Other Side Drive: Wednesday

Revolutions

By: Dany Recio

Episode 7

Revolutions-EP7

Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon is consistently part of the conversation when referring to some of the greatest rock albums. Pink Floyd is the english progressive rock group and one the most iconic rock artists. The album is praised for it’s concept and experimentation.

Dark side was recorded in two sessions at the famous Abbey Road. Same studio where the Beatles recorded “Abbey Road” and “Let It Be.” Alan Parsons was made staff engineer of the project. Pink Floyd wanted to employ a few techniques in the recording that made the album innovative. They recorded on a 16-track mixer which was unheard of at the time but this really allowed for Floyd to experiment with the number of sounds they were hoping to create. They still ran out of room and created second-generation copies. Floyd also used prominent synthesizers. Synths were early in their development so many weren’t heard in popular music.They used a number of different synths throughout the album. They also wanted a mix of the album in Quadraphonic. Thus was on an old version of surround sound.

The themes and concepts of the album have strong ties to Time, Money, Death and the Human Experience.  There was also the relation to mental-illness that original and founding member Syd Barrett. Who suffered from a mental-breakdown and was later replaced by David Gilmour. Lyrically the album did not stray away from the usual heavily philosophical focus that Pink Floyd had done. The album art was simple and has now become an iconic piece of Rock and Roll branding. The famous prism and rainbow came about when the band told  Hipgnosis, a graphic design group that specialized in album art for rock, that they wanted something simpler and cleaner. Geroge Hardie gave the band seven designs of which the prism was the design that all four band members loved. The cover has been remade into posters, t-shirts, stickers and other forms of memorabilia. An ironic twist for an album with a song dedicated to greed.

The album is a major piece of appreciated work. It is an album that is supposed to be listened to uninterrupted and as a whole. The influence of the album has reached beyond rock and has created countless covers in various genres by musicians and artists alike. It has even developed it’s own urban legends of the true meaning of the album. Pink Floyd one of Rock’s great progressive bands have created one of the quintessential rock albums. Making their mark on history.

Money Share

By: Shannon Williams

Episode 4

Money Share-EP4

The new Circuit of the America’s track constructed east of austin last year is expected to grow the I-35 corridor in even bigger ways. Part of the requirements in building and funding the track were articulated in strict “green” or sustainability initiatives from the city. Texas State’s Net Impact chapter volunteered Saturday at Circuit of the Americas as part of a cleanup crew to help manage sustainability efforts at the events.

Siblings Megan and Andrew Stockberger use extendable clamps to pick a plastic bottle out of the trash and transfer it to the receptacle for plastic. Volunteers make sure that trash in incorrect receptacles does not exceed 10 percent. If more than 10% of the compost or recycling is unusable, all must be tossed to a landfill.

The event sports a huge magnitude in revenues at the event and in the city – but that money can be tied to waste. As the cars zoom past on the track and fans capture images with their favorite drivers, attendees grow hungry for food and merchandise that must find it’s way to a landfill or plastic and paper recycling plants.

Here from Net impact we are teamed up with TDS, Texas Disposal Services. We are here to educate people on exactly where to throw waste. For example, compost if it is anything that is alive, paper towels and food. They have sidekickers which are attached next to the big trash can for these items. They also have x frames which are for plastic, aluminum foil and paper towels.

For a self proclaimed “live music capital of the world,” Austin is no rookie to the vast amounts of trash created by large crowds, but at the new track city developers required a higher standard for the construction of Circuit of the Americas to begin. Stipulations included the purchase of $15,000 in carbon offsets annually and a site-wide composting and recycling program. Texas State Accounting senior John Entriner says a green approach can sustain the environment, and the business’ budget.

From the standpoint of trying to be more sustainable,

Around the park, these initiatives don’t seem to have come at a cheap price. Volunteers with their own gas guzzling vehicles traveled out to the park to assist with the waste management project. However, if these initiatives are successful, music festivals of the live music capital may have a higher standard to match.