Pink Floyd, Is There Anybody Out There? - A Question Or An Answer?
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- #thewall #pinkfloyd #rogerwaters
A few simple lines, followed by an exquisitely beautiful guitar solo. But there’s more than meets the eye at first glance! Here, we get to hear Pink’s answer.
Link to the original song by Pink Floyd:
• Is There Anybody Out T...
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.
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Will you turn The Wall into a special topics graduate seminar?
The way you describe the change in each repeating of the question, almost sounds like the steps of how a human deals with grief. There are 5 steps denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Do you think there could be a correlation? Kübler-Ross, in her writing, makes it clear that the stages are non-linear - people can experience these aspects of grief at different times and they do not happen in one particular order.
Hello Amy, just a note to let you know I am (and likely others) are not receiving notifications from RUclips for your channel. Thank you for being awesome.
She’s got amazing… powers… of observation
An absolutely brilliant break down of this song both as the piece of music and its relevance within the context of the album and story. As someone who has dissected this album from countless listens, my mind is blown with her interpretation and understanding which goes even further than my own. Great video. Thank you,
This album is an obsession for me too. First heard aged 16 as a British schoolboy it resonated so much. I’ve been obsessed with it since. These analyses are manna from heaven to me ❤
That alternating notes were first used on “Careful With that Axe, Eugene” in 1968 (“my favorite axe”), the the “wail” or siren-like scream was first played by Gilmour on “Echoes” in 1970. Both songs have relevance to The Wall, and are canny self-references. While Floyd were never virtuosos, they were extremely clever.
never in my wildest thoughts, would i have thought pink floyd music would be analyzed and broken down as much as my ancestors did with mozart, czechkowsky, beethoven, etc. thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to deeply analyse & discuss these tracks that have meant so much for so many people over the years.
I bought this album in 1980 and i was quite familiar with Pink Floyd as i had much older brothers and sisters who had their albums.
For me, i related to it on a personal level and i realized the danger of self-isolation.
I have been inside the wall.
I'm finally happy to be outside of the wall.
If you have love in your heart, don't be afraid to share it.
In my case, it all came back to me and more...
I'm glad you have taken the time to explore this amazing piece of work.
Thanks Amy, and congratulations on your first year.
Your smile and enthusiasm is affectous as your teaching skills delight even an old Songwriter and musician as myself.
Love your channel.
Keep Rocking!
This is a crazy amount of information to be packed into such a short space of time. Thanks for the enlightenment your channel is truly awesome ❤️
I’ve always felt that this song represents Pink becoming aware that by building the wall, he not only shut out the pain and fear, but also the love and comfort and companionship that friends, family and lovers bring. He’s shut all of them outside his wall and there’s no one left to help him.
You are extremely insightful and very talented!! Quite a unique individual, I enjoy your videos you sure work a lot.
I do hope Roger eventually sees your videos about The Wall. He would definitely be impressed with your analysis, of the music and of his ideas. The Wall is an incredible masterpiece, one which could generate several PhD thesis, on top of the shows, the film etc.
I was just thinking the same thing. It would be fascinating to hear Roger’s reaction to Amy’s interpretation.
Roger is a donkey’s behind and I bet he couldn’t care less about this analysis or anyone else’s opinions.
@@alanl9500 A donkey’s behind would not be capable of writing a punk song, let alone a piece like The Wall. You don’t have to like Waters on a personal level or agree with his opinions to recognise he is a genius who has produced some of the most impactful cultural works of the 20th century.
@@RSimoes10 he didnt write it, Joe DiBlasi did. Roger took credit as usual. ruclips.net/video/ZK2tInK__zA/видео.html
Brilliant summary and analysis, Amy! Whenever I have listened to this piece, I have concluded that the melancholy, sadness, is Pink's realization of the folly of his isolation and the emptiness it has brought him. You have illuminated further details of this theme. I am moved by how much music can convey as a message, without words. Thank you.
I've always likened this song as the last vestiges of who Pink is is slowly fading away. When he askes "Is there anybody out there?", he may as well be asking if there is anyone in his life to rescue him. Like a drowning man, Pink is grasping at his last chances at survival, repeatedly asking for help before finally slipping under the surface of the water and slowly sinking away, only to resurface as something else. Something sinister.
You are amazing. I could listen to you all day. I wish Amy was my teacher as a student!!
I'm happy you watched the movie and appreciate the true brilliance of Pink Floyd and The Wall. Your analysis is unparalleled.
