Here’s an interesting little text file from 1983 that Jason Scott has in this vast archive of BBS files, backmask.txt, that delves into the history, technology, and social aspects of backmasking.
TV programs such as PRAISE THE LORD and THE 700 CLUB have propagated rumors of a satanic plot in the recording industry, no less, in which various albums conceal “backward-masked” demonic murmurings. If THAT sounds too spacey to be taken seriously, consider that it was the fundamentalist groups who were behind House Resolution 6363, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Robert K. Dornan (R., Calif.) in 1982 to label all suspect records: “WARNING: THIS RECORD CONTAINS BACKWARD MASKING THAT MAKES A VERBAL STATEMENT WHICH IS AUDIBLE WHEN THIS RECORD IS PLAYED BACKWARD AND WHICH MAY BE PERCEPTIBLE AT A SUBLIMINAL LEVEL WHEN THIS RECORD IS PLAYED FORWARD.” In February 1983, the Arkansas State Senate passed a similar record labeling bill by a vote of 86 to 0.
Many of the original rumours I heard about backmasking when I was a kid are in this file. It’s interesting to note that the claims of what exactly each songs says when played backwards has continued to evolve over the years.
Much along the lines of a famous musician being ignored while busking, how will people react to a famous artist’s painting (which might sell for millions under normal circumstances) when it is found in the street?
Klara.be did an experiment with Luc Tuymans. What if you take art out of its usual context and expose it in the street?
Hit play or watch at YouTube.
Perhaps the emphasis of how important Luc Tuyman happens to be goes on a bit long, but I’m a sucker for social experiments, so waiting for the actual experiment is worth it.
(Thanks Gary)
An article in the Boston Globe published today highlighted my backmasking page.
Remember that guy in high school who was always trying to tell you about the satanic messages hidden in “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin (below) if you played it backward? Turns out he was right. Or so says Jeff Milner, a graphic designer from Alberta, Canada, who has not only posted snippets of the song, and several others, in reverse, but also transcribed the alleged backward lyrics.
See the full article.
Lately I’ve been enjoying The Unofficial Wiretap podcast (feed). Today I listened to the November 25, 2007 episode: The New Josh, in which host Jonathan Goldstein interviews David John Oates, the world leader in Reverse Speech studies.
I’ve never been a believer in Freudian slips or subconscious communication, but it’s interesting to listen to Mr. Oates speculate that these kinds of behaviour happen all the time. It’s true that reverse speech sounds like a foreign language and can often even sound like English, but it would take an awful lot of research to convince me his results are anything more than a combination of coincidence and wishful thinking—nevertheless, listen to the interview and form your own opinion.
Back in February 2006, CBC’s The Hour made a road trip through Alberta. They interviewed me for a short segment about backmasking in which they featured my website.
For your viewing pleasure, here is the clip. (Just bear with me getting through the first 15 seconds).
The producer that arranged the interview gave me a DVD with this clip. She said she didn’t have any problem with me putting it on YouTube and now that the CBC regularly puts their content out on the web, I’m even more confident that this should be ok, copyright-wise. Nevertheless, please leave a comment if you notice the video taken offline.
During a segment of The Hour (one in which I was very lucky to be a part of) they showed a backwards clip of a man singing Stairway to Heaven in reverse. Here is some guy doing the same thing, but with a more patriotic song. All the activities he preforms are to add a little spice to the reverse section of the piece.
I don’t know if this would count as truly backmasking, but it’s close enough that some of you may find it interesting.
(via)
It took me a few days to get around to reversing the backwards message embedded in the I Am America (And So Can You) audiobook, but now that I have, let me just say, Stephen Colbert does not disappoint.
While complaining that seniors are from the library card generation, Stephen complains that “They don’t believe in buying multiple collector copies no matter what kind of rare, bizarre, or coded message appears in the first addition…” at which point (about 1:18 of track 3) the following audio is heard:
So there you go, proof positive that Stephen Colbert is a liberal and hates America.
About a year ago a producer from Fox 8 News emailed me and asked if I would be in Los Angeles anytime in the near future or if I knew of any backmasking experts that could help them do a report. I never heard back from them, and no, I never made the trip, but it looks like they found someone because here is their segment on backmasking.
Update: Old link down, try this one.
A couple of days ago I got a nice email from an author in the UK by the name of Anne Miller.
She wrote to let me know she had mentioned my website in her new book and to tell me a little something about it.
