daydreaming

DAYDREAMING :

AUDITORY PAREIDOLIA, THE NUMBER NINE, AND CRANBERRY SAUCE

PROLOGUE

IN MAY 1966, THE BEATLES RELEASED THE SONG " RAIN " AS A B - SIDE TO THE

SINGLE " PAPERBACK WRITER " ; THIS RECORDING CONTAINED, IN THE LAST VERSE OF " RAIN ",

THE WORLD'S FIRST INSTANCE OF BACKWARDS SINGING USED ON A POP RECORD. JOHN LENNON

EXPLAINED IN 1980 ( AS CONFIRMED BY GEOFF EMERICK, CHIEF ENGINEER FOR THOSE SESSIONS )

THAT A LATE NIGHT GANGE - GUIDED " ACCIDENT " LED TO LENNON'S INSISTENCE ON RECORDING

THE VOCALS OF THE LAST VERSE ( SPECIFICALLY " WHEN THE SUN SHINES " AND " IF THE RAIN

COMES, THEY RUN AND HIDE THEIR HEADS " ) BACKWARDS, ACTUALLY VOCALIZING AND SINGING

THESE PHRASES BACKWARDS. IN JOHN LENNON'S OWN WORDS,

" I GOT HOME FROM THE STUDIO AND I WAS STONED OUT OF MY MIND ON MARIJUANA

AND, AS I USUALLY DO, I LISTENED TO WHAT I RECORDED THAT DAY. SOMEHOW I

GOT IT ON BACKWARDS AND I SAT THERE, TRANSFIXED, WITH THE EARPHONES ON,

WITH A BIG HASH JOINT. I RAN IN THE NEXT DAY AND SAID, ' I KNOW WHAT TO DO

WITH IT, I KNOW . . . LISTEN TO THIS ! ' SO I MADE THEM ALL PLAY IT BACKWARDS.

THE FADE IS ME SINGING BACKWARDS WITH THE GUITARS GOING BACKWARDS "

THUS BACKMASKING, THE ART OF RECORDING VOCALS AND / OR INSTRUMENTATION

BACKWARDS AND THEN PLAYING THE TRACK IN REVERSE, WAS BORN, FIRST WITH ADDITIONAL

TRACKS BY THE BEATLES ON THEIR 1966 ALBUM REVOLVER ( " TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS ",

" I'M ONLY SLEEPING " ) AND LATER ON WORKS SUCH AS " STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER " AND

" REVOLUTION 9 ". ON THE 1967 SINGLE " STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER ", VARISPEED ( THE

RECORDING TECHNIQUE OF PLAYING CERTAIN TRACKS BACK AT SLOWER OR FASTER SPEEDS ON

THE TAPE MACHINE ) WAS ALSO USED, FOR THE HORNS AND CELLO, SOME GUITAR, AND JOHN

LENNON'S VOICE. HERE WE COME TO THE FIRST OF MANY CONTROVERSIES CREATED BY THE

USE OF BACKMASKING IN MODERN RECORDING : AT 3:57 - 3:59 IN " STRAWBERRY FIELDS

FOREVER ", THE VOICE OF JOHN IS HEARD TO SAY WHAT MANY BELIEVED TO BE " I BURIED . . .

PAUL " NEAR THE END OF THE TRACK, FUELING THE RUMOUR THAT PAUL MCCARTNEY HAD

DIED IN A CAR CRASH ( ON NOVEMBER 9, 1966 ), BEING REPLACED BY A LOOK ALIKE. GREATER

CONTROVERSIES WOULD EMERGE WITH THE NINTH STUDIO ALBUM BY THE BEATLES, " THE WHITE

ALBUM " : THE TRACK " REVOLUTION 9 ", WHEN PLAYED BACKWARDS, ALLEGEDLY REVEALED THE

SPOKEN PHRASE " TURN ME ON DEAD MAN " ( IN REFERENCE TO A DEAD PAUL ), WHEREAS

PLAYED FORWARDS WAS A MALE VOICE REPEATING THE PHRASE " NUMBER NINE ".

ON MAY 8 2016 ( MOTHER'S DAY ), THE ENGLISH ROCK GROUP RADIOHEAD

RELEASED THEIR NINTH STUDIO ALBUM, A MOON SHAPED POOL , COMPLETE WITH AN INSTANCE

OF BACKMASKING AT THE END OF THE SECOND TRACK " DAYDREAMING ". TWO DAYS EARLIER

A " DAYDREAMING " VIDEO ( DIRECTED BY PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON ) HAD BEEN RELEASED ONLINE

WITH ALMOST IMMEDIATE FAN DISCUSSION CENTERING UPON TWO ALLEGED PHRASES HEARD AT

THE END OF THIS TRACK : " HALF OF MY LOVE " AND / OR " HALF OF MY LIFE ". OR WAS IT ?

