R.I.P. Pink Floyd, love Roger Waters Pink Floyd is alive and well (and probably not recording in England) Coming Back to Life Spare Bricks is rapidly approaching two-years-old now. While in most cases, that's an age that can be measured in height-to-grasshopper ratios, in the accelerated time machine of the World Wide Web, that's depressingly pot-bellied, balding, and middle aged. Don't worry too much. Spare Bricks isn't going to go through an American Beauty-style midlife crisis, nor will it start combing its thinning hair sideways in a vain attempt to roll back the clock. However, the 'zine will be heading for the plastic surgeon for a much-needed nip and tuck in all the right places. The next issue will see the unveiling of a whole new look and hopefully something that will get the site out of this perpetually oh-so-1998 look it has been stuck in the last few issues. I've had a peek at the prototype design that Mike Feeney is doing and I am already excited about it. It's fantastic and it's not even finished yet. Mike was instrumental in doing some much-needed re-working to my original designs for Spare Bricks and I am pleased to see that he's just as full of great ideas now as he was then. –Rick Karhu   By Mike McInnis On October 31, 1986, Roger Waters, having discovered that David Gilmour and Nick Mason were working on a new Pink Floyd project, initiated a lawsuit to dissolve the group partnership. In his published arguments, he claimed that Pink Floyd had "become a spent force creatively, and this should be recognized in order to maintain the integrity and reputation of the group name". In other words, Pink Floyd was, according to Waters, dead. On November 10, 1986, EMI released a statement of its own: "Pink Floyd is alive, well, and recording in England." Somehow, through marketing and determination and a long, successful tour during which the group catered to the world's expectations of lights and inflatables and a 'greatest hits' setlist, Gilmour and his allies did, in fact, bring Pink Floyd back from the brink of death. The debate among fans, however, is whether this new, dehydrated (as in sans-Waters, get it?) Pink Floyd is really back to life as a viable creative entity, or if it is merely on life support. Has the iron lung of Nostalgia kept the band going, even though the band itself is in some sort of strange artistic coma? That's a good question. One for the ages. It has been so hotly debated for so long and by so many that the topic has been banned from some Pink Floyd discussion groups. And it's a question to which you will probably not find a definitive answer in the pages of this magazine. After all, those who contribute to this magazine are just fans, like you. Sure, we're all wannabe music critics and self-styled experts, but we don't necessarily have any more insight into things than anyone else. And like everything else about the Great 'Rog vs. Dave' Debate, we on the staff couldn't even agree on what our focus should be.   To the pro-Waters fans I say this: don't discount this issue of Spare Bricks just because we aren't focusing directly on Waters' work   Some thought that the post-Waters Floyd wasn't deserving of an entire issue. Others thought that devoting just one issue to this phase of the band's career, which now spans almost fifteen years, two studio albums, two live albums, the La Carrera Panamericana film soundtrack, and so forth, was an insult to everything the group had done post-Waters. Some thought we should focus on A Momentary Lapse of Reason exclusively, since that album was a personal favorite. Others thought that we should broaden it, since The Division Bell was so much better, in their opinion. One staffer even jokingly compared Pink Floyd Ltd. 1987 to the 'Fat Elvis Years'. Then finally, in the spirit of compromise, the editorial staff made a decision and threatened to fire anyone who disagreed. This issue of Spare Bricks, therefore, will focus exclusively on Pink Floyd in the post-Waters era. As mentioned, this topic covers a lot of ground. No, we won't address everything. But why should we? We offer something for everyone. There is no definite editorial position in favor of one faction, or against another. To the pro-Waters fans I say this: don't discount this issue of Spare Bricks just because we aren't focusing directly on Waters' work—there are plenty of staffers who are keen to point out the flaws in the Gilmour-led Floyd. And to the pro-Gilmour fans: I think it's fair to say that there is no 'bash Gilmour' slant to this issue. That is to say, we will bash Waters just as much as we bash Gilmour. ;-) One final thought: it is now 2001, a full seven years since the last Pink Floyd studio album and tour. Rumors of a new tour have come and gone with a disturbing regularity, but as of now there are no truly promising signs of life among Gilmour, Wright, and Mason. Most of the rumors that do surface suggest a final album and a farewell tour. Does this mean that Pink Floyd is, for better or for worse, dead or dying? Have Gilmour and O'Rourke decided to finally pull the plug? Only time will tell. Mike McInnis is the Assistant Editor of Spare Bricks. << back to the table of contents