Pink Floyd’s 1973 album "The Dark Side of the Moon" heeds the importance of intentional listening versus passive hearing. When one takes the time to tune into the undertones of the philosophical lyrics, samples, and tones, it leaves you in existential anguish, closely evaluating your surroundings and the fabrications of the world's current state of affairs. "The Dark Side of the Moon" is not just an album – it is a social commentary painted in an abstract light that opens one’s eyes to cultural studies themes of capitalism, religion, greed, modern life, and external pressure from daily life.
“Speak to Me,” the first track on this 42-minute journey, starts off with a sample of a heartbeat. This sample is used again on the last track, symbolizing the full circle of life. The heartbeat is accompanied by loops of cash register samples, maniacal laughter, a helicopter, and the following spoken words: “I’ve always been mad, I know I’ve been mad, like the most of us have…," showcasing the severity to which one can be pierced by the fast pace of life. These overwhelming samples also prove that anxiety and pressure can be expressed through sound, not only words. This seamlessly transitions into the next track, “Breathe (In the Air).” This ballad, featuring lyrics such as, “Run, rabbit, run/Dig that hole, forget the sun/And when at last the work is done/Don’t sit down, it’s time to dig another one," delves into the exhausting and unending cycles of capitalism. Even when you clock out of work for the day, you return home to your role as a consumer as well as the pressure of having to do it all again the next day. The next verse takes on a different meaning: “For long you live and high you fly/But only if you ride the tide/And balanced on the biggest wave/You race towards an early grave.” These lyrics present the opportunity to “go against the tide,” meaning to resist the cycles biopower and the social constructions found within them. However, the risk of uncertainty that comes with being a trailblazer may result in an early death. “On the Run” is an instrumental accompanied by samples of an airplane, an announcement at an airport, and pounding footsteps. The song concludes with the airplane crashing and a voice that says, “Life for today, gone tomorrow. That’s me.” This track resembles the anxiety that one may feel while traveling perpetuated by the fear of mortality. This showcases the fragility and uncertainty of life. We are then faced with “Time,” a track that confronts existential anxiety dead in the eye. Every moment, life is passing us by, which is alluded to by the layered samples of loud ticking clocks and alarms. The lyrics “Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown/Waiting for someone or something to show you the way” suggest the subjectivity of life and the pressure surrounding it. This is to say that our role as “self” and “subject” cannot be separated from each other. No matter what, our role as a subject will always come forth, perhaps out of pressure, waiting on a command or suggestion of what we are supposed to do with our lives. “The Great Gig in the Sky,” the fifth track, consists of a melancholy piano melody and a soulful, lyric-less vocal performance by singer Clare Torry. This track also features the following spoken word sample: “Why should I be frightened of dying? There’s no reason for it, you’ve gotta go sometime.” This track once again alludes to the fear of mortality, which is showcased through Torry’s vocal performance, which sounds as if she is crying out; it is in and of itself an audible anxiety attack that deeply pierces the listener. Following this outcry is “Money.” The upbeat bassline and casual vocal performance contrast the depth of the lyrics in an almost satirical manner. This song comments on the greed and individualism rooted within capitalism. “Money, it’s a gas/Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash,” serves as a double meaning. ‘It’s a gas’ was a popular phrase used in the ‘60s to describe something that is fun, which adds to the sarcastic tone of the song. However, this is also meant in the context of money being a fuel – something that keeps humans going. The track also contains the following lyrics that are intentionally contradictory: “Money, it’s a crime/Share it fairly, but don’t take a slice of my pie.” This is to condemn one’s deeply rooted capitalistic mindset of greed and individualism – one desires equity for the poor or disparaged, but as long as it does not have to come out of their own bank account. Or perhaps one may be in favor of more government spending, but as long as their taxes are not increased. Within the construction of capitalism and our society as a whole, some will always be left behind due to social factors such as race, income, and class. From a position of power, it is easy to say that one simply needs to try harder to make money and achieve the so-called “American Dream.” However, climbing the ladder is much easier said than done, due to the fact that our nation was founded upon power dynamics and social, class, and racial disparity. “Us and Them” mournfully touches on the senselessness of war, disparity, and the social differences that perpetually divide us. The lyrics from Verse 3 stick out to me the most: “With, without/And who’ll deny it’s what the fighting’s all about?” This is to point out that the reasoning behind war is ultimately for one to receive something, and for the other to not receive. These lyrics are immediately followed by, “Out