I don't think it's sad. I'm impressed. He obviously thought he no longer need Pink Floyd to maintain popularity and he failed spectacularly. His first solo album was nothing more than a fart, the second too. When you say it sounds like cheesy 80s that is probably deliberate so he can appeal to the current thing. But that wasn't enough because the album was no good. Then he spent six years on his magnum opus, Amused to Death, and in between that he had a public wind with his the Wall performance when the Berlin Wall fell. But that too was a massive bomb. All the while Gilmour is out there selling millions of copies of his crap albums and enjoying worldwide success with his gaudy tours. Waters must have been fuming, maybe close to a nervous breakdown. Reality hit him in the face with brutal force in those days.

But he didn't lay down. He remembered his only success in those years, his Berlin Wall performance. So he focused on that and built himself up as a live artist. Aided by the fact Gilmour wasn't doing anything with Floyd anymore. Musically he's no longer relevant, but he has managed to make himself relevant as an artist and a performer, and using that public capital, become a very relevant political actor. Say what you will about his speech in the UN, he's clearly relevant in that arena with a lot of young folks looking to him with inspiration.

And for me personally his latest album, the first in 25 years, is clearly his best solo work. Put Gilmour, Mason and Wright (theoretically) in the mix and you have a great modern Pink Floyd album. So he has not only evolved as a performer in his old age, he's also improved significantly with his solo efforts. The Comfortably Numb remake was also incredible, and the little I've heard from the Dark Side remake also intrigues me. For so many years I never cared for any of his solo work because his first 3 albums were so disappointing, but here he is in his late 70s wheeling me in. For me he is about to create a second legacy which is almost as illustrious as his Pink Floyd heyday.

I listen to early Floyd. Not so much the Barrett period and the few albums after that when they were learning to create music on their own, but Atom Heart Mother and particularly Meddle have a lot of great songs. They sound like summer pop albums with cheerful melodies. Then you have Echoes, one of their best songs and clearly the bridge to later material.

All of Floyd's early solo material is a microcosm of what they each brought to the band. Wright with his soundscapes, Gilmour with his guitar, Mason with his rhythm and Waters with his energy and visionary concepts. He shouldn't have left the band.

Decent vocals from Axl.

What do you mean by "not let them shine"? Seems to me he let them do pretty much whatever they wanted, then he decided what went where. For me Robin, BH, Bumble etc. all shine when they contribute a great solo.

The problem is he almost never releases anything. Maybe that's what you mean?

I think the main problem with that song is not the voice, but Eric Dover's way of using his voice. He's got good pipes but he lacks the Axl factor on how exactly to make it sound special. On this song the AI can replicate the sound of Axl but not the dynamics if that is the right word.

Question is if the AI will ever be able to replicate subtle things like that.

I don't see how she could have had a better career than she's already had. Child actress, household name, Oscar win. She's a good actress but come on. She's not Elizabeth Taylor.

Season 5 Sopranos.

I'm trying to analyze why this feels like a half assed season and the beginning of the end for the show. They've stuck to some of the same style as season 4. Lots of close ups, but fewer long shots and artistic choices. Color wise it is more saturated. Season 4 had a lot of characters dressed in black and red surrounded by cold colors. This season is darker with even the scenery taking on lots of black. But where season 4 added a lot of existential themes to go with the new look and feel of the show, they are going back to the more directly mob related in this season. But it lacks the fun of season 1-3. Many staging shots appear to be lazy with Tony talking to people behind the Bing desk all the time. Stylistically it feels very sameish.

The storylines are starting to jump the shark a little bit. The typical fatigue of an old show. Having Tony and Carm separate is a mistake. So much of the show is centered around activities in the house. It's a bit like screwing up the Bar setting in Cheers, you don't do that. Having an entire episode deal with Carmela's relationship with a teacher is straight up boring. The New York thing too, I like the characters and the introduction of that world, but why do you kill off a great character like Carmine Lupertazzi just so you can have Johnny Sack replace him for  a handful of episodes before going to jail. And then the whole war thing with New York that culminates in season 6. It feels like a desperate need for drama.

Getting rid of Robert Loggia after 4 episodes is a massive waste. Every scene with his character is a joy. Also killing Tony B doesn't achieve anything other than set up the pieces for the Leotardo war later. They should have kept Buscemi on for the full duration. He was a great addition to the show.

The bear storyline is nonsense. Just to set up the return of the bear in the last episode and all this other pretentious symbolism.

That being said there are some absolute killer scenes in this season. Some of the best in the whole show. Tony fighting with Janice is pure gold. Some of the therapy sessions and flash backs are great. If I give the first four seasons all 6 stars out of 6, this season only gets 5.