16 of the Best Hidden Easter Eggs in Music
Happy Easter music lovers! If you didn't know, those colorful plastic eggs you see around this time of year aren't the only place that's good for hiding surprises. The term Easter Egg also means hidden message or secret. Many of which can be seen in some of the music we listen to today. In honor of Easter, let's go on an Easter Egg hunt!
1. Pink Floyd's "Empty Spaces"
In the Pink Floyd song "Empty Spaces" from their 1979 album The Wall, Roger Water's voice can be heard saying “Congratulations. You've just discovered the secret message. Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the funny farm, Chalfont…” Another voice call can also be heard exclaiming “Roger! Carolyne is on the phone!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnU5V4Z9k882. Nirvana's "Rage"
After a 10-minute long silence during Nirvana's "Rage," off their second album Nevermind, the song "Nameless, Endless" will start playing. The song is not credited on the album and is not featured on every copy. This song may or may not have scared the sh*t out of you once in your lifetime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmtbsFW0tCw3. The Eagles' "Hotel California"
This song has received a lot of controversy, with lyrics such as “There were voices down the corridor, thought I heard them say, welcome to the hotel California” played in reverse to be heard as “Yeah Satan, he organized, oh, he organized his own religion."
https://youtu.be/WodaLlkn2cU4. The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat
The album cover, which at first seems all black, reveals itself to be much more with a closer look. When studied or with the help of a blacklight, a skull tattoo can be seen on Andy Warhol collaborator Joe Spencer’s arm.
5. The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields"
The infamous “Paul Is Dead” conspiracy comes from this iconic song. During the song, the words “I buried Paul” can be heard during the creepy outro. The theory claims that Paul McCartney was killed in a car crash in 1966 and replaced with a double.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9pGRtP9WsI6. Radiohead's Kid A
On their 2000 album Kid A, secret clues were hidden not inside the music, but inside the packaging. A second booklet was hidden behind the album's tray, featuring bizarre lyrics and erratic poetry. Although seemingly random at the time, the messages would be revealed in their next two albums, Amnesiac, released in 2001, and 2003's Hail to the Thief.
7. Tool's 10,000 Days DIY hidden track
On Tool's 2006 album 10,000 Days, the highly creative band decided to take song mixing to another level. It's proven that 3 songs on the album, "Viginti Tres," "Wings for Marie," and "10,000 Days" can be mixed and overlaid to form an entirely new song with entirely new lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFjEp79zaNw8. Rush's "YYZ"
In the beginning of Rush's song "YYZ," loud bells are heard ringing. The ringing bell patterns are the song's title in morse code. Pilots who have flown to Toronto International Airport can vouch for this Easter Egg as YYZ is the code of the Toronto International Airport, which is Rush's home town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WddSQVTwj_Y9. Frank Zappa's "Hot Poop"
Zappa's song “Hot Poop,” originally called "Mother People," appeared on the end of side one off the 1968 album We’re Only In It For The Money. The hidden message is a lyric that was removed by the record label from the original version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2mgD2ynBxo10. Santana's debut album
At first glance, a wild lion can be seen illustrated on Santana's self-titled debut album. If you take a much closer look, the album features nine smaller faces that make up the lion's head.
11. J. Geils Band's "No Anchovies, Please"
On J. Geils's famous 1980 album Love Stinks, the song "No Anchovies, Please" is about a woman who is kidnapped and taken to a foreign-speaking country after eating anchovies. The sound effect of the foreign tongue is heard in reverse, but when played in reserve reverse, the words become "It doesn't take a genius to know the difference between chicken shit and chicken salad!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-jA9jthigA12. Ozzy Osborne's "Bloodbath in Paradise"
On Ozzy Osbourne's 1988 album No Rest for the Wicked, the song "Bloodbath in Paradise" has a line in the beginning, murmured, saying "Your mother sells whelks in Hull," an apparent parody of the most famous line from The Exorcist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50jw48zVCWk13. The Rolling Stones' "Their Satanic Majesties Request"
In 1967, The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, an album with one of the most memorable album covers of all time. The album gave a nod to the rivalry they had with The Rolling Stones, which features a Shirley Temple doll wearing a “Welcome The Rolling Stones” T-shirt.Months later, The Rolling Stones released their own album Their Satanic Majesties Request, featuring a colorful album cover paying silent "tribute" to The Beatles.
14. Slayer's Hell Awaits
On Slayer's second album, Hell Awaits, the very first track in the beginning of the album starts with reversed back-masked gibberish. When reversed, it repeatedly says "Join Us!" about 45 times, before it opens with one last "Welcome Back!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=869aKwGVmFs15. Harry Nilson and John Lennon's Pussy Cats
On Harry Nilson and John Lennon's collaboration album Pussy Cats, released in 1974, the bottom of the album cover features a rug book-ended by two blocks, one with the letter "D," the other with the letter "S." When opened the message spells "D-rug-S."
16. Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa
On the Grateful Dead's 1969 Aoxomoxoa, if you closely look at the Grateful Dead's logo, it spells "Ate Acid" in the lettering design.
