A Pink Floyd Masterpiece: "The Wall"
A British band that almost coined the phrase "psychedelic rock", Pink Floyd took music to new heights by combining unique sounds with profound lyrics. On of their crowning achievements is: "The Wall".
Released on the 30th of November 1979, the album entitled simply as "The Wall", represents a throwback to a period when music was not only created to entertain, but also to send out a forceful message. The theme of the album is self-imposed isolation. The wall is traditionally a symbol of protection. In this sense, it can be a reminder of The Great Wall Of China, the ultimate massive construction design basically to keep the enemy out. But, it can also be a symbol of isolation, of retreating from the rest of the world, of refusing communication. To keep things symmetric, in this case, there is the example of the Berlin Wall. It is this negative connotation that prevails in the album.
"The Wall" revolves around the life of an unnamed character (in the movie version he is called Pink) and revels the drama of sentimental isolation, but it also underlines the role of an artist. The first song of the album, "In The Flesh", represents a provocation and an invitation for the listener to adopt a more meditative state of mind. Portraying as an artist, the unnamed character announces that he is not there to entertain and if you want to know him and identify his true intentions, then you need to "claw your way through this disguise".
Thus, begins the story of Pink, one that has a universal feel to it and that can very easily be the story of an ordinary individual. The way the birth of the character is represented suggests the idea that he was rather thrown into existence, into a world that finds itself in a precarious position. At first everything is in a perfect state of balance. The young child is loved by both parents and the environment seems to be in tune with this feelings. However, this is a temporary situation. Everything is resting on "thin ice" suggesting the idea that balance in life is like running on ice. The first crack that appears is the war. The child's father goes "across the sea" and dies in battle. The death of his father represents the very first bricks in the wall. In order to deal with his tragic lost he retreats in himself as a form of protection. However, this is just the foundation of his construction.
Unfortunately, a succession of bad events provides more bricks with which the wall will be completed. In school, young Pink is subjected to a harsh treatment by the teachers who are very severe and inhibit the children. Moreover, in all this time Pink's mother is trying to be extra attentive and protective with her child in order to compensate for the absence of the father. However, in doing so, she is actually helping with the construction of the wall by making the boy over reliant on her. This is turn will have devastating long term effects. Pink is incapable of communicating and being intimate with his wife and his marriage fails. Devastated and depressed, he completes his wall and refuses real and meaningful contact with the external world. This does not go according to his plan because he soon realizes that he still wants to be in contact with someone, anyone as illustrated in the song "Hey you". Unfortunately, he has become trapped by his own construction and has difficulties in trying to free himself.
In "Comfortably Numb" a doctor appears and injects him with a chemical design to help him, but it has a reverse effect. He regains his physical strength and is able to re-enter the world, to meet the external world. That is why we have another song named "In The Flesh". However, at this point he expresses all sorts of prejudice thoughts against people who are different (e.g. gays, etc.). The message seems to be that you cannot overcome the metaphorical wall with a visit from the doctor, because he only heals the body. It is reminiscent of the novel "451 Fahrenheit" in which the people who tried to commit suicide by taking poisonous substances simply have their stomachs cleaned and then are left alone. All this culminates in a shout of "Stop" that is similar to Edwards Munch painting "The Scream".
Up to this point, the character seemed to be a victim of fate, totally innocent. The guilty ones were the other people who, because of their treatment, left him with no choice but to build a wall. However, now, for the first time, he begins to question himself and his role: "have I been guilty all this time?" Therefore, he puts himself on trial. The accusation: he was caught of "showing feeling". The verdict was guilty and the punishment given: the destruction of the wall. What happens after the collapse of the wall it is not mentioned. The last song of the album ends with the words "Isn't this where...". The first song of the album starts with the words "we came in". Maybe it tries to suggest a cycle, that a new wall will appear soon.
The song "Outside The Wall" also underlines the vital role of the artist. He walks outside the wall trying to find a way in. We all have walls around our hearts and the artists "give their all" in order to tear down the wall and reach our inner scared child, even if it is only for a short period.
