Pink Floyd

Assessing Chris Holmes' place in popular music often results in cinematic comparisons. "He has a Zelig-like ability to insert himself into any event that matters," explains Greg Kot, music critic for the Chicago Tribune. "He's Forrest Gump for all these little subcultures," notes Brian Liesegang, former member of alt-rock hitmakers Filter and Nine Inch Nails and Holmes' current partner in the band Ashtar Command. Holmes agrees. "I've lived my life on the sidelines of all this stuff that's happening" he says.

"What do you want from me?" went the title refrain of one of the new songs Pink Floyd's David Gilmour sang Thursday night at Jack Murphy Stadium--the band's first Southern California concert in six years. Given a 1994 touring season stocked with famous, middle-aged rock attractions returning for another glorious campaign or another big score (take your pick), it seemed like a fair question to ask.

"Hounds of Love." Kate Bush. EMI. It's no accident that two Pink Floyd albums (12 and 6 years old, respectively) are on Billboard's latest list of CD best sellers. The group's overall approach may be overblown, but its sound is often sensational. Bush uses sound in equally imaginative ways--sometimes jarring, then caressing, as she reflects on the universal search for psychological comforts.