Podcast 8.24 Satanic Imagery And Conspiracies In Modern Culture
This final episode in the
series looks at some ways in which Satan still finds a place within
modern culture. After discussing the importance of the film Nosferatu
(1922), I discuss Satanic imagery within the country blues (1930s) and
rock and roll. Then I conclude with a discussion of two Satanic
conspiracies of the 1980s, the Satanic ritual abuse scare and the notion
of backmasking in rock and roll.
At
37:00 you hear Led Zeppelin's, "Stairway to Heaven" played forward and
backward according to backmasking: do you hear a reference to Satan?
Backmasking is a
recording
technique in which a sound or message is recorded backward onto a track
that is meant to be played forward. Backmasking is a deliberate
process, whereas a message found through
phonetic reversal may be unintentional.
Backmasking was popularised by
the Beatles, who used backward instrumentation on their 1966 album
Revolver.
[1]
Artists have since used backmasking for artistic, comedic and satiric
effect, on both analogue and digital recordings. The technique has also
been used to censor words or phrases for "clean" releases of
explicit songs.
Backmasking has been a controversial topic in the United States since
the 1970s and 1980s, when allegations from Christian groups of its use
for
Satanic purposes were made against prominent
rock musicians, leading to record-burning protests and proposed anti-backmasking legislation by state and federal governments.
[2]
A well-known alleged message is found in rock group Led Zeppelin's 1971 song "Stairway to Heaven". The backwards playing of a portion of the song purportedly results in words beginning with "Here's to my sweet Satan" (listen (info)).[84] Swan Song Records issued a statement to the contrary: "Our turntables only play in one direction—forwards."[19] Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant
denied the accusations in an interview: "To me it's very sad, because
'Stairway To Heaven' was written with every best intention, and as far
as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, that's not my idea
of making music."[85]