MICHAEL/ANGELO BATTLE ROUND 1: PINK FLOYD!

by Vanessa Cardin with Michael Loftus and Angelo DiPlacido
Having your own opinions is a part of life and a part of growing up, but these two guys take having an opinion to another level. They will have very heated discussion for sometimes an hour and a half about any band in rock n' roll history. On this particular day, the band was Pink Floyd and these two guys that I keep mentioning--Michael Loftus and Angelo DiPlacido--had some very strong differences of opinion.
The discussion began with Angelo asking Michael his favorite Pink Floyd album. Michael's choice was "Animals," the Floyd's 1977 dense, hard rock classic, comprised mainly of three epic songs: "Dogs," "Pigs (Three Different Ones)," and "Sheep." Angelo's choice was their 1979 double album "The Wall," an ambitious double album that tells the story of a disillusioned rock n' roll star building a metaphorical wall around himself. The album contains such Floyd hits as "Another Brick in the Wall, part 2," "Young Lust," and "Comfortably Numb." Michael argued that "The Wall" lacked the musical creativity of "Animals," while Angelo countered that "Animals" was a transparent album and not as complex and varied as "The Wall." Ironically, the only song Michael likes on the album--the beautiful and stately acoustic number "Vera Lynn"--Angelo says is useless for the overall album concept.
The boys then turned their discussion to Pink Floyd's breakout album "Dark Side of the Moon," about which they mostly agreed, although Michael believes it is highly overrated. He thinks all the songs on this album use a lot of the same concepts as other musical groups, like love and loneliness. Mr. Tressel joined in the discussion to talk about his favorite Floyd album, "The Final Cut"--the last album with founding member and lyricist, Roger Waters. Angelo agreed that "The Final Cut" is very underrated and he and Mr. Tressel discussed the album as containing some of guitarist David Gilmour's finest solos. Mr. Tressel also threw his support behind "Animals," saying he believed the long songs allowed the band to stretch out musically in a way "The Wall" doesn't since it sometimes puts the narrative ahead of the music. He did say that "The Wall" was the first Pink Floyd album he listened to and would always be a sentimental favorite. All three gentlemen--Michael, Angelo, and Mr. Tressel--concurred that "Ummagumma" is the worst Pink Floyd record, ending the debate with some peaceful agreement.
This discussion was one of the most heated, funny, and interesting arguments I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Michael and Angelo, sorry if I got anything wrong, but you two talked way too fast.