10 Biggest Geniuses In Rock And Roll
3. Roger Waters - Pink Floyd
The rock and roll lifestyle isn't always the most user-friendly place to be at the best of times. Instead of just going from one party to the next and everyone knowing your name, the constant rotation of album and tour does tend to get fairly lonely for the uninitiated. Though Roger Waters was no exception to this, not many were able to turn that same loneliness into solid gold.
Originally a sideman in Pink Floyd opposite Syd Barrett, Waters became one of the greatest storytellers in rock and roll once he started to mold himself into the rock and roll playwright. While something like Dark Side of the Moon might not have a linear tale from front to back, Waters was always about something more than just making up characters around a rock and roll tune. These function more as setting up a scene in your mind, as you see different parts of life either through the corporatism of Wish You Were Here or the dystopian society we are heading for with Animals.
Even when delivering a linear story like on the Wall, most of Waters' writing is less concerned about the well-being of the characters and more about how the music reflects on the people who listen to it. For as much fun as they are to listen to, this is the result of Waters holding up a mirror to his audience and asking if they like what they see.