People Publius referred to in letters

: If I don't promise you the answers would you go?

: Do you think that I know something you don't know.

: - Publius

: First of all, has anyone wondered if Publius could be Douglas Adams??? : He certainly has the band connection and the internet connection. And, : as a writer, would certainly be interested in the meanings of things. : Hell, Gilmour's letting him play guitar, why wouldn't he allow : "[Enigma] Publius" to be spelled out in lights.

: Now for the riddle. When I first saw the tracklist for The Division : Bell, I was particularly struck by how the track titles relate to each : other and how their meanings flow through each other, contradict each : other, etc. For example:

: Cluster One/Nearly Touching What Do You Want From Me? Poles Apart : (interesting juxtaposition to Nearly Touching!) Marooned (the result : of being Poles Apart???) A Great Day for Freedom (freedom from being : marooned?) Wearing the Inside Out (the result of too much freedom?) : Take it Back (doesn't want freedom anymore?) Coming Back to Life : (being revived, wants freedom/communication again) Keep Talking (keep : communicating) Lost for Words (but say something MEANINGFUL) High : Hopes (lost childhood, but the future, if people keep communicating, : will be better)

: Also, in concert, High Hopes followed Time/Home (Breathe Reprise). : Think of the message of Time and how that relates to High Hopes. Its : almost as if Time is the starting point and High Hopes is middle-aged : life.

: It SEEMS TO ME that The Division Bell primarily relates to aging : and/or the growth process (mentally) not only of an individual but : mankind.

: Well, that's enough theory for now... : Publius, tell me if I'm on the right track!

: Sincerely, : Evan Coyne Maloney

: Hi all,

: I'm afraid this is another "Publius is a fraud!" post. However, : I want to be clear that I in no way intend this as a flame against : those who have invested their time and energies in the pursuit of : the "enigma." Rather, I'm trying to explain, as reasonably as I : can, why I've never supported the idea of a "designed solution" in : _The Division Bell_. On the contrary, the evidence as I see it : points to the conclusion that this is the very fact that Publius : has been trying to make clear.

[....extensive careful, thoughtful analysis deleted....]

: To wrap this up, I'd like to include a few quotes from relative : insiders in this matter. The first is from _Guitar World_ : reporter Dan Amrich: : -=-

:: To start, though, I'm pleased to report some minor news. Brad :: [Editor-in- Chief of _Guitar World_] was originally asked if :: Gilmour mentioned anything that could be construed as Publiesque :: in his recent interview. Nope, sorry, DG was silent on the issue. :: But Brad phoned up Larry Jenkins, Columbia's VP of Media, and :: asked him about the whole situation. Mr. Jenkins had no idea what :: Brad was talking about. After Mr. Jenkins received the stack of :: printouts from Brad, he called the band (or the band's people, or :: whatever assumedly impressive resources are available to a VP of :: Media) and they would neither confirm nor deny anything. Folks :: have already said, "Oh, how convenient, the guy didn't KNOW :: anything about a hidden contest..." but Brad has a rapport with :: the guy, and feels Jenkins was on the level -- Publius really was :: news to him. So I'm inclined to think that if the enigma exists, :: it's from within the band and it's not a promotional stunt by the :: label, though other folks have reported that their sources say :: otherwise, and that Columbia knows exactly what's going on. : -=-

: I'm not sure what other folks are reporting their sources as saying : otherwise. I do know thet two more people with contacts, bear (h.w. : neff) and Jordan (the guy from Planet Earth Management) have reported : that they have heard nothing regarding Publius from their sources.

: So this leaves the thought that Publius is someone within the band. : In addition to the fact that the statements of the band members : contradict those of Publius regarding any "message" in TDB, in : addition to the other bits which seem to cast doubt on this, I offer : the following, from the noted author Douglas Adams:

:: What I said was that I myself knew nothing about it, and had never :: heard Dave or Nick mention it, and that it didn't sound like anything :: they'd be bothered with. But I'm speaking from experience rather than :: specific knowledge. Everybody who writes, whether it's novels or songs :: or anything at all that happens in the public eye, knows that there :: are always a million theories about whether you meant v,w,x,y, or z :: when you said a,b or c. [...]

:: The only thing I know of that was added to a Floyd concert recently :: was a message flashed up on a screen from Dave's daughter Clare, :: wishing Dave and Polly a happy wedding. That's an actual thing to do :: with actual people. You have to remember that rock musicians, however :: talented, are just a bunch of human beings playing guitars, like :: novelists are a just a bunch of people who stare blearily at a word :: processor in the morning and maybe trying to think of something that's :: a bit funny without being embarrassingly stupid. All this secret :: message stuff is just blah.

:: So, as far as this Publius thing is concerned, I don't know anything :: for sure. All I can say is it sounds like nothing at all that the band :: would do - they're doing a serious job making sure the tour goes well :: - and sounds everything like something that a fan with too much time :: on his hands would dream up.

: Sums it up pretty well, I think...

: ciao : matt