FRIDAY’S ULTIMATE “DUMP DAY”

Don’t know what the story is with O’Connor stepping down, but nobody’s got it yet. If she really took ROVE and RHENQUIST by surprise, she’s even cannier and more venal than her vote for W. suggested. After all, this move is the ULTIMATE swing vote, right?



unused radio script for PINK FLOYD (aired on HERE AND NOW Friday)



LEAD: REMEMBER “DARK SIDE OF THE MOON” AND “THE WALL”? PINK FLOYD FANS THE WORLD OVER ARE LOOKING TO LIVE 8 AS THE SITE WHERE THE BAND’S TWO LEAD MEMBERS, DAVID GILMOUR AND ROGER WATERS, WILL REUNITE AFTER YEARS OF FUEDING. THEY DID PAIR UP TO PLAY “THE WALL,” AN IRONIC, ONE-TIME-ONLY TRIBUTE TO THE FALL OF COMMUNISM AT THE BERLIN WALL IN 1989. BUT THIS WILL MARK PINK FLOYD’S FIRST APPEARANCE SINCE THEN, AND THERE’S TALK OF MORE PINK FLOYD TO COME. WE ASKED OUR MUSIC CRITIC TIM RILEY TO GIVE US SOME PERSPECTIVE…


1 – MUSIC: “HAVE A CIGAR” 2:58-3:17


RY: SO THAT’S THE PINK FLOYD WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE FROM THE 70S, BUT TIM THERE’S A LOT MORE TO THIS BAND THAN WHAT BECAME POPULAR, IS THAT RIGHT?


TR: THAT’S RIGHT ROBIN, THIS IS A BAND WITH A GHOST, AND HIS NAME IS SYD BARRETT, WHO HELPED INVENT THE MUSICAL CONCEPT OF “PSYCHEDELIA”:


2 – MUSIC: “ASTRONOMY DOMINE” 1:10-1:23


TR: IF YOU GO BACK TO PINK FLOYD’S DEBUT, “THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN,” BARRETT WAS LEAD SINGER AND SONGWRITER. SOON AFTER THIS ALBUM WAS RELEASED IN 1967, THE BAND TOURED AMERICA WITH JIMI HENDRIX AND SOFT MACHINE, AND WHILE THEY APPEARED ON AMERICAN BANDSTAND PLAYING THAT HIT SINGLE, “ASTRONOMY DOMINE,” THEIR APPEARANCE ON THE PAT BOONE SHOW WAS AN EMBARRASSMENT.


RY: WHAT HAPPENED?


TR: IT WAS THE ROCK EQUIVALENT OF DAN RATHER’S DEAD AIR SPACE: SYD BARRETT WAS SO DRUGGED UP AND DAZED THAT HE WAS SIMPLY UNRESPONSIVE… THE FOLLOWUP SINGLE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE “VEGETABLE MAN,” BUT IT WAS TOO FAR OUT EVEN FOR THE TRIPPY SIXTIES:


3 – MUSIC: “VEGETABLE MAN” 1:59-2:12


TR: RELUCTANTLY, THE BAND HAD TO DROP SYD BARRETT BECAUSE HE WAS SIMPLY TOO DYSFUNCTIONAL, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS THEIR CHIEF SONGWRITER. THAT’S WHEN DAVID GILMOUR JOINED, AND BARRETT WENT ON TO MAKE TWO SOLO ALBUMS BEFORE DROPPING OUT OF SHOWBIZ. HE TURNED INTO A CULT FIGURE, ONE OF THE 60S HALLOWED ACID CASUALTIES…


RY: AND THEN PINK FLOYD WENT ON TO HAVE THIS HUGE CAREER IN THE 1970S…


TR: THAT’S RIGHT. THEY RECORDED THEIR DEBUT DOWN THE HALL FROM THE BEATLES AT ABBEY ROAD DURING THE “SGT PEPPER” SESSIONS, AND A FEW YEARS LATER TEAMED UP WITH A BEATLE ENGINEER, GEOFF EMERICK, TO MAKE “DARK SIDE OF THE MOON,” WHICH DEFINED THE FM ROCK RADIO BOOM. AGAINST ALL REASON, IT BECAME ONE OF THE BIGGEST SELLING TITLES ON THE POP CATALOG, UP THERE WITH THE EAGLES GREATEST HITS AND FLEETWOOD MAC’S RUMOURS AND CAROLE KING’S TAPESTRY.


