Andrew C. Wendland
2007-12-21 23:15:27 UTC
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/3528/
During the latter part of 1997, I heard a rumor that when Pink Floyd's
masterpiece Dark Side of the Moon (DSotM) is played while watching the
1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz (TWoO), several connections or
synchronicities between the two appear. These connections included the
lyrics, the song titles, the mood and timing of the music, and even
the cover art. A friend of mine sent me a list of several connections,
and I became immediately intrigued. That night I bought a copy of the
film and tried the experiment. It was absolutely fantastic! It was way
better than I had envisioned. I was extremely impressed with how well
the synchronicities lasted through the entire album. So, after
watching a few more times, I was absolutely convinced that it was an
intentional creation by the band. (I am definitely in the minority in
regards to this. Most people think it's all a coincidence.) As an
engineer, I asked myself a simple question, "How would they accomplish
this task?" They would have to obtain a reel of the film and a
projector. How hard would that be for a successful rock band to do?
Not that hard considering they had friends in the movie business. Pink
Floyd had performed on at least three movie soundtracks already with
More, Zabriskie Point, and La Vallee (The Valley Obscured by Clouds).
How did Pink Floyd get the idea? Consider this quote taken from the CD
booklet for the Zabriskie Point Soundtrack (page 24) when Don Hall
describes how Jerry Garcia created one of the songs: "We went into the
large studio at M-G-M, which they usually used for the symphony
orchestras. And Jerry sat there by himself, on a stool, laying it
down. They had the love scene on a loop, and he played live while the
film was running. He didn't want to do it away from the film and then
cut things in. He played right to every single shot in the scene.
That's why there are certain notes over certain frames, over people
moving in the desert. He played right while watching it. It was
miraculous -- pure genius." Has the band left clues to point to the
DSotM/TWoO synchronization? Consider these facts listed in the Shine
On book from the box set: "1969 - Judy Garland found dead in her
London flat. 1971 - Editors of OZ are charged with obscenity at the
Old Bailey. 1971 - Pink Floyd premiere 'Eclipse,' later to be named
'The Dark Side of the Moon' at the Rainbow Theatre." I don't think I
need to remind anyone about the biggest song of TWoO, "Somewhere over
the Rainbow."
The thing I noticed about DSotM was that the album had one central
theme and the songs flowed from one to the other, unlike most rock
albums that have distinct breaks between songs. I then realized that
several Pink Floyd albums exhibit the same characteristics of one
central theme, songs flowing together, and elaborate artwork. I
thought to myself, if they truly created the DSotM/TWoO
Synchronization, then maybe they did it again. I went to visit my
friend Jeff Stillman, who knows a lot about movies, to tell him my
thoughts. I wanted to create a list of the biggest, most popular, or
most important movies of all time. Our list was something like this:
Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, The Ten
Commandments, and The Sound of Music. So, I went to video store and
rented a bunch of movies. The main album I was targeting was Wish You
Were Here (WYWH), the follow-up of DSotM. I remember trying Animals
with Animal Farm that night. It didn't work. However, my friend Jeff
found a connection between Wish You Were Here and one of our listed
movies. He told me about it the next day, and after a week or so, he
had written up an excellent essay explaining the connections, which is
included on this page. From this point further, I began my search for
a movie synchronization for each Pink Floyd album, and this web page
is the result of my efforts. I only include on this page what I feel
are intentional syncs created by the band.
Several new movie syncs were discovered in 2004-2006. On this web
page, I describe a total of 32 intentional Pink Floyd syncs spanning
21 albums. Additionally, I reveal 23 movie syncs with 21 solo/duo/
other albums.
-----------------------------------------
21.12.07 - Well, it's hard to believe that it has been 10 years since
I was introduced to the Dark Side of the Moon / The Wizard of Oz
synchronicity (or synchronization). It's also been 10 years since I
discovered my first seven Pink Floyd syncs with It's a Wonderful Life,
Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Gigi, Doctor Zhivago, Sayonara, and
The Sound of Music. That period of time was very exciting and
rewarding for me. I really felt that I had broken new ground in music
entertainment, not by combining random music albums with movies, but
by actually unlocking the clues left by Pink Floyd in the artwork, the
lyrics, the song titles, and the themes. Now, ten years later, with
120 intentional movie syncs found, the majority of them by me, I am
still enthusiastic and excited about this amazing form of art. The
question that I ponder is whether or not these discoveries will ever
gain widespread acceptance.
I've had a great deal of satisfaction and fun trying to crack the
code. This journey has led me to consider other bands that were
connected to Pink Floyd in some way. The most obvious connection was
with Alan Parsons, the engineer on Dark Side of the Moon. He was
intimately aware of and involved in the creation of this sync. This
led him to form The Alan Parsons Project with musician and song writer
Eric Woolfson. This fruitful venture produced many great syncs.
