In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, O.F. Cieri reads an excerpt from her novel ‘Backmask’ and discusses the inspiration behind the story and the music that shaped it.
Inspired by pop music history and written in the style of ‘60s horror pulp, ‘Backmask’ is the fake history of a conspiracy theory surrounding the Satanic agenda to control children’s minds. Nicholas Hush, 1960s record producer, has a vision for the future of pop music. After a series of prophetic dreams, he wants to combine occult imagery with upcoming trends to create a new, groundbreaking look. His secretary, Valerie Chill, is tasked with finding consultants and funding while he crafts the perfect album. Quickly their project becomes entangled in other, larger machinations, and two teenage pop acts become responsible for international intrigue, brainwashing, and an occult massacre. Taking inspiration from the lives of Joe Meek, Phil Spector, and Timothy Leary, ‘Backmask’ is a speculative look at how hidden messages got into pop music.
O.F. Cieri is a self-taught writer based out of NYC. She has been published in ‘Ligeia Magazine’ and ‘Misery Tourism’. In 2013 she won first place in BMCC's Poetry Competition. In 2016 she won an Honorable Mention in LaborArts Make Work Visible Competition. Her nonfiction has been carried by ‘Hyperallergic’ and the ‘Invisible Oranges’. In February of 2023 she published her second book, ‘Lockdown Laureate’, with Castaigne Publishing. Her third book, ‘Backmask’, was published by Malarkey in June of 2023.
MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
- Rock is Lit theme music
- [Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
- The Moontrekkers – “Night of the Vampire”
- Bauhaus – “She’s In Parties”
- The Cramps “The Goo Goo Mack”
- [Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
- Rock is Lit theme music
LINKS:
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O.F. Cieri’s website: https://ofcieri.com/
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O.F. Cieri on Twitter: @ossvary
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I'm from New York, and I have a background in historical research I have written three books so far Lord of Thundertown, which was an urban fantasy Lockdown laureate a short story collection and finally back mask, which I'll be reading from today Back mask is a historical fiction novel about a music producer in the 1960s who is looking for his next big hit After a number of dreams about a mysterious new sound he reaches out to various cult groups and government agencies to manifest his dreams into reality But instead he finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy to control the minds of the youth of today or 1962 anyway You'll probably be able to imagine the kinds of media. I took most of inspiration from for the story I wanted to really pull from the kind of pulpy thrillers that were very popular in the letter half of the 20th century Especially the ones where fears of mass media really dominated international consciousness But the most direct inspiration for this book came from Joe meek who was an English music producer who claimed to have prophetic dreams That helped him pioneer the field of electronic music in fact at the back of the book. I offer that Most of the inspiration came directly from episode 367 of the last podcast on left which covered Ed Savitz and Joe meek Joe meek is pretty well known as one of the pioneers of electronic music and his experiments with sound equipment Which he used to record ghosts and cemeteries helped aid a lot of experiments in recording new and strange sounds that he used in compositions his most famous song is called the Telstar and It is one of the very first entirely electronic instrumental pieces of music Definitely the first one that actually made a pop chart but one of his lesser known works was a piece called Night of the Vampire which was recorded by the Moon Trekkers and It's that song that was the main inspiration for a back mask It's a bouncy spooky instrumental piece and when I first heard it on the podcast episode They said that the song sounds like dancing cartoon skeletons and I agreed, but I also thought it sounded a lot like Kind of the psychobilly music that I was listening to as a teenager Kind of thinking of the horror pods kind of thinking of the meteors kind of thinking of the cramps, but those 50s and 60s horror novelty acts Inspired a lot of music and when you go back and look at What the cramps very specifically were inspired by you'll find TV programs like Vampira the monsters the Adams family But those are just some of the surviving examples of those routine. There were actually a lot of Examples some of which I highlight in the book and that meant that there is a my opinion an unbroken intellectual lineage from the early silent horror films and the goth acts that took inspiration from them decades later The secret plot of back mask is that Nicholas Hush is trying to jump all of that gradual Progress of intellectual development. He's trying to beat the cramps He's trying to beat the damned and insert himself as the inventor of goth music Before any of those people who would be kids at the time of the book have the chance to grow up From watching all of those scary movies on their home TVs the first generation to be watching horror movies at home The song that Hush is listening to when he has his dream Is she is in parties by Bauhaus and that gets revealed at the end of the book and I had one reviewer tell me that I kind of showed my hand there, but I don't know It was always kind of a joke anyways Chrissy suggested that I start with a reading of at least one chapter from the book and so I am opening up with chapter zero Titled the fool with Amex platinum. You can really be in the now access to resi priority notify Yes, or p.m. Check out with fine hotels