History Music / TheFinalCut

* PastInTheRearViewMirror: "Two Suns in the Sunset".
-->''In my rear view mirror the sun is going down\\
Sinking behind bridges in the road''

''The Final Cut'' is the twelfth studio album by Music/PinkFloyd -- er, by Music/RogerWaters, ''[[IAmTheBand performed by]]'' Pink Floyd -- released in 1983. It is their last album made when Waters was still part of the band, and their only album not to feature Richard Wright at all (Wright appeared on their following album, ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason'', albeit as a '''very''' minor session musician providing the occasional bit of keyboards and backing vocals; he didn't regain official status until ''Music/TheDivisionBell''). In his place, the album's keyboard parts were performed by both Music/StatusQuo member Andy Bown and returning collaborator Music/MichaelKamen, who also contributed orchestral arrangements.

** "The Fletcher Memorial Home" lists various heads of state who are "overgrown infants" and "incurable tyrants" who should be sent to a retirement home and have "the Final Solution" implanted on them: UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan (who silently provided aid to the British military during the Falklands War), Alexander Haig (Reagan's Secretary of State from 1981-1982), Menachem Begin (Prime Minister of Israel), UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher, Ian Paisley (a Northern Irish politician and reverend credited with helping kickstart UsefulNotes/TheTroubles by leading anti-Catholic movements), UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev (General Secretary of the USSR from 1964 until 1982), UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy (who led the anti-communist witch hunts in the USA between 1945 and 1954), UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, and the entire Argentinian oligarchy (who Waters blames for helping fund the Falklands War).

** "The Fletcher Memorial Home" lists various heads of state who are "overgrown infants" and "incurable tyrants" who should be sent to a retirement home and have "the Final Solution" implanted on them: UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan (who silently provided aid to the British military during the Falklands War), Alexander Haig (Reagan's Secretary of State from 1981-1982), Menachem Begin (Prime Minister of Israel), UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher, Ian Paisley (Northern Irish politician and reverend), UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev (General Secretary of the USSR from 1964 until 1982), UsefulNotes/JosephMcCarthy (who led the anti-communist witch hunts in the USA between 1945 and 1954), UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, and the entire Argentinian oligarchy (who Waters blames for helping fund the Falklands War).

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Referenced in the title track:
-->''There's a kid who had a big hallucination, making love to girls in magazines''

* AtomicHate: "Two Suns in the Sunset"

* MythologyGag:
** The line "Do you remember me? How we used to be?" in the chorus of "Your Possible Pasts" quotes the line "Do you remember me? How we used to be helpless and happy and blind?" in "Incarceration of a Flower Child", a song that Roger Waters wrote shortly after Music/SydBarrett's ousting but never released; the piece would ultimately be given to Music/MarianneFaithfull in 1999.
** Right before the above-mentioned BilingualBonus of "Not Now John", Waters chants, "One, Two, Free, Four!", as a reference to the band's earlier single "Free Four" (from ''Music/ObscuredByClouds'').

* UsefulNotes/ThePoppy: A motif throughout the album artwork. "The Gunner's Dream" also mentions Remembrance Sunday services.

** In the song "Not Now John", Waters expressed his displeasure with Alan Parker, who directed the movie version of ''Music/TheWall'':

*** In this vein, the album's art included a picture of a soldier holding a film canister with a knife in his back.

* UsefulNotes/TheTroubles: The line "And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control" in "The Gunner's Dream" is a reference to an IRA bombing that happened around the time of the recording of this album. Ian Paisley is also mentioned as one of the statesmen who ought to be sent to a retirement home.

''The Final Cut'' is the twelfth studio album by Music/PinkFloyd -- er, by Music/RogerWaters, ''[[IAmTheBand performed by]]'' Pink Floyd -- released in 1983. It is their last album made when Waters was still part of the band, and their only album not to feature Richard Wright at all (Wright appeared on their following album, ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason'', albeit as a '''very''' minor session musician providing the occasional bit of keyboards and backing vocals; he didn't regain official status until ''Music/TheDivisionBell''). In his place, the album's keyboard parts were performed by both Music/StatusQuo member Andy Bown and returning collaborator Music/MichaelKamen, who also contributed orchestral arrangements. Music/SlyAndTheFamilyStone drummer Andy Newmark was brought in to play on "Two Suns in the Sunset" when Nick Mason was unable to perform the complex rhythm.

* SpecialGuest: Prolific composer Music/MichaelKamen and Music/StatusQuo member Andy Bown provide keyboard parts in lieu of the fired Richard Wright.

