Shameless ogling: David Gilmour

I was watching a documentary about the making of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and remembered how pretty David Gilmour was back in the day. Let's enjoy pictures of this beautiful musician, and I'll even give you some music (with bonus gawky Roger Waters and handlebar mustached Nick Mason.) 

Aaaand, probably the best of all:

100 Favorite Songs: 51-55

I can't come up with a cohesive or funny statement about this section other than all the songs are awesome.

51. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (1967)

Best duet ever? Probably.


Plus, these two were adorable performing together.


52. “Why Georgia” by John Mayer (2003)

I like to associate this song with driving around in a Volvo when I first got my license. I like to disassociate this song with John Mayer in real life.


I also can't stand looking at his face when he sings, so here are some lyrics.


53. “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel (1986)

I love the mood and rhythm of this song; it's incredibly romantic without being saccharine. I think I just love earthy '80s songs.

Here he is performing the song with Youssou N'Dour:


I love everything about this performance. Everything.


54. “Young Lust” by Pink Floyd (1979)

I think I meant to choose a second Pink Floyd song from another album besides The Wall, but too bad. I just love David Gilmour too much.


"Oooo, I need a dirty woman." So fun to sing.


55. “Another Night” by Real McCoy (1993)

Dance parties of my childhood were filled with the sounds of Real McCoy in tape cassette single form.


It just never gets old.

100 Favorite Songs: 36-40

Huh.

36. “Lyin’ Eyes” – Eagles (1975)

If only for the phrase "the cheatin' side of town."


Although I always forget how long this song is...


37. “Comfortably Numb” – Pink Floyd (1979)

Mostly written by David Gilmour, "Comfortably Numb" is definitely one of the less pompous moments of The Wall. Also, David kills his guitar solos.


Would have loved to see this live.


38. “Toxicity” – System of a Down (2002)

System of a Down had some of the hardest core music I can withstand, mostly because they still managed to have melody and avoid a lot of screaming. "Toxicity" is one of their most fun to sing along with.


Speaking of Pink Floyd's The Wall.


39. “Fields of Gold” – Sting (1993)

Probably his least weird song, Sting managed to write a song in the early '90s that sounds timeless.


I also associate it with this so-cheesy-it's-great book called They Loved to Laugh, in which Quakers, orphans, and brothers vying for the heart of one woman all happen in one book.


40. “Plush” – Stone Temple Pilots (1993)

Sounds just as good acoustic as it does electric.


Singing in a throne. Impressive.

The Audacity of Rock: Part 31

Rock and the spoken word.

I'm a fan of random words inserted in songs. It's haunting and confusing all at once.

"Us and Them" by Pink Floyd (1973)

The spoken part is taken from an interview with a Pink Floyd roadie named Roger the Hat (according to the wikis). "I mean, they're not gonna kill ya, so if you give 'em a quick short, sharp, shock, they won't do it again. Dig it? I mean he got off lightly, 'cause I would've given him a thrashing, I only hit him once. It was only a difference of opinion, but really, I mean good manners don't cost nothing do they, eh?" (4:55)

Also according to 'pedia, "The phrase 'short, sharp shock' is a phrase meaning 'punishment that is quick and severe.'" Which also might describe how you feel after being forced to repeat the phrase that appears in Gilbert and Sullivan's classic The Mikado in the song "I Am so Proud."

To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock,
In a pestilential prison with a life-long lock
Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock
From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big, black block.

You can hear it at minute 2:20 of the following clip:

You're welcome.

"Nantes" by Beirut (2007)

The speaking part in this song (2:12) is taken from the French film La Bete Humaine (1938). I thank awesome YouTube user peskasker for providing the clip, synopsis of the scene, and the translation. So here's the info:

"In this scene, the husband (Séverine Roubaud) is trying to caress his wife (Flore), but she has no intention of doing so."



Le French:

- "Oh non je t'en prie, nous ne sommes pas chez nous."
- "Oh je t'assures que ce n'est pas grave."
- "Non laisse moi!"
- "Mais qu'est-ce que tu as aujourd'hui?"
- "Je sais que les hommes me dégoutent. Vous ne pensez qu'à ça..."

English translation:

- "No, not here."
- "But I assure you, it doesn't matter."
- "No! Leave me!"
- "What's wrong with you?"
- "Men disgust me. You only think of that (sex). You're all the same..."

Consider yourself enlightened.

Questions:

1. Do these spoken words enhance your listening pleasure, or detract from it?

2. How awesome is the name Roger the Hat?

The Audacity of Rock: Part 28

Let's hear it from the kids.

The addition of children into a song can either be creepy or endearing. Those are the only two results.


"Another Brick in the Wall Part 2" by Pink Floyd (1979)

Army of singing anarchist children: both awesome and terrifying.




"Count it Off" by the Saturday Knights (2009)

Kids singing the chorus of a horn-heavy rap song: adorable!




Questions:

1. What are other songs that feature small children?
1. Muppet-like puppets: always great?
2. How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

While emo-ing out tonight...

...I realized My Chemical Romance's "Disenchanted" (2006) sounds like a cross between Pink Floyd's "Goodbye Blue Sky" (1979) and Jann Arden's "Insensitive" (1994).







That's all.

The Audacity of Rock: Part 2

Let's use a huge wall in our live performances to isolate ourselves from the audience.

I can't decide if this is a great idea or just painfully trite. Whether it's the 80s or the 00s, it's pretty entertaining.

Pink Floyd "The Wall"

The following is a documentary of Pink Floyd's infamous "The Wall" tour. Nothing ever will beat the audacity of this show with its pompous symbolism about isolation in society. This part of the documentary shows how the wall was erected during the show (as well as the creepy inflatable characters). About halfway through this clip, you see the halfway point in the concert as the final brick is being placed over Rodger Water's face. Could you even try to make that more theatrical? I submit that you cannot. As an added bonus, the music for this show is great.




The Killers "Human"

This performance isn't a whole show since it's at the 2008 EMA's, so we're spared any long-term ridiculousness. Each member of the band is in a separate cube in a giant block wall. You can only see the silhouette of each band member being back-lit by red. The non-band inhabited blocks show things like speakers, lines, or stars. The whole thing distracts from the fact that an actual band is playing. "Are we human?" I don't know, The Killers, since I can't actually see you.

PS I might be giving you too much credit with the symbolism.
PPS You owe Pink Floyd for making synth legit.



Part 1 of The Audacity of Rock.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond: not as exciting as the title would suggest

So I keep thinking I should post a review of a film or even just a mash-up review of a ton of movies, but my brain is tired, I'm tired, and I'm not in the mood to do anything constructive.

Really, I can only space out and listen to Pink Floyd's epic "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." So much synth, yet so much soul. Listen for moments that sound like Radiohead. It's kind of like listen to Dvorak's "New World Symphony" and finding all of the themes John Williams used.

Parts I-III (synthy and Radioheady)


Parts IV-V (sweet guitar solo and some singing!)


Parts VI-VII (more synth and some blusey guitar playing and a return to the singing)


Parts VIII-IX (so smooth and so funky and then it ends on a thoughtfully synth-like note)