Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

All discussion related specifically to Roger Waters.
dj865
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Re: David Gilmour Yes I Have Ghosts

Post by dj865 »

ZiggyZipgun wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 5:10 pm
In Roger's interview with Rolling Stone, they asked, "Did you like the records he has made with Radiohead?"
I don’t listen to other people’s records, so I haven’t heard any. I don’t like to be interrupted when I’m working.
Does this mean he doesn't listen to music? If so, that's just weird
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Re: David Gilmour Yes I Have Ghosts

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dj865 wrote: Sat Oct 31, 2020 6:36 pmDoes this mean he doesn't listen to music? If so, that's just weird
Exactly. The most recent release I've seen him mention listening to is Van Morrison's Sense of Wonder from 1985. In an interview around that time, they asked him what he likes to listen to, and he had to think for a long time but eventually came up with that. He probably heard it in the cab on the way to the interview.

But it is weird, and I think it explains why his solo output doesn't appeal to many people, including a lot of Pink Floyd fans.
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Re: David Gilmour Yes I Have Ghosts

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 8:05 am
Annoying Twit wrote: Wed Sep 02, 2020 7:41 amITTLWRW is also a good album with good songs, in my opinion.
My main beef with it is that melodically, it blatantly borrows from '70s Floyd - even the softer, "Wait For Her" etc., and like Pros and Cons, much of it is the same melody and chord progression, across the whole album. Then, the production shamelessly tries to recreate sounds from those classic Floyd albums - even sounds that were solely the work of Rick Wright. And last but not least, he has still abandoned his linear narrative, and a lot of the content will age more quickly if you-know-who loses the upcoming election. I do like "The Last Refugee", but as I've said, my wife immediately exercises her power of veto if I put the album on in the car. I find less and less to like with each listen - the opposite of any Floyd album, and nowhere near the caliber of Amused to Death.
The man who was PINK in Pink Floyd makes a Pink Floyd album.

I'm totally here for that.
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Re: David Gilmour Yes I Have Ghosts

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battra wrote: Sat Dec 05, 2020 10:53 pmThe man who was PINK in Pink Floyd makes a Pink Floyd album.

I'm totally here for that.
I'm not sure if it was this thread or not, but I shared an interview Roger gave where he conceded that Nigel Godrich made him shelve most of the ideas he had for the album, and he just "sat on his hands" and let Nigel make the album. He wanted an album that would sell well, because none of the three he'd produced himself had. The more uptempo tracks were "throwaway songs" where Nigel asked him to add lyrics to some instrumental jams they came up with in the studio, and Roger wasn't happy with them. But again, each of his albums have come out immediately after a divorce (except Pros and Cons, which was written right after divorce #1, and KAOS, which caused divorce #2.
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Re: David Gilmour Yes I Have Ghosts

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Sat Dec 05, 2020 11:35 pm
battra wrote: Sat Dec 05, 2020 10:53 pmThe man who was PINK in Pink Floyd makes a Pink Floyd album.

I'm totally here for that.
I'm not sure if it was this thread or not, but I shared an interview Roger gave where he conceded that Nigel Godrich made him shelve most of the ideas he had for the album, and he just "sat on his hands" and let Nigel make the album. He wanted an album that would sell well, because none of the three he'd produced himself had. The more uptempo tracks were "throwaway songs" where Nigel asked him to add lyrics to some instrumental jams they came up with in the studio, and Roger wasn't happy with them. But again, each of his albums have come out immediately after a divorce (except Pros and Cons, which was written right after divorce #1, and KAOS, which caused divorce #2.
A great producer is willing to look a legend in the eyes and say "No."

For that I'll say, may the gods bless Nigel.
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

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They made pop music that pandered to casual Pink Floyd fans.
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 9:42 pm They made pop music that pandered to casual Pink Floyd fans.
You think?

I don't.

But hey, it's ok to disagree.

I know I'd rather listen to that album than anything David Gilmour's had anything to do with in the past 40 years....wait, when did The Final Cut come out?
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

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battra wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 9:51 pm I know I'd rather listen to that album than anything David Gilmour's had anything to do with in the past 40 years....wait, when did The Final Cut come out?
37 years ago, but that's okay because David Gilmour didn't want anything to do with it then or now, and would "like to forget about" the album that "did real damage to our reputation."
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 11:06 pm
battra wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 9:51 pm I know I'd rather listen to that album than anything David Gilmour's had anything to do with in the past 40 years....wait, when did The Final Cut come out?
37 years ago, but that's okay because David Gilmour didn't want anything to do with it then or now, and would "like to forget about" the album that "did real damage to our reputation."
OK.

So I much prefer Is This The Life We Really Want to anything David Gilmour has done in the past 37 years.

Not to say I don't enjoy his work, but I just don't enjoy it as much.

I mean, I have Live In Pompeii 4 LP set, Delicate Sound of Thunder, and Pulse LP sets on the shelf.
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

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I would probably enjoy Is This the Life more if Roger actually played more on it, but he made clear in the interviews quoted at the beginning of this thread, he delegated the task to fanboys that he wasn't even familiar with, other than that they were successful record producers. It was very important that this album would sell well. You can hear the other musicians playing these exact sounds on their earlier albums. Whether or not the songs are good or that the album as a whole is better than this or that, to me, is irrelevant, because it is inauthentic - much is the same way that people like to dismiss A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Roger's hypocrisy over the past thirty years is astounding. And again, In the Flesh was put out to pay for divorce #3, and ITTLWRW paid for divorce #4.

