A Sense of Doubt blog post #3758 - "Wish You Were Here" - Playing for Change - Afro Fiesta - and SIX more for June - Music Monday for 2506.02

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3758 - "Wish You Were Here" - Playing for Change - Afro Fiesta - and SIX more for June - Music Monday for 2506.02

This version of Pink Floyd's song "Wish You Were Here" from the 1975 album of the same name came up in my You Tube feed. and it was such a unique version that I decided it was worth posting for Music Monday.

Also, I miss my parents. I don't want to say I miss my Dad more than I miss my Mom, but Dad's death is the more recent one, so that could be considered the most painful.

June is a Dad month as his birthday falls on the 26th just a little over a week after Father's Day.

Though the Pink Floyd song is considered a tribute to founding band member Syd Barrett, it is universal enough to apply to anyone's experience, something Roger Waters has said many times as he's unwilling to limit the song by defining it as specifically for Syd.

I have posted two Playing For Change songs before:

Monday, October 9, 2023

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3156 - "Biko" - Playing for Change - Song Around the World - Music Monday for 2310.09

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1687 - "The Weight" - 50 years later - BONUS Musical Tuesday

What follows is a video of Afro Fiesta covering the Pink Floyd song and lyrics. After that, I am sharing six more Playing for Change songs for the sixth month of the year, June, my Dad's birth month.

I miss you, Dad, which is something I have written several times since last August, 277 days ago. I have written how I miss my Mom even more often in 3623 days since she died. It's like an incantation. Each time I say it, the saying of it (or writing of it) drains more of the pain from the experience.

And this Afro Fiesta performance is a great cover of the Pink Floyd classic.

Thanks for tuning in.

Wish You Were Here | Afro Fiesta ft. Twanguero & I-Taweh | Playing For Change | Mark's Park

WHOLE ALBUM LYRICS

Wish You Were Here

So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell
blue skies from pain
Can you tell a green field
from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you to trade
your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
a walk on part in the war
for a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl
year after year
Running over the same old ground
What have you found?
The same old fears
Wish you were here

AND SIX MORE FOR THE SIXTH MONTH

Tears on My Pillow | Playing For Change Band | Playing For Change | Live Outside

Crossroads | Song Around The World | Playing For Change x Visit Mississippi #blues #robertjohnson

NOTE: I have never been a big Steve Miller Band fan. I don't own any of the albums, despite the ubiquitous appearance of the Greatest Hits albums every where. I had never really paid any attention to what songs were by this band, even though I have heard them a million times. I am sure at some point I knew that "Fly Like An Eagle" was by the Steve Miller Band, but finding this video brought the fact to the forefront of my consciousness. It is actually a really good song.

Fly Like an Eagle ft. Steve Miller | Song Around The World | Playing For Change

Everybody Wants to Rule the World | Playing For Change Foundation x Young Musicians Unite

No Woman No Cry ft. Gilberto Gil & Stephen Marley | Playing For Change | Song Around The World

A Change is Gonna Come | Playing For Change Band | Billboard Live Osaka | Playing For Change

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2506.02 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3623 days ago & DAD = 277 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3723 - FOR DAD - Seven Months On - SoD Reprint of 2996 from 2021 - "The Great Gig in the Sky" - Music Monday for 2504.28

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3723 - FOR DAD - Seven Months On - SoD Reprint of 2996 from 2021 - "The Great Gig in the Sky" - Music Monday for 2504.28

SEVEN MONTHS ago, Dad died at the time this post is published -- 13:40 hours on August 28th, 2024.

I published this post at 13:40 for Dad.

I know you do not know what happens behind the scenes, and you may not care.

I have told you before that I map out a lot of the posts months ahead.

Farthest date out on my lists is July 13th.

I do not have all the dates from now until July 13th filled in, but I plan ahead for some posts, especially the bigger and complex ones on which I have been working for a long time, in some cases, years.

I had another post scheduled for today, one I have delayed multiple times, but not only is it not ready yet, which is the main reason I postpone, but it seemed too happy for today's seven months since I held my Dad's hand as he took his last breath.

