Music
Roger Waters Releases Something Like a Pink Floyd Record
Is This The Life We Really Want?
Roger Waters
2017 Columbia Records
Produced by Nigel Godrich
“If Waters’ opinions offend you, skip this amazing little record.”
At 73, Roger Waters has a catalog of outstanding records that stretch back to the early days of Pink Floyd up to and including his latest solo record Is This The Life We Really Want? I’ve devoured every post-Floyd release and gone back for seconds. None of it resembles Pink Floyd proper and that’s fine by me. His 1984 solo record Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking found Waters in blues-rock territory that leaned less on class and politics than his later day Floyd work, and more on fever dreams and sex. 1987’s Radio K.A.O.S. is Waters in full 80’s mode and tells the story of a disabled man who gets the world to reassess its priorities by hacking into their deepest fears of nuclear oblivion. While 1992’s Amused to Death mirrors themes of war and consumerism exercised on records like The Wall, no one could confuse the vibe with Pink Floyd.
Cut to Is This The Life We Really Want? where Waters finally embraces the sounds of his past.
Fans may find the concept a little less structured this time around. There’s no real characters to follow except for Waters himself, but the themes are as focused as the music. Trump is in the cross-hairs, as are images of homes being bulldozed, women being mistreated, or worse, killed by drones while baking bread for their families.
The record inches into being much like The Final Cut does, and is punctuated with similar explosions of anxiety. It’s a slow burn, a good ten minutes before the blood starts boiling during Picture That, a song that apes the creepiness of Wall-era Floyd in the intro, then downright borrows the gallop and moody Richard Wright keyboards from Sheep.
Bird in a Gale could also fit comfortably on The Wall and sponges sound collage textures from Animals. As does Smell The Roses, which may be the love-child of Pink Floyd classics Have a Cigar and Money. Deja Vu, indeed.
“Picture a courthouse with no fucking laws.
Picture a cat-house with no fucking whores.
Picture a shit-house with no fucking drains.
Picture a leader with no fucking brains.
(no fucking brains, no fucking brains)”
-Picture That
While there could be more humor and, dare I say, a decadent guitar solo or two, the audio experience as a whole is, as usual, impeccable. Once again Waters fashions a rich multi-dimensional soundscape where there always seems to be a TV on in the background and a drone cutting through the clouds. While the effects might seem overly familiar, producer Nigel Godrich brings something fresh to the knobs. It’s nothing like he’s ever produced before, with most songs stripped to their essential guts. Apart from the opening of Broken Bones, you may never suspect Nigel is as responsible for Radiohead’s sound as Thom Yorke is.
Speaking of which, you may know that Waters has been quite vocal about Palestinian rights and even penned an open letter to Yorke about playing Israel. There is no divorcing Roger’s politics from his music or live shows. Imbeciles like Howard Stern or Adam Sandler have suggested Roger is an anti-Semite due to his criticism of the Israeli government. That’s like calling me anti-American for criticizing the U.S. government. If I want an opinion on geo-politics, I’ll trust the guy that’s been writing and talking about it eloquently his entire career. If I’m looking for fart jokes, I’ll call those other guys.
The same kind of non-thinking has resulted in certain “fans” leaving Waters’ recent concerts due to its anti-Trump content. That’s like going to a Village People show and being offended by butt-less chaps. You’d have to be willfully ignorant, snowflake.
Roger doesn’t pull any punches and neither does Is This The Life We Really Want? It’s a record for adults using adult language that may be too deep for those that prefer their waters shallow.
Janita’s newest album Here Be Dragons is another in a progression of finely crafted hymns for the empowered. Whether by love, as in the silky “I Do,” or by subverting expectations, in the Beatlesesque “Not What You’re Used To,” Janita draws on lessons learned during a positively unique career that spans decades and continents. We caught up with Janita on the heels of her latest single “When It’s All Up To You” to find out three songs she’d love to have written.
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Elliott Smith — “L.A.”
This is one of my favorite songs by Elliott Smith. I listened to the full album Figure 8 a lot while I was writing the songs on my new album, and it was a huge influence on me both melodically and lyrically. This song in particular has also informed some of the production choices we made later, like the heavier guitars you hear on my song “Not What You’re Used To.”