WERE FANS HEARING A FALSE POSITIVE, OR EVEN LISTENING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ( THE

ALLEGED " HALF OF MY LOVE " & " HALF OF MY LIFE " PHRASES ARE HEARD WHEN THE TRACK

IS PLAYED IN REVERSE ) ? WAS THE SONG " LIKE SPINNING PLATES " FROM THE 2001 ALBUM

AMNESIAC ( WHERE THE LYRICS WERE VOCALIZED BACKWARDS WITH THE RESULTANT RECORDING

REVERSED ) A MORE VALID BAROMETER OF THE BACKMASKING ? WAS PAUL STILL DEAD ? THE

FOLLOWING ESSAY, DIVIDED INTO THREE ACTES, SPANS THIS FIFTY YEAR HISTORY OF REVERSALS,

INVENTED LANGUAGES, AND HIDDEN MESSAGES, EXPLORING THE PHENOMENA OF AUDITORY

PAREIDOLIA , PATTERN RECOGNITION, AND LOVE, FROM THE BEATLES TO LED ZEPPELIN, ELO AND

STYX TO JUDAS PRIEST AND TENACIOUS D, AND FINALLY ( AND EVERMORE ) TO RADIOHEAD.

ACTE I - AUDITORY PAREIDOLIA

WE'VE ALL DONE IT, EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD WHO HAS EVER LOOKED

UP INTO THE SKY AND SEEN A FIGURE WITHIN A CLOUD, OR A FACE UPON A DISTANT

MOUNTAINTOP ; WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE MAGIC OF PAREIDOLIA. FROM THE GREEK WORDS

" PARA " [ BESIDE OR ABNORMAL ] AND " EIDOLON " [ IMAGE OR FORM ], PAREIDOLIA IS THE

PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENON OF DETECTING A PATTERN OR IMAGE IN A STIMULUS WHERE

NONE ACTUALLY EXISTS. ONE FAMOUS EXAMPLE OF COLLECTIVE PAREIDOLIA OCCURRED WITH

THE RELEASE OF IMAGE 035A72 TAKEN BY VOYAGER 1 ON JULY 25, 1976 IN THE CYDONIA

REGION OF MARS. A " FACE ON MARS " WAS SEEN ATOP A TWO KILOMETER MESA NEAR THE

41ST PARALLEL NORTH, A SPHINX - LIKE VISAGE RISING OUT OF THE MARTIAN DESERT AS ONE

RISING FROM A SUBTERRANEAN NAP TO REVEAL AN ILLUMINATED PROFILE WITH AN EYE, NOSE,

AND SLIGHTLY AJAR MOUTH. SOME EVEN WONDERED IF THE MESA MIGHT INSTEAD BE A

MARTIAN TEMPLE CARVED IN THE IMAGE OF A FACE POINTED SKYWARDS, UNTIL MORE DETAILED

IMAGES OF THIS SAME MESA IN CYDONIA WERE CAPTURED BY NASA'S MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR

AND RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER, AS WELL AS THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY'S MARS EXPRESS

PROBE IN THE EARLY 2000s. THESE NEW IMAGES ( OF MUCH HIGHER RESOLUTION ) REVEALED

THE " FACE ON MARS " TO HAVE BEEN AN OPTICAL ILLUSION DEPENDENT UPON THE VIEWING

ANGLE AND ANGLE OF ILLUMINATION ; THE SHADOWS PRESENT DURING THE BATCH PROCESSED

IMAGE 035A72 BY VOYAGER 1 ACCENTUATED AN EYE CAVITY AND MOUTH WHERE NONE EXISTED,

ONLY THE LESS SEVERE CONTOURS OF A NATURALLY FORMED CYDONIAN MESA.

