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Nero |
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During the destructive reign of Nero the role of the princep changed dramatically. Earlier in his reign, his intentions weren’t so terrible. As he was only an adolescent, Nero was strongly influenced by his relationships with his mother, Seneca and Burrus. The first five years of his rule especially where ruled by these older figures, and as such, it was known as "quinquennium Neronis" which became a legend within the provinces for sound administration and peaceful order .Yet a struggle arose between Agrippina, Seneca and Burrus for control of the young emperor. |
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Nero’s well planned transfer of power designed by Agrippina shows how completely the political order created by Augustus had asserted itself within only a few decades1. After Agrippina married Claudius “She at once set to work eliminating possible family rivals” . Agrippina then removed supporters of Britanicus in influential post with her own supporters , such as placing Burrus as the Praetorian Guard prefect, and Pallas financial secretary. She also got him the title “prince of Youth”. Agrippina’s Power can most easily be viewed by comparing hers and Nero’s visibility on coins. At first they had equal importance however later she became less prominent, finally was moved to the obverse, and then disappeared altogether. |
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Salmon wrote that ‘Nero succeeded his step-father smoothly enough…. none of the provincial armies protested the accession of one who was the great grandson of Augustus.’2 Nero had the support of Burrus, the prefect of the praetorian Guard who proclaimed him emperor. Yet he had little concern for the army, and allowed there pay and rewards to fall dramatically. Unlike Claudius, Nero made no attempt of creating a military image. Michael Grant in the introduction to his book Nero wrote that Nero, who had distaste for war, averted disasters with Parthia and despite two rebellions in Britain and Israel, governed the empire well. |
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Nero did try, at least in his early rule, to please the senate. On accession he made a customary speech (written by Seneca) that he would model his Principate on Augustus. He promised traditional functions, the outlaw of treason trials and that freedmen would be controlled. Initially Nero rejected offers and titles. One petition that Nero “modestly” rejected at first, but later accepted, awarded him the title “Pater Patriae” though he was still young. |
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In his first year, Nero’s administration was effective. He distributed large amounts of money to the workers of Rome. He gave away ships real estate and apartment blocks, and, similar to Augustus, he helped noble men and senators who owned no property. Because of the advice from Burrus and Seneca, Nero made improvements to the judicial system and its administrations. He even showed a humane side, when giving justice, he despised signing death warrants. |
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However to what extent of the first five years of Nero’s reign was actually on his accord is unknown. Ancient sources make it difficult to determine whether Nero had any direct influence on political dealings, or whether he allowed his advisers and Agrippina to control in order to free up time for leisure. Some well-meant, yet incompetent nations took place, such as the abolishment of taxes in 58. However this proposal was withdrew. As long as Burrus and Seneca remained unchallenged as his adviser, Nero’s ideas did not cause damage. |
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Nero’s connection with Agrippina was tight. Suetonius wrote that “the passion he felt for his mother war notorious” but that many feared this relationship, scared that Agrippina would become to powerful, and as a result, Agrippina’s relationship declined. She threatened to present Britanicus to the Praetorian Guard as a candidate for emperor, which was a legitimate threat as Agrippina was influence with the Burrus and the Guard. But Nero had Britanicus poisoned. Agrippina also destroyed her influence over Nero by conflicted his relationships with other women. Burrus and Seneca encouraged affairs with other women. Tacitus wrote the “Agrippina was gradually losing her influence over Nero, through his passion for a freedwomen named Acte. This ex-slave fueled Agrippina’s rage, “she refused to wait until her son began to regret his fancy” |
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Similar to Augustus, Nero tried to lower the risk of fires, by producing a new style of architecture to Rome. Porches were built in front of houses, so they could be used as a platform for firefighters. This was undoubtedly after the great fire. The Great Fire hit Rome and destroyed Nero’s reputation. Conditions in Rome meant fires in Rome were devastating, and this was the worst. Also gangs, claiming they were on imperial orders, stopped any hopeless measure for firefighters. Suetonius wrote that “he set fire to the city so openly that several ex-consuls did not venture… some granaries near the Golden House, whose room he particularly desired, were demolished by engines of war and then set on fire” Suetonius wrote further that he watched the burning flame from a tower while “he sang the whole time the "Sack of Ilium," in his regular stage costume. |
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This was deleted from wikipedia, due to its subjectivity... i wanted to preserve it as a great interpretation of an incredible album |
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<P><P><P><P><P> |
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===In the Flesh?=== |
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This first song signifies the beginning of the show (which is being narrated by Pink himself). The stage directions are used to show that Pink is going to tell us the story of the building of The Wall. The lyrics say that despite his outward appearances, things are much different "behind these cold eyes" and that if the listener (sunshine) wants to find those things out, he'll have to "claw his way through this disguise". The song also informs the listener, although not directly, that Pink's father is killed; this is done using the sound effect of the dive-bomber, indicating his death during World War II. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===The Thin Ice=== |
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This song narrates the first couple of years of Pink's life, before he is old enough to realize what has happened to his father. The "Thin Ice" represents the fragile period of innocence in our lives before we can really understand the world around us. |
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Furthermore, the third and fourth lines from the third verse, "Dragging behind you the silent reproach / Of a million tear-stained eyes" act as a very poignant metaphor for the psychological and/or spiritual effects war can have not only on the populace that suffered it, but also the generation of children left to suffer as the final bearers of the pain of that war. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 1=== |
