Pink Floyd vs David Bowie
Pink Floyd was an English Rock Band founded in 1965 that consisted of 5 members. These members were Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour. Pink Floyd was an extremely influential group to the Rock genre, as well as to music as a whole. With 14 studio albums, they played a big role in the development of progressive and psychedelic rock genres. Anyone who has been to one of their shows knows that they were wildly popular due to their elaborate live shows and extensive rock ballads (Wikipedia).
David Bowie was an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and arranger. Initially starting influential record production in 1972, Bowie produced over 25 studio albums and was also known for being extremely extravagant. Like Pink Floyd, Bowie was a vital influence to all genres of music, specifically Glam Rock. Over the course of time, Glam Rock played an extremely influential role by impacting nearly every genre of music. This can be seen through the comparison of performance styles, rhetoric, and overall character of Pink Floyd and David Bowie (Wikipedia).
When comparing and contrasting David Bowie with Pink Floyd, it can be seen that the performance styles of both artists are very similar. Each produced powerful slow rock ballads that changed the face of rock music forever. These two artists have an extremely similar sound. It is apparent that both artists had influenced one another, being that they come from the same era. However one of the primary differences in the performance styles is in the way they were expressed themselves. What Pink Floyd made extravagant with respect to their live shows and extensive rock ballads, Bowie did the same with his physical appearance and stage presence. It seemed David Bowie’s attire was that of something from a bizarre space movie. Bowie blurred the lines between male and female. Pink Floyd, on the other hand, had the apparel of a typical seventies English rock band. Floyd stuck to what was accepted in society, whereas David Bowie challenged “the norm.”
When comparing the rhetoric of these two artists, three specific characteristics need to be examined across two different songs. These characteristics are Logos, the appeal to logic, Ethos, the credible appeal, and Pathos, the appeal to your emotions. The two songs chosen to be analyzed are Pink Floyd’s “On the Turning Away” off of their 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason and David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” off of his self-titled album also known as Space Oddity.
The first characteristic to be analyzed is Logos. In the song “On the Turning Away”, Pink Floyd makes a pretty strong claim about society and has evidence to support this claim. Floyd depicts a society that is turning away from all the pain, anguish, and poverty that exists in the world. His claim is that if we don’t do something about all the darkness and suffering, we may end up in the same place they are now. This is shown in the following lyrics:
“Don’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others’ suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away.” (Pink Floyd)
If we are to turn away from those in suffering and refuse to help them, society will only get worse and we will find ourselves in the exact same position they are. As for the organization of the song, it is not organized in a classic “verse-chorus-verse” format. This song is more of a story format and appears in a “verse-verse-verse” format.
In the song “Space Oddity”, Bowie does not really have a claim that he is trying to make. Rather, he tells a story about distancing yourself from society either socially or with drugs. In this story he talks about how this person has distanced themselves from the earth (society) which is shown through the lyrics:
For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do (David Bowie)
During this process, something goes wrong and leaves the “Major Tom” stranded in space, forcing him to deal with this issue as we can see by the lyrics “Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong.” One of the big influences for the literal interpretation of this song is the space race. This song was produced during a time when the United States and Russia were constantly trying to out-do each other in space travel. Much like Pink Floyd’s “On the Turning Away”, this song is organized in a “verse-verse-verse” format as opposed to the typical format for most songs.
The next characteristic is Ethos. In both of the above songs, the artists have authority over the songs. This is because they are both the original authors of the songs. In “On the Turning Away”, there is a great deal of truth behind the lyrics. This song packs a powerful message that is entirely true about society today, making Pink Floyd extremely credible. If we don’t do something about the state society is in today, it will continue to deteriorate until we have nothing left. In contrast, Bowie’s “Space Oddity” does not make him very credible due to there not being much truth behind the lyrics. This is primarily because it is more of a story format and it doesn’t necessarily make a claim.
Finally, the last characteristic is Pathos. In the song “On the Turning Away”, Floyd makes a strong appeal to our emotions. This is done through the description of the deteriorating society. The song makes us feel bad that we aren’t helping or doing anything to better society and can be seen through the lyrics:
It’s a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we’re all alone
In the dream of the proud (Pink Floyd)
These lyrics essentially tell us that it is a sin that light is changing to darkness and we are completely oblivious to it. They tell us that we are all sinning by not helping others in need and through the eyes of someone who is too proud to help someone in need, we are all alone. As for the assumption of value, Floyd assumes that we all have morals and will join in the band’s desire to help those in need.
In David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, he makes an appeal to our emotions in a similar, but different kind of way. This appeal is similar in the fact that it makes us want to help another person. However it is different in the way that there is nothing we can do to help this person. This is seen through the closing lyrics “Planet Earth is blue / And there’s nothing I can do” leaving us with a longing to help even though there is nothing we can do about it. Bowie, like Floyd, assumes that we all have morals and with feel empathy towards “Major Tom”.
Overall, Pink Floyd and David Bowie are very similar artists who both played powerful roles in the development of the Glam Rock movement. Over the course of time, Glam Rock played an extremely influential role by impacting nearly every genre of music. Without Pink Floyd and David Bowie, we would not have some the musical genres we do today and the development of music would not have been the same.
Citations:
"Pink Floyd." Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd
AZ Lyrics. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/
pinkfloyd/ontheturningaway.html>.
"David Bowie." Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie
AZ Lyrics. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/
davidbowie/spaceoddity.html>.
