Thoughts with Whiskey: 2025-09-12

Our beverage tonight:  Weller Antique 107.  Not bad, but I prefer the Weller Reserve (green bottle), which is a great tasting Wheat Bourbon.

Where to begin...

- Yesterday was the 24th anniversary of 9/11 (and the 25th anniversay will be a couple of months after the USA celebrates our 250th birthday), and Charlie Kirk was assassinated earlier this week.  Not a particularly great week for the country.  

Kirk left behind a wife and two children under the age of three.  You don't have to agree with Kirk to think that it's fucked up that he was shot for expressing his views.

Part of the deal of being American is Freedom of Speech.  People say what they like, and we don't arrest or hurt them for what they say.  Yell, argue, call someone an idiot- but anytime someone gets attacked for expressing their views, it's anti-American.  

I didn't like a lot of what Kirk said.  But I liked the fact that he was willing to go to colleges and argue his beliefs.  

I don't talk much politics anymore.  Up until now, I've chalked it up to the idea that neither party really represents me, and that debating doesn't lead to any actual insight, just pointless arguing.  But now I'm wondering if part of it is cowardice- I don't want to upset my friends by disagreeing with them.  Or strangers.  And if the implied message of the shooting of Charlie Kirk is "Don't speak up... or else."  Then the proper response is to speak up twice as loud.

(speech over.  I'll move onto lighter subjects now)

- Gene editing technology is showing promise to cure diabetes.  The potential for mRNA is limitless in what it can possibly do.  This might actually lead to the cure for cancer, dementia, neurogenerative diseases like ALS.

I recently invested in the stock market in an ETF of genetic companies like CRISPR technologies.  I am optimistic about the future of medicine.

- In fact, I really wish we'd take half the money given to AI and spend it on Gene editing; I suspect it could advance cure by years if not decades.

I'm an AI-skeptic.  I don't think it's a fraud (like I do with Cryptocurrency).  But it's overblown, and certainly not worth the billions of dollars that has been invested in it.  Right now, it's nothing more than a slightly more user-friendly search engine.  Cute, but not a significant technological advance to us.

And if it does turn out to deliver what has been promised... and take over a large number of the jobs... then what?  You can't have a world where 50% of the population is not just unemployed but unemployable.  

I suspect a lot of people who are investing in AI are thinking of the benefits without thinking seriously about the consequences.  And that's if it delivers; much more like, the investment will be wasted.

- OK, time to actually get lighter in subjects:

- The Pink Floyd music retrospective is nearing the end- only three more studio albums left.  It's been a fascinating review.  My plan is to pick another artist in 2026, but I'm not sure who to pick.  

- The Kawhi Leonard story continues to amaze me.  First, Pablo Torre may be doing the best reporting in any field right now.  This is the second significant story that he's broken with a lot of evidence.  

Second, the NBA has to come down hard on the Clippers, even if there isn't more of a 'smoking gun'.  If they don't, they have just approved a blueprint for a salary cap workaround for every team in the NBA.  The NBA will be like MLB- which is great if you want to see the same six teams contend every year.  

I'm going to predict the NBA will hurt the Clippers- maybe not five 1st round draft picks, but at least 3, and possibly suspend Steve Ballmer from interacting with the team for a couple of years.   

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 12- The Final Cut

 

"Pink Floyd" becomes a one-man band, and that man wants to tell you what he thinks about the world...

Album:  The Final Cut

Year Released:    1983

Lineup:

Pink Floyd Roger Waters – lead vocals (all tracks), bass guitar (all tracks except 7), acoustic guitar (2–4, 6, 7, 9–12), synthesisers (3, 4, 10, 11), twelve-string guitar (11), tape effects, production, sleeve design David Gilmour – lead and rhythm guitars (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10–12), co-lead vocals (11), additional backing vocals (10) Nick Mason – drums (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10–11), percussion Additional musicians Michael Kamen – piano (5, 6, 8–10, 12), electric piano (2, 5), harmonium (1, 10), production Andy Bown – Hammond organ (2, 6, 11, 12), piano (5), electric piano (4) Ray Cooper – percussion (2, 6) Andy Newmark – drums (12) Raphael Ravenscroft – tenor saxophone (5, 12) Doreen Chanter – backing vocals (11) Irene Chanter – backing vocals (11) National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted and arranged by Michael Kamen (1, 5–10)

