Legends in Song: Somewhere over the Dark Side of the Moon
Written: Nov 17 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Interesting
Cons: none
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| teddiec's Full Review: Rock and Pop |
Somewhere over the Internet, Pink Floyd's songs
Undergo speculation, fueled by DJ's, writers, and bongs......
And so it goes, believers insist that Pink Floyd's 1973 album, "Dark Side of the Moon" was specifically composed and recorded as a (secret) synchronized soundtrack to the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz.
It is said that if you watch the movie(volume down), while listening to the soundtrack simultaneously, you cannot help but notice the incredible interactions between the both the lyrics, sound effects and the happenings on the screen. Of the people who have seriously attempted to test this phenomenon and found the remarkable synchonisity to be more than mere coincidence-some were even sober!
The cover's prism and rainbow is said to represent the movie's famous black-and-white-into-color switch, songs end when scenes change, and the Munchkins' dancing seems to be timed with the music. Numerous lyrical and sound effect synchonicities inspired DJ's to comment on the air, articles to be written, and dopers everywhere to rent the movie to see for themselves!
In the August 1995 issue of "The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette", Charles Savage wrote:
"It's as if the movie were one long art-film music video for the album. Song lyrics and titles match the action and plot. The music swells and falls with character's movements. Don't expect to be overwhelmed. But do expect to see enough firm coincidences to make you wonder whether the whole thing was planned."
Helen Kennedy also wrote about the astounding coincidences. In a 1997 article for Daily News she says, "The lyrics and music join in cosmic synch with the action, forming dozens upon dozens of startling coincidences--the kind that make you go 'Oh wow, man' even if you haven't been near a bong in 20 years."
Articles like these, and many others lent credibility somewhat to the already rampant speculation. The internet has furthur perpetrated the phenomenon and although most of the members of Pink Floyd have denied the connection, the speculation continues......
The Great Gig in the Sky
'The Great Gig in the Sky' is just one example of the remarkable synchonicity with the scenes in the movie. It appears to some to have been choreographed for the whirling twister's movement, with rising and falling instrumentals. When the window strikes Dorothy's head, knocking her out, the song quiets...but builds again as the house is sucked up into the tornado. The song ends just as the house is seen crashing to the ground.
Other lyrical and sound effect coincidences include:
* Time plays as Dorothy is running away from home, to the words, "No one told you when to run". As she is leaving the fortuneteller to go back home, the album plays, "home, home again."
* Brain Damage is playing as the Scarecrow sings "If I only had a brain". Floyd sings "the lunatic is on the grass" as he dances near a green lawn.
* When Glenda the 'good witch' descends in a bubble, you can hear the lyrics, "Don't give me that do-goody-good bullsh*t.
* The album ends with Eclipse and you hear the heartbeat, just as Dorothy places her ear against the TinMan's chest to listen for his heart.
For some, perhaps the most "Whoa-worthy" coincidence is near the end of the album, Pink Floyd sings, "everything under the sun really is in tune."
Uh, Yeah...pass the bong.
I can't debunk this conspiracy theory. The best I can do is point out a few things that tend to make it unbelievable for me:
* Aside from the incredible amount of planning this would have taken, the members of Pink Floyd deny the 'plot'. The only exception is Roger Waters, the man behind the album. This implies he could've done this without the others' knowledge, but since he wasn't the sole writer that seems impossible. Also, he was not the sole producer of the album. Alan Parson's had at least some control over the timing and sound effects.
* Rick Wright is the one who came up with the idea for the cover, but when asked by DJ George Taylor Morris at WZLX-FM in Boston about it, Wright said he'd "never heard of any intentional connections between the movie and the album."
* Since the Wizard of Oz wasn't out in home video in 1973, it's pretty difficult to believe that the musicians or writers could have consulted for the timing.
* The various ways people play the two together, using different start times and lyric markers make the idea seem less likely as well.
Is this phenomenon merely an extremely coincidental string of events? Perhaps Carl Jung's concept of 'collective unconscious' at work?
Watch and Listen
If you are the least bit curious, there's only one way you can decide for yourself. The instructions for the experiment:
1. Get a copy of both "The Wizard of Oz video, and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon CD. (if you have to stop and flip the album it is said to disturb the synchonicity.)
2. Start the CD, but press 'pause' at the beginning of track one.
3. Make sure the sound is off on your TV, and the sound is UP on your CD.
4. Unpause the CD when the MGM Lion roars for the 3rd time.
5. Optional: While I do not advocate, nor approve of the use of illegal drugs or other mind altering substances, it behooves me to mention that the results of said experiment tend to be highly affected by the tester's state of mind.
Ok, so the worst that can happen is you'll spend some time listening to an excellent album, while a classic movie provides the visuals for an unusual music video. Keeping an open mind ensures at least a whole lot of "WHOA's"!
Recommended:
Yes
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