ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu (Andy Bates) (01/18/90)
I recently got Led Zeppelin IV (Runes) on CD, and I had a few questions
about the "Backmasking" on "Stairway to Heaven"
1. Does anyone know if the band PURPOSELY put the backwards lyrics on
there, or did someone just play it backwards and pick out a few
semi-clear words?
2. If the backwards lyrics (read: prayer to Satan) were intentional, does
anyone know if Zeppelin were serious about it?
3. Can anyone tell me what the EXACT backwards lyrics are supposed to be?
All I could pick out was "My sweet Satan..."
4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking?
This just interested me since I got this album, so please post or e-mail any
info you have. Thanks a lot!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Bates "You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street,
or sticking your face in a fan." -- Lieutenant Frank Drebin
ambates@ames.arc.nasa.gov or ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------john@stat.tamu.edu (John S. Price) (01/18/90)
In article <6497@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu () writes: >4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking? > >This just interested me since I got this album, so please post or e-mail any >info you have. Thanks a lot! > I actually didn't know that "Stairway" had any backmasking, but that's beside the point. I know of a few bands that have used on one occasion or another. Alot of this I got at a Christian Brainwashing Camp one summer. There is a song called "Number Nine" (I think, by the beatles?) that if you play the chorus backwards, it says something about Satan. Pink Floyd, the Wall has some backward masking on it, although it is a joke. During the song "Empty Spaces," there is some garbled lyrics, that, if you play backwards says "Congratualtions. You have found the secret message. (something else I can't remember)" It was a parody of all the backward masking stuff that went on some years back. The eagles, on hotel califorina, although I can't remember what songs... Great White's first album. it says on the jacket "Warning: This record contains uncomplimentary references to occultists and has backwards masking." Although I haven't verified this fact. That all that I know of... > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Andy Bates "You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, > or sticking your face in a fan." -- Lieutenant Frank Drebin > ambates@ames.arc.nasa.gov or ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Price | Morals define our path through life, john@stat.tamu.edu | And everyone's path is different... - Me --------------------------------------------------------------------------
g4r@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Andy Burnett) (01/18/90)
In article <6497@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu () writes: >1. Does anyone know if the band PURPOSELY put the backwards lyrics on >there, or did someone just play it backwards and pick out a few >semi-clear words? > According to an interview I heard with Plant and Page, they wrote the lyrics for Stairway in about 45 minutes one evening in front of a crackling fire. No backmasking or hidden messages intended. >3. Can anyone tell me what the EXACT backwards lyrics are supposed to be? >All I could pick out was "My sweet Satan..." > As with most 'satanic backmasking messages' one hears what one want's to hear. I have heard the song played backward's and I could discern no intelligible message, what-so-ever. Oh, well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Andy Burnett | The more things change, the more | g4r@mentor.cc.purdue.edu | they stay insane. | ----------------------------------------------------------------------
jeremy@milton.acs.washington.edu (Jeremy York) (01/18/90)
In article <6497@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu () writes: >4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking? There's an evil song by the Bears on their first album where there's backwards masking that says "Bears like to eat at Joe's" or something satanic like that. The Beatles did a hymn to Lucifer, I think it's called "Rain", where John Lennon sings the chorus of the song backwards towards the end. I heard he was tripping and listening to some demo tapes on a reel-to-reel, and he put the tape on backwards and thought it sounded pretty neat. There's also a backwards message between (I think) Piggies and Blackbird on the White album, where they admit that Paul McCartney is dead. Paul was crucified in a gory ritual in which they called Lucifer and demanded that he create the evil Hunter S. Thompson and unleash him upon an unsuspecting world. Famed Satinist, Communist, and devourer of small babies Frank Zappa included a song on the album Them Or Us where all of the backwards were vocals. It was called "Ya Hozna." He also reversed the lyrics for the version of "No Not Now" on Thing-Fish, making it into the insidiously evil "Won-ton On". Finally, lest you think that this is something that isn't done by popular bands anymore, Debbie Gibson's "Electric Youth" album is masking backwards of full. In part of it, she describes how to trade the soul of your firstborn for a shiny red Fiat. I could go on and on, but I think that these examples should prove that rock musicians are an evil and hideous lot who want nothing more than to poison the minds of youth (remember that kid who hung himself after listening to an Ozzie song about suicide?!?). Just remember, "rock n roll" backwards is "llorn kcor" (ancient turkish name for the devil). ude.notgnihsaw.tats.enahhalk@ymerej
canuhed@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Dylan Salisbury) (01/18/90)
