Pareidolia: How Our Brains Heard Satan in Rock Music
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Resources & Recommendations
Podcasts
- Twenty Thousand Hertz - A podcast all about sound that explored the history and science around rock music hysteria and backmasking, which is the focus of this episode.
- Curiosity Daily Podcast - Co-hosted by Ashley Hamer, it comes out every weekday and covers various topics related to curiosity.
Articles & Papers
- "History of Backmasking" (Atlas Obscura) by Brian Gardner - An article detailing the historical context of playing recorded sounds backward.
- Scientific Study on Sine Wave Speech (Journal of Science) - An early 80s study that demonstrated how priming influences the perception of degraded speech.
People Mentioned
- Russ Gibb - A radio DJ in 1969 who received a call about the "Paul is dead" rumor and subsequently publicized it.
- Paul Crouch - Pastor and host of the "Praise the Lord" show, who played Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" backward to demonstrate alleged satanic messages.
- Jan Crouch - Co-host of the "Praise the Lord" show with her husband, Paul Crouch.
- Paul Crouch Jr. - Son of Paul and Jan Crouch, who played the backward audio on the "Praise the Lord" show.
- Gary Greenwald - A famous pastor who conducted "backmasking tours" and hosted a television show to highlight alleged backward messages in music.
- Jerry Carr Whitehead - The judge in the 1990 Judas Priest trial, who ruled that the band and CBS Records were not liable for the deaths and found no proof of backmasking or its ability to affect conduct.
- James Young (Styx) - Musician who called the idea of satanic backmasking a hoax perpetrated by religious zealots.
- Ashley Hamer (Managing Editor for Curiosity.com, Co-host of Curiosity Daily podcast, freelance musician) - Provided insights on intentional vs. unintentional backmasking and the concept of pareidolia.
- Bob Garcia (A&M Records) - Cited for his quote about backmasking, suggesting that the devil must be responsible because no one at the label knew how to do it.
Organizations & Institutions
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (US) - A resource for support for those suffering with suicidal thoughts.
- The Samaritans (UK) - An organization offering support for those suffering with suicidal thoughts.
- CBS Records - The record label involved in the Judas Priest trial.
Websites & Online Resources
- Curiosity.com - A website for which Ashley Hamer is the managing editor.
- Defacto Sound (defactosound.com) - A sound design team dedicated to making television, film, and games sound incredible, and the studio where "Twenty Thousand Hertz" is produced.
Other Resources
- "Demonizing Dungeons and Dragons" (Cautionary Tales episode) - A previous episode of "Cautionary Tales" that discussed the satanic panic and its impact on tabletop role-playing games.
- Adrift (Apple Original Podcast) - A podcast hosted by Becky Milligan about a family's fight for survival after their boat sank.