“L.A.” is incredibly melodic, but there’s an elusive, haunting quality to it. It feels like you’re always trying to reach it, catch up to it somehow. The backing vocals accentuate that feeling. In my mind, the song paints such a vivid picture of the ephemeral, fickle nature of L.A., and the similarly transient nature of the main character. Elliott Smith himself? I don’t know exactly how he does (did) it, but I’m certainly in awe of it.
Radiohead — “There There”
So hypnotic. So badass. Could the production possibly be any cooler? The melody is intricate and beautiful, and I can relate to the lyric from every which angle: as the singer, as the one being sung to, and whether in love relationships, friendships, or with total strangers. The subject matter simply comes up in life in so many ways all the time… I recently tried to express similar notions as I was writing a song, only to remember that it was already done here perfectly. Goddammit.
Punch Brothers — “Julep”
This song is simply magical to me. It’s made me bawl my eyes out at a Punch Brothers concert two separate times. It’s like that viral video that was circulating some years ago of a baby moved to tears when her mom sings a sad tune. I’m that baby when it comes to this song. It simply hits some sort of primal button in me and keeps pressing it until the very end.
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While you’re at it, check out Janita’s video for “Digging in the Dirt,” a funky and faithful rendition of the Peter Gabriel classic.
Jay Som’s Melina Duterte and Palehound’s Ellen Kempner join forces as Bachelor – a musical powerhouse whose new record Doomin’ Sun drops May 28th on Polyvinyl.
Kemper and Duterter recorded the album during two weeks of mutual appreciation in California. Three visceral singles have been released in the lead-up, including the Pixies-flavored “Stay in the Car” and the sprawling “Anything At All.”
Bachelor has also announced the Doomin’ Sun Fest, a one-day livestream featuring Tegan & Sara, Courtney Barnett, Adrianne Lenker, Jeff Tweedy, Japanese Breakfast, Julien Baker, and more.
Two men that look suspiciously alike meet outside a fictitious Brooklyn hot-spot – six feet apart.
MC Krispy E: Very nice to meet you. (squints) Have we met before?
Electronic Device: Maybe?
MC Krispy E: Is the rest of the band joining us?
Electronic Device: (pause) I am the rest of the band.
MC Krispy E: You are Electronic Device? What’s that about?
Electronic Device: Uhm, yeah, it’s like a pen name. You know what that is, right?
MC Krispy E: I have some idea.
Electronic Device: It was actually the name of one of my dad’s companies back in the day before…
MC Krispy E: (looking at his watch) Wonderful. So… it says here you have a new single called “All Things Come to an End” inspired by the death of your brother.
Electronic Device: Yeah, after my brother died I recorded songs as a form of therapy in his old bedroom in Staten Island.
MC Krispy E: And now I read that you have cancer. Am I supposed to feel extra sorry for you?
Electronic Device: Uhm…
MC Krispy E: It sounds like this album is going to be super depressing.
Electronic Device: It’s not, I swear. I was looking for some happiness while recording these songs, there’s not much of an agenda beyond that.
MC Krispy E: What kind of music is it?
Electronic Device: I wasn’t really thinking about influences while recording, but listening back I hear some Concrete Blonde, some Cracker.
MC Krispy: So bands no one is interested in?
Electronic Device: What the hell, man?
MC Krispy: Sorry, it’s almost like I can’t help it. What’s the single about?
Electronic Device: I hate saying what a song is about because everything is up for interpretation.
MC Krispy E: Humor us.
Electronic Device: I can say that “All Things Come to an End” has multiple narrators, some of which are unreliable.
MC Krispy E: (stares)
Electronic Device: And that one day I was at my Dad’s house and when I turned the corner into the hallway my Dad thought I was my brother for a moment, which was super sad because of course I couldn’t be.
MC Krispy E: And then you wrote a whole song about that.
Electronic Device: I guess so. When you put it that way…
MC Krispy E: (yawning) Tell us when the single come out.
Electronic Device: The single is out now. The album comes out in 2021.
MC Krispy E: Well, good for you. And good luck with that cancer thing.
Electronic Device: Yeah, you too.
MC Krispy E: Thanks. What?