In article <6497@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu () writes: >I recently got Led Zeppelin IV (Runes) on CD, and I had a few questions >about the "Backmasking" on "Stairway to Heaven" > >1. Does anyone know if the band PURPOSELY put the backwards lyrics on >there, or did someone just play it backwards and pick out a few >semi-clear words? > >2. If the backwards lyrics (read: prayer to Satan) were intentional, does >anyone know if Zeppelin were serious about it? I understand that at one point, Jimmy Page was seriously into the teachings of Alister Crowley (sp?). Some would say that these beliefs border on satism, >4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking? Like Pink Floyd's backmask that parodied the uproar in backwards messages a while ago, Weird Al Yankovic has a song that, when played backwards, says "Satan Eats Cheeze Whiz". I'm not sure which song. >This just interested me since I got this album, so please post or e-mail any >info you have. Thanks a lot! I bought this album less then a week ago myself, and hadn't heard of the messages on Stairway To Heaven until I read your post. I'm also a Beatles fan and heard about the message on one of their songs and would like to hear it myself, so... Can anyone recommend a good way to hear a non-vinyl recording backwards, without serious rewiring of household appliances? Dylan Salisbury Mister Canoehead canuhed@ucscb.ucsc.edu
jeremy@milton.acs.washington.edu (Jeremy York) (01/18/90)
In article <7288@lindy.Stanford.EDU> canuhed@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Dylan Salisbury) writes: >In article <6497@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu () writes: > >>[naive reaction to the insidious backmasking on Led Zeppelin 4, etc] >>This just interested me since I got this album, so please post or e-mail any >>info you have. Thanks a lot! > >I bought this album less then a week ago myself, and hadn't heard of the >messages on Stairway To Heaven until I read your post. Have you guys been hiding under a rock or something? Everyone knows that Zep used to sacrifice a goat before a show and smear themselves with its blood and fat before giving a performance. They would read the entrails of the goat to find out their playlist for the night. >Can anyone recommend a good way to hear a non-vinyl recording backwards, >without serious rewiring of household appliances? I used to have a walkman that did this very nicely. It was a rather delicate operation, however. Start with an auto-reverse walkman. Put it in the bottom of your backpack, and then stuff it full of books. Carry it in there for several days, seeking opportunities to set the backpack down roughly etc. Now drop it onto a hard wood floor, whilst burning black candles and reciting the words "Driving Me Backwards" by Eno. It should now play side A backwards when it should be reverse-playing side B. jeremy@klahhane.stat.washington "look, here, brother -- who you jivin' with that cosmik debris?"
dauber@dtg.nsc.com (Jeff Dauber) (01/19/90)
In article <4098@helios.TAMU.EDU> john@stat.tamu.edu (John S. Price) writes: >In article <6497@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu () writes: > >There is a song called "Number Nine" (I think, by the beatles?) that >if you play the chorus backwards, it says something about Satan. > Jeez, the song is Revolution No 9. Yes it is the Beatles. The backmasking is as follows. if you say "Number Ni-yun" it sounds (in reverse) like "Turn me on dead man". It is not about Satan, but it is a phenomena which is repeatable at home. (wow that was a poor sentence!) There is other reverse work in the song as well, but none is noticable. My favorite backward recording is in "Bird" by B.A.L.L. (from the album of the same name). There is a beautiful female voice singing in reverse "He does not have time for me". It is very beautiful. There is also "Deboraarobed" by Tyrannosaurus Rex which is the same song forwards, then backwards. Also "Fire on High" by ELO, etc. Jeff -23-
jeremy@milton.acs.washington.edu (Jeremy York) (01/19/90)
Another one that comes to mind is Eno's "T'zima N'arki" on the LP with Cluster. The lyrics are all backwards. The verses, when played forwards, convey a a quiet ennui; in between verses is the chorus from "King's Lead Hat". jeremy@klahhane.stat.washington.edu
usenet@cps3xx.UUCP (Usenet file owner) (01/19/90)
In article <1990Jan18.212050.8538@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> jb10320@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Jawaid Bazyar) writes: > Jimmy Page (and indeed Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple) is an admitted >Satanist. In fact he lives in England in the house of Alistair Crowley, >author of the first witchcraft manual of the modern age (written sometime in >the 1800s). I don't believe any of the other Zeppelin members were directly >involved in this, but Page certainly had to have had some effect on them. Wait a sec here...Just where do you have proof that Page has addmitted being a Satanist? In the Rockline show he did last year he very obviously makes fun of the whole idea of his supposed link to the occult. Page is a collector of Crowley artifacts, something that's sorta strange and weird, but that doesn't mean he believes the same things Crowley did. For example, I collect all the Zep stuff I can get my hands on, but that doesn't mean I worship them, or support everything they ever did. If I found undeniable proof that they were Satanic, I still wouldn't throw out the stuff I have. OWNING THE WORKS OF A FOLLOWER OF THE OCCULT DOES NOT MEAN ONE FOLLOWS THE WAYS OF THE OCCULT. Page is a very eccentric man with some peculiarities, but that does not make him a Satanist. +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Jef Skindzier | | skindzie@frith.egr.msu.edu skindzier@msuegr.BITNET | | | | "I'm packin' my bags for the Misty Mountains. Over the Hills where the | | spirits fly. - LZ | | ...Whadaya mean they don't have cable t.v. there !? | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+
chris@ucselx.sdsu.edu (chris) (01/19/90)
In article <1448@milton.acs.washington.edu> jeremy@klahhane.stat.washington.edu (Kory Ymerej) writes: >In article <6497@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu () writes: >>4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking? > >There's an evil song by the Bears on their first album where there's backwards >masking that says "Bears like to eat at Joe's" or something satanic like that. > Robert Frip did some backmaskung on one of his albums, the messag was "one thing is for certain, sheep are not animals of the air."
