Moral Panic

Backword messages in Rock and Roll


The 1950s saw two new developments in audio technology: the development of musique concrète, an avant-garde form of electronic music which involves editing together fragments of natural and industrial sounds; and the concurrent spread of the use of tape recorders in recording studios.These two trends led to tape music compositions, composed on tape using techniques including reverse tape effects
When the rock ‘n' roll craze first swept the United States, many viewed Elvis Presley's swiveling hips and Jerry Lee Lewis' feverish performances as lewd and dangerous. Many adults worried that the new style would entice the younger generation to rebel.

After two kids attempted suicide in 1985, their parents accused the heavy metal band Judas Priest of hiding subliminal messages in their songs to convince listeners to commit suicide. The technique was as simple as writing the songs so that, when played backward they would convey a message. 
Anyway, a few Christian DJs got wind of the story and decided to fan the flames, playing records backwards for signs that bands were trying to kill their fans. Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pink Floyd and even Jefferson Starship were all alleged to have place secret messages encouraging their fans to give it up for Satan.

Some humorous way bands had used this to their advantage was for example

Pink Floyd dropped a backmasked message into "Empty Spaces" (listen (info)), from 1979's The Wall:

-... Congratulations. You have just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the Funny Farm, Chalfont...

-Roger! Carolyne's on the phone!

-Okay.

Everyone was so caught up in the moral panic fun, that they forgot to ask the obvious question. Why the hell would rock bands want to kill off their customers? Rob Halford of Judas Priest said at the time that if they were going to put subliminal messages in their songs, they would have gone with something like "buy more records" or "don't forget to pick up Judas Priest t-shirts and keychains at fine stores everywhere."

The case against Judas Priest was eventually thrown out in 1990 when the judge realized it was completely fucking insane. The panic would have continued, but, luckily, the CD was invented; making backwards messages impossible to hear. Then gangsta rap hit the mainstream and suddenly parents wished they could have the backwards Satanism thing back