By: Doug Valeri
A song is anything that walks by itself.
-Bob Dylan
Which is more musical: a truck passing by a factory or a truck passing by a music school?
-John Cage
When we separate music from life we get art
-John Cage

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Weird Music - Backmasking and Reverse Speech (Not Theme-Genre)

To preface all of these claims, notice how all of them have to deal with either sometime taboo in society, the devil, or something illegal. Not one of these hidden messages are about positive values or something in the least bit happy. Also, a lot of the claims are up for debate. Once someone tells you that something is there, obviously your ears are going to be automatically tuned to look for those. The gibberish in speech of children does make me think that they are speaking backwards and I would be interested in conducting and experiment in recording a baby and playing it backwards to see what happens.

1.The Beatles's song - "Help" }
2.Paul McCartney - "Band On The Run" }
In the songs, you can almost definitely hear the whole word "marijuana" and it is clear from their drug use at the time that the Beatles would take the time and effort to make something so small able to be heard at a later date. It is coincidence though that he did get "banished" years after the song was made. However, I think these are more backmasking than reverse speech, just for the sheer fact of the excessive drug use. }
3.Cheap Trick - "Gonna Raise Hell"
It was easy to hear the "keys" and "lock" in the song. I believe this is more reverse speech, and it wasn't put their by the band, even if it does relate directly to the title of the song ("Hell").
4.George Harrison - "Here comes the Sun"
The "he needs this mystery girl" is a tough one. Like Kefor described to me, it could be about the Clapton/Layla saga. However, I think it could also be a reference to Yoko Ono and Lennon. This one is probably reverse speech as well.
5.Judas Priest - ""Beyond the Realms Of Death"
This one sounds more like backmasking.
6.Queen - "Another one bites the dust"
This pretty much ruined one of my favorite Queen songs. This is definitely a case of reverse speech. If you listen close enough to the song forward you can actually hear it when they play it backwards clear as day. The way he sings it, almost planned but not really, sounds like the words depicted in reverse.
7.Britney Spears - "One more time"
This one is definitely reverse speech. Most likely a guy was just fantasizing one day and decided, "wouldn't it be cool if she was saying that". You can definitely hear it but I don't think it was put there intentionally.
8.The Eagles - "Hotel California"
Could be either or. However, I believe this could be backmasking.
9.Styx
This one is reverse speech. Styx wasn't cool enough to do this on purpose.
10.Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven"
Obviously the most well known evidence of this theory. Obviously this is Backmasking at its finest. The whole song can be accounted for as a proclamation in contrast to the meaning of the song. Since the whole song is about getting into heaven, it is appropriate that the whole idea backwards is about hell.

http://www.reversespeech.com/music_reversals.htm

2 comments:

egrasso10 said...

MMMM, MMM, MMM, was a huge hit... But i could onyl buy one CD that day in the early 90's at Lechmere and it was Dave Matthews Band .. Under the table and dreaming.. I am glad I picked that one

Kayla T. said...

Even though this has nothing to do with your theme genre, I love your paragraph explaining it all. Very nice. The whole backmasking and reverse speech thing kin d of creeped me out, yet it was really cool at the same time. Yupp. I just thought I'd share that with you. =)

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  • 99 Luftballons - Nena
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  • Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer
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  • Breakfast at Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something
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  • Jump Around - House of Pain
  • Lovefool - The Cardigans
  • Mambo No. 5 - Lou Bega
  • Missing (Terry Todd Mix) - Everything but the Girl
  • Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight
  • Pac-Man Fever - Buckner and Garcia
  • Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
  • Pop Muzik - M
  • Puttin' on the Ritz - Taco
  • Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
  • Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
  • Save Tonight - Eagle-Eye Cherry
  • She's So High - Tal Bachman
  • Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand - Primitive Radio Gods
  • Tainted Love - Soft Cell
  • The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace
  • Theme from Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not) - Joey Scarbury
  • Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
  • What is Love - Haddaway