There's a callback to the song Echoes off of the album Meddle in this song. When you hear what sounds like wailing birds in the backdrop, we first heard that effect on Echoes. It is actually a guitar effect: David Gilmour would plug a wah-wah pedal in backwards (the guitar going into the output end, the input side going down the chain toward the amp). When the pedal was used, it would produce that sound. I believe it works on wah pedals to this day, if I'm not mistaken (but start with a low, low volume on the amp!!!). It may have been utilized here just to create a sense of a large, barren space with little life, but it could also be specifically a callback to a time prior to their "taking off" (prior to Dark Side of the Moon).
shush! I'm sure Amy would have noticed it listening to Echoes. BTW, more of Echoes in Animals...
Fascinating and thought provoking interpretation. I like your idea of this being a song where he goes through a transformation. He seems to be asking himself, if he really does have everything he needs inside the wall? He doubts himself. He is contemplating this question during the guitar solo, weighing the risky outcome. It's safe inside the wall but it's miserable and lonely. Like you suggested, he answers his own question and comes to the conclusion that, no, he does not have everything he desires inside the wall. I don't know, who can say? But it's fun thinking about this song. Thank you.
Those spooky sounding "wild screams in the distance" played on the guitar are actually a quote from an earlier piece called Echoes on their Meddle album, which it would be worth checking out.
Amy, you masterfully bring to the surface the understanding of this music. I couldn’t do it, but hearing it from you and I say yes, of course. Thanks.
Great analysis of a song that seems fairly simple at first glance, but is actually quite complex.
But please give us a full harp cover of the guitar solo.
Some of the visuals from this section and the start of Comfortably Numb (and the start of the movie - the cigarette burned to ash - are experiences Rog has said he had with Floyd founder Syd Barrett who had a total personality breakdown. Another thread to the narrative ❤
An excellent insight, Amy. I didn't expect otherwise, but you do go the extra mile in your analysis and it's fascinating to see you go through it. I loved the rendition of the guitar solo on the harp, and I would very much enjoy hearing it in full.
Yes, I would love to hear the whole thing! Beautiful.
WOW, Just WOW
P.S. You take your interpretations of Pink Floyd as seriously as they took the message and musicianship. They obviously worked their asses off to produce their beautiful music. Thanks.
A fantastic analysis not only of the song but of the individual 👌
Always worth the waiting,thank You
Thank you Amy.
Waiting to see a comment from Roger, appreciating your analysis. :D
Soooo interesting, Amy! Thank you once again!
Fantastic commentary, thank you Amy.
You mentioned a military march and I just want to say that as you learn the entire library of Pink Floyd's music you'll find reoccurring references to military subjects. And it's always in pieces of music where Roger Waters was the main creator. Pink Floyd is also known for making sound, music that has a very industrial or machine like feel.
David Gilmour, in an interview where a reporter caught him coming off an airplane on his way to a performance, said, in a quick comment about Pink Floyd's break-up, that Roger Waters would at times get so dark and it influenced his creation of new material, that it became hard for Gilmour to emotionally co-invest and collaboratively create with Roger Waters.
This album, and the movie that followed, was my true generational exposure to Pink Floyd. The music before was for my brother and elder cousins. This was mine, and I embraced it accordingly! Your continued reactions to it are a complete joy to watch. Thank you for allowing me to take the journey with you, and to rediscover why this was an important piece of art for those of us coming of age in the late 70's.
Ok, here is some back story on the production of the song, based on a comment made by "Panda Moanium" during your wonderful interpretation.
I noted it, copied the name and found out that as Panda mentioned, a guitarist by the name of Joe DiBlasi performed it.
He used a Ramirez he bought at the age of 19 in Spain.
Apparently David Gilmour had tried to attempt something with a felt pick and not being a 'finger picker' couldn't come up with the sound they were looking for, so this gentleman was contracted to perform it. There is a fascinating interview here on the tube where he shows the actual guitar. It is gorgeous!
Amy, you as always knocked it out of the park and you breathed new life into a song I haven't thought about in years.
Wow, really? I always assumed it was Gilmour. I'll have to check how it's played live, by both Pink Floyd and Roger's solo outfit.
I thought the same thing.
I have little doubt that David learned the picking style and the song since then, but I was amazed to find that he did not do the studio track.
It's not an incredibly difficult song to learn, but if one always plays with a pick and not used to a classical guitar, it would be like starting over.@@hedgehog1965uk
Roger Waters is amazing. Your analysis is amazing.
Another great one Amy. I loved how well the guitar part translated to harp. Really enjoyed it.
Eye opening, I used to feel this album without understanding it, thank you
Ive always seen this guitar piece as a the way the listener is reacting to the story, like if for some moments we stop seeing the story from Pinks perspective and regain our own, and the song is the representation of our sadness and empathy towards Pink.
