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Dark Side of the Moon is an album. It's not about one song or the other. Find a quiet 45 minutes, sit down, put your headphones on, close your eyes and listen to it start to finish. If you get it, you get it. If not, there is absolutely nothing that anyone can say about it that will make you understand.

OP, how old are you? You've never heard dark side of the moon before?

Music is it's own language. You shouldn't need someone to tell you why something is enjoyable. Listen to it....

Try it and if you don't get it, I'd recommend hanging on to it and also to open up to the vast universe of music and checking out lot's more sounds. Cuz it's more fun to experience all the great music than to ignore it

I suppose people here could give you lists of music but best thing is to follow your ears.

Dark Side Of The Moon is the album that began my fascination with headphone listening. I was 14 years old and my sister's boyfriend was a huge Pink Floyd fan. I would listen to him play "The Wall" on my father's stereo, my teenage mind was blown. Eventually he dubbed a copy of his CD onto a blank cassette tape for me.

Around this time I found my father's copy of Dark Side Of The Moon on CD.
I've heard "Money" on the radio, but that was the only song I recognized from the disc. I put on my father's old Technics headphones (from the late 70's) and listened to Dark Side all the way through for the first time.

Headphones+Dark Room+Dark Side=audio nirvana. I couldn't even venture a guess how many times I've done that ritual.

I immediately realized that Dark Side was much better than The Wall, with or without headphones. For my 15th birthday I got a copy of the "Shine On" boxed set, still the best birthday present I've ever received.

Dark Side of the Moon came out at an interesting time. In the U.S. in 1973, a major market for Pink Floyd, obviously, the country's involvement in Vietnam was starting to wind down, plus there was the Watergate scandal, among other social factors, and people were protesting less and focusing more inward than outward -- and DSOTM is, if anything, a navel-gazing stoner classic, made even more of a personal experience when listening through headphones.

(Some will argue that 1973 was the culmination, musically, of the 1960's -- just at the dawn of the disco era, "big" and/or important albums were released by acts with a late 1960's vibe: DSOTM, Quadrophenia by the Who, Brothers and Sisters by the Allman Brothers, Goodby Yellow Brick Road by Elton John, Alladin Sane and Pin Ups by David Bowie, Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin, Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye, Innervisions by Stevie Wonder ... plus there were albums by newer acts such as Bob Marley, Steely Dan, Roxy Music, the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Paul Simon, John Lennon and Paul McCartney each released albums in 1973.)

The single on Dark Side of the Moon was "Money," but FM radio was breaking out commercially all over the country and gave the album excellent exposure ... sounds odd now, but until the early '70s, many FM stations were college-affiliated and played forms of rock music only at certain times of the day. In my home town, a large area that has since grown much larger, the one "real" rock AM station went off the air at sundown! The advent of "album rock" and commercialized FM rock radio coincided with DSOTM, and Pink Floyd's spectacular tours just added to the impact. Radio started playing "deep cuts," not just the single, and Pink Floyd (and others) benefitted.

End of history essay ... mostly, it was the then-novel sound effects, I think (plus dramatic song structures, fairly new to pop radio). But I would expect it to remain a headphone staple for a long time to come.

@Op: If it makes you feel any better... I didn't really get it either

DSOTM is one of my favourite albums. And not only because it's so well recorded, the music is just amazing as are the lyrics!

On a sidenote: How much better is the SACD Stereo version compared to the normal Redbook CD? Is it worth buying that one?

FYI, there's a dedicated Head-Fi "Music" forum. That's probably the appropriate place for all of the Music related threads.

"FYI, there's a dedicated Head-Fi "Music" forum. That's probably the appropriate place for all of the Music related threads."

Well, yes and no -- DSOTM relies so heavily on its atmospheric moods and effects, and it became such a headphone-listening icon (or cliche), that a good case can be made for a discussion of this particular album in the headphone forum, particularly considering the original question ("Why do people like Dark Side of the Moon so much on headphones?").

I've listened to several masters of DSotM on high end headphones, and I don't feel there's anything particularly "audiophile" about the sound quality, as compared to many other rock recordings of the same period. It's a decently well recorded studio album, and that's it. Nothing reference about it at all to my ears. As far as the music itself, sure it's a good record (more than a bit overplayed over the years, but that's neither here nor there).

It's not the sound quality that got it it's reputation, but all the details in the music. The thing is crammed with all sorts of sounds, most of which are meant to surround you, and headphones work perfectly for this.

Basically, it's an album that seems like it was made from the ground up for headphones, which usually isn't the case.

Most really involving albums are gapless CDs that flow continuously. It allows for no breaks or pauses and really sets you back. Sigur Ros comes to mind...

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o_O It's not a very good recording at all, and good headphones will reveal its flaws. It's a brilliant album, but theres nothing about it that is especially conducive to headphones. I'd rather hear it on speakers given the choice, and most headphones are much more revealing than necessary especially considering the recording quality.

jesse

Mystery solved.

That's the first time I ever heard anyone offer the opinion that Dark Side was not well recorded. I am not a musician, but it is a brilliant recording IMO. It was recorded at Abby Road Studio and Alan Parsons produced it. I currently own 3 versions on CD. I wish I still has my vinyl copy, or could find one in good condition--I'd buy a turntable just for it. I bought an SACD player for the sole purpose of hearing DSOTM in SACD. (I'm still waiting for my player to arrive so I can finally here the SACD layer). It is a magical album on headphones.

As others have said, DSOTM is a true album, not a group of songs. I have never intentionally listened to only one track on it, and cannot tolerate listening to it if it is not gapless.

I had plenty of good times back in the day "under the influence" listening to DSOTM, but I get much more enjoyment out of it now, totally sober, with better equipment.

The most amazing thing about the album to me is that it was recorded before anyone but NASA had a computer. There was some phenomenal creativity that went into creating that album.


It is without question my favorite "headphone" album.