Demonstration 13

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Demonstration 13 Demonstration 11.6 Backwards Speech At least since the 1960s, people have been fascinated with music and speech played backwards (also called--somewhat confusingly- -backmasking). The Beatles' album Revolver contains examples, and some people reported that a Beatles' song contained evidence (when played backwards) that "Paul (McCartney) is dead." As John Vokey and Don Read noted (in their 1985 article in American Psychologist, Subliminal messages: Between the Devil and the Media), people's expectations play a primary role in what they ultimately hear in the backwards messages. Sound processing programs for your computer (such as Audacity) now make it simple to create your own reverse speech or music. Below are a couple of examples. You will be able to find many examples by searching the web for backmasking, such as this list. • First, listen to this example and try to determine what the normal (forward) speech said. (It's actually a paragraph from your textbook.) Second, determine what "hidden messages" might be found in the backward speech example. Did you hear anything? With a bit of effort, I was able to extract something that was vaguely interpretable. Here's that segment from the original example. Do you hear any message in that segment? Now, let me give you a hint. So that it doesn't pop out immediately as you read, I'll give you the hint backwards: [pohs eht ni zihw relaeh reniew a ereht sI] I'm fairly certain that's not a phrase you use often! Now, listen to the segment (or the complete example if you wish) and notice how easily you hear the phrase I've suggested. • Second, listen to this example of a common song. Can you tell what it is when played forward? Do you hear any "hidden messages" in the song? .
Recommended publications
  • PERFORMED IDENTITIES: HEAVY METAL MUSICIANS BETWEEN 1984 and 1991 Bradley C. Klypchak a Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate
    PERFORMED IDENTITIES: HEAVY METAL MUSICIANS BETWEEN 1984 AND 1991 Bradley C. Klypchak A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2007 Committee: Dr. Jeffrey A. Brown, Advisor Dr. John Makay Graduate Faculty Representative Dr. Ron E. Shields Dr. Don McQuarie © 2007 Bradley C. Klypchak All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Dr. Jeffrey A. Brown, Advisor Between 1984 and 1991, heavy metal became one of the most publicly popular and commercially successful rock music subgenres. The focus of this dissertation is to explore the following research questions: How did the subculture of heavy metal music between 1984 and 1991 evolve and what meanings can be derived from this ongoing process? How did the contextual circumstances surrounding heavy metal music during this period impact the performative choices exhibited by artists, and from a position of retrospection, what lasting significance does this particular era of heavy metal merit today? A textual analysis of metal- related materials fostered the development of themes relating to the selective choices made and performances enacted by metal artists. These themes were then considered in terms of gender, sexuality, race, and age constructions as well as the ongoing negotiations of the metal artist within multiple performative realms. Occurring at the juncture of art and commerce, heavy metal music is a purposeful construction. Metal musicians made performative choices for serving particular aims, be it fame, wealth, or art. These same individuals worked within a greater system of influence. Metal bands were the contracted employees of record labels whose own corporate aims needed to be recognized.
    [Show full text]
  • Easter Eggs: Hidden Tracks and Messages in Musical Mediums
    Proceedings ICMC|SMC|2014 14-20 September 2014, Athens, Greece Easter Eggs: Hidden Tracks and Messages in Musical Mediums Jonathan Weinel, Darryl Griffiths and Stuart Cunningham Creative & Applied Research for the Digital Society (CARDS) Glyndŵr University Plas Coch Campus, Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AW, Wales +44 1978 293070 {j.weinel | Griffiths.d | s.cunningham}@glyndwr.ac.uk ABSTRACT the programmers’ office, in the style of the video game Doom [2]. The hidden game features credits and digital ‘Easter eggs’ are hidden components that can be found in images of the programmers. It is accessed by carrying computer software and various other media including out a particular series of actions on the 95th row of a music. In this paper the concept is explained, and various blank spreadsheet upon opening Excel. examples are discussed from a variety of mediums in- cluding analogue and digital audio formats. Through this discussion, the purpose of including easter eggs in musi- cal mediums is considered. We propose that easter eggs can serve to provide comic amusement within a work, but can also serve to support the artistic message of the art- work. Concealing easter eggs in music is partly depend- ent on the properties of the chosen medium; vinyl records Figure 1. Screenshots from the ‘hall of tortured souls’, in Mi- may use techniques such as double grooves, while digital crosoft Excel 95. formats such as CD may feature hidden tracks that follow long periods of empty space. Approaches such as these This paper will consider the purpose and realisation of and others are discussed.