of the way, it’s a busy day/I’ve got things on my mind/For want of the price of tea and a slice/The old man died.” Once again, this sheds light on the themes of greed and power dynamics. An individual from a place of power apathetically desires a commodity at the cost of hundreds of dying. In this context, the “old man” could either be someone who fought in the war or someone who was too poor to afford survival. Overall, this lamenting song carries a notion that it has and inevitably always will be “us” versus “them.” However, the writer wonders why this must be, by pointing out that, "after all, we’re only ordinary men.” Although “Any Colour You Like” is an instrumental jam with no lyrics, it still holds a cognitive meaning. The phrase “any color you like” comes from Henry Ford. According to legends, when he first released his Model T car, he told customers “You can have it in any color you like, as long as it’s black.” Decades later, band member Roger Waters came across this joke when a merchant in Cambridge sold sets of China saying, “You can have them all, any color you like – they’re all blue.” In an interview, Waters makes the following statement: “It denotes offering a choice when there is none. . .Which, if you think about it, relates very much to the light and dark, sun and moon, good and evil. You make your choice, but it’s always blue." Once again, this ties closely to the duality of “self” and “subject." “Any color you like, they’re all blue” is to say that we are granted the freedom to choose what we wear, what we consume, and what we do; however, there are many things still out of our control, for example, the global pandemic we are currently living in. Music commentator "Polyphonic" puts this concept into words very effectively: “In the modern age, though it may feel like we have a whole spectrum of color to choose, in the end, they’re all blue." Although this track does not have any lyrics, the understanding behind the title plays a large role in the cohesion of the album, commenting on how all the themes discussed throughout affect the human mind. This very effect is showcased in “Brain Damage.” Here we see the perspective of the album transition from recognizing these social constructs to how an individual is affected on an intrapersonal level. The second verse holds a very deep meaning: “The lunatic is in my head/You raise the blade/You make the change/You rearrange me ‘til I’m sane/You lock the door/And throw away the key/And there’s someone in my head but it’s not me.” This poses another aforementioned risk of resistance and trailblazing. The individual decides to go against the grain and is consequently labeled by society as a ‘lunatic.’ This sheds light on the agency society holds, being in a position of power to not only label someone as something, but to repudiate and change them. As a result of being changed by society, the individual notes that the person in his head that society rearranged him to be is not actually him. Who is to say that he was a lunatic in the first place? We quickly realize that society’s agency imposed this label upon him simply because his mentality subverted the norm. The last lines of the track, “And if the band you’re in starts playing different tunes/I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon,” alludes to the personal experiences of band member Syd Barrett as a result of his mental illness. Often times, he would start playing a completely different song than the rest of the band during live performances. When looking deeper, the word ‘lunatic’ derives from the Latin word ‘lunaticus,’ meaning, “of the moon.” With this, the “dark side of the moon’ can be symbolically recognized as a place of residence for those who do not see the light of society. Therefore, Pink Floyd invites the listener to join them if they feel this way. The album concludes with “Eclipse.” The lyrics closely relate to the second track, “Breathe (In the Air).” “Eclipse” brings the album full circle by reusing the line “All that you touch and all that you see.” The finale song erupts in intense tones to remind the listener that your entire life is simply a result of all of your experiences. The album ends with the same heartbeat sample that it was introduced with. In regards to this song, Roger Waters makes the following comment: “I think it’s a very simple statement saying that all the good things life can offer are there for us to grasp, but that the influence of some dark force in our natures prevents us from seizing them." Overall, this can perhaps be interpreted by the means of the “us” versus “them,” in the sense that some are able to abide by society’s rules and seize great opportunities, while the “lunatics” simply cannot due to their differences, disparities, or resistance of society. "The Dark Side of the Moon" represents the timelessness of art and repetition of history, as the themes discussed in this album still ring true in modern society. In just 42 minutes, this album carries us through birth and death. It opens our eyes to the weight of our decisions, the deep construction of society, and the fragility of life by means of intentionally placed samples, philosophical lyrics, and the emotional weight of instrumental performances. They warn us of the risks of resistance, but console us by reminding us we are not living on the “dark side of the moon” alone. Each song can be interpreted on its own, but cohesively come together to guide us through one’s experience of living a life of so-called lunacy.
