Buzz
What do you get when you blend one of the greatest rock albums ever with one of the greatest films of all time? We can't quite explain it, but 'The Wizard of Oz' has never looked so captivating to us before.
Lisa Maree Williams/Getty ImagesIf you've been living under a rock for the last few decades, you might have missed the tale of 'The Dark Side of the Rainbow' (or 'The Wizard of Floyd'). It's possibly the most famous pop-culture urban legend of all. The theory goes that if you mute 'The Wizard of Oz' and play Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' at the same time, you’ll start noticing eerie coincidences. Scenes and songs often sync up and some lyrics appear to mirror what's happening on screen. It’s as though Pink Floyd created the album as a strange alternate soundtrack to the movie — or so the story goes.
Here's how you get it to work: to make the movie and album align perfectly, you must start the music just before the film begins, right as the MGM lion roars for the third time. Start it too early or too late, and you might get confused, wondering what the fuss is about. But if you time it right, fans swear you’ll see remarkable coincidences — like when 'Brain Damage' kicks in just as 'If I Only Had A Brain' plays in the movie. The phrase 'home, home again' is sung just as Dorothy is told to return home. Dorothy walks into Munchkin Land at the same time the register rings in 'Money.' The synchronicities continue.
No one really knows when or where this strange phenomenon began. Who was the first person to coincidentally play 'The Wizard of Oz' while listening to Pink Floyd and end up having their mind completely blown? The earliest mention of it appeared on a Pink Floyd fan forum in 1995, followed by a small-town newspaper article picked up by the Associated Press later that same year. In 1997, Boston DJ George Taylor Morris encouraged his listeners to try it, and suddenly the underground phenomenon went mainstream. It even reached such heights that in 2000, Turner Movie Classics aired 'The Wizard of Oz' with 'Dark Side of the Moon' as an alternative audio option.
Since then, movie and music enthusiasts have been locked in endless debates. Does it really sync up? Did Pink Floyd do this intentionally? Some are completely convinced the answer is 'yes' to both questions. Never mind the fact that everyone involved with 'Dark Side of the Moon' has adamantly denied any intentional connection. Producer Alan Parsons even laughed at the idea, emphasizing the near-impossibility of such a task, especially considering videotapes weren't even available back in 1972.
Still, the myth endures. No matter what anyone says, generations to come will likely be sitting on their couches, firing up the DVD player, and playing Pink Floyd's album.