ANOTHER INSTANCE OF COLLECTIVE PAREIDOLIA OCCURRED WITH THE RELEASE IN

NOVEMBER 1971 OF LED ZEPPELIN'S " STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN " ; WHEN THE LP WAS PLAYED

BACKWARDS ( A MORE FREQUENT OCCURRENCE IN THE HEYDAY OF VINYL IN THE 60s & 70s ),

MESSAGES WERE PURPORTEDLY HEARD, RANGING FROM " IF WE LOSE FEATHER, SAY YOU'LL

SAVE ME " TO " AND NO WIMPS CAN BEND THE RULES . . . AND NO WIMPS CAN DO ". OTHER

MESSAGES OF BOTH RELIGIOUS AND ANTI - RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT WERE HEARD, SUCH AS " OH

HEAR HIM, CHRISTIAN WITHIN ME ", " ALL MY LIFE WILL END FOR HIM ", " MY GOD NOW WILL

SAVE ME ", " HERE'S TO MY SWEET SATAN ", AND " THERE WAS A LITTLE TOOLSHED WHERE

HE MADE US SUFFER SAD SATAN ". TO THESE ALLEGATIONS, LEAD SINGER ROBERT PLANT HAS

CONSISTENTLY DENIED ANY BACKMASKED MESSAGES OR INTENTIONAL REVERSE RECORDINGS OR

LYRICS IN THE CREATION OF " STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN ", REMARKING " TO ME IT'S VERY SAD,

BECAUSE ' STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN ' WAS WRITTEN WITH EVERY BEST INTENTION, AND AS FAR AS

REVERSING TAPES . . . THAT'S NOT MY IDEA OF MAKING MUSIC ".

A FURTHER CASE OF COLLECTIVE PAREIDOLIA OCCURRED IN 1990 WITH THE

HIGHLY PUBLICIZED COURT CASE INVOLVING TWO NEVADA TEENAGERS WHO ATTEMPTED

SUICIDE IN 1985 UNDER THE ' MESMERIZING ' INFLUENCE OF JUDAS PRIEST'S 1978 ALBUM

STAINED CLASS ; THE PROSECUTION ALLEGED THAT THE SUBLIMINAL PHRASE " DO IT " WAS

AUDIBLE DURING THE SONG " BETTER BY YOU, BETTER THAN ME " AND WAS RESPONSIBLE

FOR THEIR DEATHS. OTHER PHRASES ALLEGEDLY HEARD IN THE STAINED CLASS ALBUM

INCLUDED " TIME MUST END BEFORE SIXTEEN ", " SING MY EVIL SPIRIT ", AND " F THE LORD ".

THE MEMBERS OF JUDAS PRIEST DEMONSTRATED HOWEVER THAT BY USING THE SAME

METHODS AS THE PROSECUTION TO UNCOVER HIDDEN BACKWARDS MESSAGES, THAT SUCH

PHRASES AS " HEY LOOK MA MY CHAIR'S BROKEN " AND " I ASKED FOR A PEPPERMINT, I ASKED

FOR HER TO GET ONE " WERE CLEARLY AUDIBLE AMIDST THE REVERSED LYRICS. WERE THE

MEMBERS OF JUDAS PRIEST TRYING TO CONVEY, SUBLIMINALLY, THAT THEY POSSESSED SITTING

SURFACES OF ILL REPAIR, OR THAT THEY LOVED PEPPERMINT AND WERE LOOKING FOR SOME ?

THIS LANDMARK COURT CASE, ASIDE FROM THE TENUOUS LOGIC AND SCANT EVIDENCE OF THE

PROSECUTION THAT THE PHRASE " DO IT " REFERRED TO DOING ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR, DID

EXEMPLIFY THE WAYS IN WHICH RANDOM BACKWARDS VOCALIZATIONS COULD OCCASIONALLY

PRODUCE LITTLE PHRASES OR WORDS CREATED BY PHONETIC HAPPENSTANCE THAT, AT LEAST

IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, WERE BOUND TO OCCUR UNDER THE LAWS OF PROBABILITY.

OTHER MUSICAL ACTS HAVE EXPLORED THE ART OF BACKMASKING AS THE RESULT

OF SIMILAR ACCUSATIONS OF " SUBLIMINAL " BACKWARDS MESSAGES HIDDEN IN THEIR MUSIC,

INTRODUCING THE USE OF BACKMASKING AS SATIRE. ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA ( ELO ) WAS

ACCUSED BY CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALIST GROUPS OF THE FOLLOWING BACKMASKED MESSAGE

IN THE TITLE TRACK OF THEIR 1974 ALBUM EL DORADO: " HE IS . . . NASTY ONE, CHRIST

YOU'RE FERNAL, THOUGH IT'S SAID WE'RE DEAD MEN, EVERYONE WHO HAS THE SMOKE WILLY ".

