40 years later, 40 facts about Dark Side of the Moon

[Carol]

If you enjoyed the album, as I have many times...you may enjoy this read.


http://ca.music.yahoo.com/blogs/sto...yd-dark-side-40-years-later-40-205227757.html

One thing I didn't know (that was touched upon in the article) is how they got the various quotes that were overlaid on the album.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon

Snippets of voices between and over the music are another notable feature of the album. During recording sessions, Waters recruited both the staff and the temporary occupants of the studio to answer a series of questions printed on flashcards. The interviewees were placed in front of a microphone in a darkened studio three,[SUP][48][/SUP] and shown such questions as "What's your favourite colour?" and "What's your favourite food?", before moving on to themes more central to the album (such as madness, violence, and death). Questions such as "When was the last time you were violent?", followed immediately by "Were you in the right?", were answered in the order they were presented.[SUP][8][/SUP] Roger "The Hat" Manifold proved difficult to find, and was the only contributor recorded in a conventional sit-down interview, as by then the flashcards had been mislaid. Waters asked him about a violent encounter he had had with another motorist, and Manifold replied "... give 'em a quick, short, sharp shock ..." When asked about death he responded "live for today, gone tomorrow, that's me ..."[SUP][49][/SUP] Another roadie, Chris Adamson, who was on tour with Pink Floyd, recorded the snippet which opens the album: "I've been mad for ****ing years—absolutely years".[SUP][50][/SUP]The band's road manager Peter Watts (father of actress Naomi Watts)[SUP][51][/SUP] contributed the repeated laughter during "Brain Damage" and "Speak to Me". His second wife, Patricia 'Puddie' Watts (now Patricia Gleason), was responsible for the line about the "geezer" who was "cruisin' for a bruisin'" used in the segue between "Money" and "Us and Them", and the words "I never said I was frightened of dying" heard near the end of "The Great Gig in the Sky".[SUP][52]
[/SUP]Perhaps the most notable responses "I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do: I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it — you've got to go sometime" and closing words "there is no dark side in the moon, really. As a matter of fact it's all dark" came from the studios' Irish doorman, Gerry O'Driscoll.[SUP][53][/SUP] Paul and Linda McCartney were also interviewed, but their answers were judged to be "trying too hard to be funny", and were not included on the album.[SUP][54][/SUP] McCartney's band mate Henry McCullough contributed the line "I don't know, I was really drunk at the time".[SUP][55][/SUP]

 

[Sukerkin]

One of those quotes resonates very, very, strongly for me.

For when the consultant finally came to Michelle's bedside (five freaking hours after she was supposed to) and gave us the vile news that my most beloved wife had only a day or so left to live, she turned to me, held my hand and said "As Pink Floyd say, I am not frightened of dying. Anytime will do. You have to go sometime. I'm just sorry for you".

I managed not to cry then, tho' my throat was so thick with unshed tears I could not speak - not so successful at keeping them back now.