Roger Waters - is he really that idiotic?
Discussion
Reginald Molehusband said:
Waters added the edge to Pink Floyd, but the music can be mostly attributed to the others.
Agreed. Rick Wright, I think, is overlooked WRT Floyd tunes.Edited by Reginald Molehusband on Friday 30th September 07:29
He penned The Great Gig In The Sky, which has a beautiful intro chord progression that starts in B minor then meanders through to end in B flat major. How he came up with that, I do not know. With the chorus on Breathe, he had to find a way to resolve a D7#9 chord back to Eminor9, and he used an obscure chord played by Miles Davis on one of his tunes.................<heads off to my guitar to check the chord>.......................it's D / F# / B / E flat. So a D6/b9 chord. Again, just a wonderful musical ear.
I think it's healthy to have people like him challenging the accepted views that get churned out by the media. He normally has a point and certainly does regarding Ukraine. We are closer to Nuclear conflict than ever and yet there is zero effort to negotiate a solution which is a tad worrying. His rather bleak opening number on his current tour perhaps gives us a clue to how he feels.
He has never said that Russia are not at fault btw. Just that the West has continually inflamed an already delicate situation.
Always felt Pink Floyd were a sum of parts, of which he was one.
He has never said that Russia are not at fault btw. Just that the West has continually inflamed an already delicate situation.
Always felt Pink Floyd were a sum of parts, of which he was one.
cherryowen said:
Reginald Molehusband said:
Waters added the edge to Pink Floyd, but the music can be mostly attributed to the others.
Agreed. Rick Wright, I think, is overlooked WRT Floyd tunes.Edited by Reginald Molehusband on Friday 30th September 07:29
He penned The Great Gig In The Sky, which has a beautiful intro chord progression that starts in B minor then meanders through to end in B flat major. How he came up with that, I do not know. With the chorus on Breathe, he had to find a way to resolve a D7#9 chord back to Eminor9, and he used an obscure chord played by Miles Davis on one of his tunes.................<heads off to my guitar to check the chord>.......................it's D / F# / B / E flat. So a D6/b9 chord. Again, just a wonderful musical ear.
March 9, 2022 Roger Waters Calls Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine ‘The Act of a Gangster
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/roge...
The following was made public by Roger Waters for as many people as possible to read
MARCH 2022 A NOTE FROM ROGER REGARDING UKRAINE. BUT FIRST, A NOTE FROM ALINA
Hello!
My name is Alina Mitrofanova, I am 19 years old, and I live in Ukraine. Today my country is resisting the Russian invasion and the real war started by Russian president and led by Russian army.
I am a huge Pink Floyd and Roger Waters fan, and it was very important for me to hear Roger's opinion on this whole situation. It may not seem as urgent and critical, because this war can be considered as only "our problem", but unfortunately it rapidly becomes a catastrophe for the entire Europe and world.
The war started 11 days ago, and everyday we hear sirens that signalize about bombs thrown by Russian occupants. Russia's aggression destroys MY country, kills hundreds of innocent adults and children in MY country, and I cannot explain how many Ukrainians are forced to leave their homes and run away from this madness. Ukrainian Eastern cities are being destroyed by Russian army, hundreds of thousands of people are evacuating and becoming refugees, and their number is increasing every minute. I'm in pain, as many other Ukrainians, because it hurts a lot to see how MY country becomes a military target for Russia and its mad leader, who's convinced that there are "neo-Nazis", who have to be killed. It's absolutely false, because I live here, and I can tell 200% that there are no such people there!
I ask Roger to speak publicly about this war, because I still cannot understand how a person, who wrote a significant number of anti-war lyrics, hasn't spoken about tragedy yet. Furthermore, fully understand that Roger's point of view may be different, but I ask him to share his own opinion on this war. It's better than just being silent, because in this situation, silence is one of the worst enemies - it's impossible to build a wall in this situation and stay isolated from this problem.
I'm 95% sure that this letter will not be delivered to Roger directly, and it would be just a miracle if a have an answer. However, a man who speaks about risks of nuclear catastrophe and about the senselessness of the war cannot be silent in this situation. Tell the world your position!
