Another Brick in the Wall

"Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera The Wall, written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against rigid schooling, features a children's choir. At the suggestion of producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco.

"Another Brick in the Wall"
Song by Pink Floyd
from the album The Wall
PublishedPink Floyd Music Publishers
Released30 November 1979
RecordedApril–November 1979
GenreProgressive rock
Length8:28 (All three parts)
  • 3:11 (Part 1)
  • 3:59 (Part 2)
  • 1:18 (Part 3)
Label
Songwriter(s)Roger Waters
Producer(s)

"Part 2" was released as a single, Pink Floyd's first in the UK since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It became their only number-one single in the UK, the United States, West Germany and many other countries, and sold over four million copies worldwide. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, and was number 384 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

The American nu metal band Korn covered all three parts for the 2004 album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. The first two parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" were also covered by the supergroup Class of '99 for the soundtrack of the 1998 film The Faculty; this cover version is notable for being one of Layne Staley's final studio appearances prior to his death in April 2002.[1][2][3]In 2019 a remake by Diego Baldenweg with Nora Baldenweg & Lionel Baldenweg was used as the opening theme of the Netflix teenage sci-fi series The Unlisted.[4]

"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)"
Single by Pink Floyd
from the album The Wall
B-side"One of My Turns"
Released23 November 1979
Format7-inch single
RecordedApril–November 1979
Genre
Length
  • 3:11 (single version)
  • 3:59 (album version)
  • 3:54 (A Collection of Great Dance Songs version)
  • 5:43 (album version combined with "The Happiest Days of Our Lives", alternative radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Roger Waters
Producer(s)
Pink Floyd singles chronology
"Have a Cigar"
(1975)		 "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)"
(1979)		 "Run Like Hell"
(1980)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" on YouTube

Concept

The three parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" appear on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera album The Wall. During "Part 1", the protagonist, Pink, begins building a metaphorical wall around himself following the death of his father. In "Part 2", traumas including his overprotective mother and abusive schoolteachers become metaphorical bricks in the wall. Following a violent breakdown in "Part 3", Pink dismisses everyone he knows as "just bricks in the wall".[5][6]

Bassist Roger Waters wrote "Part 2" as a protest against rigid schooling, particularly boarding schools.[7] "Another Brick in the Wall" appears in the Wall film. In the "Part 2" sequence, children enter a school and march in unison through a meat grinder, becoming "putty-faced" clones, before rioting and burning down the school.[8]

Recording

At the suggestion of producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco, which was popular at the time. According to guitarist David Gilmour:

[Ezrin] said to me, "Go to a couple of clubs and listen to what's happening with disco music," so I forced myself out and listened to loud, four-to-the-bar bass drums and stuff and thought, Gawd, awful! Then we went back and tried to turn one of the parts into one of those so it would be catchy.[9]

Gilmour recorded his guitar solo in one take, with no editing or mixing, using a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with P-90 pick-ups.[10] Despite his reservations about Ezrin's additions, Gilmour felt the final song still sounded like Pink Floyd.[9] When Ezrin heard the song with a disco beat, he was convinced it could become a hit, but felt it needed to be longer, with two verses and two choruses. The band resisted, saying they did not release singles; Waters told him: "Go ahead and waste your time doing silly stuff."[11]

While the band members were away, Ezrin edited the takes into an extended version, and had engineer Nick Griffiths record children singing the verse at Islington Green School, close to Pink Floyd's studio.[11] Alun Renshaw, head of music at the school, was enthusiastic, and said later: "I wanted to make music relevant to the kids – not just sitting around listening to Tchaikovsky. I thought the lyrics were great – 'We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control' ... I just thought it would be a wonderful experience for the kids."[12]

Renshaw hid the lyrics from the headteacher, Margaret Maden, fearing she might stop the recording.[13] Maden said: "I was only told about it after the event, which didn't please me. But on balance it was part of a very rich musical education."[13] Renshaw and the children spent a week practising before he took them to a recording studio near the school.[14] According to Ezrin, when he played the children's vocals to Waters, "there was a total softening of his face, and you just knew that he knew it was going to be an important record".[9] Waters said: "It was great—exactly the thing I expected from a collaborator."[9]

Reception

"Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" was released as a single, Pink Floyd's first in the UK since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It was Pink Floyd's only number-one hit in the United Kingdom, the United States, West Germany and several other countries. It was also the final Christmas number one of the decade in the UK.[15] In the US, it reached number 57 on the disco chart.[16] The single sold over 4 million copies worldwide.[7]

