Graffiti Video, Coachella: A Message Goes UP On Pink Floyd's Flying Pig

Posted Tuesday, May 13, 2008 @ 11:07 in Video by Michael Vazquez

When I heard that Pink Floyd were playing Coachella's mainstage, I was initially ambivalent; I'm of a generation that definitely remembers how awesome "The Wall" is, and who'd recognize the "Dark Side of The Moon" album cover on Warps' "Artificial Intelligence Volume 1" compilation, but would rather hear The Orb play "Orbus Terrarium" in  its entirety...After all, the last Philp Blaine-related event I'd been to was the just-perfect Organic '96, where I found myself shivering in a sleeping bag with a kind girl, atop a crazy rock formation, holding my finger in a candle flame for what seemed like an eternity, while crazy visuals came to life then faded away then returned on a huge screen above Dr. Alex...By way of historical reference, the still image used for this blog is from Floyd, tho you may recognize an homage to it on The Orb's excellent Evil Bro' Live '93 CD ('wish I had that on vinyl) But I digress...

As it turns out, Floyd's set at Coachella was a major highlight for me (peep the first two songs here: http://www.urb.com/permalink/2758/Video:-Pink-Floyd,-Coachella.html). Simply put, it was nothing less than a worthy study of a counter-cultural veteran. Watch how Waters mouths "No fucking way!" when he asks rhetorically: "Should I trust the government?" in his amazing version of "Mother"

Earlier in the day I'd been backstage getting a few shots of L.A. graffiti artist Slick, who'd been brought in by URB publisher and L.A. OG Raymond Roker. While I couldn't shoot video, one of Slick's crew brilliantly set a still camera to stop-motion mode, thus creating the only document of the making of what had to be one of the most impressive pieces of mainstream agitprop to ever fly uber alles Kalifornia. Reading "Don't Be Led To The Slaughter" with an Uncle Sam as death-head and a bloody cleaver on one side and "Dump Bush" appropriately at the pig's hind quarters, with "Fear Builds Walls" lettered-up on the other side, this little piggy was sure to jar those who were comfortably numb, out of Rock 'n Roll complacency.

Watching Slick get up so fluidly on a 40-foot high, white inflatable pig with zero room for mistakes was a reminder of just how amazing it is to watch anybody who's good at what he/she doe,s and loves it. The late Syd Barrett --  who founded The Pink Floyd and who was an early and key innovator in the marriage of visuals with audio in the early 60's UK and also in the San Francisco 60's psychedelic massives -- would've loved it. Shine on you crazy diamond, and rest in peace...respect to Slick for gettin' the mission accomplished in mad style.

By way of update, this pig flew away and was apparently found in shreds, despite a 10K reward offered. Good agitprop is supposed to get a reaction...now just remember what the pig warned about: Fear builds walls; don't be led to the slaughter. 

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