Pig on the Wing
Poor Roger Waters. Or more accurately, poor inflatable pig
Glad to see I’m not the only one with balloon problems.
The more I read about this story, the more I wondered what ol’ Rog was thinking (never mind what the hell he was doing at what is typically considered an “indie rock” festival). Does he even listen to his own lyrics? I realize that the pig is currently being (incongruously, in my mind) as a prop in the live performances of “Dark Side of the Moon” even though it was created for the much underrated “Animals”. “Animals” is my favorite Pink Floyd album even though all it did was take Orwell’s “Animal Farm” allegories and apply them to the business world instead of politics. It did it well, and the archetypes have been sighted in real life many, many times since I first heard the record as a teenager. The pig represents the song “Pigs” (duh) which opens thusly:
“Big man, pig man
Ha ha charade you are”
For the current tour, Waters had the word “Obama” written with a check box checked next to it on the bottom of the pig. The press has taken that (along with the pro-Obama leaflets dropped from a helicopter) as Waters’ support for Obama. But is it really? Look at those lyrics again. Why, if you were supporting a candidate would you want to associate him with those lyrics? The answer here is clear: Waters is secretly part of a vast right-trotter conspiracy to get John McCain elected.
OK, not really. I think he’s just clueless. But then again, I think after a certain point of wealth or age is passed, I think all artists lose touch with what their audience is really thinking or feeling and what real life is really all about. Back in the late 1980s and the 1990s when Howard Stern had yet to decline into self-parody there were these great moments of truth that would happen when he would interview celebrities. He’d ask them how much a gallon of milk cost, or what a loaf of bread cost and they’d have absolutely no idea. It revealed a fascinating fact: The people who create the popular culture that in turn many people try to aspire to or reflect have no connection to real life as it is lived by the vast majority of Americans. Images are created and stories are told by people who really don’t know what’s going on at the grassroots level and everyone at the grassroots level thinks that that’s how life should be. And so, our credit-ruined economy is born. Of course, we can’t exclusively blame the artists and creative types for this. After all, it is the buying public that places these people in the pulpit.
Sometimes an artist who is still at a point in their career (read: not yet hideously rich) where they are in touch with real life creates something that is so incredibly misinterpreted it boggles the mind. I said before that Waters ignored his own lyrics. Anyone remember that brief time when New Jersey wanted to make Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” the state song? It’s a great (if played to death by classic rock radio) anthem, but I’m not entirely sure you want to say this about your state:
“Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It’s a death trap, it’s a suicide rap
We’ve gotta get out while we’re young”
Wow. That’s not exactly the rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air, is it? I’m thinking that even Uncle Floyd’s “Deep in the Heart of Jersey” would be a better choice. It's as honest as "Born To Run" though in a different and entirely unromantic fashion.
You know, I think we can all learn from these experiences. Listen to the words, don’t play with balloons in the wind, and last but certainly not least: in the battle of the Floyds Uncle is funnier than Pink.
Glad to see I’m not the only one with balloon problems.
The more I read about this story, the more I wondered what ol’ Rog was thinking (never mind what the hell he was doing at what is typically considered an “indie rock” festival). Does he even listen to his own lyrics? I realize that the pig is currently being (incongruously, in my mind) as a prop in the live performances of “Dark Side of the Moon” even though it was created for the much underrated “Animals”. “Animals” is my favorite Pink Floyd album even though all it did was take Orwell’s “Animal Farm” allegories and apply them to the business world instead of politics. It did it well, and the archetypes have been sighted in real life many, many times since I first heard the record as a teenager. The pig represents the song “Pigs” (duh) which opens thusly:
“Big man, pig man
Ha ha charade you are”
For the current tour, Waters had the word “Obama” written with a check box checked next to it on the bottom of the pig. The press has taken that (along with the pro-Obama leaflets dropped from a helicopter) as Waters’ support for Obama. But is it really? Look at those lyrics again. Why, if you were supporting a candidate would you want to associate him with those lyrics? The answer here is clear: Waters is secretly part of a vast right-trotter conspiracy to get John McCain elected.
OK, not really. I think he’s just clueless. But then again, I think after a certain point of wealth or age is passed, I think all artists lose touch with what their audience is really thinking or feeling and what real life is really all about. Back in the late 1980s and the 1990s when Howard Stern had yet to decline into self-parody there were these great moments of truth that would happen when he would interview celebrities. He’d ask them how much a gallon of milk cost, or what a loaf of bread cost and they’d have absolutely no idea. It revealed a fascinating fact: The people who create the popular culture that in turn many people try to aspire to or reflect have no connection to real life as it is lived by the vast majority of Americans. Images are created and stories are told by people who really don’t know what’s going on at the grassroots level and everyone at the grassroots level thinks that that’s how life should be. And so, our credit-ruined economy is born. Of course, we can’t exclusively blame the artists and creative types for this. After all, it is the buying public that places these people in the pulpit.
Sometimes an artist who is still at a point in their career (read: not yet hideously rich) where they are in touch with real life creates something that is so incredibly misinterpreted it boggles the mind. I said before that Waters ignored his own lyrics. Anyone remember that brief time when New Jersey wanted to make Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” the state song? It’s a great (if played to death by classic rock radio) anthem, but I’m not entirely sure you want to say this about your state:
“Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It’s a death trap, it’s a suicide rap
We’ve gotta get out while we’re young”
Wow. That’s not exactly the rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air, is it? I’m thinking that even Uncle Floyd’s “Deep in the Heart of Jersey” would be a better choice. It's as honest as "Born To Run" though in a different and entirely unromantic fashion.
You know, I think we can all learn from these experiences. Listen to the words, don’t play with balloons in the wind, and last but certainly not least: in the battle of the Floyds Uncle is funnier than Pink.
Comments
He always reminded me of Soupy Sales although Soupy was more cutting edge.
I printed out the lyric sheet for them.
Let's see, it starts off with this verse:
oh, baby blankets and baby shoes
baby slippers, baby spoons, walls of baby blue
dream child in my head
is a nightmare born in a borrowed bed
now I know lightning strikes again
it struck me once, then struck me dead
my folly grows inside of me
Oopsie.
-Doogs