Pink Floyd is one of the most commercially successful and musically influential bands in the history of popular music. Known for their progressive and psychedelic music, Pink Floyd’s music has touched millions all around the globe. Their songs have rendered the audiences around the world ensorcelled. The inspiration of the above said songs have been derived from various antecedents. One such being the famous novel written by George Orwell by the name of Animal Farm.
The animal farm although a popular book was not the easiest of books to comprehend. It was a book filled with metaphors and abstruseness. A fairy tale, this book talks about how the animals one day come together and decided to rebel and overthrow the humans (hence a fairy tale). According to the writer the book talks about the events that led up to the Russian revolution of 1917. While the plot may seem boring, the book isn’t. No wonder this particular piece of literature has been an inspiration to the music and television industry. Pink Floyd, REM, Radiohead and the clash are some of the bands which made animal farm their own.
Floyd released and album by the name of animals inspired by the same. A successful album, it provides a scathing perspective of the social political conditions of late 1970’s Britain. The album describes various classes of people as animals, amusingly. There are the combative dogs, ruthless pigs who are despotic and more importantly the mindless and 
unquestioning herd of sheep. The contrast between the novel and the album is clear however. While novel focuses more on Stalinism, the album is more centric toward capitalism. Funnily enough the sheep rise up and overthrow the dogs (complete disregard for the laws of nature). Apparently George Waters (member, Pink Floyd) wrote the song Pigs (song, album: Animals) about Mary Whitehouse, a British woman who led a movement to keep sex off TV (why would you do that?!). He strongly believed Whitehouse should have no right to decide what people wish to watch. Roger Waters used an inflatable pig when he performed at the 2008 Coachella festival, this time the pig was emblazoned with the word “Obama” as Waters wanted to support the US presidential candidate. When Waters performed this song, the pig was released on cue, but broke free and floated away. Festival organizers offered lifetime passes and $10,000 cash for the pig’s safe return. In was found a few miles away in two plastic heaps by some surprised homeowners in La Quinta. The novel may have been written a long time ago, but the afflatus still lingers.
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