This essay will discuss the relationship between “Money” and the subsequent effects it had on culture. These topics will focus on economic systems and technology. Pink Floyd’s song “Money”, released in 1973. Roger Waters is the only credited songwriter. Floyd’s guitarist David Gilmour was the one singing at this point. Pink Floyd’s four members produced the song. Dick Parry contributed an additional Saxophone solo.

Rogers claims that the song emerged during the process of writing the album (‘The Dark Side of the Moon), and was written to address “the different demands of modern life”. Because wealth is such an integral part of every person’s life, especially at that time, Rogers began writing lyrics for Money’. Waters’ first verse states, “Money is a gas.” Grab your cash and start a stash. Roger is a person who understands capitalism and enjoys it. This is particularly true given the fact that Pink Floyd began as a band who believed in socialism. However, Waters became the machine and ended up fighting against it. I was very interested in “Money”. It was then that I thought, “Well, that’s it. Now, I have a decision. It’s not easy to accept… I wanted all the material stuff.

The ‘Money” release was just after the ‘Barber Boom’. A scheme to provide cheap credit to consumers was soon followed by “a bank crisis, raging inflation and stratospheric wages deals” as well as other financial struggles. This was due to worker’s wages falling behind those in the manufacturing sector. Money was clearly a dominant theme in western society during 1973. This undoubtedly contributed to the success and charting at number 13 on US Billboard Hot 100. The album sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide. Water’s social commentary was clearly popular and Pink Floyd became a mainstream band. Although Floyd was primarily known for being a prog-rock group, it was clear that they had much more to offer with the release ‘Money.

The track ‘Money’ is written in a unique time signature of 7/4. This gives it a progressive and unresolved feel. The chord progression follows the 12 bar blues (I-IV, I, V), in the key B minor. The vocal melodies, and solos on guitar are based on a pentatonic/blues scale. Waters added various sounds of paper breaking, paper tearing and coins clattering to the song’s 7/4 beat. This loop was used to begin the track in an interesting way. The Beatles and others had done sampling before, but never in this way.

It was a new technology, and Roger Waters was pushing it. The use of sampling, universal lyrics, and honesty was what allowed him to make his band more mainstream than other prog-rock acts. Waters, in all honesty, wanted to reach as wide a market as possible through his music. Ironically, this meant that he was trying to make the most of it.

Although sampling technology wasn’t new, it’s evident that Roger Waters pioneered the use of it. They used a 16-track recording device that made layering much easier. However, complex studio techniques like these took a lot longer to complete in 1973 as there were not digital samplers and recorders like today.

The opening statement to a culture was “Money”, which was the song that introduced them to a new way of thinking about socio-economic systems, war, education and eventually money. Without the song, it is difficult to imagine how their works like The Wall (1979), that contain many of these themes but on a larger scale, would look and sound. Roger ultimately succumbed, but the song speaks to something that is very relatable.