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Senior Member
Posts: 1,266
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Houston, TX
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03-23-2004, 10:25 PM
Just found this:
[quote:b3e36]
Are there backwards messages in "Stairway To Heaven"?
You're far from the first to ask. This rumor has persisted ever
since a California committee of parents and religious leaders set
out to prove that rock music was leading our children down the
path to the devil. For reasons still unknown to rational minds,
they decided to play some albums backwards, and professed to hear
all sorts of messages in songs like Queen's "Another One Bites The
Dust," anything and everything by Styx and ELO, Rush's "Anthem,"
the Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown," Skynyrd's "Freebird," The
Eagles' "Hotel California," and most notably the (at that point)
most-requested rock song of all time, Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To
Heaven."
A definition is useful here -- "backmasking" is the process of
either: 1) recording a backwards message on a track meant to be
played forwards, or 2) the "hiding" of messages within forward
phrases so that, when played backwards, another phrase is revealed.
So does backmasking exist? Andy Johns, the producer of _IV_,
says that not only is "backmasking" a myth, but that there was no
such nonsense while he was present. Certainly, since the advent
of the "backmasking" scandal, groups such as ELO and Pink Floyd
have used the technique to poke fun at people who would actually
play records backwards. Most of the bands named in such
accusations tend to ignore the outcry, for as Jones commented in
_Rolling Stone_, there's absolutely no arguing someone out of
something they really want to believe. But the idea of
backmasking is uniformly considered ludicrous by musicians and
producers alike, and they're the ones that would be responsible
for the process.
Despite the denials of the people involved, let's assume that
these messages do exist. Are they effective? If they were
subliminal messages played _forward_, then scientists agree that
the brain could and would process the information. But
scientists are also convinced that the brain cannot decipher
backwards information unless it is specifically engaged for that
purpose. Therefore, even if backmasking _did_ exist, it would be
useless. So much for Satanic intent.
And specifically, as regards "Stairway To Heaven" -- there are
many messages that various groups have claimed to hear while
playing the song backwards, but the most uniformly cited is the
phrase "Here's to my sweet Satan." Not all listeners that hear
backward phrases are in agreement here, however, and not even
close to all who hear the song backwards hear any message at all.
Many of those who do hear "something" dismiss it as a mere
phonetic coincidence. And few of those who _do_ hear the actual
message were unaware of the accusations against Zeppelin and
"Stairway To Heaven" before they listened to the song. Therefore,
overwhelming evidence supports the conclusion that such messages
do not exist, and if they did they would be useless, and even if
they weren't they are almost assuredly accidents aided by the
power of suggestion. But still, this rumor will not die.
Often, a listener will comment, "I heard the message, and it's
really there, but I think it's just an accident." This is faulty
reasoning. If the message is a phonetic accident, then the message
is not really "there"--instead, a series of sounds that are _similar_
to the phrase "here's to my sweet Satan" are all that are embedded in
the lyrics. If the message _is_ really there, then it cannot be an
accident, for a phonetic reversal of the lyrics ("There's still time
to change the road you're on") does not produce the correct vowel and
consonant sounds (even _given_ Plant's pronunciation) for the phrase
in question. So unless one believes that the message is there on
purpose (despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary), one
_must_ conclude that the message is not "there"--purposefully or
accidentally.
Perhaps it is relevant to note that the same committee that found
"STH" to be Satanic in nature also claimed that the theme song
from the "Mr. Ed" TV show is full of Satanic messages when played
backwards.
When first presented with the charge, Swan Song issued this
statement: "Our turntables play in only one direction." Shortly
thereafter, Plant noted "...negativity of any kind is best ignored.
Even asking that question encourages this kind of negative
speculation. How could anyone sing backwards? It's complete
bunkum--it can't be done. Only Americans would come up with
something that ridiculous. [...] Why don't people take up swimming
or squash if they're bored?"
Several years later, in a _Rolling Stone_ interview, the three
surviving members of Zeppelin (assembled for interviews about the
first boxed set) had this to say:
Page: "Well, I don't pass any comments on them..."
Plant: "I mean, who on earth would have ever thought of doing that
in the first place? You've got to have a lot of time on
your hands to even consider that people would do that.
Especially with 'Stairway To Heaven.' I mean, we were so
proud of that thing, and its intentions are so positive...
I found it foul, the whole idea...but it's very American.
Nowhere else in the world has anybody ever considered it,
or been concerned or bothered at all about that. I figure
if backward masking really worked, every album in the store
would have 'Buy this album!' hidden on it."
Page: "You've got it, you've hit the nail on the head. And that's
all there is to say about it."
Jones: "Of course it's fatal, you know, because you tend to wind
these people up after a while. If you go around saying,
'Oh yes, if you play track eight at thirty-six rpm, you'll
definitely hear a message,' they'll go right home and try
it. English bands tend to be more ironic and sarcastic,
and once they discovered the average lack of American irony
and humour, it's just sitting ducks, really. You just sort
of have to go for it."
[/quote:b3e36]
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