Best regards from Ukraine,
Alina Mitrofanova
Dear Alina,
I read your letter, I feel your pain, I am disgusted by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it is a criminal mistake in my opinion, the act of a gangster, there must be an immediate ceasefire. I regret that Western governments are fueling the fire that will destroy your beautiful country by pouring arms into Ukraine, instead of engaging in the diplomacy that will be necessary to stop the slaughter. Rest assured if all our leaders don’t turn down the rhetoric and engage in diplomatic negotiations there will be precious little of Ukraine left when the fighting is over. A long drawn out insurgency in Ukraine would be great for the gangster hawks in Washington, it’s what they dream of, “playing the game” as they do, ”with the bravery of being out of range” I desperately hope your President is not a gangster too and that he will do what is best for his people, and demand of the Americans that they come to the table. Sadly however, many world leaders are gangsters and my disgust for political gangsters did not start last week with Putin. I was disgusted by the gangsters Bush and Blair when they invaded Iraq in 2003, I was and still am disgusted by the gangster government of Israel's invasion of Palestine in 1967 and its subsequent apartheid occupation of that land which has now been going on for over fifty years. I was disgusted by the gangsters Obama and Clinton ordering NATO's illegal bombings of both Libya and Serbia. I am disgusted by the wholesale destruction of Syria initiated, as it was, in 2011 by outside interference in the cause of regime change. I was disgusted by the invasion of Lebanon in 1982 when the gangster Shimon Peres connived with the Christian Phalangist Militias in the murder of Palestinian refugees in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in the south of that country.
I feel for you Alina, and your Mum and Dad and your uncles and aunts and brothers and sisters and cousins, I lost both my father Eric Fletcher Waters and my grandfather George Henry Waters in wars fighting the Germans.
Please believe me when I tell you that I believe in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights signed in Paris 1948. I have fought as hard as I know how to foster and support human rights for all my brothers and sisters all over the world for as long as I can remember, and I support you and yours now, with all my heart.
Speaking of gangsters, I do have to take issue with you about one thing in your letter, your “200%” belief that there are no Neo-Nazis in your country is almost certainly mistaken. Both the Azov Battalions in your army, the National Militia and C14 are well known self-proclaimed Neo Nazis groups. They are gangsters too.
Also, I have not been silent on Ukraine, I wrote a piece which was distributed six days ago by Globetrotter, I shall append it to this post: https://braveneweurope.com/roger-waters-the-war...
What else Alina? Well, we the people, all of us in every country in the world, including Ukraine and Russia, can fight the gangsters, we can tell them we will not be part of their obscene and deadly wars to garner power and wealth at the expense of others, we can tell them that our families, in fact all families all over the world mean more to us than all the power and money in the world.
Where I live in the USA we can join Black Lives Matter or Code Pink or BDS or Veterans For Peace or myriad other anti-war, pro law, pro freedom, pro human rights organizations.
I will do anything I can to help effect the end of this awful war in your country, anything that is except wave a flag to encourage the slaughter. That is what the gangsters want, they want us to wave flags. That is how they divide and control us, by encouraging the waving of flags, to create a smokescreen of enmity to blind us to our innate capacity to empathize with one another, while they plunder and rape our fragile planet. I will do everything in my power to help bring peace back to you and your family and your beautiful country. The long drawn-out war/insurgency that Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice and the rest of the has been gangster Washington Hawks are encouraging is not in your nor Ukraine’s best interests.
I wish you well Alina.
Thank you for your letter, and if you chose to send a reply to this.
I will print that reply.
I promise.
Love
R.
PS. Have you got a dog? If so please send a pic
A REPLY FROM ALINA posted by Roger Waters Thursday March 10th 1.52 pm
Dear Roger
Thanks a lot for your reply!
It means a lot to me, and I really appreciate your concerns and ideas on this issue. Although there are some points where our thoughts and beliefs are different, I'm grateful for your support and your decision to share your opinion. I was surprised to see your publication on Facebook, thanks again for sharing your point of view! It's very important to speak about it, as more people may find out about this horrible war.
I mentioned that I'm a student, and I'm writing a coursework where I study and analyze the song lyrics. Besides writing general information on this topic, I study the lyrics from "The Final Cut", one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums, and one of the albums that becomes especially topical and significant for me today.
Once more, thank you very much, Roger, for your opinion! It matters a lot - not only for me, but also for many others - to know, that you don't stand away from this tragedy. It's very important for me to hear the supportive words from the musician I respect. Thanks again!
No, I don't have a dog, but I have a lovely cat. Her name is Lucky, you can find her photo attached.
Best regards,
Alina Mitrofanova
15 minutes later at 2.06pm, a postscript arrived.
P.S. Just wanted to add that democracy already failed to work in this situation. Russian army refuses to negotiate, they want Ukrainians to follow Russian ultimatums, but we will never do it, as it's our country, and we will resist until the very end.
