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Subject: Darkside of the Rainbow Posted by: Great One - Sustainer [053272014] Wed, Mar 29, 2006, 18:40  | |||||||
| 1 | Great One Sustainer ID: 053272014 Wed, Mar 29, 2006, 18:41 |
So some of you know all about this... I did it first many years ago. But after discussing it with some co-workers today (and seeing their blank stares) I was curious if this was as widespread as I initially thought. Thoughts? Opinions? Experiences? | ||||||
| 2 | Great One Sustainer ID: 053272014 Wed, Mar 29, 2006, 18:52 |
The Dark Side of the Rainbow: Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. The film version of "The Wizard of Oz." Two profoundly successful pieces of pop art you would think are completely unrelated. Yet there exists a connection - no, really a synchronicity - between the two that escapes logic or understanding. By Charles Savage Let lapse, momentarily, your reason and your belief in a sense of order to the universe. (Suspend, too, your belief that we might be doing some very serious drugs.) Then rent "The Wizard of Oz," turn off your television sound, put Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon in your CD player and press play at the exact moment the MGM lion roars for the first time. (Some people advocate the third roar, but I've found that the first works better for me.) The result is astonishing. 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. And expect to see many more coincidences that would be definite reaches if it weren't for other parts lining up so well. If you're not really familiar with The Dark Side of the Moon, it will help to have a lyric sheet handy. But always keep an eye to the TV, lest you miss something. (Don't try the pause-play-pause game; being three or four seconds off would really neutralize the effect.) Half the fun of exploring this marvel is watching with a group of friends and shouting out the correlations as you make connections. So we won't spell out all the details. here, however, are a few major examples just to get you started: During "Breathe," Dorothy does a tightrope-like walk along the holding pen to the lyric "and balanced on the biggest wave." The line "no one told you when to run" from "Time" is sung just as the scene switches to Dorothy running away from home to save Toto. "Home, home again" from the "Breathe" reprise is sung as the fortuneteller tells Dorothy to go home. "Don't give me that do goody good bullshit" from "Money" comes as Glinda the Good Witch of the North floats in as a bubble. "Black... and blue" from "Us and Them" is sung as the Wicked Witch of the West appears dressed in black. That is shortly followed by "and who knows which is which" (witch is witch) as she and Glenda confront each other. "Brain Damage" - which begins at almost the same time as the movie's "If I Only Had a Brain" - contains the lines "The lunatic is on the grass" and "Got to keep the loonies on the path." This is just as the Scarecrow flops around like a madman on the grass and then on the Yellow Brick Road. The numerous lyrical coincidences between the movie and the album are only part of the story. Often, the actions seems choreographed to the music. For example, the wordless moan-singing of "The Great Gig in the Sky" is almost perfectly matched with the tornado scene, rising as the storm gathers, falling to a lullaby when Dorothy is knocked out by the window, rising again as the house spins up in the sky, then falling again as the house returns to earth. The song begins with the gathering storm and ends just as the house hits the ground. Dorothy gets up in silence, walks through the house, and then just as she opens the door to reveal Technicolor Munchkinland, the opening sound effects of "Money" startle the listener. (Moreover, "Money" was the first song on the LP's second side; Munchkinland is the opening of part two of the film.) And then there is the clincher: The album's dramatic ending heartbeats sound as Dorothy listens to the Tin Woodsman's empty chest. It's bizarre, uncanny. And it's more than a little puzzling. There is no obvious reason why a classic art-rock album recorded in 1973 would be even remotely related to the 1939 film, which is based on the story by L. Frank Baum. After all, it's hard to imagine Roger Waters, Dave Gilmour & Co. painstakingly writing their music to the movie's timing. It's even harder to imagine that a band so gimmickry-minded (it stuck a blinking LED light on the CD packaging of its latest release, PULSE, for example) would keep quiet for 22 years if it had done it purposefully. And at least for now, no one is talking. Several calls and a faxed request to a Pink Floyd publicist at Columbia Records