The Dark Side of the Moon is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released in March 1973, the concept built on the ideas that the band had explored in their live shows and previous recordings, but it lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure in 1968 of founding member, principal composer and lyricist, Syd Barrett. The album's themes include conflict, greed, ageing, and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett's deteriorating mental state. The album was developed as part of a forthcoming tour of live performances, and premièred several months before studio recording began. The new material was further refined during the tour, and was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Pink Floyd used some of the most advanced recording techniques of the time, including multitrack recording and tape loops. Analogue synthesisers were given prominence in several tracks, and a series of recorded interviews with staff and band personnel provided the source material for a range of philosophical quotations used throughout. Engineer Alan Parsons was directly responsible for some of the most notable sonic aspects of the album, including the non-lexical performance of Clare Torry.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1301:

The Árpád dynasty, which ruled in Hungary since the late 9th century, ended with the death of King Andrew III. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81rp%C3%A1d_dynasty

1761:

The Afghans led by Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the French-supplied and trained Maratha troops at the Third Battle of Panipat in Panipat, present-day Haryana, India. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Panipat_%281761%29

1900:

Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca, based on the play La Tosca by French dramatist Victorien Sardou, premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosca

1943:

Japanese forces began their withdrawal from Guadalcanal at the conclusion of the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ke

1952:

Today, the world's first morning/breakfast television show, debuted on the American television network NBC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_%28NBC_program%29

2004:

The Five Cross Flag was restored to official use as the national flag of Georgia after a hiatus of some 500 years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Georgia_%28country%29

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

occult (v): (astronomy) To cover or hide from view http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/occult

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

In my great tiredness and discouragement, the phrase "Reverence for Life" struck me like a flash. As far as I knew, it was a phrase I had never heard nor ever read. I realized at once that it carried within itself the solution to the problem that had been torturing me. Now I knew that a system of values which concerns itself only with our relationship to other people is incomplete and therefore lacking in power for good. Only by means of reverence for life can we establish a spiritual and humane relationship with both people and all living creatures within our reach. Only in this fashion can we avoid harming others, and, within the limits of our capacity, go to their aid whenever they need us. --Albert Schweitzer http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Schweitzer