THE MEMBERS OF ELO, WHO ARE CHRISTIANS, WERE OFFENDED AT THE ALLEGATIONS BUT USED

PARODY IN FUTURE ALBUMS AS THEIR REVENGE, INCLUDED THE BACKMASKED MESSAGE " THE

MUSIC IS REVERSIBLE BUT TIME IS NOT. TURN BACK! TURN BACK! . . . " IN THEIR 1975 ALBUM

FACE THE MUSIC. A FURTHER ALBUM, SECRET MESSAGES FROM 1983, CONTINUED ELO's DELVE

INTO USING BACKMASKING FOR SATIRIC EFFECT WITH THE REVERSE PHRASES " YOU'RE PLAYING

ME BACKWARDS " AND " THANK YOU FOR LISTENING ". THE GROUP STYX ALSO USED THE ART

OF BACKMASKING AFTER SIMILAR ACCUSATIONS OF SATANIC BACKMASKING ; THEIR 1983 ALBUM

KILROY WAS HERE CONTAINS THE BACKWARDS MESSAGE " ANNUIT COEPTIS, NOVUS ORDO

SECLORUM ", A PHRASE WHICH IS PART OF THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES, AND ON

THE BACK OF EVERY $1 BILL. OTHER ARTISTS WHO HAVE USED BACKMASKING FOR PARODY

INCLUDE WEIRD AL YANKOVIC ( " WOW YOU MUST HAVE AN AWFUL LOT OF FREE TIME ON

YOUR HANDS " FROM THE 1996 ALBUM BAD HAIR DAY ) AND TENACIOUS D ( " EAT DONKEY

CRAP " ) FROM THEIR 2001 ALBUM TENACIOUS D ).

WE HAVE THUS WITNESSED THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF " BACKMASKING " IN

THIS BRIEF HISTORY OF REVERSED MESSAGES AND AUDITORY PAREIDOLIA IN POPULAR MUSIC :

A ) LYRICS AND VOCALS WHICH ARE ACTUALLY SOUNDED OUT AND SUNG IN REVERSE

( A RARER PHENOMENON, WITH " RAIN " BY THE BEATLES AND " LIKE SPINNING

PLATES " BY RADIOHEAD AS TWO EXAMPLES )

B ) VOCALS OR SPOKEN WORD RECORDED AND THEN REVERSED AND INSERTED INTO

THE FINAL MIX IN ITS NOW REVERSED STATE ( MUCH MORE COMMON, EXEMPLIFIED

ABOVE BY ELO, STYX, WEIRD AL, AND TENACIOUS D )

C ) VOCALS WHICH HAVE NO BACKMASKING WHATSOEVER IN THE RECORDING PROCESS

AND FINAL MIX, BUT WHICH HAVE CERTAIN PHASES AND " HIDDEN MESSAGES "

WHICH FORM UNDER THE PHENOMENA OF AUDITORY PAREIDOLIA AND CHANCE

( AS EXEMPLIFIED ABOVE BY LED ZEPPELIN, ELO's EL DORADO AND JUDAS PRIEST,

AS WELL AS THE END OF " STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER " & " REVOLUTION 9 " ).

ACTE II - NINE

" IT SEEMS THAT THE NINTH IS A LIMIT. HE WHO WANTS TO GO BEYOND IT MUST

PASS AWAY. IT SEEMS AS IF SOMETHING MIGHT BE IMPARTED TO US IN THE

TENTH WHICH WE OUGHT NOT YET TO KNOW, FOR WHICH WE ARE NOT READY.

THOSE WHO HAVE WRITTEN A NINTH STOOD TOO CLOSE TO THE HEREAFTER . . . "

- ARNOLD SCHOENBERG, 1912

EVER SINCE THE CONTRALTO CAROLINE UNGER TURNED LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

AROUND TO WITNESS THE FIVE STANDING OVATIONS HE RECEIVED AFTER THE PREMIERE OF HIS

NINTH SYMPHONY ON MAY 7, 1824, THE NINTH MAJOR WORK OF A MUSICAL ARTIST OR GROUP

HAS TAKEN ON OFTEN MYTHICAL PROPORTIONS AS THE EXPECTED APOTHEOSIS AND CROWN

JEWEL OF THAT COMPOSER'S OEUVRE. AND OFTENTIMES IT HAS DELIVERED. ON JUNE 26, 1912,

THE NINTH SYMPHONY OF GUSTAV MAHLER PREMIERED IN VIENNA, A WORK THE GERMAN

CONDUCTOR OTTO KLEMPERER WOULD LATER CALL " HIS [ MAHLER'S ] GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT ".