Its brief, but powerful and moving.
I love to see how this album grew on you and how fully immersed and invested in it you've become.
Keep up!
Are you a bleeding heart or artist? 🙂
@@daneng3641 I'd say the latter :P
Wow. I never noticed the connection to empty spaces. A really astute pick up. It was in a sense hidden in plain sight.
Your assessment gets me to recall "The Unanswered Question" by American composer, Charles Ives. Ives explored musically the tension that results from asking a question and never receiving an acceptable reply. Explorations of existentialism.
I learned to play bass listening and playing along to this record in the 90s. Much of your analysis resonates with his i felt at the time. It's a powerful set of songs.
One of the loneliest songs I've ever heard. Peace/JT
Thanks for sharing Amy. A great track that heralds another lyrical and musical unfolding. I used to love the more first (more radio friendly) record, but after all my years of playing this work, I have found the second LP offers many more deeper and sophisticated treasures. Looking forward to your analysis.😊👍
Also, I second the request for a full rendition of the guitar solo on your harp!!
Pink Floyd has used this two note alternation motif (if that's the right term) before, such as in Careful With That Axe, Eugene. It's very effective in creating a feeling of tension and foreboding. However, in this song, it's quickly followed by what I view as a sort of slow and gradual rebirth as Pink begins to emerge from his near-catatonic depressed state, reflected by the more uplifting music, however hesitant.
In the movie, when Pink shaves his eyebrows, that's a reference to Syd Barrett, who randomly showed up with shaved eyebrows and odd behavior to a recording session when the band was making Wish You Were Here.
Thank you so much for your deep analysis of this song. I find myself constantly surprised by hearing what you say and comparing it to what I intuitively felt when I first heard this album. I have long said that Pink Floyd's greatest gift was that Water's wrote brilliantly, but Gilmore played the music so that you would have understood the song anyways, even without the lyrics...
Every time you analyze a song, I always come away with a better understanding of not just the song but music itself.
The way the violin and the guitar play off each other is beautiful to me. Love the way the song sounds on your harp.
The first times it is a question. But listen closely to the tones of the last line. It is like a statement more than a question; Is there anybo\dy/ out there.
I have tried a few times having a psychosis, I wake up the next day and my apartment is completely trashed. I have been there before. What Pink is doing in the floor-scene, is trying to connect the small shattered pieces of humanity om himself there is left. (And some new things that has started, like the crossed chicken bones, which of course is the sign of the hammers.
The beautiful music makes the listener compassionate, identifying with him, in a tragic and melancholy way,. He is not the villain, more a victim.
I connect deeply with this piece, I have played it thousands of time on guitar.
Wow! You nailed the sounds so well with your harp. You take it seriously and obviously practice to nail it. Very impressive. Thanks so much for your hard work and professionalism. 😁👍
Wow, I knew that Roger Waters has made excellent album, concept, masterpiece but Amy's analysis is making even better now for me.
This is one of the most deepest dives that I saw, that cross-references music with lyrics and images ( from movie ) so well that I watch or read in my life, so...
So, just to say keep on good work Amy, and I get now why Vlad was so thrilled after the first reaction👍
Amy, Thank you!...for your thoughtful, insightful and beautiful analysis of an album which means so much to a great many people. Please, please, please make Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” album, your next project. If you love Pink Floyd’s catalogue of work, you’ll want to understand the Syd Barrett😢 story.
The Wall is amazing, but let’s face it, buy side 4, it’s been quite a slog….whereas wYWH is more succinct and such an incredible work. I think it’s my favourite over all.
This album was out in my junior year in High School. Angst-ridden kid from the suburbs, yeah, this was on repeat.
I have always appreciated the "self-referential" aspect of The Wall. You mentioned this; how one song is referenced by another later in the work. I have heard this in some Classical pieces too. For example: Symphony Fantastique by Berlioz has a motif that is repeated in each of the movements. Scheherazade also has a theme in the solo violin that repeats. Because of this, I think of The Wall as a symphony, or at least a tone poem.
Also the two tones repeated from Careful with that Axe and the guitar scream from Echoes ❤
That piece sounds lovely on the harp
Can you play the full cover of it on the harp?
My absolute favorite song on this album. I've played it on my guitar thousands of times, and plan to play it a thousand times more.
The guitar piece in the material always reminded me of a lament, like the character knows he has gone too far in the rabbit hole, but can't go back. Perhaps you can go too far with insanity, once again this could also be the lament that faced Syd Barrett.
