Does a Pink Floyd Album Work as a Soundtrack for ‘The Wizard of Oz’?
The Wizard of Oz is one of the most popular films of all time. Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the more popular albums of all time. Aside from their success and ubiquity, they don’t have much in common – or do they? Let’s go behind the bizarre conspiracy theory that The Dark Side of the Moon works as a soundtrack album for The Wizard of Oz.
No one knows who first discovered the practice of attempting to sync The Wizard of Oz and The Dark Side of the Moon. It’s a strange idea. However, much of Pink Floyd’s art is rooted in strange and innovative ideas. Pink Floyd fans like to consume the film and album simultaneously to see where they match up.
Why do people like combining ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and Pink Floyd?
Ultimate Classic Rock reports the practice of combining the film and the album was first brought to the public’s attention in 1995. Then, it was discussed in an article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. The piece was was titled “The Dark Side of the Rainbow.” “The Dark Side of the Rainbow” is a common name for the melding of the album and the film. This practice is also often called “The Dark Side of Oz” and “The Wizard of Floyd.”
According to DVDTalk, there are a number of synchronicities between The Wizard of Oz and The Dark Side of the Moon. The lyric “balanced on the perfect wave” is heard when Dorothy Gale balances herself on a fence. The twister from the film is seen when Pink Floyd sings “I’m not frightened of dying.” The track “Brain Damage” is played over the scene where the Scarecrow sings “If I Only Had a Brain.”
Fans have found loads of synchronicities. The most famous supposed reference to The Wizard of Oz in The Dark Side of the Moon is the album’s cover. It depicts a rainbow coming through a prism, a supposed reference to the song “Over the Rainbow.” The question is: Was any of this intentional?
What the people behind ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ have said about the synchronicity
Ultimate Classic Rock reports Alan Parson, the album’s engineer, denied this was the case. He said “There simply wasn’t mechanics to do it. We had no means of playing videotapes in the room at all.” Ultimate Classic Rock notes VHS was not even commercially available when The Dark Side of the Moon was being recorded.
Nick Mason, the band’s drummer, jokingly denied any connection between The Wizard of Oz and The Dark Side of the Moon. “It’s absolute nonsense. It has nothing to do with The Wizard of Oz. It was all based on The Sound of Music.”
People have written numerous long articles about whether the story of Dorothy and her friends fits with a Pink Floyd album. The Dark Side of the Moon may not have been intended as a soundtrack album for anything. However, using it as a soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz will remain one of the great psychedelic experiences.
Also see: The Beatles and James Bond: Four Weird Connections