The most intriguing link is to The Beatles. In 2003, someone was
posting messages on a popular sync website claiming to have inside
knowledge of the creation of some movie syncs. The biggest claim was
that Pink Floyd were not the first to sync but rather got the idea
from someone else. In not so many words, the poster was hinting
towards The Beatles. This is not such a far stretch, since both bands
have recorded many albums at Abbey Road studios, and they actually met
each other while The Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper's and Pink
Floyd were recording their first album The Piper at the Gates of
Dawn. I believe this is where the idea was shared between the two
bands. Who actually came up with the idea will probably never be
known. One thing's for sure, they are all good at keeping secrets.
Radiohead, for whatever reason, has been a popular source for many
sync experiments even before I realized their true involvement.
Starting with the second album, they've recorded most of their music
at Abbey Road studios. See a pattern? I started testing their music
with movies around the end of 2003. Much to my delight, these other
sync enthusiasts were right about Radiohead. The torch has been
passed.
Recently, I've been devoting a lot of my syncing time to the music of
Paul McCartney. I've also been looking at the solo works of George
Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon. The first sync of any artist
is usually the hardest to solve because I'm not really sure if he
actually did it or not. It's quite possible that after The Beatles
went their separate ways, some of them might have abandoned the syncs,
never to return to the art form. Until someone discovers one, there's
no way to be certain. I keep searching...
Where do we go from here? These ten years of discovery have been
awesome, but eventually the end of the rainbow will be reached. My
2008 New Year's resolution is to make more of an effort spreading the
theory to others through various means. Part of my problem is that I
really enjoy spending my hobby time on the hobby itself, not writing
about it. So, I apologize for writing so little the last ten years,
but I really want people to dive into the heart of the topic by
actually trying some of these syncs, not just reading about them.
What saddens me the most is that this window in history is closing.
With the advent of iPods and buying singles instead of whole albums,
this art form is fading away. Many people are so over-entertained and
have such short attention spans that they don't appreciate the
subtleness of the sync art form. I can't believe how many people say
that Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz is not obvious
enough. I really feel sorry for them.
What I really wonder is what do the members of these great bands think
about the lack of propagation of their sync creations. Are they
disappointed? They have dedicated their professional lives to not
only creating great music that is enjoyed by millions but also to
crafting the music in such a way to fit to movies. The syncs are
truly extraordinary works of art, but so few people are truly
experiencing them. I feel very privileged to be one of the few who
enjoys these wonderful creations. Thank you for all your hard work.
Sincerely,
Andrew C. Wendland
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/3528/
During the latter part of 1997, I heard a rumor that when Pink Floyd's
masterpiece Dark Side of the Moon (DSotM) is played while watching the
1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz (TWoO), several connections or
synchronicities between the two appear. These connections included the
lyrics, the song titles, the mood and timing of the music, and even
the cover art. A friend of mine sent me a list of several connections,
and I became immediately intrigued. That night I bought a copy of the
film and tried the experiment. It was absolutely fantastic! It was way
better than I had envisioned. I was extremely impressed with how well
the synchronicities lasted through the entire album. So, after
watching a few more times, I was absolutely convinced that it was an
intentional creation by the band. (I am definitely in the minority in
regards to this. Most people think it's all a coincidence.) As an
engineer, I asked myself a simple question, "How would they accomplish
this task?" They would have to obtain a reel of the film and a
projector. How hard would that be for a successful rock band to do?
Not that hard considering they had friends in the movie business. Pink
Floyd had performed on at least three movie soundtracks already with
More, Zabriskie Point, and La Vallee (The Valley Obscured by Clouds).
How did Pink Floyd get the idea? Consider this quote taken from the CD
booklet for the Zabriskie Point Soundtrack (page 24) when Don Hall
describes how Jerry Garcia created one of the songs: "We went into the
large studio at M-G-M, which they usually used for the symphony
orchestras. And Jerry sat there by himself, on a stool, laying it
down. They had the love scene on a loop, and he played live while the
film was running. He didn't want to do it away from the film and then
cut things in. He played right to every single shot in the scene.
That's why there are certain notes over certain frames, over people
moving in the desert. He played right while watching it. It was
miraculous -- pure genius." Has the band left clues to point to the
DSotM/TWoO synchronization? Consider these facts listed in the Shine
On book from the box set: "1969 - Judy Garland found dead in her
London flat. 1971 - Editors of OZ are charged with obscenity at the
Old Bailey. 1971 - Pink Floyd premiere 'Eclipse,' later to be named
'The Dark Side of the Moon' at the Rainbow Theatre." I don't think I
need to remind anyone about the biggest song of TWoO, "Somewhere over
the Rainbow."