This is DEEP. I remember The Wall being placed in the record display the day the album came out in 1979. You are describing Roger Waters' narcissism and projection of himself onto others. No wonder Dave Gilmour can no longer put up with his shit. Waters also treated Rick Wright badly, who is a genius himself. The latest BS from Roger is the redo of Dark Side of the Moon.
Fantastic!
Also: the two-note sequence right before the guitar solo is basically the end of the Syd-era "See Emily Play"--Pink's transformation is what Syd Barrett did to himself: shaved himself bald, eyebrows and all, and he went to the studio while they were putting Wish You Were Here together. And they were stunned to see him like that.
...10/10 for the Empty Spaces connection! Astonished that I never picked up on it.
I am amazed by this analysis and your conclusion. I did not realize how important this song was. Thank you.
quelle analyse profonde...cet album est superbement construit musicalement(What a deep analysis... This album is superbly constructed musically)
I wonder if Roger Waters know about this place? He would love it!
I'm looking forward to your final video on the album, wrapping up your overall thoughts on it!
All I can say is, Brilliant!
I have always seen this song in a different way. The "Is there anybody out there?" always sounded like "Is there anybody IN there?" For me, the song takes place IN Pink's mind.
In the first part, as always, Pink is lost, alone, and passive. You've heard it, it's not really a question. It's not even a call for help. And the sonic stage is so empty. And the effect on the "OUT THERE". Like we are in The Empty Spaces of his mind.
Then comes the solo, I see as the dreamed utopia of Pink, the fantasy he is using to fill those empty spaces. I feel it at the same time very structured (like classical) and childish (not in the making, but in the telling). The rhythm makes me think about "Goodbye Blue Sky". So that solo is (IMHO) the blue sky dreamed by the little boy Pink.
For me, the transformation into the Bad Pink is untold, because we are (almost) always into Pink's mind, and he is always passive. He gets all those bad events coming to him, he feels them, but he can never react, or even express his point of view. This album, beyond the sociopolitical message, is the expression by artists of what an artist cannot express. Because if Pink is an artist, it's not a coincidence.
But, as I've said, every one may be tempted from time to time, to hide behind a wall...
Another insightful analysis. Thank you
Stunning.
The visual aspects used in the film of his reorganizating, depict behavior that is common with people suffering from schizophrenia. The broken items being rearranged into a cross is a very specific symptom that I've seen first hand.
🤘🧙♂️🤘
This is awesome, thanks! I loved to listen to The Wall as a young man - without really understanding the depth of it. Then an unfortunate event with a friend of a friend not seeing beyond the surface of some of the more troubling lyrics and reacting upon them in a terrifying way (won't go into detail) had me question my love for this album. Your emotionally intelligent analysis has revealed that I was not wrong in loving it! ❤ Wonderful!
The Wall by Pink Floyd is a soundtrack to the movie of the same name. Watch the movie to put the songs in the right context and improve the experience these songs deliver every time you hear them.
I was surprised didn't make your list of favorite groups over the last year. Hopefully as you experience much more of their work, they start moving to the top spot.
Amazing work Amy. Thank you!
At first, i thought of some alternative ideas and i felt kind of clever to myself. By the end i realized i was up against a master and best keep my clever ideas to myself. Five words and a bunch of music lines and what you pulled from that is so apt, so fitting to the continuity of the album that it cannot be any other way. Amazing.
Another excellent analysis from Amy :)
I also really like the bridge! This is a beautiful song to play on a classical guitar
Just a wonderful and brilliant analysis of the song and the whole álbum…. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!!!
These in-depth analyses of the songs and the interrelationship of the music are fascinating and hint at what truly understanding 'classical' music must bring. To hear the threads of 'The Wall' and its message pulled together as you have, brings an appreciation of Pink Floyd beyond anything I had envisioned. My respect for this album has exploded. Thank you.
As a fanatic for Genesis, I long to hear your review of their inscrutable concept album 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'. I have developed an essay that attempts to explain my interpretation of their album's music and lyrics. To hear your version with an in-depth analysis, would be fascinating and, I am sure, equally enlightening as your 'The Wall' review.
Complimenti, Amy, stavolta hai davvero superato te stessa👏👏👏🥰
You will hear this chord progression in other songs on the album, cannot remember if it's in the same key but it's there.
awesome , thank you very much
I play this on the guitar. Probably my favourite to play. And the first full piece I attempted.
Thank you for that, for the time, thought and effort to give this level of analytical reaction. Great work!
I’ve played this song for years on the guitar. You could argue that the assent up the frets could symbolise the building of the wall and the walk back down the frets symbolises the tearing down the wall.
