No Roger No Floyd!!

General discussion about Pink Floyd.
ZiggyZipgun
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

Post by ZiggyZipgun »

Annoying Twit wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 7:52 amI would be very surprised if there isn't a massive amount of unreleased Roger Waters material stored away somewhere.
Which would just make his solo output that much more disappointing. He's certainly written other songs in the past 30 years that should've made it onto or precluded his last album.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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I guess this is as good a thread as any to say this, but I would certainly put Roger in the same category as Pete Townsend and David Bowie, in terms of a prolific, conceptual artist - but I'm pretty sure the other two have put out two or three times the amount of material as Roger, and they focused as much on musical invention and musicianship as they did on the quality of their lyrics. A lot of Roger's work is elevated by the overall concept, the stunning production aesthetics, and the musical motifs that tie it all together. Accurately ranking the three of them would not be easy, but Roger would probably be walking away with the bronze.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 8:16 am Which would just make his solo output that much more disappointing. He's certainly written other songs in the past 30 years that should've made it onto or precluded his last album.
Speaking as someone who likes ITTLWRW, I don't agree of course. I think the album is very good, with great songwriting (not hits - we've seen what happens if he aims for hits) and at this stage I like the fact Rog made a cod PF album which is how I interpret the production. It might help that while I don't agree with all he says, I'm possibly more similar to Rog in his political beliefs than the average PF person. After the album was released I went on holiday in Iraq and saw many of the issues that have led to the refugee problems (both internally and externally displaced people), and more, first and second hand. Hence, I really appreciated Rog reminding the world of this.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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"It's much easier for us to work together than one person trying to sway the other three, you know...to do the song. I mean, Roger's had plenty of songs that we - I don't think the Floyd will do, and that he recognizes probably aren't the type of material that the Floyd will ever want to do, actually. And the same for me, and the same for Dave. This isn't a bad thing, actually - I mean, there's lots of things all of us want to do on our own, anyway.

...I think Roger could get into all sorts of things that doesn't involve even rock and roll at all, possibly - you know, like theater or anything. All these things that, if we don't do the things that we want to do, then we'd split up. But I think a working relationship where we do work for six months could be very, very good for all of us, and very, very good for the band, and probably very, very good for our fans - because the energy level would be so much higher then, and consequently we'd play better, write better, anything. So it'd be for the good of everybody."
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 8:37 amI guess this is as good a thread as any to say this, but I would certainly put Roger in the same category as Pete Townsend and David Bowie, in terms of a prolific, conceptual artist
Rolling Stone The 100 Greatest songwriters of All Time. No Roger Waters on the list! :lol:

https://rollingstoneindia.com/the-100-g ... -all-time/

Roger Waters: "Well, anyway, I am one of the best five writers to come out of English music since the War."

Q magazine, November 1992
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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Annoying Twit wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 9:26 amHence, I really appreciated Rog reminding the world of this.
If that's his sole intention, I don't think making a rock and roll record is the way to go about it. And ITTLWRW is nowhere near as direct as his songs from 15 or 20 years ago - "Each Small Candle", "Leaving Beirut", "To Kill the Child" - the current crises have been reduced to scenery for his throw-back album, and he knows that most of the people that attend his shows won't be bothered to understand the songs - they can barely keep track of whether or not he's still a member of Pink Floyd.

Dear Friends
Some people have been asking Laurie, my wife, about a new album I have coming out in November. Errhh? I don't have an album coming out, they are probably confused. David Gilmour and Nick Mason have an album coming out. It's called Endless River. David and Nick constitute the group Pink Floyd. I on the other hand, am not part of Pink Floyd. I left Pink Floyd in 1985, that's 29 years ago. I had nothing to do with either of the Pink Floyd studio albums, Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell, nor the Pink Floyd tours of 1987 and 1994, and I have nothing to do with Endless River. Phew! This is not rocket science people, get a grip.


If raising the political awareness of as many people as possible was his goal, then I'm sure there was a way he could have diplomatically ironed things out regarding his content on the Pink Floyd website, rather than playing the victim and burning that bridge yet again. Also, for all of the insane political shit going on in the States, his case isn't helped by not bothering to pursue citizenship (which his hero John Lennon felt was important to do), despite living in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the country for years. Not only that, it's cyclical - rarely do we elect two presidents from the same party in a row, and the new one repeals everything the previous one accomplished. The situation is very ugly, but as an atheist, he should understand that it's all meaningless anyway; neither he nor Trump will exist in another 10 or 15 years, with no thoughts to think, no tears to cry.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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space triangle wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 12:54 pmRoger Waters: "Well, anyway, I am one of the best five writers to come out of English music since the War."
From the same interview:

