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Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
"Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, appearing on their second album, '' A Saucerful of Secrets'' (1968). It was written by Roger Waters, taking lyrics from a Chinese poetry book, and features a drum part by Nick Mason played with timpani mallets. It is the only song recorded by Pink Floyd to feature material from all five band members, as there are several different guitar parts recorded by both David Gilmour and Syd Barrett. The song was regularly performed between 1967 and 1973 and can be heard on the live disc of the 1969 album ''Ummagumma'' and seen in the 1972 movie '' Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii''. Waters has also played the song on several solo tours, as has drummer Nick Mason. Composition The song was written by Roger Waters, who came up with a riff over which he could sing a melody within his vocal range. He borrowed the lyrics from a book of Chinese poetry from the Tang Dynasty (which was later identified as the boo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics and elaborate Pink Floyd live performances, live shows. They became a leading band of the progressive rock genre, cited by some as the greatest progressive rock band of all time. Pink Floyd were founded in 1965 by Syd Barrett (guitar, lead vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass guitar, vocals), and Richard Wright (musician), Richard Wright (keyboards, vocals). Under Barrett's leadership, they released two charting singles and the successful debut album ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' (1967). Guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour joined in December 1967; Barrett left in April 1968 due to deteriorating mental health. Waters became the primary lyricist and thematic leader, devising the concept album, concepts behind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syd Barrett
Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Barrett was their original frontman and primary songwriter, becoming known for his whimsical style of psychedelia, English-accented singing, and stream-of-consciousness writing style. As a guitarist, he was influential for his free-form playing and for employing effects such as dissonance, distortion, echo and feedback. Originally trained as a painter, Barrett was musically active for less than ten years. With Pink Floyd, he recorded four singles, their debut album ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' (1967), portions of their second album '' A Saucerful of Secrets'' (1968), and several unreleased songs. In April 1968, Barrett was ousted from the band amid speculation of mental illness and his excessive use of psychedelic drugs. He began a brief solo career in 1969 with the single "Octopus" and followed with the album ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chico Hamilton
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, first with a quintet featuring the cello as a lead instrument, an unusual choice for a jazz band in the 1950s, and subsequently leading bands that performed cool jazz, post bop, and jazz fusion. Biography Early life and career Foreststorn Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California, one of three brothers, one of whom was actor Bernie Hamilton. Hamilton started his career in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso before he had finished high school. Engagements with Lionel Hampton, Slim & Slam, T-Bone Walker, Lester Young, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnet, Billy Eckstine, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Billie Holiday, Gerry Mulligan and Lena Horne esta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celesta
The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box (three-octave). The keys connect to hammers that strike a graduated set of metal (usually steel) plates or bars suspended over wooden resonators. Four- or five-octave models usually have a damper pedal that sustains or damps the sound. The three-octave instruments do not have a pedal because of their small "table-top" design. One of the best-known works that uses the celesta is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from ''The Nutcracker''. The sound of the celesta is similar to that of the glockenspiel, but with a much softer and more subtle timbre. This quality gave the instrument its name, ''celeste'', meaning "heavenly" in French. The celesta is often used to enhance a melody line played by another instrument or sect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vibraphone
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,'' or ''vibist''. The vibraphone resembles the steel marimba, which it superseded. One of the main differences between the vibraphone and other keyboard percussion instruments is that each bar suspends over a resonator tube containing a flat metal disc. These discs are attached together by a common axle and spin when the motor is turned on. This causes the instrument to produce its namesake tremolo or vibrato effect. The vibraphone also has a sustain pedal similar to a piano. When the pedal is up, the bars produce a muted sound; when the pedal is down, the bars sustain for several seconds or until again muted with the pedal. The vibraphone is commonly used in jazz music, in which it often plays a featured role, and was a defining element ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farfisa
Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a series of other keyboard instruments. They were used by a number of popular musicians including Sam the Sham, Pink Floyd, Sly Stone, Blondie, and the B-52s. The company was formed after three Italian accordion manufacturers combined to form a single company. They began to produce electronic instruments in the late 1950s, and combo organs were introduced in response to similar instruments such as the Vox Continental. The relatively inexpensive Italian labour allowed Farfisa to sell their products cheaper than the competition, which led to their commercial success. Popular models included the Compact series introduced in 1964, the Professional in 1967, the FAST in 1968 and the VIP in 1970. The success of Farfi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Wright (musician)