friedman@hydroplane.cis.ohio-state.edu (mark f friedman) (01/19/90)
In article <1990Jan19.031234.896@ucselx.sdsu.edu> chris@ucselx.sdsu.edu (chris) writes: >In article <1448@milton.acs.washington.edu> jeremy@klahhane.stat.washington.edu (Kory Ymerej) writes: >In article <6497@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu () writes: >>4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking? >There's an evil song by the Bears on their first album where there's backwards >masking that says "Bears like to eat at Joe's" or something satanic like that. The Bears? Like "Raisins + Belew = Bears"? Are you talking about the part on "Man behind the Curtain" that sounds kinda like "Wah weeshnoo - Wah weeshnoo - Wah weeshnoo ..."? I never could figure it out... >Robert Frip did some backmaskung on one of his albums, the messag was >"one thing is for certain, sheep are not animals of the air." Is this a quote/reference to Monty Python's "Flying Sheep" skit? (from the first episode, I believe...) +-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+ |"Talk talk it's only talk... | Mark Friedman (a REAL musician) | | Babble, berble, banter - - - | is | | bicker bicker bicker bicker | K l o n e C r i m s o n ! | | Brouhaha, balderdash and ballyoo! | | | Well, it's only talk...." | friedman@cis.ohio-state.edu | +-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+
cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn) (01/19/90)
$>4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking?
The only one I can add to the list is a Styx album (I'm pretty sure
it's Kilroy Was Here, but I don't have a copy handy). There's a very
ominous sounding message which, when played backwards, turns out to be
something inocuous in Latin.
--
Stephen M. Dunn cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca
<std_disclaimer.h> = "\nI'm only an undergraduate!!!\n";
****************************************************************************
"I want to look at life - In the available light" - Neil Peartcs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn) (01/19/90)
In article <25B6B4FF.3112@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn) writes:
$$>4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking?
$ The only one I can add to the list is a Styx album (I'm pretty sure
Aw, how could I forget? What a hosehead! Bob and Doug Mackenzie's
_Great White North_ album includes a backwards passage, too ... and they
tell you to play that part backwards, and it is in fact just more hoser
dialogue. Nothing that's any more warped than the rest of the album,
though.
--
Stephen M. Dunn cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca
<std_disclaimer.h> = "\nI'm only an undergraduate!!!\n";
****************************************************************************
"I want to look at life - In the available light" - Neil Peartain14922@merrimack.edu (01/19/90)
In article <4098@helios.TAMU.EDU>, john@stat.tamu.edu (John S. Price) writes: > I know of a few bands that have used on one occasion or another. > Alot of this I got at a Christian Brainwashing Camp one summer. > > There is a song called "Number Nine" (I think, by the beatles?) that > if you play the chorus backwards, it says something about Satan. Looks like the xtian brainwashing camp did its job :-) The Beatles song you refer to is called "Revolution 9." It contains about 1,000,000 backwards noises, mostly sound effects but also some voices which are, as far as I'm concerned, far too garbled to make any sense whatsoever. I have heard it backwards and, to tell the truth, I could hardly tell the difference. > > Pink Floyd, the Wall has some backward masking on it, although it > is a joke. During the song "Empty Spaces," there is some garbled > lyrics, that, if you play backwards says > "Congratualtions. You have found the secret message. (something else > I can't remember)" Just for completeness, the rest of it goes "...send your answer to Old Pink, care of the funny farm, Chalfont." It is a reference to original band member Syd Barrett. This message is actually quite clear. -- Douglas D. Linder AIN14922@merrimack.edu Merrimack College, N. Andover, MA {uunet,wang,ulowell}!samsung!hubdub!ain14922 Black Knight: "I'm Invincvible!!!" Arthur: "You're a looney!"
