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aliljaded 53F
23961 posts
3/26/2023 3:20 am
Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ Turns 50 | Album Anniversary

Before You get into this great article I wanted to tell you about my own experience with DSOTM. It was the first vinyl album I ever purchased. I was fifteen at the time. I played it to death. My dad had an awesome sound system and one day I came home after school put on the album and turn the volume up to eleven. The record started, and "Speak To Me" started to play. It took about sixty seconds to blow out my dad's humungous speakers. He was furious when he got home and I was banned from using the stereo. He went out and bought new speakers. When he came in with them he handed me a pair of headphones. I was in love from that point on. This is an amazing album. If you've never heard it. Listen to it. You'll find the entire thing on YT.

Eclipse

All that you touch
And all that you see
All that you taste
All you feel
And all that you love
And all that you hate
All you distrust
All you save
And all that you give
And all that you deal
And all that you buy
Beg, borrow or steal
And all you create
And all you destroy
And all that you do
And all that you say
And all that you eat
And everyone you meet (everyone you meet)
And all that you slight
And everyone you fight
And all that is now
And all that is gone
And all that's to come
And everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon

Lately, I’ve been thinking about chaos. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about the vast interiority of a person, and how it’s impossible to fully map the terrain of oneself. Relationships and interactions are collisions of people in progress, and fully knowing another person, let alone the world at large, is an impossible order.

Or, as Tolstoy put it, “A sudden, vivid awareness of the terrible opposition between something infinitely great and indefinable that was in him and something narrow and fleshy that he himself…was.”

This thing is infinitely great and indefinable—hard to articulate—but there is a pretty good representation of it, and it’s The Dark Side of the Moon.

Enough of this record’s legend has circulated in popular culture in the last fifty years, so if you’re looking for another piece on its influence on rock history, this isn’t that. It’s obviously an enormous aesthetic and technological achievement, a band at the height of their powers wielding the full weight of their medium. But the legend of Dark Side of the Moon is, in my experience, a detriment to getting to its core.

I first came to the record at age fifteen, more than thirty years after it was established as a visionary moment in the history of rock music (and t-shirt design). Indeed, in those early days, it was impossible to process Dark Side without thinking about it as an achievement. My favorite moment on the record was the final couplet, with the lyric “but the sun is eclipsed by the moon,” which to me represented the power of the album to overshadow everything in the rock music landscape. It was a celebration of itself, a victory lap, acknowledgment of a monumental artistic achievement. A moment of certainty and definition.

During a sleepless night a few weeks ago, I put the record on for the first of many listens in explicit preparation for this article. I knew I had a lot to look forward to, like Clare Torry’s cathartic vocal solo on “The Great Gig in the Sky” (still a highlight) and the genius contrast between hard rock and sensitivity on “Time.”

But the tune that got me this time around was “On the Run,” an instrumental that I used to think of as a few minutes of nothing between the album’s overture and its unprecedented middle suite of “Time,” “The Great Gig in the Sky,” and “Money.” On this listen, the literal breathlessness of “On the Run,” the footsteps, and the Doppler-like sound of the synthesizer, produced a feeling of complete disorientation. The anxiety of this instrumental communicated to me more clearly than any of the album’s lyrics did. I realized that this was the sound of the thing I had been feeling: of searching for a way to connect to oneself and, by extension, other people, but having a hard time doing so because of the fundamental disorientations of life.

“On the Run” had never felt like a part of the album’s legend. Maybe at that time, I hadn’t been through enough for it to resonate with me. The more in-your-face lyrical tracks seemed like the essence of the message, but they were also the ones that I heard on the radio and knew as defining Pink Floyd cuts. Before Dark Side of the Moon became what it was, this record was an earnest attempt to capture that elusive feeling that I still can’t name; “On the Run” was just as integral to that story as “Time” and “Eclipse.”

I should note here that “On the Run” is not exactly a subtle piece of music. The footsteps and whirring synthesizer, along with the airline announcements, make it clear that this is supposed to be an anxiety-producing piece. But through the way that the album circulated in the popular discourse, I just assumed that it was filler that didn’t add as much to the narrative as the rest of the work. But when you think of it as the center of the album, everything else begins to make a lot more sense.

The paralyzed uncertainty of “On the Run” makes the other tracks stronger. For example, it supplements “Money” by adding a referent to the instrumental interlude “Money.” As with “On the Run,” David Gilmour’s guitar work in the bridge of “Money” is intentionally disorienting, avoiding the melodic approach that makes up his signature sound. By the time you get to the end of the second guitar solo and crash back into the verse, a few things happen at once.

