Music of the Day, 11 January 2025

sell your soul for complete control

I woke up wanting to listen to some music—Pink Floyd, to be specific. Neither of those things is unusual for me. What was unusual is that a song didn’t start playing on the radio station in my mind. I grew up with an abundance of their music available on the radio and liked most of what I’d heard, so getting nothing more precise seemed weird.

So I opened my music library and looked through the albums I have. One that I’ve not listened to in years beckoned. A title grabbed my attention and hearing just the bluesy intro, I knew I’d chosen well.

I think my aversion to A Momentary Lapse of Reason spilled over to The Division Bell; I just didn’t listen to it often back in 1994.¹ More fool me. If “What Do You Want From Me” is emblematic of the album,² I’ve been sleeping on an album that may be as good as Pink Floyd’s more celebrated releases.

“What Do You Want From Me” resonates deeply, as I’m feeling pulled in various directions by disparate elements and goals in my life. Some of that is my own biased observation, I know; but a substantial portion comes from general social pressures that are increasingly insistent. You’re an atheist? So you must also think P, Q, and J. You’re an individualist? Well, you must also be O-ist and W-ist; you certainly can’t be A-ist. And on it goes.

Any thinking, reflective person knows that underneath surface presentations and stereotypes are churning complexities that often include beliefs that seem contradictory—to oneself as well as others. Social media’s insistence on rewarding fast, shallow, and copious content makes it easy to present only slivers of self … creating a caricature that ultimately satisfies no one.

Lead guitarist David Gilmour and his wife, Polly Samson, wrote the lyrics for “What Do You Want From Me”; and it’s easy to see the song as directed at former Pink Floyd bandmember and lyricist Roger Waters. It may have been seeded in that relationship, but given the many roles famous people play in their lives, it would be simplistic to stop there. As the album’s cover art suggests, look more carefully and deeper and you’ll see more.

The music speaks to me just as strongly. Launching with a short drum roll into a bluesy intro is an inspired choice. Gilmour, keyboardist and backing vocalist Richard Wright, and drummer Nick Mason sound as tight as the older Pink Floyd was at their best. Rounding out the band are: Sam Brown, Carol Kenyon, Rebecca Leigh-White, Durga McBroom, and Jackie Sheridan on backing vocals; Jon Carin on synths; and Guy Pratt on bass.

There’s superb songcraft in every element, so my Pink Floyd craving has been fully satisfied in a surprising way. I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of The Division Bell.

1. I did buy the disc when it first came out

2. I intend to find out shortly, as I’m at a crucial point in my current knitting project and listening to music will help keep me calm