Roger Waters Goes to War with Online Tracks

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NEW YORK (Billboard) - Former Pink Floyd mainman Roger Waters (news) released two new songs, both inspired by the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (news - web sites), via online download outlets Tuesday.



"To Kill The Child" and "Leaving Beirut" have been available for streaming on Waters' official Web site (http://www.roger-waters.com), since Friday. They are now on sale at through iTunes, SonyConnect, Napster (news - web sites), Walmart.com and other digital stores.


Waters said he began work on the tunes "immediately after the invasion of Iraq." In "To Kill the Child," he targets a litany of corporations, while "Leaving Beirut" takes aim at both President Bush (news - web sites) and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites).


"It seems apposite to throw them out there on the Net, before the (U.S. presidential) election," Waters said. "Historically, there have always been people within the artistic community who have spoken out about things they believe in and they should continue to do so. I shall certainly continue to do so, whether it has any effect or not, because I feel I have a responsibility to myself to do that."


It has been more than a decade since Waters' last solo album of original material, 1992's Columbia set "Amused To Death." In 2002, he contributed a demo of "Flickering Flame" and a cover of Bob Dylan (news)'s "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" to the internationally released compilation of his post-Floyd career, "Flickering Flame: The Solo Years, Vol. 1."

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