"They made it relevant again!" David Gilmour guests on Body Count cover of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb
· louderBy Jerry Ewing
( Prog )
published 20 September 2024
Ice-Ts Body Count will release their new album Merciless in November
David Gilmour features on the new Body Count single, a cover of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, their classic track from 1979's The Wall album.
Body Count, rapper Ice-T's heavy metal band who rose to prominence on the back of the controversial Cop Killer from their 1991 self-titled debut album, will release their new album, Merciless, through Century Media Records on November 22. It's the follow-up to 2020's Carnivore.
Comfortably Numb famously explores themes of detachment and introspection that run throughout The Wall, and which inspired Ice-T to create new lyrics for the track, which resonated with Gilmour, leading to his offer to play on the song.
"Body Count's version of Comfortably Numb is quite radical, but the words really struck me," says Gilmour of the collaboration. "It astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They've made it relevant again. The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics, they're talking about the world we’re living in now, which is quite scary. Ice-T and Body Count played in London recently, sadly I couldn't make it, but if another opportunity came up to play with them, I'd jump at it."
"For me, Comfortably Numb, is an introspective song – it's me acknowledging that I'm older now," adds Ice T. "I'm telling the younger generation, you've got two choices: you can keep the fire burning or you can give up. It's me trying to make sense of what's happening, but also pointing out that we're all in a place where we don’t have to face reality. We've got flat-screen TVs and popcorn, and we can just sit back and watch the chaos of the world like it’s a TV show. It doesn’t feel real until it shows up at your door. I’m a little numb, too – we all are."
BODY COUNT - Comfortably Numb (VISUALIZER VIDEO) - YouTube
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Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.
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