The event was held until mid-July, but I’ll write about it before I forget!
Following Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” this is the well-known Pink Floyd masterpiece “The Dark Side of the Moon,” which boasts the third-highest album sales of all time.
On February 27, 1973, the record label reportedly held a press conference at a London planetarium to introduce this new album, “The Dark Side of the Moon.” Presented against the planetarium’s starry backdrop, the album made a profound impression on reporters, launching its massive success. In the UK, one in five households owned it, and it spent an astonishing 741 consecutive weeks on the Billboard charts, recording over 50 million worldwide sales to date.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of this historic masterpiece, which dramatically explores themes such as “madness,” “loneliness,” and “the passage of time,” a high-volume screening featuring the latest planetarium technology was also held in Japan.
For me, a Kobe resident, I was lucky that the venue was the Bando Kobe Youth Science Museum in Kobe Port Island. It is a facility operated by Bando Chemical Industries Ltd., which is headquartered in Kobe and manufactures industrial belts and other products.
On the day of the event, when I arrived at the Youth Science Museum, I saw a strange queue of seniors who looked like progressive rock fans, ignoring the children who had come to see the planetarium and exhibits on science and space.
Konica Minolta Planetarium
It had been a long time since I last visited a planetarium, and the projector at the center had a state-of-the-art design completely different from the ones I had seen before, which piqued my curiosity. I sank into a seat that reclined far enough to sleep and waited for the screening to begin.
While waiting, faint images like these were projected.
There were also sofa-style relaxation seats for couples.
The room went dark, that iconic intro starting with a heartbeat filled the air, and the screening finally began. The entire album was played in 5.1-channel surround sound, and the visuals unfolding in every direction in sync with the music were absolutely breathtaking! Furthermore, the visuals were far higher resolution than any planetarium I had seen before, featuring immersive CG with astronauts, space stations, and mystical textures. Unlike a movie theater, the sheer volume of visual information completely exceeding my field of vision overwhelmed me. Completely dominated by sight and sound, it felt like a slight trip to space or through time!
Listening to “The Dark Side of the Moon” in full at high volume for the first time in ages, it was still beyond reproach. Far from feeling dated, it was so perfect that it made me think that perhaps only now, half a century later, had it become possible to create visuals worthy of it, completing the work.
This YouTube video doesn’t convey even five percent of the appeal of the planetarium.
It felt as though Pink Floyd had provided the best official viewing experience outside of live performances. It was one of the best 44 minutes I’ve experienced in the last decade of cultural experiences!
Thank you for your hard work, operator.
I would love to experience works by other artists in a planetarium like this too!
https://www.stradarecords.jp