HERBERT VON KARAJAN SAID OF MAHLER'S NINTH THAT " IT IS MUSIC COMING FROM ANOTHER

WORLD, IT IS COMING FROM ETERNITY ". THE GREAT RUSSIAN COMPOSER DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH

RELEASED A " NINTH SYMPHONY " ON NOVEMBER 3, 1945, WHICH WAS A " SYMPHONY " IN NAME

ONLY ( DUE TO THE COMPOSER'S GREAT DISDAIN FOR STALIN ) * ; HIS REAL " NINTH ", COMMONLY

KNOWN AS HIS TENTH, WAS PREMIERED ON DECEMBER 17, 1953, NINE MONTHS AFTER THE

DEATH OF STALIN. THIS MONUMENTAL WORK HAD, LIKE BEETHOVEN'S NINTH, ABYSSAL ROOTS,

SOME MOTIFS AND MOVEMENTS HAVING BEEN COMPOSED AS EARLY AS 1951, AND WITH EVEN

THE REWORKING OF THEMES FROM AN ABANDONED VIOLIN SONATA WRITTEN IN 1946. THIS

LONGER GESTATION PERIOD GAVE BIRTH TO A WORK WHICH STANDS AS A TITAN AMONGST THE

SYMPHONIES OF ALL TIME, AND EXPRESSES THE FULL RANGE OF THE FURY, GRIEF, AND

HEAVINESS OF EXISTENCE WHICH PERVADED THE HEARTS OF RUSSIA DURING THE STALIN YEARS.

SHOSTAKOVICH EVEN ADDS IN THIS TRUE " NINTH " A SECRET MESSAGE OF SORTS BY USING AS

A THEME OF THE THIRD MOVEMENT A MOTIF WHOSE NOTES SPELL OUT THE NAME OF HIS

LOVE, A STUDENT NAMED ELMIRA NAZIROVA ( WITH THE MOTIF " E La Mi Re A " ). ANOTHER

MUSICAL CRYPTOGRAM IN THE SAME MOVEMENT REFERRED TO SHOSTAKOVICH HIMSELF ( THE

NOTES D - E FLAT - C - B , OR IN GERMAN MUSICAL NOTATION, D - Es - Ce - Ha, WHICH

WERE HIS INITIALS IN GERMAN TRANSLITERATION ( D. Sch ) ). BOTH THEMES REPEAT AS THE

TWIRLING COLUMNS OF AN INNER SUPERSTRUCTURE, A SUBCONSCIOUS TORMENTED BY THE FEAR

AND ARTISTIC SUPPRESSION OF THE STALIN REGIME, AND OF A SUBCONSCIOUS TORMENTED BY

THE RANDOM FIRINGS OF LOVE.

THE NINTH STUDIO ALBUM OF THE BEATLES, KNOWN AS THE WHITE ALBUM, WAS

LIKEWISE OF A MORE MASSIVE AND MONUMENTAL SCALE, THE ONLY DOUBLE ALBUM RELEASED

BY THE GROUP. WRITTEN LARGELY DURING A TRANSCENDENTAL RETREAT IN RISHIKESH INDIA

BY ALL FOUR BEATLES ( FEB - APR 1968 ), THE WHITE ALBUM SPRAWLS TO THE INNERMOST

WORKINGS OF THEIR COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL MINDS, AND MIRRORS THE BLINDINGLY CLOSE

VANTAGEPOINT ENCOUNTERED ( AS IN THE NINTH SYMPHONIES OF BEETHOVEN, MAHLER, AND

SHOSTAKOVICH ) OF THE UNBRIDLED ART OF PURE GENIUS AND HONEST EMOTION. ANOTHER

MONUMENTAL NINTH STUDIO ALBUM, THE WALL BY PINK FLOYD **, POSSESSES A SIMILAR RANGE

FROM THE ANTHEMIC TO THE MOST OBLIQUE TO THE TENDEREST OF EMOTIONS, AND WAS

LIKEWISE THE ONLY DOUBLE ALBUM RELEASED BY THE GROUP. THE NINTH STUDIO ALBUM BY

BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS, EXODUS, IS ALSO A CROWNING MASTERPIECE ; WRITTEN AND

RECORDED LARGELY IN EXILE ( JAN - APR 1977 ) FOLLOWING AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, THIS

ALBUM WAS NAMED BY TIME MAGAZINE IN 1999 AS THE GREATEST ALBUM OF THE 20TH

CENTURY, ENDING WITH " ONE LOVE " ( NAMED THE SONG OF THE MILLENNIUM BY THE BBC ).

IN RECENT YEARS, THE MINIMALIST COMPOSER PHILIP GLASS RELEASED HIS NINTH SYMPHONY

( WHICH PREMIERED ON JANUARY 1, 2012 IN AUSTRIA ) WITH BOTH THE ECHOES OF EARLIER

MOTIFS FROM WORKS PAST ( AS IN THE FOURTH MOVEMENT OF BEETHOVEN'S NINTH AND THE

THIRD MOVEMENT OF SHOSTAKOVICH'S " NINTH " ) AND THE THUNDERING RHYTHMS AND ETHERIAL

REVERIES OF AN APOCALYPTIC FUTURE. THE NINTH STUDIO ALBUM OF RADIOHEAD ( A MOON

SHAPED POOL ) WILL BE LEFT TO TIME FUTURE TO DETERMINE ITS LEVEL OF GREATNESS ( THE

PRESENT BEING TOO CLOSE TO ITS NASCENT RELEASE ), BUT FEW ALBUMS BY RADIOHEAD OR

OTHERWISE HAVE PLUMBED SUCH OCEANIC DEPTHS OF EMOTION WHERE THE STARS OF AN

INNER UNIVERSE EXPLODE TOWARDS AN INEVITABLE INFINITY.

