A neurologist named Oliver Sacks has written a
book about music, its chemical/neural effects on our brains, and our ability to experience recall.
In it, he recounts hundreds of test subjects who possessed no developed musical abilities, but had absolute recall of a tune- right down to the exact speed and key of the piece.
Here's an experiment for you Dawgs to try (at least all you Floydheads who who are familiar with "Wish You Were Here"...) Read these lyrics, and see if you don't hear the piece in your head EXACTLY as if you were spinning the disc:
Welcome my son.....
Welcome- to the machine.
Where have you been?
That's alright, we know where you've been.
You've been in the pipeline, filling in time,
Provided with toys, and scouting with boys.
You bought a guitah to punish your Ma,
You didn't like school- and you know you're nobody's foooooooooooooooool...
So welcoooooome...
...To the Machine.
a trip, isn't it?
Floyd was great at crafting these simple contructs, and then layering them to produce incredible soundscapes.... soundscapes that stick in the minds of listeners. One of my all-time favorite ensembles.