were unanswered. A slightly less inside source, Fred Meyer, the secretary of the International Wizard of Oz Club, said this: "What? I don't know anything about that." He added that he had never even heard of Pink Floyd. All of which makes the origin twice as shrouded in mystery. Why would anyone just randomly play the album over the the film, timed with the MGM lion's roar? In April [1995], someone posted about it on the Internet Pink Floyd newsgroup, saying he or she'd heard about it from "some people down in Los Angeles." Most users told the poster to go back to his drugs. And a recent posting on the alt.music.pink-floyd newsgroup asking for help in the mystery produced no clues to the origin of the oddity. In the end, the synchronization was either intentional or a cosmic coincidence - the musical equivalent of the "Infinite Monkeys on Infinite Typewriters Eventually Producing the Complete Works of Shakespeare" effect. Perhaps all it means is that when everything under the sun is in tune, including two peice of cult-status entertainment seemingly completely separated by time and genre, it will seem as strange as when the sun is eclipsed by a moon. | ||||||
| 3 | JTSERB ID: 49320214 Wed, Mar 29, 2006, 19:42 | GO, I must say this is the first time I ever heard about this, but I am only 23 years so that could be why. I definatly want to try it though, sounds pretty sweet. | ||||||
| 4 | Frick@Work Donor ID: 3410101718 Thu, Mar 30, 2006, 09:17 |
I heard about it in college, 95-99. I would definately say that it depends on what type of music you prefer and what your friends listen to. It is a blast to watch though. | ||||||
| 5 | Slackjawed Yokel Leader ID: 052347519 Fri, Mar 31, 2006, 22:01 |
I think I may have tried this before, but don't remember seeing serious correlation. also, Dorothy's bike is in the iris on the cover of the Pulse CD | ||||||
| 6 | Ref Donor ID: 539581218 Sat, Apr 01, 2006, 11:02 | Well there's no question of which piece of work came first! Yeah, I've never heard of this before. Good Stuff GO. | ||||||
| 7 | Great One Sustainer ID: 053272014 Sun, Apr 02, 2006, 17:23 |
As far as their being serious correlation... I would say its pretty amazing and there are a lot of extraordinary syncs/coincidences going on that lead you to believe they had done it on purpose. But as Alan Parsons points out (who produced Darkside at the Abbey Road studios) there weren't any VCR's or anything like that in 1972. So how could they possibly sync this up so amazingly?! They would need to have a second by second description of what was going on in the film. I find it absolutely fascinating. | ||||||
| 8 | Great One Sustainer ID: 053272014 Sun, Apr 02, 2006, 17:27 | Well guess what... thanks to YouTube, you can decide for yourself. I reccomend hitting pause and giving it a great headstart before playing to avoid buffering. | ||||||
| 9 | Great One Sustainer ID: 053272014 Sun, Apr 02, 2006, 17:28 | |||||||
| 10 | Great One Sustainer ID: 053272014 Sun, Apr 02, 2006, 17:37 |
Man that picture quality sucks... still better doing it yourself as you have a much greater attention to detail. If you only wanna do it for a few minutes, hit start when they are up in the tornado and sit through the landing and transition from black and white to color and maybe up until the she meets Scarecrow/TinMan. The List 001) The first indicator that the setup is correct: The transition from Speak to Me to Breathe syncs with the fade-in of producer Mervyn LeRoy. Note: In the prologue, the word "Time" (one of the songs on the CD) is written with a capital letter even though it isn't at the start of the sentence. Also you will find the word "Heart" capitalized in the middle of a sentence -- a sound particular to The Dark Side of the Moon. 002) "Leave, but don't leave me ..." Auntie Em appears to say "... Leave ..." to Dorothy, who then turns to leave, looking a bit down in the mouth. 003) "... Look around ..." Dorothy looks around. 004) "... Smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry ..." The two farmhands holding the cart are smiling and the other farmhand below is crying. This one is not exactly on time with the "smiles you'll give" part, but because of the good timing with "tears you'll cry", it makes it worth the mention. 005) "... All you touch ..." Dorothy touches the farmhand holding a bucket on his arm. 006) "... When at last the work is done (drumstrike)..." the drumbeat syncs with the farmhand hitting his finger with the hammer, and immediately after the word "done" -- he is done for the time being, with his work. 007) (Y) Right after "... Dig that hole ..." the farm hand points to the ground. 