Dark Side of the Moon as College Ensemble Pice
December 9, 2020 12:31 PM Subscribe
An amazing performance, in its entirety, of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" by students at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Via the A.V. Club.
Ah, this brings me back. I spent many an hour listening to this album (and Wish You Were Here, and The Wall) in university. Thanks for the nostalgia bomb this afternoon!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 2:29 PM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 2:29 PM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'm impressed by the Ableton work, and the comments on the YouTube video are warming my heart.
posted by box at 2:29 PM on December 9, 2020
posted by box at 2:29 PM on December 9, 2020
it's just reproduction.
Plus intonation issues, though; that should count for something!
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:35 PM on December 9, 2020
Plus intonation issues, though; that should count for something!
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:35 PM on December 9, 2020
I really liked the performance of Atom Heart Mother done by the Conservatoire de Paris.
posted by njohnson23 at 2:46 PM on December 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by njohnson23 at 2:46 PM on December 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
I initially read this as being high school players, and I thought the various announcement and conversation samples (Intro, On the Run, etc.) could have been taken from school announcements from the principal of what's for lunch that day, between-class conversations, etc.
It's a little loose, but this is exactly the kind of thing I would have wanted to be a part of at this age. My creativities lay elsewhere, but this is fun stuff!
Let us not overlook that the mixing of the whole thing is really well done.
Also, I finally learned a few more lyrics! Those hard Rs and complete enunciations come in handy.
posted by rhizome at 3:07 PM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's a little loose, but this is exactly the kind of thing I would have wanted to be a part of at this age. My creativities lay elsewhere, but this is fun stuff!
Let us not overlook that the mixing of the whole thing is really well done.
Also, I finally learned a few more lyrics! Those hard Rs and complete enunciations come in handy.
posted by rhizome at 3:07 PM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Back in the mid 80's there was this great local record store in Dayton OH that sold used records and bootlegs, and I collected a whole bunch of Floyd stuff.
The Pink Floyd community has its own term for Pink Floyd bootlegs: Recordings Of Illegitimate Origin (ROIOs). I think the term is used for bootlegs of other bands, too, and some people seem to apply the ROIO label to particular kinds of unauthorized recordings of live performances or ones that are only traded and not sold.
It's several years old - 2012 - but I really like this cover of Time and Breathe (Reprise) by the Trinity Orchestra.
posted by ElKevbo at 3:11 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
The Pink Floyd community has its own term for Pink Floyd bootlegs: Recordings Of Illegitimate Origin (ROIOs). I think the term is used for bootlegs of other bands, too, and some people seem to apply the ROIO label to particular kinds of unauthorized recordings of live performances or ones that are only traded and not sold.
It's several years old - 2012 - but I really like this cover of Time and Breathe (Reprise) by the Trinity Orchestra.
posted by ElKevbo at 3:11 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
the instrumental work hews too slavishly to the album.
I think it's the nature of the project though, isn't it? I'm not sure how you cover a record like this, without either direct reproduction or absolute reinterpretation. Anything between the two is almost certainly going to fall flat, because it's both such an incredibly well-known and incredibly meticulous recording. It's an entirely unfair task, really, because, no, you're not going to it "better" than a band that played together for years, developed the material on tour, spent over a year (albeit very much on and off) recording it and was working in one of the best studios in the world with one of the world's best recording engineers.
I tend to think that, unless you happen to have a few absolutely superlative talents in a number of relevant fields among you, you're almost certainly better off having fun and learning a lot by trying to reproduce what's on the record. It's not going to surpass the original, although you'll probably draw something a bit different out of it for those who are listening for it, from time to time, but it's probably the way to personally get the most out of the attempt.
posted by howfar at 3:32 PM on December 9, 2020 [17 favorites]
I think it's the nature of the project though, isn't it? I'm not sure how you cover a record like this, without either direct reproduction or absolute reinterpretation. Anything between the two is almost certainly going to fall flat, because it's both such an incredibly well-known and incredibly meticulous recording. It's an entirely unfair task, really, because, no, you're not going to it "better" than a band that played together for years, developed the material on tour, spent over a year (albeit very much on and off) recording it and was working in one of the best studios in the world with one of the world's best recording engineers.
