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Music

Wish You Were Here

Ian Rizzo listens out for a philosophy of absence.

The year 2025 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Wish You Were Here by the rock band Pink Floyd. With its emphasis on existentialist themes, this classic album can be conceptually regarded as a follow-up to The Dark Side of the Moon (1973). But where The Dark Side of the Moon reflected the struggles, pressures and frustrations of modern life (including madness), Wish You Were Here dwells on the concept of absence – absence from one’s own being, and absence from others.

The idea that we can be physically present while mentally elsewhere is an eternal facet of the human condition, and has arguably become more pertinent since the digital revolution early this century. But it was also explored by existentialists in the second half of last century.

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