May 13, 2009

• Dark Side of The Rainbow

  

  Back in high school, a few of my friends and I would hang out in the public park drinking...pop? and smoking...candy?  Anyway, during those days we would talk music and movies and then one guy started talking about how his brother told him about Pink Floyd's album "Dark Side of the Moon" and how it was the perfect soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz.  We all started laughing at him thinking he was experiencing some sort of sugar high...yeah, that's the ticket.  He got so pissed off at us that he ended up taking us to his place to show us.  My god, he wasn't lying.  Maybe it was the pop and candy but I thought this was the best thing ever.  I then graduated and went to college and I was discussing with a friend how in order for me to get to sleep at night I had to put on Dark Side of the Moon on my cd player and sent me off to sleep.  He then brought up how he had heard about Dark Side and Wizard of Oz being a crazy match up.  I explained how it was.  We both had copies of DSOTM but neither of us had Wizard of Oz.  We searched high and low for that movie.  Finally I found it during a winter break and when we were snowed in that next weekend after classes resumed we watched this strange phenomena over and over again.
  It all started in 1994 when Pink Floyd fans were discussing this phenomenon on a Usenet message board.  In the same message board they were discussing the Publius Enigma posts but that is for another blog post.  There is no mention as to who suggested to match the two but it seemingly works.
  Then in 2000 my prayers were answered and Turner Classic Movies aired Wizard of Oz and then afterward they aired the movie matched with DSOTM.  It was incredible.  I recorded it but wouldn't you know, I have since lost the tape. 
  No matter how many times I sit down and try this strange black magic, it works and gives me this really creepy feeling.  The members of Pink Floyd deny that the album has anything to do with The Wizard of Oz however the album is dedicated to the man who died in the production of the film; the same man whose death is said to be captured in the film.  The first pressing of the LP featured artwork that had a feeling for the movie.
  This is the artwork that most people see when they look at Dark Side of the Moon but that first pressing featured the white line hitting the spectrum, turning to the rainbow and then narrowing on the inside of the LP to a single white line.  It follows the color "scheme" of Wizard of Oz. The movie starts in black and white, switches to color, and then ends in black and white. 
  Another rumor about the synchronicity comes from the production of the album.  Pink Floyd supposedly recorded much of DSOTM while in a screening room and they were watching Wizard of Oz while working.  I don't know the truth to that but The Grateful Dead were notorious for that.  A lot of their songs came from watching movies and matching rhythms with motions on the screen.
  How do you do this?  Well get a copy of Dark Side of the Moon and a copy of Wizard of Oz.  Put the entire album on repeat or what I do is program the songs 1-9 and then again 1-9 and then again 1-9.  The strange thing about this is that there is synchronicity on the second time through as well as half of the third.  I usually mute the tv so I can focus on the music and the sounds on the album.  There is debate as to when to start the music.  I say pause the music and then unpause it right before the MGM lion makes his third roar.  Some will say after the third roar.  Either way it is a split second.  This link will send you to a site that features the synchs between the movie and the album.  I would print it first and then try it out because it talks about the synch between lyrics and actions on the screen. 
  Well I am going to be so nice...actually not really, I just stumbled upon this last night so enjoy.  Youtube has just the first run through of the album with Wizard of Oz.

  Part 1:  In this 1st of 6 videos watch as Dorothy balances on a fence rail while the words "Balanced on the biggest wave you race towards an early grave" are sung. Dorothy falls as the words "early grave" are sung.
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  Part 2:  The ringing of the alarm bells coincides perfectly with the entrance of Elvira Gulch.  The song during this video is called Time. Notice the fortune teller's sign, it reads Past, Present and Future.  During "Breathe (Reprise)" you hear "Home, home again" as Professor Marvel tells Dorothy that she should return to her home.
  
