This is my theory of the controversy dubbed "The Dark Side Of Oz". I took the time to compose this,
simply to make people aware of it. For those of you still unaware of what I'm referring to, it is the observation that Pink
Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side Of The Moon (renamed Dark Side Of The Moon when relalesed on CD in 1993), is virtually in
sync with MGM's 1939 classic motion picture, The Wizard Of Oz.
The three points I have to make are:
1
- Yes, they really are in sync
2 - The impossible alternative
3 - Why?
If possible, I recommend watching it first, before reading on. You can find a pre-synced version by
clicking the google link below. It's low quality, but more than adequate to get what's going on, and easier than doing it
yourself. Also, headphones are preferable.
YES, THEY REALLY
ARE IN SYNC
In this day and age, the internet is responsible for exposing
many things and telling many stories. Quite different from the 1970's. I believe this phenomenon will gain HUGE attention
in the coming weeks or months. Likely, the only reason it hasn't yet, is the fact that it's 43 minuits long. With all the
email forwarding these days, who wants to check out a 43 minuit forward? I'm from the demographic that would be likely to
hear of this 'through the grapevine' somewhat faster than many others. Music is a big part of my life, and I work nights with
other amateur music critics. We spend 7 hours a night with the local classic rock/top 40 rock radio station blasted, so anytime
we're not complaining about the company, we're usually talking music. One night, a co-worker asked if I'd heard of this Pink
Floyd thing, with The Wizard Of Oz? He hadn't seen it either, but gave me enough info to research it for myself. What I found
shocked me.
Online, you will find a growing number of so-called "definitive lists'
of syncs, as well as websites dedicated to this. Let's just say I've seen it more than once, and I've found syncs that apparently
no one else has. And likely vise-versa. I won't go into every one of them here - there are a lot - but I'll go over a few
of the really big ones.
By the way, this talk of playing the album 2-and-a-half times,
so it lasts the length of the movie? Give your head a shake! Are you serious? Come on! This phenomenon begins at the MGM lion's
third roar, and ends when the album ends. Lastly, you do need the audio from the movie playing as well, to get the full effect.
Ok, so you've seen The Wizard Of Oz before, right? You know it starts in black-and-white. You know it was a
big deal in 1939, when a now-primitive colour film camera - "Technicolor" - was used in this movie. You know this advancement
was possible because of a prism. You know this meant BIG money for MGM. Ok, now look at the cover art of Dark Side Of The
Moon. Some have even made the connection between the prism and the funnel Tin Man's head, which I personnaly think is a stretch,
but I have been wrong before. By itself, still not a big deal. Ok, well On The Run plays while Dorothy sings Over The Rainbow.
Yes, there's the rainbow on the album cover, and yes the volume and intensity of the song, compliment the lyrical content
of Over The Rainbow. This, however is a constant throughout "Dark Side Of Oz". What I do want to point out is the acronym.
OTR.
Here's the song list:
1 Speak To Me
2 Breathe
3
On the Run
4 Time
5 The Great Gig in the Sky
6 Money
7 Us and
Them
8 Any Colour You Like
9 Brain Damage
10 Eclipse
The original 1900 book, entitled, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , was written by L. Frank Baum. Do the
first letters of tracks 9, 8, 7, and 6, not spell Baum?
Side one of the original vinyl lasts the duration of the black-and-white part of the movie. Oh yeah,
remember how MGM made TONS of you-know-what, from Technicolor? Well, what do you hear at the EXACT moment Dorothy walks through
the door into colour? Yep, that's right.
Here's a few more good ones:
- "And balanced on the biggest wave" from Breathe while Dorothy balances on the pigpen divider. Notice
the sudden change to On The Run, when she falls off.
- The clocks of Time start exactly when the scene cuts to the witch riding her bicycle. The dynamics
of the song match the images to follow. Also, the sign says "Past Present Future".
- The Great Gig In The Sky. Notice the name of the song. It begins when the tornado shows up, ends
when the house lands. The singing/screaming matches the drama of the scene.
- The ballerinas show up when when the lyrics "Us and them" are sung. The seconds that follow, are
truly amazing. The ballerinas sing:
We represent the Lullaby League
The Lullaby League, the Lullaby League
And in the name of
the Lullaby League
We wish to welcome you to Munchkin Land
... You need
to see this to believe it.
- "Black... black... black..." When camera goes to the witch."Blue... blue... blue..." Camera on
Dorothy, in her blue dress. "And who knows which is which" Yes, camera on witch again.
- The Scarecrow sings If I Only Had A Brain, While Brain Damage is playing.
- Alright, here's a BIG one. The music changes when Dorothy sings "If you only had a brain", then
the next few guitar licks are 100% IDENTICAL to the melody that the Scarecrow sings "...tell you why, The ocean's near the
shore"! People, I mean 100% IDENTICAL.
- Eclipse ends with a heart beating sound, as Dorothy is listening for Tin Man's heart. The heart
beat lasts the duration of their conversation about his wish for a heart.
As I said, this IS NOT a definitive list. There are over 100 other examples, but what's truly amazing
is the way the music itself moves and flows with the movie. That's really the whole point, I think.
THE IMPOSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE
As it turns out, there are some nay-sayers out there. Have you actually seen it? It's undeniable.
Just because Pink Floyd denies that it was done on purpose, doesn't mean that it wasn't done on purpose. If you believed everything
you heard, you'd think Elvis is alive, Iraq has a WMD arsenal, and Eddie Van Halen is a great guitar player.
