The Dark Side of Oz

The other night I was trying to pick out a movie to watch with my boyfriend when I saw a copy of the Wizard of Oz. I knew that Colin would not want to watch it; it was not his type of movie. As I kept looking I saw my poster of the Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd hanging on my wall and we decided to watch the movie on mute while playing the Dark Side of the Moon. The conspiracy behind the album and the movie is famous, the fact that if you synchronize it up just right, the music becomes almost a soundtrack and fits in with the feel of the movie. After we watched the movie with the CD playing many thoughts came to my mind; if Pink Floyd really made an album that went along with the movie, why would they do it? Then I wondered who discovered that there were similarities between the two to begin with, and finally are the similarities there because we are trying to make the connections or do they really exist beyond our desire to make them so?
First, I feel compelled to describe some of the similarities between the movie and the CD; after all, there is quite a large fan base of supporters who have studied the pair almost to a point of obsession. With each song on the album there are connections made with the movie. A line from the first song, balanced on the biggest wave, occurs as Dorothy is balancing on a fence. Money starts nearly as soon as the movie changes to color and Dorothy is in Oz. Adding color to a movie must have cost a considerable amount of money and the flashy colors could have symbolized wealth, which fits with the idea of money. The scarecrow sings about his longing for a brain and this just so happens to coincide with the song Brain Damage. The end of the CD occurs as Dorothy meets the Tin Man, as she tries to listen for his heartbeat, the CD fades out and we hear a distinct heartbeat coming from the CD.
The websites that are devoted to these phenomena are many, but the question that I have is why would the artists do something like this, and whether or not it is even possible? The idea of backtracking and making subliminal messages in songs were popular around the time of this album creation, but the idea of a band painstakingly making sure lyrics lined up, songs started at the correct time, and the idea of simply creating an entire album to fit something else seems slightly farfetched to me. In addition, there is the issue with remastered versions of the movie. The speed at which those movies are played should be enough to through off the entire synchronization of the two. However, most of the movies that are played in conjunction with the album are newer remastered copies that were not out at the release of the album.
There is of course a concession in this argument. The fact remains that there are many similarities between the two that make it almost impossible to be blamed merely on coincidence. Is it so hard to believe that four men, who had obviously undertaken elaborate album ideas in the past, would not watch a childhood favorite and decide to make a rock album that could serve the dual role of an album but also a soundtrack to a classic film? Both ideas seem both probable and improbable at the same time.
The next question that I pondered while watching the movie with the album serving as the soundtrack was who discovered these coincidences to begin with. Was it some movie aficionado? Some one who happened to by multitasking? On the other hand, maybe it was someone on some sort of acid trip and decided to pair the two separate creations together and see what came from the union. There is always the possibility that if it was intentional, and the Dark Side of the Moon was made to go along with the Wizard of Oz and a member of production team behind Pink Floyd leaked it to individuals. The possibilities are endless.
The last question that I had was are these connections really there, or are our brains simply trying to find ways in which the two separate entities are similar and we are making the connections exist purely from our own desire that they should. Many of the connections that are displayed on websites are far fetched, connections that involve quite a bit of interpretation and insight. While some of the similarities are a bit more obvious and make sense, such as the heartbeat on the CD playing while Dorothy listens for the Tin Man’s heartbeat, while others are a bit more vague, such as increasing the tempo of the music during more action packed scenes.
While there are many questions about the Dark Side of Oz as it has been labeled, watching the movie with the album playing as the soundtrack is entertaining at least and a fun little experiment to do when your bored, or just in the mood for some low key fun.

Question – Do you think a band would purposely try to make an album match up with a film and go through the hassle of making things line up, or do you think that the whole thing is just a creation in the minds of listeners and viewers?

Response to Kelsey

This is in response to Kelsey’s question, how do you organize your music? How do you determine what your favorite music is?
Since this question contains two questions, I will answer each question separately. When it comes to organizing my music, I have a variety of ways in which I organize it in terms of playlists on my iPod, as well as how I may organize physical CD’s both in my car and in my house.
My iPod, which was a gift from my fiancée for our fourth anniversary, has quite a few playlists on it that I have created. The largest playlist that I have is entitled Car, which is for when I am driving. This playlist contains over 300 songs from nearly all the artists on my iPod. There is no defined theme that encapsulates the playlist. This playlist is something that I can easily click on and not worry about getting bored. Since there are so many different songs and genres on that particular playlist, I do not have to worry about hearing too much from one artist, which can get boring when I drive long distances.
The next playlist that I have is my “angry” playlists of sorts yet has no title. This is what I listen to when I have a fight with a friend or maybe someone in my family. Listening to angry music, such as Sick of Life by Godsmack, is somewhat cathartic for me. While it might seem like this would only anger me further, it is as if I am working out my emotions by hearing someone else sing about similar issues. It is comforting to know that someone else out there is experiencing pain as well. It is as if we are forming a united front against our tormentors and the outside world that only wants to cause us more pain and it helps me release some of the anger I may have.
Playlists on my iPod are not the only way that I organize my music. Since the adaptor I use to play my iPod in my car is broken, I now have a collection of CD’s that I have in my car. In the visor on the driver side have my two favorite artists, Nirvana and Godsmack; and on the other side I have my other three favorite bands; Pink Floyd, Alice in Chains, and Led Zeppelin. They each have a specific slot and are in order of album release.
Now I will try to answer the second part of the question, which is how I determine my favorite music is. The truth is I do not think that I really determine that, or at least I do not directly determine it. One of the main sources that I obtain music from is my friends. They might mention a band they like or lend me a CD and if I like it, I listen to more of the material by the band. That is how I got interested in Linkin Park, Led Zeppelin, and Alice in Chains. However, many of the people who have suggested certain types of music have done so because they know what kind of music that I tend to listen to already.
I also feel that my own personal experiences and issues in my past have lead me to the type of music that I listen to. Now this is not necessarily true for everybody, but I do think that people who are angry tend to relate more to angry music, or happy people relate to happy music. Or at least that is how I experience music and my choices of genre and type.

Question – If we like some types of music because of an emotional connection, do we stop liking the music when we no longer have that strong emotion? For example if you like angry music because you are having a lot of issues with your family, will you like that same music when the issues are resolved?