The song won Waters the 1983 British Academy Award for "Best Original Song" for its appearance in the Wall film.[17] "Part 2" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group. It appears as 375 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[18]

The lyrics attracted controversy. The Inner London Education Authority described the song as "scandalous", and according to Renshaw, prime minister Margaret Thatcher "hated it".[14] Renshaw said: "There was a political knee-jerk reaction to a song that had nothing to do with the education system. It was [Waters'] reflections on his life and how his schooling was part of that."[14] The single, as well as the album The Wall, were banned in South Africa in 1980 after it was adopted by supporters of a nationwide school boycott protesting racial inequities in education under apartheid.[19][20]

Royalties

In exchange for performing vocals, the children of Islington School received tickets to a Pink Floyd concert, an album, and a single.[21] Though the school received a payment of £1,000, there was no contractual arrangement for royalties.[22] Following a change to UK copyright law in 1996, they became eligible for royalties from broadcasts. After royalties agent Peter Rowan traced the choir members through the website Friends Reunited and other means, they successfully lodged a claim for royalties with the Performing Artists' Media Rights Association in 2004.[22]

Charts and certifications

Personnel

Personnel, according to The Pink Floyd Encyclopedia.[63]

Part I

Part II

  • Roger Waters – bass, vocals (unison with Gilmour)
  • David Gilmour – guitar, vocals (unison with Waters)
  • Nick Mason – drums
  • Richard Wright – Hammond organ, Prophet-5 synthesizer
  • Islington Green School students (organized by Alun Renshaw) – vocals

Part III

  • Roger Waters – bass, vocals, rhythm guitar
  • David Gilmour – lead guitar
  • Nick Mason – drums
  • Richard Wright – Prophet-5 synthesizer

Korn version
"Another Brick in the Wall, Pts. 1–3"
Single by Korn
from the album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
ReleasedDecember 2004
Recorded2004
GenreAlternative metal
Length7:08
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Roger Waters
Producer(s)
  • Jonathan Davis
  • Korn
  • Frank Filipetti
Korn singles chronology
"Word Up!"
(2004)		 "Another Brick in the Wall, Pts. 1–3"
(2004)		 "Twisted Transistor"
(2005)

Nu metal band Korn covered all three parts along with "Goodbye Cruel World" in 2004 for the compilation album Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. The cover was released as a single, peaking at number 37 on the Modern Rock chart and number 12 on the Mainstream Rock chart. And this is also the last Korn single recorded with their full original lineup, as their original guitarist "Brian "Head" Welch" who leaves the band in February the following year, until his return in 2013.[64][65] A live music video was released to promote the single, directed by Bill Yukich.[66]

Will Levith of Ultimate Classic Rock called Korn's cover "one of the worst covers of a classic-rock song of all time."[67] Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic described it as "overwrought, yet enticingly so".[68]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Another Brick in the Wall"7:08

Charts
Chart (2004) Peak
position
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[69] 37
US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[70] 12

Personnel
  • Jonathan Davis – vocals
  • James "Munky" Shaffer – lead guitar
  • Brian "Head" Welch – rhythm guitar
  • Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu – bass
  • David Silveria – drums

References

Citations

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  3. Gallucci, Michael. "The Faculty [Music from the Dimension Motion Picture]". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  4. https://decider.com/2019/10/17/the-unlisted-on-netflix-stream-it-or-skip-it/
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  10. Fitch & Mahon 2006, pp. 75–76; see also "The David Gilmour Guitar Collection", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E6mIYNO3So at 3:30.
  11. Fielder 2013, p. 135.
  12. Blake 2008, p. 273
  13. "Pink Floyd pupils sue for royalties". Evening Standard. 26 November 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  14. "Kick against the bricks". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 December 2004. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  15. Robinson, Peter (10 December 2015). "Drugs, austerity and Thatcher – what Christmas No 1s tell us about Britain". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
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  17. "Past Winners and Nominees – Film – Awards". BAFTA. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
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Sources

  • Fielder, Hugh (2013). Pink Floyd: Behind the Wall. Race Point Publishing. ISBN 978-1-937-99425-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
  • Fitch, Vernon and Mahon, Richard, Comfortably Numb – A History of The Wall 1978–1981, 2006
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