Coincedences. They happen everyday, all over the world. Some are hard to believe, some go un-noticed.
Some are huge. If fact, HUGE 1-in-a-trillion coincedences happen sometimes. If they didn't, THAT would be one in itself. "The
Dark Side Of Oz", CANNOT be a coincedence. My estimate on the odds of that happening? I'd say "1 in...", then I'd place a
brick on the 9 key, and leave it there for the next 9 million years. That's a pretty big number. Probably more likely that
everyone who ever reads this will win a million dollars everyday, for the rest of their lives. And will get struck by lightning
5 times a day, everyday for the rest of their lives, and always survive completely uninjured. Let's be realistic folks! This
album was DESIGNED by HUMAN BEINGS, to match up with this movie. This is a masterpiece of music, art, and creativity. Not
coincedence, magic, aliens, or Judy Garland's ghost.
WHY?
Well that I don't know for sure. I'm not from Pink Floyd, I wasn't involved in making The Dark Side Of The Moon. My parents
hadn't even met when it was made. What I offer, is a theory, entirely based on speculation, to explain this remarkable accomplishment.
Anyone who's ever tinkered with recording software and multi-tracking and song writing, as I have, knows how difficult it
is. With today's equipment, it would be VERY difficult to complete a project like this. VERY difficult. With the studios being
used in the early 70's, the undertaking would have been astronomical! The theory that Roger Waters was not only solely responsible,
but also kept it from the rest of the band and crew... absolutely and utterly ridiculous! You need to read a book or two on
audio production and basic music theory, ok? That's not what happened. One other theory raises a few undeniablely plausible
points, suggesting that it's a requiem to Judy Garland. At the end of his theory, he wonders if Judy Garland's ghost went
back in time to influence the plot and production of The Wizard Of Oz so it would mirror her life AFTER the movie was made.
Then, she apparently managed to influence The Dark Side Of The Moon, to not only match the movie, but fill in the blanks with
biographical information about her life. But some points are noteworthy, more on that later. Finally, the theory that it was
completely accidental. I've already gone over that one, but I'll reiterate: Think about what you're saying!
So my theory. It begins with two possibilities:
1 - Prior to 1973, someone from Pink Floyd came up with the idea for The Wall. They decided to see
if it were possible to write a rock opera, to a dynamic plot, with very little artistic license. Since The Wall, was to be
largely auto-biographical, the music had to follow pre-determined conceptual content. So pick a movie that has a very dynamic
plot AND very contrasting moods, from scene to scene. Also this movie should be successful, if possible, so the pattern of
dynamics has already proven to be palpable, but not something obvious like a recent release. There must have been many possible
choices. I'd suggest that The Wizard Of Oz, might have been a largely arbitrary decision.
2 - The Wall, was thought up, after The Dark Side Of The Moon. They were so happy with the way they'd
already made a rock opera to an existing movie, they wanted to do it again, entirely by themselves.
Regardless, you must see the connection? Wouldn't it add to the already impossible coincidence, that
a band that would go on to make a full-blown rock opera in 1979, had already done it in 1973 - COMPLETELY BY ACCIDENT!?!
Anyway, I believe it wasn't meant to be common knowledge, but there are little hints here and there,
for dedicated fans. Such as the album art, the acronyms, that sort of thing. Don't you think they were proud of this extraordinary
achievement? It reminds me of the Harrison Ford flick, Patriot Games. I'm a big fan of Tom Clancy, I've read all his books.
Let me tell you, Patriot Games the movie, and Patriot Games the book have VERY little in common, save for a few basic details.
Having said that, there are a few small "winks", as I call them, to anyone who read the book. Details that are completely
irrelevant to either story, but are in both. For example, the license plate of the IRA van is the same in both, and has nothing
to do with anything. That's the kind of attitude I see with Dark Side Of The Moon. Subtle or not, this is hard evidence.
Back to the requiem theory. I won't go into detail about this one. To check out R. K. Jusino's page,
click the link below. Some genuinely good points, but A LOT of reaching as well, in my opinion. I would imagine that yes,
SOME of Roger Waters' lyrics were inspired by the story of Judy Garland's life. However, I see it being more likely that the
goal was to write the album to the first 43 minuits of The Wizard Of Oz, not as an OVERLY cryptic tribute to Judy Garland.
Read Jusino's page, form your own conclusion.
Now look at the band's response now, they casually deny it, knowing that if you haven't taken the
time to see it, you probably don't care that much. If you have seen it, there's no need to ask in the first place. Let's remember,
we're talking about one of the top ten best-selling albums EVER. It spent 741 consecutive weeks on the American chart, a combined
total of 1500 weeks on the Billboard 200, and has sold over 40 million copies... and STILL selling. This is a question of
"if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Today's music industry is quite different from that of the 1970's. Being WILLING to produce
absolutely anything, as long as it will sell, may not be new, but just how bad it can really be, and still sell... Well that's
a different story. Look at the "music" that makes HUGE money today. Glorify this, sexualize that, look like this, advertise
that... And at the heart of it all, the hour or so, of sound that you hear when the album is playing. Some offensive, some
bubble gum, some cookie cutter, some just plain ol' bad. Gimmicks are EVERYTHING, the worse your music, the more gimmick you
need to sell it. Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon, has a little secret behind it. The music contained on
it, however, as a separate, independent entity, needs no gimmick to be recognized as a truly brilliant masterpiece.
In no way do I backup any of my speculations with proof. It is simply meant to give an example of an explaination that's
a little closer to reality.
- I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.
