Richard Wright dead

[BSmack]

Time to cue up a Pink Floyd marathon in Casa de BSmack.

RIP Mr. Wright. Hope that Great Gig In The Sky is all it's cracked up to be.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7617363.stm

[Tom In VA]

Damn. RIP.

[War Wagon]

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the same old ground, and how we found, the same old fears.... wish you were here.

That will never get old.

[Goober McTuber]

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the same old ground, and how we found, the same old fears.... wish you were here.

Best. Pink. Floyd. album. ever.

[BSmack]

[MuchoBulls]

RIP!!!

Might to to put in Meddle or Obscured By Clouds when I get home.

[BSmack]

I'll be listening to this...

[Sirfindafold]

Whew, you had me worried. I thought you said Richard Simmons.

sin,

Goober.




RIP

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Whew, you had me worried. I thought you said Richard Simmons.

sin,

Goober.




RIP

B+

[Goober McTuber]

Whew, you had me worried. I thought you said Richard Simmons.

sin,

Goober.




RIP

B+

Are you grading on a curve? Or are you just being nice to our Special Ed student?

[TIGRDOG]

saw floyd twice..ATL/NEW ORLEANS........pink floyd is done.....RIP Richard

[Q, West Coast Style]

Hopefully, near the end, he was "Comfortably Numb."

[BSmack]

saw floyd twice..ATL/NEW ORLEANS........pink floyd is done.....RIP Richard

Pink Floyd was dead the day Roger Waters walked out the door. The grouping of Gilmour, Mason and Wright made for a nice nostalgia fest every 6-7 years, but they were creatively bankrupt and just plain boring when they tried to play their new material. Perhaps had they devoted a bit more time to the effort, they might have done something decent. But it was pretty obvious they were all about cashing checks by 1987.

[BSmack]

Pink Floyd was dead the day Roger Waters walked out the door. The grouping of Gilmour, Mason and Wright made for a nice nostalgia fest every 6-7 years, but they were creatively bankrupt and just plain boring when they tried to play their new material. Perhaps had they devoted a bit more time to the effort, they might have done something decent. But it was pretty obvious they were all about cashing checks by 1987.

You're horribly full of shit and don't know a fucking thing about music.

RIP, RW.

By all means please feel free to demonstrate how the two "Pink Floyd" albums done without Waters were anything but over produced, under inspired monuments to a rock band's desire to cash huge paydays. I'll be waiting with baited breath.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

B+

Are you grading on a curve? Or are you just being nice to our Special Ed student?

I'm just passing him to move him down the line. Next year, he's someone else's problem.

[Tom In VA]

RACK BSmack for going OLD SCHOOL

RACK PapaWillie for taking BSmack TO school.

[Nishlord]

Never liked them. Poor sod, though. 65 is no age, these days.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

RACK BSmack for going OLD SCHOOL

RACK PapaWillie for taking BSmack TO school.

RACK Tom for being "too cool for school" and being nobody's fool.

[War Wagon]

Momentary Lapse of Reason and the Division Bell were absolutely fantastic works.

Agree, but it took awhile for them to grow on me. Like years. Unlike the older stuff, which just immediately jumped out at you the first time you heard them as being classic, awesome masterpieces.

Even better if stoned.

[War Wagon]

Never liked them.

Figures.

All smack aside, how is it that Americans appreciate British musicians more that Brits do?

The Top 10 list of greatest bands ever (in my book) would almost certainly include all English bands. Most certainly, the top 3.

1. Led Zep
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Who

That's not even debatable.

[BSmack]

To somebody like you, "words" complete a song. Waters has written some excellent poetry, but his vehicle for getting there (the music) was never up to par with what Gilmour, Barrett & Wright brought to the table.

IMO, the words and the music have equal relevance. Gilmour's problem was that he has been an admittedly poor lyricist his entire life. He couldn't even complete his best solo album without calling Pete Townshend for lyrical help. If only he had done that with Monetary Lapse, we might not be having this conversation.

Ever notice how Waters' solo stuff didn't sound very Floydian?

Don't get me wrong, Roger Waters' solo material is very hit and miss post "Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking". My point was that Pink Floyd was a symbiotic relationship where the creative tension between Waters and Gilmour elevated the artistic quality of the whole. Once Waters left the band, that symbiotic quality rapidly dissipated.

Momentary Lapse of Reason and the Division Bell were absolutely fantastic works. To deny that is idiotic.

Momentary Lapse D-
Division Bell a B-

Sorry, that's just the way it is.

[RadioFan]

To somebody like you, "words" complete a song. Waters has written some excellent poetry, but his vehicle for getting there (the music) was never up to par with what Gilmour, Barrett & Wright brought to the table. Ever notice how Waters' solo stuff didn't sound very Floydian?

Momentary Lapse of Reason and the Division Bell were absolutely fantastic works. To deny that is idiotic.

Rack.

RIP RW.

[.m2]

Never liked them.

Figures.

