Will Roger Waters ever shut up?

  • Thought I'd bump this back up after reading an amusing thing. Roger Waters was reportedly miffed when a Toronto gig of his went unmentioned by local media. He then got even more annoyed when he learned that a concurrent gig by The Weeknd had drawn all the attention. He allegedly said he had no idea who or what The Weeknd was, and he was sick of hearing about unknowns such as Drake, and "don't these people realise I'm far, far, far more important?"


    😂

    My first reaction to this was"surely not", then read the Vanity Fair interview! Looks like he's turning into one of those old men who were so shocked and dismissive at PF and their contemporaries in the 60s/70s . I wonder what Drake and the Wkend will like at 78?

  • As a complete digression. I once heard John Lydon going on about how much he disliked Bono. He complained that Bono would stop pontificating about everything!!!!.

  • I quite like Bono. I totally get how annoying and preachy he is, and so does he - in an interview he said he realised early on that the being-a-jerk on/off switch in his head, that we all have, is permanently jammed in the 'on' position so he's just gone with it as best he can.


    Rock music needs figures like him, to an extent it comes with the territory. I think his pontificating generally comes from good intentions but it's always going to be a case of being able to stomach it or not. If anything good comes from stuff he and others say or do then it's worth accepting the bluster.

    Abandon all reason

  • I like Bono, I agree i think he is good intentioned mostly. It's a shame in the end that he'll probably be remembered as a political bore. Rather than a fantastic front man and one of the greatest lyricist's of his generation. I know people love the Joshua Tree but peak U2 for me will always be Achtung Baby, the singles are great but the album tracks are possibly even better on it.

  • So, this is one of those instances where an artist not having everything taken off of YouTube worked in their favor.


    I tend to have YouTube going on in the background when I'm working from home. The Mama, IT, WCD, and TioA tour videos are in constant rotation, along with Gilmore's Live in Gdansk, and the Delicate Sound video. Other artists pop in occasionally too, but those are the main things I'd put on for background noise.


    People started to add video's from Waters' current tour (This is Not a Drill), and I started having some of those on too, and I was really into it. A couple tracks in particular, I thought were really well done. Finally, I decided, okay, when's he coming to Chicago; maybe I have to go see this show. Turns out it was that night, and that just wasn't going to work, so I accepted that I missed it. But I kept watching some of the videos, and kept being more and more disappointed that I had missed the show. So I looked at future tour dates, and saw that he was going to be in Kansas City (only an hour+ flight from Chicago) over a 3 day weekend. So I got to see the show Saturday night.


    There's no question that he's incredibly political. He doesn't hide from that at all, and he's pretty open about how he feels about Floyd fans who don't like him being that political. I'd say most of what he called out on the screens was met with agreement, though certainly there were some statements that didn't go over as well. I suspect that "Fuck your guns; they're killing our kids" gets a different reaction in Kansas City, Missouri than it does in Chicago or Boston, for example. And while he does have some views that I think are, well, just wrong, I still wanted to see the show.


    It was AMAZING! Musically, it was great. I loved some of the changes he made to one Floyd song in particular. I loved some of the other Floyd songs he played, that you don't get from Gilmore. I'm not huge into his solo stuff, but what he played I thought was pretty good. It was visually a great show to watch. My wife, who knew maybe 3 songs total (and even those, it was more of a, yeah, I think I've heard that before), and wasn't too interested in going, had a good time, in part because the visuals kept her engaged. He pushed a lot of buttons, and pushed some boundaries at times, but that's sort of what you expect from him.


    He's far from perfect (aren't we all?), and his views aren't always ones that I agree with. But the guy puts on a great concert. And even with some of his more controversial ideas, I was okay giving him a few bucks, to be able to see the show. So thank you to all of the folks who saw him earlier in the tour, recorded their shows, and posted them online!

  • I prefer Gilmour (he lets the songs do the protesting), although like Waters, his solo stuff is very weak compared to them as a band (very like Genesis in fact). I haven't seen him play since The Wall concerts at Earl's Court in the early 80s.


    Unlike Waters, Gilmour always looks like he's having fun on tour. I would have liked to have been at Pompeii for his return concert in 2017, although there is a brilliant blu ray of the event, one of the best concerts ever.