ON JUNE 20, 1968, JOHN LENNON PERFORMED A LIVE MIX OF TAPE LOOPS

RUNNING CONCURRENTLY THROUGHOUT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS ( DURING THE SESSIONS FOR

THE WHITE ALBUM ) ; IN HIS OWN WORDS :

" REVOLUTION 9 WAS AN UNCONSCIOUS PICTURE OF WHAT I ACTUALLY THINK WILL

HAPPEN WHEN IT HAPPENS ; JUST LIKE A DRAWING OF A REVOLUTION. ALL THE

THING WAS MADE OF LOOPS. I HAD ABOUT 30 LOOPS GOING, FED THEM ONTO

ONE BASIC TRACK. I WAS GETTING CLASSICAL TAPES, GOING UPSTAIRS AND

CHOPPING THEM UP, MAKING IT BACKWARDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT TO GET THE

SOUND EFFECTS. ONE THING WAS AN ENGINEER'S TESTING VOICE SAYING, " THIS

IS EMI TEST SERIES NUMBER NINE ". I JUST CUT UP WHATEVER HE SAID AND I'D

NUMBER NINE IT. NINE TURNED OUT TO BE MY BIRTHDAY AND MY LUCKY NUMBER

AND EVERYTHING. I DIDN'T REALIZE IT : IT WAS JUST SO FUNNY THE VOICE

SAYING " NUMBER NINE " ; IT WAS LIKE A JOKE, BRINGING NUMBER NINE INTO IT

ALL THE TIME, THAT'S ALL IT WAS. "

ACTE III - CRANBERRY SAUCE

" THAT WASN'T ' I BURIED PAUL ' AT ALL - THAT WAS JOHN SAYING

' CRANBERRY SAUCE '. THAT'S JOHN'S HUMOR. IF YOU DON'T REALIZE THAT

JOHN'S APT TO SAY CRANBERRY SAUCE WHEN HE FEELS LIKE IT, THEN YOU

START TO HEAR A FUNNY LITTLE WORD THERE, AND YOU THINK ' AHA ! ' "

- PAUL McCARTNEY, 1974

I CHALLENGE YOU TO AN EXPERIMENT. FIND A COPY OF " STRAWBERRY

FIELDS FOREVER " BY THE BEATLES ( IDEALLY CD QUALITY OR BETTER ), THEN FIND A PAIR

OF OPEN OR SEMI - OPEN STUDIO HEADPHONES DESIGNED FOR MIXING AND MASTERING ( FOR

THIS TEST, A PAIR OF BEYERDYNAMIC DT - 880 HEADPHONES WERE USED ). NOW LISTEN TO

THE RECORDING. FROM THE OPENING MELLOTRON COMING OUT OF ONLY THE LEFT SPEAKER

AT FIRST, TO THE BUILD UP OF REVERSE DRUM SOUNDS AND SAMPLES IN THE THIRD MINUTE,

TO THE VARIED SHRIEKS, WORDS, AND MUMBLINGS HEARD AT 3:27, 3:30, 3:33, 3:36, 3:38,

3:41, 3:49, AND 3:53. THEN, LOOKING AT A PAPER WITH THE PHRASE " I . . BURIED . . PAUL "

