The Pineapple Thief: "Money" (a Pink Floyd cover)

By Michael J.W. Stickings

As you may know, I love Pink Floyd. Like, a lot. More than anything else in music. But what I don't like, probably because I love Pink Floyd so much, are covers of Pink Floyd songs. As a general rule, I loathe them.

Mostly it's because I'm an originalist, a purist. If I want to hear Pink Floyd, I'll listen to Pink Floyd doing a Pink Floyd song. Period. But it's also because most of the people who do Pink Floyd covers just don't seem to get Pink Floyd. And for someone like me for whom each and every Pink Floyd song is loaded with intense meaning, for someone like me who respects Pink Floyd so much, that's just not acceptable.

But there are exceptions. Not many of them, but a few. And one of them is by a band I like a lot, The Pineapple Thief, one of Kscope's awesome roster of post-prog acts along with the likes of Porcupine Tree, Anathema, and Gazpacho, three bands that for me are in that next tier after Pink Floyd (along with The Beatles). And I think this works, this respectful but also distinctive cover of "Money" (admittedly, not one of my favourite Pink Floyd songs, not even close), because the guys in The Pineapple Thief also love and admire Pink Floyd, because, yes, they get Pink Floyd. And I like them even more for that.

(If you don't know The Pineapple Thief, you're really missing out. I highly recommend you check them out, including their new album, Magnolia, set to be released on September 15.)

So here it is, Pink Floyd's "Money" as covered by The Pineapple Thief, from a Mojo magazine cover version of Dark Side of the Moon. Enjoy!