Roger Waters's Fender Precision Bass, often his tool for powerful hypnotic rhythm is also used as a vehicle for confrontation. Plain in appearance and direct in sound, it mirrors Waters's artistic posture, allowing the listener to drift comfortably while simultaneously lyrically waking them up. Whether correctly or incorrectly, Waters questions things; the status quo, war and power as well as the constant entertainment we consume and numb ourselves with. 

 

The hypnotic quality his bass projects is key, it parallels the very condition Waters is critiquing: masses of electronic pablum we zone ourselves out with. Television, advertising, spectacle, noise and endless streams of stimulation that lull and dull awareness rather than sharpen it. Against that backdrop, Waters tries to break through with lyrics and concepts meant to wake us up and open our eyes to things we might rather ignore. So much manipulation occurs below the surface of our consumption of contemporary bread and circus. Waters uses lyrics and long form concepts to break through that haze. The groundbreaking Pink Floyd albums Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Animals and continuing into his solo career Waters asks uncomfortable questions: Is this the life we really want? Who's paying attention?

 

Babyak's painting visually mirrors these concepts by presenting Waters's bass as both signal and conduit, echoing his lyrical and sonic delivery where redactions suggest how critiques of power and control are filtered, obscured, partially or completely erased as they pass through mass culture.