Track Listing:

No. Title                                                         Length

1. "The Post War Dream"                     3:00

2. "Your Possible Pasts"                          4:26

3. "One of the Few"                                  1:11

4. "The Hero's Return"                          2:43

5. "The Gunner's Dream"                    5:18

6. "Paranoid Eyes"                                  3:41

Side two

No. Title                                                         Length

7. "Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert" 1:17

8. "The Fletcher Memorial Home"          4:12

9. "Southampton Dock"                          2:14

10. "The Final Cut"                                  4:43

11. "Not Now John"                                  5:02

12. "Two Suns in the Sunset"                  5:14

Total length: 43:14

Overall Thoughts:

After "The Wall", it was four years before Pink Floyd released an album of new material.  In 1981, they released "A Collection of Great Dance Songs", a remix of previous songs.  Finally,in 1983, Pink Floyd released "The Final Cut"- also the final studip album with Roger Waters.

During that time, the band continued infighting.  Richard Wright left the group during the making of the Wall, due to fighting with Waters.  Drummer Nick Mason's contributions were limited to sound effects.  David Gilmour performed the guitar work but left the material and writing to Roger Waters.  For all practical purposes, this is a Roger Waters solo record released under the 'Pink Floyd' label.

Roger Waters is great at writing introspective songs.  And he can be very snarky and bitter, which is often a great contrast to the melodious music of Floyd.  But take away the music of the rest of the group and you're left with nothing but bitter anger.  

There are artists who can make political points without coming across as obnoxious and pretentious twits.  Roger Waters is not one of those artists.  His previous album where he focussed on making a statement about the state of the world, "Animals", was not a good album.  

On "The Final Cut", an album cticizing the Falklands War and the UK under Margaret Thatcher, Waters doubled down on telling Pink Floyd's fans his thoughts on the world.  He's angry and bitter and it overwhelms the album.  

The result is unpleasant and borderline dreadful.  Maybe if you agree with Waters on everything you might the album interesting.  

My big takeway from this album is that while Pink Floyd makes great music and has powerful themes, Rogers Waters, by himself, does not.  

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Wish You Were Here
2. Dark Side of the Moon
3. The Wall
4. Meddle
5. A Saucerful of Secrets
6. Obscured by Clouds
7. Ummagumma
8. Animals
9. More
10. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
11. Atom Heart Mother
12. The Final Cut

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Wish You Were Here", Wish You You Were Here
2. "Comfortably Numb", the Wall
3. "Money", Dark Side of the Moon
4. "Us and Them", Dark Side of the Moon
5. "Welcome to the Machine", Wish You Were Here
6. "Time", Dark Side of the Moon
7. "Fearless", Meddle
8. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)", Wish You Were Here
9. "Hey You", The Wall
10. "The Great Gig in the Sky", Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 11- The Wall

 

Roger Waters feels alienated- and lets everyone know it.

Album:  The Wall

Year Released:    1979

Lineup:

Pink Floyd^[

• Roger Waters – vocals, bass guitar (1–6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 19, 21), EMS VCS 3 (1, 7, 8, 11, 16, 21, 23), acoustic guitar (6, 17), electric guitar (12), sleeve design, co-production
• David Gilmour – vocals, electric guitar (1–6, 8–12, 14, 15, 19, 21–23, 25), acoustic guitar (6, 7, 14, 17, 19, 20), bass guitar (7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25), Prophet-5 (2, 7, 8, 19, 23) and ARP Quadra synthesisers (8, 21), co-production
• Nick Mason – drums (except 3, 6–8, 13, 15–18, 24, 26), percussion (10, 25)
• Richard Wright – Hammond organ (2, 4, 5, 9–11, 13, 14, 19, 23), Prophet-5 (1, 3–5, 7, 10–13, 15–17, 20, 22), piano (2, 8, 11, 25), ARP Quadra (14) and Minimoog synthesisers (3), Fender Rhodes (14) and Wurlitzer electric pianos (9), clavinet (4)

