Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts I–V) vs. The Rainbow

I kind of agree

but the appeal is somewhat similar, to me anyway

must've listened to diamond a million times in my teens

these days I'm more a rainbow person

but which one is it??

Pink Floyd are painting with broader brushstrokes and making bolder statements; Talk Talk are indirect throughout (but not as indirect as they would be by opening their next album with "Myrrhman"). It's also worth noting that, even though both songs are "artsy rock", they owe a lot to blues and jazz in terms of chord changes and instrumental tones.
I'd also parallel the moment in "Shine On" when the tuned glasses change from the G minor they've held since the beginning to a D minor to the key change after each verse in "The Rainbow" (where Hollis sings, "Lenient, the song the lawyer sang..."). Both songs also mention imprisonment.
I'd have to pick "Shine On" because it feels like a more complete entity. However, I've never loved "Eden" and consider Part IX of "Shine On" to be the destination point to which the whole Wish You Were Here album leads.

those are very good points, both songs rock, and I imagine that has to do with the blues/jazz influences, although I'm not strong with musical theory

when's the key change you mention?

lyrics are indeed very different, Hollis juxtaposing the colloquial with the otherworldly (overworldly?) music, Waters going for the biggest payoff possible (along the way applying some surprising metaphor, similar to Wish You Were Here)

talk talk song is okay but wish the guitarist would go through some various moods instead of playing the same blues rock stuff over an incessant beat for minutes

The Floyd were comparatively very disciplined and precise with their specific placement of notes and instrumentation, whereas I believe Talk Talk took a more entirely improvisational approach.

i don't know a ton about talk talk's recording approach with their last two albums, but iirc, it seemed to me to be curated improv, as in, lots and lots of time spent experimenting and improvising over many months, often in the dark surrounded by lava lamps and stuff? if that's the case, to get from a bunch of improvisations and experiments to the final recording might have been a very decision-heavy, intentional process (and a very patient one), albeit one where the sound elements were originally improvised

“Shine on” is the best, it’s what imagine the maxell dude in the armchair is listening to.

not really a fan of Eden

z_tbd is right. The sessions for *Spirit of Eden* and especially *Laughing Stock* were insane. Darkness, lava lamps, lots of acid. Tens of musicians passed through the studio, were given no real idea what they were contributing to, and simply encouraged to improvise. The songs were pieced together by Hollis and Phill Brown over the course of months. It basically broke everyone involved.

when's the key change you mention?

2:28, and it's not even a key change, just a chord change from i to v, but it feels monumental.
The Floyd get a lot of mileage in this piece switching back and forth between G natural minor (which scale includes E♭), and G dorian (where E is natural); they first introduce the latter in the four note guitar fanfare.

just realized the length of this poll lol nice

voted talk talk, but there's really no wrong answer.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

and so tomorrow we get high and listen to...

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Desire > Welcome to the Machine > Eden
Inheritance > Have a Cigar
I Believe in You > Wish You Were Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts VI–IX) > Wealth

^^ total insanity

It wasn't my idea to compare these records!