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Entertainment Reviews

Speak to Me/Breathe (2023 Dark Side of the Moon Redux) – Roger Waters Track Review

At the time of writing this, it is the eve of the release of Dark Side of the Moon Redux – Roger Waters’ reimagining of seminal Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon. Ahead of the formal release, there has been a final single that has been released, which is actually 2 separate songs: Speak to Me/Breathe. While they are distinct separate tracks on the listing, they are so closely linked on the original album in terms of flow that the same approach has been taken here, but how does it fare in comparison?

The opening of Speak to Me seems to take on a more natural soundscape of birds chirping, as opposed to the sound of tills and cash registers going off, and rather than the swell of manic screaming, we’re given another ethereal spoken word segment that seems to be the key recurring undercurrent of this redux. As with the previous track reviews that I’ve done for this album, your mileage may vary with this approach – some may appreciate the new monologues from a Roger Waters 50 years removed from the original album, while some may still be in the camp of thinking this … Read More

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Entertainment Reviews

Dark Side of the Moon Redux – Live at London Palladium Review (9th October 2023)

On the 8th & 9th October 2023, Roger Waters performed 2 shows at the London Palladium to celebrate the release of his Dark Side of the Moon Redux album – as I’m sure you would have known if you have read any of my track review articles, this was his re-interpretation & revisiting of the album that he, along with the rest of Pink Floyd, created back in 1973, which is considered one of the most popular rock albums ever made.

Ahead of the event, a schedule was e-mailed out, along with details: mobile devices, smart watches, and other recording tools would be put in pouches that would be opened after the performance, and the show was made up of two distinct parts – 50 minutes of Roger Waters, and then 50 minutes of Dark Side of the Moon Redux (with a 20 minute intermission between both). I assumed this to mean 50 minutes of songs not on the album, and then 50 minutes of the album. How mistaken I was.

When the show started, Roger did what he likes to do when he’s not singing – talking. He thanked the owner of the venue to allow for him to … Read More

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Entertainment Reviews

Time (2023 Dark Side of the Moon Redux) – Roger Waters Track Review

 

Another week, another track review of the upcoming Dark Side of the Moon Redux album by Roger Waters – the song this go-round is Time.

Right off the bat, some may be relieved to hear that the song, which starts off with a cacophonic sound collage of clocks ticking and alarm bells ringing in the original, is no longer present. Instead, in its place, is more of the spoken word poetry that was heavily present in his other single (Money), so your mileage may very well vary depending on how you feel about the original and the new style that’s being taken.

However, it feels like there has been more effort put into this song as a whole – while there are still the talking aspects, there is more of an attempt at breathy singing, which I think works well in the context of this song. As the title suggests, it’s a piece largely around the all-too-fleeting journey that is life, on an album that was made by Waters while he was 29. Fast forward 50 years, and the message hits a lot harder from the perspective of a man, who, at the time of writing, … Read More

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Entertainment Reviews

Money (2023 Dark Side of the Moon Redux) – Roger Waters Track Review

Money, it’s a crime – it’s also the first song out of the upcoming Dark Side of the Moon Redux album coming out in October this year. As the name suggests, this is a revision of the Pink Floyd album that originally came out in 1973, in celebration of its 50th anniversary – it’s also that album with the cover that’s been the staple of stereotypically college dorm room poster collections for decades.

Oh hey, it’s that album!

Roger Waters was the bassist and lead singer of the band up until The Final Cut after which he and the band separated on less than cordial terms, but has still kept his Floyd material as a staple in his live performances and so has taken it upon himself to give the album a fresh, modern spin. Now, going into this review, I must clarify: Dark Side of the Moon is not my favourite Pink Floyd album, and I personally feel like Money is the least “fitting” song in the album, in the sense that I feel it breaks the flow too much, so it’s not a song that I hold near and dear to my heart. However, having said that, the … Read More

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Entertainment Reviews

Song Review – Gorillaz (feat. Thundercat) – Cracker Island

It’s no secret that Gorillaz has been one of my favourite bands since I got into them around 2005, and they continue to astound me to this day, with this song being no exception.

After the pot-pourri mix of genres and themes that was Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (including features with Beck, Elton John, St. Vincent, Robert Smith of The Cure, amongst many others – one of my favourites being a mix of Chai and JPEGMafia), many a person was interested in what would come next for the virtual band helmed by Damon Albarn, with Jamie Hewlett’s excellent art. The answer to that is the introduction of the mysterious The Last Cult

Gorillaz are currently performing a series of tours all over the world and in recent times, there have been two new songs that have been added to the setlist – one being called Silent Running, and one that had an official studio release last week (and the subject of this article), Cracker Island.

Kicking off with a foreboding synth melody and unsettling sing-talking from 2-D (the singer in the virtual band), it doesn’t take long for this song to become a groove-bomb, … Read More

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Entertainment Pop Culture

Andrew’s Angles – Bo Burnham’s Inside & Inside Outtakes – Song Rankings

Note: This article covers a special that covers a wide range of current-day social and mental health issues. While mostly in a comedic sense, please be aware that these topics will be covered in this article. If you need help, please use the contact details on the following website: https://www.oml.world/needhelpnow

 

One of the most unique projects that I feel has come out in the past couple of years is Bo Burnham’s Inside – a 2021 Netflix special entirely made by the multi-instrumentalist comedian Bo Burnham. The special is a rollercoaster – taking you through a wide range of emotions and topics, and takes place in a single room for the full runtime. Despite being a result of the pandemic, it is never at all mentioned once by name throughout the special – instead, the viewer is taken on an often comedic and morbid journey through all of the trends and ills of the world, packed with 20 songs. On 31st May 2022, he released outtakes to Inside on his YouTube channel – coming in at an additional hour, an extra 24 songs were released! As a recent big fan of the special and outtakes, I felt it would be … Read More