# Whatever happened to the backwards track masking phenomenon?



## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

This was big news in the '80's and made it hard for a lot of us kids to listen to the bands we wanted because the media and special interest groups were brain washing our parents with nonsense about how Judas Priest, Led Zep, Ozzy etc were hiding messages in their songs and subconsciously programming us to go kill our parents, worship satan and commit suicide etc.

I haven't heard that sort of thing in decades now.
It just went silent.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

As I recall, Don Read, formerly at the University of Lethbridge, conducted a number of studies in the 80's (possibly in conjunction with John Vokey, who is still there) that kind of put the lie to all of that. Basically, what was consistently found was that people heard what they thought they were supposed to hearm (a bit like the mistaken "dirty" lyrics to _Louie Louie_ we all thought we heard in the 60's), and even when they used actual backward messages deliberately inserted, the best that participants could do is say "I _think_ I heard something that sounded sorta like Swedish".

So the reason why it vanished is because there ended up being nothing there in the first place.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

mhammer said:


> As I recall, Don Read, formerly at the University of Lethbridge, conducted a number of studies in the 80's (possibly in conjunction with John Vokey, who is still there) that kind of put the lie to all of that. Basically, what was consistently found was that people heard what they thought they were supposed to hearm (a bit like the mistaken "dirty" lyrics to _Louie Louie_ we all thought we heard in the 60's), and even when they used actual backward messages deliberately inserted, the best that participants could do is say "I _think_ I heard something that sounded sorta like Swedish".
> 
> So the reason why it vanished is because there ended up being nothing there in the first place.


ya it always sounded ridiculous to me:
1) the amount of effort it would take to place a message backwards in a song
2)that anyone could pickup that message subconsciously or otherwise
3)that even if it were there that it would impact anyones beliefs /actions.

its hard to believe that adults were that stupid not that long ago.
but if I recall, at the time, they had experts as well saying that all the above was possible.


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

Yeah, it's the same as the supposed demonic, sexual and other subliminal images supposedly placed in the ice cubes in drink ads in the 70s. Or like seeing the image of Jesus in cloud formations and burnt toast. I guess people see and hear what they want to see and hear. Any cop at the scene of a crime interviewing witnesses can tell you about that.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Diablo said:


> ya it always sounded ridiculous to me:
> 1) the amount of effort it would take to place a message backwards in a song
> 2)that anyone could pickup that message subconsciously or otherwise
> 3)that even if it were there that it would impact anyones beliefs /actions.
> ...


There was a time when the advertising industry was trying very hard to persuade potential clients about the value of placing subliminal messages in ads, whether it involved hidden sub-images within other images (like "sexy shapes" within the photo of a glass of scotch), or spoken messages interspersed with other content. At a very superficial level, it all made some degree of sense, given that associations ARE formed that we are not especially aware of. But there is a difference between content we ARE aware of, forming _associations_ we aren't aware of, and content itself that we didn't even perceive. For example, given news coverage over the past year, playing a game of word association, the first word that might come to mind when you hear the word "muzzled" might be "scientists" (or "Islamic" triggering "state"). You might not be aware that the association was so strong, but you certainly read/heard the word "muzzled" when you encountered it, and were at least vaguely aware that you were reading/hearing it at the time, even if you could not sense the association being formed. Cripes, "Match Game" is based on those sorts of associations.

The premise underlying the subliminal message thing was that someone could slip something by you that you were not even the _teensiest_ bit aware of happening. There are certain conditions where that can be, but commercials and backwards satanic messages ain't one of them.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

ELO used a couple of backwards snippets in songs on their Face the Music album. I remember "Face the Magic Waterfall" and "The music is reversible but time is not" buried in a couple tunes when you turned it backwards at 33RPM. I'm sure it was just Jeff Lynne having some fun in the studio. Certainly nothing evil.

Didn't it all start with the Beatles "Paul is Dead" stuff?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Holy doodle. Can't believe that I rmembered it this accurately. Here's the research I cited: http://www.d.umn.edu/~rvaidyan/mktg4731/subliminal.pdf


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I tried spinning my MP3 stick backwards. You're right; all I got was silence.:smile-new:


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

Steadfastly said:


> I tried spinning my MP3 stick backwards. You're right; all I got was silence.:smile-new:


It does have to spin at exactly 33 1/3 RPM to hear it, you know.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Of course most bands have enough trouble saying something that makes sense forwards. let alone backwards


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

iirc judas priest actually did do a back wards mask on one album, that said "drink your milk" or something to that effect


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## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

Sneaky said:


> Didn't it all start with the Beatles "Paul is Dead" stuff?


A classic "Paul is Dead" clue is in the end of Strawberry Fields Forever. It sounds like John is saying "I buried Paul". 

There are alternate mixes however where you can clearly hear that John is saying "Cranberry Sauce". 

One of the many "clues" in the artwork for Sgt. Pepper is in the inside band photo. A patch is sewn on Paul's jacket which people believed read, "O.P.D." an acronym for "Officially Pronounced Dead".

Anyone from Ontario will quickly recognize the patch is actually that of the O.P.P. (Ontario Provincial Police).


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

mhammer said:


> Holy doodle. Can't believe that I *rmembered *it this accurately.


Unfortunately, you didn't remember how to spell remember.
Sorry, couldn't resist!

Cheers

Dave


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

bluzfish said:


> Yeah, it's the same as the supposed demonic, sexual and other subliminal images supposedly placed in the ice cubes in drink ads in the 70s.


Reminds me of the 'sex' Pepsi cans back in the 80's...


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

cheezyridr said:


> iirc judas priest actually did do a back wards mask on one album, that said "drink your milk" or something to that effect


ahahaha...didn't know that. Good for them!

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hardasmum said:


> A classic "Paul is Dead" clue is in the end of Strawberry Fields Forever. It sounds like John is saying "I buried Paul".
> 
> There are alternate mixes however where you can clearly hear that John is saying "Cranberry Sauce".
> 
> ...


huh...that IS an OPP patch.
That's so random.
This should be posted in the Frank gervais thread as clearly they are impersonating a special division of the OPP


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