This Obscure Pink Floyd Song Has Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Sound Effects

Pink Floyd was well known for their wide ranging experimental use of sound effects in their music. But there's a little known connection to Battle Creek, Michigan-based Kellogg Company from their album Atom Heart Mother with an effect that was chosen for one of the songs.

Atom Heart Mother was released October 2nd, 1970 as the band's fifth studio album, about three years ahead of their worldwide break out Dark Side Of The Moon in 1973. It peaked at #1 on the UK album charts, where they had already established their popularity, but only at #55 in the U.S.. At this point in the band's journey, they were still fine tuning their approach and this transitional album showed some of the signs of what was to come.

On the 13 minute long final track "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast", named after Alan Styles who voiced and provided sound effects, the song begins with him beginning to prepare varieties of breakfast food and talking to himself. Between three instrumental interludes, the song revisits the kitchen each time. At the 4:09 mark, he opens a box of cereal and pours it before adding milk. From 4:24 to 4:38 you hear the 'snap crackle pop' noise associated with Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal. Then an acoustic guitar fades in as the next musical interlude begins.

This song could certainly go down as one of Pink Floyd's most unusual efforts, even among other music from the band's "Pre-Dark Side" era. Through musical style, album artwork, and a further shift away from styling that stemmed from the band's original lead singer Syd Barrett, that familiar Pink Floyd sound started to evolve on this album. Guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour replaced Barrett in 1968 and in some ways, this was a break out album for him. We first heard a few soaring guitar solos that would soon become a staple of their music.

But who knew that an iconic noise from a popular American cereal brand was chosen among their many musical experiments? Now you do. We'll see you on the dark side of the spoon.