Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site tellab1.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!lll-crg!ucdavis!ucbvax!decvax!bellcore!petrus!magic!nvc!sabre!zeta!epsilon!gamma!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!tellab1!barth
From: barth@tellab1.UUCP (Barth Richards)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: re: THE WALL
Message-ID: <690@tellab1.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Nov-85 13:12:47 EST
Article-I.D.: tellab1.690
Posted: Wed Nov  6 13:12:47 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 9-Nov-85 07:01:33 EST
Reply-To: barth@tellab3.UUCP (Barth Richards)
Followup-To: net
Distribution: net
Organization: Tellabs, Inc., Lisle, IL
Lines: 79
Keywords: Pink Floyd, THE WALL


Some thoughts on recent net comments about Pink Floyd's THE WALL:

In article <4116@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU> quint@topaz.UUCP (Amqueue) writes:

>In article <2416@sjuvax.UUCP> kirsch@sjuvax.UUCP (P. Kirsch) writes:
>
>>even like Led Zep IV that much?? Why is The Wall "history's stupidest
>>concept album?? Because it's the true story of Roger Water's life?? Maybe
>
>I thought it was from Sid Barrett's life... much of Floyd's stuff seems
>to be psychologically oriented, form the point of view of a slightly 
>sick psyche... I always thought it was because Barrett went nuts. What's 
>this about Waters?

There are shades of Syd Barrett in the character of Pink, ("I've got the
obligitary Hendrix perm...I've got elastic bands keeping my shoes on") but
Pink is primarily based on Roger Water's own life. Roger, like Pink, never
knew his father (who was a WWII casualty in both cases), had overbearing
teachers that he hated, had a wife who cheated on him, and freaked out during
one show on the ANIMALS tour (actually, probably more than one. I have a bootleg
from that tour at the end of which Roger rather sarcastically says "Well, it's
been really great watching you all beat the shit out of each other. Another
time, he saw this kid in the front row who was going crazy: cheering,
screaming, yelling, jumping up and down through the whole show, not even
listening to the music. Finally, Roger motioned to the kid to approach the
stage. The kid, of course, was enthralled. His god was calling, so he stepped
forward. Whereupon Roger let forth with a great FTUPMTH and spat square in the
kid's face.)

In article <198@mit-eddie.UUCP> nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) writes:

>In any case, perhaps "The Wall" is "rediculously self-indulgent
>egotistical whining"?  But so?  A lot of his problems are universal, and
>he doesn't endlessly repeat one certain complaint or anything.  He
>criticises just about everything, and I agree with him on most of them
>too.  He puts it all wonderfully poetically, and the music is incredibly
>atmospheric.  "The Wall" is a masterpiece of musical imagery.

True. Tragedy is usually one character's story, but the idea is to see how
this one person's experience relates to everyone. I think if one stops trying
so hard to hate THE WALL, the message might come to mean more than "whining." 

In article <198@mit-eddie.UUCP> nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) writes:

>> From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
>> Didn't he go through a divorce around this time?
>
>I dunno.  One might think so from the movie....

Yes, he did.

In article <1985@pyuxd.UUCP> rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) writes:

>The difference is that the others had something worth saying about their
>experiences, and didn't succumb to melodramatic whining (even Lennon's
>first solo album, a real catharsis, has more real power than self-pity).
>
>His message wasn't
>effective to me, nothing of substance other than the whining came across.

And what is your criteria for "worth saying"? I find that the term "melodrama"
comes easily to the lips of those who want to criticize a story of a tragic
nature, but aren't sure what they can use to support their criticism.

>Though there IS some great music on the album.

This is true.


                                 Barth Richards
				 Tellabs, Inc.
				 Lisle, IL

				 "A friend of mine sent me a picture postcard
				  with a satelite photo of the entire planet
				  on it, and on the back he wrote, "Wish you
				  were here."
                                 -Steven Wright