    [Show full text]
  • Benzel Hexentexte Syllabus Revised Summer 2018
    Hexentexte, The Menace of Unreality, and The Anarchist Crowned, Unfinished Systems of Nonknowledge Scott Benzel, Escuela Incierta, Summer 2018 “The past is not dead. It isn’t even past.” William Faulkner Course Description Hexentexte, The Menace of Unreality, and The Anarchist Crowned is a seminar course examining information asymmetry, secrecy, mimetic transmission, thought contagion, and related forms of 'capture' or 'possession'. The course will also explore the increasingly 'artlike' and 'unreal' effects of these phenomena within the realms of the social, the political, and the everyday. Please do not be alarmed by the volume of reading material. Suggested Readings are incorporated into the lectures and may be skimmed or read in advance, at a later date, or not at all. Additional Readings/Primary Sources are included for further research. Screenings are excerpts of longer videos, most of which are available on Youtube. Please note that this course includes some ideas, personages, texts, videos, images, etc. that are problematic. Some are of questionable veracity and are included as objects of the phenomena in question. 1. Hexentexte, Cosmology and Critique Your nearest Doppelganger is located approx.10 to the power of 10 to the power of 28 meters away, that is, a one followed by 10 billion billion billion zeroes meters; Four multiverses you might be living in Hexentexte Unica Zürn, Hans Bellmer, the anagram, and the recombinant text/body; Dion Fortune and the Magical Battle of Britain, William Seabrook's Hitler Hex; The Beatles, 'Number 9/Turn me on Deadman', phoneme reversal, Backmasking in Rock Music, Alyssa talking backwards, Rituals of Reversal as a Means of Rewiring Social Structure; W.S.
    [Show full text]
  • ESCAPE THIS PODCAST Game Master’S Notes
    ESCAPE THIS PODCAST Game Master’s Notes The notes below are a guide for game masters. They contain all required information to run the specified room, including: All room items All puzzles and solutions All correct (and some incorrect) player actions Full room introduction and conclusion Additional notes and tips Do not read these notes if you intend to play the escape room; there are spoilers everywhere. These notes are for people playing the rooms with friends, family, enemies or strangers. These notes are not to be used to create recordings, videos, or other media featuring the escape room. If you want to use these notes to make something cool or creative, please send us an email at [email protected] to let us know. These notes are free. If you paid money to obtain these notes, someone was being very rude to you. I’m so sorry. 1 The bar Notes If it comes up – and it well might – players do NOT have their own phones during this room. Our special Patreon donor for this episode is Scott Weiss, who has very generously elected the wonderful Molly to take his place as a character in the room. But because I have this power, Scott, you can have a tiny cameo, too. Thank you so much for your support. [Secret GM note: the pool table puzzle means your players' maps will be VERY important. If you want, it mightn't be the worst idea to draw one yourself they can reference.] Introduction You're tired. You're cold. You're a little bit wet – but that's just from the rain, thankfully.
