Money, fame, power, and prestige; Pink Floyd had it all, but by their bloated 1977 stadium romp known as the “Flesh Tour,” Roger Waters and company became disgusted with what they had become. Boorish fans in large intoxicated and stoned numbers were ruining the concerts, and Roger loathed them so much that he literally spit on them, then imagined what it would be like to place a wall between the stage and the audience. This growing apathy for churning out area rock combined with bad business deals draining the band’s fortunes, Pink Floyd got to work on a new double album and film. The product was The Wall, and ambitious rock opera about a character named “Pink,” based on a combination of Roger and Syd Barrett. I think its kind of amazing that for how marginalized and separated Syd became from the actual band, the remaining guys still couldn’t stop thinking about him, and openly used his persona for inspiration. The album, one of Pink Floyd’s best selling, touched on themes of class oppression, nihilism, fascism, and most dominantly isolation, symbolized by the wall itself. One thing you can say about Pink Floyd was that they certainly knew how to keep upping the bleakness levels to 11. I have two clips from the film. The first is a gorgeous animated presentation of “Goodbye Blue Sky,” one of the briefest, but best songs on the record. It’s a mix of dirge like militarism and beautiful Beatle-esque harmonies, and the video itself is an incredible anti-war/violence statement if there ever was one. The next video is for “Another Brick in the Wall,” the album’s anthem that melds Pink Floyd’s dark psychedelia with a funky disco beat. If you’ve never seen the clip, its slightly disturbing with the children wearing those ghoulish melted masks of oppressive conformity. The Wall appropriately brings Pink Floyd week to its conclusion, but that won’t be the end of the band on this site. There are many hidden gems and massive hits I’ve left out obviously, and expect this particular psychedelic bunch to roll up again. Cheers.
