Slight return
Been a while since I posted any entries to this blog, and the reasons for this delay are numerous and uninteresting.
But the point is, here I am back again. Did you miss me?
Since my last post (that's not a military reference) I've been moving around a bit. For a while I was spending over 2 and a half hours a day driving to and from work - all of which lends itself nicely to listening to a lot of music. One of the best things about a good long drive is that you can listen to the whole of a meaty symphony or an entire prog-rock concept album in one go, uninterrupted. So I've used the opportunity to reacquaint myself with some CDs that I hadn't heard in a while. Some Vaughan Williams, Mahler and Shostakovich symphonies, and some Pink Floyd and early Genesis albums - plus some more straight-down-the-line rock from the 80s and 90s: REM, U2, even (would you believe it?) those old Dire Straits LPs.
And what thoughts and theories have I come up with during these 'musical journeys'?
Well, try this one for size. Pink Floyd - "The Final Cut". A good album, I say. Not sure whether I'd say a great album, but definitely a good album. Quite a similar kind of sound and sentiment to "The Wall". And yet (and here's the thing) by no means is it one of their more popular works. I mean, everyone's heard of The Wall. The whole world and his mother can chant the hook line "We don't need no education", and yet even amongst many Floyd fans this follow-up album has slipped under the radar. Is it that its lyrical content was just too political for the average consumer? Of course there are strong political and social messages in The Wall, but mainly drawing on a period of history from several decades ago. The Final Cut drew on very recent history, still fresh in the minds of the potential purchasers of the album, namely the little popularity-boosting project of Maggie's that we call the Falklands War. Does this just go to show that a significant proportion of the Pink Floyd fan-base are/were closet Tories at heart who, whilst they may be just about comfortable with the idea of knocking the old-fashioned disciplinarian style of schooling characterised by the gown-and-mortar-board-clad sadistic teacher screaming "Wrong! Do it again!" at the petrified kids, are in no way prepared to put any commercial backing (in the form of an LP purchase) behind any direct criticism of their beloved war criminal leader, Mrs T?
"Brezhnev took Afghanistan,
Begin took Beirut,
Galtieri took the Union Jack,
and Maggie over lunch one day
took a cruiser with all hands,
Apparently to make him give it back."
Sadly, it's probaby not just a chunk of the Floyd fans that may have been secret (or not-so-secret) Maggie-worshippers, the same accusation might well be levelled at the other band members. For it was not long after the release of The Final Cut that Roger Waters, the lyrical genius behind Floyd, left the band. And whilst those that remained continued to rake in the cash by playing all the old classics at massive venues world-wide, I don't think you ever caught them reviving anything from the Final Cut.
Which is, I think, a shame. So I'd like to go on record here and say, the Final Cut might well be one of Pink Floyd's lowest-selling albums by a long way, but I like it.
And I'd like to end this post with one of the more poignant moments from the album, from The Gunner's Dream:
"A place to stay
Enough to eat
Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud
about your doubts and fears
and what's more no-one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
and maniacs
don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no-one kills the children anymore."
But the point is, here I am back again. Did you miss me?
Since my last post (that's not a military reference) I've been moving around a bit. For a while I was spending over 2 and a half hours a day driving to and from work - all of which lends itself nicely to listening to a lot of music. One of the best things about a good long drive is that you can listen to the whole of a meaty symphony or an entire prog-rock concept album in one go, uninterrupted. So I've used the opportunity to reacquaint myself with some CDs that I hadn't heard in a while. Some Vaughan Williams, Mahler and Shostakovich symphonies, and some Pink Floyd and early Genesis albums - plus some more straight-down-the-line rock from the 80s and 90s: REM, U2, even (would you believe it?) those old Dire Straits LPs.
And what thoughts and theories have I come up with during these 'musical journeys'?
Well, try this one for size. Pink Floyd - "The Final Cut". A good album, I say. Not sure whether I'd say a great album, but definitely a good album. Quite a similar kind of sound and sentiment to "The Wall". And yet (and here's the thing) by no means is it one of their more popular works. I mean, everyone's heard of The Wall. The whole world and his mother can chant the hook line "We don't need no education", and yet even amongst many Floyd fans this follow-up album has slipped under the radar. Is it that its lyrical content was just too political for the average consumer? Of course there are strong political and social messages in The Wall, but mainly drawing on a period of history from several decades ago. The Final Cut drew on very recent history, still fresh in the minds of the potential purchasers of the album, namely the little popularity-boosting project of Maggie's that we call the Falklands War. Does this just go to show that a significant proportion of the Pink Floyd fan-base are/were closet Tories at heart who, whilst they may be just about comfortable with the idea of knocking the old-fashioned disciplinarian style of schooling characterised by the gown-and-mortar-board-clad sadistic teacher screaming "Wrong! Do it again!" at the petrified kids, are in no way prepared to put any commercial backing (in the form of an LP purchase) behind any direct criticism of their beloved war criminal leader, Mrs T?
"Brezhnev took Afghanistan,
Begin took Beirut,
Galtieri took the Union Jack,
and Maggie over lunch one day
took a cruiser with all hands,
Apparently to make him give it back."
Sadly, it's probaby not just a chunk of the Floyd fans that may have been secret (or not-so-secret) Maggie-worshippers, the same accusation might well be levelled at the other band members. For it was not long after the release of The Final Cut that Roger Waters, the lyrical genius behind Floyd, left the band. And whilst those that remained continued to rake in the cash by playing all the old classics at massive venues world-wide, I don't think you ever caught them reviving anything from the Final Cut.
Which is, I think, a shame. So I'd like to go on record here and say, the Final Cut might well be one of Pink Floyd's lowest-selling albums by a long way, but I like it.
And I'd like to end this post with one of the more poignant moments from the album, from The Gunner's Dream:
"A place to stay
Enough to eat
Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud
about your doubts and fears
and what's more no-one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
and maniacs
don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no-one kills the children anymore."
Labels: final cut, pink floyd, the wall
posted by voller at
8:55 PM
1 Comments:
Agreed - The Final Cut is probably one of the most underrated albums ever. The music wasn't Floyd's best as it was largely Wall outtakes. But lyrically it is one of the best ever. Particularly the bit in 'Not Now John' where it goes:
Scusi - dove il bar?
S'il vous plait, ou est le bar?
OI!!! WHERE'S THE F***ING BAR JOHN!!!
I've never seen a better summary of the English attitude when abroad.
I think the LP actually sold fairly well in the UK but American audiences were mystified - they hadn't a clue about the Falklands or Thatcher. They just wanted heavy stadium rock. Floyd's failure to tour the album (probably because Wright wasn't on the record, and Mason was fired during the sessions for it too) couldn't have helped none, either. But a far better political effort than later Waters stuff like Radio KAOS or Amused to Death - they're just bloody awful.
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