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\n\tHow do you take one of classic rock\u2019s most ominous tunes and make it somehow even more foreboding? Just ask Ice-T<\/a> to give it a spin. The veteran rapper\u2019s hard-rock side project, Body Count<\/a>, released a radically made-over version of Pink Floyd<\/a>\u2018s iconic tale of isolation and medically induced paralysis, \u201cComfortably Numb,\u201d on Friday (Sept. 20), with new spoken word lyrics from Ice and backing vocals from Floyd singer\/guitarist David Gilmour<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBody Count\u2019s version of \u2018Comfortably Numb\u2019 is quite radical, but the words really struck me,\u201d said Gilmour, 78, in a statement of the new take on one of the emotional centerpiece songs from Pink Floyd\u2019s iconic concept album The Wall<\/em>. \u201cIt astonishes me that a tune I wrote almost 50 years ago is back with this great new approach. They\u2019ve made it relevant again. The initial contact from Ice-T was for permission to use the song, but I thought I might offer to play on it as well. I like the new lyrics, they\u2019re talking about the world we\u2019re living in now, which is quite scary. Ice-T and Body Count played in London recently, sadly I couldn\u2019t make it, but if another opportunity came up to play with them, I\u2019d jump at it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIce-T makes the song his own with a radical reworking in which the only remaining lyrical bits are the \u201cHello\u2026 is anybody out there?\/ Can anybody hear me?\u201d refrain sung by Gilmour. Instead, the MC talk-sings a new narrative about fearing for humanity\u2019s future as well as chronicling the dual ravages of perpetual war and strife and time\u2019s inexorable march toward death. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re in perpetual war, and that\u2019s the only law\/ Can I change it? I doubt it\/ So I write songs about it\/ I was young once but now I\u2019ve grown old\/ Right in front of your \u0435yes you\u2019ve seen my life unfold,\u201d Ice-T narrates in an ominous tone over screaming guitars and a funereal beat. \u201cI had no choic\u0435 as I became the underdog\u2019s voice\/ A young black kid\u2026 look what the f\u2013k I did!\/ When I\u2019m gone there\u2019ll be someone to carry on\/ We can give in, give up, or we can stay strong\/ How accepting of the bullshit we\u2019ve all become\/ This whole world is\u2026 comfortably numb.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe original song featured music by Gilmour and haunting lyrics by the guitarist\u2019s estranged former bandmate, bassist\/singer Roger Waters.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a statement, Ice-T said, \u201cFor me \u2018Comfortably Numb\u2019 is an introspective song \u2014 it\u2019s me acknowledging that I\u2019m older now. I\u2019m telling the younger generation, you\u2019ve got two choices: you can keep the fire burning or you can give up. It\u2019s me trying to make sense of what\u2019s happening, but also pointing out that we\u2019re all in a place where we don\u2019t have to face reality. We\u2019ve got flat-screen TVs and popcorn, and we can just sit back and watch the chaos of the world like it\u2019s a TV show. It doesn\u2019t feel real until it shows up at your door. I\u2019m a little numb, too\u2014we all are.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe song will appear on Body Count\u2019s upcoming studio album, Merciless<\/em>, due out on Century Media Records on Nov. 22; the collection is the follow-up to the hardcore group\u2019s Grammy-winning 2020 LP Carnivore<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tListen to Body Count and David Gilmour\u2019s \u201cComfortably Numb\u201d below.<\/p>\n