Customer Reviews

Backward Masking Unmasked

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book, more or less, carries some facts in them. However, what makes this book fodder for the trash can is the several errors that run throughout the book, both grammatical (he refers to Alice Cooper as a "transvestite in women's clothing", e.g.) to factual.

(Case in point: Aranza refers to the infamous "Paul is dead" rumor as a publicity stunt orchestrated by the Beatles, with the placing of the "clues" deliberate. As anyone who has actually taken the time to take a closer look at this would know, the rumor was precipitated with false impressions, silly notions, and outright lies, none of which were on the part of the Beatles. Also, the whole thing hangs on the absolutely ridiculous premise that the Beatles would be able to cover up the death of a member, replace him with a lookalike, and inform the public by way of hints sprinkled in their music and album covers. But I digress.)

If by chance you see this book, or its companion volume here, or at a secondhand bookstore, give it a pass. You can find more serious and objective studies into backward masking on the Internet.

Rock music is spooky and leading our children to hell with its "subliminal messages." Or so the author would have you believe... This book is very, very funny, and deadly earnest. A bonus: some really great decadent rock quotes, used to bolster Aranza's view that rock music is Satan's tool. Of course, Janis Joplin didn't help matters by telling a journalist about her goals in life: [approx.]"to smoke dope, eat dope, sniff dope, and lick dope." Talk about giving ammo to the enemy! A comedy classic.

Yep, those were the days when it was fun to be a rock fan. The urban legends that where oozing from certain religious denominations could make young kids skin crawl!! Maybe since rock music has lost its cultural power is the reason why we don't get fun stuff like this anymore. Collectors may file this one with Dan and Steve Peters "Why Knock Rock?" and the assorted works of Bob Larson. Relics of a by-gone era indeed!!

This was quite entertaining when I was a teen. At the time though I didn't (and still don't) agree with what Mr. Aranza has compiled since a lot of the backwards messages were a product of the music industry's gimmick to sell more albums.

Heavy metal fans be forwarned to read about your favorite artists being slammed into a brick wall of infamy all based on their name. e.g., W.A.S.P., Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, etc. For its day, the book was probably an okay seller on newstands.

If a person is lucky enough to obtain the double cassette tape series of the aforementioned title, its hilarious to listen to nowadays, and sometimes a little creepy to hear some of the music segments played backwards none the less. I give this book five stars. Long before the Internet made ordering books possible, sometimes churches would have either this book or the cassette tapes in their chapel library for loan.

I got to read this by accident when a local church dropped of a box of Christian books at my college Frat house. The thing one is most struck with is the author's reaction to the cultural power that music had over people in the 80's, so much so that he as a Christian felt compelled to respond to it... If you're into 80's religious / pop cultural ephemera, this is a cool book to have up on your shelf. Just remember, "Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on."

Yep, those were the days when it was fun to be a rock fan. The urban legends that where oozing from certain religious denominations could make young kids skin crawl!! Maybe since rock music has lost its cultural power is the reason why we don't get fun stuff like this anymore. Collectors may file this one with Dan and Steve Peters "Why Knock Rock?" and the assorted works of Bob Larson. Relics of a by-gone era indeed!!