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The Thin Ice discussed during the previous song breaks when Pink becomes older and learns of the death of his father. Pink is devastated by this reality and begins to build The Wall. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===The Happiest Days of Our Lives=== |
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Pink is sent to a school run by overly strict and often violent teachers who want to mould their students into the "right" shape for society. |
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The teachers hurt the children physically and spiritually: "Exposing every weakness, |
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However carefully hidden by the kids." |
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The second part of the song tells us that the teachers themselves were hit by their wives. |
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The chain reaction becomes clear: Wives hit Teachers. Teachers hit children. Children grew up to be violent as the tradition. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2=== |
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After being insulted by the teacher, Pink dreams that the kids in Pink's school begin to protest against their abusive teachers. This causes Pink to continue to become more isolated from society. |
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Bob Ezrin was instrumental in turning Waters' composition into a hit single. He arranged the song's disco style and added the children's chorus after the band refused to add a second chorus of their own.<ref name=Mojo/> |
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===Mother=== |
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The song narrates a conversation by Pink (voiced by Waters) and his mother (voiced by Gilmour). We learn of the overprotectiveness of Pink's mother, who is helping Pink build the wall to try to protect him from the outside world. The line "Of course Momma's gonna help build the wall" spoken by Pink's mother shows this. She insists that Pink stay by her side even after he grows up, and cannot stand it when Pink eventually grows older and falls in love. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Goodbye Blue Sky=== |
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This song explains Pink's depression as a result of being forced to grow up in a postwar world with only his overprotective mother to care for him. It also describes Pink's sadness as a result of not having the childhood he should have had, due to his father being taken away from him before he was even born. |
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This song can also be interpreted as a reflection of the English post-[[World War 2]] generation, notably those whose childhood took place during the [[London Blitz|Blitz of London]]. It is, along with ''Bring the Boys Back Home'', the most obvious statement of the effects of WWII upon Pink. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Empty Spaces=== |
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Pink is now grown up and married, but he and his wife are having relationship problems because of his distance as a result of his halfway built emotional barrier, the titular Wall. Pink wonders what he should use to complete its construction. |
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Within the song you'll hear the [[backmasking]] "…congratulations. You've just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the funny farm, Chalfont." (voice in background) "Roger! Carolyn is on the phone!" {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Young Lust=== |
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(Waters/Gilmour) |
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Pink has become a rock star, and is always away from home as a result of his demanding lifestyle. As a result, he begins inviting groupies into his room between concerts, having not seen his wife in months. |
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The end of the song is part of a dialogue between Pink and a telephone operator; it is at this point he realizes that his wife has been having an affair for some time, and his mental breakdown accelerates. The dialogue with the operator was the result of an arrangement James Guthrie made with his neighbor in London during the recording of the album in Los Angeles. He felt that the operator actually had to believe he'd caught his wife having an affair, and so didn't inform the operator she was being recorded. The first operator Guthrie used to place the call apparently missed the significance of what had apparently transpired; the second is the one heard on the album. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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Bibligrapghy |
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--------------- |
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===One of My Turns=== |
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Jürgen Malitz 2004, NERO, Blackwell Publishing |
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Pink invites a groupie into his room after learning of his wife's affair. At first when the groupie tries to get his attention, he is too busy thinking of his wife to hear her. As the groupie continues to try to get his attention, Pink explodes into a fit of violence and trashes his room. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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Salmon E.T. (1944; rev. Ed 1963, 1968), A HISTORY OF THE ROMAN WORLD FROM 30 B.C. TO A.D. 138, Routledge |
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===Don't Leave Me Now=== |
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Jennifer Lawless. 1997, PERSONALITIES FROM THE PAST, Nelson ITP |
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In this song, Pink is attempting (and failing) to deal with his wife's infidelity. At this point in the album, he blames her for causing him to suffer; contrast with the subject as raised in the penultimate song, The Trial, when his attitude changes somewhat. |
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Suetonius, “The Twelve Caesars” |
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It is implied in this song that Pink is abusive to his wife (or would like to be now that she left him) with the line "...you know how I need you/to beat to a pulp on a Saturday night/Oh babe don't leave me now". {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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Dio Cassius, “Roman History” |
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===Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 3=== |
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Tacitus, “Annals” |
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Pink decides to finish this wall as a result of his rage after his wife's betrayal. He concludes he no longer needs anything at all, dismissing the people in his life as just "bricks in the wall". {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Goodbye Cruel World=== |
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Agrippina |
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This song details Pink's reaction to the completion of his mental wall, and marks his acknowledgement of his isolation from society. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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Agrippina was probably the most influential woman of the Julia-Claudians. Although she could never become emperor, she gained power with the men in her life. She was as sister of an emperor, a wife of an emperor and a Mother of an emperor. Many members of the imperial court, as well as imperial freedmen, assisted, and obstructed her path towards her power. She demoralized her relationships with members of the imperial court and imperial freedmen in order to gain power. |
