EXPLORING A FEW OF ROCK'S GREATEST CONSPIRACY THEORIES.
In honour of the return of The X-Files (one of my all-time favourite shows, and source of the rock-referencing pic above), I figured this would be a good time to talk about a side of music that doesn't get a lot of attention but has provided plenty of intrigue among dedicated fans.
What follows is a list of some of my favourite "rock n' roll X-Files"; intentional or coincidental, these musical mysteries all lend themselves to a fair amount of credibility, but have proven impossible to outright confirm. Whether you want to believe or prefer to only deal with facts, there's no denying that these wild theories are at least a little plausible.
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
One of rock's most famous and enduring theories is that Pink Floyd's breakthrough record The Dark Side of the Moon, when synced properly with 1931 film classic The Wizard of Oz, displays thematic and lyrical similarities in certain sections. Instructions on the sync vary from person to person, but most variations create at least a few passing similarities. Band members have consistently denied any intentional use of the film as inspiration for the record, but that hasn't stopped eager fans from smoking a bowl and looking for the perfect sync.
Not only are there other purported examples of albums syncing up with movies (and according to some, a whole hell of a lot of them), but there's also a greater Pink Floyd mystery called the Publius Enigma which, if you have a few hours to kill, you should Google.
Tool's Album Shenanigans
Perhaps no band is so gleeful in messing with their fans as Tool. The wait for the follow-up to 10,000 Days approaching a decade, but that's just the latest in a long line of weird antics on the band's records. They became the masters of bringing seemingly unrelated things together early on, as evidenced by how the cover sculpture on the Undertow CD cover embraces the woman pictured inside. There's a popular theory, similar to Dark Side of the Rainbow, that pairs Lateralus with The Nightmare Before Christmas (go see it here), but that's not even the most interesting theory surrounding that album.
By rearranging the track order of Lateralus, it's said that a completely different and much more spiritual listening experience can be had. It's called The Holy Gift, and there's an amazing video out there that explains how this works and what the Fibonacci sequence has to do with it.
I tried this out and, while I'm not quite convinced that this was done intentionally, I will admit that the alternate track order does make this great album flow better.
What they did on 10,000 Days, though, has to be intentional: by combining Wings for Marie (Part 1) and instrumental Viginti Tres (latin for 23), you get a song that is exactly the same length as Wings for Marie (Part 2). When these tracks are played simultaneously, there's no doubt of what's going on here. To hear the payoff, go to 9:14, and remember that 9+14=23.
Since we're doing math, 10,000 days is approximately 27 years. This track is 11 minutes and 16 seconds long. You get it.
Radiohead's Decade-in-Waiting Companion Piece to OK Computer?
When Radiohead struck critical and commercial paydirt with OK Computer in 1997, the decision was made to follow it up with the insular, electronic nightmare Kid A in 2000. Or was it? Upon the release of In Ranbows in 2007, people started noticing a lot of references to zeroes, ones and (especially) tens in regards to that album's relationship with OK Computer. For example, In Rainbows was released 10 years after OK Computer (on 10/10, no less), both albums' titles contain ten letters, and the original working title for OK Computer was Zeroes and Ones. That makes OK Computer 01 and In Rainbows 10. The idea is, crossfading the songs from the two albums into each other makes for 0110, a 90+ minute mega-album wherein the songs flow together regardless of the decade between them.
Whether happy coincidence or coldly calculated mindfuck, it's pretty cool to listen to.
The Abominable Brand New
Long respected in alt-indie circles as purveyors of super serious existential rock (and creators of The Devil and God Are Raging Inside of Me, no joke one of the favourite records of the past 15 years), it seems absolutely outrageous that the members of Brand New would disguise themselves as yetis and crank out auto-tuned sludge rock as PPL MVR. Yet, there are believers in a theory that the band has done just that. To date, no one has confirmed the identities of the trio, but several point to the fact that both bands' tour schedules seem to have coincided with each other (including performances on back-to-back days at the same festival last summer) as proof enough that Brand New lurks under those suits.
Personally, I remain Scully on this one; I'll wait for scientific evidence to guide my opinion. Still, it's fun to speculate on this and all the other great mysteries in rock. Reading fan theories, as far fetched as they sometimes can get, can be just as entertaining as the music itself. It's nice to see such passion and devotion on the part of fans, eagerly poring over every detail in search of the answers, knowing that the truth is, indeed, out there.
There are lots of interesting theories I haven't mentioned, and I'll reserve that for a possible future article. Have at it in the comments with your thoughts on these, and any other, theories out there.
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