The Floyd
Long before Tammy and I ever met, we attended the same Pink Floyd concert together in June of 1994. I went with my friend Scott and she with her husband to be. They played at the HHH Dome in Minneapolis and although that's usually a lousy place for a concert, you wouldn't have known it that night. Tammy told me how the guy next to her fiancé blew (pot) smoke in his face and he took offense. Tammy had to tell him that he was only trying to be nice.
I first heard about the band in 1970 from a friend in my 7th-grade sculpture class. He was talking about their album,
Ummagumma. It would be a few more years before I'd actually hear anything from them but when I did I instantly became a fan. How could you not? Several of their songs have made their way onto my mp3 player which I use on my bike.
Tammy gave me a DVD of Pink Floyd's last concert performance from 2005 for Christmas. Live performances usually leave me disappointed with the exception of a couple, Peter Frampton's 1976 Frampton Comes Alive and UFO's Strangers in the Night. Both are excellent. But, Pink Floyd in Concert P.U.L.S.E. (2 DVDs) blows them both away. It's not even close. We watched it yesterday and both of us commented more than once how it's much better than we'd imagined it could be. Anybody within shouting range who wants to borrow it just let me know.
So, that brings me to the reason for this post.
Rachel had some friends over tonight and after some Wii, they sat down to watch The Wizard of Oz. Tammy came downstairs just as the show was beginning and suggested that they watch the video while listening to The Dark Side of the Moon as there are some incredible coincidences that occur and will leave you wondering. They were game. I sat with them and pointed out what to look for as they weren't familiar with the album, er CD. They chatted through most of it and missed a good part of it but in the end, they thought it was pretty cool, especially the ending.
Here's a video someone edited of the album and the video synched together and here's a some of the highlights to look for:
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.
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.
The song 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.
The movie 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.
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.
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.
I have a confession to make. On my first date with Tammy in March 1999 we came back to my home and watched this. Actually, we came back to my home to see the stained glass lamps I'd made. There had been a full-page article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press about the Pink Floyd/Wizard of Oz coincidence and just that week I'd watched it for the first time. I suggested it to Tammy and she gave me her approval. Snickers sat between us as I tried to impress my date. Let me tell you that she was most certainly impressed. Thank you, Pink Floyd.
Hey, we were married less than five months later.
I first heard about the band in 1970 from a friend in my 7th-grade sculpture class. He was talking about their album,
Ummagumma. It would be a few more years before I'd actually hear anything from them but when I did I instantly became a fan. How could you not? Several of their songs have made their way onto my mp3 player which I use on my bike.Tammy gave me a DVD of Pink Floyd's last concert performance from 2005 for Christmas. Live performances usually leave me disappointed with the exception of a couple, Peter Frampton's 1976 Frampton Comes Alive and UFO's Strangers in the Night. Both are excellent. But, Pink Floyd in Concert P.U.L.S.E. (2 DVDs) blows them both away. It's not even close. We watched it yesterday and both of us commented more than once how it's much better than we'd imagined it could be. Anybody within shouting range who wants to borrow it just let me know.
So, that brings me to the reason for this post.
Rachel had some friends over tonight and after some Wii, they sat down to watch The Wizard of Oz. Tammy came downstairs just as the show was beginning and suggested that they watch the video while listening to The Dark Side of the Moon as there are some incredible coincidences that occur and will leave you wondering. They were game. I sat with them and pointed out what to look for as they weren't familiar with the album, er CD. They chatted through most of it and missed a good part of it but in the end, they thought it was pretty cool, especially the ending.
Here's a video someone edited of the album and the video synched together and here's a some of the highlights to look for:
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.
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.
The song 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.
The movie 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.
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.
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.
I have a confession to make. On my first date with Tammy in March 1999 we came back to my home and watched this. Actually, we came back to my home to see the stained glass lamps I'd made. There had been a full-page article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press about the Pink Floyd/Wizard of Oz coincidence and just that week I'd watched it for the first time. I suggested it to Tammy and she gave me her approval. Snickers sat between us as I tried to impress my date. Let me tell you that she was most certainly impressed. Thank you, Pink Floyd.
Hey, we were married less than five months later.
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