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===Hey You=== |
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Agrippina Desired Power, and thus selected particular individuals such as Seneca and Burrus, with influential post, and she formed relationships with them. She placed them in positions of power in which to pave the way for the successful accession of her son Nero, her son, which would wield her power. |
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Claudius increased the level of power gained by Imperial Freedmen in AD 53. Suetonius wrote that Claudius “fell so deeply under the influence of these freedmen…he seemed to be their servant”. The freedman Pallas, who was Claudius’ trusted treasury had a powerful influence over Claudius and virtually control over the state. It can be seen therefore as no coincidence that Agrippina preferred a man who’s “position would have given unique access to the financial operations of the state”. |
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Pink realizes the mistake he has made in completely isolating himself from society, and is attempting to regain contact with the outside world. However, his wall blocks any calls he makes. Pink's call becomes more and more desperate as he begins to realize there is no escape. |
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Pallas plays an extremely significant role in Agrippina’s rise to power. According to Tacitus, Agrippina seduced Pallas and got him to convinced Claudius that Agrippina was the best choice for a wife after the fall of Messalina. As soon as they were married, then she encouraged the adoption of Nero. The Historian Barrat believes that Pallas and Agrippina where just close friends and that “it seems implausible that Agrippina, with her heighten sense of importance…would have condescended to a liaison with an ex-slave” . |
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The famous philosopher Seneca had been exiled by Gauis for eight years and it was Agrippina who used her almost complete control over Claudius to get him back from exile. She knew the extreme influence that tutors possessed in shaping the political attitudes of an individual; she instated him as Nero’s Tutor. Some scholars even propose the sexual relationships helped this loyalty. On top of this Agrippina received popularity for unexilling Seneca as he was a man of literary feature before his, which might have been how she convinced Claudius to reinstate him. |
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The metaphor used in the song's bridge "...and the worms ate into his brain" describes Pink's deteriorating mental state as if his mind had been rotted by worms. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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Agrippina began to see “her dreams of empire fade” as Seneca began to preach to Nero that “he was the master of the world and did not need to share his power” Salmon goes on further to write that “even though they had been her supporters in Claudius’ lifetime, were not enamored by the prospect of a woman ruling Rome” . “When they had accomplished this, they took the rule entirely into their own hands” . They helped Nero to eliminate every access to power she possessed. |
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===Is There Anybody Out There?=== |
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Before Nero’s Reign, Agrippina set out to deplete the support of Britannicus. She replaced the prefect of the Praetorian Guard with Burrus who is described by Tacitus as someone with great military distinctions and although he may not have had any earlier connections with Agrippina for her to win his support, she procured it. Agrippina persuaded Claudius that the Guard was divided by the rivalry between the two commanders, thus jeopardizing the efficiency and discipline of the faction, and convinced him that one commander was better than two. Salmon even said that “Burrus played the role of Macro” .The position of Prefect was highly valued and he therefore was loyal Agrippina and Nero. This patron-client relationship sealed the idea that “The guard were devoted to the whole imperial house and to Germanicus’ memory; they would commit no violence against his offspring… ” |
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As his isolation continues, Pink's sanity threatens to unravel as he wonders if there is anyone else "out there," beyond the wall. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Nobody Home=== |
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Narcissus was a freedmen who had great influence in Claudius’ decisions and is considered to be the closest and most trusted by him before the appearance of Agrippina. Sources claim that Narcissus and Agrippina were hostile. Barret wrote they were “arch-opponents” and were continually at odds with one another. Narcissus remained loyal to the emperor throughout the Claudians period and was openly opposed to Agrippina because of her corrupt efforts to promote Nero as successor. He became aware of Agrippina’s true motives and realized the danger that would surround Claudius after Nero was crowned, and made efforts to persuade Claudius to reconsider Britannicus as successor It was therefore vital for Agrippina to reduce the influence and power that Narcissus held both within the palace and over Claudius, to ensure the smooth ascendancy of her son, and therefore the security of her own power. |
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Pink describes his lonely life behind his mental wall. He has no one to talk to, and all he has are his possessions. |
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The song is also an allusion to Syd Barrett. The line "I've got wide staring eyes" is a reference to the eerie stares that Syd would make after indulging on acid. This is another example of Roger Waters' tendency to use Syd as an example of the problems of rock stars. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Vera=== |
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The name is a reference to [[Vera Lynn]], a British singer during World War II and her popular song "We'll Meet Again". The reference is ironic, as Roger Waters (and his fictional character Pink) would not meet his father, lost in the war. The lyric "Vera, what has become of you?" suggests that Vera Lynn herself, like her promise, vanished. It has also been interpreted to mean that hope is gone. Interestingly, the name Vera comes from the Russian word for "faith". It also stems from the Latin for "truth." {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Bring the Boys Back Home=== |
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"Bring the Boys Back Home" is about when the young boy Pink goes looking for his father when everyone comes home from the war, only to find out he did not make it. The people around him are happy and carefree singing "Bring the Boys Back Home". At the end of the song, the orchestra fades out with memories of events that drove Pink to mental isolation: the teacher from "Another Brick in the Wall," the operator from " Young Lust," and the groupie from the beginning of "One of My Turns." Pink's manager yelling, "Time to go!" (to play a concert) and manic laughter are also mixed into the closing seconds, followed by chorus vocals from the first half of "Is There Anybody Out There?." {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Comfortably Numb=== |