I always took it as pacing the perimeter of the wall. The Wall is already built. It has yet to be torn down.
@@CorwinPatrick you’re probably right. When i play it, it feels like the frets are the indidual bricks and as you go up the frets I visualise the wall getting built and when you come back down the frets, that’s you taking a brick away. But as this happens a few times then pacing the wall might be a better analogy.
Dear Amy,
Thank you so much for your very detailed analysis of this album. It is one of my very favourites. Although I’m not a music scholar, it has been satisfying to hear you mention things that I’d picked up on musically, but even more so on things that I hadn’t. It gives me an even fuller appreciation of the work.
I wanted to pick up on your comment about how the marriage of the music to the lyrics causes them to elevate each other. It is an interesting comment as Waters is often attributed with having the view that the lyrics are ‘everything’, whilst the guitar playing and singing are something anyone can do, and certainly secondary to the lyrics. Waters and Gilmour famously remain at odds with each other, and it has been commented that Waters simply doesn’t respect Gilmour as he’s just the guitar man. Now that you’ve heard this particularly piece of music for yourself, and given you comment, I assume you would argue that the music and lyrics are of equal importance?
Also, as you have dug deeper into this piece, how has this changed your perception of the writers as you have moved through their work? For example, how would you think they compare to other contemporary writers, such as Lennon / McCartney, etc?
I'd say this is just incredible. All those links to all the other parts, all this vision involving and including as parts all the rest... Thank you thank you thank you! I think there are really connections between all those parts of The Wall although even Pink Floyd didn't think then that there are such links and allusions, but they did it because they had it all in their minds, unconsciously. This music is really deep and impressive and ufff can't say it all in words :) but I really understand it better. Thank you very much!
Amy, when you reviewed House Of The Rising Sun you remarked that a ralentando ending is unusual in rock music. It occurred to me that this is another example. :-)
Time and effort you invested in this particular interpretation is, as far as I am able to estimate, enormous. Not regarding the musical expertise because you are the musical expert already but in way of philosophical criticue. Its been Pleasure to listen well rounded and rich expose on human nature and nature of society. Also very educated and passionate one. Floyds do that to people. I am teacher myself and often reach out for this album in my teaching work. Thanks
A masterclass in music theory ah la Pink Floyd! With all the nonsense that’s on the internet, Amy, you’re such a delight! I wrote an essay in college on the song Time by them.
Thank you as always for this song breakdown, Amy. You're great
I suspect Nobody Home will be particularly interesting.
Amy, I love this series!! It’s funny, I always listen to the Wall (and indeed most music) as a complete album, so if there was one minor quibble I had with the series it was slavishly following the one song at a time format. The transitions get short shrift because of that. SometimesI yearned to have 2 or 3 short songs treated as a larger piece. I still think that’s an issue (perhaps addressed in a follow up of the album treated as a whole), but with this song I think I see the wisdom of not ignoring the boundaries PF decided upon, even if these boundaries and labels are a layer not always identified in the audio itself, at least not obviously.
Do you think it makes sense to talk about the structure of the entire album in a single video, where you could sharply point out the connections between songs, the transitions, etc., and link them to the themes and narrative of the entire piece?
Thank you so much for your efforts and skill and to Vlad as well!
Hi Amy,
The interconnectivity that you're talking about, is called a "concept album" in Rock land.
Micha
I love your analysis of this piece. So interesting. Thank you
Once again, brilliant analysis, Amy. As always, I appreciate the time that you take to scour the music and lyrics and make sense of Pink's world - and then (herald-like), tell us about it. I might borrow from quantum physics and say that Pink's question in this song reminds me of the Uncertainty Principle: If he were being observed, the outcome would have changed.
Hi Amy When Pink is rearranging the trashed hotel room it's a Psychological Phenomenon called Pareidolia The intrinsic need of the mind to familiar forms in disordered images Trying to make sense of the chaos As Gerald Scarfe commented on the DVD commentary
Great breakdown of a fairly simple song that is loaded with meaning.
First class.
That screaming sound comes from the song Echoes off thier Meddle album.
Yep, Gilmour uses the same trick for both. The sound is made by reversing the cords form the guitar to amplifier (input and output) on a Cry Baby wah pedal. By changing the volume and tone on the guitar itself, it changing the pitch and intensity of the screaming effect.
Early part of the "music" also harks back to earlier pink Floyd work... species, echoes, meddle..
Those Left/Right notes are also the opening of Careful With That Axe Eugene.
I always considered this song as "the last relief before terror comes".