Access.  Colonel Tom Parker and Peter Grant limited it.  They realized that
rock and roll wasn’t only the music, it was also the myth.

That’s what MTV destroyed.  The myth.  We found out rock stars were just like
us.  And this was completely disillusioning.  Because we want to BELIEVE!  We
NEED to believe.  In something larger than ourselves.

But it’s tough for the people in control today to restrict access.  In this
era it’s about INSTANT!  Get it, use it up and throw it away.

But that’s not how love is.  Love is slow.  It develops.  First you kick the
tires, you check each other out.  Then you experiment, you learn.  And then,
without even realizing it, you’re hooked.  Breaking up is hard to do.  Because
you’re connected.

And this is the way it used to be with bands.  They weren’t thrust upon us. 
They appeared in the record store.  As the opening act.  They were featured in
your friend’s collection.

First you learned their name.  Then you heard some of their music.  If it
penetrated you, you purchased an album.  And you listened to it, having made the
investment.  Occasionally you bought a stinker, but usually the record started
to grow on you.  You found yourself singing its tracks at odd moments, on the
way to school, walking the halls.

And then you went to see them.  Going to the show wasn’t much more of a
decision than going to a movie.  $3.50.  By time 1970 rolled around, five bucks,
six for superstars.  With no handling charge, no TicketMaster fee.

And the gig wasn’t a party.  Somewhere you went to get high and hang with
your friends.  And it wasn’t about the merchandise.  For a long time there barely
WAS any merchandise.  Maybe tour books, but not even t-shirts.  Rather the
gig was about the music.  And if the band delivered live, you embraced them,
they were yours, you’d buy the next two or three albums without hearing them
first.

The mainstream press ignored the scene.  Not only did network TV not air
performances, the newspaper didn’t cover your favorite band either.  It was solely
yours.  And a group of like-minded listeners throughout the world.

And then, suddenly, one of your bands blew up.

That’s what happened with Pink Floyd.  From art rock obscurity they became
positively mainstream.  Not because they moved to the center, but because the
center moved to them.  "Money" sounded like nothing else on the radio.  But
stations adopted it.  And played it.  Again and again.

By time "The Wall" was released, everybody was primed.

But it wasn’t like today.  The key back then was to make a statement.  Not to
TELL THE PRESS you’re making a statement, hyping your latest project as your
best, like an actor hyping a lame movie, but to throw all your energies into
making a record that was one leap BEYOND!  You wondered where the act was going to go next.  Everybody was trying to top each other.  And "The Wall"
resonated.  Not only because of the sound, but because of the open wound lyrics. 
It wasn’t like driving by a traffic accident, rather we were intrigued to know
what went on in the artist’s mind, what he THOUGHT!

Pink Floyd is doing no press.  They’re not on MTV.  Not on the "Today Show". 
They’re breaking all the twenty first century rules.  You’re supposed to
SELL!  In all possible venues.

And since Pink Floyd is not doing this, the media is flummoxed.  They believe
there’s no story.

But Pink Floyd’s performance at Live 8 is the biggest story of the year. 
Everywhere you go people are talking about it.  People with no knowledge of P2P
e-mail me to ask how to download it.  People want ACCESS!  They just can’t get
close enough.  And it’s driving them wild.

Roger Waters has made no statement.  Gilmour’s not on TV.  The band has
DISAPPEARED!  Stating they don’t want to tour.  We believe them.  We hope the
opposite is true, that they WILL go on the road, but we don’t believe their refusal
is a stunt.  After all, they’re musicians, and if it’s only about money,
they’re not interested.

So, MTV has gone back to the "Real World".  INXS is whoring themselves out on
CBS.  Everybody is looking to make another buck.  They don’t realize that
paradigm is dead.  That some rules of show business never change.  You’ve not
only got to have a stellar act, you’ve got to leave the public wanting more. 
More music, more honesty, more art directly from the heart.

The formula’s simple.  But you’ve got to resist temptation.  You can’t settle
for the easy way out.  You’ve got to put money over bucks.  And, there are no
shortcuts.  You’ve got to have talent.  And perseverance.  But once you hook
your audience, people won’t let go.  They don’t need the media to tell them to
hold on, they just do so naturally, on instinct, they want to be CLOSER!

Maybe someday there will be a CD of Pink Floyd’s performance at Live 8.  Or a
DVD.  And, it will sell.  But it will be secondary to this period.  When
everybody is just blown away.  When the band’s performance is ours.  The true fans.