WRITTEN ON IT, LISTEN TO 3:57 - 3:59 OF THIS RECORDING. DID YOU HEAR IT ? NOW LISTEN

TO THE SONG AGAIN, BUT THIS TIME WITH THE PHRASE " CRAN - BERRY . . SAUCE " WRITTEN,

AS YOU LISTEN AGAIN TO THE 3:57 - 3:59 REGION. WHAT DID YOU HEAR NOW ? NOW FIND

A COPY OF THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY 2 AND LISTEN TO THE TWO " CRANBERRY SAUCES " AT

THE END, WITH THE ACCENT ROLL ON THE DOUBLE Rs OF THE FIRST CRANBERRY AND THE

ACCENT ROLL ON THE FIRST R WITH THE SECOND, AS WELL AS " ALRIGHT, CALM DOWN RINGO,

CALM DOWN MAN ! " A FEW SECONDS AFTER ( AT THE VERY END ). IF YOU HEARD THE " I

BURIED PAUL " WITH THE FIRST LISTEN, AND THE " CRANBERRY SAUCE " WITH THE SECOND,

YOU ARE NOT ALONE. MICHAEL SHERMER, COLUMNIST FOR SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN AND PROFESSOR

OF PSYCHOLOGY AT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY, ARGUES THAT THE HUMAN BRAIN HAS EVOLVED WITH

A STRONG PATTERN RECOGNITION FACULTY TO PROCESS THE LARGE AMOUNTS OF VISUAL AND

AUDITORY NOISE WITHIN OUR ENVIRONMENT. THIS SAME FACILITY LEADS HOWEVER TO FALSE

POSITIVES, AS DEMONSTRATED ABOVE BY THE ALLEGED BACKMASKING EXAMPLES FROM " STAIRWAY

TO HEAVEN ", " EL DORADO ", AND OTHERS. IN 1985, JOHN VOKEY AND DON READ FROM THE

UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE CONDUCTED A STUDY INVITING PARTICIPANTS TO LISTEN TO CERTAIN

SELECTED SOUND PASSAGES, INCLUDING QUEEN'S " ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST ", A BIBLICAL

PASSAGE ( PSALM 23 ), AND SECTIONS OF LEWIS CARROL'S JABBERWOCKY. THESE RECORDINGS

WERE THEN PLAYED FOR EACH LISTENER FORWARDS AND THEN BACKWARDS. THE RESEARCHERS

CONCLUDED THAT MOST SUBJECTS COULD NOT HEAR ALLEGED BACKWARDS MESSAGES ( HEARING

THE RECORDINGS IN REVERSE ) UNLESS THEY WERE PRIMED FOR THEM, IN WHICH CASE ABOUT

90 % COULD HEAR THE ALLEGED PHRASES ( OR PSEUDO - PHRASES FROM THE PHENOMENON OF

PAREIDOLIA ). " TURN ME ON DEAD MAN " HAD SUCH A FOLLOWING AS A " HIDDEN MESSAGE "

AS IT FIT INTO THE MENTAL CONSTRUCT OF THE " PAUL IS DEAD " DELUSIONAL FANATICS, WHO

THEN PRIMED THOUSANDS OF UNEXPECTANT LISTENERS INTO LISTENING FOR A VERBAL PHRASE

WHICH SIMPLY WAS NOT THERE.

NOW FOR ONE FINAL EXPERIMENT. USING THE SAME STUDIO HEADPHONES USED

IN REVIEWING " STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER ", NOW LISTEN TO A CD QUALITY ( OR BETTER )

RECORDING OF RADIOHEAD'S " DAYDREAMING " ( FOR THIS TEST, THE 24 - BIT WAV VERSION OF

" DAYDREAMING " WAS USED, AVAILABLE AT WWW.AMOONSHAPEDPOOL.COM WITH PURCHASE OF

THE DIGITAL ALBUM ). IF YOUR HEADPHONES AND SOUND CARD ARE ADEQUATE ( METRIC HALO

ULN-2 INTERFACE USED FOR THIS TEST ), VOCALIZATIONS AT THE 3 SECOND AND 7 SECOND

MARKS CAN BE DISCERNED IN THE BACKGROUND ( WHICH REPEAT TWO MORE TIMES IN THIS

INITIAL PHASE OF THE PIECE ). NOW EXPERIENCE A TRACK WHICH IS QUINTESSENTIAL

RADIOHEAD, AND ( AT LEAST IN THE OPINION OF THIS AUTHOR ), QUINTESSENTIAL GENIUS.

AS THE PIECE DRAWS TO A CLOSE, THE FIRST MANIFESTATIONS OF THE " VOICE " ARE HEARD,

FIRST AS A BREATHING - IN SOUND RISING IN VOLUME AND TIMBRE ( AT 5:41 ), THEN AS AN

EXPLOSIVE SNORT OR GRUNT ( AT 5:44 ) THAT IS VERY AUDIBLE. AT 5:46, ONE THIRD OF

THE " VOICE " BEGINS, AS A VERY LOW REGISTER BASS STRINGS SOUND, REPEATING A PHRASE

FOR THE FIRST OF SEVEN TIMES. THE SECOND REPEATING OF THE PHRASE ( AT 5:51 ) NOW

INCLUDES THE OTHER TWO LAYERS OF THE " VOICE " : A TENOR REGISTER ROBOT VOICE

( THINK THE SYNTHESIZED VOICE FROM " FITTER HAPPIER " IN 1997'S OK COMPUTER BUT NOW

DISTORTED AND WASHED OUT BEYOND RECOGNITION ) AND A HOLLOW REED - LIKE VOICE OF

A SLIGHTLY HIGHER TIMBRE. ALL THREE OF THESE LAYERS SLOSH TOGETHER IN A SONIC

MAELSTROM THRU SIX REPEATS, WITH SLIGHT VARIATIONS IN THE PRONUNCIATION WHICH

HINT THAT THE SIGNAL IMPETUS FOR THESE THREE LAYERS OF SOUND WAS A HUMAN VOICE.

