Roger Waters: 'I don’t listen to other people’s records'
Roger Waters has made the startling confession that he no longer imbibes music by his fellow musicians.
The 73-year-old Pink Floyd legend sat down for an in-depth chat with Rolling Stone about his first studio album since 1992’s ‘Amused To Death’ and he confirmed he’s working with acclaimed Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.
Asked whether he likes the records Godrich has made with Radiohead, Roger responded: “I don't listen to other people's records, so I haven't heard any. I don't like to be interrupted when I'm working.
“When I hear "Look out, mama, there's a white boat comin' up the river," I think about Neil (Young, ‘Powderfinger’). Same with Dylan songs.”
Roger also revealed that the album is a concept record of sorts born out of a radio play he’s written and is also inspired by falling in love.
“I had written a long, meandering piece that was a radio play with about a dozen songs in it,” Roger explains. “It was the story of an old Irishman who is babysitting.
“The kid wakes up. He goes in to look after the kid, and it's his granddaughter. She is having a nightmare, and the nightmare is someone is killing all the children. He says, ‘No, they're not. They haven't killed any children since the Troubles in Northern Ireland.’
“And the kid says, ‘Not here, Grandpa. Over there.’ The grandfather promises they will go on a quest to find the answer to this question: Why are they killing all the children? It is a fundamentally important question."
He continued: “So I wrote this whole thing – part magic carpet ride, part political rant, part anguish. I played this to Nigel, and he goes, ‘Oh, I like that little bit’ – about two minutes long – ‘and that bit.’ And so we've been working.
“I've also been falling in love, deeply in love. So the record is really about love – which is what all of my records have been about, in fact. It's pondering not just why we are killing the children. It's also the question of how do we take these moments of love – if we are granted any in our lives – and allow that love to shine on the rest of existence, on others.”
Quizzed as to what’s left of the original radio play on the record, Roger added: “Oh, it's been completely thrown out. The radio play will be made. I will make it, because I love it. But it's a separate issue – it overlaps what we do.
“Nigel's really good. He said to me, ‘People always want to do these long records. How long was The Dark Side of the Moon?’ I said 38 minutes.
“But there are no constraints on records now because nobody pays you anything for them. So everything's off the table. I so feel for young musicians, knowing that all of your work will be stolen, and nobody wants to pay you.”