Turn Me On Dead Man: Share Your Backward Masking Memories

[Wannaplan?]

In the early 1980s at the tender age of 11, I was exposed to Jacob Aranza's Backward Masking Unmasked thanks to an older brother of mine who had just graduated from Rhema Bible College in Tusla, OK. He received his Associates in Jesus, an A. J. as I like to sometimes kid him, in 1983 and became a youth pastor at the local Assembly of God Church.

Because he didn't earn that much money from the church, he lived at home. This blessing afforded me the opportunity to be exposed to many inspirational pamplets and cassette tapes that incorporated a message of hope and eternal life while invoking the flames of hell, eternal damnation, the arrival of the anti-Christ, the prophecies of Revelations, and oozing sores in your groin region. Because of my brother's influence - I must have asked Jesus into my heart about 12 times before I became a horny teenager - I told everyone at my elementary school playground that rock-and-roll music was the work of the devil. As it turned out, everyone laughed at me and I didn't have many friends thereafter. During this period of lonliness, I became more deeply involved with God's machinations and his "plan" for my life.

Enter Jacob Aranza and his faux talk show, Backward Masking Unmasked, recorded on a cassette tape, available at any Zondervan Christian Bookstore in 1984. I have fond memories of listening to John Lennon sing "turn me on dead man" while playing Revolution #9 backwards. And let's not forget "my sweet satan" from Led Zepplin's Stairway to Heaven, and Queen's "let's smoke marijuana" when Another One Bites the Dust is played backwards. Wow, I miss all that kitschy Christian evangelical paranoia from the 1980s! Man, today's 21st Century Evangelical Christian has forgotten what it's like to party!

Has anyone else heard of this cassette tape? If so, why don't you share your memories with us? Also, if anyone has this cassette tape, I will gladly buy it from you. I yearn to hear that thing again!!

[el Guapo]

Correction:
Queen: Another one bites the dust = Starrrrrt toooo smookkkke Marrrrrrawannnnnaaa.

Really. I listened to it on a 33 1/3 backwards and then immediatly took up a two dobbie a day habit. Once I played the album correctly again my need for mary jane subsided.

[Friend of Flavel]

I never heard the cassette, but my mom went to one of those meetings and came home in a lather about our "evil rock" records. Apparently, KISS was an acronymn for "Knights In Satan's Service". What a howler!!! And the Doobie Brothers were named after a marijuana cigarette. I still laugh thinking about it.

[Tranplanner]

Apparently, if you play Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" backwards you get a recipe for a really good lentil soup.

[Maister]

I was wracking my brains trying to come up with something really funny to say on the topic, but it occurs to me that there's not much chance of contriving anything funnier than the 'phenomenon' of listening to records backwards itself...

[giff57]

My cassette copy of Stairway twisted on its own and then played only backwards..... That really freaked me out.

[Seabishop]

If it weren't for the emergence of CD's the backwards masking paranoia would still be here. But, then again, lyrics can now be more staightforward anyway. There's no need to hide lyrics like "Start Smoking Marajuana" when hit songs have similar lyrics.

Satan must be bummed that he hasn't been cool since the late 80's. Now that Headbangers Ball is back on MTV and metal is becoming more popular, I can pretty much guarantee that Satan will be cool again - especially as a teenage reaction against Red State conservative values. (Of course the kids' rebellion make the adults' conservatism even more extreme.) I've noticed more 14 year olds at the mall wearing brand new Iron Maiden shirts.

For every 62' Jesus statue in Monroe, OH, there will a local kid who's inspired to go to church, and another local kid who's inspired to draw pentagrams in his notebook to piss off his dad.

[Chet]

What is this masking you speak of?

It's a little known fact that Freddy Mercury stalked my grandfather, and the song Bohemian Rhapsody was written about the old bohunk himself

[Wannaplan?]

Satan must be bummed that he hasn't been cool since the late 80's.

Yeah, Satan is cool!

[Budgie]

My new turntable has a neutral setting, so I'll go home a spin a few. It seems like I ran across something on an early Van Halen album. UFO didn't even bother masking it. They start off one of there songs with obviously backwards english. HMMMM, let me see if I can ruin a needle next week.

[Wannaplan?]

Isn't there some obvious retro backward masking at the beginning of a Deaf Leopard song?

Yeetun yottin glow bin...

[JNA]

Interesting article
Backward message
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backward_message

[Seabishop]

Isn't there some obvious retro backward masking at the beginning of a Deaf Leopard song?

That is actually the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. . . seriously.

[boiker]

You can actually find many of these on websites on the internet. Also, we can still play around wtih backmasking today. Just record a cd track with the computer, play in soundrecorder in reverse.

[spokanite]

I remember listening to one of Prince's cassette's in my buddy's car. The stereo was a total POS and occassionally would eat tapes. At one point it began playing the tape backwards during "Darling Nicky" and all we heard was Prince singing, "Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming" or somehting like that.

Maybe it was his attempt to offset the evils of Freddy Mercury.

[giff57]

Don't forget Pink Floyd made fun of the whole thing on "The Wall" with "you have found the secret message" backwards.

[nighthawk1959]

I just hope noone plays a country song backwards. I really would like to have my dog come back to life and the pickup the bank would return was a good one but that third verse is a killer. The X comes back!!!!!!

[Bear Up North]

raeB

.daed si luaP

[SkeLeton]

Hum.. anybody remembers about those satanic messages hidden in smufs episodes that you had to tape thema and watch them backwards to reveal the evil? lol

[Jen]

Don't forget Pink Floyd made fun of the whole thing on "The Wall" with "you have found the secret message" backwards.

and I've heard that if you play that album/cd along with The Wizard of Oz beginning when the MGM lion roars, the songs coincide with the action on the scene. I wonder whats playng when dorothy is lying abed in a field of poppies?

[DennisMaPlanner]

I never heard the cassette, but my mom went to one of those meetings and came home in a lather about our "evil rock" records. Apparently, KISS was an acronymn for "Knights In Satan's Service". What a howler!!! And the Doobie Brothers were named after a marijuana cigarette. I still laugh thinking about it.

We were always told it was "Kids in Satan's Service." Much scarier to those blind followers of the Catholic Church who felt priests could do no wrong.

[Wannaplan?]

Wow, gee whiz! I bought the book and cassette tape of Backward Masking Unmasked on e-bay last week and I just got it today! What a trip! What a trip down memory lane! That's some crazy stuff! It sure is different looking at this stuff 20-years later. The satan-paranoia is so kitshcy!

[DetroitPlanner]

Reminds me of confirmation in 8th grade. The nuns asked us to come up with a song that was liked by all the kids. The Beatles had a daily cartoon show that was in syndication, and we were all being exposed to Beatles music for the first time in a big way in 1979 (I remember hearing the music as a kid in the car though).

We selected the Beatles 'Let it Be', it seemed fitting as it was a devotion to Mary. Well the nuns went nuts telling us it was short for 'Mary Jane', a slang term for drugs!

I still can't figure that one out, though I feel guilty everytime I hear the song now.

[mendelman]

Overzealous Christians always crack me up. And I spent alot of time around them growing up.