Talk:The Dark Side of the Moon

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Contents

[edit] 2004

The link on the right that says it goes to VH-1 actually goes to Digital Dream Door

The discussion of the success of this album is very USA-centric. It should be made more neutral, and we could do with the UK statistics - it was a UK album and had a similar level of success there.

And in other parts of the world as well. I am told that it was very popular with the rock community of the USSR, for example.

Is there a good reason for "Pink Floyd" to be listed as a producer in the Personnel section? That doesn't seem to make sense. Yath 03:07, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Just like 'Founder member' dœoesn't, but it is the correct way.

Pink Floyd is listed as producer because the whole band didn't do each song, and each song thus has its own credit. As a whole, however, Pink Floyd did produce the album. - Fizscy46 18:16, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Shouldn't the next album in the chronology be Wish You Were Here? I don't think compilations and re-issues should count. --Auximines 08:29, 17 May 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Wizard of Oz

Questioning the information on Dark Side and Wizard of Oz. According to most accounts I know, the opening cash register sound of Money is supposed to come exactly at the moment the movie goes into color (i.e. when Dorothy steps out of the house into Oz). --Chinasaur 07:15, 10 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I've just watched my copy to check this. You're both right: Dorothy steps out of the house onto the yellow brick road as the first sounds of Money are heard. POV comment: You should watch it if you get the chance. The synchronisation of Great Gig with the tornado makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time! Another good synchronisation is Echoes with the psychedelic scene at the end of 2001 A Space Odyssey. --Auximines 17:47, 10 Jun 2004 (UTC)
Further questioning the Wizard of Oz theory. The runtime of Wizard of Oz is 101 minutes, whereas the album is 43 minutes long. While I have more important things to do with my time than actually try this, it mathematically cannot be the case that Dorothy wakes up in Kansas anytime during the album unless it is played twice. This should be clarified or removed. DiceDiceBaby 21:42, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)
From the website link:
Set your CD player to Continuous Replay. The CD will play about two and a quarter times through the entire length of the movie.
Also note that the best effect is with an original OZ movie and an original DSOTM CD, copies just don't have the same sync effect. --Gbeeker 17:18, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I read somewhere in internet (and it was quoted as coming from an interview) that one of the members had deny any relation between both as it was impossible to view the movie on a projector set or videotape on the studio. Someone has a link? --Pajarico 22:14, 13 October 2005 (UTC)


This section doesn't say which of DSotM to use for the sync, although there is a chart giving different run times for three different versions. Which version to use on the sync? 03:25, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

Actually, Pink Floyd says that it is not synchronized at all (David Gilmour says it was actually based on the Sound of Music), but after a study between my guitar instructor and his class, there are some very strange syncs in it. The story goes that you play the tape and, at the third MGM lion roar, start the cd. You can tell that it is in sync if at the producer's name, the scream begins.

It could not have been intentional, as Pink Floyd would have no way of viewing the movie. Dark Side came out long after The Wizard of Oz, but before VHS, DVD or other ways of viewing movies at home. Josh a z 03:40, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Surely if you play ANY album with ANY film, there will be weird little coincidences where they will seem to perfectly match. I play albums when I'm watching silent movies (because I usually hate the accompaniment provided) and it happens every time. Cardinal Wurzel 20:49, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Cardinal Wurzel is absolutely right. This is a well-documented psychological phenomenon. Picking this example out and flatly reporting it in wikipedia is just continuing an internet meme instead of reporting on it. It's like reporting that falling is a special quality of mountain rocks because there are signs in the mountains that say "falling rock." If people do that, saying that they do it is factual, but just picking up on what they say and reporting it as fact is highly questionable.

While it may have been an absolute fluke that the album and movie seem to sync up doesn't change the fact that there are dozens of cues that match. Some may not be in exact sync they are very close. Just a few examples; 'The great Gig in the Sky' starts as the twister picks up the house, 'Brain Damage' starts in the same scene Scarecrow is introduced, and just one more example of many, Dorathy runs away from home and passes a wagon with 'past present and future' painted on the side and 'Time' is playing. Even when the album is repeated 2 and a half times until the end of the movie there are many matching scenes and cues. I am still not saying that it was done on purpose but it seems there are to many matching events to simply call them 'wierd little coincidences'. Charaters even dance in time with some of the music!

