anyone here listen to backwards versions of music?
Almighty Cooter mentioned he listened to an album backwards for fun but has anyone found anything that sounds good when played in reverse?
I don’t mean any of this looking for satanic messages shit with LedZep et al. I’m talking about music for the way it sounds - if it sounds beautiful it sounds beautiful regardless of the way it’s meant to be played.
If anyone has Cat Power’s version of Werewolf I suggest you listen to it backwards, it’s nice. Poison by the Prodigy has it’s moments.
Early manson was always a good time looking for stuff in reverse. Up to smells like children there were just goldmines of stuff on there. Even the crying children on the hidden track on smells like children slowed down whined and moaned for their mommies and how hungry they were. rev #9 off the get your gunn single was Good times too.
Honestly, I don’t listen to music backwards that much, but it can give you some good ideas about what works.
I’ve found that quiet instruments with a strong attack and slow fades (like acoustic guitars/pianos) seem to sound best backwards. Also scraping noises seem to provide good samples when played in reverse. Drums most of the time just end up sounding cheesy and distracting (see “Ms. Jackson” by Outkast) except sometimes a backwards tom thrown in can add body to a rhythm track.
I had a roommate in college who had a boom-box that would play cassettes backwards. I made a recording of Stairway to Heaven. My sweet Satan, indeed!
In one of my own songs I backmasked a lengthy quote from William S. Burroughs. At least I think it was Burroughs. I wrote the thing then years ago, so I’m not sure.
As for backwards drums, Martin Atkins’ trademark breakbeat involved a few backwards hits. Very cool at first, but it got very old after he started using it in every damn song.
My first copy of Skinny Puppy’s Remission was a cassette that the second side of it was reversed. I thought it was on purpose as the music was different to begin with, and there are backwards elements on it. I didn’t discover this until the Bites and Remission combo cd came out [:)] The song Solvent backwards oddly enough has phrases that approximate the title which isn’t actually mentioned in the lyrics.