2005-07-20

Pink Floyd "Echoes" and "2001: A Space Odyssey"

You may have heard rumours over the years about how Pink Floyd managed to synchronize their album "Dark Side of the Moon" with the movie "The Wizard of Oz". My honest opinion is that any synchronization was merely chance, and that the band did not create the album around the film.

The same can be said for another, less known, Pink Floyd and film synchronization - the playing of the song "Echoes" during the last part of the 1969 Stanley Kubrick film "2001:A Space Odyssey".

Ingredients:
  • DVD player and Television.
  • CD player and Stereo.
  • DVD of 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • CD of "Meddle" by Pink Floyd
Method:
  1. Place 2001: A Space Odyssey DVD into DVD player.
  2. Go to "Scene Select" and select the section Jupiter and beyond the Infinite (about 80% of the way through the film)
  3. Once the scene is selected, press pause while you set up the CD player.
  4. Insert Meddle CD into CD player
  5. Select track 6: Echoes.
  6. Once track is selected, press pause.
  7. Make sure no sound will be heard from the film.
  8. Make sure the stereo will play the sound from the CD.
  9. Press "Play" on DVD and CD player simultaneously.
  10. Any delay of 1 second or less between the CD and DVD is okay.
  11. The entire song is about 23:29 in length. It should finish as the credits roll in the film.
This last section of the film contains no dialogue whatsoever, so you won't miss anything anyone is saying. Listening to Pink Floyd over this final bit makes this part of the film a lot better. Although changes in the music occur more less in time with the actions of screen, all the song does is give a different "vibe" to the last part of the film.

Update: Just so you know it wasn't me that discovered the Echoes/2001 synch - I found it on the internet.

I did however discover that a great synchronization can occur when you play One Of These Days while watching the Kurtz and Caribou killing scene from Apocalypse Now. The beginning of OFTD is about 1 minute of soft wind blowing and should be included. You should start the Pink Floyd track at the beginning of track 34 from Apocalypse Now (Redux) entitled "Caribou Sacrfice".

Things to note:
  • The dancing of the Montagnards is consistent with the bass beat of Of Of These Days.
  • As Willard enters the temple to kill Kurtz with an axe, the only lyrics of the song occurs - "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces".
  • The Song finishes and segues into wind as Kurtz mutters "The Horror"


From the Plan 9 from OSO space Department

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