And did you try it with other examples to see if the phenomenon was different? It's a human pattern-seeking function at work. Nothing more, nothing unique. Not even unusual.24.33.28.52 00:05, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Interesting story

According to a mid-1980s interview with Alan Parsons in Keyboard magazine, one of the reasons this album is very sucessful is because Pink Floyd played the songs on this album live for well over a year before recording the album, giving the band a chance to get live feedback on all of the songs.

The first live performance of Dark Side of the Moon was in Brighton, UK on 20th January 1972, 14 months before the album was released. It's interesting to compare recordings of the early concerts with the studio album: some tracks have barely changed, while other are unrecognisable. Some tracks originate from even earlier ideas, e.g. "Breathe" is similar to a track of the same name on the Waters/Geesin album "Music From the Body", and "Us and Them" originates in the "Violent Sequence" track from "Zabriskie Point". One day, when I have more time and energy, I'll add something to the main article about the development of each track. It's very much a case of things evolving over many months. --Auximines 07:40, 29 Jun 2004 (UTC)

"To this day, DSotM is a reference standard that audiophiles use to test the fidelity of audio equipment."

(Overview > second para. > last sentence)

This seems to mean that audiophiles use the album as a tool to gauge sound quality. Is this correct? Surely that role would be fulfilled by a machine of some sort. I'm not an expert, but I suggest that this sentence be clarified by someone who knows.

Cos when you're testing the hardware it's important to know the samples well. That does also mean that DSOTM is one of the most listened albums by them =) --GolerGkA 23:41, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

The other likely meaning of this sentence which makes sense to me is that DSotM is used a basis for comparison.

If you knew any audiophiles, you would know they would never let a machine judge audio quality 137.148.100.20 23:36, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

Firstly I would think the that the previous statment is a bit of a generalization, but makes the point the DSotM is a good standard to use because it has a large range from bass to treble and more importantly it has many subtle sounds and notes that other albums just don't have.

[edit] Torrent link in Oz section?

Why is there a torrent link in the Wizard of Oz section? I wouldn't think that Wiki'd approve of such a thing...thoughts?

It appears that there is no torrent link now. --Gbeeker 18:18, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia section, maybe?

I think that we should create a new Trivia section and move the Oz section in there. Why? Because there's some other stuff that could go under Trivia, such as if you turn up the album really loud at the end of Eclipse, you hear one of them saying "There is no dark side of the moon, really. It's all dark." →mathx314(talk)(email) 19:26, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Note: This quote appears to be already in the article, but I like the idea of having a section for trivial DSotM knowledge, for example, the way the change clinking sound effect was made in the studio for the 'Money' intro... --16:16, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Too much about the Wizard of Oz?

I don't think the connection merits as much discussion as it recieves here.

[edit] Dark Side of Nemo?

The article says that Finding Nemo and Darkside of the Moon can be synchronized. Does anybody know at what point the two need to be synchronized or some parts that show a correlation between the two?

[edit] Sales Contradictions

The opening paragraph states that DSotM is the 8th best selling album in the U.S. while the section entitled "Commercial Success" or says that it is the 21st best selling album in the U.S.A. I think that the sales stats should all be moved to one section, and the contradiction needs to be sorted out. Also, does anyone have Brittish sales figures, and other nations sales figures? -- CoolMike 16:34, 24 August 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Restore Wizard of Oz?

I disagree with pigsonthewing's decision to banish the Wizard of Oz stuff to a separate page and propose moving it back. Here's why: The DSOTM page is already a footnote/trivia page, for the repository of extra information about this one particular album that would clutter up the main Pink Floyd article. Giving a footnote/trivia page its own footnote/trivia page seems silly and inefficient. The better plan is to compile all the extraneous information about DSOTM which is unworthy of inclusion in Pink Floyd into this one article, so any reader who wants to know more about what people say about this album can access it with one-stop shopping. Archaic, Nov. 3, 2005

