It's Really All Dark....

For my music cultural event, I saw Laser Floyd at the Clark Planetarium. At it, the album The Dark Side of the Moon is played while you watch a companion movie on the huge domed screen. It was awesome. First of all, I am a long time Pink Floyd fan. I have always loved their philosophical lyrics, emotional guitar solos, and psychedelic tone. The movie was really trippy. It would have visuals that would rush away from you, creating the illusion that you were rushing through a tunnel! Sometimes, the movie would also create the illusion that the room was spinning really fast. In addition to the illusions, the movie had a lot of symbolism relating to the album, which was captivating. It would create images that came straight out of the lyrics, helping you better understand the point the song is trying to make. The album is incredibly philosophical, addressing the ways in which we as humans living in the 21st century become alienated from nature, those around us, and ourselves. Each song describes a different way our alienation occurs. The first track, “Speak to Me /Breathe” addresses how conformity to those around us gives us an easy life with few waves, but alienates us from our potential. “On the Run” is a psychedelic head trip, and during it is when the screen began creating the illusion of spinning. The combination of the psychedelic music and the trippy visuals was enough to BLOW YOUR MIND. After on the run, the album progresses into one of Floyd’s most popular songs, “Time.” It is about the way we waste time when we are young, lacking the motivation to do what we should and truly live. The second part is about a man who has reached old age and has realized that he wasted his time away, and he can never, ever get it back. It is a very sad song, but has a great message about the way we should live our live as if we are going to die tomorrow. Also addressing the theme of mortality, the next song, “The Great Gig in the Sky” is an experimental song I used to hate, but is now one of my all time favorites. It consists of a man playing the piano and a woman singing the note” oooohhhhh” in terror and ecstasy. Even though it has no lyrics, her single note is enough to send shivers down your spine. Her terror gives images of the old man on his deathbed, terrified of what is to come, and what he has lost and can never get back. Her screams of ecstasy reflect a life lived to its fullest, a life filled with enough joy to make you want to yell to the heavens in ecstasy. The rest of the album reflects on how racism, drugs, and insanity affect our ability to relate to others and the world around us. The lyrics are incredible, and they were certainly complimented by the visual symbolism and over all psychedelics of the movie.