# Can you hear it, Edgard Varese? (A shout-out on Pink Floyd's Ummagumma) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-it-edgard-varese-a-shout-out-on-pink-floyds-ummagumma/815918 "2018-06-11T22:11:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Egnu\_Cledge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@Egnu\_Cledge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Egnu_Cledge)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-it-edgard-varese-a-shout-out-on-pink-floyds-ummagumma/815918/1 "2018-06-11T22:11:00Z")
While researching a college paper on electronic music, my wife came across a claim that you can hear someone say “Can you dig it, Varèse?” on Pink Floyd’s _Ummagumma_ (here are a [couple](https://books.google.com/books?id=IbaB6rml7B4C&pg=PA362&lpg=PA362&dq=pink+floyd+you+dig+it+edgard+varese&source=bl&ots=gb75QatmFA&sig=taFtbIJQldTMpV7z1wJmL9X-G_4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAnYiNzMzbAhXRrFMKHeyMB-oQ6AEIOzAC#v=onepage&q=pink%20floyd%20you%20dig%20it%20edgard%20varese&f=false) of [cites](https://books.google.com/books?id=1xzZlEniKYUC&pg=PA529&lpg=PA529&dq=pink+floyd+you+dig+it+edgard+varese&source=bl&ots=PQnKlabe83&sig=iycWSQqDnOu1hD7IsXSRPb5XMp4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAnYiNzMzbAhXRrFMKHeyMB-oQ6AEIPzAD#v=onepage&q=pink%20floyd%20you%20dig%20it%20edgard%20varese&f=false)). I was (and remain) a huge Pink Floyd fan, but was never able to hear anyone say this on the album. I can’t find any original source for this claim, so who knows where it started. Is there anybody out there who has actually heard “Can you dig it, Varèse?” on the album? What song did you hear it on? Here’s a link to [Ummagumma](https://youtu.be/QawLRFL0Js0). And another to one of [Varèse’s](https://youtu.be/WQKyYmU2tPg) compositions, if you’ve never heard one. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-it-edgard-varese-a-shout-out-on-pink-floyds-ummagumma/815918/2 "2018-06-11T22:59:56Z")
The music of Pink Floyd is loaded with little fiddly bits & weirdness. On one song from the Zabriskie Point soundtrack (1970), you can just hear, “A Florida holiday and a color TV!”. Imagine that line being used in the 1980s as a suicide note… because it was. In one outtake from the Zabriskie Point soundtrack (one of many songs called Love Scene) you can hear someone whisper, “penetration”. I nearly fell off the couch. Funniest Floyd song ever. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-it-edgard-varese-a-shout-out-on-pink-floyds-ummagumma/815918/3 "2018-06-11T23:08:25Z")
Oh sure, the phrase is clearly audible about halfway through _Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict_…but you have to play it backwards at half speed.🆒 Just kidding–I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![Egnu\_Cledge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@Egnu\_Cledge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Egnu_Cledge)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-it-edgard-varese-a-shout-out-on-pink-floyds-ummagumma/815918/4 "2018-06-11T23:53:32Z")
Ha! It’s certainly possible. If you play _Empty Spaces_ backwards, you can hear this exchange: Roger: Hello looker… Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the Funny Farm, Chalfont… Voice: Roger! Carolyne’s on the phone! Roger: Okay ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-it-edgard-varese-a-shout-out-on-pink-floyds-ummagumma/815918/5 "2018-06-12T03:12:41Z")
> [@Egnu\_Cledge](#): > > (here are a [couple](https://books.google.com/books?id=IbaB6rml7B4C&pg=PA362&lpg=PA362&dq=pink+floyd+you+dig+it+edgard+varese&source=bl&ots=gb75QatmFA&sig=taFtbIJQldTMpV7z1wJmL9X-G_4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAnYiNzMzbAhXRrFMKHeyMB-oQ6AEIOzAC#v=onepage&q=pink%20floyd%20you%20dig%20it%20edgard%20varese&f=false) of [cites](https://books.google.com/books?id=1xzZlEniKYUC&pg=PA529&lpg=PA529&dq=pink+floyd+you+dig+it+edgard+varese&source=bl&ots=PQnKlabe83&sig=iycWSQqDnOu1hD7IsXSRPb5XMp4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiAnYiNzMzbAhXRrFMKHeyMB-oQ6AEIPzAD#v=onepage&q=pink%20floyd%20you%20dig%20it%20edgard%20varese&f=false)). I don’t have a copy of this album to check (I’d gladly listen to it), but I wanted to mention that your first cite mentions Steve Reich’s _Drumming_ & I recently picked up a new recording of this work by the [Colin Currie Group](http://www.colincurriegroup.com) and it’s fantastic; prolly the best performance/rendition/recording of this work that I’ve ever heard. [Here’s a sample](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmlbuRGubrI).