HARBEN LETS HL Fashion Show Preview - The Founder

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Pink Floyd:
A take on Rock’s ‘greatest
break-up’
Sara Massoudi
The genre of Progressive Rock
has always been an acquired taste;
not many people have the stomach
for songs over ten, or even twenty
minutes in length. Some people feel
lost without the verse-chorus format,
and even I; a loyal lover of the genre,
find some of the strange combinations
of sounds a bizarre noise rather
than music. However, Pink Floyd has
always seemed to bridge that gap. It’s
Prog for people who don’t like Prog-
their lengthy solos and concept
albums don’t reach the weirdness of
Emerson Lake and Palmer, and carry
with it a heart and fundamental relatability
which is absent from most
of the genre. Barring their jangling
early Syd Barrett days, their sound
has always been (mostly) accessible;
at their best, a smooth and moving
harmony between lilting guitar and
personal lyrics. I will nod now to
Syd Barrett, Nick Mason and the late
Rick Wright’s invaluable contributions
to the band- but only nod, this
essay isn’t about them. This article
is about the two musical Titans,
Roger Waters and David Gilmour,
and whether their signature Floyd
albums The Final Cut (1983) and
The Division Bell (1993) are helpful
in solving the Waters vs. Gilmour
creative debate.
As in many bands, Pink
Floyd underwent an artistic rift
which then turned into a bitter legal
battle. The clash both in personal-
ity and musical direction tore the
group apart and left behind a Pink
Floyd minus Roger Waters who
then raged into his solo work, with
interesting results. Their difference
was as follows, with my glowing
bias held up for all to see: Roger is
an angry musical genius and I love
him for it. Controlling and bleak,
Roger always has a set vision and is
militaristic in achieving his results.
He is a character unable to fit into
the mould of any conventional band,
and would instead be more at home
directing a musical army. While
those traits of his may be negative on
their own, when combined with the
work he produces his methods are
entirely justified. The Wall, bleak yet
moving, is a perfect example of this.
A concept album which must be
viewed not by its components, but
as the sum of its parts, The Wall is a
multilayered exploration of Roger’s
thinly veiled fictional counterpart,
and his battles with his personal demons
and the trappings of fame. But
I will not digress too much with The
Wall; it was the beginning of the end
for the classic Pink Floyd line up,
and lead to The Final Cut, an “album
by Roger Waters and performed by
Pink Floyd”.
The Final Cut is not an
album for speakers; you are meant
to listen to it solemnly through
headphones, pondering each word
that Roger rasps. The pinnacle of
the Roger Waters era Floyd, this
album shows what his unadulter-
ated control would become, and is
either loved or hated. All lyrics and
no sound, there are many valid complaints
that this is an album which is
hard to listen to, which is musically
poor or jarring; there is truth in this.
Making use more of a brass section
than the members of Floyd, The Final
Cut ceases to sound like the band
at all, and rather sounds like Roger’s
memory come to life. Much like The
Wall (and in fact containing tracks
which never made that particular album)
this album indulgently dwells
on his personal and political pain;
his rage against Thatcher, his life
long lament of losing his father in
World War Two and his own emotional
issues of weakness and insecurity.
This painfully personal album
didn’t let the other band members
in and instead wallows in Roger
Waters’ long standing grief. All heart
with nothing to dress it up in, this
album is uncomfortable listening,
but it is this searing honesty which
makes it brilliant. Arguably, this is a
poor stance to take because music,
by its very nature, is intrinsically to
do with sound and thus the album’s
lack of aesthetic quality could render
it useless. However, this has always
been the core of the Waters vs. Gilmour
debate; soul vs. style, which is
of more worth?
Contrasting Roger’s military
and highly indulgent approach,
Gilmour’s musical direction has
a purely aesthetic quality. Admittedly,
when he first took control
after Roger’s departure, A Momentary
Lapse of Reason was a musical
abomination, but letting that slide,
Floyd’s final album The Division
Bell recaptured the musical brilliance
for which he is renowned.
Much like The Final Cut, this album
has both been widely praised and
panned by critics and fans, as it
suffers a problem directly contrary
The Founder | Thursday 11 March 2010
Laura Marling
Alas I Cannot Swim
Laura Jones
A review of an album that somewhat
changed my view of music.
An album I can only describe
as ‘WOW’, I had heard very little
about this beautifully talented
young lady, other than the fact she
used to sing with Noah and the
Whale and because she sings with
defined English dictation she has
been compared to Kate Nash and
Lily Allen. However, after stumbling
across her upon a recommendation
made to me by a friend via
spotify (oh! how very new age of
me) I was intrigued and was horrified
that these comparisons had
been made, so she’s English but she
is not a pop princess she is a god-
to Roger’s pet album. All wonderful,
lilting sounds and little meaning,
this album is much like an entirely
vacuous beauty. Rising out of the 80s
dirge, this album truly sounds like
Floyd again; clear, bell-like melodies
and Gilmour’s soothing voice creating
an aesthetic paradise. Yet, there
is little beneath the surface. Barring
some thinly veiled references
to the previous artistic conflict, the
lyrics are bland, uninspiring and
more often written by Gimour’s wife
rather than himself. While listening,
you are enchanted by the piercing
guitar, and yet painfully aware that
there is something missing; that this
is just bland beauty and nothing
more. The listener is left nostalgic for
Pink Floyd’s golden age, when there
was a fine harmony between Roger’s
control of content and Gilmour’s
mastery of sound.
After listening to both
Music
dess of folk. I came across the harrowing
yet stunning ‘My Manic and
I’ at first and was enchanted from
the very beginning. Her album is
full of folksy roots layered with
catchy guitar and somewhat haunting
vocals, coupled with her obvious
musical talent, vital tempo and
keys changes are incorporated to
bring to the table something quite
unlike anything I’d heard before.
Her songs stretch from cutesy pop
(Ghosts and Cross Your Fingers)
to the slow sultry and seductively
beautiful (Tap at My Window and
Night Terror). Her lyrics are original
and make you wonder what
she is talking about, she is a truly
intriguing musician and complies
her music is such a unique way. I,
sir, am a true fan.
albums, you get the impression
that you are only listening to half
a thing. Each album with its own
true merits suffers greatly from the
lack of a mediating band member;
both are overly indulgent in a personal
sense, rather than in the way
Progressive Rock is known to be. It
is clear that their music was at its
best when these two musical pillars
were in tune- or at least tolerant of
each other. Dark Side of the Moon
and Wish You Were Here are two
such fine examples of this harmony;
albums rich in content and feeling
while also magnificent in sound.
So there is no real answer to who is
better, Waters or Gilmour, nor can it
really be said whether The Final Cut
or The Division Bell is stronger than
the other; each is half of a whole, fair
on their own and wonderful when
together.