Tag: Pink Floyd

Feb112013 by Chris Holmes2 Comments
Album Cover of the Week: Pink Floyd, Obscured by Clouds

Album Cover of the Week: Pink Floyd, Obscured by Clouds

Album Cover of the Week, Music
For a long time I thought of Pink Floyd's Obscured by Clouds as little more than the album that came before The Dark Side of the Moon. And while it certainly doesn't nearly measure up to the latter, it has its own charms -- not the least of which is its album cover. For reasons unknown to me, this is actually an intentionally out-of-focus photograph of a man in a tree -- not, in fact, clouds. The sleeve design is by Hipgnosis, who of course designed several other Floyd albums throughout the years. I really like this one because it suits the rather hazy nature of some of Obscured by Clouds. The album was intended originally to be the soundtrack for a French film called La Vallée (The Valley). When Pink Floyd later had a falling out with the film company, they decided to call their
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Jun192012 by Chris Holmes2 Comments
A Fast Food Training Video Roundup

A Fast Food Training Video Roundup

Featured Posts, Funny Stuff
As much as we (OK, I) like to mock the typical fast food employee for having rather low career aspirations, I know that's kind of unfair. After all, someone has to cook that food and process those orders, right? And it's not like most people in fast food service are looking to make a career out of it. It's just a job. A shitty, smelly, greasy job with terrible wages. But one with awesome employee training films and videos. Speaking of which, let's look at some of those classic employee training videos for various fast food chains and share a good laugh, OK? OK. McDonald's Long the king of fast food, McDonald's has more than 33,000 locations worldwide. All those employees rely on cutting edge, informative and entertaining training films to guide them while working under the glo...
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Sep72011 by Chris Holmes3 Comments
My favorite music: 1983

My favorite music: 1983

Music
If there's one thing the internet lacks, it's pointless music lists. So to fill that void, here's a sampling of my favorite albums from some random year. Let's say, 1983. (Spotify users, check out the accompanying playlist and subscribe!) Robert Plant, The Principle of Moments -- While I would in no way claim that Robert Plant's solo output bests Led Zeppelin's music, a lot of times I simply prefer to listen to Plant. In fact I'd say that Plant has enjoyed one of the most artistically rewarding solo careers of any artist who was part of a popular band that I can think of. The Principle of Moments is probably my favorite Plant solo effort (next to Fate of Nations) -- he sounds freed from the constraints of creating larger-than-life rock and the music just crackles with energy. "In the...
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Aug92011 by Chris Holmes11 Comments
“Hope I die before I get old” — Do famous musicians really die young?

“Hope I die before I get old” — Do famous musicians really die young?

Featured Posts, Music, People
With her tragic and untimely death, Amy Winehouse became the latest member of a grim group -- the so-called Club 27, whose only entrance requirement is to be a famous musician and to die at age 27. The club also includes legends such as Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain. This got me to thinking -- is it really true that the brightest stars burn out the earliest? Or does it just seem that way because of our fascination with stars who die young? Curious, I decided to conduct a little research so I compiled a list of famous and influential dead musicians. Of course that list could be limitless, depending on your standards for fame and influence. I ultimately opted to use Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, first published in 2004/05 and...
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Jun12011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
My favorite music: 1972

My favorite music: 1972

Music
If there's one thing the internet lacks, it's pointless music lists. So to fill that void, here's a sampling of my favorite albums from some random year. Let's say, 1972. Fleetwood Mac, Bare Trees -- Oh sure, I love Rumours as much as the next person. But there's something about this particular, pre-Buckingham/Nicks incarnation of the band that speaks to me. Bare Trees is a bit uneven in spots but I keep coming back to it just the same. That said, the original version of Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady" found on this record is far superior to the 1977 hit single version. Steely Dan, Can't Buy a Thrill -- I don't care if Donald Fagen and Walter Becker want to disown this record, I love it and I know a ton of Dan fans love it. Like all classic Steely Dan records, the hits are only part o...
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Apr212009 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Album review: Doves – Kingdom of Rust

Album review: Doves – Kingdom of Rust

Music
I think it's fair to say that I was spoiled musically by growing up in the '80s, the tail end of a long period where bands usually released albums no more than 1-2 years apart.  So when great newer acts like Manchester's Doves come along and take longer than that I get impatient.  It's been more a little more than four years since the group's excellent third record, Some Cities, and after reading about so many delays with their newest I was starting to lose hope.  But now Kingdom of Rust is here, and all is well. My overall impression of Rust is that it represents a nice synthesis of the sounds and styles the band explored on their first three albums, but is by no means an artistic retread.  The bulk of the record leans more toward the dense and atmospheric tendencies displayed on Lost
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Jul72008 by Chris Holmes6 Comments
Meme time: Pick an album for every year you’ve been alive

Meme time: Pick an album for every year you’ve been alive

Music
From Idolator via the AV Club comes a pretty cool music meme - compile a list of your favorite albums, with one for each year you've been alive. Sounds easy enough, but some years are positively stacked with music I love.  Forcing me to choose among my musical children is just so...cruel. For me the most bountiful years were 1975-1978, 1980, 1982-1984, 1990, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2006, and 2007. 1975 - Kiss, Alive! 1976 - Led Zeppelin, Presence 1977 - Rush, A Farewell to Kings 1978 - Ace Frehley/Kiss, Ace Frehley 1979 - Pink Floyd, The Wall 1980 - Genesis, Duke 1981 - Rush, Moving Pictures 1982 - Rush, Signals 1983 - Iron Maiden, Piece of Mind 1984 - Iron Maiden, Powerslave 1985 - Kiss, Asylum 1986 - Queensrÿche, Rage for Order 1987 - Anthrax, Among the Living 1988 - Queensr
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May192008 by Chris Holmes4 Comments
Album cover of the week: Wish You Were Here

Album cover of the week: Wish You Were Here

Album Cover of the Week
All too often it happens that an album with great artwork is full of forgettable music. Luckily that's not so with Pink Floyd's 1975 classic, Wish You Were Here. For my money, this is the ultimate Floyd album and one of the ten best albums of all-time. One of the really appealing things about this cover - aside from how surreal it is -is how ambiguous it is. There may be a definite story or scenario behind this photo, but it's vague enough to allow you to make up your own. I know I've made up more than a few. This is one of many memorable covers designed by the famed design group Hipgnosis, whose work will undoubtedly pop up at least a few more times in future installments in this series.
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Mar42007 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
2nd Chance Album Review – The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp

2nd Chance Album Review – The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp

Music
Just one year before prog-rock titans King Crimson released their first album, two-thirds of that band released their first and last studio album as the erstwhile trio of Giles, Giles & Fripp — guitarist Robert Fripp, Peter Giles on bass and brother Michael on drums. Released in 1968, during the height of the Psychedelic era, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp promptly sank into oblivion. But believe me, it's worth revisiting. If I had to surmise a reason why this album tanked, I'd say its oddly eclectic songs are a contributing factor. The album has a generous dose of cheeky, Kinks/Pythonesque humor, but most of the acts of the day were practicing a much darker and substantive form of psychedelia. Had this album been released even a year or 18 months earlier, it
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