Two posts this month, each one a reaction to an Ultimate Classic Rock post. Maybe I need to diversify my reading?

This one is on backwards-masking. Remember that? Remember when millions of kids played Led Zeppelin backwards and grew up to worship Satan?

The post includes several amusing videos, including one of a very earnest mulleted and mustached man speaking with a televangelist and basically hypnotizing the audience into thinking Stairway to Heaven is one extended backwards love letter to the devil. It also includes Weird Al’s absolutely intentional “Satan eats Cheez Whiz” message.

This, of course, made me think of the classic B-52s moment in which they urge people not to play their records backwards:

That’s included on a roundup of the funniest backwards messages in music, featuring Bloodhound Gang, L7, Pink Floyd, Soundgarden and, again, Weird Al.

To be fair, sometimes I can hear the supposed backwards messages. Sort of. In this funny video examining a few songs, I can actually hear a few snippets of what we’re supposed to be hearing. But I’m being primed to hear it because the alleged messages are on screen. (I probably should’ve listened without watching the video.)

The funny thing, though, is that some of these might mention Satan (or “Snn” or “Saaaaayna” or whatever we actually hear), but even if you believe all of the alleged lyrics, you wouldn’t conclude that the message is pro-Satan. If you think merely mentioning an entity is supporting it, try going to your local fundamentalist church and playing Dear God. Or God Save the Queen, which would probably be funnier.

Just goes to show you — human capacity for self-delusion in the name of a cult is boundless.

Wikipedia has an extensive list of supposed backmasked songs, but we really can’t let this go without hearing from The Rutles (at 1:46 mark).