FAQ (Frequently Anticipated Questions) #1

Who are the Legendary Pink Dots?

Go immediately to Wikipedia for a nice capsule answer, and then visit Brainwashed's LPD Online Centraal for more details. Check out the Live Archive for terrific live shows, and search for them on YouTube if you want to see them from the comfort of your armchair.

Why a Special Site Devoted to Cassettes?

Because, during the '80s, the band released a large number of albums on cassette only. They have included many of those songs on later compilation CDs, but usually in a slightly edited form. And some songs just aren't available at all anymore.

What's more, every time a song resurfaces on these albums, it may be mixed in with other songs, played as only a snippet during another song, integrated with an unnamed song that lies between the tracks, or may be in a completely different version altogether.

I created this site to help untangle all the different versions and mixes.

In addition, there is total mystery surrounding how these early albums were recorded...in which studios? On what sort of medium? How were they mixed, and by who? By taking a careful look at some of the early-album quirks I hope to get a feel for what they were up to.

I'm just curious.

What Are Your Sources?

A wonderful guy named Mark Sherman loaned me all of his rare Pink Dots-related vinyl and cassettes, and I duplicated them way back in 1994. My cassettes are of relatively poor quality -- being nth generation dupes -- and many of the cassettes were released multiple times, potentially in different formats. So I can't say I have the perfect copies or that other people's cassettes will be the same.

I certainly can't say that my timing estimates are correct; everybody's tape machine runs at a different speed, and on some of the cassettes the song divisions are anybody's guess.

How Are You Comparing the Songs?

I've digitized all the tapes and placed them on my iPod, along with the "official" albums themselves. I use iTunes to find all versions of each song, and then I compare them by repeatedly going back and forth to listen to crucial parts.

In addition, I love these cassettes and I've listened to them a lot, so I have pretty good overview of the material.

Are You Relying on Other People to Help You?

Not yet, though I am using the Cloud-Zero archive as a springboard for all the lyrics.

The sort of help I COULD use would be for somebody to do an even MORE meticulous examination of each mix, particularly somebody with a good knowledge of song structure and musical notation (which I lack).

In addition, if somebody posts an insightful comment that I agree with I will certainly add it to the relevant posts.

I Disagree With Your Interpretations!

I'm not surprised! Tell me what you disagree with. If you can convince me of something then I'll gladly add it to the blog. Otherwise, keep in mind that these songs do not come with a guide of interpretations...we need to decide for ourselves and we're bound to disagree.

This Should Be A Wiki, Not A Blog!

Of COURSE it should! But I don't know how to create a Wiki. Sigh.

Who ARE You?

I'm Muffy St. Bernard. I've been a fan since 1990. I work as a technical writer, record my own music, do drag performance, and often become obsessed with projects such as this one.

If you want to know more please visit my personal blog.