News

According to the Pink Floyd Facebook page, CBS-TV will air a Pink Floyd-themed episode of “Cold Case” on Sunday, March 21.

The previously-reported date of March 14 was incorrect.

The episode, titled “Flashover,” will include extracts of seven Floyd songs: “Comfortably Numb,” “Hey You,” “Mother,” “Marooned,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Time” and “The Thin Ice.”

The 60-minute show airs at 10 p.m. EST. Set your DVR …

EMI yesterday denied reports it’s looking to sell its iconic Abbey Road recording facility, where loads of renowned bands, including Pink Floyd, have recorded over the years.

Terra Firma, which has owned EMI since 2007, said in a release that it’s “holding preliminary discussions for the revitalization of Abbey Road with interested and appropriate third parties.”

However, it added, selling the studios to a third party is not its goal.

When news broke last week it caused a flurry of protests, including the formation of an organization calling itself Save Abbey Road Studios. The group, comprised of studio employees, musicians, and fans, put online a petition to build support to save the facility from redevelopment.

The petition is still online.

(Pictured: Floyd drummer Nick Mason and Rolling Stone Bill Wyman playing at Abbey Road Studios for the “All You Need Is Love” charity single last autumn. Read more about the single.)

A couple days ago, we reported the planned sale of EMI‘s legendary recording facilities on Abbey Road, London, to raise much-needed cash for the label’s parent company.

That same day a group of studio employees, musicians and fans formed Save Abbey Road Studios! to try and keep the property a working recording facility. The group’s fear: The facility will be converted into a museum of some sort, or, worse, luxury housing.

The group’s put a petition on its Web site that’s, so far, gathered 249 electronic signatures in support of its mission.

You can lend your support and sign the petition here.

Despite notoriety for once wearing a home-made T-shirt that read “I hate Pink Floyd,” Sex Pistol Johnny Lydon said in an interview published today he’d like to re-do the Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”

The Stool Pigeon interview, teased today at sister publication Web site The Quietus, quotes Lydon as saying, “You’d have to be daft as a brush to say you didn’t like Pink Floyd. They’ve done great stuff. They’ve done rubbish too. ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ I love.”

He goes on to say an invite was on the table for him to join Floyd — we presume he means Roger Waters — on stage at a 2008 Los Angeles gig.

Read the full excerpt at The Quietus.

The London studio where Pink Floyd recorded extensively — including sessions for “Dark Side of the Moon,” “Wish You Were Here” and many others — is up for sale.

The sale is expected to raise tens of thousand of pounds for Terra Firma, the investment firm that in 2007 bought the financially-troubled EMI record label, which owns the property.

Loads of bands have recorded at the facility, including, most famously, The Beatles, who named their 1969 album after the St. John’s Wood street where the studios are located.

By the way, be careful crossing the street. It’s busy.

“Like TiVo® for radio” is the most common way we hear it described.

We’re talking about the RadioTime online directory, combined with software such as RedButton (Windows) or Rogue Amoeba’s Radioshift (Mac), which allows you to schedule recordings of radio shows for listening later.

As the Random Precision Radio Network expands — five affiliate stations so far — we’ve turned to RadioTime to help us track our growing number of air dates and times for our weekly “Floydian Slip” show in a single space.

The real power of the directory comes when you combine it with one of many software or hardware products that use the directory to allow listeners to schedule weekly recordings of the program.

Desktop recording is just one option. Many mobile solutions allow you to tune in, capture streams and listen later on your cellphone.

We have no affiliation with Radiotime or any of the products it powers, but wanted to give them a shoutout as a great way to make sure you don’t miss a single episode of “Floydian Slip.”

L’Osservatore Romano, the unofficial newspaper of the Vatican, has published a list of its top album picks of all time. Pink Floyd‘s “Dark Side of the Moon” (1973) made the list.

Also on the paper’s list of desert island discs are: “Thriller,” Michael Jackson; “Revolver,” The Beatles; “Graceland,” Paul Simon; “Supernatural,” Carlos Santana; “If I Could Only Remember My Name,” David Crosby; “Rumours,” Fleetwood Mac; “The Nightfly,” Donald Fagen; “Achtung Baby,” U2; and “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory,” Oasis.

Though the image of Pope Benedict XVI, earbuds in place, chillin’ to “Dark Side” is irresistible, we’re told El Papa isn’t actually consulted on these types of lists and entertainment reviews the paper has recently been publishing with increasing frequency.

Pink Floyd University, a new correspondence course devoted to all things Floydian, has opened its virtual doors.

The project is an evolution of two courses Karl “Pink” Anderson (pictured) taught at Renton Technical College (RTC) in Renton, Wash., 10 years ago.

Anderson, now in Bay City, Ore., has expanded the curriculum to include what he promises will be an exhaustive study of the band and its output contained in 30 modules.

Registration for the course is $125, with each module costing an additional $50. Students receive course materials — including audio material — either via email or snail mail. With a maximum of four weeks to complete each module, students can graduate within 2½ years at a total cost of $1,625.

Anderson used archives from our Floydian Slip radio show to supplement his courses back at RTC. We have no official tie to PFU.

More information is available at the PFU Web site, or email Anderson at redpanda54@embarqmail.com.

Pink Floyd‘s 1973 album “The Dark Side of the Moon” was the third best-selling “catalog” album of the decade, according to Billboard magazine.

The album followed “Legend” by Bob Marley & The Wailers at #2, and “Greatest Hits” by Bob Segar & the Silver Bullet Band, which was the best-selling catalog album of the decade.

Billboard defines catalog albums as those that are at least 18 months old, and have fallen below #100 on the Billboard 200 chart, or are reissues of older titles.

“Dark Side” recently rejoined the Billboard 200 after a 20-year absence. The album is Billboard’s longest-charting album ever.

Read our previous posts about the chart history of “Dark Side”:

• “Dark Side” returns to Billboard 200
• “Dark Side” poised for return to charts

“Floydian Slip” is featured in the latest issue of MacFormat magazine.

Issue #216 features the Mac Pro setup we use to produce, distribute and market our weekly Pink Floyd radio show. The article includes photos of our studio and an interview with host Craig Bailey.

MacFormat is the U.K.’s best-selling Macintosh magazine, with an audited circulation of nearly 30,000. It’s published by Future Publishing Ltd. and is available in the U.S. at larger booksellers, such as Borders and Barnes and Noble.

Our thanks to Deputy Editor Christopher Phin.

Visit MacFormat on the Web.