Richard William Wright (28 July 1943 – 15 September 2008) was an English musician who was a co-founder of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He played keyboards and sang, appearing on almost every Pink Floyd album and performing on all their tours. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of Pink Floyd. Wright grew up in Hatch End, Middlesex and met future Pink Floyd bandmates Roger Waters and Nick Mason while studying architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic, London. After being joined by frontman and songwriter Syd Barrett, the group found commercial success in 1967. Barrett was replaced by David Gilmour in 1968, who, along with Waters and Wright, took over songwriting. Initially contributing more as a singer/songwriter, Wright later acted mainly as an arranger on compositions by Waters and Gilmour. He began to contribute less towards the end of the 1970s and left the band after touring ''The Wall'' in 1981. He rejoined as a se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Du Mu
Du Mu (; 803–852) was a Chinese calligrapher, poet, and politician who lived during the late Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Muzhi (), and art name Fanchuan (). He is best known for his lyrical and romantic quatrains. Regarded as a major poet during a golden age of Chinese poetry, his name is often mentioned together with that of another renowned Late Tang poet, Li Shangyin, as the "Little Li-Du" (), in contrast to the "Great Li-Du": Li Bai and Du Fu. Among his influences were Du Fu, Li Bai, Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan. Biography Du Mu was born in the Tang capital Chang'an (modern Xi'an) into an elite family, the Jingzhao Du clan, whose fortunes were declining. His grandfather was Du You, a minister at the Tang court and the compiler of the Tang Dynasty encyclopedia ''Tongdian''. He passed the ''jinshi'' ("Presented Scholar") level of the imperial civil service examination in 828 at the age of 25, and began his career as a bureaucrat holding a series of minor posts, fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li Shangyin
Li Shangyin (, 813858), courtesy name Yishan (), was a Chinese poet and politician of the late Tang dynasty, born in the Henei Commandery (now Qinyang, Henan). He is noted for the imagist quality of his poems and his "no title" () style of poetry. Li Shangyin has been frequently anthologized, and many of his poems have been translated into various languages, including several collections in English. Biography Li Shangyin was born about 812 or 813 CE, but the exact date is uncertain. His career was rough, and he never obtained a high position, either because of factional disputes or because of his association with Liu Fen (), a prominent opponent of the eunuchs. Historical background Li Shangyin lived at a time when the Tang dynasty was rapidly declining, after some two hundred years of glorious reign. Culturally, politically, and economically, the Tang was one of the great periods of Chinese history. The cosmopolitan capital of Chang'an was filled with traders from the Middle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heavenly Questions
The ''Heavenly Questions'' or ''Questions to Heaven'' () is a piece contained in the Classical Chinese poetry collection of ''Chu Ci'', which is noted both in terms of poetry and as a source for information on the ancient culture of China, especially the area of the ancient state of Chu. Of all the poems attributed to Qu Yuan, "Tianwen" contains more myths than any of the other pieces which may be attributed to him; however, due to the formal structure of "Tianwen" as a series of questions, information regarding the myths alluded to appear more as a series of allusive fragments than as cohesively narrated stories. According to legend, Qu Yuan wrote this series of questions in verse after viewing various scenes depicted on temple murals; specifically, it is said that following his exile from the royal court of Chu, Qu Yuan looked upon the depictions of the ancestors and the gods painted upon the walls of the ancestral temple of Chu; and, then, in response, wrote his questions to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Li He
Li He ( – ) was a Chinese poet of the mid-Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Changji, and he is also known as Guicai and Shigui. He was prevented from taking the imperial examination due to a naming taboo. He died very young, and was noted for his sickly appearance. He was a diligent poet, going out on journeys during the day and, when a line of poetry came to him, jotting it down, and completing the poems when he arrived home in the evening. His poems famously explored ghostly, supernatural and fantastic themes. His popularity and place in the Chinese literary canon has fluctuated throughout the centuries. His idiosyncratic style of poetry was frequently imitated in China until the Qing dynasty. During this era, the popularity of his poetry suffered from a change in literary tastes, with his works notably being excluded from the influential ''Three Hundred Tang Poems'', but there was a revival of interest in him in the twentieth century. He was among the Tang poets most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William S
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will, Wills, Willy, Willie, Bill, and Billy. A common Irish form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie or the play ''Douglas''). Female forms are Willa, Willemina, Wilma and Wilhelmina. Etymology William is related to the given name ''Wilhelm'' (cf. Proto-Germanic ᚹᛁᛚᛃᚨᚺᛖᛚᛗᚨᛉ, ''*Wiljahelmaz'' > German ''Wilhelm'' and Old Norse ᚢᛁᛚᛋᛅᚼᛅᛚᛘᛅᛋ, ''Vilhjálmr''). By regular sound changes, the native, inherited English form of the name shoul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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