Pink Floyd was an English Rock Band founded in 1965 that consisted of 5 members. These members were Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, and David Gilmour. Pink Floyd was an extremely influential group to the Rock genre, as well as to music as a whole. With 14 studio albums, they played a big role in the development of progressive and psychedelic rock genres. Anyone who has been to one of their shows knows that they were wildly popular due to their elaborate live shows and extensive rock ballads (Wikipedia).
David Bowie was an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and arranger. Initially starting influential record production in 1972, Bowie produced over 25 studio albums and was also known for being extremely extravagant. Like Pink Floyd, Bowie was a vital influence to all genres of music, specifically Glam Rock. Over the course of time, Glam Rock played an extremely influential role by impacting nearly every genre of music. This can be seen through the comparison of performance styles, rhetoric, and overall character of Pink Floyd and David Bowie (Wikipedia).
When comparing and contrasting David Bowie with Pink Floyd, it can be seen that the performance styles of both artists are very similar. Each produced powerful slow rock ballads that changed the face of rock music forever. These two artists have an extremely similar sound. It is apparent that both artists had influenced one another, being that they come from the same era. However one of the primary differences in the performance styles is in the way they were expressed themselves. What Pink Floyd made extravagant with respect to their live shows and extensive rock ballads, Bowie did the same with his physical appearance and stage presence. It seemed David Bowie’s attire was that of something from a bizarre space movie. Bowie blurred the lines between male and female. Pink Floyd, on the other hand, had the apparel of a typical seventies English rock band. Floyd stuck to what was accepted in society, whereas David Bowie challenged “the norm.”
When comparing the rhetoric of these two artists, three specific characteristics need to be examined across two different songs. These characteristics are Logos, the appeal to logic, Ethos, the credible appeal, and Pathos, the appeal to your emotions. The two songs chosen to be analyzed are Pink Floyd’s “On the Turning Away” off of their 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason and David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” off of his self-titled album also known as Space Oddity.
The first characteristic to be analyzed is Logos. In the song “On the Turning Away”, Pink Floyd makes a pretty strong claim about society and has evidence to support this claim. Floyd depicts a society that is turning away from all the pain, anguish, and poverty that exists in the world. His claim is that if we don’t do something about all the darkness and suffering, we may end up in the same place they are now. This is shown in the following lyrics:
“Don’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others’ suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away.” (Pink Floyd)
If we are to turn away from those in suffering and refuse to help them, society will only get worse and we will find ourselves in the exact same position they are. As for the organization of the song, it is not organized in a classic “verse-chorus-verse” format. This song is more of a story format and appears in a “verse-verse-verse” format.
In the song “Space Oddity”, Bowie does not really have a claim that he is trying to make. Rather, he tells a story about distancing yourself from society either socially or with drugs. In this story he talks about how this person has distanced themselves from the earth (society) which is shown through the lyrics:
For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do (David Bowie)
During this process, something goes wrong and leaves the “Major Tom” stranded in space, forcing him to deal with this issue as we can see by the lyrics “Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong.” One of the big influences for the literal interpretation of this song is the space race. This song was produced during a time when the United States and Russia were constantly trying to out-do each other in space travel. Much like Pink Floyd’s “On the Turning Away”, this song is organized in a “verse-verse-verse” format as opposed to the typical format for most songs.
The next characteristic is Ethos. In both of the above songs, the artists have authority over the songs. This is because they are both the original authors of the songs. In “On the Turning Away”, there is a great deal of truth behind the lyrics. This song packs a powerful message that is entirely true about society today, making Pink Floyd extremely credible. If we don’t do something about the state society is in today, it will continue to deteriorate until we have nothing left. In contrast, Bowie’s “Space Oddity” does not make him very credible due to there not being much truth behind the lyrics. This is primarily because it is more of a story format and it doesn’t necessarily make a claim.
Finally, the last characteristic is Pathos. In the song “On the Turning Away”, Floyd makes a strong appeal to our emotions. This is done through the description of the deteriorating society. The song makes us feel bad that we aren’t helping or doing anything to better society and can be seen through the lyrics:
It’s a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting its shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we’re all alone
In the dream of the proud (Pink Floyd)
These lyrics essentially tell us that it is a sin that light is changing to darkness and we are completely oblivious to it. They tell us that we are all sinning by not helping others in need and through the eyes of someone who is too proud to help someone in need, we are all alone. As for the assumption of value, Floyd assumes that we all have morals and will join in the band’s desire to help those in need.
In David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, he makes an appeal to our emotions in a similar, but different kind of way. This appeal is similar in the fact that it makes us want to help another person. However it is different in the way that there is nothing we can do to help this person. This is seen through the closing lyrics “Planet Earth is blue / And there’s nothing I can do” leaving us with a longing to help even though there is nothing we can do about it. Bowie, like Floyd, assumes that we all have morals and with feel empathy towards “Major Tom”.
Overall, Pink Floyd and David Bowie are very similar artists who both played powerful roles in the development of the Glam Rock movement. Over the course of time, Glam Rock played an extremely influential role by impacting nearly every genre of music. Without Pink Floyd and David Bowie, we would not have some the musical genres we do today and the development of music would not have been the same.
Citations:
"Pink Floyd." Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd
AZ Lyrics. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/
pinkfloyd/ontheturningaway.html>.
"David Bowie." Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie
AZ Lyrics. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/
davidbowie/spaceoddity.html>.