So, I decided to stay in reprint mode, but what reprint to use?

I had recently reprinted the "grief songs":

Monday, March 31, 2025

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3695 - SoD Reprint of #1572 from 2019 - Seven Songs for Singing in the Car when Grieving - Music Monday for 2503.31

So, what to share here?

Not a mix, so a single song.

I have a category for that: "music song-by-song."

I scrolled through the choices, and when I saw this one, I knew I had it.

And not to rely solely on a reprint, I added content.

I miss you, Dad.

I miss you every day. I think about you every day. I miss Mom, too, but the grief of losing you is still somewhat fresh. though it also feels like I have lived a lifetime.

Cheers.

Here's one of my favorite parts of one of my favorite albums.

Thanks for tuning in.


Link to the original post I am reprinting below:

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

A Sense of Doubt blog post #2296 - "The Great Gig In the Sky" - Live - Musical Monday on Tuesday for 2106.01

LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.

https://www.loudersound.com/news/pink-floyd-the-great-gig-in-the-sky-clare-torry

The story of The Great Gig In The Sky and the best £30 Pink Floyd ever spent

By Fraser Lewry ( Classic Rock ) published 20 April 2023

One of the highlights of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon, Clare Torry's vocal on The Great Gig In The Sky lifted the song to celestial heights

Pink Floyd first played The Great Gig in the Sky – then titled The Mortality Sequence – at the Brighton Dome in January 1972, more than a year before it was finally released on The Dark Side Of The Moon, and getting the song to the finish line was quite the journey. 

Built around a Richard  Wright piano solo, The Great Gig in the Sky was originally embellished by a reading of The Lord’s Prayer and a recording of author and satirist Malcolm Muggeridge pontificating. Work on the studio version began at Abbey Road as the middle of the year approached, but touring, holidays and other commitments kept the band distracted.

Eventually Roger Waters completed work on the song – a typically sensitive contemplation of death – which began with Wright's solemn keyboards and gave the unsuspecting listener little indication of the wild ride they were about to enjoy. And what a ride it was: one of The Dark Side Of The Moon's most memorable sections, provided by someone who wasn't even in the band.

25-year-old singer Clare Torry was working as a staff songwriter for EMI when the call came. She wasn't a big Pink Floyd fan, but engineer Alan Parsons had worked with her before, having originally heard her sing on a Pick Of The Pops covers album, and brought her into the studio on January 21, 1973, to see what she might bring to the track. 

"When I arrived they explained the concept of the album to me and played me Rick Wright’s chord sequence," said Torry. "They said: 'We want some singing on it,' but didn’t know what they wanted. So I suggested going out into the studio and trying a few things. I started off using words, but they said: 'Oh no, we don’t want any words.' So the only thing I could think of was to make myself sound like an instrument, a guitar or whatever, and not to think like a vocalist. I did that and they loved it.

"I did three or four takes very quickly, it was left totally up to me, and they said: 'Thank you very much.' In fact, other than Dave Gilmour, I had the impression that they were infinitely bored with the whole thing, and when I left I remember thinking to myself: 'That will never see the light of day.'" 

Torry was wrong, of course, and the band knew they'd captured the purest of magic. The vocal you hear on the album was stitched together from those takes, and the result was a jaw-dropping wail that elevated the track to near-celestial heights.

“We wanted to put a girl on there, screaming orgasmically," Gilmour recalled. "Alan had worked with her previously, so we gave her try. And she was fantastic. We had to encourage her a little bit, we gave her some dynamic hints: ‘Maybe you’d like to do this piece quietly, and this piece louder.’"

Torry was paid a £30 session fee, double the usual rate because it was recorded on a Sunday, and only became aware her parts were used when she saw the album at a local record shop and spotted her name in the credits. "If I’d known then what I know now I would have done something about organising copyright or publishing," she told Mojo in 1998. "I would be a wealthy woman now."

