If I had been God, with my staff and my rod, I could have done a better job.
Is This the Life We Really Want? is a 2017 album by Roger Waters, and his first rock album since 1992's Amused to Death.
Waters promoted this album with his Us and Them world tour.
Are these the tropes we really want?
- A God Am I: The first verse of "Déjà Vu"."If I had been GodWith my staff and my rodIf I had been given the nod
- Anaphora: Each verse in "Picture That" features a chunk of consecutive lines that all start with the verb "picture." Verse three is made almost entirely of these lines, with the sole exception of a Title Drop in the middle.
- Call-Back: The instrumentals for "Déjà Vu" are bound to remind one of "Pigs on the Wing".
- The drum groove and bassline of "Smell The Roses" resemble a slightly sped-up ""Have A Cigar".
- "Wish you were here in Guantanamo Bay!"
- Censor Box: The album cover is covered with these.
- Cluster F-Bomb: "Picture That":Picture a courthouse with no fucking laws
Picture a cathouse with no fucking whores
Picture a shithouse with no fucking drains
Picture a leader with no fucking brains. - Concept Album
- List Song: "Is This The Life We Really Want?"
- Product Placement: From "The Last Refugee":"...punch their iPhones..."
- Spoken Word in Music: The Title Track opens with an excerpt from an exchange between Donald Trump and CNN reporter Jim Acosta, leading into the lyrics' rumination on the sociocultural factors that led to Trump becoming president of the United States."So, as an example, you're CNN. I mean it's story, after story, after story is bad. I won. I won. And the other thing, chaos. There’s zero chaos. We are running. This is a fine-tuned mach—"
- Take That!: The album and its promotional tour, titled Us + Them, is an indictment on US president Donald Trump's far-right political standing, in particular the "travel ban" bills and the Republican Party's attempts at dismantling of the Affordable Care Act and his predecessor Barack Obama's progressive social policies.
