Backward Masking, does anyone do it anymore?

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dodgeaspen

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I'm a huge fan of the 60' and 70's and was wondering if anyone still uses the back masking technique anymore? The sound and emotions it can provoke is intriguing to me. My band and I are doing a song called Emergency where I used back masking on the cymbals on the intro and 3rd chorus. I was also wondering if it is possible to do this on the pc. I have mentioned on several threads that it seems like cd's for the most part are just thrown together and mass produced for profit and the art of music is going by the wayside. Anyway, I was just curious.
 
Pretty much all recording software has a feature that lets you reverse the wav file so that it can be played backwards.
 
I only know of one song where there was intentional backwards masking...In "I am the walrus" John admited and confirmed the fact that Paul really died on November 14, 1964.
The ones in "Stairway to Heaven" was just Satan speaking to us.
 
dodgeaspen said:
I have mentioned on several threads that it seems like cd's for the most part are just thrown together and mass produced for profit and the art of music is going by the wayside.
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That's the most idiotic statement I've read here recently. Just because you don't like digital audio doesn't mean no one cares about production. Try your statement on ProSoundWeb and I'll watch them hand you your head on a platter (vinyl, if you like).

Also, the argument that because everybody isn't doing silly gimmicks like backwards masking means that music is all for profit now is even more idiotic. CDs have their own silly gimmicks; try the "hidden" track in the pregap at the start of a CD, for example. It's not Red Book compliant, but it's out there, go nuts :rolleyes:

Here's a long list of creative artists who care enough about their art to do it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregap
 
dogeaspen, are you just talking about tracking something backward (guitar, vox, cymbal splashes etc) or actual backmasking (concealing a verbal message in a song backwards intentionally for purposes of it's unconscious assimilation)?
i've always thought actual backmasking was questionable in terms of whether or not it actually exists. i thought the term was coined by religious groups and anti-rock zealots and i've heard very few undisputable examples.
i used to have a propaganda tape on backmasking. great stuff. the classics include: Revolution #9 ("turn me on dead man"), Another One Bites the Dust ("it's fun to smoke marijuana"), Stairway to Heaven ("oh here's to my sweet satan, the one whos little path would make me sad"), and the theme to Mr. Ed ("the source the source the source is the devil. the source the source the source is so hot").
 
mshilarious said:
That's the most idiotic statement I've read here recently. Just because you don't like digital audio doesn't mean no one cares about production. Try your statement on ProSoundWeb and I'll watch them hand you your head on a platter (vinyl, if you like).

Also, the argument that because everybody isn't doing silly gimmicks like backwards masking means that music is all for profit now is even more idiotic. CDs have their own silly gimmicks; try the "hidden" track in the pregap at the start of a CD, for example. It's not Red Book compliant, but it's out there, go nuts :rolleyes:

Here's a long list of creative artists who care enough about their art to do it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregap
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I'm happy I was able to amuse you. As far as not liking digital, that's true for the most part, however, I could care less if the production was done in analog, digital, or by little brown men from Uranus, I still feel that for the most part today's CD's are just thrown together. I listen to a wide variety of music and find the majority of it lacks character, feeling, or pizazz it once had back in the day. That's what I meant by that statement...... As far as your statement about the gimmicks is concerned, I just don't know were that came from. My question was, does anyone use this technique anymore, that was all. Thanks for the reply.
 
fat_fleet said:
dogeaspen, are you just talking about tracking something backward (guitar, vox, cymbal splashes etc) or actual backmasking (concealing a verbal message in a song backwards intentionally for purposes of it's unconscious assimilation)?
i've always thought actual backmasking was questionable in terms of whether or not it actually exists. i thought the term was coined by religious groups and anti-rock zealots and i've heard very few undisputable examples.
i used to have a propaganda tape on backmasking. great stuff. the classics include: Revolution #9 ("turn me on dead man"), Another One Bites the Dust ("it's fun to smoke marijuana"), Stairway to Heaven ("oh here's to my sweet satan, the one whos little path would make me sad"), and the theme to Mr. Ed ("the source the source the source is the devil. the source the source the source is so hot").
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Yes, I was referring to guitar, vox, cymbal splashes etc. Sorry if I was unclear about that. Back masking is the only way I know to describe this technique. Example would be Jimi Hendrix Are You Experienced where parts of the guitar and drums are backwards. Very cool stuff IMO.
 
dodgeaspen said:
I still feel that for the most part today's CD's are just thrown together.
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Your first statement lacked the important qualifier "today's". I don't think I would agree there still, but clearly I can reject your first unqualified statement, I have too many CDs from the last twenty years that are quite excellent. The problem is that music in general today isn't very good; it doesn't particularly matter how it is recorded. It isn't very good live. But I can assure you that quite a lot of attention is being paid to the quality of the recording of this mediocre music. The mediocrity will eventually pass; it passed in the '80s and it will pass in the future as well.

As far as your statement about the gimmicks is concerned, I just don't know were that came from. My question was, does anyone use this technique anymore, that was all. Thanks for the reply.
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The statement about gimmicks came my own mouth (well, fingers). Backwards masking, backwards parts, etc., are gimmicks. It was cool forty years ago when the Beatles & Hendrix did it (although I'd be willing to bet Varese beat them to it, or maybe Stockhausen whom they put on Sgt. Peppers).