and resorts book through Amex travel We needed this and dedicated card member entrances at the left events Let's go Mmm, you can focus on the present moment. That's the powerful backing of American Express Terms apply learn more at American Express comm slash with Amex card member entrance access not limited to Amex platinum card This episode is brought to you by United Airlines When you want to make the most of your vacation book with United They're an airline that cares about your travels as much as you do United is transforming the flying experience with Bluetooth connectivity screens power at every seat and bigger overhead bins to help fit Everyone's bag and with their app you can skip the bag check line get live updates and more Change the way you fly book your next trip today and united.com You You You You Valerie chills morning at hush music productions started at 9 30 in the morning Her first order of business was to make coffee then check the mail and prepare mr. Hush's morning medication When the office was in order she often paused for a final morning cigarette before going upstairs to wake mr. Hush mr. Hush had a respectable two-bedroom railroad on the floor above his office He converted the second bedroom into a combination study and sitting area occupied by his books his desk his grandfather's British infantry Sword and the last of his mother's decorations inherited upon her passing every morning Valerie unlocked the front door March through the apartment and banged on the master bedroom until she heard some sign of life from mr. Hush be it a wordless roar a string of furious cursing It was a Friday and March when Valerie unlocked the door to find mr. Hush sitting in his study She was wearing a gray suit and thinking about her next haircut She preferred to cut a crisp figure than an elegant one though. She was known to slouch for the love of contradiction Sliding cool down the street knees first inviting the stairs when she first looked into Hush's apartment She was too busy thinking of her own outfit to see anything outside of the ordinary sight of Hush's tidy kitchen the bathroom His little study and sitting area her eyes settled on Hush's back at the end of their trip around the room He was hunched over the desk. He pushed between two stuffed bookshelves his thread bear smoking jacket stretched over his back His white hair was still thick with pomade but scratched and pulled into a mess all over his head His eyes were red his ashtray was full and a half full mug was pushed aside to make space for a glass Empty but for the smell of rancid beer bottles littered the floor around his feet He turned around in his seat to stare at her through his thick square frames revealing an enormous hunting knife ripped in his hand What does evil sound like? he asked Valerie felt nothing ominous questions in brandished weaponry were standard for mr. Hush who took pride in operating his life outside common decency She'll thought they were of like minds when she first started working for him She now knew mr. Hush was under the mistaken belief that misanthropy was a sign of genius She paused to think before answering well That strikes me as a philosophical question that intrudes on the intellectual assessment of the nature of evil Which few scholars can agree no no no no no he said waiting the knife over his head not for a high art of shit popular music I don't want boys with floppy hair to play a song on the telly that would answer any fundamental questions about the universe It'd be a waste. This is for children chill If you were directing a film about vampires or werewolves or something like that What would it sound like right before the hero gets it? chill shrubbed I don't know something with violins maybe or Oregon music. Yes. Yes. Yes violence organ music something like a funeral march something like dance macabre None of which can be danced to on a Friday on a teen music night Dance macabre's got it in the title she pointed out and he rewarded her by picking a book off of a nearby shelf and checking it At her it was passed her knee and bounced off the bulge in the wall slapped over the pipes in the bathroom Well, I never wanted to get up and dance during Dracula His face drew tightened to a furious pucker. He stabbed the knife into the desk and stormed over to his record player It was then she noticed that the cabinet was open and most of the records are moved based on the crumpled pile of paper underneath He'd added to his collection since she saw him at lunch the day before Look, he said slapping records face up on the carpet. What do you think of that scream and Jay Hawkins the man's whole routine is Halloween Sheb woolly purple people leader so out of the fucking century Cab Calloway a classic a mainstay half the blues boys put their whole careers into ghosts and devils and others such nonsense People danced to their music by the truckload So you want a blues man chill asked annoyed now with the blues has been done He said and slapped the last handful of records down with a flourish. They're in the past or worse They're in the present. I'm not trying to catch up with a crowd. I want to be a step ahead I want to lead the pack chill. I want the future to have my stamp He went to stand in front of the window arms crossed behind his back like a ratty Sherlock Holmes She could tell that he composed a sort of Saint Crispin speech and that she was to be his test audience for the first rehearsal I've had a vision. He said I was prone divisions Occasionally if he was deprived of sleep or over supplied in medication They were aesthetic his typical visions which granted him the authority to voice his opinions on things like Valerie's romantic Prospects or a musical group's profitability seemed to only come when convenient and provided no theatrical value It first came to me in a dream several weeks ago. I