Pink Floyd - The Wall

[Robroy]

I always liked this very simple lyric, and vocal delivery:

You wake up in the morning, get something for the pot
Wonder why the sun makes the rocks feel hot

The vocal delivery must be what made it, because that phrase does nothing for me, except it rhymes.

 

[Lionel Albert]

The Wall is a Roger Waters' album, pessimistic lyrics and music, very dark but very good.

 

[Robroy]

PF is a brand. Once you are a brand, you can get away with stuff that a "regular guy or band" would not be respected for doing.

Reminds me of the university art teacher that shows an abstract painting of what looks like random splotches of color to his art class and asks them why it is a great painting. As each student pontificates about the use of dissimilar and complimentary colors, sometimes sparingly and other times in bold strokes, it brings out this or that emotional or aesthetic reaction, he holds back where he acquired the painting until the comments have run their course.

Then he confesses that it is his classroom apron.

Not that PF was bad. I love their stuff. But sometimes, if it wasn't them doing it, I'd not care for it at all. And those songs I no longer do care for. Let's face it, they are to music what Monty Python was to comedy. There is some amazing stuff and some just plain crap. And that is really ok.

And, of course, art is subjective.

 

[40Hz]

It is said that Woodstock killed the hippie movement. It became too mainstream.

If memory serves…

The hippy movement was pretty much over by 1969. What was left behind was the slowly dwindling counter-culture and antiwar movements. The counterculture pretty much came to an end after May 4th, 1970 with Kent State. When the National Guard was completely exonerated by the courts for that incident, a lesson in realpolitik was taught - which is to say that the gloves were now off and protests and civil disobedience could now face the risk of deadly force being employed on the part of the government. Something that was inconceivable to most Americans at that point in time. The antiwar movement slowly ended starting in 1973 with the cancellation of the draft lottery, and finally on April 30th, 1975 with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

I think Gilmore (much as I admire him and his guitar work) needs to climb down off his high horse a bit. The whole 'Floyd Feud' would have been over and forgotten ages ago if he didn't keep wearing it like some weird sort of badge of honor. Time to either make up or move on, Dave.

I agree with you there but if you dig into the content of The Wall and Roger's personal history, it actually is a pretty succinct definition of the album. Pink is most certainly Roger and nothing is his fault. That being said, The Wall is a fantastic album.

 

[40Hz]

I agree with you there but if you dig into the content of The Wall and Roger's personal history, it actually is a pretty succinct definition of the album. Pink is most certainly Roger and nothing is his fault. That being said, The Wall is a fantastic album.

I've only got two conflicting versions of the story told by two feuding bandmates - one a superb songwriter/lyricist and the other a virtuoso musician.

I suspect as time went on they both wished their well-deserved (IMO) success didn't owe anywhere near as much to each other's respective talents as it does. But the old phrase "We're better together" was never truer when it came to Waters and Gilmore.

Still, it shows poor form to air so much dirty laundry in public to my way of thinking. But maybe that's me.

 

[MonetBass]

While Roger was the driver on The Wall, David, Nick and Richard were the engine & wheels. That album (and any other by PF) would not have sounded the same without one of those three.

 

[mellowinman]

I agree with you there but if you dig into the content of The Wall and Roger's personal history, it actually is a pretty succinct definition of the album. Pink is most certainly Roger and nothing is his fault. That being said, The Wall is a fantastic album.

Pink, as portrayed in the film, and to a lesser degree, on the album, is not Roger, but an amalgamation of Syd, Roger, and a fictitious character representing the band, and all rock stars. He is not portrayed as nothing being his fault. He is portrayed as deeply mentally ill, and quite toxic to those around him. He ignored his wife, long before she left him; he is given to bizarre behavior, that would frighten anyone around him, and he exploits/victimizes young groupies, and it is doubtful any of them would have good stories to tell about the experience.

All alone or in twos
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall
Some hand in hand
Some gathered together in bands
The bleeding hearts and the artists
Make their stand
And when they've give you their all
Some stagger and fall - after all its not easy
Banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall

 

[mellowinman]

As for the death of the hippie movement, Altamount, Kent State and other events did more to end it than anything else, especially since the end of the War, the legitimacy of civil rights for minorities and women, and the long lasting effects it had on culture, fashion and music largely made it irrelevant. Simply put, it achieved most of what it set out to achieve, and was no longer necessary.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Pink, as portrayed in the film, and to a lesser degree, on the album, is not Roger, but an amalgamation of Syd, Roger, and a fictitious character representing the band, and all rock stars. He is not portrayed as nothing being his fault. He is portrayed as deeply mentally ill, and quite toxic to those around him. He ignored his wife, long before she left him; he is given to bizarre behavior, that would frighten anyone around him, and he exploits/victimizes young groupies, and it is doubtful any of them would have good stories to tell about the experience.

All alone or in twos
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall
Some hand in hand
Some gathered together in bands
The bleeding hearts and the artists
Make their stand
And when they've give you their all
Some stagger and fall - after all its not easy
Banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall

As the story goes, The Wall stems from an incident where Roger Waters spit on a kid at a concert in Montreal. The entire album is about a rock star getting so bloated with success that he goes out of touch and becomes a twisted monster who sends out his fans to assault minorities. While the latter part obviously never goes down, the way Pink gets there is because of his dead father, his harsh school masters and his over-bearing mother. The faceless/corporate record label forces him to go on, shovels some drugs into him, and drags him further down the rabbit hole of disconnect. All of this reflects Roger's personal history or at least his take on it, particularly the childhood experiences.

 

[garp]

The Wall is one of the few opuses (opi?) that I've purchased in multiple formats: First on vinyl; then on cassette; and finally on CD. It's certainly not my favorite Floyd product, and I don't listen to it very often, but when I do, it's always a cerebral experience. To this day, it still saddens me to know that during the studio sessions, Richard Wright had been relegated to the role of session musician, but I suppose that's another thread. Additionally, Gilmour's contributions to The Wall are simply astounding, though IMHO, still not his best Floyd work.

For me, the most commercial aspect of The Wall stems from the fact that Waters has now milked it for all it's worth. Upon release, it quickly – and deservedly – earned its place as one of the greatest concept albums ever created. Today, it's almost comical how the album/film has become more of a marketing tool. In September 2016, I began to see television commercials – yes, television commercials – promoting Waters' September 2017 "Us and Them" concert dates...using voice-over copy to the effect of: "From the rock legend that brought you The Wall..." That made me think to myself: "Oh, how sad."