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“I never want the world to know everything about me. I mean, that’s why I wear big baggy clothes. Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath,” confesses American popstar Billie Eilish in a 2019 Calvin Klein Ad Campaign. As she explained to Calvin Klein, she wears baggy, oversized clothing so that she cannot be judged by the public eye for her body. At just eighteen years old, Eilish flips the socical script on what a typical teenage female pop star should look like. In the advertisement, Eilish acknowledges and furthermore resists the ideologies of both youth fetishization and the sexualization of women seen time and time again in popular culture.
Young women in the spotlight inevitably receive judgment from the public for what they look like, how they act, and what they wear. But as Eilish explains in this advertisement, she does not want to be known for her body – she does not want people to even have an opinion on it. Rather, she wants to be known and judged based upon the quality of her art. Eilish testifies in this advertisement that she wants to break free from the judgment society imposes on her appearance and return to her selfhood. Yet, no matter how much one clings to their selfhood, they cannot ultimately free themselves from social contexts. Despite draping oversized clothes over her figure, society will always have an opinion to subject upon her: she covers up too much, her style is strange, or she should dress more “normal.” As Jean Kilbourne explains in presentation, "Killing Us Softly 4," there has always been a double standard for women. “Girls are constantly told by the popular culture that they should be sexy, but innocent, experienced, but virginal,” Kilbourne says. “Females have long been categorized as either virgins or whores, of course. What’s new is that girls are now supposed to embody both within themselves." The points emphasized by Kilbourne unfortunately ring true for Eilish despite her attempts to avoid sexualization. In June of last year, a leaked paparazzi photo of Eilish wearing a tight-fitting tank top went viral. "My boobs were trending on Twitter! At number one! What is that?! Every outlet wrote about my boobs!" then-17-year-old Eilish tells Elle Magazine. The public's comments were nothing short of disturbing: fantasy-fueled fetishization and slut-shaming among other utterances. She covers up too much, doesn't cover up enough, speaks too loudly, sings too quietly, simply because women are cut off from achieving equilibrium. This very incident proves the normalization of pedophilia and youth fetishization in our culture. Kilbourne explains that women in advertising are usually posed in childlike and innocent ways, with big eyes, soft skin, and playful clothing. She references an ad for Lee Jeans where a woman is wearing just overalls and licking a popsicle. In the reflection of the mirror, you can see a shirtless man photographing her. The whole advertisement is “certainly meant to evoke child pornography,” Kilbourne claims. She goes on to claim that in addition to women appearing more childlike in advertising, there is also an increase in the sexualization of little girls. She uses an advertisement of Love’s Baby Soft body mist as an example. The advertisement consists of a photograph of a very young girl with the following text: “Love’s Baby Soft. Because innocence is sexier than you think." This idea of innocence all comes back to that double standard Kilbourne mentioned with young women in popular culture. Whether Eilish is seen wearing a tight tank top or baggy clothes, her age and young features are seen as "sexy" by popular culture regardless. Even when she is shown wearing loose fitting clothing, she still cannot escape condescending comments about her attractiveness, despite having just turned eighteen last December. These remarks about Eilish’s appearance prove John Berger’s points in novel, Ways of Seeing: “A woman must continually watch herself. She is almost continually accompanied by her own image of herself...From earliest childhood she has been taught and persuaded to survey herself continually.” There are two constituent elements of a woman’s identity: "the surveyor and the surveyed." No matter how a woman chooses to decorate herself, she must always pay close attention to how she appears to others. She must survey herself while simultaneously considering how she is going to be surveyed, because her rehearsed performances will ultimately determine how she is treated. |
authorHallie Newnam studied journalism at Columbia College Chicago. You can find her archived journalistic work here. |