g4r@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Andy Burnett) (01/19/90)
>>In article <6497@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> ccm020@deneb.ucdavis.edu () writes: >4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking? It seems as though no one has mentioned the backmasking on The Wall, by Floyd. It occurs in the intro to the song "Empty Spaces." I think the message goes something like "Congratulations, you have found old Pink. Send your answer to the Farm ..." and the the song comes in and obscures the address that is given. Anybody know what the exact message is? --------------------------------------------------------- | Andy Burnett | The more things change, | | g4r@mentor.cc.purdue.edu | the more they stay | | | insane. | ---------------------------------------------------------
jeremy@milton.acs.washington.edu (Jeremy York) (01/20/90)
In article <18329.25b6fb58@merrimack.edu> ain14922@merrimack.edu writes: >In article <4098@helios.TAMU.EDU>, john@stat.tamu.edu (John S. Price) writes: >> There is a song called "Number Nine" (I think, by the beatles?) that >> if you play the chorus backwards, it says something about Satan. > > The Beatles song you refer to is called "Revolution 9." It contains about >1,000,000 backwards noises, mostly sound effects but also some voices which >are, as far as I'm concerned, far too garbled to make any sense whatsoever. Huh? Play it backwards, and listen very carefully to the left channel. You'll be able to hear the sounds from the frantic operating room where they tried (unsuccesfully) to save Paul McCartney's life. Conventional wisdom is that McCartney was decapitated in a car accident ("he blew his mind out in a car"), but the actual truth, as I posted before, is that he was sacrificed to the devil in a gory drug-inspired ritual. Don't you people know anything? jeremy@klahhane.stat.washington.edu
bdb@becker.UUCP (Bruce Becker) (01/20/90)
In article <25B6B5FC.3262@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn) writes: |In article <25B6B4FF.3112@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> cs4g6ag@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Stephen M. Dunn) writes: |$$>4. Does anybody know of any other groups that have used backmasking? |$ The only one I can add to the list is a Styx album (I'm pretty sure | | Aw, how could I forget? What a hosehead! Bob and Doug Mackenzie's |_Great White North_ album includes a backwards passage, too ... and they |tell you to play that part backwards, and it is in fact just more hoser |dialogue. Nothing that's any more warped than the rest of the album, |though. Also all of Debbie Boone's albums contain backward masking. Hey, like take off, eh -- ,,,, Bruce Becker Toronto, Ont. w \$$/ Internet: bdb@becker.UUCP, bruce@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu `/c/-e BitNet: BECKER@HUMBER.BITNET _/ >_ "Money is the root of all money" - Adam
jeremy@rpp386.cactus.org (Jeremy S. Anderson) (01/20/90)
In article <7288@lindy.Stanford.EDU> canuhed@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Dylan Salisbury) writes: >Can anyone recommend a good way to hear a non-vinyl recording backwards, >without serious rewiring of household appliances? The best thing I could suggest is to locate a reel-to-reel recorder. (don't go looking for a new one -- you likely can't afford it) Since most of the units I've ever used aren't polarized with regard to the direction the tape is threaded, you'll have no problem running things backwards. If you're as mechanically adept as I, you will likely do so setting the unit up! A good quality reel-to-reel may be purchased used for $200-300. If the musician pawning it was hungry enough, it may be had more cheaply than that. -- Jeremy S. Anderson Interzone Technologies | jeremy@rpp386.cactus.org (aka white hacker with a side hustle) | who else would take claim to these UNIX & OS/2 mangled dirt cheap | opinions?
canuhed@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Dylan Salisbury) (01/20/90)
Well, I managed to turn around the magnetic head in my portable tape player,
so it picks up the image from the "back side" of a tape while it plays forward.
I haven't listened to "Stairway to Heaven" yet, but I did manage to find the
"I am the Bible, please spit on me" section of the Battle of Evermore. The
"I am the Bible" part is very clear. It seems very unlikely that it would have
ended up that way by accident. I hope someday I'll be able able to listen to
the songs I like on this album without thinking about this...
--
___________
/___________\ Mister Dylan Salisbury And to my cat,
/#\ Canoehead canuhed@ucscb.ucsc.edu Mittens, I bestow
/ \ my entire, vast...