The Dark Side of the Moon | Animals (1977) | The Wall
As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
"There is no Dark Side of the Moon, really. Matter of fact, it's all dark."
— Gerry O'Driscoll, "Eclipse"
Considering the entirety of The Dark Side of the Moon is about stuff that can drive you insane, it's not surprising that it has plenty of Nightmare Fuel.
- "Speak to Me" serves as a fitting overture, with its juxtaposition of a heartbeat, a ticking clock, a cash register, manic laughter, and some unsettling Spoken Word in Music.Chris Adamson: I've been mad for fucking years, absolutely years. I've been over the edge for yonks. Been working with bands so long, I think "crikey".
Gerry O'Driscoll: I've always been mad – I know I've been mad, like the most of us are. Very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad.- While the interlocking sounds of "Speak to Me" lie within the bounds of Paranoia Fuel, it gets truly scary as it ends, with a sample of Clare Torry's screams from "The Great Gig in the Sky".
- "On the Run" is almost otherworldly, what with the high-tempo synthesizer sound, helicopter noises, and echoed laughter that borders on Evil Laugh territory.
- There's also the crash at the end. Since the track is about traveling (mainly through airplanes), someone can easily have the events of 9/11 come in their head.
- "Time" sounds like an upbeat track at first, but the lyrics note how life seems to go by faster as you get older. Relative to this theme of time sneaking up on you, the first half a minute also features softly ticking clocks that give way to a loud alarm clock that can catch first-time listeners off-guard.The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath, and one day closer to death- Also, walking around at night to the intro (especially the beginning where the song tortures you with the constant ringing of alarm clocks) is very unsettling.
- "The Great Gig in the Sky". Their goal was to create a track that simulates the feeling of dying — they succeeded.
- "I never said I was frightened of dying."
- "Brain Damage". Especially this part:The lunatic is in my head
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade, you make the change
You re-arrange me 'til I'm sane
You lock the door, and throw away the key
There's someone in my head, but it's not me. - There's an urban legend that the album was meticulously designed to serve as the unofficial score to The Wizard of Oz, with many of the lyrics reflecting the events of the movie when synced properly. The band has denied this repeatedly, but actually playing The Dark Side of the Moon over the muted movie, whether it produces the intended results or not, creates a creepy Soundtrack Dissonance, juxtaposing the album's bleak subject matter against the film's colorful, innocent visuals.
