Gone fishing?

by Patrick Keller

The band's lack of activity, musically speaking, can sometimes make life as a Floyd fan fairly miserable. Anyone who remembers the flurry of activity around the last tour, or any of the previous tours for that matter, can relate to the excitement that comes from the prospect of new music and new experiences of the Floydian kind. Still, sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for.

While I do have a special place in my CD collection for A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell, I have to admit that sometimes I find myself wondering about Mr. Gilmour's motivation. As loudly as I sometimes find myself defending Dave and his musical and business choices in the last few decades, there has always been a lingering doubt about whether he was genuinely pursuing his artistic impulses, or a paycheck.

Come on, Gilmour fans and followers, you know I'm not alone here. And it is hardly the first time, either. Who didn't cringe a little at those Miami Vice suits in the "Blue Light" video? (Who didn't cringe a little at "Blue Light", period?) Sure, maybe it seemed like a good idea at the time, but it largely serves to help me understand why some artists don't like bootlegs of their early concerts circulating, or why George Lucas won't let anyone see that Star Wars Christmas Special...

Still, there's nothing wrong with wanting an audience for your work. Anyone who wants to get really depressed about the state of the music industry these days need only head on over to Salon's Radio section and read the articles on legal payola and the continued trend towards corporate ownership of "local" radio to understand how dire things have become. It's no wonder you can't turn on the radio without hearing the same seven songs by the same four "artists." Did we hear "What God Wants" when it came out? No, but we heard "Learning to Fly". That Pink Floyd name has power. I'm just not sure how comfortable I am with David's motivation for using it sometimes.

So the band's been defunct. I suppose no product at all is better than filler or crap. And without the burden of the name to live up to and market, the members of the band (past and present, if the latter can actually be accurate at the moment) have managed to put out some of the most interesting music of their careers. Broken China is easily Wright's best solo album. (And, yes, I've heard Identity. Shaddup.) Waters has been reinvigorated lately, and his live album, while not as good as my memories of the Chicago show I saw, may be the best live recording ever released by any Floyd. And Run Devil Run, well dammit if that isn't just a fun album.

But let's not lie to ourselves. Nothing makes us drool so much as the prospect of Gilmour, Wright, and Mason (and Waters, but be realistic) back in the studio--together. And last month, we got our first indication that things could be headed in the right direction. It was a small news item that likely slipped by most fans, but on June 22, David Gilmour is going to perform a "solo" show (he'll have the band Sparklehorse backing him up) at London's Royal Festival Hall. Who knows what he has planned? But we all know Dave has the keys to the Floydmobile, so maybe if the performing bug will bite him again like it has Roger, and he might finally be ready to get the boys in the band back together. Maybe even for the long rumored "Four on the Floor" tour, with just the three Floyds and a bassist to be named later.

That said, I'm honestly more excited at the prospect of Gilmour simply following his muse, as his former bandmate Roger seems to be doing lately. Without performing a note, both men still manage to make the highest paid musician lists year after year. One would hope that it would free them up to follow his own instincts. We know he's got some of the best, and I for one wouldn't mind seeing David take the Mark Knopfler route of ditching the Mega Band and instead playing with the collaborators he wants to, doing the occasional show at the odd theater and releasing an album now and then. Just give us something.

If one of those albums happens to have the name Pink Floyd on it, you won't find me complaining...

Patrick Keller is a writer, columnist, and general nuisance. His web site still gets updated now and then, when he's not writing his weekly column, "Stuff," for Savant.