An Hour With Roger Waters on Howard Stern
January 18, 2012 9:26 PM   Subscribe

Roger Waters spent an hour earlier today talking to Howard Stern. [soundcloud link, 57m] The interview covers a wide variety of topics, including his standing with former members of Pink Floyd, his songwriting technique, and his ongoing tour of The Wall, which just announced a date at Yankee Stadium.
posted by hippybear (38 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Howard comes across a bit strong early in the interview (IMO), but he settles down about halfway through. Just having such an extended interview with Waters is a treat.
posted by hippybear at 9:27 PM on January 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


*waits impatiently for May to get here*
posted by wierdo at 9:28 PM on January 18, 2012


Hmm after reading some of the comments on the SoundCloud link, I'm not sure I want to listen to this. Waiting for the edit with Stern removed...
posted by Jimbob at 9:36 PM on January 18, 2012 [3 favorites]


I can't get over that tickets for this tour cost $200 a piece, at least... and it's stadium venues. Ridin' the gravy train, indeed.
posted by crunchland at 9:40 PM on January 18, 2012 [3 favorites]


Yeah, I think part of it is Stern being only partially informed about who Waters is today and not really having followed him for at least a decade in any way, and partially he's meeting someone who is a bit of an idol of his and him wanting 1) to impress and 2) wanting to "get the scoop" on some things.

I think it's worth a listen, but as I said, it does take a while for Stern to settle down.
posted by hippybear at 9:40 PM on January 18, 2012


I can't get over that tickets for this tour cost $200 a piece, at least...

I think I paid $180 for really good seats (not front and center, but still within the surround sound picture and excellent view of the stage) in the Tacoma Dome in December 2009. I don't regret a single dollar of it. One of the most transformational performance experiences I've ever attended. YMMV, but if you can afford it, I recommend seeing the show.

But then, I ascribe to the "you only go around once, so do it" philosophy, coupled with the "you'll be happier having experiences in your life than having stuff" mentality, so for me it was money well spent all around.

That said, I'm probably NOT going to go back again when it comes through the PNW later this year. Once was satisfying. I can't see where a second time would add to my memories in any way.

posted by hippybear at 9:45 PM on January 18, 2012


a bit of culture clash and disconnect between Pink Floyd and an idiot like Stern... But, ONLY because I respect most everything that Hippybear posts, I'll listen to it... let me get another glass of wine first, I need it just to hit any link that says "Stern"...
posted by HuronBob at 10:00 PM on January 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


Once was satisfying. I can't see where a second time would add to my memories in any way.

That's the same way I feel about masturbation!
posted by neuromodulator at 10:00 PM on January 18, 2012


masturbation!

That's the same way I feel about Pink Floyd!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 10:06 PM on January 18, 2012 [12 favorites]


"Once was satisfying. I can't see where a second time would add to my memories in any way.

That's the same way I feel about masturbation!
posted by neuromodulator at 1:00 AM on January 19


masturbation!

That's the same way I feel about Pink Floyd!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:06 AM on January 19



Annnnnnnnnd, with that, this thread is complete!
posted by HuronBob at 10:17 PM on January 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I always get Roger Waters confused with John Waters. That kind of doubled the disappointment here.
posted by poe at 10:24 PM on January 18, 2012 [4 favorites]


I think I'd love to see a version of The Wall written by John Waters. It would be... um... entirely different.
posted by hippybear at 10:28 PM on January 18, 2012 [6 favorites]


The Pink Wall?
posted by HuronBob at 10:31 PM on January 18, 2012


A Pink Dirty Shameful Wall Of Peckers And Hairspray
posted by hippybear at 10:38 PM on January 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I just want to link to Fearless.
posted by neuromodulator at 10:40 PM on January 18, 2012 [1 favorite]


I can't imagine this tour being worth a damn at Yankee Stadium. I saw it twice in Hallestadion (an indoor arena) in Zurich, once in the VIP seats, and another time a ways back (having decided we had to see it again). Yankee Stadium is just too big, or Roger is just too small. (the music fits fine).
posted by Goofyy at 10:44 PM on January 18, 2012


Judge: The way you made them suffer, your exquisite wife and mother, fills me with the urge to DEFECATE!