I tend to think that, unless you happen to have a few absolutely superlative talents in a number of relevant fields among you, you're almost certainly better off having fun and learning a lot by trying to reproduce what's on the record. It's not going to surpass the original, although you'll probably draw something a bit different out of it for those who are listening for it, from time to time, but it's probably the way to personally get the most out of the attempt.
posted by howfar at 3:32 PM on December 9, 2020 [17 favorites]
came to say something along the lines of having become allergic to Dark Side of the Moon regardless of who takes it on, but got sidetracked by the Atom Heart Mother link.
Beautiful, and thank you, njohnson23.
posted by philip-random at 3:38 PM on December 9, 2020
Beautiful, and thank you, njohnson23.
posted by philip-random at 3:38 PM on December 9, 2020
That Great Gig in the Sky was stunning
posted by treepour at 4:06 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by treepour at 4:06 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yeah but did they do it in the costumes from The Wizard of Oz?
posted by kirkaracha at 4:11 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 4:11 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yeah but did they do it in the costumes from The Wizard of Oz?
If you're talking about a production of the Wizard of Oz where everyone dresses like college students, then yes. Yes they did.
posted by treepour at 4:19 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you're talking about a production of the Wizard of Oz where everyone dresses like college students, then yes. Yes they did.
posted by treepour at 4:19 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
I thought that was an all around stunning piece of work. Kudos to the creators. I hope they had as much fun creating it as I did listening to it.
posted by meinvt at 4:47 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by meinvt at 4:47 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Squirrels version is better.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 5:03 PM on December 9, 2020
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 5:03 PM on December 9, 2020
They did an incredible job. Musically, and the video was perfect as well. Took me right back to my misspent youth!
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 6:46 PM on December 9, 2020
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 6:46 PM on December 9, 2020
A few years ago I saw Mary Fahl, formerly of October Project, live, and she did a few songs from her cover project of this album. I really liked her interpretation of it and took a copy home.
posted by Miko at 7:47 PM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Miko at 7:47 PM on December 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
There's a very good Pink Floyd cover band in Portland, Oregon called the Floydian Slips (Facebook link). We've seen them perform several times, most recently on New Year's Eve or so.
posted by neuron at 7:47 PM on December 9, 2020
posted by neuron at 7:47 PM on December 9, 2020
That Great Gig in the Sky was stunning
Yeah not bad at all. Needed a little more grit in the voice in a few spots, and I shouldn't have watched while I listened because she seemed a bit too happy. Like, a joyous wail more than the audible emotional pain of the original? But I was expecting to hate it a lot and they really did a good job of it.
posted by ctmf at 8:19 PM on December 9, 2020
Yeah not bad at all. Needed a little more grit in the voice in a few spots, and I shouldn't have watched while I listened because she seemed a bit too happy. Like, a joyous wail more than the audible emotional pain of the original? But I was expecting to hate it a lot and they really did a good job of it.
posted by ctmf at 8:19 PM on December 9, 2020
...but it's boring to listen to because there's no interpretation at all, it's just reproduction.
There was some interpretation, though it was minor. e.g The hi-hat in On The Run, piano on Great Gig In The Sky, the Ka-ching! intro to Money, and the organ intro and snare drum on Us And Them.
Gotta admit it was a bit odd to hear some vocals with distinct American accents. Not a problem, just different. Too used to the original, I guess.
Intonation was not always spot on, and rhythm was not always quite as tight it could have been.
Nice work on the backup vocals overall, and also on the lead vocal for GGITS which is always a challenge. Loved the guitar tone in the first part of the guitar solo for Money. Sax player was good, very nice tone and articulation. Kudos to the drummer in particular for not overplaying, his musical judgement was spot on.
Video work was also good.
I liked it. Added to my growing YT list of different DSOTM versions.
posted by Pouteria at 8:43 PM on December 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
There was some interpretation, though it was minor. e.g The hi-hat in On The Run, piano on Great Gig In The Sky, the Ka-ching! intro to Money, and the organ intro and snare drum on Us And Them.
Gotta admit it was a bit odd to hear some vocals with distinct American accents. Not a problem, just different. Too used to the original, I guess.
Intonation was not always spot on, and rhythm was not always quite as tight it could have been.
Nice work on the backup vocals overall, and also on the lead vocal for GGITS which is always a challenge. Loved the guitar tone in the first part of the guitar solo for Money. Sax player was good, very nice tone and articulation. Kudos to the drummer in particular for not overplaying, his musical judgement was spot on.