That simply isn't how WP works. A spearate page allows direct links from multiple articles for instance (such as the article about the film). Andy Mabbett 11:09, 4 November 2005 (UTC)
That's not really an answer since the film article could just as easily link to the album article, while avoiding an undesireable fracturing. This isn't a huge deal either way, but since many users have contributed to making a few paragraphs about the DSOTM/Oz synchronicity experience a part of the album's article, I would be interested in whether there is consensus to sever it. What do other DSOTM watchlisters think about this? Archaic 15:06, 4 November 2005 (UTC)
Restore as part of DSOTM article, it is the 1st place you would look to find out about the synchronicity. AllanHainey 16:06, 4 November 2005 (UTC)
I came here from the RfC. My opinion is that the information is distinct enough for its own article, but the main DSotM article should have more than just a link to it: perhaps a sentence or two like "When played simultaneously with the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, parts of the film and the album correspond with each other. Band members have denied that this was intentional. See Dark Side of the Moon - Wizard of Oz coincidences. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 18:27, 4 November 2005 (UTC)
Agreed. Also: To put the synch on the DSotM page tends to imply that it is something PF INTENDED to do. No Parking 22:21, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

I also came for the RfC. I agree with Josiah Rowe. I believe the cultural phenomenon of the Dark Side/Oz syncrhonicity has outgrown the album itself and deserves its own separate page. Kit 21:32, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

Also RfC. I would compromise a bit here: mention (very briefly) that some have found a link between Oz and DSotM but it has been denied bythe band. Then link to the article as is. IronDuke 04:15, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

A further thought - does the album "synchronise" with the US or UK DVD/ film? They run at different speeds! Andy Mabbett 17:15, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

It should "work" with either version since it's something you can do with any movie and any album. Try it with Scritti Politti's "Cupid and Psyche '85" and "After the Thin Man"!

Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste works very well with Murnau's Nosferatu. Let's make a page about it! --195.173.83.21 13:49, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Usage

This article refers, throughout, to at least three titles - (The) Dark Side of the Moon, Dark Side and DSotM. Abbreviation is necessary, to avoid repetition, but we should standardise on one. Which? Andy Mabbett 17:15, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] "Second Best Selling Album of all Time

TDSOTM was not the second best selling of all time; it was the seventh best, as shown by the link provided in the article.

[edit] The definite article

Pedantic, I know, but Dark Side Of The Moon is an album by Medicine Head whereas, The Dark Side Of The Moon is an album by Pink Floyd which came out second. Discussions at EMI/Harvest debated the addition of the definite article dependent on sales of the Medicine Head album. Sales were average to poor, however, the definite article appears on the Vinyl label and the promotional stickers for the cover (as no title is shown). CD transcription copies originally dropped the definite article although it has reappeared on succeeeding remastered and anniversary copies.

Why was it changed back to no "The" all over the article? And why is the Medicine Head reference gone? BotleySmith 02:01, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Requested Move

Dark Side of the Moon → The Dark Side of the Moon – correct title of album, I think I've fixed all the potential double-redirects — PhilHibbs | talk 15:45, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Add *'''Support''' or *'''Oppose''' followed by an optional one-sentence explanation, then sign your vote with ~~~~
  • Support as initiator — PhilHibbs | talk 16:30, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
  • Support. Olessi 17:28, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
  • Oppose. Many more versions of the album have been released without the definite article. A Google search is useless to determine which one is more popular, but a search for "The Dark Side of the Moon" at Amazon.com brings you to a disambiguation page with a list of "Dark Side of the Moon" albums. There are also early instances of Pink Floyd being referred to as "The Pink Floyd", but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the right name for the article. Kafziel 17:36, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
I voted support based on phrasing at [1]. Olessi 21:08, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
  • Support. I was initially against this choice of naming conventions, however, after doing a Google Images search on this album, it seems that the original vinyl sleeves were stamped with Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon. See this image.Ljlego 19:21, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
My apologies, but my origianl post is incorrect. What was meant was that, though I have no proof that this is an original sleeve, it is one of the only ones with a title printed on it. It seems, in fact, that any image you will find with a title says The Dark Side of the Moon. The above link leads to a Google Images search for Dark Side of the Moon (note that I omitted the initial "The").Ljlego 19:33, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
Pink Floyd doesn't have final say over the names of the albums, though; the production company that owns them (EMI) does.
I won't lose sleep if the article gets moved, but for technical accuracy I think it should stay where it is. Kafziel 21:16, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
  • 'Support I support, also based on phrasing. Without the article, it almost sounds slang. TommyBoy76 18:00, 9 April 2006 (UTC)TommyBoy76

[edit] Discussion

Add any additional comments
The official web page consistently includes "The" — PhilHibbs | talk 16:32, 21 February 2006 (UTC)
Link to Amazon search
EMI Records lists the album without the "The". Kafziel 18:02, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
An image of an original vinyl sleeve.
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