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(Gilmour/Waters) |
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Pink, feeling completely isolated from society, cannot stand the pressures of life as a rock star and collapses in his hotel room before leaving for his concert. A doctor is sent into the room and gives Pink an injection that gives him the energy he needs to perform. The lyrics are written as a conversation, with Waters voicing the doctor and Gilmour voicing Pink. |
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This was David Gilmour's most significant contribution to the album; though he, Waters and Ezrin disagree on how finished his music was before Waters finished the song.<ref name=Mojo/> |
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Agrippina had a comprehensive knowledge of the Roman law and knew exactly how to exploit it to her advantage. As was common to people in places of high power, Agrippina often felt that there were threats to her power, and thus ensured the security of her supremacy by initiating methods in which to have them removed. The majority of her victims were eliminated by legal methods in that Agrippina always found ways in which to eliminate them via the senate and therefore she could not be accused of any wrongdoing on her part because of the legality of her approach. It was for this reason that it was very important for her to have allies within the senate to support her causes and in some cases, accuse her rivals on various charges. Agrippina was an, above all, extremely calculative and manipulative woman who was able to achieve and maintain her political powers through the relationships she had with senators and the imperial freedmen. |
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===The Show Must Go On=== |
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Michael Grant wrote: “Agrippina rapidly became more important than any imperial woman had ever been before” |
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It is about society's demands for Pink's show to continue even though, unbeknownst to the managers and record companies, that he is in a complete mental lock down behind the wall that he built through the course of the album. It also shows how Pink is reluctant to continue with the show by asking the questions "Will I remember the songs?" however he understands that the show must go on. |
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Alternatively, "the show" could be a metaphor for, essentially, life. Pink is debating what to do after building his wall: he realizes that an isolated life is dull. He decides that "the show must go on," but the stress of continuing creates the hallucination beginning in "In the Flesh". {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===In the Flesh=== |
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This song marks the first of a series of songs in which Pink, fuelled by a drug-induced state, likens himself to a dictator figure, crowing over his faithful audience; this particular song is his hallucination that his concerts can be likened to a political rally, and the song is essentially a satire of the fan-following modern musicians such as rock and pop stars are responsible for. It may also serve as an exploration of the actions of some as an effect of insecurity; behind their respective 'walls.' It could be noted how much "Dictator Pink" is similar to the schoolmaster that plagued him in his youth. When listening carefully, certain lines can be picked out that are more or less shared between the two characters. |
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This song and the two which follow it on the album - "Run Like Hell" and "Waiting for the Worms" - can also be compared to three stages of Hitler's rise to power. "In the Flesh" is his rallying cry for everyone to follow him. "Run Like Hell" is the beginning of his attempt to destroy those he hates, and "Waiting for the Worms" is the culmination of his insanity. In the end he forces his people to fear him rather than to follow him. In the movie this is seen in the sequence of people throwing their curtains closed as he passes by on the street. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Run Like Hell=== |
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(Gilmour/Waters) |
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The song is from the point of view of anti-hero Pink during a hallucination, in which he becomes a Nazi-like figure and turns a concert audience into a hate mob. He sends the mob out to raid nearby neighborhoods that are full of minorities. {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Waiting For the Worms=== |
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At this point in the album, Pink has lost all hope and has let bad ideas, or "worms", control his thoughts. In his hallucination, he is a fascist dictator who spreads hatred, with the promise that his followers would see "Britannia rule again" and "send our coloured cousins home again," and announces he is "waiting to turn on the showers and fire the ovens." The count-in is Eins, zwei, drei, alle – German for "one, two, three, all..." (Probably intended to rally the masses to flock to Pink's call). {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Stop=== |
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Pink becomes disgusted by his actions as a fascist dictator and the hallucination ends. He is also tired of The Wall, and puts himself on trial in his head. The song is also about the realization he has that everything that led up to his wall was all his own fault, hence the line "Have I been guilty all this time?". {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===The Trial=== |
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(Waters/Ezrin) |
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The song centres on the main character, Pink, who having lived a life filled with emotional and (later) substance abuses has reached a critical psychological break. "The Trial" is the fulcrum on which Pink's mental state balances. Through the course of the song, he is confronted by the primary influences of his life (who have been introduced over the course of the album): the rigidly strict and abusive schoolmaster, Pink's emotionally distant, adulterous wife, and his smothering, overprotective mother. Pink's subconscious struggle for sanity is overseen by a new character, "The Judge" ("Worm, your Honour") (the characters are all worms who have eaten into Pink's brain, first noted in "Hey You"). A Prosecutor conducts the early portions, which consist of the antagonists explaining their actions, intercut with Pink's refrain, "Crazy; / Toys in the attic I am crazy". The culmination of the trial is the Judge's sentence for Pink "to be exposed before [his] peers" whereupon he orders Pink to "tear down The Wall!" At one point in the song Pink sings " There must have been a door there in The Wall, for when I came in" representing that he is confused by his revelations, and trying to find a way out of The Wall and away from his mental tormentors, the animated "antagonists," through a door in his Wall that does not exist. This song might also be seen as a metaphor for how cruelly society sometimes treats those who are different by exposing and mocking them. |