Additional musicians

• Bob Ezrin – production, piano (6, 10, 16, 20, 23, 24), Hammond organ and harmonium (6), Prophet-5 (15, 20, 21), orchestral arrangement and music (25), backing vocals (23)
• James Guthrie – co-producer, engineer, percussion (4), ARP Quadra (8, 21), sound effects (14, 22)
• Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangement (15, 19)
• New York Orchestra – orchestra (16, 17, 18, 25)
• New York Opera – choral vocals (18)
• Fred Mandel – Hammond organ (1, 21)
• Jeff Porcaro – drums (6)
• Lee Ritenour – rhythm guitar (10), additional acoustic guitar (19)
• Joe (Ron) di Blasi – classical guitar (15)
• Joe Porcaro^[128] – snare drums (18)
• Bobbye Hall – congas and bongos (22)
• Frank Marocco – concertina (26)
• Larry Williams – clarinet (26)
• Trevor Veitch – mandolin (26)
• Bruce Johnston – backing vocals (1, 20, 21, 23)
• Toni Tennille – backing vocals (1, 20, 21, 23)
• Joe Chemay – backing vocals (1, 20, 21, 23)
• Jon Joyce – backing vocals (1, 20, 21, 23)
• Stan Farber – backing vocals (1, 20, 21, 23)
• Jim Haas – backing vocals (1, 20, 21, 23)
• Children of Islington Green School – vocals (5)
• Harry Waters – child's voice (7)
• Trudy Young – voice of the groupie (10)
• Vicki Brown and Clare Torry (credited simply as "Vicki & Clare") – backing vocals (25)
• Phil Taylor – sound effects (22)
• Chris Fitzmorris – male telephone voice (9)

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                 Length

1. "In the Flesh?"                                 3:16

2. "The Thin Ice"                                         2:27

3. "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1" 3:11

4. "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" 1:46

5. "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2"         3:59

6. "Mother"                                                 5:32

Total length: 20:11

Side two

No. Title                                                         Length

7. "Goodbye Blue Sky"                 2:45

8. "Empty Spaces"                 2:10

9. "Young Lust"                                         3:25

10. "One of My Turns"                 3:41

11. "Don't Leave Me Now"                 4:08

12. "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3"   1:18

13. "Goodbye Cruel World"         1:16

Total length: 18:43

Side three

No. Title                                                         Length

14. "Hey You"                                        4:40

15. "Is There Anybody Out There?"   2:44

16. "Nobody Home"                 3:26

17. "Vera"                                 1:35

18. "Bring the Boys Back Home" 1:21

19. "Comfortably Numb"                         6:23

Total length: 20:09

Side four

No. Title                                                        Length

20. "The Show Must Go On"                        1:36

21. "In the Flesh"                        4:15

22. "Run Like Hell"                                4:20

23. "Waiting for the Worms"                4:04

24. "Stop"                                0:30

25. "The Trial"                                        5:13

26. "Outside the Wall"                1:41

Total length: 21:39 

Album length    80:42

Overall Thoughts:

By the late 1970s, Pink Floyd was incredibly successful- and Roger Waters felt completely alienated from the audience, leading to a famous incident where he spat on some rowdy fans during a show in Montreal, Quebec.  This led to his inspiration for Pink Floyd's 11th album, "The Wall".  

Waters put everything in the album- childhood trauma, abandonment by loved ones, overbearing parents, loneliness, spousal cheating, divorce, issues with drugs, anger at the audience, even fascism.  As the character in the album (named "Pink") add to his emotional baggage, he builds a Wall, isolating himself from the world.  Finally, he confronts his inner self, who orders him to "Tear Down the Wall".

The trauma wasn't just limited to the album.  The band collapsed during the production of the album.  Waters argued with all three other members of the band.  Keyboardist Richard Wright officially left the band (though he returned as a session musician for the band) due to his feud with Waters.  

It's a great album.  Waters bares his soul on the album, and the music is fantastic.  Unlike Animals, his bitterness is much less cliched.  The anger is still there- but it's accompanied by fear, isolation, sadness.  "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" became an anthem for students who hated school.  "Mother" is a terrifying lullaby.  "Comfortably Numb" combines giving yourself up to drugs with incredible guitar work from David Gilmour.  It's not a pleasant album- but it's a great one.

This was the album I probably listened to the most during my freshman year of college.  I certainly identified with the alienation.  Now that I'm older, I recognize how much of that was self-inflicted... but back then, "The Wall" spoke to seventeen year old me.  