''The Final Cut'' is the twelfth studio album by Music/PinkFloyd -- er, by Music/RogerWaters, ''[[IAmTheBand performed by]]'' Pink Floyd -- released in 1983. It is their last album made when Waters was still part of the band, and their only album not to feature Richard Wright at all (Wright appeared on their following album, ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason'', albeit as a '''very''' minor session musician providing the occasional bit of keyboards and backing vocals; he didn't regain official status until ''Music/TheDivisionBell''). In his place, the album's keyboard parts were performed by both Music/StatusQuo member Andy Bown and returning collaborator Music/MichaelKamen, who also contributed orchestral arrangements.

(Fuck all that! Fuck all that!)

* BilingualBonus: Towards the end of "Not Now John", Waters yells "Excuse me, where's the bar?" in [[GratuitousItalian Italian]] ("scusi, dov'é il bar?"), [[GratuitousGreek Greek]] (the badly-mangled "Se para collo pou eine toe bar?") and [[GratuitousFrench French]] ("s'il vous plait, ou est le bar?") with increasing intensity, culminating in English with "OI, WHERE'S THE [[PrecisionFStrike FUCKING]] BAR, JOHN?!". (Before that, one can hear a background voice going "Why don't you say that in Brit, fairy!?!")

* PrecisionFStrike: "Not Now John" remains their definitive example with lines including "Fuck all that we gotta get on with these" and "Oi, where's the fucking bar John?". In the context of their discography, it's also this, as most of their songs that contain profanity use it sparingly, while this one has about half a dozen F-bombs.

* ListSong: "One of The Few". "The Fletcher Memorial Home" lists various post World War Two politicians who are described as ''incurable tyrants'' fit for retirement. See also ShoutOut below.

Due to the tensions between Waters and Gilmour, this was Pink Floyd's first studio album not to have a supporting tour. To promote the album, a 19-minute video EP of four songs, "The Gunner's Dream", "The Final Cut", "Not Now John" and "The Fletcher Memorial Home", directed by Waters' then-brother-in-law, Willie Christie, was released on home video and aired on Creator/{{MTV}}. Alex [=McAvoy=], who played the Teacher in the film adaption of ''Music/TheWall'' the previous year, appeared as a World War II veteran in the short film.

----

''The Final Cut'' is the twelfth studio album by Music/PinkFloyd -- er, by Music/RogerWaters, ''[[IAmTheBand performed by]]'' Pink Floyd -- released in 1983. It is their last album to feature Music/RogerWaters, and their only album not to feature Richard Wright at all (Wright appeared on their following album, ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason'', albeit as a '''very''' minor session musician providing the occasional bit of keyboards and backing vocals; he didn't regain official status until ''Music/TheDivisionBell''). In his place, the album's keyboard parts were performed by both Music/StatusQuo member Andy Bown and returning collaborator Music/MichaelKamen, who also contributed orchestral arrangements.

Tying in with Pink Floyd's longtime affinity for surround sound, the album was one of the first to utilize the Holophonic system, an experimental engineering technique that used post-processing effects to emulate a binaural recording without the use of a binaural microphone; Waters would later reuse the Holophonic system on his debut solo album, ''The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking'', the following year. The experiments with Holophonics both here and there would presage Waters' flirtation with [=QSound=] on his 1992 solo album ''Amused to Death'' (often described by analysts as a SpiritualSuccessor to ''The Final Cut'') and Pink Floyd's 5.1 remixes of their '70s albums in the 21st century.

* BlackComedy: The fade-out on the closing track, "Two Suns in the Sunset", has a faint snippet of a radio news report with a weather forecast of "4000 degrees celsius", a reference to the temperature of a nuclear fireball.

* VocalTagTeam: David Gilmour and Roger Waters duet on "Not Now John", with Gilmour providing the verses and Waters providing the choruses and the voice of a heckling audience member.

** In the title track "The Final Cut", dogs can be heard barking and whimpering, a reference to ''Music/{{Animals}}''.

As a result of the album's tense production, Pink Floyd went on hiatus. During this time, the trio focused on various solo projects: Waters released and toured for ''The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking'', Gilmour put together his second solo album, ''About Face'', and Mason released the collaborative album ''Profiles'' with Music/TenCc guitarist Rick Fenn. In December of 1985, Waters resigned from Pink Floyd, calling it a "spent force" and pushing to have the band legally dissolved by order of the High Court. In a 2004 interview with ''Uncut'', Waters claimed that his resignation was caused by a lawsuit filed against him by his bandmates and Creator/ColumbiaRecords, the band's U.S. label at the time and Roger's worldwide solo label, which would've forced him to make another Pink Floyd record with greater creative contributions from his bandmates or face financial ruin. Despite Waters' efforts, Gilmour and Mason chose to continue the band without him, leading to messy legal issues anyway in the form of a trademark dispute that would last the next two years, even after the release of the band's first post-Waters album, ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason''.