First, the instrumental section is in 4/4, a more traditional time signature for rock music. But the verses are in 7/4, which sounds a little off to most listeners. But because 7/4 was established earlier in the song, and 4/4 is rendered so incomprehensible by the instrumental break, 7/4 actually feels like a relief. The “normal” state of things (the part in 4/4) is humanity at its most confused and disoriented. We did something unnatural (regulated the world through commerce and greed) to wrangle that feeling of uncertainty—we opted for 7/4. Because we can’t process the mania of the guitar solo, which produces the same anxieties in us that “On the Run” does and encompasses the huge unknowability of humanity, we turn to something unnatural like Money that makes things seem normal.

Before I saw “On the Run” in this way, I thought of “Money” as an outlier on Dark Side of the Moon, a heavy-handed and predictable capitalism critique that didn’t get into the themes of madness and death that defines the record. But by focusing on the part of the record that I so often overlooked when I was focusing on its legend, I was able to see so much more in the legendary moments.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


GLsvd 41M

4/2/2023 10:07 am

Great album for sure pink floyd rocks


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/31/2023 2:07 am

    Quoting  :

"Pros & Cons" is one of my very favorite albums.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


Bostonmarket 60M
124 posts
3/29/2023 7:01 pm

Been a while since i have listened to this album, might have to break out the vinyl tonight. Certainly one of the greats!


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 5:02 am

    Quoting rondiri:
    great album for late night listening, especially with headphones and after a night out on the town.
Yes, headphones are a fantastic way to listen to this classic.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 5:01 am

    Quoting Greybrow:
    Dark Side of the Moon is such a great album. One of the first albums I bought with my own money. 1973 saw some of my all time favorites. Led by ELP's Brain Salad Surgery. Thanks for the post and the memories.
You're welcome

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 5:00 am

    Quoting Tckg12:
    first of all great article.

    Second my greatest memory of this album was in the 70's. I was a student studying abroad and I was locked out of the home of teh family I was staying with, apparently 9pm was too late to be out. Anyway there was a small plaza outside his arm. It was a beautiful summer night, the stars were abundant in the sky. I laid down on a stone bench looked up at the sky and from another house DSOTM was being played loud enough that you could hear it in the plaza. hat a night!!!! lying there listening to the album i really didn't care that i was going to be sleeping there all night. ah youth!!! very cherished memory
Sounds like a wonderful memory.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 4:58 am

    Quoting MrEze1:
    This is a fantastic article, DSOTM came out a couple of years before I was born. However, I grew up with songs from this album being played on the radio. As a teen, mates would put on the LPs or cassette and we'd listen to this in class.

    DSOTM has been referenced, remixed, Dubstepped and pop-cultured so much over the past 50 years.

    Finding out the following intriguing facts blew my mind.

    DSOTM was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, well because the Beatles (who were an influence) recorded there and were recording another album there at the same time. When Pink Floyd found out, they watched the Beatles during breaks.

    So apart from a couple of Beatles samples Pink Floyd sublty placed. There is also a couple of times where during recording there was a bit of sound bleed from down the hall where the Beatles were recording.

    This sound made it's way into the recording equipment whilst Pink FLoyd were recording.at the same time. Some background string ensemble and other noises can be heard in the mix.

    Also Alan Parsons was the sound engineer on DSOTM, interestingly enough Alan Parsons worked recording the Beatle previously, this led to him working with Pink FLoyd - he was well recommended.

    A bit later Alan Parsons recorded his own stuff under the name of the Alan Parson Project.

    Love finding out all of these links and back stories.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the article. I thought it was great too.
Thank you for sharing all of those interesting facts about the band.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 4:55 am

    Quoting Gowron:
    "The Sun is the same
    In a relative way
    But you're older
    Shorter of breath
    One day closer to death"

    "Nobody told me when to run
    I missed the starting gun"

    Some clueless snowflakes accuse Pink Floyd of promoting the LGBT cause because of the rainbow cover.
Fuck Them.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 4:54 am

    Quoting sentry617:
    Not only the best album of all time but Eclipse has to be the best track of all time....stands the test of time and will do for eternity.....thanks for the post xx
It is epic. The track is one of my favorites.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 4:52 am

    Quoting theowner2020:
    Such a wonderful album. I listened to the new version last night.
The anniversary version is really good.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 4:51 am