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This and the following song "Outside the Wall" are the only two songs on the album which the story is seen from an outsider's perspective, most notably through the four antagonists of The Trial, even though it is all in Pink's mind. The film creates an interesting effect by showing the three characters making it past The Wall in one of the famous animated sequences, symbolically invading Pink's mind, and telling The Worm their part of the story: |
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The School Master is brought down like a puppet on strings by his wife, referencing the earlier song "The Happiest Days of Our Lives". |
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The Wife comes out from underneath The Wall, represented as a scorpion, which is done during "Don't Leave Me Now". |
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The Mother comes from above in an abstract, morphing image of an airplane (referencing the plane which killed Pink's father, and also the plane which Pink was playing with in Another Brick in the Wall (Part I)), which then encircles Pink. |
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Hearing what mother, school master, and wife have to say about Pink's state makes many of the reasons for building his Wall seem absurd. This is really represented in the wife's speech: |
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"...You should have talked to me more often than you did, but no, you had to go your own way..." |
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This further emphasizes the fact that Pink is the true guilty one, leading to the Judge's response to the trial "...the way you made them suffer, your exquisite wife and mother..." and his sentencing "...since, my friend, you have revealed your deepest fears, I sentence you to be exposed before your peers..." |
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It is not clear as to what the tearing down of Pink's Wall entails, but there is a clue in the song The Final Cut from the album of the same name. The lyrics, "...Dial the combination, open the priesthole. And if I'm in I'll tell you what's behind The Wall." The portion where Waters sings "behind The Wall" is overdubbed by a shotgun shooting, suggesting that Pink eventually tore down his wall by shooting himself. (This also served to sever the album's link with The Wall.) {{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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===Outside the Wall=== |
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Unlike the other songs on the album, this particular song offers little to the plot involving Pink as a whole. It acknowledges that "the wall" has now been demolished (as a result of actions in The Trial), and goes on to "discuss" the idea that many people have social barriers, and that this is somewhat repetitive in nature; as one person re-integrates themselves with society, another leaves. |
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Musically, its the same melody heard at the beginning of the album. |
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Bibliography: |
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Anthony Barrett 1996 AGRIPPINA SEX, POWER, AND POLITICS IN THE EARLY EMPIRE, Routledge |
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Salmon E.T. (1944; rev. Ed 1963, 1968), A HISTORY OF THE ROMAN WORLD FROM 30 B.C. TO A.D. 138, Routledge |
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Jennifer Lawless. 1997, PERSONALITIES FROM THE PAST, Nelson ITP |
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Suetonius, “The Twelve Caesars” |
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<noinclude><includeonly> |
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Dio Cassius, “Roman History” |
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Tacitus, “Annals” |
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</includeonly></noinclude> |
</includeonly></noinclude> |
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Revision as of 08:23, 4 October 2008
Max Tarasuik | |
|---|---|
| File:Ygjyj.gif | |
| Born | Max 23/11 Gelong |
| Died | Yet to be announced |
| Cause of death | OD |
| Resting place | My Bed |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | In Progress |
| Occupation | Checkout chick |
| Known for | Existing |
| Height | too high |
| Title | lord |
| Predecessor | God |
| Successor | Satan |
| Website | Myspace? |
| Notes | |
Thongs | |
MAX
My name is Max and: I love being bored (you can just ignore me)
And myspace
and links
not really
and i go to Coffs Harbour Senior College
:P
i consider myself the most modest person in the world
I am still editing this, so dont judge (yet) MYMYSPACE
TOUCH MY WIKI AND I'LL TOUCH YOU!
Friends(in no order)
Now we shall listen to some personal interviews from people who know Max...
Old person he knows: (said with old accent)
I've known max for years, since he used to bring vegimaite sandwiches to school. hes a really nice boy, really polite. he helps me bring in my washing. he alsways helped old little ladies like me cross the road. max i would just like to say your just swell.
Guy from the fish and chip shop:
Every afternoon after school max would come in and order $1.50 with of chips. he would always tell me what he was going to do...in regards to homework, when he got home. yeah max is a nice kid.
first love retelling: (from grade 1)
Max kissed my friend (Jess J)behind the P.E shed, its were everyone was going these days...man...i miss grade 1... though i think my friend got cooties...
***Updates will occur throughout the year, through interviews telling the TRUE stories, behind MAX....the people who know him best***
George
It is true that George once was king of Scotland, although he didnt get any credit for it. What a legend. One day he told me of the time he took drugs...........A man appeared on stage. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were a flame of fire. His feet was like cherry red brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice was the sound of many Symphonies. He had, in his right hand seven sharp Shiny stars; as bright as a supernova and out of his mouth, scaled a sharp two-edged sword. And when I saw him, I felt as if I fell at his feet as frightened as death. His Sharp jagged blades rusted then broke as I watched in horror. He blew into oblivion and his particles collected, gathered into the dusk of a breeze and imploded into the sky as if it was on fire. It was the most beautiful yet terrifying thing I could ever imagine.
Suddenly the tent disappeared as a scream of angry yelled out to me for unknown reasons. The sky burst into green rays as I gasped in amazement, and contemplated its beauty. Below me, where the ground should be, the pavement shock as if it was erupting, until it exploded and majestically formed a snake which slithered into the sunset. All the petty shops, stalls and stations around me disappeared instantly and mountains surrounded me and joined at the roof as if I had been swallowed by the earth. I fell strait into cold, icy water, so cold I couldn’t breathe. Colors around me swirled from a deep, dark grey to a bright light of green and I gasped until my lungs yelped. And then it all faded away as if it was all a movie and the lights were turned out, everything was black.