It sounds interesting, and I’m flattered to have been included.
Here’s what she wrote:
I’m referencing your backmasking site in my book The Myth of the Mousetrap: how to get your ideas adopted (and change the world), as a excellent example of the way that we force fit things to fit with what we expect…. This is one of the reasons why, when you tell people your brilliant idea, they ignore it, saying things like “we tried that years ago and it didn’t work” or “thats just like my idea”.See www.themythofthemousetrap.org for more info.
The book was published a couple of weeks ago by Cyan/Marshall Cavendish and is available in UK, N America and Australasia.
Anne
Thanks Anne!
They are doing an item tonight on hidden messages in music on the BBC show Fivelive. I chatted with one of the hosts/producers this morning about backmasking. Check it out if you have access to the BBC.
This YouTube clip is of a scene from “A Night at the Opera” with The Marx Brothers. To simulate a foreign language, lines of dialogue that were meant to sound foreign were reversed when the film was originally made. That is, the foreign language is just English played backwards.
It’s not too spectacular, in fact it’s just an honest translation of what the other characters asked him to say but here is the audio I reversed: A Night at the Opera Reversed.
(via)
I just finished installing a new wiki for anyone interested in the phenomena of backmasking. It’s called Wikiback. It’s the first wiki I’ve ever setup, but I’m hoping it will be a benefit to those looking for more information.
It hasn’t got a lot on it yet, but anyone interested in adding backmasking information is welcome to edit it.
The creators of the TV show Lost are often filling the shows with clues for the audience to figure out what the show is all about. I’ve never been able to follow the show—I guess that’s what happens if you try to jump in halfway through a season—but fans of the show may find this interesting.
In the scene where Karl is strapped to a chair in Room 23, there is a backwards message embedded in the audio. It’s pretty clear (at least in the reversed clip) and the person/people that made the clip wrote what it is your going to hear on the top of the clip, so no sense in saving it until after you’ve watched the video… the message, spoken by a woman, repeats the phrase, “Only fools are enslaved by time and space”.
Here is the scene forward and reverse:
And here is the same scene reversed with subtitle prompts:
I can’t vouch for the fact that the audio hasn’t been adjusted in any way.
Update: I checked the audio myself and it appears to be a legitimate reversal, though the audio was more clear in this version than in the version I flipped myself, but it was still there. (link to lost-s03e07-reversed-clip.mp3)
Otis F. Odder is reviving his 365 Days project on the WFMU Beware Of The Blog! He opens it with the complete recordings of the Michael Mills Satanic Messages Radio Show and the complete Beatles Forever recordings.
Previously: Michael Mills and the original 365 days project (at that time it was available only in excerpted form).
Youtube has a copy of the backmasking episode of The Paul & Jan Crouch Show. Paul Jr. plays clips from Rock and Roll music both forward and backward. Much like the examples on my backmasking page, the examples are hard to decipher until the listener is primed as to what he or she should be hearing.
The next part focuses on the album artwork and the symbols and general symbolism that musicians apparently use to promote a satanic agenda. It also talks about famous satanist Aleister Crowley.
Part 3 focuses on backmasking and gives examples of both intentional and non-intentional messages within Rock music.
Part four has more examples of backmasking and a little misdirection about what some psychologists believe about the human subconscious.
There’s actually two dangers, as far as backward masking. One is, yeah, I know a lot of kids play their albums backwards—more for a joke, but they get these messages. What’s even scarier and it’s still a little controversial, but I do have some documentation from psychologists that believe the subconscious mind is probably the most incredible computer ever… you know, God did a great job when he invented our self sub conscious. That’s why we don’t have to breath at night when we are sleeping, our subconscious takes over, that’s when it’s the most active and anything that’s stored in our subconscious forward can be recalled backwards just as easily and this again, backwards masking is a form or subliminal suggestion.
Part 4 continues with more examples and then ends with Stairway to Heaven. Paul Jr. takes a more extensive look at the song than just the little section I have posted on my page.
Part 5 continues with Stairway to Heaven. The lyrics that Paul Jr. describes are slightly different than the ones I hear and as a result, the ones he tells them to listen for, are the ones they hear.
I’m not trying to setup a straw man argument, but I found it interesting to learn that years later Paul Crouch Sr. would find himself in his own scandal involving a settlement to a former employee who accused Paul of sexually harassing him. (Wikipedia entry on Paul Crouch).