Video work was also good.
I liked it. Added to my growing YT list of different DSOTM versions.
posted by Pouteria at 8:43 PM on December 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
Just listening to the Atom Heart Mother performance by the Conservatoire de Paris, posted by njohnson23, and around 14:00 they insert the guitar solo section from Time on DSOTM. :)
posted by Pouteria at 8:50 PM on December 9, 2020
posted by Pouteria at 8:50 PM on December 9, 2020
Thanks for posting this. I was never a big Pink Floyd fan, but given my age they were a large element in the soundtrack of my youth.
For some reason, it was only when watching this I realized how much work and practice must have gone into creating this, let alone reproducing it. And then again, that was maybe also why I didn't enjoy Pink Floyd so much back then -- on an intuitive level, I felt it was like work to listen to them.
All said, now I feel an urge to go find Wish You Were Here. A classmate played it on repeat once when we were on a school trip, which was one of the peaks of my life at 15. Oh, youth is wasted on the young...
posted by mumimor at 4:51 AM on December 10, 2020
For some reason, it was only when watching this I realized how much work and practice must have gone into creating this, let alone reproducing it. And then again, that was maybe also why I didn't enjoy Pink Floyd so much back then -- on an intuitive level, I felt it was like work to listen to them.
All said, now I feel an urge to go find Wish You Were Here. A classmate played it on repeat once when we were on a school trip, which was one of the peaks of my life at 15. Oh, youth is wasted on the young...
posted by mumimor at 4:51 AM on December 10, 2020
Holy cow, guess I just don't get how - or perhaps why - anyone is compelled to be critical of an endeavor like this.
All I could do was breathe deeply, be grateful and think, sure 'nuff, the kids are alright.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 8:34 AM on December 10, 2020 [6 favorites]
All I could do was breathe deeply, be grateful and think, sure 'nuff, the kids are alright.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 8:34 AM on December 10, 2020 [6 favorites]
These kids were not even born when I sat around a spool table with several of my brothers and sisters in the movement, as the vinyl turned and the world turned with it, while we passed the bowl around.
I was impressed, no less by these young folks' performance than by noticing that one of the performers had an Epiphone with "Nintendo Power" stenciled on it--clearly, this was a bridge between us then and them now. I am comforted to know that, although our revolution produced such spotty results, some of our music still stands firm.
Yeah, and I was enlightened, at the end of the performance, to find out that the moon is dark on both sides. I suspected as much all along.
posted by mule98J at 9:01 AM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
I was impressed, no less by these young folks' performance than by noticing that one of the performers had an Epiphone with "Nintendo Power" stenciled on it--clearly, this was a bridge between us then and them now. I am comforted to know that, although our revolution produced such spotty results, some of our music still stands firm.
Yeah, and I was enlightened, at the end of the performance, to find out that the moon is dark on both sides. I suspected as much all along.
posted by mule98J at 9:01 AM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
Holy cow, guess I just don't get how - or perhaps why - anyone is compelled to be critical of an endeavor like this.
Don't you think that it is a mark of some respect to engage their work critically, though? I only watched the first song, and I refrained from nit-picking*, but if I had criticism about something that I would prefer to be different or improved in their rendition, and I thought it was perceptive, or interesting to others, I'd post it on up.
*This would take the form of observing that every Pink Floyd tribute I see makes me appreciate Nick Mason more.
posted by thelonius at 9:30 AM on December 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
Don't you think that it is a mark of some respect to engage their work critically, though? I only watched the first song, and I refrained from nit-picking*, but if I had criticism about something that I would prefer to be different or improved in their rendition, and I thought it was perceptive, or interesting to others, I'd post it on up.
*This would take the form of observing that every Pink Floyd tribute I see makes me appreciate Nick Mason more.
posted by thelonius at 9:30 AM on December 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
They are college students, and so they are adults. Since the video was posted to the university's official YouTube channel, I have to assume that this performance represents some form of assigned school work for the performers and the sound mixers and probably the videographer. So, yes, everyone involved deserves the respect of honest critical engagement from their audience.
That said, I've become horribly, disgustingly sentimental as I slide into old age, a tendency that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic and the awful political situation in the US and the gloomy climate outlook, and, and, and...
So when I saw this video, my most immediate instinct was a completely misplaced sense of pride. I'm proud of these kids, of how good they did here. It's in no way my place to proud of them, but there it is. I feel like a grandparent at a middle school music recital.
