So, we all know *Animals* is basically an adaptation of Orwell's *Animal Farm*, tweaked to fit the current capitalist mess we're living in. Those dogs in the title track? They’re all "hustlers"—brokers, managers, CEOs—basically the most cutthroat, predatory jerks you'll ever run into, at least in my experience. Shout out to anyone here who isn't like that, though—based on your posts, I'm betting you guys are the exceptions.
It’s totally possible Waters feels a bit of sympathy for them too, which might be why he sings those last two stanzas in the first person. Let’s not forget this is the same guy who started building his own wall just two years later and famously spat on a fan at a show shortly after this album dropped. A sensitive critic (and honestly, me too) would say he’s always had that classic, snobbish disdain for everything—it's just part of his DNA. But hey, that’s why I love him; there’s something inspiring about a truly intelligent misanthrope.
I actually used to think the whole spitting incident during the *Animals* tour was some deep conceptual move, since the final verse says "...who was trained not to spit in the fan..."—but I pretty much moved past that theory once I realized the lyric is "in the fan," not "on the fan." Still, it wouldn't be the first time he did something like that.
There's no debate here: Waters is the X-factor that makes Pink Floyd a legendary band. Without him, they’re basically just the Eagles with a killer keyboard player.
One of the most toxic, nasty pieces of writing I’ve ever laid eyes on—and honestly, whenever I run into some self-absorbed, bottom-tier capitalist grinder who thinks they're indispensable, I just want to sing this right in their face:
"You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder You know, it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder As you get older Yeah, and in the end you'll pack up and fly down south Hide your head in the sand Just another sad old man All alone and dying of cancer"
bluecyclist64, solid story—reminded me that I was actually deep in thought about the world the other day—well, after a liter of water and a drink—and it hit me how much waitresses are overlooked in art. It’s a shame, really; there’s something symbolic, almost tragic, about the woman bringing you your drink, but I’m way too sober right now to fully grasp the depth of it—plus, some stupid distraction cut my train of thought short the other day. Yeah, waitresses definitely aren't represented enough. You should probably write something about it—maybe even a short story.
The guy with a thousand songs and a thousand beers—basically the heir to Paul McCartney and Pete Townshend—is Bob Pollard, and here I am, listening to these gems while totally wasted. If my pick doesn't make Album of the Week, I’m gonna drink like a fish because my buddies on this forum seriously have hearts of stone.😁
Good to see we're already up to 9 votes—last week it was only around 5 or 6. Really hoping we hit at least 15 by the end.
Took a little look at the current rookies and they actually seem pretty interesting. I was honestly worried it’d be some weird world-music crossover stuff with hip genres—and that GOAT just meant "greatest of all time."
I don't know—someone mentioned voting for their pick last week, I think it was kvart99, so I figured I'd ask. Actually, because of what Jessica Morris6 is saying, GBV is my favorite group—I was thinking about voting for Joe Jackson, but these guys just feel way more important to me.
My picks—Neil Young, specifically that legendary "ditch" era, Drive-By Truckers, just good old Americana, the Rolling Stones from Beggars Banquet through Exile on Main Street, Gram Parsons, Merle Haggard, CCR, Pavement, Silver Jews, Guided by Voices, Kurt Vile, Smog, and Bill Callahan.