PINK F. 30 years of blowing minds

> The enduring qualities of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon have made it an
> epic in the annals of music, and carried it to a remarkable milestone.
> Perhaps a toast is in order. The band's Dark Side of the Moon release is on
> e of the top recordings of all time and has been on album charts for 26
> years.
>
> Said Glenda the Good Witch to Dorothy from Kansas, "Just tap your heels,
> and you'll take a trip to the Dark Side of the Moon."
>
> OK, that's not how The Wizard of Oz goes. But someone with too much time on
> his hands -- and a ready supply of mind-altering substances -- once
> discovered that Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album provides a nifty
> alternative soundtrack to the classic movie.
>
> Apparently, if you start the album on the third roar of the MGM lion, the
> music and lyrics perfectly parallel much of the action. But this trippy bit
> of trivia does not begin to explain the album's massive appeal and
> endurance.
>
> Dark Side of the Moon turns 30 today, and continues to enjoy status as one
> of the top-selling albums of all time and an essential part of our rock 'n'
> roll consciousness.
>
> Ironically, as if to demonstrate one of the album's themes, its original
> U.K. release (March 24, 1973, a week after the North American release) was
> marred by a bit of capitalism gone awry. Scheduled for a press showcase at
> the London Planetarium, the planned quadrophonic mix had not been produced
> in time. The record company went ahead with an inferior stereo mix and,
> according to drummer Nick Mason, "they'd got the most terrible speakers."
> The band refused to participate, so the label erected cardboard cut-outs of
> the musicians to "welcome" the press. The reporters had a field day, one
> even quipping that he couldn't tell the difference.
>
> Despite this inauspicious release, and mixed early reviews, Dark Side of
> the Moon has put up staggering numbers, selling more than 29 million copies
> worldwide. It will be certified double diamond in Canada next week, marking
> sales of two million.
>
> It stayed on Billboard Magazine's Top 200 Album chart for 741 weeks in
> total -- more than 14 years. Of those, 591 weeks were consecutive, from
> Dec. 18, 1976 to April 23, 1988. It dropped off due to a change in
> Billboard's chart system, but returned to the Pop Catalog Album chart,
> created in 1991, and has maintained a position there ever since.
>
> Just last month, DSM marked its 1,342nd week (almost 26 years) of chart
> placement, earning it a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. No
> other album has persisted longer on any chart in history.
>
> But at the time, the album's massive success nearly drove the band apart.
> The recognition that they may have reached their peak left nothing left to
> strive for. In a June 1978 interview with Melody Maker, guitarist David
> Gilmour reflected, "When you have something like Dark Side of the Moon ...
> all those goals suddenly disappear because you've got them. There was
> definitely a danger point at that period. We could have easily packed the
> whole thing in."
>
> Fittingly, DSM was one of the first albums available on CD in August 1984
> -- in fact, its catalogue number is EMI001 -- and remains one of the top 10
> best-selling compact discs of all time. And to commemorate the anniversary,
> EMI will release DSM on Super Audio CD (SACD) format next Tuesday. Remixed
> and re-mastered from the original analogue tapes, the hybrid SACD will be
> playable on any conventional CD unit, but those with SACD-compatible
> systems will hear it in 5.1 surround sound.
>
> Mark Collen, senior vice-president of global marketing for EMI, says DSM is
> perfectly suited to a high-resolution format like SACD, "which can
> faithfully capture the subtle nuances of the Floyd's intricate music."
> Original sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson has also re-worked his prism
> design for the 30th anniversary cover.
>
> DSM is a staple of the programming on Ottawa's classic rock station, CHEZ
> 106. Tracks like Time, Money and Us And Them combine for approximately 11
> spins every week, and the album is played in its entirety about four times
> a year, "just for fun", says station manager, Danny Kingsbury.
>
> Kingsbury feels that the album's prevailing feature is its revolutionary
> production.
>
> "People probably didn't even appreciate it at the time, but when you listen
> to it now, it's not dated at all. It's brilliant sonics. It will last
> forever."
>
> Craig Bailey is the host of Floydian Slip, a weekly Pink Floyd radio show
> heard in Vermont since 1995.
>
> "Dark Side is a blast," he muses. "Full of layers of ambient sounds,
> effects and dialogue-solid songwriting, excellent production and fine
> musicianship. It's one of the best-recorded albums ever made."
>
> The inventive dialogue on DSM provides some of its most memorable moments,
> like the infamous lunatic laughter of Pink Floyd roadie Roger The Hat, on
> Brain Damage.
>
> And the closing words of the album, "There is no dark side of the moon,
> really. Matter of fact, it's all dark," uttered by Jerry Driscoll.
>
> These were culled from interviews conducted by engineer Alan Parsons.
> Participants flipped over cards and answered questions compiled by the
> band, like "Do you fear death?" and "Are you mad?".
>
> Erik Haller, general manager of the HMV superstore in Toronto, is a big fan
> of the album.
>
> "Way ahead of its time. The way the voice and sound are mixed is timeless.
> The theme and music appeals to all generations."
>
> He also notes that current electronic artists were most certainly
> influenced by the atmospheric sound of DSM. In fact, Radiohead cites Pink
> Floyd as an influence on its breakthrough OK Computer album.
>
> Clearly, DSM's dark, introspective motifs struck a universal and timeless
> chord. It's easy to see that the album's themes of alienation, greed,
> wasted time, death -- all the things that drive people mad -- are still
> frighteningly relevant. The extent of its abiding popularity is evident
> from SoundScan's sales figures, still tracking an average of 8,000 copies
> sold weekly in the U.S., and almost 700 in Canada.
>
> And new generations of fans continue to discover this influential album,
> apparent on the many Pink Floyd forums on the Internet.
>
>
>
>


"I don't know if pop is an art form? I should think it is as much as sitting
down is."
Syd Barrett, 1970
....

To great music! May it live on!!!

And the myth is prepetuated.

round and round and round etc

i broke my scrolly-wheel-thingy...

LOL! I ain't reading that!

cheers

That's gross.

Long posts are great, I love reading the first line and then ignoring the rest.

Why the hell do you read the first line?

It's just a quirk of mine.

Way to go, Einstein.

I heard it on the grapevine.

you and your silly rhyme scheme.

It fits in with the random theme.

"Now stop that rhyming, I mean it!"

Ok.