RY: HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THAT?


TR: WELL SEVERAL THINGS: TO START WITH, IT’S A REAL ZEITGEIST PIECE. FOR MOST OF ITS LISTENERS IT CONJURS UP ADOLESCENCE THE WAY IF YOU THINK OF THE 70S AS THE ERA WHEN 60S BOHEMIAN CULTURE BECAME MASS CULTURE, PINK FLOYD’S MUSIC WAS THE ESSENCE OF SLOWED TEMPOS, SPACED-OUT THEATRICS, LASER LIGHT SHOWS, ELABORATE SOUND EFFECTS INTRUDING INBETWEEN SONGS, AND THE LONGFORM ALBUM TRACK THAT ATE THE PEPPY HIT SINGLE. IN TERMS OF STAGECRAFT, THEY PUSHED THE CONCERT EXPERIENCE TO REPLICATE EXTREMELY INTRICATE STUDIO TECHNIQUE WITH ELABORATE LIGHT SHOWS. IT TELLS YOU A LOT ABOUT PINK FLOYD THAT ONE OF THEIR MOST MEMORABLE MUSICAL MOMENTS IS WHEN THE ALARMS GO OFF IN THE SONG “TIME”:


4 – MUSIC: “TIME” 0:18-0:58


RY: SO WHERE DOES PINK FLOYD FIT INTO ROCK HISTORY? DOES THEIR REUNION THIS WEEKEND TAKE ON ANY LARGER SIGNIFICANCE?


TR: I DOUBT MANY ROCK CRITICS THINK SO. FLOYD IS ONE OF THESE BANDS WHO CAPTURE THE ZEITGEIST MAYBE TOO WELL, AND PROBABLY WON’T SUCCEED IN TRANSCENDING IT. ALTHOUGH THEY RECOVERED BRILLIANTLY FROM THE LOSS OF SYD BARRETT, THERE ARE PURISTS WHO BELIEVE THEY NEVER MADE MUSIC AS GOOD AS HIS WRITING, AND EVEN THEN HE WAS JUST GETTING STARTED BEFORE HE ZONED OUT. THE BAND NEVER REGAINED THE SENSE OF SPONTANEOUS EXPERIMENTATION AND HUMOR BARRETT BROUGHT. IN 1975 THEY DEVOTED A WHOLE CONCEPT ALBUM TO THE LOSS OF BARRETT CALLED “WISH YOU WERE HERE,” WHICH PLAYS WITH STUDIO ATMOSPHERICS. LISTEN TO THAT TINNY ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND, PLACED AGAINST A SINGLE-NOTE LEAD UP FRONT; IT’S ALMOST LITERALLY PAST MEETS PRESENT TO CONJUR AN IMAGE OF A LOST FRIEND:


5 – MUSIC: “WISH YOU WERE HERE…” 0:40-0:55


RY: SO WHAT SHOULD WE LOOK FOR IN PINK FLOYD’S SET?


TR: I THINK THE WITTIEST THING PINK FLOYD COULD DO THIS WEEKEND WOULD BE TO TAKE THE STAGE PLAYING “MONEY,” THE NUMBER THAT EARNS THEM AN ASTERISK IN THE BOOK OF POP SONG METERS. IT’S IN 7/4, SO COUNT ALONG WITH ME: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7….


6 – MUSIC: BRING UP UNDER COUNTING “MONEY” 0:12-fade


RY: TIM RILEY IS HERE AND NOW’S POP MUSIC CRITIC, AND THE AUTHOR OF FEVER: HOW ROCK’N’ROLL TRANSFORMED GENDER, JUST OUT IN PAPERBACK. VISIT BLOG RILEY ON THE WEB AT ARTSJOURNAL.COM/RILEY.