    [Show full text]
  • Backmasking: Annihilating the Effects of Good and Evil1
    Poster Presented at the April (2009) 37th Annual Western Pennsylvania Undergraduate Psychology Conference. Moon Township, PA. Backmasking: Annihilating the Effects of Good and Evil1 Erica Yalch Robert Morris University The present study investigated whether information could be perceived from recorded messages played backwards. Specifically, verbal commands were constructed that fell into three categories: Evil, Neutral, and Good. Participants listened to 33 sound files and for each file they were asked to rate how good/evil the backward message seemed on a 7-point Likert scale. These ratings were compared to ratings of the sentences presented normally (in print). The backward condition showed no indication that the messages were accurately perceived. The forward condition, however, showed a significant effect of good/evil. Implications of these findings are discussed. Introduction “Warning: This record contains backmasking which may be perceptible at a subliminal level Brannon and Brock (1994) define subliminal when the record is played forward” (Vokey & messaging as “any devices used to convey or Don, 1985). attempt to convey or attempt to convey a message by means of images or sounds of a very brief or Vokey and Don (1985) asked 65 college hidden nature that cannot be perceived at a normal students whether they believed messages played level of awareness”. Another way to define backwards could be understood. It was shown that, subliminal messaging is the awareness of stimulus on average, most students did not think it was that is absent and/or present. One sort of possible to understand messages played backward. subliminal messaging is called back-masking, The researchers also conducted a study to see if which is when a message can be played in the participants could identify the sex of the speaker forward, normal fashion, normal speech or music when messages were played backwards.
    [Show full text]
  • Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Is Paul Actually Dead?
    Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da is Paul actually dead? Voglio raccontarti la bizzarra storia della più celebre teoria della cospirazione nel mondo della musica. Is Paul actually dead? All'inizio del 1967 un pettegolezzo, che è per natura privo di origine definita, inizia a circolare attraverso la scena musicale inglese. Si dice, si bisbiglia, ehi ma hai saputo. Paul McCartney è morto alla fine dell'anno scorso in un incidente d'auto sulla M1. No non è vero, cioè sì è morto, ma è successo il 7 Gennaio, proprio l'altro giorno. Secondo la più diffusa versione della leggenda Paul è morto la notte del 9 novembre 1966. Paul McCartney esce dallo studio di Abbey Road, pare dopo una discussione, è tarda notte, e parte a bordo della sua Mini Cooper verso casa (ogni tanto la macchina è un'Aston Martin). Durante il percorso incontra un'autostoppista di nome Rita, she's lovely tra l'altro (ci sono versioni in cui è incinta, altre in cui è solo scappata di casa). Paul si ferma e la fa salire. Quella, comprensibilmente agitatissima per essere salita in auto con un Beatle, lo distrae e causa uno schianto micidiale in cui entrambi perdono la vita. Paul viene decapitato nell'incidente. Però, visto che siamo in piena Beatlemania, il mondo non può sopportare una tragedia di queste proporzioni, e così la band decide di seppellire l'amico in silenzio e in segreto, fingendo che niente sia successo. Naturalmente ci vuole un Paul sostituto, e guarda caso l’anno prima c’era stato un concorso pubblico per trovare un sosia a McCartney.
    [Show full text]
  • R.I.P. by Mark Owens
    level of close examination as radio DJs were consulted for technical expertise on the Nightly R.I.P. News and teenagers ran their turntables backwards, listening intently on headphones Notes on the Paul McCartney Shadow Canon for evidence of secret messages. How else to by Mark Owens interpret this momentary crisis if not as an episode of McLuhanite media panic, in which the P.I.D. counterculture’s questioning of dominant power structures and the air of conspiracy around the “Paul is dead.” So claimed the rumors that assassinations of JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther began circulating in September 1969, that Paul King, Jr. collided with a general acknowledgment McCartney of the Beatles had been killed in of a new, globalized media landscape? As the an automobile accident in November 1966 and first fully mediated rock ‘n’ roll band—endlessly replaced by “Billy Shears,” a talented impostor televised, recorded, photographed, and filmed— look-a-like made to resemble McCartney with the the Beatles, and particularly Paul, “the cute aid of plastic surgery.1 Clues to the conspiracy, Beatle,” provided an ideal screen on which to so the story went, were to be found hidden in project this matrix of cultural anxieties. the album artwork, song lyrics, and back-masked Certainly, the timing couldn’t have been recordings on the Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery better. Dated to late 1966, Paul’s supposed Tour, White Album, and Abbey Road LPs. “death” coincided closely with the publication Originally limited to the underground press and of Roland Barthes’ essay, “Death of the Author,” college newspapers, the rumors gained traction which first appeared in the Minimalism issue when an anonymous caller to DJ Russ Gibb’s of Aspen magazine in the Fall of 1967, just a radio show on WKNR-FM in Detroit identified few months after the release of Sgt.