I was flying through the air, spinning rapidly. Around and around I spun, unable to move or observe myself, until I flew passed a mirror and saw nothing but a five cent coin. I bounced like rubber and rolled down a stony hill. I was metal, but I swear I could feel the air rush against me like I was in a wind tunnel. Disgusting!... I stuck to a bubble gum on a small child as he galloped away from the base of the hill. Each step was painful, like being hit by a truck. He took me home. His house was beautiful, the ceiling was vast and painted with a giant mural of outlandish creatures. But my joy was interrupted. As my cold hard body touched a bushy green carpet, I high pitched scream deafened me and i was drastically thrown into a pit of putrid waste. It was dreadful. I sat I darkness, in endless darkness like a black hole, with piles of rubbish above and below me like a foul sandwich.
Joe
Joe shreds on every instrument in the world and is very modest. Joe recently got eaten by a peanut - after which I set fire to a posh hammer to make it official.
Chris
Chris gave me a rice cracker on the 14th of December 2007. Thankyou
Ethan
Ethan, A.k.a EFN, is an mysterious alien Zapped over the universe to earth(Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha) cleverly disguised as red bucket (to hide his identity as a blue bucket) to study christmas trees, so his alien planet can destroy there enimies with Christ tree warfare
Craig
Craig hunts blue buckets for a living, although can never figure out their clever disguise.craig recently became an australian citizen G'Day craig.
Dom
Sometimes described as Turkish meat, Dom sucks at bridge builder
Christa
A.K.A smallest feet on earth, Maybe even in the universe. doesn't realize the "undo" button i have for my wiki and WILL STOP TOUCHING ME IN PLACES
Jack
Shares my interesting in opening boxes, and shiwissawassle's. from jack "i disagree, dont make me send a letter"
Rosa
easily influenced (by me) and sighted the stars "mosa" and "rox"
Matt
He once drank a litre of water, In one day? (you may ask). No two. Top Shop?
Ryan
Self-explanatory...hahah (Sure is(from ryan)) ---- arrogant and the talented one of the group! (group including himself and a retarded squrill, who i think is more talented)
Leroy
My friend Leroy is often mentioned, but never actually seen. In Electro, a flashback shows that me and Leroy had a Glam-Folk band, but both are in such thick make-up, Leroy can't be seen. In Mutants, he takes Howard's light blue trousers and Howard walks off to remonstrate, but again he is not seen by the audience.
Fun With Friends(Still no order)
how about that time with the lama. calm a lama down, deep down in the ocean. can i have a pencil hoofed her out of the store , goood times. this page needs expanding, whats more important wikki profile or hsc.
GREEN
File:476c6d4e646670483043736567354a55725767-100x100-0-0.jpg
i Know what you are thinking, this glowstick is SO MUCH COOLER than some lame blue one; and heres just some reasons:
§· *POP*
§· [Time is Luminescence]
§· *POP*!!!
§· The Green is IN the Blue!
§· Christa does so not win This was deleted from wikipedia, due to its subjectivity... i wanted to preserve it as a great interpretation of an incredible album
In the Flesh?
This first song signifies the beginning of the show (which is being narrated by Pink himself). The stage directions are used to show that Pink is going to tell us the story of the building of The Wall. The lyrics say that despite his outward appearances, things are much different "behind these cold eyes" and that if the listener (sunshine) wants to find those things out, he'll have to "claw his way through this disguise". The song also informs the listener, although not directly, that Pink's father is killed; this is done using the sound effect of the dive-bomber, indicating his death during World War II. [citation needed]
The Thin Ice
This song narrates the first couple of years of Pink's life, before he is old enough to realize what has happened to his father. The "Thin Ice" represents the fragile period of innocence in our lives before we can really understand the world around us.
Furthermore, the third and fourth lines from the third verse, "Dragging behind you the silent reproach / Of a million tear-stained eyes" act as a very poignant metaphor for the psychological and/or spiritual effects war can have not only on the populace that suffered it, but also the generation of children left to suffer as the final bearers of the pain of that war. [citation needed]
Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 1
The Thin Ice discussed during the previous song breaks when Pink becomes older and learns of the death of his father. Pink is devastated by this reality and begins to build The Wall. [citation needed]
The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Pink is sent to a school run by overly strict and often violent teachers who want to mould their students into the "right" shape for society.
The teachers hurt the children physically and spiritually: "Exposing every weakness, However carefully hidden by the kids."
The second part of the song tells us that the teachers themselves were hit by their wives. The chain reaction becomes clear: Wives hit Teachers. Teachers hit children. Children grew up to be violent as the tradition. [citation needed]
Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2
After being insulted by the teacher, Pink dreams that the kids in Pink's school begin to protest against their abusive teachers. This causes Pink to continue to become more isolated from society.
Bob Ezrin was instrumental in turning Waters' composition into a hit single. He arranged the song's disco style and added the children's chorus after the band refused to add a second chorus of their own.[1]
Mother
The song narrates a conversation by Pink (voiced by Waters) and his mother (voiced by Gilmour). We learn of the overprotectiveness of Pink's mother, who is helping Pink build the wall to try to protect him from the outside world. The line "Of course Momma's gonna help build the wall" spoken by Pink's mother shows this. She insists that Pink stay by her side even after he grows up, and cannot stand it when Pink eventually grows older and falls in love. [citation needed]
Goodbye Blue Sky
This song explains Pink's depression as a result of being forced to grow up in a postwar world with only his overprotective mother to care for him. It also describes Pink's sadness as a result of not having the childhood he should have had, due to his father being taken away from him before he was even born.