  Part 3:  There's some incredible synchronicity in this video.  The Great Gig in the Sky; is that a reference to the tornado in the video?  The music slowly builds in time to the intensity of the actors' movements in the video. The intensity of Clare Torry's wailing matches perfectly with Dorothy's frantic mood. Her vocals then subside as Dorothy loses consciousness and drifts off to the Land of Oz.
  
  Part 4:  The movie now changes from black and white to color just as the song Money begins and Dorothy enters the land of Oz.  Okay, if you've been thinking this is far fetched you have to admit that this is an interesting transition. Also, watch as the Good Witch has her hands on the wand.  It sort of looks like she could be playing guitar chords.
  
  Part 5:  Watch as the ballerinas enter on "us.....us....us...." then proceed to dance in time to the music...the munchkins as well.  Watch as the Wicked Witch enters on the word "black".  Listen as they sing "which is which" while imagining that the singer is really saying 'Witch is witch' as they transition from the wicked witch to the good witch.  Notice the words "out....out....out..." as the good witch fades from the scene
  
  Part 6:  Dorothy finds herself along the Yellow Brick Road and comes upon the Scarecrow. Not a lot here as far as coincidences are concerned. The name of the tune is Any Colour You Like and some people say that the title is a reference to the Technicolor used in the film which was state-of-the-art in 1939 when the film was made.  The song Brain Damage plays as Dorothy and the Scarecrow are on the yellow brick road. Listen for the line "Got to keep the loonies on the path".  Toward the end of the album and this final segment Dorothy and the Scarecrow come upon the Tinman. The lyrics "All that you taste/All that you hear/All that you feel" accompany Dorothy's efforts to revive the Tinman by oiling his joints.  The Tinman lacked a heart. Eclipse, the last song on the album, concludes with the sound of a heartbeat. You hear this sound as Dorothy puts her hand and ear to the Tinman's chest while listening for a heartbeat as the music fades out to the sound of a heartbeat.
  

  So there the first play through is for your enjoyment.  Yes, I now owe you 45+ minutes of your life.  Give me a call some time and I'll make it up to you in a good Christian manner.  Oh and if you are ever snowed in I have some other rumored Pink Floyd synchs:  There is a reggae album called Dubside of the Moon which is supposed to synch the same way, the third act in 2001: A Space Odyesy is supposed to synch with the Pink Floyd song "echoes" found on the album Meddle this is strange because Roger Waters was offered the chance to score that movie but turned down the offer, the Pink Floyd album Wish You Were Here matches up with It's a Wonderful Life.

  I forgot to mention that a few years ago I was walking around in Boulder, CO just exploring on my own while I was out there for a wedding.  The wedding party decided to have their bachelor and bachelorette parties at a park in the mountains and I was suffering from altitude sickness so I said I was going to stay at the house.  Well I went out in search of a music store.  Something on a light pole grabbed my attention.  It was an ad for a local band that was going to be playing Dark Side of the Moon and they were going to play it live with Wizard of Oz.  I didn't get to go see it because that was the night of the wedding.  Then a little while after that I was in Madison and found a flyer for a band playing DSOTM along with Wizard of Oz.  Didn't make that one because I saw the flyer a day after the performance.

  Another thing that comes to mind is the 1995 release of a Pink Floyd concert.  The video was called Pulse.  In the artwork there were some strange images that people have said are a tie-in to the Wizard of Oz.  There is a girl that resembles Dorothy and is wearing red shoes, there is a bike which people claim is the bike that Ms Glutch is riding, and then there is an axe which supposedly represents the Tin Man.  David Gilmour of Pink Floyd explained that it was an homage to their early material.  The girl was the titular character of a song called "See Emily Play", the bike was for a song called "Bike" and the axe represented the song "Be Careful with that Axe Eugene".  Either way that is still some strange coincidences.

  You know if you read this entry while playing Pearl Jam's album Yield...it doesn't match up but it provides you with some great music.  Hope you enjoyed.

  • 1:38 PM
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