  • He strikes me as one of those people who confuse being a perennial contrarian with being smart. Whenever there's a contentious topic, he'll make it a point to side against the general consensus, looking down on sheep. I've got no time for him.

  • I prefer Gilmour (he lets the songs do the protesting), although like Waters, his solo stuff is very weak compared to them as a band (very like Genesis in fact). I haven't seen him play since The Wall concerts at Earl's Court in the early 80s.


    Unlike Waters, Gilmour always looks like he's having fun on tour. I would have liked to have been at Pompeii for his return concert in 2017, although there is a brilliant blu ray of the event, one of the best concerts ever.

    I felt that way for a long time too. For me, Gilmour's first two solo efforts are still really weak. There's brief moments, but for the most part; eh. And that's how I felt about "On an Island" the first listen or two, and I put it away. But then I started listening to the live versions from Gdansk, and really got to like the songs that way. Then I went back to the studio album, and I really, really like it. And then, for me at least, he went back a step or two with "Rattle That Lock." Admittedly, I haven't heard the whole thing. But I haven't heard anything to make me want to hear any more.


    I don't know too much of Waters' solo material. I did just pick up "Is This the Life we Really Want?" but haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. I know a couple of the tracks that he's played live either on the 'Us+Them' or 'Not a Drill' tours, and those few songs at least, I liked. We'll see how I feel about the rest of the album.


    But I totally get the comparison to Genesis, and their solo material. There's some things that I like, sure. But I think Tony, Mike, Phil, Steve, and Pete all needed the others to pull more out of them, or to reign them in a little. Roger, David, Richard, and Nick each benefited from what the others brought to the table too.

  • I think he released 4 or 5 albums, even Peter has been more prolific. I bought pros and cons, at the time and I didn't rate it very highly. I listened to Amused to death and I never thought it was something to write home about. The only think he did, musically, was milking the Wall ad nauseum when he found out that it could be used as a metaphor for....Well, anything but that's where he was stuck for decades, he never really moved on. I'm sure he has his following but I don't think it's disparaging to say his solo career wasn't exactly relevant. He has been ranting over various topics and feuding with Gilmour over the PF's legacy. He occasionally had a good point to be fair, I never understood why Gilmour's girlfriend could advertise her 'work''' through the Pink Floyd's website or even opine publicly on the band. I found it quite Yoko-like, meaning tacky and tasteless. Anyway, Waters left the band when websites weren't even a thing and after several court battles losses, it was stablished he didn't really have a say in it. He sacked Wright, succeeded in alienating Mason who is his son's godfather, so, quite the unsavory character I'd say with less to say than he believes, a wannabe Chomsky.

  • RW does definitely bang on a bit, but I think mostly he has fair points to make and occasionally off the mark but no one agrees fully with anyone . Should he be be doing it or not? He has an obsession with war . Anti war. That's no bad thing. He's become somewhat of protest singer and there has been a long line of those. And I love the big spectacular shows!

  • I remember many years ago I was watching a documentary of old Tommies being interviewed.There a heart breaking story by one old soldier who talked about having to leave a terribly wounded comrade to die, after causing agony trying to rescue him. I found it so upsetting and moving . Seems as though RW saw it too . A year or two later Amused To Death was released with a recording of that interview , Ballad Of Bill Hubbard which bookends the album. I find that album incredibly moving and is one my all time favourites.( I would dearly love to see the documentary again. It's something I think everyone should see.)

  • Had an email from Ticketsheister or someone similar this week, and among the gigs listed, next to each other, were the Waterboys and Roger Waters. Which made me think, What a great opportunity for a collaboration: Roger Waters and the Waterboys! I'd feel sorry for the Waterboys though. ;)

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • What a great opportunity for a collaboration: Roger Waters and the Waterboys! I'd feel sorry for the Waterboys though. ;)

    It'd be a rare occasion where I might actually feel a bit sorry for Waters as well.


    Perhaps they could start a musicians economy drive by becoming Roger Waterboys.


    Similarly:


    Rolling Stone Roses

    Adelamitri

    Madonna Summer

    Rusher


    Waters's old chums could join in by forming Pink Floyd Cole.

    Abandon all reason