[DIVINE approaches THE JUDGE]

posted by stinkycheese at 12:12 AM on January 19, 2012 [6 favorites]


I think I paid $180 for really good seats (not front and center, but still within the surround sound picture and excellent view of the stage)

I think I paid $6 (Canadian) for this Yes tour in about 1976. Does everything else cost thirty times as much now?
posted by philip-random at 12:42 AM on January 19, 2012


There's also a great interview with Rogers Waters in the Financial Times here
posted by DanCall at 1:35 AM on January 19, 2012


It's become something of a routine for me that whenever I read about someone of prominance in virtually any field, it isn't long before I speculate about their ability to handle an interview with Howard.
posted by Hickeystudio at 2:41 AM on January 19, 2012


Have not listened to the interview yet but the hate on Stern is funny.

He is by far one of the more compelling interviewers in broadcast with the ability to extract personal stories from his guests that few other interviewers can accomplish.

While his schtick can get old and tiresome for many, when you remove that layer and actually pay attention to how he conducts the interview and keeps it moving,whether invoking or inciting, it is hard to deny the man's talent and genius.

Also it is funny the comments on soundcloud. Stern and Waters are actually acquaintances IRL.
posted by rare_g at 3:49 AM on January 19, 2012 [4 favorites]


I can't get over that tickets for this tour cost $200 a piece, at least... and it's stadium venues. Ridin' the gravy train, indeed.

posted by crunchland


That is incorrect.

For example, tickets for the May 19th show in LA start at $30.50.
posted by fairmettle at 4:00 AM on January 19, 2012


Well, I'll admit, I didn't check thhe ces at all the venues. When I looked at the prices (last year?) when it was coming close to DC, I found similar ticket prices to what I found when I looked at the tickets for the Yankee Stadium show.
posted by crunchland at 4:40 AM on January 19, 2012


Fa Fa Floyd
posted by Renoroc at 4:55 AM on January 19, 2012


rare_g nailed it - I am not a huge Stern fan, but I think he's an amazing interviewer. There's something about his shtick that really gets folks to open up to him and share some amazing tidbits. Feel free to hate on him all you want, but he really is an amazing broadcaster. (He wouldn't be where he is today if he wasn't)
posted by brand-gnu at 6:37 AM on January 19, 2012 [2 favorites]


I think I paid $6 (Canadian) for this Yes tour in about 1976. Does everything else cost thirty times as much now?

Concerts, at least big name arena or stadium tours, are all pretty expensive these days, with a few exceptions here and there.

It was The Eagles' Hell Freezes Over Tour which broke through the price barrier. There was a HUGE stink about how they were charging $50 for some tickets, how DARE they, they can't possibly be worth that much, etc. Up until that time, just about all concerts I saw were around $20, up to about $40 for really pricy shows.

Some bands work to keep the prices low. U2 puts all the GA on-the-field seats at the lowest pricing level. Pearl Jam keeps 'em reasonable. I seem to remember the last Tool show I saw wasn't all that pricy. And non-arena club and theater tickets are often in the $20-30 range.

That said, The Wall is a pretty tech-intensive show, not just a band playing on a cool set. If it were a touring theater production (which it basically is) the tickets would probably be priced similar. Last I looked, the Wicked touring company was asking pretty steep money for its seats.
posted by hippybear at 6:50 AM on January 19, 2012


The fact that he keeps whoring this Wall tour pisses me off because I saw the first 're-issue' so to speak in Berlin at Potsdammer Platz in 1990 and every time he trucks this shit out again it tarnishes the snowflake uniqueness of my little memory of the event. Asshole.
posted by spicynuts at 7:03 AM on January 19, 2012


Well, I'll admit, I didn't check thhe ces at all the venues. When I looked at the prices (last year?) when it was coming close to DC, I found similar ticket prices to what I found when I looked at the tickets for the Yankee Stadium show.

posted by crunchland


Well there's your problem right there!