Now it would sound anachronistic, nostalgic, or desperate, depending on the context.
 
i could add another qualifier--today's popular music.

we have access to more music than ever before right now, with the advent of internet and self-promotion. if you can't find modern music and musicians that blow the doors off of anything you've ever heard, then you simply aren't looking hard enough, or you're stuck in an irreparably stubborn "they don't make 'em like they used to" mentality.

imo, anyway. that aside, i'm with msh 100%.
 
dodgeaspen said:
I'm happy I was able to amuse you. As far as not liking digital, that's true for the most part, however, I could care less if the production was done in analog, digital, or by little brown men from Uranus, I still feel that for the most part today's CD's are just thrown together. I listen to a wide variety of music and find the majority of it lacks character, feeling, or pizazz it once had back in the day. That's what I meant by that statement...... As far as your statement about the gimmicks is concerned, I just don't know were that came from. My question was, does anyone use this technique anymore, that was all. Thanks for the reply.
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I'm not convinced by this. It sounds to me very much like the 'good old days' syndrome.

I recall there being just as much dross on the airwaves then as there is now. I can remember 'purple people eater' from the fifties. I remember the Archies, and Bay City Rollers. I remember the manufactured mass churned out by Motown.

Every era has its share of ore, and every era has its share of gems amongst that ore.

Likewise every era has its bundle of technological gimmicks (Alvin and the Chipmunks, anyone?).

But getting back to the thread . . . backmasking. I still use reversed audio here and there . . . on instruments rather than vocals. Every now and again, I have to work with a track which just says 'do it!'
 
gecko zzed said:
I'm not convinced by this. It sounds to me very much like the 'good old days' syndrome.

I recall there being just as much dross on the airwaves then as there is now. I can remember 'purple people eater' from the fifties. I remember the Archies, and Bay City Rollers. I remember the manufactured mass churned out by Motown.

Every era has its share of ore, and every era has its share of gems amongst that ore.

Likewise every era has its bundle of technological gimmicks (Alvin and the Chipmunks, anyone?).

But getting back to the thread . . . backmasking. I still use reversed audio here and there . . . on instruments rather than vocals. Every now and again, I have to work with a track which just says 'do it!'
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lol, i couldn't help getting a kick out of the bold part!!!!
 
However, I do have to give credit to the "grand ole days" people.

Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick made it to #1 on the Billboard 200.

Thick as a Brick.

Seriously, listen to that album.

Now tell me if ANYTHING LIKE THAT can ever get that close in the past 10-15, even 20 years?
 
Seafroggys said:
However, I do have to give credit to the "grand ole days" people.

Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick made it to #1 on the Billboard 200.

Thick as a Brick.

Seriously, listen to that album.

Now tell me if ANYTHING LIKE THAT can ever get that close in the past 10-15, even 20 years?
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i could also cite yes' "close to the edge," genesis "selling england by the pound," or king crimson "red," all of which are fantastic records that enjoyed commercial success thanks to the condition of major labels at the time.

the fact of the matter is, popular music has changed dramatically since then. hence my qualifier "popular."

the industry has changed--now it's all about "hits" which last about a week. make your millions now, because tomorrow it isn't gonna mean shit to anyone. do you really think that britney spears or black eyed peas would've lasted 5 minutes back then? hell, they barely last 5 minutes now!

just because popular music has gone to hell doesn't mean music in general has.

if you doubt that, listen to pat metheny's "the way up." better yet, watch the live performance on dvd. billboard couldn't care less about it, but it acts as proof positive that unparalleled excellence is happening all around us. you just have to know where to look.
 
Hell...Chicken Foot sold out in 5 minutes here...so there are still music lovers out there.
 
darrin_h2000 said:
Hell...Chicken Foot sold out in 5 minutes here...so there are still music lovers out there.
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Have you had the chance to listen to the complete album yet? They did an awesome job on that one. I know a lot of older bands are coming out with new tunes and I'm looking forward to hearing them.
 
I still use backmasking (both lyrics and sounds/notes).
It's fun to throw gimmicky secrets in your songs every once in a while, and sometimes reversing a part really helps it sound better.

Backmasking can make the process more fun, and if you're not having fun, what's the point? (It's certainly not making money! If it were, I'd be doing pretty poorly!)
 
dodgeaspen said:
Have you had the chance to listen to the complete album yet? They did an awesome job on that one. I know a lot of older bands are coming out with new tunes and I'm looking forward to hearing them.
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Chickenfoot? Really? I'm a huge Satriani fanboi, and even I thought it was somewhat generic, insipid, uninspiring rock. Not awful, but not exciting either - it sounded like late period Van Halen with slightly better guitar. The most I can hope from for that disc is it gets Joe out of the classic rock thing he's been stuck on lately and goes back out to pushing the musical envelope a little bit.

If you think the Chickenfoot album was "an awesome job" and then lament how many modern production jobs sound like they've been "thrown together and mass produced for profit," then I'm going to say yeah, it's a question of "the good old days," no more and no less.

For spectacular contemporary production work, I'm a HUGE fan of pretty much anything Devin Townsend's done (check out his "Terria" as a starter), and for an excellently produced more "normal" rock disc, I'm a big fan of Steven Wilson's production work, particularly on his band Porcupine Tree's "In Absentia" or "Deadwing" (the later is all the more impressive since, more or less to prove a point I suspect, he did the whole thing with a Pod through a 4x12).

Also, for very different reasons, Tom Waits' recent work is just too cool - "Mule Variations" is brilliant for all the wrong reasons. :D
 
I love the idea that Joe Satriani is moving from musicians musician to mainstream and appearing on TV more...as much as I like his stuff he is better used in a band...I got to meet and record Micheal Angelo Baito and its seem a shame that he could be in a band but is just a little known shreader.
 
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