I listened to Pink Floyd so much as a teenager back in the '80s, and well into the '90s, on top of just hearing it constantly on the radio, that I some point I completely lost my taste for ever listening to it again. And I haven't, not for twenty years at least. The most sincere compliment I can pay to these students is that they unlocked my appreciation for this music, after I locked it up in a deep, deep cell decades ago.
posted by Ipsifendus at 9:55 AM on December 10, 2020 [5 favorites]
That said, I've become horribly, disgustingly sentimental as I slide into old age, a tendency that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic and the awful political situation in the US and the gloomy climate outlook, and, and, and...
So when I saw this video, my most immediate instinct was a completely misplaced sense of pride. I'm proud of these kids, of how good they did here. It's in no way my place to proud of them, but there it is. I feel like a grandparent at a middle school music recital.
I listened to Pink Floyd so much as a teenager back in the '80s, and well into the '90s, on top of just hearing it constantly on the radio, that I some point I completely lost my taste for ever listening to it again. And I haven't, not for twenty years at least. The most sincere compliment I can pay to these students is that they unlocked my appreciation for this music, after I locked it up in a deep, deep cell decades ago.
posted by Ipsifendus at 9:55 AM on December 10, 2020 [5 favorites]
In another tab I have a GYOFB comment recounting my sort-of deep fandom in my 20s, but I think really what gets me about this is that I first heard Dark Side in the dorms in college, I was in band all through school, and the fact that these musicians are in college and playing it is just a nostalgic nexus that I don't think I'll gain anything by interrogating.
I hear the differences, but it's fine. I like to think it was the result of a COVID-driven open-ended group project. Heck, maybe there's a class that has about 20 people in it who comprise the entirety of musicians and production crew and this is their semester project. Otherwise, what did the others in the class do? There may not be any others.
And that "Nintendo Power" sticker is indeed pretty great.
posted by rhizome at 11:41 AM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
I hear the differences, but it's fine. I like to think it was the result of a COVID-driven open-ended group project. Heck, maybe there's a class that has about 20 people in it who comprise the entirety of musicians and production crew and this is their semester project. Otherwise, what did the others in the class do? There may not be any others.
And that "Nintendo Power" sticker is indeed pretty great.
posted by rhizome at 11:41 AM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
A cover of DSotM lives and dies by it's handling of “Time” and “Great Gig in the Sky” and on that score I feel like these kids did great.
Homeslice on the toms at the beginning of “Time” had it going on. My man in the mustard shirt on the keys was also really great. I got the impression that, instead of a delay pedal the way Gilmour does it, the second guitar played behind the beat on the solo. Which I thought was great way to let two lead players play the solo that is the heart and soul of the record.
I was also really impressed with the photography. There are many fine post-production composite shots, but occasionally they used the reflections and distortions off the capsules the musicians were in. I was really charmed by this because not only was it interesting visually, but it captured what it must been like for these young adults trying to create this production during the pandemic.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:48 AM on December 10, 2020 [4 favorites]
Homeslice on the toms at the beginning of “Time” had it going on. My man in the mustard shirt on the keys was also really great. I got the impression that, instead of a delay pedal the way Gilmour does it, the second guitar played behind the beat on the solo. Which I thought was great way to let two lead players play the solo that is the heart and soul of the record.
I was also really impressed with the photography. There are many fine post-production composite shots, but occasionally they used the reflections and distortions off the capsules the musicians were in. I was really charmed by this because not only was it interesting visually, but it captured what it must been like for these young adults trying to create this production during the pandemic.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:48 AM on December 10, 2020 [4 favorites]
I loved this. They slayed it. Kids these days!
posted by antiquated at 7:56 PM on December 10, 2020
posted by antiquated at 7:56 PM on December 10, 2020
« Older The States V. Facebook | "And the closest person to that point is actually... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Back in the mid 80's there was this great local record store in Dayton OH that sold used records and bootlegs, and I collected a whole bunch of Floyd stuff. It was really interesting to listen to them play DSOTM live before recording it, and after. Each of the 3 versions stands on its own as a really riveting listen (I think you can find the live versions on YouTube now). "On the Run" is very different, and "Any Colour You Like" goes through a really fascinating evolution.
posted by rikschell at 2:06 PM on December 9, 2020 [2 favorites]