All smack aside, how is it that Americans appreciate British musicians more that Brits do?

The Top 10 list of greatest bands ever (in my book) would almost certainly include all English bands. Most certainly, the top 3.

1. Queen
Led Zep
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Who

That's not even debatable.

Whatever...


Stone Cold Crazy
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[Jay in Phoenix]

The Top 10 list of greatest bands ever (in my book) would almost certainly include all English bands. Most certainly, the top 3.

1. Led Zep
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Who

That's not even debatable.

With all due respect Wags, it is debatable. Musical tastes, like food and drink, or art, films, etc. are subjective. One persons ambrosia could easily be another ones swill. Your top 3 list is certainly of merit, and I would put them in my top 25, no question. How can you actually put Pink Floyd ahead of the Stones or the Beatles or Beach Boys, (not necessarily my faves, just as examples.) especially given the influence of those three bands over the course of music history?

Sometimes it's important to equate the bands full history and not just their greatest accomplishments. Both the Who and Pink Floyd's recent works were and are pretty pedestrian, at best. Look at the average reviews of "Division Bell" and "Lapse of Reason". Considerably so-so. I'll take "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" over those two any day.

Like I said, it's all subjective.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Division Bell a B-

That's generous.

[BSmack]

Division Bell a B-

That's generous.

They get a bump for including Stephen Hawking on that album.

[Tom In VA]

of Reason". Considerably so-so. I'll take "Piper at the Gates of Dawn"

Oh c'mon Lucifer Sam, The Gnome, and Astronomy Domine are classics.

And Bike ?

'Cid's genius was so overlooked.

At the time, the best anyone out of England could come up with was cheap rips offs of Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, et.al.

Have to RACK the open mindedness of the Brits vs. the "Elvis Invented Rock n Roll" mentatility here.


But quite simply, Barrett brought the pscyhe to the psychedelic explosion that was about to ensue.



See Emily Play.

[War Wagon]

How can you actually put Pink Floyd ahead of the Stones or the Beatles or Beach Boys, (not necessarily my faves, just as examples.) especially given the influence of those three bands over the course of music history?

Beach Boys?

Stones? They might make the Top 10 list, but they're nowhere close to the Top 3 in their entire body of work. Sure, they had some great songs, Dance Little Sister still sounds good, but much of what were their "hits" at the time are simply unlistenable today. Please tell me that you don't think "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" was some ground breaking work?

Beatles? They deserve a whole 'nother category as being the pioneers of Rock 'n Roll... and I still love their music, but comparing them to the Top 3 is sorta' like comparing a Model T with a Corvette.

But yes, I agree and perhaps I mis-spoke. It is subjective, and it damn sure is debatable.

[RadioFan]

Beach Boys?

Pet Sounds is one of the most influential albums in the history of pop music. Try expanding your horizons sometime beyond Clear Channel FM radio.

[Jay in Phoenix]

Beach Boys?

Yeppers, the Beach Boys. As Radio Fan said, Pet Sounds is as influential an accomplishment as there is. And I didn't say that they were one of my faves, just important to the discussion.

Stones? They might make the Top 10 list, but they're nowhere close to the Top 3 in their entire body of work. Sure, they had some great songs, Dance Little Sister still sounds good, but much of what were their "hits" at the time are simply unlistenable today. Please tell me that you don't think "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" was some ground breaking work?

I wholeheartedly disagree with that. While "Satisfaction" is far from their best work, just listen to "Exile on Main Street", "Some Girls" or "Let it Bleed" to see what I'm talking about. Get beyond the "hits" and wrap yourself around the rest of their body of work.

I just used those three bands as examples. Where they fall on the top-whatever list is up to the listener.

Beatles? They deserve a whole 'nother category as being the pioneers of Rock 'n Roll... and I still love their music, but comparing them to the Top 3 is sorta' like comparing a Model T with a Corvette.

But yes, I agree and perhaps I mis-spoke. It is subjective, and it damn sure is debatable.

Without question, it is debatable.

And before I forget, RIP Richard Wright and in memorium of Syd. The Madcap still laughs.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

...tossing down tabs of acid at the same rate m2 would suck on cocks.

Mathematically, that's not even possible.

Something about a "time/space continuum" turning in on itself...

[RadioFan]

Jay, I'm surprised Wags has never heard this guy before. Dude's got an OUTSTANDING show. I used to listen to him nearly every Saturday when I lived in Lawrence.

Thanks to the fucking RIAA, KCUR (of KC) isn't able to make his archived shows available, at least not yet. I'll check periodically and let you know if they do. You, along with several others here, would really like this show. Dude educated me, even on bands that I thought I knew inside and out. I wouldn't be surprised if he did some sort of RW tribute show in the upcoming weeks.

[Smackie Chan]

Sad news to hear of Wright's death. Saw PF perform The Wall in LA while seriously trippin' after driving there from Phoenix, and also saw them on The Division Bell tour at The Rose Bowl.

And Bike ?

