Sorry to tell everybody this, but rock music has always been utterly dominated by gays and pedophiles. As much as I love Pink Floyd, I know what makes them so great:
They were architects, very scientifically minded, and had endless time and money to experiment with all of the coolest equipment available. And what earned them such license? Two words: “Arnold Layne.” Seven albums before “Dark Side of the Moon,” before they had any albums at all, they had a hit single about a cross-dresser with more than a splash of sympathy.
(If you’re not familiar with their history, their initial leader, Syd Barrett, went seriously crazy between their first and second albums. They had had two Beatlesesque top-ten hits in 1967 with him, got an album deal, and released an utterly bizarre first album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Once he became too mentally ill, they created six very experimental albums until they were ready to release the practical results of their experiments, Dark Side of the Moon. I honestly don’t think there was anything cynical on Pink Floyd’s part vis-a-vis homosexuality: Arnold Layne represented an actual person from Syd’s childhood, and struck Syd as an intriguingly tragic character.)
“Arnold Layne/ had a strange/ hobby, collecting clothes.
Moonshine/ washing line
They suit him.
In the hall/ hung a tall/ mirror.
Distorted view/ See through/ Baby blue
He’s done it!”