It's possible Clare Torry may well be a wealthy woman now. Six years after that interview she sued Pink Floyd – while remaining on good terms with the band – arguing that her contribution to The Great Gig in the Sky constituted co-authorship. She petitioned the High Court for royalties she believed were due, a half-share of copyright ownership, and a 50% share of past and future income. The band and record company EMI settled out of court – although details of the out-of-court settlement were never disclosed – and the song is now credited to both Wright and Torry. 

And that's gotta be a nice little earner. 

Fraser Lewry

Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 39 years in music industry, online for 26. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.

https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/dark-side-moon-clare-torrys-great-gig-sky

A Sense of Doubt blog post #2296 - "The Great Gig In the Sky" - Live - Musical Monday on Tuesday for 2106.01

So, I took the day off from work COMPLETELY on Sunday and I only worked about a half day yesterday (Memorial Day). I am proud of these decisions. I also stopped doing computer things at night and just watched TV. We're watching the new HBO MAX series The Outsider, based on the Stephen King novel.

I read some more of Brian Eno's diary from 1995, re-released as a 25th anniversary edition last year, which I have written about here (or rather shared about):

A Sense of Doubt blog post #2211 - Various links raided from ENO - MUSICAL MONDAY for 2103.08

Specifically, this share:

https://medium.com/the-homesick-society/brian-eno-for-bibliophiles-9e35f93563fa

So, I was thinking about his diary thing, and considering starting a similar thing for a year on July 6th (as my current blog year cycle goes from July 6th - July 5th).

But then I am not sure I want to abandon my features entirely. AND I can easily do what I am doing right here. I can diary/journal everyday on what I did the previous day whether I make it the lone feature or not.

Still, I had a nice day reading and thinking about Eno's life.

But today is not really about Eno, it's about PINK FLOYD and specifically "The Great Gig in the Sky" from The Dark Side of the Moon and the amazing Clare Torry.

So fucking amazing.

Enjoy today's musical selection.

Take some time for yourself.

Listen to some great music, take a walk, read a book, eat some great food, tell the people you love that you love them.

And watch that great gig in the sky...

I love PINK FLOYD, as seen here in T-shirt #133 and this mix 

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #699 - The Dark Road - One of These Days - Musical Monday for 1706.05.

and this mix

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1361 - Hanging on in Quiet Desperation is the InDiscipline Way mix for Musical Monday for 1811.12

Pink Floyd - The Great Gig In The Sky 

(Live at Knebworth 1990)

232,775 views•Premiered Mar 19, 2021

Pink Floyd

2.59M subscribers

Pink Floyd Live At Knebworth 1990 released for the first time on CD, double vinyl LP, and digital platforms. Click here to buy https://PinkFloyd.lnk.to/knebworth

LIVE AT KNEBWORTH

The concert was part of the star-studded 1990 Silver Clef Award Winners performance at Knebworth House, in Hertfordshire, England, headlined by Pink Floyd.

The concert, in front of around 120,000 fans, was a fundraiser for the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Charity, and also included Paul McCartney, Genesis, Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Elton John, Status Quo, Tears For Fears, and Robert Plant & Jimmy Page.

The Floyd set was performed by the touring line-up of the late 1980s, with a slight change to the vocalists - joining Durga McBroom was Sam Brown, her mother Vicki, and Clare Torry (original vocalist for The Great Gig In The Sky). Saxophonist Candy Dulfer and keyboard player Michael Kamen also joined the band for this one-off show. The audio has been remixed by David Gilmour and Andy Jackson, and following its appearance in 2019's The Later Years box set, is now available on CD or double vinyl for the first time as a standalone album.