    [Show full text]
  • ACRONYM 12 - Round 4
    ACRONYM 12 - Round 4 1. An annual celebrity profile titled for this action centered its 2018 iteration on actress Amanda ​ Bynes. A series of major incidents in 2008 involving underwater cables are a rare literal example of this action. A monster made of a character's insecurities causes that character to take this figurative action in a (*) 2018 film. This action was described on the cover of a 2014 issue of Paper magazine ​ ​ ​ featuring provocative photos of a certain socialite. Kim Kardashian was among the people to take, for 10 points, what action taken by Wreck-It Ralph? ANSWER: breaking the internet (accept Break the Internet or Ralph Breaks the Internet; accept slight ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ variants describing breaking the internet) <Nelson> ​ ​ 2. A failed fake punt by this team's punter Will Spiers led to a 2017 upset loss to Syracuse. This ​ team's stadium contains a rock given to former coach Frank Howard and is nicknamed Death Valley. This team beat Pittsburgh to win their conference in 2018 behind freshman quarterback (*) Trevor Lawrence. This team earned a national championship in 2016 behind DeShaun Watson and coach Dabo Swinney. A horrifying fast food meal at the White House was presented to, for 10 points, what 2018 national champions based in South Carolina? ANSWER: Clemson Tigers (prompt on "Tigers") <Nelson> ​ ​ 3. An insulting nickname used by a character on this show is borrowed from that of a cat on ​ Laverne & Shirley known as "Boo Boo Kitty." The bodyguard Webb kills a one-time rival of this ​ show's protagonist named Shyne ["Shine"] in its fourth season, which also saw the death of (*) Anika Calhoun.
    [Show full text]
  • Malay Metalheads: Situating Metal Music Culture in Brunei
    Situations 10.2 (2017): 7–26 ISSN: 2288–7822 Malay Metalheads: Situating Metal Music Culture in Brunei Amalina Timbang (University of Edinburgh) Zawawi Ibrahim (Universiti Brunei Darussalam) Abstract As a global phenomenon metal music has created a worldwide community that constructs its own unique subculture. In Brunei, popular culture takes its own particularistic form of articulation due to the existence of contestations for hegemony between the youth and the Malay Islamic state. The dominant state ideology of Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB) or Malay Islamic Monarchy plays a pivotal role in influencing and reshaping the local sense of a metal community. In the Brunei context, an important feature of the Malay metalhead community is the fact that it does not duplicate the metal cultural blueprint of its western origins. Contrary to international metal communities, there is an inadequacy of public space to perform the role of a metalhead (i.e. live performances), and it is difficult to undertake music-related activities in Brunei. As the public domain is constantly regulated by MIB, the Malay metalhead community is totally grounded in the realm of the private sphere. This article explores three important issues: first, the creation of the Malay metalhead culture; second, the convergence of the MIB identity and the metalhead identity; and third, the hybridization of global and local metal cultures. Keywords: metal music, Bruneian popular music, Melayu Islam Beraja (MIB), Malay metalheads, music subculture, metal community, glocalization, hybridization, popular culture 8 Amalina Timbang and Zawawi Ibrahim Introduction: The General Background of Popular Music in Brunei Popular culture and music have always exerted a powerful allure among young people in Brunei Darussalam, and there are various hybridized subcultures within the small Malay Islamic nation.