"The Wall" is simply a masterpiece. Every song on the album can be the subject of meditation or of an article. It is a journey that starts slowly and then gains momentum. You can fell the wall slowly taking shape, the disappointments of the character and finally the climax and the relief that only a pile of rubble can give as a sign of victory, of defeating the artificial, the isolation, and the harmful 'man-made prison' (both physical and metaphorical). This is what novels and stories would look like if they were expressed in music.
"The Wall" revolves around the life of an unnamed character (in the movie version he is called Pink) and revels the drama of sentimental isolation, but it also underlines the role of an artist. The first song of the album, "In The Flesh", represents a provocation and an invitation for the listener to adopt a more meditative state of mind. Portraying as an artist, the unnamed character announces that he is not there to entertain and if you want to know him and identify his true intentions, then you need to "claw your way through this disguise".
Thus, begins the story of Pink, one that has a universal feel to it and that can very easily be the story of an ordinary individual. The way the birth of the character is represented suggests the idea that he was rather thrown into existence, into a world that finds itself in a precarious position. At first everything is in a perfect state of balance. The young child is loved by both parents and the environment seems to be in tune with this feelings. However, this is a temporary situation. Everything is resting on "thin ice" suggesting the idea that balance in life is like running on ice. The first crack that appears is the war. The child's father goes "across the sea" and dies in battle. The death of his father represents the very first bricks in the wall. In order to deal with his tragic lost he retreats in himself as a form of protection. However, this is just the foundation of his construction.
Unfortunately, a succession of bad events provides more bricks with which the wall will be completed. In school, young Pink is subjected to a harsh treatment by the teachers who are very severe and inhibit the children. Moreover, in all this time Pink's mother is trying to be extra attentive and protective with her child in order to compensate for the absence of the father. However, in doing so, she is actually helping with the construction of the wall by making the boy over reliant on her. This is turn will have devastating long term effects. Pink is incapable of communicating and being intimate with his wife and his marriage fails. Devastated and depressed, he completes his wall and refuses real and meaningful contact with the external world. This does not go according to his plan because he soon realizes that he still wants to be in contact with someone, anyone as illustrated in the song "Hey you". Unfortunately, he has become trapped by his own construction and has difficulties in trying to free himself.
In "Comfortably Numb" a doctor appears and injects him with a chemical design to help him, but it has a reverse effect. He regains his physical strength and is able to re-enter the world, to meet the external world. That is why we have another song named "In The Flesh". However, at this point he expresses all sorts of prejudice thoughts against people who are different (e.g. gays, etc.). The message seems to be that you cannot overcome the metaphorical wall with a visit from the doctor, because he only heals the body. It is reminiscent of the novel "451 Fahrenheit" in which the people who tried to commit suicide by taking poisonous substances simply have their stomachs cleaned and then are left alone. All this culminates in a shout of "Stop" that is similar to Edwards Munch painting "The Scream".
Up to this point, the character seemed to be a victim of fate, totally innocent. The guilty ones were the other people who, because of their treatment, left him with no choice but to build a wall. However, now, for the first time, he begins to question himself and his role: "have I been guilty all this time?" Therefore, he puts himself on trial. The accusation: he was caught of "showing feeling". The verdict was guilty and the punishment given: the destruction of the wall. What happens after the collapse of the wall it is not mentioned. The last song of the album ends with the words "Isn't this where...". The first song of the album starts with the words "we came in". Maybe it tries to suggest a cycle, that a new wall will appear soon.
The song "Outside The Wall" also underlines the vital role of the artist. He walks outside the wall trying to find a way in. We all have walls around our hearts and the artists "give their all" in order to tear down the wall and reach our inner scared child, even if it is only for a short period.
"The Wall" is simply a masterpiece. Every song on the album can be the subject of meditation or of an article. It is a journey that starts slowly and then gains momentum. You can fell the wall slowly taking shape, the disappointments of the character and finally the climax and the relief that only a pile of rubble can give as a sign of victory, of defeating the artificial, the isolation, and the harmful 'man-made prison' (both physical and metaphorical). This is what novels and stories would look like if they were expressed in music.
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