The man is creatively spent.
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 3:40 am I would probably enjoy Is This the Life more if Roger actually played more on it, but he made clear in the interviews quoted at the beginning of this thread, he delegated the task to fanboys that he wasn't even familiar with, other than that they were successful record producers. It was very important that this album would sell well. You can hear the other musicians playing these exact sounds on their earlier albums. Whether or not the songs are good or that the album as a whole is better than this or that, to me, is irrelevant, because it is inauthentic - much is the same way that people like to dismiss A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Roger's hypocrisy over the past thirty years is astounding. And again, In the Flesh was put out to pay for divorce #3, and ITTLWRW paid for divorce #4.

The man is creatively spent.
I went back and looked at all the quotes in this thread and honestly, I don't see an issue here.

A producer for an album is supposed to be like a director for a movie.

Roger brings in the songs, they work them out, Godrich brings in creative decisions, as he should, and they made a great record together.

This thread inspired me to pop it on the turntable for the first time in awhile.
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

Post by Annoying Twit »

battra wrote: Thu Dec 10, 2020 7:20 pm I went back and looked at all the quotes in this thread and honestly, I don't see an issue here.

A producer for an album is supposed to be like a director for a movie.

Roger brings in the songs, they work them out, Godrich brings in creative decisions, as he should, and they made a great record together.

This thread inspired me to pop it on the turntable for the first time in awhile.
I have to agree. If it was a band album it would be more notable that so many of the parts were played by others, but Rog is a solo artist. He wrote the songs and sings on it. And, plays on it too. NG produces it. That's fairly normal in my eyes, and I don't see a problem.
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

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Eh, coming from the guy that markets himself as the heart and genius of Pink Floyd, who touts his abilities as a record producer (not that he's ever produced anyone else's records), it's very weak. They are his lyrics, and he even makes an effort to sing them, but they're essentially set to other people's music. This "ideas man"/conceptual artist had lots of ideas and a concept and it was all thrown out. It's not a horrible album, but it's none of the things that Roger claims his albums (and his main contributions to Pink Floyd) are. And as per usual, he doesn't even play bass on a lot of it - which to me is just makes his solo career kind of comical: this elderly guy that quit being a bass player half a lifetime ago, but still has to strap one on for public appearances or people will forget who he is. [Side tangent: I came across a page the other day where someone was speculating on the number of windings in the pickup coils on Roger's bass...as though Roger himself even knows what that means and would be bothered to have a personal preference.] As Les Paul himself discovered early on and often said, "most people listen with their eyes." Think about the fact that, to keep up appearances, poor Rog had to sit down at the ripe old age of 74 and figure out David Gilmour's bass solo to "Pigs (Three Different Ones)", because he'd never played it before, ever. That says a lot about his current mindset and priorities. I've said it before, but he's just fighting to stay relevant. Paul McCartney is going through the same thing - they've both outlived their bands but are still overshadowed by them - but Paul can play any instrument he picks up, it's just been 30 years since he wrote a song worth listening to.
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

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ZiggyZipgun wrote: Fri Dec 11, 2020 3:19 pm Eh, coming from the guy that markets himself as the heart and genius of Pink Floyd, who touts his abilities as a record producer (not that he's ever produced anyone else's records), it's very weak. They are his lyrics, and he even makes an effort to sing them, but they're essentially set to other people's music. This "ideas man"/conceptual artist had lots of ideas and a concept and it was all thrown out. It's not a horrible album, but it's none of the things that Roger claims his albums (and his main contributions to Pink Floyd) are. And as per usual, he doesn't even play bass on a lot of it - which to me is just makes his solo career kind of comical: this elderly guy that quit being a bass player half a lifetime ago, but still has to strap one on for public appearances or people will forget who he is. [Side tangent: I came across a page the other day where someone was speculating on the number of windings in the pickup coils on Roger's bass...as though Roger himself even knows what that means and would be bothered to have a personal preference.] As Les Paul himself discovered early on and often said, "most people listen with their eyes." Think about the fact that, to keep up appearances, poor Rog had to sit down at the ripe old age of 74 and figure out David Gilmour's bass solo to "Pigs (Three Different Ones)", because he'd never played it before, ever. That says a lot about his current mindset and priorities. I've said it before, but he's just fighting to stay relevant. Paul McCartney is going through the same thing - they've both outlived their bands but are still overshadowed by them - but Paul can play any instrument he picks up, it's just been 30 years since he wrote a song worth listening to.
Where did you see who played what? I would love to see that.

Man who markets himself as the creative force makes an album in the vein of classic Pink Floyd when he was the creative force of Pink Floyd.

I'm seeing a lot of I don't like Roger in the post, so I see no reason to speak to any of that.

NOTE: I did get On An Island this week, and it's quite enjoyable. It's not as good as anything Roger's done without Dave to my ears though.
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Re: Musings on Is This The Life We Really Want?

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It's Nigel Godrich's production team - they took Roger's basic tracks and did whatever they wanted, including some stuff that Roger wasn't even keen on. Another person that Roger had never heard of (Gus Seyffert) plays bass on most of it. Interesting to note that Roger didn't play bass on any of the new tracks on his Us + Them tour, though he did play bass on "Dogs" and (for the first time ever) "Pigs"...but for some reason, so did Gus. I can understand why they both played bass on "One of These Days", since the original version was double-tracked with two distinctly different bass sounds, but the others are a mystery.