    Quoting Joejojoxxx:
    Great gig in the sky is still one of my all time favorite songs.. the whole album was a masterpiece.
That cut is amazing. Clare H. Torry's voice is epic. I love it.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 4:47 am

    Quoting JohnnyLightning:
    I was 14 when that song came out on Dark Side of the Moon. I saw them in concert on the "Animals" tour and I was in high school. I'm getting older and will always have rock and roll in my heart.
I've seen them in concert too. They were amazing to see live.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/27/2023 4:45 am

Yes, D, I did. He was an amazing man. He was a musician, and I learned my love of music through him.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”


rydermantel 68M
23791 posts
3/26/2023 12:42 pm

50!


rondiri 64M
11042 posts
3/26/2023 9:09 am

great album for late night listening, especially with headphones and after a night out on the town.


Greybrow 63M
625 posts
3/26/2023 7:48 am

Dark Side of the Moon is such a great album. One of the first albums I bought with my own money. 1973 saw some of my all time favorites. Led by ELP's Brain Salad Surgery. Thanks for the post and the memories.


Tckg12 69M
2393 posts
3/26/2023 7:07 am

first of all great article.

Second my greatest memory of this album was in the 70's. I was a student studying abroad and I was locked out of the home of teh family I was staying with, apparently 9pm was too late to be out. Anyway there was a small plaza outside his arm. It was a beautiful summer night, the stars were abundant in the sky. I laid down on a stone bench looked up at the sky and from another house DSOTM was being played loud enough that you could hear it in the plaza. hat a night!!!! lying there listening to the album i really didn't care that i was going to be sleeping there all night. ah youth!!! very cherished memory


drmgirl622 68F  
25890 posts
3/26/2023 7:05 am

You had a great Dad


nuadventures2223 45M
6 posts
3/26/2023 6:19 am

Very well written really enjoyed it.


MrEze1 51M
19 posts
3/26/2023 6:17 am

This is a fantastic article, DSOTM came out a couple of years before I was born. However, I grew up with songs from this album being played on the radio. As a teen, mates would put on the LPs or cassette and we'd listen to this in class.

DSOTM has been referenced, remixed, Dubstepped and pop-cultured so much over the past 50 years.

Finding out the following intriguing facts blew my mind.

DSOTM was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, well because the Beatles (who were an influence) recorded there and were recording another album there at the same time. When Pink Floyd found out, they watched the Beatles during breaks.

So apart from a couple of Beatles samples Pink Floyd sublty placed. There is also a couple of times where during recording there was a bit of sound bleed from down the hall where the Beatles were recording.

This sound made it's way into the recording equipment whilst Pink FLoyd were recording.at the same time. Some background string ensemble and other noises can be heard in the mix.

Also Alan Parsons was the sound engineer on DSOTM, interestingly enough Alan Parsons worked recording the Beatle previously, this led to him working with Pink FLoyd - he was well recommended.

A bit later Alan Parsons recorded his own stuff under the name of the Alan Parson Project.

Love finding out all of these links and back stories.


Gowron 69M
3089 posts
3/26/2023 5:33 am

"The Sun is the same
In a relative way
But you're older
Shorter of breath
One day closer to death"

"Nobody told me when to run
I missed the starting gun"

Some clueless snowflakes accuse Pink Floyd of promoting the LGBT cause because of the rainbow cover.


sentry617 54T

3/26/2023 5:17 am

Not only the best album of all time but Eclipse has to be the best track of all time....stands the test of time and will do for eternity.....thanks for the post xx


olderdaddy_63 68M

3/26/2023 4:31 am

I was stoned when the clocks started ringing at the beginning of 'time'. Talk about startled...


theowner2020 64M  
1208 posts
3/26/2023 4:29 am

Such a wonderful album. I listened to the new version last night.


Joejojoxxx 51M/41F

3/26/2023 3:57 am

Great gig in the sky is still one of my all time favorite songs.. the whole album was a masterpiece.


JohnnyLightning 65M  
9554 posts
3/26/2023 3:31 am

I was 14 when that song came out on Dark Side of the Moon. I saw them in concert on the "Animals" tour and I was in high school. I'm getting older and will always have rock and roll in my heart.

Howling at the moon and mal ad osteo.


aliljaded 53F
8847 posts
3/26/2023 3:26 am

This is a great article.

"Men need to hunt. She obviously understands this. She’s offering herself as prey. Not easy prey. But willing.”



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