Pink Floyd's “Careful with That Axe, Eugene”

In this study, I analyze one of Pink Floyd's most popular recordings, the 1968 studio track “Careful with that Axe, Eugene.” ¹ First, I give the works historical background. Second, I analyze structural and nonstructural features, drawing on Wallace Berry's (1976) methods for evaluating musical texture, and Eytan Agmon's (1997) procedures for analyzing rhythmic durations. Third, I propose a theory of textural rhythm specific to the studio track. I argue that “Careful with that Axe, Eugene” (hereafter, CAE) represents the successful convergence of particular improvisational idioms and conceptual strategies that the group had begun to develop in their first two albums. The studio recording reveals a dynamic textural rhythm of affective depth: on one plane, a kind of heterophonic “infrastructure"; on another, an expansive stereophonic “soundscape.” Aspects of the amplified rock medium, musical language, and recording treatment continually transform the sonic environment and engage the listener experientially in the unfolding structure of the recorded musical work.