was in a nightclub I'm sure it was a nightclub although. I don't remember entering it But I'm sure it was below ground although. I don't remember stairs It was dark and full of smoke that felt powdery on the throat like dry ice Lights flashed in the thick of the smoke and when it did I could just make out sheepstancing around me All the dancers were in black and the music was He trailed off gesturing with his hand as an ephemeral quality cold Artificial as if played on a host of alien instruments or the sound of accidental collisions giving melody My surroundings seemed pedestrian and comparison. It was the music that haunted me into my waking moments She let him hold on to the dramatic tension of the moment before posing the next question on her mind Are you sure it wasn't a synthesizer He slammed his fist against the window. No chill. Damn you. Do you think I haven't looked for the closest equivalent to that sound? There's some tantalizing element line just outside my reach that I'm desperate to get ahold of Something evil she supplied. Oh, yes quite he agreed nodding but no philosophers I want evil as a costume evil as a posture or no no no Evil as a sort of artistic canon to draw from for one's own lexicon Are you familiar with Alistair Crowley? No, oh pity. He said reaching for the ornate secret case on the low center table He was very popular when I was your age, but I suppose he's fallen out of fashion I wonder who stepped up to take his place on the world stage Chill do a little digging and find someone who's sort of fashionably I called I don't want to talk to any dingbats who believe they were lessened by aliens and I don't want a religious cell at anywhere near my office Call the masons on 18th Street. See if they have any researches to spare no demon hunters No true believers find some sort of I don't know sexy devil worshipper Valerie nodded and left to take care of the office half expecting hush to go to bed after unveiling his latest passion project To her surprise he was downstairs by 11 as usual ready to take his meetings His first one of the day was with a man from kt u 45 to collect his payment for playing one of hush's acts And the man who followed him was from a record label who wanted hush to pay for the damage caused by another act Hush met both of their demands with an uncharacteristic calm serene in the face of a typically unpleasant experience Chill had seen him chase men out of his office on high stress days, but today didn't seem to be one of them She felt a fleeting appreciation that his moves were rarely based in reality Hush productions was a small outfit Hush himself to the lion's share of the audio recording work with only the occasional freelance contractor for additional help Distribution and advertising were likewise handled from hush's office with chill to aid him when he was busy or tired Her job was meant to stay in the realm of running records and documents to the post office or various broadcast centers around the city Contributing only a spare turn of phrase when the wheels of hush's mind needed greasing The office was in a strategic location to reach as many national broadcast stations as possible on a modest budget And for that reason alone a handful of his acts secured national attention However, the company was still a half forgotten thought in the adolescent consciousness Undiscovered musicians composed their new music for established labels like columbia and rca And slowly trickled down the circuit from there next they submitted a capital and paramount and smaller labels like liberty they would polish labels like monument and scepter And then finally the unknowns in terms of prestige Hush productions could proudly say they were not a record label run out of the garage They could boast of being a professional outfit without unique high quality sound Their acts were consistent their recordings were made well Hush had been in business for so long he could easily invite himself to industry functions and rub shoulders with far more prestigious members of his field But the light of success had yet to touch it All the better for valerie chill who couldn't imagine how her life would improve with the addition of even more paperwork Occultists were not a group one could find in a phone book nor were there any listings in the library where chill could check She hung up when the librarian clearly alarmed pressed her for details Fortunately chill had a subscription to terrible tales digest a magazine that ran horror and true crime pales with back page ads full of novelty Gags and horror themed decor such as cigarette boxes that grabbed back There were also more exciting ads for things like they knew too much about flying saucers Dianetics spirit mediums and ominous ads reading curious about forbidden knowledge and unveil the mystery Chill dismissed the flying saucer book first next Dianetics after calling the hotline and having the operator explain what it was And the spirit mediums third She was most disappointed by the spirit mediums since they were the closest to being industry professionals But though they knew how to read palms cards and tea leaves none of them were aware of any fashionable occult scene Nor the existence of a mr. Crowley The ominous ads with their images of candles and books were promising but still fruitless Many were for reading groups and clubs that specialized in occult books They weren't run by operators who had read Crowley but exhibited too much genuine enthusiasm They did offer other leads to follow and by midday she had a second batch of calls to make Mr. Hush went back to his apartment for lunch while chill went to eat lunch at a lunch counter across the street The place was a tight fit big enough for the chef and four patrons Chill made sure to take her lunch early to be one of his first afternoon customers And by the time she was