    [Show full text]
  • Easter Eggs: Hidden Tracks and Messages in Musical Mediums
    Easter Eggs: Hidden Tracks and Messages in Musical Mediums Jonathan Weinel, Darryl Griffiths and Stuart Cunningham Creative & Applied Research for the Digital Society (CARDS) Glyndŵr University Plas Coch Campus, Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AW, Wales +44 1978 293070 {j.weinel | Griffiths.d | s.cunningham}@glyndwr.ac.uk ABSTRACT the programmers’ office, in the style of the video game Doom [2]. The hidden game features credits and digital ‘Easter eggs’ are hidden components that can be found in images of the programmers. It is accessed by carrying computer software and various other media including out a particular series of actions on the 95th row of a music. In this paper the concept is explained, and various blank spreadsheet upon opening Excel. examples are discussed from a variety of mediums in- cluding analogue and digital audio formats. Through this discussion, the purpose of including easter eggs in musi- cal mediums is considered. We propose that easter eggs can serve to provide comic amusement within a work, but can also serve to support the artistic message of the art- work. Concealing easter eggs in music is partly depend- ent on the properties of the chosen medium; vinyl records Figure 1. Screenshots from the ‘hall of tortured souls’, in Mi- may use techniques such as double grooves, while digital crosoft Excel 95. formats such as CD may feature hidden tracks that follow long periods of empty space. Approaches such as these This paper will consider the purpose and realisation of and others are discussed. Lastly, we discuss some soft- easter eggs, through consideration of their presence in computer software and other mediums such as TV pro- ware components we have developed ourselves in grammes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Effect of Subliminal Messages and Suggestions on Memory: Isolating the Placebo Effect Kayoko Takahashi
    Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2008 The Effect of Subliminal Messages and Suggestions on Memory: Isolating the Placebo Effect Kayoko Takahashi Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC THE EFFECT OF SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES AND SUGGESTIONS ON MEMORY: ISOLATING THE PLACEBO EFFECT BY KAYOKO TAKAHASHI A Thesis is submitted to the College of Music In partial fulfillment of the Requirement for the degree of Master of Music Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2008 Copyright © 2008 Kayoko Takahashi All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approved the thesis of Kayoko Takahashi on December 12, 2007. _______________________________ Jayne M. Standley Professor Directing Thesis _______________________________ Clifford Madsen Committee Member _______________________________ Dianne Gregory Committee Member The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEGMENTS I would like to show my most sincere gratitude to the following people: Dr. Jayne Standely for her classes, advice, and the support at Florida State University. I appreciate the coincidence that I learned most important things as a music therapist. Dr. Madison, Dr. Darrow, and Dr. Gregory for the one-of-a-kind classes. Dr. Bridger and students in her studio class for the wonderful lessons and chances to play the piano. I will never stop playing the piano! Jaime Frade for helping my writing. When you come to Japan, I will be your tour guide. My friends in Tallahassee, New York, Japan, and all over the world for helping me out.
    [Show full text]
  • Paul Mccartney Is Dead
    3/29/2011 Paul McCartney is dead.... - Discussion … Welcome to Inspire! What - Inspire is a place where you can connect with people who share your health concerns and find information and advice in groups sponsored by organizations you know and trust. Why - As a member you can use Inspire to let friends and family know how you're doing, contact others who share your health concerns, receive personalized updates and information about Already a member? Sign in participating in surveys and clinical trials, and more. How - Joining Inspire is completely free and usually takes less than a minute. Join now! Paul McCartney is dead.... By guilty_spork March 21, 2011 at 1:31 am · 20 replies In Off-Topic Shared with the public As a huge Beatles fan, I'm familiar with the supposed conspiracy involving Paul dying in a car crash. The hidden messages on album covers, in song lyrics and 1 the many, many backmasked messages. I just saw a Recommendation documentary that blew the whole thing up. Recommend "Paul McCartney Really is Dead: the Last Testement of George Harrison" is a documentary which is supposedly Print narated by Harrison himself via a couple cassettes that Report post were delivered to a production company in '05. Recorded the day after he was attacked in '99 I beieve it was as he lay in the hosital thinking he might not live to tell his complete story of one of the most legendary cover-ups in history. I can't begin to go into the level of detail contained in this documentary but if you are a conspiracy nut or a Beatles fan or just like food for thought, watch this film.
    [Show full text]