This song can also be interpreted as a reflection of the English post-World War 2 generation, notably those whose childhood took place during the Blitz of London. It is, along with Bring the Boys Back Home, the most obvious statement of the effects of WWII upon Pink. [citation needed]
Empty Spaces
Pink is now grown up and married, but he and his wife are having relationship problems because of his distance as a result of his halfway built emotional barrier, the titular Wall. Pink wonders what he should use to complete its construction. Within the song you'll hear the backmasking "…congratulations. You've just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the funny farm, Chalfont." (voice in background) "Roger! Carolyn is on the phone!" [citation needed]
Young Lust
(Waters/Gilmour)
Pink has become a rock star, and is always away from home as a result of his demanding lifestyle. As a result, he begins inviting groupies into his room between concerts, having not seen his wife in months.
The end of the song is part of a dialogue between Pink and a telephone operator; it is at this point he realizes that his wife has been having an affair for some time, and his mental breakdown accelerates. The dialogue with the operator was the result of an arrangement James Guthrie made with his neighbor in London during the recording of the album in Los Angeles. He felt that the operator actually had to believe he'd caught his wife having an affair, and so didn't inform the operator she was being recorded. The first operator Guthrie used to place the call apparently missed the significance of what had apparently transpired; the second is the one heard on the album. [citation needed]
One of My Turns
Pink invites a groupie into his room after learning of his wife's affair. At first when the groupie tries to get his attention, he is too busy thinking of his wife to hear her. As the groupie continues to try to get his attention, Pink explodes into a fit of violence and trashes his room. [citation needed]
Don't Leave Me Now
In this song, Pink is attempting (and failing) to deal with his wife's infidelity. At this point in the album, he blames her for causing him to suffer; contrast with the subject as raised in the penultimate song, The Trial, when his attitude changes somewhat.
It is implied in this song that Pink is abusive to his wife (or would like to be now that she left him) with the line "...you know how I need you/to beat to a pulp on a Saturday night/Oh babe don't leave me now". [citation needed]
Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 3
Pink decides to finish this wall as a result of his rage after his wife's betrayal. He concludes he no longer needs anything at all, dismissing the people in his life as just "bricks in the wall". [citation needed]
Goodbye Cruel World
This song details Pink's reaction to the completion of his mental wall, and marks his acknowledgement of his isolation from society. [citation needed]
Hey You
Pink realizes the mistake he has made in completely isolating himself from society, and is attempting to regain contact with the outside world. However, his wall blocks any calls he makes. Pink's call becomes more and more desperate as he begins to realize there is no escape.
The metaphor used in the song's bridge "...and the worms ate into his brain" describes Pink's deteriorating mental state as if his mind had been rotted by worms. [citation needed]
Is There Anybody Out There?
As his isolation continues, Pink's sanity threatens to unravel as he wonders if there is anyone else "out there," beyond the wall. [citation needed]
Nobody Home
Pink describes his lonely life behind his mental wall. He has no one to talk to, and all he has are his possessions. The song is also an allusion to Syd Barrett. The line "I've got wide staring eyes" is a reference to the eerie stares that Syd would make after indulging on acid. This is another example of Roger Waters' tendency to use Syd as an example of the problems of rock stars. [citation needed]
Vera
The name is a reference to Vera Lynn, a British singer during World War II and her popular song "We'll Meet Again". The reference is ironic, as Roger Waters (and his fictional character Pink) would not meet his father, lost in the war. The lyric "Vera, what has become of you?" suggests that Vera Lynn herself, like her promise, vanished. It has also been interpreted to mean that hope is gone. Interestingly, the name Vera comes from the Russian word for "faith". It also stems from the Latin for "truth." [citation needed]
Bring the Boys Back Home
"Bring the Boys Back Home" is about when the young boy Pink goes looking for his father when everyone comes home from the war, only to find out he did not make it. The people around him are happy and carefree singing "Bring the Boys Back Home". At the end of the song, the orchestra fades out with memories of events that drove Pink to mental isolation: the teacher from "Another Brick in the Wall," the operator from " Young Lust," and the groupie from the beginning of "One of My Turns." Pink's manager yelling, "Time to go!" (to play a concert) and manic laughter are also mixed into the closing seconds, followed by chorus vocals from the first half of "Is There Anybody Out There?." [citation needed]
Comfortably Numb
(Gilmour/Waters)
Pink, feeling completely isolated from society, cannot stand the pressures of life as a rock star and collapses in his hotel room before leaving for his concert. A doctor is sent into the room and gives Pink an injection that gives him the energy he needs to perform. The lyrics are written as a conversation, with Waters voicing the doctor and Gilmour voicing Pink.
This was David Gilmour's most significant contribution to the album; though he, Waters and Ezrin disagree on how finished his music was before Waters finished the song.[1]
The Show Must Go On
It is about society's demands for Pink's show to continue even though, unbeknownst to the managers and record companies, that he is in a complete mental lock down behind the wall that he built through the course of the album. It also shows how Pink is reluctant to continue with the show by asking the questions "Will I remember the songs?" however he understands that the show must go on.