done the place was usually overcrowded People shouted in through the windows over the heads of the four taken seats and the phone rang with other orders to place At the end of her lunch hour chill had to push her way out Valerie typically had the officer herself after lunch There were never days when the meetings ran till closing and hush didn't bother coming back down if there was no one to see He'd started his company at the delicate green top secretary desk in the second bedroom of his apartment And how it drew him back like a turtleneck to his shell Without the lingering presence of hush in his office or teenagers and starched collars squirming as nervously as if they were at the dentists Joe could make herself fully at home She brought a coke up with her and swung her heels up on the desk sipping from the cup with one hand while she made her second round of calls of the day Her first call was to the theosophy society where she finally felt as if she was on the right path The secretary in response to her questions cried. Oh, you'd like a consultant and transferred her to their resources department Unfortunately, the man in their office was offended by her proposal and informed her shortly that the theosophy society was directly opposed Any deliberate attempts to stall human enlightenment listen Jill said as if to an old friend The majority of humanity treats any pursuit that is unfamiliar with to them as the territory of the devil Here at hush productions our position is not to encourage discriminatory behavior But to provide educational material through healthy entertaining music programming. He had hung up long ago Next was the theology department at columbia They only laughed at her but told her frankly that they were looking forward to whatever project mr. hush managed to create from his idea To her surprise the Gnostic society was very enthusiastic But the more they talked the more she came to realize that the man on the other end had his own ideas about the project She penciled him in any way thinking he of all people deserved to be chased by a man wielding a british infantry sword Jill's call was an enigma for the Freemasons The phone was covered indistinct voices spoke and then she was transferred to another office who covered the phone and spoke off the receiver after she made her inquiry She passed through so many hands. She made repeat visits to office telephones until she lost her patience Listen, she said if it's such a secret, why can't you let me off the phone? Well, there's a question of whether a consultation is permitted under the tenets of Freemasonry the final clerk said Why don't I take your number down and return your call after we've discussed it Her final call was to a group called the institute for metaphysical research a lengthy but mint meaningless name We see ourselves as the students of multiple disciplines the secretary explained when she asked for further details The institute's mission is to unite humanity in the pursuit of unfettered knowledge And what makes you believe your group would be suited for the project? She'll ask extravagant trappings inspire curiosity they replied To use your allister Crowley analog he certainly used bad press to its full advantage Chil had gleaned enough of a vague outline of Crowley to recognize that this was the answer mr Hush was looking for She set a time for a meeting and rewarded herself an illicit shot of bourbon from hush's office At 5 30 she locked the doors and walked across town to her therapist's office The therapist was her mother's idea Mrs. Chil was worried about Valerie She'd been worried every day since Valerie's birth Her mother chose to give birth under the sign of Scorpio with the belief that Scorpio was both the perfect divine assistant for birthing And the best soil to nurture a powerful mind Despite all her preparation her water broke just days before her due date while the skies were still marred by the indecisive auspices of Libra Mrs. Chil lay in the maternity ward swollen racked with contractions her resolve unbroken She'd made a choice to create the best circumstances for her child to enter the world under The first gift she gave to valorate was not life but four more hours in the womb teeth clenched in knees locked Her bloodshot eyes staring into nothingness as doctors and nurses all screamed for Valerie's release Despite the pain and the risk, Mrs. Chil held on until the stars changed guard and the strong willful light of Scorpio shown down on Valerie's infant skull But alas the perfection she'd seen in the heavens percolated unfiltered to earth marred with flaws As the years wore on Mrs. Chil came to realize that the gift of Scorpio was more of a curse than a blessing Valerie didn't take her mother's advice easily, nor did they share the same goals her valor is future While Mrs. Chil hoped her daughter would go to college get a degree meet a man and settle down Valerie stole her father's ties ran away to New York and became a homosexual Mrs. Chil was deeply worried about the long-term effects these decisions would have on her daughter's life But a lifetime spent arguing made Valerie pretty naturally disposed to winning debates and infuriatingly set against changing her mind The Scorpio and her charts hung over her head like the stinger of an enormous insect waiting to lash out at any fool brave enough to fight her Rather than risk her own mental health, Mrs. Chil paid for therapy sessions in the city Valerie went because despite being stubborn, combative, and willful she wasn't ungrateful In fact, she discovered that the experience was wonderfully enriching when she noticed the prescription pad on the doctor's desk Mrs. Chil chose the doctor from a list in the phone book. She'd never met him in person Though she'd spoken with him after calling ahead The doctor was a man in his late 30s with sandy hair and