It's time to finally find out the truth.
By now everyone has heard the rumor that "The Wizard of Oz" can be set to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and the album is on cue with the movie. Sound curiously interesting? Don't worry about not having the time or means to set it up. Marquette University Radio has already coordinated a special showing.
Saturday at the Union Sports Annex, MU Radio presents "The Dark Side of the Rainbow." The movie, without sound, and the album will simultaneously play. MU Radio's general manager, senior Katie Daly, said it will be perfectly synched.
"The event combines an awesome album with a classic movie," Daly said.
There will be three showings: 8 p.m., 10 p.m. and midnight. Daly said she expects that all three will sellout.
Dark Side of the Moon is a conceptual album. It tells the story of someone's life from conception to the afterlife. When paired with "The Wizard of Oz" it plays three times. The movie's scene transitions often correlate perfectly with the musical changes, even when the album is on its second or third run.
"It's almost disturbing how spot on it is," said junior Nick July, MU Radio's hip-hop music director.
The coolest coincidence according to Daly is when "The Wizard of Oz" switches from black and white to color. There is a five second silence and then the song "Money" kicks in. You hear "cha-ching" just as Dorothy steps out into Munchkin Land.
"You just get tingles from it," Daly said.
Some other correlations include the lyrics "look around" being sung at the same time Dorothy actually looks around and "home, home again" as Dorothy awakens from her dream and is back to black and white Kansas.
"The coincidences are just mind blowing," Daly said. "Everyone has their own idea of why it works."
Since the members of Pink Floyd have never confirmed how or why the phenomenon happened, several theories have developed. According to July, most people just take it as an eerie coincidence. Others believe that band member and songwriter, Roger Waters ingeniously planned it. Either way Dark Side of the Moon is one of Pink Floyd's most successful and well-known albums.
"We wanted to create something fun and entertaining for the students," July said. There are flyers posted in all the academic buildings and dorms. Students can also look for Frisbees being past out at the Alumni Memorial Union promoting the event. Daly said the production is at about a PG-13 rating and is appropriate for Lil' Sibs Weekend. The student ticket price rate also applies for family members.
"The Annex has been incredibly cordial with helping us set this up," Daly said. "They are so helpful and go out of their way to help student organizations."
All the event's proceeds will go towards MU Radio's budget for next year. Daly said she hopes the station continues to put on events like this. Daly said the station has also strongly considered showing "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
"A lot of people on campus don't even know that MU Radio exists," Daly said. She hopes that the event will bring more attention to the station.
Marquette Radio's "The Dark Side of the Rainbow" will be shown at the Annex this Saturday at 8 p.m., 10 p.m. and midnight. Tickets are $5 for students with a valid Marquette ID, $7 for the public. More information is available by visiting http://marquetteradio.mu.edu.
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 14 2005.