i actually play guitar - not so much anymore, but i understand the aesthetics of musicianship - so i understand the pleasure derived from that cohesive structure, everything sort of falling into place during a jam session with fellow musicians. my quibble with jam-bands, & the dead in particular, is self-indulgence; i find the fine art of restraint in music to be a much more difficult act to accomplish. to say more with less - without meandering, aimless, lifeless excursions - is a true act of beauty in itself. do i feel that all jam-bands, & all jam sessions, are embedded with such a bloated atmosphere or ambition? absolutely not. many of them feel natural, earthy; they have a feeling of purpose & destination in them. like i said, my problem is the act of self-indulgence, which almost inevitably leads to a messy lack of focus. bands like the rolling stones have that unifying theme as well - that you & so many other musicians feel when they jam - in their act of "guitar weaving" (if you don't know what it is, i'd look it up - it's rather extraordinary). but it's an understated, subtle technique that gives structure & foundation to a song. jamming may give the musicians, & fellow musicians, a certain feeling of unity - & that's fine & dandy - but making music for yourself & fellow musicians only, & assuming that non-musicians don't understand music, is rather elitist & esoteric to me. it's rather silly to state that if you're not a musician you don't understand music; it's like saying only writers understand literature. pretty ridiculous. i do get where you're coming from though, i just think the line between self-indulgence, & a natural, purposeful jam with a strong, earthy structure is very, very fine, & that only a select few musicians know how to walk that line.

as far as pink floyd goes, like i said, i do not loathe them by any means - i just feel that they're impossibly over-rated. the whole act of their live shows just has a whiff of pretense to me that turns me off. i remember the good old days when all a band needed to strike emotion in their fans was their instruments & some tight, structured songs - not bloated experiments as if their stage was a film set. i think their stuff with syd is a wonderfully swirling psychedelic bliss, filled with childlike enthusiasm & spirit, organic sounding experiments & strong songwriting; however, their latter-day stuff just leaves me cold because of the bloated sense of importance pervading everything they set to wax. i don't deny that they're a talented group of musicians, i just think their lack of restraint & their love of indulging in any pompous idea they have & blowing it up to the extreme is incredibly pointless.