This review has been placed here because I could not find any other apt place for it .
I am writing this with relation only to western music, I wonder if anyone found any back masking hints in Indian music?
A backward message otherwise, known as back masking is a supposed message hidden in an audio recording that is revealed by playing it backwards. Thus it requires audio equipment with this facility, either built-in, or in the case of a gramophone record, by turning it backward by hand.(A Wav player is very effective too).
Critics of Rock and Roll have occasionally claimed that rock musicians have recorded backward messages about sex drugs, death, and blasphemy into their songs, in order to disseminate a message to dedicated fans that might not otherwise be transmittable. It is further occasionally claimed that these messages can be perceived subconsciously, simply by listening to the audio played normally.
From this speculation, it is further suggested that audio can contain subliminal commands that entice their listeners to commit acts of violence or simply drive them to irrational behavior. The general population(especially among fans of rock-and-roll music) usually scoffs at the idea that hidden commands are recorded in rock music.
Back masking had its roots with The Beatles. Just prior to the band’s break-up in 1970, The Paul Is Dead rumor started with a series of events in the 1960s that led fans of the popular rock band to believe that bassist Paul McCartney was actually dead and replaced with a look-alike.
One album in particular, The Beatles- White Album was said to contain backwards messages such as’Paul is dead, man, miss him, miss him.’ and’turn me on, dead man, turn me on, dead man.’
The most famous alleged backward message in a rock and roll song is based on a lyric from the song Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin when the words’If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow - there’s still time to change the road you’re on’ are played backwards, the resulting noise is a garbled phrase that some claim is actually the phrase’here’s to my sweet Satan.
The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan. He’ll give you 666, there was a little tool shed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.’
The Eagles Hotel California supposedly contains a backward message from the opening lyrics that goes’Satan, he organized his own religion.well, he knows he should.so nice it was delicious.it cooks it in a vat he fixed for his son whom he gives away.’
Queen’s hit’ Another One Bites The Dust’ when played backwards sounds vaguely like’It’s fun to smoke marijuana.’
British heavy band Judas Priest was sued over suicide pact made by two schoolboys. The Judas Priest album contained hidden messages. The words’do it’ were alleged to be heard when the record was played backwards, and the letters S U I(supposedly for’suicide’) are in the sleeve artwork. Judas Priest members commented that if they wanted to insert subliminal commands in their music, killing their fans would be counterproductive, and they would prefer to insert the command’Buy more of our records’.
Even the song’Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ does not escape criticism. Supposedly, playing it backwards will supposedly result in one of the lines becoming’I wish there was no Allah’
There are many other artists associated with back masking include AC/DC, Styx, and Prince, and most heavy metal bands.
In fact recently I saw in an interview on Jimmy Page on TV, when questioned about the back masking on Stairway to heaven, he said at that time when they were recording the song they were too busy to bother about taking the trouble to put in something backward!
So do any MS members have anything to say on this?