Click here to pre-order https://PinkFloyd.lnk.to/knebworth

THE LATER YEARS

Included on ‘The Later Years’, a 18-disc box set (5xCDs, 6xBlu-Rays, 5xDVDs,2x7”) covering the material created by David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright from 1987 onwards, with unreleased audio and audiovisual material, including the 1989 Venice and 1990 Knebworth concerts, as well as updated, restored and remixed audio and video, 2 x 7” singles, 60-page hardback Photo Book, 40-page hardback Credits Book, Lyrics Book, 3 x reproduction tour programmes, card envelope containing collectible memorabilia, plus Blu-rays and DVDs in individual wallets.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/pink-floyd-great-gig-in-the-sky-live-clare-torry-1017187/

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2106.01 - 10:10

- Days ago = 2160 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2504.28 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3588 days ago & DAD = 243 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3688 - SoD Reprint of #1361 - Hanging on in Quiet Desperation is the InDiscipline Way mix for Musical Monday for 1811.12

A Sense of Doubt blog post #3688 - SoD Reprint of #1361 - Hanging on in Quiet Desperation is the InDiscipline Way mix for Musical Monday for 1811.12

Reprint today because of final grades, and I was three days behind on the blog.

The original post had many broken embedded videos.

I do not publish the videos of the mixes one at a time any more, so I left the original as is as you can see at the link below; however, I updated the mix on You Tube and so as such the track list remains the same.

Here's the original link to the post I am reprinting below:

Monday, November 12, 2018

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1361 - Hanging on in Quiet Desperation is the InDiscipline Way mix for Musical Monday for 1811.12

LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1361 - Hanging on in Quiet Desperation is the InDiscipline Way mix for Musical Monday for 1811.12

Hello readers,

I continue to use this blog as a staging area for music I want to play in the class room. This one started with King Crimson and the first song, that song by Mogwai, which I first featured in my re-share (with all due credit to) of Kieron Gillen's best of 2016 playlist.

But then, as it always happens YOU TUBE intervenes and shares music that's just perfect and also, sometimes, a new discovery like Orkestra Obsolete using 1930s instruments to play New Order's "Blue Monday."

But then I expand with some artists I want to talk about, like Kate Bush, Devo, Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, and Talking Heads. But then You Tube says "what about Moby?" And those two cuts seem to fit. And then I am with my wife and she plays an old Gang of Four track, and I remember how much I love Entertainment, the first album from 1979.

The crowning touch from which I modify a lyric for the title comes from Pink Floyd's "Time," one of the most relevant songs year after year of my whole life, and I thought it was true and real and well-targeted when I first heard it at the age of EIGHTEEN.

But, just BY THE WAY, here’s the link to that post of my most listened to albums (which is like favorites…sort of…)

https://365-tshirts.blogspot.com/2013/06/t-shirt-97-kraftwerk.html

This has become a killer mix.

It all started because my students had a "quiz" (some might call it a test), and I wanted to make a point about "DISCIPLINE" and connect to King Crimson's album Discipline, which also makes the companion point about "Indiscipline," which is the negation of discipline. Say what? Check out the song. Two versions.

All this music keeps on giving to my life over and over and over.

Video player pod at the end of the blog entry. URL link to the mix in the title below.

ENJOY.

TRACK LIST

1. Mogwai - Ether 

2. King Crison - discipline 

3. Pink Floyd - Time/The Great Gig In The Sky

4. King Crimson - Indiscipline 

5. King Crimson - Matte Kudasai 

6. Kate Bush - The Dreaming 

7. Talking Heads - I Zimbra 

8. King Crimson - Frame by Frame

9. Gang of Four - Damaged Goods

10. Kate Bush - Suspended In Gaffa

11. Brian Eno - Sky Saw 

12. Peter Gabriel - "The Rhythm of the Heat" 

13. Peter Gabriel - "Mercy Street" 

14. Moby - Extreme Ways 

15. Moby - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? 

16. Orkestra Obsolete play Blue Monday using 1930s instruments - BBC Arts

17. KING CRIMSON - Man With an Open Heart

18. Devo - [I Can't Get No] Satisfaction 

19. Talking Heads - No Compassion 

20. Talking Heads - Life During Wartime 

21. Talking Heads - Burning Down the House

Hanging on in Quiet Desperation is the InDiscipline Way mix for Musical Monday for 1811.12

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1811.12 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1227 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2403.24 - 10:10

- Days ago: MOM = 3553 days ago & DAD = 208 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.