abbey Road") are all over that thing. So is Al Green. "The Great Gig in the Sky" is a pretty sexy tune. The whole album ain't bad to get, um, amorous to.

Roger Waters talks about "Dark Side" in this interview with Billboard. Here he sounds off on what has made the album endure.

I think the answer is twofold. Musically, this thing has really stood the test of time. There was something about the symbiosis of the musical talents of the four of us that worked really well.

But also, I think, in terms of the lyrical content, philosophically it holds an appeal to each successive generation because it feels like it gives you permission to question things, maybe, which is something that is very appealing to us as we hit puberty and drift beyond it into real life. Musically, the record expresses the concerns that there are in the lyric about basic fundamental questions about human existence.

That's a fine answer, Rog. It's also wrong. Sure, "the symbiosis of the musical talents of the four of us" maybe had something to do with it. But if the world's marijuana supply disappeared tomorrow, so would "Dark Side of the Moon." Sorry, but that's a fact.