Nowadays?  I prefer "Wish You Were Here" and "Dark Side of the Moon", which have the deep emotional appeal and the awesome music without so much angst.  I want to yell at Pink to go to therapy and work on his issues (and for Waters to stop being such an angry twit).  But any album that is both this good musically and relatable to people is an awesome album.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Wish You Were Here
2. Dark Side of the Moon
3. The Wall
4. Meddle
5. A Saucerful of Secrets
6. Obscured by Clouds
7. Ummagumma
8. Animals
9. More
10. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
11. Atom Heart Mother

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Wish You Were Here", Wish You You Were Here
2. "Comfortably Numb", the Wall
3. "Money", Dark Side of the Moon
4. "Us and Them", Dark Side of the Moon
5. "Welcome to the Machine", Wish You Were Here
6. "Time", Dark Side of the Moon
7. "Fearless", Meddle
8. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)", Wish You Were Here
9. "Hey You", The Wall
10. "The Great Gig in the Sky", Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 10- Animals

  

Roger Waters takes over the group- for better and worse...

Album:  Animals

Year Released:    1977

Lineup:

P

ink Floyd

• David Gilmour – lead vocals (track 2), vocal harmonies (track 2), electric rhythm and lead guitar (tracks 2–4), acoustic guitar (track 2), bass guitar (tracks 3–4), sound effects (track 3)
• Nick Mason – drums (tracks 2–4), cowbell (track 3), vocoder (track 4)
• Roger Waters – lead vocals (all tracks), vocal harmonies (tracks 2–3), rhythm guitar (track 4), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 5), bass guitar (track 2), EMS VCS 3 (tracks 3–4)
• Richard Wright – keyboards (tracks 2, 4), Hammond organ (track 3), ARP Solina (track 3), piano (track 3), Clavinet (track 3), Minimoog (track 3), EMS VCS 3 (tracks 3–4), vocal harmonies (track 2)

Additional musicians

• Snowy White – guitar solo (on 8-track version of "Pigs on the Wing")

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Pigs on the Wing (Part One)"                           1:24

2.     "Dogs"                                                                       17:04

Total length: 18:28

Side two

No. Title                                                                          Length

3. "Pigs (Three Different Ones)"                                  11:28

4. "Sheep                                                                  10:20

5. "Pigs on the Wing (Part Two)"                                  1:24

Total length: 23:12

Album Length:  41:40

Overall Thoughts:

With "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here", Pink Floyd hit a formula which was very successful- themed albums with lyrics written by Roger Waters and musically played out by David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason.

"Animals", the tenth studio album, had two significant tweaks to the formula.  First, David Gilmour had become a father for the first time, reducing his influence in the album.  Secondly, Roger Waters became much more angry and bitter in his lyrics.

"Dark Side of the Moon" focussed on issues that drove people mad- money, time, pressure.  "Wish You Were Here" was half a tribute to Syd Barrett, and half sarcastic jabs on the music industry.  The songs were alternatively snarky and sad- Roger Waters using music to work through the stages of grief.

On "Animals", he reached the 'anger' stage.  Compare the lyrics from 'Money' on "Dark Side of the Moon":

Money, get away.

Get a good job with good pay and you're okay.

Money, it's a gas.

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.

New car, caviar, four star daydream,

Think I'll buy me a football team.

Now read the lyrics of 'Dogs' from "Animals":

And after a while, you can work on points for style

Like the club tie, and the firm handshake

A certain look in the eye, and an easy smile

You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to

So that when they turn their backs on you

You'll get the chance to put the knife in.

It's angrier, uglier and violent.  Bitterness can be useful in songs but it's like salt in a dish:  A little can be very helpful, but too much overwhelms and destroys the work.  

And Waters' targets?  Capitalism and the Church ("Sheep").  And he doesn't say anything interesting about his attacks- certainly nothing that hasn't been said 1,000 times before.

The music makes the album better.  Gilmour, Wright, and Mason create art with their instruments, even as they seemed to have less influence on the writing of the album.  I would have enjoyed this album much more if it had been instrumentals on all of the tracks.

I would love to tell you that Waters got all of his anger out of his system with this album.  Spoiler- that doesn't happen...

