Happy Birthday, Roger Waters

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Roger Waters, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, turned 66 yesterday. I'd actually forgotten it was his birthday, but, curiously enough, I spent much of the evening listening to Pink Floyd and his solo work, as well as clips on YouTube.

Now, I'm not one to find connections or meanings where there aren't any -- surely this was a coincidence, right? -- but I couldn't help but wonder. Granted, I listen to Waters and Floyd a lot, but not so much recently. So why yesterday?

Anyway, readers of this blog -- not to mention friends and family -- know how much I love all things Pink Floyd, and how Waters is one of my musical heroes. So, to commemorate his birthday, here are two clips. The first is a wonderful montage of Waters and Floyd set to "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" that I found at YouTube yesterday. It includes video from Floyd's Live at Pompeii, Waters's concert video from his In the Flesh tour, and Floyd's live Pulse video from the Division Bell tour. The second is Waters's "Each Small Candle," the last song on the In the Flesh album and video, and one of his finest solo efforts.