From: cap@cons.ca (T Cap)
Newsgroups: alt.rock-n-roll
Subject: Amused to Death (kinda long)
Date: 9 Sep 92 16:52:18 GMT
Organization: Consolidated Systems

After listening several times (~20), I must say
I am very impressed and pleased with Roger's latest.
14 tracks and around 70 minutes!! (don't have the
specifics here now).  And there are a lot of 
different themes floating around.  Seems like many
have been dissappointed with AtD, but speaking for
myself, I think it rivals The Wall (which I thought
was superb!).  The themes I have detected include
the effects of technology in the 90's - How we can
sit at home in front of a tv (like monkeys, perhaps)
and see people being killed (Tiannemen Square (sp?),
the Gulf War), and how war has become like a big 
video game, and how the media bring us LIVE-WAR,
almost like a big game.  Rog wonders if any of those 
soldiers in the Gulf question what they're doing, if
they're just blindly taking orders? do they realize people
are DYING when they press those buttons from 3000
miles away.  Lot's of issues that society is facing
to day are mentioned.  So many of us are brought
up to believe in GOD...Rog seems to be saying that
God gets what he wants, and we don't have very 
much to do with what God wants.  We have what we have
in this world because that is what God wants!  And sooner
or later, it all boils down to money, all the senseless 
violence seems to make perfect sense if we just think of it
in terms of dollars and cents.  Roger mentions something about
Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Moslems all kneeling
and praying - how different we all are, yet we share
such beliefs as one GOD who rules us all; we still cannot 
live in peace, free of violent acts that can devastate.

In Watching TV, Rog laments his yellow rose, a Chinese student
demonstrating in Tiannemen, 'her father was an engineer'.
"Won't you grieve with me" he asks.  
Perhaps we've become accustomed to seeing such horrific
things, things that 40 or 50 years ago we could only have
read about.  Perhaps we see so much slaughter, we forget
to think about the pain that girl felt, about her family,
about her dreams which came to a sudden stop "in her
blood stained clothes".

This CD offers a remarkable view of society in the 90s, 
a view that gets very dark.  Sure, it's not a "good-day,
sunshiny, things-are- getting-better, aint-life-great" 
kind of album.  But do real RW fans ever expect Rog to 
make a CD like that???  I for one would be QUITE surprised to 
see something like that.  Rog has always been a writer 
"on the fringe" with darkened view of the world, and maybe 
that's one of the things I like about his work.  (That 
doesn't mean I'm only into depressing music - I have a
varied musical interest - Rush, Fleetwood Mac, Zeppelin,
Oz, Warren Zevon, Joe Jackson, Stones, Beatles, Soundgarden,
RHCP, U2, REM, ZZ-Top, AC DC,  even some jazz, country, 
classical, and contemporary, even Mado..uh, nevermind).
  
Musically, I (surpise, surprise!) love this album.  The 
chant of the crowd WHAT GOD WANTS    GOD GETS, and the
erie background vocals crying out GOD HELP US ALL.
All those great sound effects!!!  The phone ringing, the
car zooming past, explosions, TV channel after TV channel
flicking past.  I especially like the "new" percussion
sounds and the great synthesizer sounds.  And the keyboards
in PERFECT SENSE, PART I - man! they're great. 

And I don't think Rog's voice is getting worse or better.
Its the same Rog who sang MONEY, PIGS, RUN LIKE HELL, 
and RADIO WAVES (etc, etc, etc).  He still shouts and
screams and whispers, with that signature enunciation that
is Roger Waters.  In a way, Rog's voice might be compared
to Bob Dylan's voice: both are not really "pretty voices",
but they are classic (no Dylan flames, please) and   
unmistakable, emphasizing syllables in a way that can
bring new meanings to certain phrases.  Just listen to
WHAT GOD WANTS, PART III : to me, this is the song that
is most WALL-reminiscent- the shouted "GOD wants 
contributions".

Sorry this was so long :), but I've waited for this CD
for a long time, and I for one think it was well worth the
wait.  I'm sure if you've read this far, you know I was
greatly biased, but I genuinely love this CD, and I know
it will get much enjoyment from it for years to come.  My 
only regret is that Roger is not playing as much bass on 
this one, so there isn't a lot of the thunder-and-boom-style
bass I've come to associate with him, but then he does play
some acoustic guitar (and synth. I think).

BTW, re the Q-Sound: More than half my listening was in
my car, and I wasn't able to detect much of an effect
(other than stereo).  However, at home, with the volume
very high :), and centered between my two speackers,
it seemed as though a new playing field was defined -
kind of like a depth was added - sounds from the left,
sounds from the right, sounds from the center, sounds 
from close left, far left.........

Let me get my flame-proof suit on.                     
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Opinions expressed are my own and not my employers. 

I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.   (guess who)
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