Alternatively, "the show" could be a metaphor for, essentially, life. Pink is debating what to do after building his wall: he realizes that an isolated life is dull. He decides that "the show must go on," but the stress of continuing creates the hallucination beginning in "In the Flesh". [citation needed]
In the Flesh
This song marks the first of a series of songs in which Pink, fuelled by a drug-induced state, likens himself to a dictator figure, crowing over his faithful audience; this particular song is his hallucination that his concerts can be likened to a political rally, and the song is essentially a satire of the fan-following modern musicians such as rock and pop stars are responsible for. It may also serve as an exploration of the actions of some as an effect of insecurity; behind their respective 'walls.' It could be noted how much "Dictator Pink" is similar to the schoolmaster that plagued him in his youth. When listening carefully, certain lines can be picked out that are more or less shared between the two characters.
This song and the two which follow it on the album - "Run Like Hell" and "Waiting for the Worms" - can also be compared to three stages of Hitler's rise to power. "In the Flesh" is his rallying cry for everyone to follow him. "Run Like Hell" is the beginning of his attempt to destroy those he hates, and "Waiting for the Worms" is the culmination of his insanity. In the end he forces his people to fear him rather than to follow him. In the movie this is seen in the sequence of people throwing their curtains closed as he passes by on the street. [citation needed]
Run Like Hell
(Gilmour/Waters)
The song is from the point of view of anti-hero Pink during a hallucination, in which he becomes a Nazi-like figure and turns a concert audience into a hate mob. He sends the mob out to raid nearby neighborhoods that are full of minorities. [citation needed]
Waiting For the Worms
At this point in the album, Pink has lost all hope and has let bad ideas, or "worms", control his thoughts. In his hallucination, he is a fascist dictator who spreads hatred, with the promise that his followers would see "Britannia rule again" and "send our coloured cousins home again," and announces he is "waiting to turn on the showers and fire the ovens." The count-in is Eins, zwei, drei, alle – German for "one, two, three, all..." (Probably intended to rally the masses to flock to Pink's call). [citation needed]
Stop
Pink becomes disgusted by his actions as a fascist dictator and the hallucination ends. He is also tired of The Wall, and puts himself on trial in his head. The song is also about the realization he has that everything that led up to his wall was all his own fault, hence the line "Have I been guilty all this time?". [citation needed]
The Trial
(Waters/Ezrin)
The song centres on the main character, Pink, who having lived a life filled with emotional and (later) substance abuses has reached a critical psychological break. "The Trial" is the fulcrum on which Pink's mental state balances. Through the course of the song, he is confronted by the primary influences of his life (who have been introduced over the course of the album): the rigidly strict and abusive schoolmaster, Pink's emotionally distant, adulterous wife, and his smothering, overprotective mother. Pink's subconscious struggle for sanity is overseen by a new character, "The Judge" ("Worm, your Honour") (the characters are all worms who have eaten into Pink's brain, first noted in "Hey You"). A Prosecutor conducts the early portions, which consist of the antagonists explaining their actions, intercut with Pink's refrain, "Crazy; / Toys in the attic I am crazy". The culmination of the trial is the Judge's sentence for Pink "to be exposed before [his] peers" whereupon he orders Pink to "tear down The Wall!" At one point in the song Pink sings " There must have been a door there in The Wall, for when I came in" representing that he is confused by his revelations, and trying to find a way out of The Wall and away from his mental tormentors, the animated "antagonists," through a door in his Wall that does not exist. This song might also be seen as a metaphor for how cruelly society sometimes treats those who are different by exposing and mocking them.
This and the following song "Outside the Wall" are the only two songs on the album which the story is seen from an outsider's perspective, most notably through the four antagonists of The Trial, even though it is all in Pink's mind. The film creates an interesting effect by showing the three characters making it past The Wall in one of the famous animated sequences, symbolically invading Pink's mind, and telling The Worm their part of the story:
The School Master is brought down like a puppet on strings by his wife, referencing the earlier song "The Happiest Days of Our Lives". The Wife comes out from underneath The Wall, represented as a scorpion, which is done during "Don't Leave Me Now". The Mother comes from above in an abstract, morphing image of an airplane (referencing the plane which killed Pink's father, and also the plane which Pink was playing with in Another Brick in the Wall (Part I)), which then encircles Pink. Hearing what mother, school master, and wife have to say about Pink's state makes many of the reasons for building his Wall seem absurd. This is really represented in the wife's speech:
"...You should have talked to me more often than you did, but no, you had to go your own way..."
This further emphasizes the fact that Pink is the true guilty one, leading to the Judge's response to the trial "...the way you made them suffer, your exquisite wife and mother..." and his sentencing "...since, my friend, you have revealed your deepest fears, I sentence you to be exposed before your peers..."
It is not clear as to what the tearing down of Pink's Wall entails, but there is a clue in the song The Final Cut from the album of the same name. The lyrics, "...Dial the combination, open the priesthole. And if I'm in I'll tell you what's behind The Wall." The portion where Waters sings "behind The Wall" is overdubbed by a shotgun shooting, suggesting that Pink eventually tore down his wall by shooting himself. (This also served to sever the album's link with The Wall.) [citation needed]
Outside the Wall
Unlike the other songs on the album, this particular song offers little to the plot involving Pink as a whole. It acknowledges that "the wall" has now been demolished (as a result of actions in The Trial), and goes on to "discuss" the idea that many people have social barriers, and that this is somewhat repetitive in nature; as one person re-integrates themselves with society, another leaves.
Musically, its the same melody heard at the beginning of the album.