Eraserheads Backmasking Controversy

Mga kakila-kilabot na mga mensahe pagbinaliktad...Ito pa ang nadiskubre ko sa isa sa mga kinahuhumalingan kong banda ang Eraserheads. Sila ang namayagpag ng 90's. Talaga namang makamasa ang dating ng Eheads kaya sila sumikat...Pero ang mga kanta nga ba nila ay may halong demonyo?


Sinubukan ko ito at ito ang lumabas...
(Pawang katotohanan lang po...Sana ay wag po nyo akong sabihan na anti Kristo dahil naniniwala parin ako sa kanya)

Pare Ko
forwards: "Pinaasa nya lang ako, Lecheng pagibig to, Diyos ko, Ano ba naman ito"
backwards: "Kristo, buwisit na leche ka, Ang pangalan nya'y nakakasuka"

Overdrive
F: "Gusto kong matutong magdrive"
B: "Puta Mo, Hesus"

Bogchi Hokbu
F: "Bogchi....Hokbu"
B: " Kulto....Kristo"

....at ito yung mga nadiskubre ko
Wishing Wells
F: "I place called wishing wells"
B: "I wish I was in heaven

Hard To Believe
F: "Its so hard to believe"
B: "He lived in his own mercy" or " He has no mercy"


Tinaong ko ito sa Eraserheads maling list at natangap ko ang Email ni Mr.Robin Rivera, ang dating producer (o manager) ng Eraserheads at ito ang nilalaman ng sulat nya:

In my mind, backmasking and the controversy surrounding it is hovers around twoconcepts, 1) masked or subliminal persuasion, and 2) backwards talking.The first concept is subliminal persuasion. This was one of the conceptsforwarded byVance Packard in his book "Hidden Persuaders", which was first published in1957. Onepoint being made is that there are forms of communication that are used topersuade usby stimulating our subconscious, and therefore we are not aware of how we arebeingmanipulated (hence it is "masked"). In one so called "experiment" that supportedsubliminal persuasion, singleframes with adverstising messages like "buy Coke" were inserted in a filmshowing.Because motion picture film runs at 24 frames per second, the viewers were notconsciousof the message. The experiment prematurely concluded that the message waseffectivebecause a number of audience members went out to buy that product from the storeasthe film was being shown. But many variables were not considered, so theexperimentcame under heavy criticism. When I was in college (U.P. College of MassCommunication)in the late 1970's this particular concept had already lost steam and themethodology ofthe experiment came under fire because it could not be reliably replicated. Iactually did alibrary search about a couple of decades later when the EHeads were accused ofbackmasking, and by then the concept was merely mentioned in most books asobsoleteand discredited.The second concept revolves around popular beliefs about demonic persuasion andexorcism. The assumption is that the devil communicates on levels that, likesubliminalpersuasion, are not detected by our conscious minds. That includes things liketalkingbackwards (hence the "back" in backmasked). But these beliefs are so medieval,and haveroots in the dark ages of theChristian Church, much like The Inquisition, which I consider the height of theChurch'sparanoia and political repression. Besides, talking in "strange" ways (as inbackward) is notonly attributed to satan and his worshippers, but by early Christians as well(as in"speaking in tongues"), so this kind of phenomenon is not unique to satan. Irememberviewing a documentary produced by the Campus Crusade for Christ in the late 80'sthatdemonstrated several alleged blasphemous backmasking messages drawn from musicofthe Beatles, and a number of subsequent hard rock bands. The docu then goes onto try toconvince CCC members to only listen to "Christian" bands who have links to theorganization, and fall under the genre called "Christian Contemporary Rock".From time totime, other religious groups have done the same with local secular bands such astheEraserheads. In my response to this, I usually dare these people/groups to takethe musicof so called "Christian" musicians and bands and do the same thing. I canguarantee thatsimilar "messages" will be found. But its no use arguing with people who insiston hearingwhat they want to hear even if its not there. For all we know, this whole thingcould benothing more than a tool for proselytizing, and/or a marketing gimmick insupport for"Christian" artists.While we were working on Fruitcake, I remember there was a religious group thatonceagain brought the issue of backmasking to the media, accusing us ofintentionally puttingblasphemous statements in our recordings. And since the mass media machinery isalwayson the lookout for controversy (no matter how stupid or inane it may be) toboost sales/viewership, the group got its 5 minutes of fame. Our response was to reversethe lines"Merry Christmas Everybody, Happy New Year Too" in the start of the album, anddarethem to find anything demonic in it. Our point was that if they still foundsomethingblasphemous about it, they were either paranoid, deluded, or stupid.For the record, we never intentionally put any "backmasked" blasphemous messagesinany of our recordings. I hope this puts this issue to rest. Robin Rivera


Gawa ni: Ambi Dextrose, kanang kamay ni Punk Zappa