As a result of the album's tense production, Pink Floyd went on hiatus. During this time, the trio focused on various solo projects: Waters released and toured for ''The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking'', Gilmour put together his second solo album, ''About Face'', and Mason released the collaborative album ''Profiles'' with Music/TenCc guitarist Rick Fenn. In December of 1985, Waters resigned from Pink Floyd, calling it a "spent force" and pushing to have the band legally dissolved by order of the High Court. In a 2004 interview with ''Uncut'', Waters claimed that his resignation was caused by a lawsuit filed against him by his bandmates and Creator/ColumbiaRecords, which would've forced him to make another Pink Floyd record with greater creative contributions from his bandmates or face financial ruin. Despite Waters' efforts, Gilmour and Mason chose to continue the band without him, leading to messy legal issues anyway in the form of a trademark dispute that would last the next two years, even after the release of the band's first post-Waters album, ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason''.

''The Final Cut'' is the twelfth studio album by Music/PinkFloyd -- er, by Music/RogerWaters, ''[[IAmTheBand performed by]]'' Pink Floyd -- released in 1983. It is their last album to feature Music/RogerWaters, and their only album not to feature Richard Wright at all (Wright appeared on their following album, ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason'', albeit as a '''very''' minor session musician providing the occasional bit of keyboards and backing vocals; he didn't regain official status until ''Music/TheDivisionBell'').

As a result of the album's tense production, Pink Floyd went on hiatus. During this time, the trio focused on various solo projects: Waters released and toured for his debut solo album, ''The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking'', Gilmour put together his second solo album, ''About Face'', and Mason released the collaborative album ''Profiles'' with Music/TenCc guitarist Rick Fenn. In December of 1985, Waters resigned from Pink Floyd, calling it a "spent force" and pushing to have the band legally dissolved by order of the High Court. In a 2004 interview with ''Uncut'', Waters claimed that his resignation was caused by a lawsuit filed against him by his bandmates and Creator/ColumbiaRecords, which would've forced him to make another Pink Floyd record with greater creative contributions from his bandmates or face financial ruin. Despite Waters' efforts, Gilmour and Mason chose to continue the band without him, leading to messy legal issues anyway in the form of a trademark dispute that would last the next two years, even after the release of the band's first post-Waters album, ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason''.

* BlingOfWar: A very, ''very'' subdued version on the original cover (as befits the album's anti-war message).[[note]]A [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_poppy remembrance poppy]] is on the upper left hand corner, and below it are ribbons representing four UsefulNotes/WorldWarII medals - the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_Kingdom) Distinguished Flying Cross]], the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939–45_Star 1939-45 Star]], the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Star Africa Star]], and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Medal_(United_Kingdom) Defence Medal]][[/note]]

** "The Fletcher Memorial Home" lists various heads of state who are "overgrown infants" and "incurable tyrants" who should be sent to a retirement home and have "the Final Solution" implanted on them: UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan, Alexander Haig (Reagan's Secretary of State from 1981-1982), Menachem Begin (Prime Minister of Israel), UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher, Ian Paisley (Northern Irish politician and reverend), UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev (General Secretary of the USSR from 1964 until 1982), Joseph [=McCarthy=] (who led the anti-communist witch hunts in the USA between 1945 and 1954) and UsefulNotes/RichardNixon.

* {{Yellowface}}: The geisha girls in the video EP's scene for "Not Now John" are visibly played by white actresses in heavy makeup.

** The bridge in "Not Now John":

Waters would ultimately leave Pink Floyd in the wake of the album's tense production; Gilmour and Mason would continue the band without him, leading to a prolonged trademark dispute that would keep the band inactive for the majority of the 1980's; during that time, both Waters and Gilmour focused on putting together solo albums.

Preceded by ''Music/TheWall''. Succeded by ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason''.

* ChamberPop: Most of the album, thanks to Michael Kamen's orchestrations.

* SpecialGuest: Prolific composer Michael Kamen and Music/StatusQuo member Andy Bown provide keyboard parts in lieu of the fired Richard Wright.

** "The Hero's Return" references the "dark sarcasm" line in "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" from ''Music/TheWall

* ConceptAlbum: As with all Pink Floyd albums starting from ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon''.

** The line "Do you remember me? How we used to be?" in the chorus of "Your Possible Pasts" quotes the line "Do you remember me? How we used to be helpless and happy and blind?" in "Incarceration of a Flower Child", a song that Roger Waters wrote shortly after Music/SydBarrett's ousting but never released; the piece would ultimately be given to Marianne Faithfull in 1999.

** The line "Do you remember me? How we used to be?" in the chorus of "Your Possible Pasts" quotes the line "Do you remember me? How we used to be helpless and happy and blind?" in "Incarceration of a Flower Child", a song that Roger Waters wrote shortly after Music/SydBarret's ousting but never released; the piece would ultimately be given to Marianne Faithfull in 1999.

* MythologyGag: Right before the above-mentioned BilingualBonus of "Not Now John", Waters chants, "One, Two, Free, Four!", as a reference to the band's earlier single "Free Four" (from ''Music/ObscuredByClouds'').