Your link is to a ticket reseller. While they're certainly a convenient choice to get good concert tickets, they are far from the standard pricing structure available to the public through the usual venues.
posted by fairmettle at 7:05 AM on January 19, 2012


So what's a 'usual venue?' Is it Ticketmaster? Because I'm getting similar prices looking for tickets there, too.
posted by crunchland at 7:11 AM on January 19, 2012


a bit of culture clash and disconnect between Pink Floyd and an idiot like Stern

Roger Waters is not Pink Floyd, despite what Roger Waters says.
posted by spicynuts at 7:15 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]


every time he trucks this shit out again it tarnishes the snowflake uniqueness of my little memory of the event.

"every time"??? This tour is the first time it's been done since that iconic show.

Anyway, your experience was utterly unique. It had a wide cast of singers acting the various roles of the show. This tour has none of that. It's much closer to the original tour of The Wall, only with vastly updated graphics, and the entire story has been expanded to move the story beyond being simply about one man's selfish madness. It's now a strong commentary on war and the damage it causes to all the lives it touches.

Get out some sunshine clothes and buff that tarnish off your little snowflake. You're being upset for no reason at all.
posted by hippybear at 7:43 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]


The fact that he keeps whoring this Wall tour pisses me off because I saw the first 're-issue' so to speak in Berlin at Potsdammer Platz in 1990 and every time he trucks this shit out again it tarnishes the snowflake uniqueness of my little memory of the event. Asshole.

Yeah, what a dick... how dare he keep putting on a show that you've already seen?
posted by Crane Shot at 8:20 AM on January 19, 2012


The fact that he keeps whoring this Wall tour pisses me off because I saw the first 're-issue' so to speak in Berlin at Potsdammer Platz in 1990

I stood in Potsdammer Platz a few days after, walked around the big empty space. I saw a bunch of Americans picking at rusty old rebar in a hole, saying it was Hitler's bunker. I watched people with chisels picking at the Berlin Wall. The real action had been much earlier, at this point they were carving out chunks to sell to tourists, and framed portraits of Honneker and East German flags. The Riechstag was still all burnt out, IIRC. What a magical thing to see, I kind of don't want to go to Berlin again so I can keep it in that time.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:20 AM on January 19, 2012


So what's a 'usual venue?' Is it Ticketmaster? Because I'm getting similar prices looking for tickets there, too.

posted by crunchland


Tickets go on sale January 30th on LiveNation.com - - prices aren't listed yet.
posted by fairmettle at 11:49 AM on January 19, 2012


This was actually a really good interview. I agree that Stern is a good interviewer ... although I can't necessarily explain how. What would seem like obnoxiousness is actually pretty effective at getting Waters to talk. I think maybe he has a good way of framing the interview as "just fuckin' around", which makes the interview seem less formal and puts the guest at ease.

And interesting stuff! I learned some new things about Roger Waters today. I didn't know that he has a place in the US ... rather surprising, considering his political leanings. Anyway, what hit me the most was how much more ... grown up ... he sounds these days. He seems genuinely contrite about how he acted around the time of the PF breakup. I feel like he's a person who's gone through a lot of different stages and done a lot of maturing in recent years. An interesting character.

As for the recent Wall tour, meh. It's like, Let's See Roger Waters Perform His Least Interesting Material. I think the last time I listened to The Wall I was still an angry teenager. Now, if he were to do pre-Darkside material, THAT I'd go see....
posted by Afroblanco at 1:59 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]


Saw Howard Stern and almost didn't click it. Glad I did though, that was good.
posted by ambulocetus at 5:40 PM on January 19, 2012


Yes, a very good interview. Quoting one of the comments from Soundcloud ...

You guys might think Stern's an arrogant asshole, but I'll tell you what: he cracked Roger Waters, the tough cookie. He got him to talk about some pretty personal things I've never heard about him before (I mean cmon he got the guy to admit he did LSD and say exactly when and where he did it). If you still aren't convinced, compare this interview to Conan O'Brien's interview. He could barely get Waters to say anything.
posted by philip-random at 5:55 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]


crunchland wrote: I can't get over that tickets for this tour cost $200 a piece, at least... and it's stadium venues. Ridin' the gravy train, indeed

The cheap seats here in this backwoods are only $57 before junk fees, which is a little higher than usual, yes.
posted by wierdo at 9:29 PM on January 19, 2012


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