The thing I noticed about DSotM was that the album had one central
theme and the songs flowed from one to the other, unlike most rock
albums that have distinct breaks between songs. I then realized that
several Pink Floyd albums exhibit the same characteristics of one
central theme, songs flowing together, and elaborate artwork. I
thought to myself, if they truly created the DSotM/TWoO
Synchronization, then maybe they did it again. I went to visit my
friend Jeff Stillman, who knows a lot about movies, to tell him my
thoughts. I wanted to create a list of the biggest, most popular, or
most important movies of all time. Our list was something like this:
Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, The Ten
Commandments, and The Sound of Music. So, I went to video store and
rented a bunch of movies. The main album I was targeting was Wish You
Were Here (WYWH), the follow-up of DSotM. I remember trying Animals
with Animal Farm that night. It didn't work. However, my friend Jeff
found a connection between Wish You Were Here and one of our listed
movies. He told me about it the next day, and after a week or so, he
had written up an excellent essay explaining the connections, which is
included on this page. From this point further, I began my search for
a movie synchronization for each Pink Floyd album, and this web page
is the result of my efforts. I only include on this page what I feel
are intentional syncs created by the band.
Several new movie syncs were discovered in 2004-2006. On this web
page, I describe a total of 32 intentional Pink Floyd syncs spanning
21 albums. Additionally, I reveal 23 movie syncs with 21 solo/duo/
other albums.
-----------------------------------------
21.12.07 - Well, it's hard to believe that it has been 10 years since
I was introduced to the Dark Side of the Moon / The Wizard of Oz
synchronicity (or synchronization). It's also been 10 years since I
discovered my first seven Pink Floyd syncs with It's a Wonderful Life,
Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Gigi, Doctor Zhivago, Sayonara, and
The Sound of Music. That period of time was very exciting and
rewarding for me. I really felt that I had broken new ground in music
entertainment, not by combining random music albums with movies, but
by actually unlocking the clues left by Pink Floyd in the artwork, the
lyrics, the song titles, and the themes. Now, ten years later, with
120 intentional movie syncs found, the majority of them by me, I am
still enthusiastic and excited about this amazing form of art. The
question that I ponder is whether or not these discoveries will ever
gain widespread acceptance.
I've had a great deal of satisfaction and fun trying to crack the
code. This journey has led me to consider other bands that were
connected to Pink Floyd in some way. The most obvious connection was
with Alan Parsons, the engineer on Dark Side of the Moon. He was
intimately aware of and involved in the creation of this sync. This
led him to form The Alan Parsons Project with musician and song writer
Eric Woolfson. This fruitful venture produced many great syncs.
The most intriguing link is to The Beatles. In 2003, someone was
posting messages on a popular sync website claiming to have inside
knowledge of the creation of some movie syncs. The biggest claim was
that Pink Floyd were not the first to sync but rather got the idea
from someone else. In not so many words, the poster was hinting
towards The Beatles. This is not such a far stretch, since both bands
have recorded many albums at Abbey Road studios, and they actually met
each other while The Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper's and Pink
Floyd were recording their first album The Piper at the Gates of
Dawn. I believe this is where the idea was shared between the two
bands. Who actually came up with the idea will probably never be
known. One thing's for sure, they are all good at keeping secrets.
Radiohead, for whatever reason, has been a popular source for many
sync experiments even before I realized their true involvement.
Starting with the second album, they've recorded most of their music
at Abbey Road studios. See a pattern? I started testing their music
with movies around the end of 2003. Much to my delight, these other
sync enthusiasts were right about Radiohead. The torch has been
passed.
Recently, I've been devoting a lot of my syncing time to the music of
Paul McCartney. I've also been looking at the solo works of George
Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon. The first sync of any artist
is usually the hardest to solve because I'm not really sure if he
actually did it or not. It's quite possible that after The Beatles
went their separate ways, some of them might have abandoned the syncs,
never to return to the art form. Until someone discovers one, there's
no way to be certain. I keep searching...
Where do we go from here? These ten years of discovery have been
awesome, but eventually the end of the rainbow will be reached. My
2008 New Year's resolution is to make more of an effort spreading the
theory to others through various means. Part of my problem is that I
really enjoy spending my hobby time on the hobby itself, not writing
about it. So, I apologize for writing so little the last ten years,
but I really want people to dive into the heart of the topic by
actually trying some of these syncs, not just reading about them.
What saddens me the most is that this window in history is closing.
With the advent of iPods and buying singles instead of whole albums,
this art form is fading away. Many people are so over-entertained and
have such short attention spans that they don't appreciate the
subtleness of the sync art form. I can't believe how many people say
that Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz is not obvious
enough. I really feel sorry for them.
What I really wonder is what do the members of these great bands think
about the lack of propagation of their sync creations. Are they
disappointed? They have dedicated their professional lives to not
only creating great music that is enjoyed by millions but also to
crafting the music in such a way to fit to movies. The syncs are
truly extraordinary works of art, but so few people are truly
experiencing them. I feel very privileged to be one of the few who
enjoys these wonderful creations. Thank you for all your hard work.
Sincerely,
Andrew C. Wendland
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/3528/