I saw Phish do this song in Santa Barbara. Jon Fishman donned a dress, stepped out from behind the skins, and sang lead. They also did an acoustic bluegrass version of Boston's Long Time during that show.

RIP RW

[BSmack]

There are plenty of examples to where Waters simply stuck stuff together to make you think that there was this big mystery behind it, while in many cases - they're just trying to get words to rhyme to fit the music.

Care to name just one? Or do I have to hold up the factual end of this debate?

Not that it matters. No less a writer than John Lennon often employed the use of nonsense words to make a song click. Check out "Come Together", "I Am The Walrus" or "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" sometime. Employing artistic license with words is a time honored device that people with the gift of writing original and creative lyrics often use. For another example, see Syd Barret's works.

Gilmour (to this day) is still under the impression that he can't write lyrics due to Waters getting bitter by good works and saying "No - that sucks".... Take a look at "High Hopes" off Division Bell. Although it's credited to Gilmour and "Samson", Polly Samson is Gilmour's wife. Most of that album's lyrics were Gilmour's.

I wouldn't say that Gilmour "can't" write lyrics. It's just that post Waters, he takes forever and a day to do it and the end result is usually overwrought and turgid.

Lyrically, High Hopes probably out-did anything that Waters ever did. As far as mood, lyrics, music, hooks, bridges probably the best Pink Floyd song ever written. Rogers couldn't have written a song that had "the whole package" like that if he had to have...

You're out of your fucking mind. What fucking package are you talking about? The one where aging British rock stars churn out poorly written lyrics packaged with recycled riffs?

Of course - that's what the critics said. Musically, MLOR and DB were far, far, FAR superior to anything that Waters ever did. If you want to read poetry - go with Waters and listen to him bitch and moan. If you want music (which is what the Floyd was meant to be about), Gilmour ruled. Of course - Waters felt the need to lyrically go where Barrett left off - of which he was never even fucking close...

How about option 3 where the two of them are BOTH in the group contributing their artistic vision to the whole? Because that was when Pink Floyd was at it's best. And implying that Waters was lyrically attempting to mimic Barrett is insane. Post "A Saucerful of Secrets" Waters along with the rest of the Floyd members made a dramatic shift away from Barrett's musical and lyrical style. Listen to "More" sometime.

To you. Floyd was about the mood and music more than the lyrics. Again - who sounds more like Floyd? Waters on his own, or Floyd with Gilmour, Wright and Mason? It's that simple.

Neither sounded like Floyd. Both had missing elements. If you can't understand that you are either stoned or retarded.

After Animals, Waters took over too much. Though "The Wall" wasn't that bad, it wasn't nearly as good as Animals, Wish You Were Here, or DSOTM.

And none of them was a good as Obscured By Clouds, Atom Heart Mother or Meddle.

Let's put it this way - Wright's keyboard works were more important to Pink Floyd than Waters' bass playing or his words.

Wright was a great instrumentalist. But what you're saying is absolutely absurd.

Anybody that worries about lyrics in songs should just dig Bob Dylan and nobody else. Floyd was more about the music.

Like I said before, I want good music AND good lyrics. Post Waters Floyd provided little of either. And post Floyd Waters was only a little better.

[RadioFan]

Wright was a great instrumentalist. But what you're saying is absolutely absurd.

No, quite the opposite. He's saying Floyd, and Wright were about instrumental music, not somebody singing, nor writing words.

Dense much?

[BSmack]

Wright was a great instrumentalist. But what you're saying is absolutely absurd.

No, quite the opposite. He's saying Floyd, and Wright were about instrumental music, not somebody singing, nor writing words.

Dense much?

Well he's dead wrong. Which was what I was saying.

[MuchoBulls]

Momentary Lapse of Reason and the Division Bell were absolutely fantastic works. To deny that is idiotic.

Dogs of War is a great tune. That CD is solid.

[Goober McTuber]

Wright was a great instrumentalist. But what you're saying is absolutely absurd.

No, quite the opposite. He's saying Floyd, and Wright were about instrumental music, not somebody singing, nor writing words.

Dense much?

One of These Days (Waters, Wright, Mason, Gilmour) 5:56

One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces.

[MuchoBulls]

One of These Days (Waters, Wright, Mason, Gilmour) 5:56

One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces.

RACK!!!!

[Nishlord]

Never liked them.

Figures.

All smack aside, how is it that Americans appreciate British musicians more that Brits do?

The Top 10 list of greatest bands ever (in my book) would almost certainly include all English bands. Most certainly, the top 3.

1. Led Zep
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Who

That's not even debatable.

And how is it that the Brits appreciate the greatest American musicians more than the Yanks do?

Anyway, to be British and be introduced to pop music in the late 70s meant you had an inbred dislike of Pink Floyd - it was seen as the middle-class, hippified, flares-wearing music your geography teacher liked. Always liked the Who (the early Who, in any case), am far less militant about Zep these days, but me and Floyd have never got on.