THE FOLLOWING PHRASE IS ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE PHRASES HERE MADE ALMOST

UNRECOGNIZABLE, TO THE POINT THAT MOST FORUMS AND REVIEWS OF THIS SONG ARE

LISTENING TO THIS SEGMENT OF " DAYDREAMING " IN REVERSE, TO UNCOVER THE BACKMASKED

PHRASES " HALF OF MY LIFE " AND " HALF OF MY LOVE ", WHICH SOME FANS BELIEVE TO BE

IN REFERENCE TO THOM YORKE'S BREAKUP WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND OF 23 YEARS ( A SPACE OF

TIME WHICH OCCUPIED HALF OF HIS 47 YEAR LIFE ). WERE FANS BEING TOO LITERAL, OR

HEARING A MODERN DAY " TURN ME ON DEAD MAN ", THAT THE PHRASE WHICH HAS IGNITED

INNER RAINBOWS AND STRETCHED TO THE FARTHEST RAINSHOWERS OF THE GALAXY, AND EVEN

ENDED GREAT FILMS ( SUCH AS GODARD'S ALPHAVILLE ) SHOULD HERE BE UNHEARD ? WAS THE

MESSAGE INTENDED ONLY FOR AN AUDIENCE OF ONE, THE ONE TO WHOM THE PIECE IS

ADDRESSED TO ? OR IS THIS A CASE OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, WHERE PHRASES ARE HEARD IN BOTH

DIRECTIONS, FORWARDS AND IN REVERSE, SPIRALING AND CASCADING, EXHALING AND THEN

INHALING ? IT MAY VERY WELL BE THAT HERE THE AUTHOR HAS CAUGHT A CASE OF THE

DREADED AUDITORY PAREIDOLIA, BUT IF THIS LAND OF ENCHANTED CLOUDTOPS AND SUGARLOAF

MOUNTAINS BE BUT A DAYDREAM, THEN LET US DREAM, ERE AN HOUR, ERE A DAY, ERE A

CENTURY, ERE ETERNITY . . .

I LOVE YOU STILL

EVER MY LOVE

( )

EVER MY LOVE

( )

EVER MY LOVE

AUGUST 8 2016

* AS EXPLAINED BY SHOSTAKOVICH IN HIS MEMOIRS AS DICTATED TO SOLOMON VOLKOV, " THEY

WANTED A FANFARE FROM ME, AN ODE. THEY WANTED ME TO WRITE A MAJESTIC NINTH

SYMPHONY. EVERYONE PRAISED STALIN AND NOW I WAS SUPPOSED TO JOIN IN THIS UNHOLY

AFFAIR. AND THEY DEMANDED . . . QUADRUPLE WINDS, CHOIR, AND SOLOISTS TO HAIL THE

LEADER. BUT THERE WERE NO CHORUS, NO SOLOISTS . . . THERE WASN'T EVEN A PALTRY

DEDICATION. BUT I COULDN'T WRITE AN APOTHEOSIS TO STALIN, I SIMPLY COULDN'T. " IN

ANY CASE THE PIECE PREMIERED BY SHOSTAKOVICH ON NOVEMBER 3, 1945 WAS WRITTEN IN

SUCH A PURPOSEFULLY DIFFERENT VOICE ( WITH ALMOST HAYDNESQUE NEOCLASSICAL

STRUCTURES AND THE ONLY FIRST MOVEMENT SYMPHONIC REPEAT IN ANY OF HIS SYMPHONIES )

THAT THE SEVERE ARTISTIC REPRESSION WHICH SURROUNDED THIS WORK AND THIS GREAT

ARTIST MUST BE CONSIDERED IN ITS CLASSIFICATION AS A TRUE SYMPHONY, AND IF AS A

SYMPHONY, TO ATTRIBUTE IT TO SHOSTAKOVICH OR TO THE GHOST OF HAYDN.

** IN THIS CLASSIFICATION OF PINK FLOYD'S THE WALL AS THEIR NINTH STUDIO ALBUM, THE

1969 LIVE ALBUM UMMAGUMMA AND THE 1972 SOUNDTRACK OBSCURED BY CLOUDS WERE

BOTH EXCLUDED, AS THEY BOTH WERE MINOR STUDIO EFFORTS COMPARED TO THE EIGHT

ALBUMS ( PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN, A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS, MORE, ATOM HEART

MOTHER, MEDDLE, DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, WISH YOU WERE HERE, AND ANIMALS ) WHICH

PRECEDED 1979's THE WALL.

CAREFUL MY LOVE