008) "... Balanced on the biggest wave ..." Dorothy balances herself on the rail of the pig pen. 009) (B) Song shifts from Breathe to On the Run as Dorothy falls off the fence. Note: (C) At the switch to On The Run, the beginning music matches the apparent mood change of the scene and emotions of the other characters, as they are concerned with Dorothy's well being. 010) Auntie Em shows up and begins talking as the woman's voice on DSOTM chatters away. 011) Dorothy's gaze travels across from right to left as the sound effect in On The Run moves in the same direction audibly. 011) Toto wags his tail in time to the clicking sound effect. 012) (EE) Toto's ears perk up at the sound of the explosion at the end of On The Run. 012) (X) The rumbling at the end of On The Run lends itself nicely as the sound of distant thunder, and enhances the feeling of seeing shafts of sunlight piercing the clouds. 013) The chimes in Time begin at the appearance of Almira Gulch, on her bicycle, and the chimes stop when she dismounts. ["I've got a bike. You can ride it if you like. It's got a basket ..." (Syd Barrett /Pink Floyd from Bike)]. 014) (V) Uncle Henry is holding a paintbrush, and as he raises and drops it, it's as if he is ringing a bell. 015) At the first bass chord of Time the scene changes to inside Auntie Em's house. 016) (B) Dorothy and the rest of the cast appear to move and react to the rhythm and mood of the music. 017) Almira Gulch points her finger on the bass chord. 018) "Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town", This is said just a little before Toto jumps out of the basket and onto the ground where he kicks off to go back to Dorothy in his hometown. 019) "... Waiting for someone or something to show you the way ..." Dorothy waits for Toto, who pops his head in her bedroom window. 020) "And you are young and life is long ..." a reference to Dorothy's youth? 021) "Ten years have got behind you ..." You see Dorothy's back. 022) "No one told you when to run ..." Dorothy is running away from home. 023) Guitar solo in Time begins on scene change. 024) During the guitar solo of Time, the words "Past, Present and Future" are visible on the sign advertising Professor Marvel fame. 025) (J)+(M)"... to come up behind you again ..." as Professor Marvel comes up behind Dorothy. 026) "... But you're older ..." referring to Professor Marvel's age? 027) "... Or half a page of scribbled lines ..." referring to the photo that Professor Marvel sneaks out of Dorothy's basket. A picture is worth a thousand words, and it's the size of half a page. 028) "Hanging on in quiet desperation ..." Describes the quiet and desperate way in which Dorothy hangs upon the words of Professor Marvel. *SPECIAL RHYTHM SYNC: (CC) On the Definitive Version DVD (2.0, 5.1. etc) beginning at 13:53 to 14:00 is a segment right after the words "You thought I'd something more to say ..." a double strike to the keys accentuates the opening of Dorothy's mouth to speak, followed by keyboard tickling ala Richard Wright, and with each fingered note, Dorothy moves her head around as she tries to sneak a peek at what's in the crystal ball. It sounds silly but the more you watch it, the better it gets! Try it. NOTE: Song changes to The Great Gig In the Sky as Dorothy grabs her bag. This begins what is, in my opinion, the most impressive segment of the whole sync. 029) (H) The sound of a slide guitar, similar to that of a warning siren, is heard as we see an approaching tornado. 030) (voice says) "And I am not frightened of dying ..." as the tornado heads towards a house. 031) The drums kick in as a tree is uprooted by force of the wind. 032) Clare Torry's wailing, keeps with the mood and intensity of the tornado scene, and seems to display the emotions of Dorothy. Several other nifty rhythm syncs are seen during this piece, such as the door flying off its hinges, a piece of furniture or appliance falling over on the porch, Dorothy stomping on the storm shelter door, etc. 033) After Dorothy gets bonked on the head by the window, Clare Torry's wailing eases and Dorothy begins dreaming. NOTE: The song playing during the entire tornado scene and while the house is up in the air is The Great Gig in the Sky (TGGITS). 034) The "cha-ching !" of Money is heard as Dorothy steps out into colourful Munchkin Land. Money would be associated with colour and better living, as is apparent from Dorothy's reaction. 035) "... get back ..." The Munchkins get back in the bushes. 036) (A) "Don't give me that do-goody-good bullshit." as Glinda, the (do-goody) good witch comes a-floating down, in her big, green, and then pink bubble. 