So who could possibly rank above him, I wonder? With furrowed brow he ponders the question. “John Lennon,” he says. “I’m trying to think,” he says. “Er, I can’t think of anybody else. You see, I don’t much like listening to records. I’m a bit isolationist and insular. I’d rather be fishing. The list of great writers is very, very short but I am definitely in it. Er, who else is there that’s better than me? I really don’t know. Freddie Mercury, maybe…”

Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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space triangle wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 12:54 pmRolling Stone The 100 Greatest songwriters of All Time. No Roger Waters on the list! :lol:
I personally don't put a lot of stock into Rolling Stone or the tourist trap that is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though they have published many great Floyd interviews over the years, and Kurt Loder's review of Pros and Cons genuinely makes me laugh out loud.

Since R.E.M. made the list, it's interesting that after Opel was released in 1988, they covered Syd's "Dark Globe".

https://youtu.be/S21l4MwoL2E

Roger Waters recalls visiting backstage with R.E.M. and being warmly welcomed by the band, except for vocalist Michael Stipe. Stipe instead sat in a corner with his back to everyone, ignoring Waters until Stipe performed "Dark Globe" by himself during the encore. Waters said he supposed this to be Stipe's way of saying, "Syd was all right but you're an arsehole."
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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Speaking of bands that covered Syd Barrett songs in the '80s, the Television Personalities did, and ended up being asked to open for Gilmour at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1984. During their set, they played a song called "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" - which included a medley of "Set the Controls", "The Gnome", and "See Emily Play"...along with Syd's actually street address.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 1:10 pm If that's his sole intention, I don't think making a rock and roll record is the way to go about it. And ITTLWRW is nowhere near as direct as his songs from 15 or 20 years ago - "Each Small Candle", "Leaving Beirut", "To Kill the Child" - the current crises have been reduced to scenery for his throw-back album, and he knows that most of the people that attend his shows won't be bothered to understand the songs - they can barely keep track of whether or not he's still a member of Pink Floyd.
I never said it was his sole intention, and I don't think it was his sole intention. It's just part of what he's done. The U&T concert tour added considerably to the reach of what he's saying, adding visuals, etc. With the visuals, things become much clearer.

I seem to be having the same or similar conversation with different people on different threads, when a moderator should probably move them all to the ITTLWRW thread.

Rog is a songwriter first and foremost, not a political campaigner. And, returning to what I've said, hopefully on this thread, I'm expressing a personal appreciation for the politics. And I read and understood the song lyrics.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 1:32 pm Speaking of bands that covered Syd Barrett songs in the '80s, the Television Personalities did, and ended up being asked to open for Gilmour at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1984. During their set, they played a song called "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives" - which included a medley of "Set the Controls", "The Gnome", and "See Emily Play"...along with Syd's actually street address.
I've always thought that was a massive dickish thing to do by the support band. Wouldn't surprise me if record labels went "Oohhhh... Well best of luck with your career then!".
I know they got fired from the tour for doing that.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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Jimi Dean Barrett wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 10:07 pm I've always thought that was a massive dickish thing to do by the support band. Wouldn't surprise me if record labels went "Oohhhh... Well best of luck with your career then!".
I know they got fired from the tour for doing that.
Agreed. To spread his actual street address would be a massive dickish thing to do. Even if it was a fake street address it could cause trouble if people went there looking for him.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 1:13 pm So who could possibly rank above him, I wonder? With furrowed brow he ponders the question. “John Lennon,” he says. “I’m trying to think,” he says. “Er, I can’t think of anybody else
Ray Davies.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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Kerry King wrote: Thu Sep 03, 2020 3:50 am Ray Davies.
George Harrison.
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Re: No Roger No Floyd!!

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Kerry King wrote: Thu Sep 03, 2020 3:50 amRay Davies.
I'm really not familiar with Ray Davies' output after the '60s, and it'll probably be a while til I get around to it. Gilmour did say that "Waterloo Sunset" is the one song he wishes he had written. I would put George Harrison in that Top 5, though not necessarily above Roger, along with Townsend and Bowie; Lennon, I'm not so sure, and certainly not McCartney, who has an incredible knack for writing melodies and is a gifted multi-instrumentalist himself, but writes mostly throwaway schmaltz.

It is funny that Bowie idolized Syd Barrett, proudly used the Farfisa that was used on "See Emily Play" after Eno bought it from Pink Floyd - but declared that "when Syd Barrett left, there was no Pink Floyd for me anymore". When he made his guest appearance on Gilmour's tour in 2006, Wright said Bowie hadn't heard "Comfortably Numb" before.