A Reply From Roger Waters
Wow Alina! That’s some afterthought? Or is it maybe, a suggestion, made by someone looking over your shoulder? Anyway, I have a couple of questions for you. Did you mean “Diplomacy has already failed” when you wrote “Democracy has already failed”? Because in my letter to you I was advocating that your President Zelensky use “Diplomacy” to end this barbaric war. Also, when you say “We will resist until the very end” It sounds like a surrender to the gods of war, it sounds like an abrogation of your right to resist the warmongers in the west, who “with the bravery of being out of range” encourage you to fight to the last Ukrainian life. It sounds like an abandonment of your right to reach out through the smoke and rubble to the thousands of your brothers and sisters in the anti-war movement all over the world, including in Russia, where they are risking their liberty in the cause of peace. Come on Alina, help me out here. I believe you genuinely are a 19 year old Ukrainian woman who has studied my work. So you know who I am, and you know that I am here for you. So I’ll cut to the chase. Talk to me. What about a neutral Ukraine? Is being a dead young woman with a dead cat and dead friends after a fight to the death really preferable to being a live young woman in a stable peaceful neutral country like, for instance, Austria or Finland or Switzerland? Imagine living in a neutral Ukraine? Free from the avaricious corporate advances of foreign empires? What if you could have that tomorrow? Why not ask Lucky the cat what she thinks? I mean if I had a magic wand and could wave it and the invasion would end and talks would begin and you could end up a young woman citizen of a neutral Ukraine, would that work for you and Lucky? If it would, let me know, asap, because your single vote might just be the first drop of pure water in this muddy and deadly pool, and the spreading ripples from that one act of love and common sense might lap on toes of other shoes, and serve to point them in the direction of the peace we all yearn for.
Stranger things have happened.
Love
R.
Southernjock said:
I think it's healthy to have people like him challenging the accepted views that get churned out by the media. He normally has a point and certainly does regarding Ukraine. We are closer to Nuclear conflict than ever and yet there is zero effort to negotiate a solution which is a tad worrying. His rather bleak opening number on his current tour perhaps gives us a clue to how he feels.
He has never said that Russia are not at fault btw. Just that the West has continually inflamed an already delicate situation.
Always felt Pink Floyd were a sum of parts, of which he was one.
A negotiated settlement would have allowed some of Ukraine to become part of Russia. Putin can't be allowed to do that. Giving in to tyrants is a bad idea. I would much prefer solutions to be found by legions of experienced diplomats, politicians and armed forces than one angry rock star.He has never said that Russia are not at fault btw. Just that the West has continually inflamed an already delicate situation.
Always felt Pink Floyd were a sum of parts, of which he was one.
“Mother should I trust the Government “…………. “No f
king Way!”
Normally, I’d say musicians, public figures shouldn’t get involved in ‘politics’. I’m not sure I agree with a fair few things he says, but in a world of pre paid client journalism, where the last thing they seem to want to do is hold those in ‘power’ to account, a spikey, arsey, angry non conformist like Roger Waters seems like a breath of, well, not fresh, but different air. I’m sure the Mail/Express/ Telegraph nodding dogs will disagree with me, which kinda proves my point
And as for the spiteful, half arsed jibes at his place in the musical pantheon you don’t pen The Wall and be involved in Dark side of the Moon, Wish you were Here, and Animals by being mediocre
king Way!”Normally, I’d say musicians, public figures shouldn’t get involved in ‘politics’. I’m not sure I agree with a fair few things he says, but in a world of pre paid client journalism, where the last thing they seem to want to do is hold those in ‘power’ to account, a spikey, arsey, angry non conformist like Roger Waters seems like a breath of, well, not fresh, but different air. I’m sure the Mail/Express/ Telegraph nodding dogs will disagree with me, which kinda proves my point
And as for the spiteful, half arsed jibes at his place in the musical pantheon you don’t pen The Wall and be involved in Dark side of the Moon, Wish you were Here, and Animals by being mediocre
Bilkob said:
And as for the spiteful, half arsed jibes at his place in the musical pantheon you don’t pen The Wall and be involved in Dark side of the Moon, Wish you were Here, and Animals by being mediocre
He's certainly no mediocre musician but that correspondence posted above does show him to be a bit naive and lacking in pragmatism imo. Meddle is my favourite Floyd album
DickyC said:
Southernjock said:
I think it's healthy to have people like him challenging the accepted views that get churned out by the media. He normally has a point and certainly does regarding Ukraine. We are closer to Nuclear conflict than ever and yet there is zero effort to negotiate a solution which is a tad worrying. His rather bleak opening number on his current tour perhaps gives us a clue to how he feels.
He has never said that Russia are not at fault btw. Just that the West has continually inflamed an already delicate situation.
Always felt Pink Floyd were a sum of parts, of which he was one.
A negotiated settlement would have allowed some of Ukraine to become part of Russia. Putin can't be allowed to do that. Giving in to tyrants is a bad idea. I would much prefer solutions to be found by legions of experienced diplomats, politicians and armed forces than one angry rock star.He has never said that Russia are not at fault btw. Just that the West has continually inflamed an already delicate situation.
Always felt Pink Floyd were a sum of parts, of which he was one.
Polly Grigora said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1YCBGy_Dl4&ab...
Spleen said:
Just to build on this a little, I don't necessarily have a problem with an egocentric muso gobbing off about a thing they believe in, it's more that just because they have celebrity status and a captive audience, it doesn't make them any more right than the average Joe (or Josephine) on the street. That's what really irks me. Shut up.
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