Turn Me On, Dead Man

Several years ago a rumor began to circulate about a strange connection between Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and the MGM classic film The Wizard of Oz (1939). If you properly synchronize the film and the album, as the rumor goes, a number of coincidental events occur. So many, in fact, that a large audience is convinced that Pink Floyd intentionally created Dark Side of the Moon as an alternative soundtrack to the film. Just to cite a few examples, side one of the LP is the same length as the first black-and-white segment of the movie; "The Great Gig in the Sky" begins as the tornado approaches Dorothy's farm, builds as the storm worsens, and slows when Dorothy is knocked unconscious; "Brain Damage" plays as the Scarecrow sings "If I Only Had a Brain"; and the album concludes with the sound of a heartbeat as Dorothy puts her hand on the Tin Woodsman's chest. Fans have found many more coincidental events and I have included a fairly complete list on this website. Over time this rumor has taken on a life of its own and inspired many people to try to find other "synchronicities" between films and albums.

The origins of this rumor are obscure, but a few websites had appeared and discussion groups had been exchanging information about the connection between Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz a number of years before the mainstream press reported the story in 1997. WZLX-FM in Boston and WNEW-FM in New York received overwhelming responses from listeners when they reported this rumor on the air in the spring of 1997. [1] George Taylor Morris, the disk jockey for WZLX, said, "I just mentioned it, just briefly on the air." [2] That was all it took, though, as the rumor spread rapidly after that. Within a few weeks, several major newspapers and television news programs, as well as MTV, ran stories about the rumored connection between the album and the film. The Internet has been instrumental in spreading this rumor. Several websites have come online that include theories about Pink Floyd's intentions and lists of coincidental events between the film and the album.

The record company, EMI-Capitol Entertainment Properties, has made no effort to counter the rumor. In the weeks following the mainstream newsmedia reports, EMI-Capitol reported that they were having trouble keeping up with demand for copies of Dark Side of the Moon, as sales had doubled. Bruce Kirkland, chief of EMI-Capitol, said, "It's happening at an organic, grass-roots level, but we're into fueling it.... Why Not? It's not harmful, it's not exploitative, and nobody died. It's just fun. Yeah, let's get into it." [3] Members of the band, however, have denied that they made Dark Side of the Moon to be an alternate soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz. Richard Wright "swore on his family" that the band had not intended to do anything of the sort. [4] When asked about the coincidental events between the album and the movie, Nick Mason stated, "I haven't [watched The Wizard of Oz synchronized with Dark Side of the Moon]. But I hope someone else will do it when I'm there. I can never quite be bothered to do it. I can assure you we never worked with the film when we were working on the track. That would be so convoluted a way of making a record." [5] Alan Parsons, who was the engineer on Dark Side of the Moon, said that no one in the band had discussed The Wizard of Oz while they were making the album.

In the recent past, a number of theaters have had special showings of The Wizard of Oz synchronized with Dark Side of the Moon. Some theaters, such as the Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, have shown this as a midnight movie. [6] A retrospective of film adaptations of L. Frank Baum's Oz books by the Ryder Film Series at Indiana University included a showing of The Wizard of Oz synchronized with Dark Side of the Moon in July, 2000. [7] The Blinding Light Cinema in Vancouver showed "Dark Side of the Rainbow" in February, 2001. [8] After being damaged by fire, the Neon in Dayton, Ohio, reopened with a special showing of The Wizard of Oz synchronized with Dark Side of the Moon in February, 2001. [9] The most elaborate production occurred, appropriately enough, in Kansas at the Topeka Performing Arts Center in August, 2000—a laser show with admission costing $17. [10]

The rumor about the connection between the movie and the film has also changed how we see The Wizard of Oz on television. On July 3, 2000, Turner Classic Movies aired the classic film without commercial interruptions—the first time that it had been broadcast in this way. Then, later in the evening, TCM again showed The Wizard of Oz, but this time they offered Dark Side of the Moon on the Second Audio Program. [11]