This Is Not a Drill

 

 

I've been enjoying watching clips of the current Roger Water tour. His spectacular shows aren’t so removed from what’s been on TV since the 1970s in terms of its capacity for a depiction of dystopia as a form of entertainment, with generous dollops of f*ck-off.

What should have been included, and perhaps it was, were imagery of desiccating lakes and the world ablaze, as if the red we have associated with high temperatures makes it appear that the entire mid-latitude is a Coriolis of fire. It’s all the same seduction.

Ever since the Meddle album, much of Pink Floyd was a possible soundtrack for documentaries about environmental degradation and the collapse of civilizations. That's interesting because the unease we feel is somehow vitiated by media by letting us contemplate these topics from places of comfort. 

So many artists, both musical and visual, were more ecologically aware in the 70s, the result among other things the Club of Rome report. To me, the poster boys in the art world were Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer. (I was thinking the other day what Spiral Jetty must look like currently amid extreme drought conditions. Heizer's City complex in the Nevada desert would be a good site for a Pink Floyd documentary, like Live at Pompeii, Live at Spiral Jetty, with everyone wearing protective masks as a part of the performance, specifically designed by the production designers). 

Smithson's and Heizer's works were premonitory as well:

"Smithson was also fascinated by entropy — a concept about decay that gained increased prominence during the middle part of the 20th century. According to Matthew Coolidge, president of the Center for Land Use Interpretation, Smithson fundamentally understood the dual relationship between construction and destruction — “sides of the same coin, and you couldn’t have one without the other,” Coolidge told the Deseret News. Smithson wished to explore that duality in his work. He knew a piece like “Spiral Jetty” wouldn’t stay pristine. It would decay and change, just as its surroundings would decay and change."  https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2020/4/7/21207816/spiral-jetty-50-robert-smithson-nancy-holt-anniversary-dia-umfa-great-salt-lake-landmarks-utah

In terms of the effects of power usage on climate change, how much power does a Waters show require, and how much is from renewables? We know Waters' politics, but how much is he aware of it? Does he buy carbon offsets? Could that be a talking point in lyrics and how they are displayed on the video "crucifix"?

Pinkfloydian Politics 

What I find most compelling about Waters as a songwriter is his "sincere profanity" mixed with a big-hearted "spirituality". He really does care about people, minus the political rants. In some ways, stadium rock spectacles made political rally spectacles possible with all the visual bling. Roger Waters can have "constituents" just as much as politicians can have fans, and it's all saying the same thing: "the world sucks and this is how I think we can make it better, so sit back and get comfortable and enjoy the show. You're in good hands."  

We actually need more passive consumption sans interactivity. Can you imagine if they showed people's live Tweets on the screens?

But I must say, a Waters show in 2022 is exponentially better than the 1977 Animals shows. I'm also glad Algie is still alive and well.