[edit] 1, 500 weeks

Someone might wanna add a bit about how it recently broke the 1500 weeks on the top 200 billboard mark. Damn impressive. DarkSideOfTheSpoon 02:18, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

Not on the top 200, the rules got changed nearly two decades ago so it no longer qualifies. That's the top 200 and the pop catalog chart combined. Its record run on the top 200 itself is already in the article, but a sentence mentioning this new milestone would not be out of place; just make sure it's accurate, as the above description of it is not. PurplePlatypus 02:30, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Spelling

Can we please use Commonwealth (British) spelling in the article. Call me a fuddy duddy, but this is a UK band. Even though I'm British, I'm considerate enough to use American spelling when editing American-centric articles. hedpeguyuk 11:05, 18 June 2006 (UTC)


No. Changing the spelling doesnt make the information any more factual.

First of all, it wasn't a "change" of spelling as UK English was used from the very beginning, it was edits from the last few months that started using US English. Secondly, UK English SHOULD be used (Wikipedia style guidelines specify this - for any UK article UK spelling should be used, US article then US spelling). Also, if I'm being pedantic, there are some expressions that mean different things in US and UK English. I can't be bothered to go into the at the moment, but if used could produce confusion and undermine factual accuracy of an article. Finally, please sign your comments. hedpeguyuk 12 July 2006 20:38 (UTC)

Then sure, if it'll make you happy. Use your favourite spelling. Josh 12 July 2006 5:09 PM (EST)

Thank you although it's got nothing to do with making me happy, it's to do with doing things correctly and consistantly (as UK spelling was originally used). I don't mean to cause a war, and I (generally) like Americans, but I've seen what the reaction can be like when UK English is used in some American articles. hedpeguyuk 12 July 2006 21:20 {UTC}

[edit] 1 in 14 people own the album?

I just added a citation for this statistic, but I don't think it holds any more merit than if this article were to claim it. If someone else knows of a more reliable source, please post it. I also discovered on Google that at least one trivia website is citing this article about the statistic, so please have the sources to back up information. I'm sure it's not a hard stat to figure out if you take some time and do the math, but that would be original research.--Undertow87 11:54, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Request for cite

About the track being second generation - this site (stereosociety.com) notes that the drums were mixed on the second generation 16 track tape, I may have time to scour it thoroughly later, unless someone has time now. --Alf melmac 12:18, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

About the needed citation for audiophiles using TDSOTM as a reference album -- I don't know of any sources that state this fact directly. However, if you look through stereo equipment magazines such as The Absolute Sound or others, or do online searches for equipment reviews, you will find TDSOTM, especially the 30th anniversary SACD version, being used for some of those reviews. For example, I have an issue of The Absolute Sound from June/July 2004 that uses the SACD version as one of several albums for reviewing several components in one article.--Undertow87 03:00, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] My last edit summary

My last edit summary was truncated for some reason, it should have read "This can't possibly be true, since Money was never #1 in Billboard". PurplePlatypus 20:10, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

The 20th anniversery cover is switched with the original cover!

[edit] Roger Waters

Did he really have so much control to the point where he was the ONLY guy writing lyrics? A lot of these songs were from their old days brought together into this beautiful album. I think that Roger Waters, while he is cool and my favorite Pink Floyd member, gets too much credit in this article. The762x51 03:20, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

Read the album liner credits. It says right there in boldface type: "Lyrics by Roger Waters / Music by Pink Floyd" BotleySmith 15:25, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Synchronicity

The section here should be small, a sentence or two describing what it is. The examples and the "proof" should go into the main article (and for the most part seem to be already there). --*Spark* 12:46, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. I'd actually argue for taking out ALL specific examples of synchronicity, as they are by their very nature unverifiable. You can't say with certainty what is supposed to happen, because it's a totally subjective phenomenon. Until someone publishes it in some psychological journal, that is. BotleySmith 15:28, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mary Fahl: From the Dark Side of the Moon (2007)

I just posted a new article for Mary Fahl, the former lead singer of the October Project, who now has a solo career. It turns out that her second solo album will be a complete re-invention of The Dark Side of the Moon, song by song. According to Mark Doyle's website, it will be coming out next year. This may be worth mentioning in this article if there is a good place to work it in. --Idont Havaname (Talk) 05:19, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

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