What u all reckon, are there any subliminal messages in the song hotel California?
Original answers to be appreciated.
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What u all reckon, are there any subliminal messages in the song hotel California?
Original answers to be appreciated.
[tex] [/tex]
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WARNING: LONG ANSWER AHEAD
Hotel California (although "overplayed" to such an extent that if I hear it one more time, I swear I'll go mad) would, without a doubt, easily land into my all time favourites' list!
Most of the Eagle's songs are best known for the clear messages that they try to deliver, but Hotel California, in my opinion, is so iconic because it altogether "defies clarity" (and ofc because of the freäking solo, but let's not get into that ;)
Try scrolling through the internet and YouTube, you'll find dozens of fan theories, incoherent interpretations and whatnot. Some even claim that there are "subliminal messages" when you try to play it backwards.
I don't personally believe in it, but let's look at this a little further.
many people accuse ( religious people, in particular) various rock bands of enticing young people to worship the devil, commit crimes, and do drugs. the most popular example is "stairway to heaven".. and if you play it backwards, it sure sounds creepy. but try switching off the subtitles and listen to it again, you'll find random nonsense and there's no way you'll subconsciously connect the music to the devil lol
(even if it is true, it proves jack Black's point that Led Zeppelin sold their soul to the devil, BECAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER EXCUSE FOR THEIR UNGODLY TALENT!! XD
to understand the psychology of playing a song in reverse and to find out if there is indeed a "subliminal message" or if it is pure balderdash, i skimmed through a few articles and I'd like to share a few excerpts.
HISTORY (Yelp, not original I'm afraid)
" Subliminal messages in music or 'backmasking' are inserted through a special recording technique. Someone records a sound or message backward on a track that’s meant to be played forward. Thus, the listener can only consciously hear the message if they listen to it backward.
Two major factors led to subliminal messages in music. The first came from “concrete music”. This genre used electronic instrument sounds with sounds from the environment and combined them in the recording studio.
The second factor was the use of recordable tape to record and conserve the original performances of musicians. This allowed technicians to combine, cut, record over, and paste fragments of the original recording.
The Beatles, and John Lennon in particular, conducted a variety of experiments with “concrete music”. Thus, they started an entirely new chapter of the story. The band wanted to satirize, experiment, and put out some new sounds, and subliminal messages were a great way to do so."
From that point on, many artists did the same thing. Therefore, subliminal messages in music became more common.
Predictably, several religious movements began to preach against subliminal messages. As a result, urban legends about them also gained traction. Many people listened to tapes backward and found hidden meanings, but the majority of their assertions were just wild guesses.
Let us approach this problem from a more scientific POV now
Psychology behind subliminal messages
Both the perception and reaction to subliminal messages happen at the subconscious level. I'll keep it short!
Subliminal messages appeal to our subconscious mind. They work through a process in which external sensory stimuli work to trigger reactions without us noticing the signals. One theory proposes that subliminal visual and auditory priming can work to spread activation in your semantic network. Infact many experiments were carried out throughout history to prove this theory. So, "it's just all in your head" XD
Conclusion
After walking through the history of subliminal experiments, you can see that subliminal messaging isn't just black magic - there is science to it.
So are there really "secret" messages in Hotel California? Who knows! I've always connected the song with "materialism in America". Because of such extended usage of literary devices and metaphors, one might feel that there are some secret messages that the song might try to convey, but best let's leave it to interpretation. i mean to each his own ;)
the song slaps tho xD
Rock on \m/