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Wish You Were Here
2. Dark Side of the Moon
3. Meddle
4. A Saucerful of Secrets
5. Obscured by Clouds
6. Ummagumma
7. Animals
8. More
9. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
10. Atom Heart Mother

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Wish You Were Here", Wish You You Were Here
2. "Money", Dark Side of the Moon
3. "Us and Them", Dark Side of the Moon
4. "Welcome to the Machine", Wish You Were Here
5. "Time", Dark Side of the Moon
6. "Fearless", Meddle
7. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)", Wish You Were Here
8. "The Great Gig in the Sky", Dark Side of the Moon
9. "Have a Cigar", Wish You Were Here
10. "Brain Damage", Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd Retrospective: Album 09- Wish You Were Here

 

Pink Floyd hits a second homer out of the park...

Album:  Wish You Were Here

Year Released:    1975

Lineup:

Pink Floyd

• David Gilmour – lead vocals (tracks 2, 4), vocal harmonies (tracks 1–2, 4–5), electric lead guitar (1, 3, 5), electric rhythm guitar (tracks 1, 3, 5), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 4), Twelve-string guitar (track 4), pedal steel guitar (tracks 4–5), bass (track 5), EMS VCS 3 (tracks 2–3)
• Nick Mason – drums (tracks 1, 3–5), timpani (track 2), cymbals (track 2)
• Roger Waters – lead vocals (tracks 1, 5), vocal harmonies (track 1), bass (all tracks), EMS VCS 3 (tracks 1–4)
• Richard Wright – vocal harmonies (tracks 1, 5), keyboards (all tracks)^A, Steinway piano (tracks 1, 4–5), vibraphone (track 1), minimoog (tracks 1-5)
• Unidentified member – singing glasses (tracks 1, 5), sound effects (tracks 1, 5), EMS VCS 3 (track 5)

Additional musicians

• Venetta Fields, Carlena Williams – backing vocals (tracks 1, 5)
• Dick Parry – saxophones (track 1)
• Roy Harper – lead vocals (track 3)
• Stéphane Grappelli – violin (track 4, only on Experience Edition)

Track Listing:

Side one

No. Title                                                                           Length

1. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)"           13:33

2.     "Welcome to the Machine"                                        7:25

Total length: 20:58

Side two

No. Title                                                                          Length

3. "Have A Cigar"                                                  5:08

4. "Wish You Were Here"                                          5:35

5. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)"          12:24

Total length: 23:07

Album Length:  44:05

Overall Thoughts:

With "Dark Side of the Moon", Pink Floyd hit upon a winning formula- Roger Waters wrote the lyrics and created the concept, and the rest of the band created the music.  They followed that same formula with their ninth album, "Wish You Were Here".

On this album, Waters focussed on two themes- sadness about their fellow bandmate Syd Barrett as he succumbed to mental illness, and criticisms about the music industry.  For the first theme, the album is bookened by a nine-part Progressive rock track ("Shine on You Crazy Album") and the title track.  The lyrics on "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" are sparse but powerful:

#Remember when you were young

You shone like the Sun

Shine on, you crazy diamond

Now there's a look in your eyes

Like black holes in the sky

Shine on, you crazy diamond#

"Wish You Were Here" is about feeling alienated.  Waters was inspired both by Barrett and his own growing feelings of alienation.

The other songs were an attack on the music industry- "Welcome to the Machine" is downright dystopic, while "Have a Cigar" is bitter and sarcastic (and features the brilliant lyric):

#The band is just fantastic

That is really what I think

Oh, by the way, which one's Pink?#

There are only five songs on the album (four if you consider "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" as one track)- but every song is brilliant.  Pink Floyd goes from emotional and bittersweet to sarcastic and snarky, and the music flows between the themes.  

"Dark Side of the Moon" is more well known- but this album is my choice as their best work.

Ranking of Pink Floyd Albums (adding as more albums are reviewed):

1. Wish You Were Here
2. Dark Side of the Moon
3. Meddle
4. A Saucerful of Secrets
5. Obscured by Clouds
6. Ummagumma
7. More
8. Piper at the Gates of Dawn
9. Atom Heart Mother

Top 10 Pink Floyd Songs (changing as more albums are reviewed):

1. "Wish You Were Here", Wish You You Were Here
2. "Money", Dark Side of the Moon
3. "Us and Them", Dark Side of the Moon
4. "Welcome to the Machine", Wish You Were Here
5. "Time", Dark Side of the Moon
6. "Fearless", Meddle
7. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)", Wish You Were Here
8. "The Great Gig in the Sky", Dark Side of the Moon
9. "Have a Cigar", Wish You Were Here
10. "Brain Damage", Dark Side of the Moon