Backmasking is a recording technique where a message or sound is recorded, and then added to a track that is meant to be played forwards backwards. This is always done intentionally.
Phonetic reversal, on the other hand, is "speaking backwards" or reversing the phonemes of a word or phrase to create a new word or phrase. This can happen on purpose or entirely by accident. Even everyday speech can be reversed to reveal phonetically reversed "messages" so it is not uncommon for listeners to mistakenly identify "secret and subliminal messages" hidden in music tracks ranging from clues to a band member's death to pro-drug propaganda to satanic worship.
Some, notably youtube commenters and those with similar levels of intelligence, believe that backmasking and phonetic reversal are mind control techniques being used by the government or a sinister secret society to brainwash the population into buying more music/obeying those in power/perform rituals to release Satan from hell so that he may reign in darkness eternal.
These so called subliminal messages have even been used as an excuse for lawsuits. For example, in 1985, 2 men attempted suicide, one succeded and one slipped and blew the bottom half of his face off, and claimed that a hidden message in the Judas Priest song "Better by You, Better Than Me" was to blame. The surviving man claimed the two had made a suicide pact saying “We had been programmed. I knew I was going to do it. I was afraid. I didn’t want to die. It’s just as if I had no choice”. He succeded in killing himself three years later with pain killers. The parents of the man tried to sue Judas Priest, insisting it was their song that had driven the men to suicide. The suit was dismissed and became a target for mockery.
Research suggests that even if subliminal messages were in the music that we listen to, they would have no effect. The very idea is a fantasy that appeals to the irresponsible who want excuses for their actions and the actions of others.
No comments:
Post a Comment