037) During the guitar solo of Money, the Munchkins move to the music; when the guitar is played in a "plucky" manner, they take more halting, hunched-over, and cautious steps. However, once the Munchkin with the tall, gray hat leaps forward, the guitar solo goes wild, and all the Munchkins start dancing away. The soldiers also appear to march in time with the music. 038) (N) "Share it, fairly ..." As a Munchkin shares some flowers with Dorothy. 039) During the beginning of Us and Them the organ plays music similar to what might be heard in a funeral parlour, as the Munchkin Coroner unrolls the Certificate of Death. 040) (O) At the beginning of Us and Them, various voices may be heard, and at times it appears that the Munchkin officials are the ones who are doing the talking. 041) The ballerinas from the Lullaby League enter to "Us ... Us .... Us ...". 042) (W) The fellows from the Lollypop Guild kick and jerk a little dance to the rhythm of the music. 043) (S) "Forward! he cried ..." The Munchkins officials thrust out their hands and all seem to shout "Forward!" to Dorothy. 044) (G) "... moved from side to side ..." as the Munchkins move to the left and right at the appearance of the Wicked Witch. 045) "Black and blue ..." On "black" we see the Wicked Witch wearing black , and as "blue" echoes, we see Dorothy wearing blue. 046) "And who knows which is which ..." - Which is Witch? 047) "Up and Down ..." On "up", the Wicked Witch of the West is holding her broomstick upright, and on "down" she lowers it. 048) (T) "... down, down down ...", the Wicked Witch of the West is bending down to retrieve the ruby slippers from her dead sister's feet. 049) "And in the end it's only 'round and 'round..." As Glinda points to Dorothy's feet which are now turning 'round. 050) (I) "... and 'round ..." as there is yet another shot of the ruby slippers and Dorothy turning her ankles round -- very strange. 051) (C) "Haven't you heard? It's a battle of words ..." Glinda appears to whisper this line to Dorothy, and then returns to her "battle of words" with the Wicked Witch. 052) (J) "Listen son, said the man with the gun ..." Her hand in the shape of a gun, The Wicked Witch points at Dorothy. 053) "... and OUT ... " Glinda heads out of Munchkinland in her bubble. 054) (R) "With ... Without" Dorothy begins walking with Toto in her arms, and on "Without", she puts him down. 055) (J) "Out of the way, it's a busy day! I've got things on my mind" as Dorothy passes through the Munchkins, she indeed has a busy day, and lots on her mind as she's off to see the Wizard. 056) Scene changes at the same time that Us and Them changes to Any Colour You Like 057) "The lunatic is on the grass" The Scarecrow isn't on the grass but he's made of grass and he's certainly dancing around like a lunatic. 058) "You raise the blade ..." A Toucan, with a bill resembling a blade, raises it in the air. 059) "... thunder in your ear ..." as the Appletrees are screaming at Dorothy. 060) (N) "... all that you touch ..." Once again Dorothy is touching a man's arm (see #5). 061) (N) "... all that you see ..." as Dorothy and Scarecrow take notice of an oil can -- which is something that the Tin Woodsman would like a taste of in order to feel better. 062) Dorothy listens for a heartbeat (or lack thereof) in the Tin Woodsman's chest, and we hear that very sound in DSOTM. Note : The CD returns to the beginning, again with the heartbeat, as the Tin Woodsman is singing If I Only Had a Heart. Nothing is quite as good as the first play-through of the CD but the second play-through and partial third are still rather fun. Results as this point will vary due to return speeds on your particular CD players -- unless you have the Definitive version; a pre-recorded sync of DSOTR on DVD. Second Play-through 063) (S) At the transition from Speak to Me to Breathe the Tin Woodsman straightens out his leg, and begins dancing to the music (somewhat). 064) (Z) Tin Woodsman sways to and fro to the sound of Dave's bending guitar strings. 065) "... and high you fly ..." As the Wicked Witch stands on top of the house with her flying broom. 066) "Run, rabbit! Run!" The Wicked Witch throws a fireball at Scarecrow and he tries to run from it.. 067) (U) A weird laugh is heard as Dorothy, Scarecrow and Tin Woodsman jump back in fright. 068) Cowardly Lion laughs and a laugh is heard. 069) "... And there is time to kill today ..." as the Wicked Witch seeks to kill Dorothy with the deadly Poppies. 070) "... Shorter of breath and one day closer to death ..." Dorothy and Cowardly Lion appear to be dead. 071) During this segment, the diminutive cries from Clair Torry accentuate the sadness and hopelessness that Scarecrow is experiencing, as he fears that his friends have died. 072) (E) "Home, home again ..." As the camera pans over to the Tin Woodsman, who is, once again, frozen in his rusted state, just as he was when Dorothy & Scarecrow found him. 073) (O) "Far away across the field ..." The Emerald City can be seen far away across the field. 