Saturday, July 29, 2017

Roger Waters - "Us and Them" in MKE...and Pigs and Dogs

On a perfect weather weekend in Wisconsin, I'm heading with my wife and friends to see the Brewers try to get back into first place tonight. And unlike our Governor, I will not be rooting for GOP mega-donor Tom Ricketts and the Cubs. I will actually support the team from Wisconsin.

A few miles away, the Bradley Center is hosting Roger Waters' latest tour, which has been playing to sellouts in almost all of the places he has appeared in. Obviously, a legend like Waters has 50 years of fan base to build up, and that's some of it. But also some of it likely has to do with the fact that Waters' songs with Pink Floyd and in his solo career seem to resonate a lot with the mess that is the USA in 2017.

I find myself listening to the Pink Floyd album "Animals" more and more these days, and the harshest song of the lot sums things up quite well, in addition to being an already-killer track. (language and some images may be NSFW)


"Dogs" works pretty well these days, too. Especially when you see sleaze like Anthony Scaramucci get promoted without having any discernable talent other than amorality and a big mouth.
You got to be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes and when you're on the street
You got to be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking
And after a while, you can work on points for style
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you
You'll get the chance to put the knife in

And here's a great interview with Waters on CNN from a couple of weeks ago talking about the tour, and how Waters takes the media to task for turning politics and news into flashy entertainment instead of discussing things seriously and with a critical eye.

3 comments:

  1. I applaud Roger Waters for continuing his activism; his thoughts become more relevant all the time.

    Just after high school graduation, I went with friends to see Pink Floyd play the "Animals" album in June of 1977 at County Stadium, site of our current Miller Park. I loved David Gilmour's guitar playing, and was reading George Orwell's "Animal Farm" at the time. The Floyd had all been architecture majors, my original college plan...

    An incredible concert, notable because during "Pigs," they launch an pig balloon over the crowd, which got disconnected from it's guide cable, flying instead out of the Stadium, and blowing up (verrry loud) over the parking lot.

    Floyd would later spark my interest in music and stagecraft, with Orwell later sparking my academic path in English.




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    1. Cool story and cool info. Orwell sure seems as relevant as ever, both in DC and in Wisconsin.

      Thanks for sharing

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  2. Waters is an absolute genius. I still treasure one of his earlier solo recordings, "Radio K.A.O.S." It's a great concept 'album' as well as just being musically wonderful to listen to.

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