074) (Y) "... The tolling of the iron bell ..." The Fearless Foursome look around as if they've heard the sound of a bell. 075) "...calls the faithful to their knees ..." the Scarecrow stumbles to his knee. 076) Last chord of TGGITS is played when we see the writing in the sky. 077) "Cha - ching !" The message SURRENDER DOROTHY is seen written in the sky. NOTE: (P) Money is playing while in the Emerald City -- again, a reference to the colour of money (American at least) and to the higher standard of living than that which Dorothy is accustomed. 078) "I'm in the high fidelity class ..." Cowardly Lion raises his hand high. There are more connected actions between the song and the movements of the Lion which are better seen than described. 079) As the Fearless Four (and Toto too) enter the Temple of the Wizard of Oz, somber, even religious sounding music plays. NOTE: The working title to this tune, later changed to The Great Gig in the Sky, was the "religious track" by the members of the band during the recording of DSOTM. 080) (AA) "And after all, we're only ordinary men", seems to be the emotional response from the Four as they stand trembling in the presence of the great and terrible Oz, whom they believe is more than ordinary. 081) (E) "Black and blue ..." The Wizard is seen in the midst of the blue smoke. 082) (D) "God only knows ..." Scarecrow is on his knees as if seeking the counsel of whom he perceives a god. 083) "... round and round ..." as we read the sign pointing to the home of the Wicked Witch that says "If I were you I'd turn back". Maybe they should turn 'round? 084) (A) "Listen son, said the man with the gun ..." Scarecrow has a gun. 085) "... Down, down, down ..." the flying monkeys swoop down to capture Dorothy. 086) "... With ... without ..." Dorothy is with the flying monkeys, but Tin Woodsman, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow are without her. . . And who'll deny she's what the fighting's all about? 087) "Out of the way ...", the Wicked Witch appears to be telling Dot to get out of the way and she moves aback. 088) "... You raise the blade ... You make the change..." is said shortly before the blades of the Lances are raised by Scarecrow, Lion and Tin Woodsman after they have changed into the uniforms of the three Winkies (witch's guardsmen). 089) (DD) "Got to keep the loonies on the path ..." as the Winkies march along the path to the castle. 090) The beat of the drum works well with the axe whacks to the door, and the music reaches a climax as Dorothy is set free from her prison. 091) "... All that you hate and all you mistrust ..." during which the hateful and mistrustful face of the Wicked Witch is seen. Third Play-through 092) "...and tears you'll cry..." Dorothy has tears streaming down her face. Note: "Run, rabbit, run" is heard for the third time, and each time, the main focus is on Scarecrow. 093) (L) The Wizard points and an explosion is heard. 094) (Q) Glinda emerges from her bubble the moment the words to Time begin. 095) "... to come up behind you again ..." Glinda stands behind Dorothy waving her wand. 096) "... come - to - naught ..." the words sync with the tap - tap - tap of Dorothy's ruby slippers. 097) "The time is gone, the song is over..." and so is Dorothy's trip to Oz. 098) "... Home, home again ..." Dorothy awakes back home, in Kansas. 099) (F) "... Calls the faithful to their knees ..." as Auntie Em, on bent knee brings a glass of water to Dorothy. 100) (K) "... To hear the softly spoken magic spell." Dorothy speaks the incantation that brought her home from the land of Oz, "There's no place like home". 101) (BB) The credits roll before a backdrop of the Kansas firmament, as plays The Great Gig In The Sky. | ||||||
| 11 | Todd Bean ID: 93272921 Sat, Apr 29, 2006, 23:27 |
It turns out that Dark Side of the Moon combined with the Wizard of Oz movie may have been an intentional audio-visual Requiem to Judy Garland by Pink Floyd. No, really! This site explains it all in great detail with a full discussion of the album, its lyrics, and relevant pictures from the movie. http://www.DarkSideOfOz.net | ||||||
| 12 | Great One Sustainer ID: 053272014 Thu, Jan 10, 2008, 14:34 |
that reminds me... I just picked up a DVD which has these two perfectly merged together. So no worrying about timing the cd and DVD and syncing everything up. Already done. Very nice - all on one DVD. Probably still available on Ebay, as there as been a crackdown on the websites selling the sync. | ||||||
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