sandy seeds that helped him blend into the rich mustard yellow of his Office furniture like a desert animal He asked about Valerie's eating and sleeping habits in every session and solved each problem with another prescription When she complained of sleeplessness, he prescribed a sleeping aid of increased weight water retention pills And how has your anxiety fared? The man asked innocently She took a deep breath. The framing device that guaranteed her access to librium was that she suffered from fits of anxiety Provoked by delusions of assault She toyed with fabricating a tangent bowl of salt But decided at the last minute that the facade would be too much of a strain to maintain She was more of a liar for the sake of circumstances than an avowed fabricator Doctor She began slowly The structure of her latest batch of issues was formed over lunch and flushed out on the walkover I hate to give you bad news I feel as if I have fewer bouts of anxiety, but the fear is still there It's always present. It feels like a gun held to my temple When I walk down the street, I know that I'm in danger, but when I look for a threat, there's never one in sight The medicine helps me clear my mind, but it doesn't eradicate the thoughts Like letting the steam out of a hot bath The doctor nodded his forefinger pressed to his lip Of course In this analogy, the bath is the source of your anxiety and the vapors are simply the symptom A complete cure for your disease won't come from medication alone, but a combination of it with talk therapy I've mentioned before that we can have you placed on disability if you would prefer It would relieve you of some of your responsibilities, which might help She shook her head. No No, thank you, but I want to be independent She'll had a cousin who lived on mental disability She moved from experience that she would always need more than she received Better to leave the benefits for someone with nowhere else to turn Her psychiatrist made a note in his pad Anxiety was easy. Everyone had some All she needed to do was pitch her everyday fears in a different town She turned half forgotten observations into full-blown paranoid fantasies For example Her wardrobe was big enough to fit an adult man All she had to do was mention that detail When she caught her reflection in her own window late at night, a little soft She amped up her reaction from a jolt to a whole new fantasy about someone breaking into the windows She had already had a few teenagers, old with an experience, force open her window and climb in And they were mean and aggressive, but like wild animals were easy to scare off with loud noises For her therapist, she played up the experience as a constant Threat, a paranoid obsession, and with a little experimentation, she managed to turn her own outfits into another extension of her neuroses You know, I can't help but feel as if these helped me blend in She plucked at her sleeve and imitation of a great aunt with a legitimate nervous disorder Ugly women get just as many stares as pretty women, but a man can go anywhere in the city without being noticed But she aren't a man It doesn't matter. I just don't want anyone to look at me When she began these sessions, she told the doctor that she bought her clothes in the women's department Just as she did with police officers. This was true Shopping in the men's section was hard at her height for anything more substantial than an illicit easily tailored treat Like the police, the doctor didn't care much about the details Her receipts and explanations were for him another manifestation of self-delusion It was obvious that there was some reason for her erotic behavior. By the way, he pressed her for details directing her stories with questions and insights Valerie could tell he was looking for something when he fell silent. She assumed he'd lost the thought It took several weeks before they both found the answer they were looking for Valerie, while rambling, brought up by a half forgotten incident from high school A girl told Valerie she looked like a Neanderthal in a dress and Valerie beat her like a drum Yes, she was suspended. Yes, she was made to clean gym equipment as penance and no Not a single soul took Valerie's side in the matter, but she didn't care Just as was served Of course, she told the doctor that as soon as the girl said it Valerie sat down and cried like a baby The doctor fidgeted excitedly in his seat as she talked crossing his legs and switching his pen from side to side Were you ever criticized for wearing women's clothing before he asked and at last they had their hook From then on Valerie switched between describing her clothes as a defense from women and a defense from men No one in her high school had ever seen her in suits which freed her from their imaginary abuse And why worry about being a woman on her own if she looked like a short man at a glance Once she had her angle. It was easy to build up The doctor wasn't thrilled with every performance He volunteered details as she swooned not only was she afraid of abuse, but she was terrified of rejection At least when men looked away from her it was because they had mistaken her for a man When the hysteria in the office reached a fever pitch He brought it back to his prescription pad and rope chill and new dosage By the time she left she felt as wrung out and worn as if she'd gotten real therapy She filled her prescription cashed her check and had a simple meal at home before getting dressed to go out She stopped by chumlies first to say hello to a friend working the bar and to circulate among all the people hoping to look literary and dashing Valerie felt quite literary and dashing herself A young woman at one end of the bar slipped off the arm of the man she was with and broiled in a conversation with another man To sit next to chill She lit the woman's cigarette and flirted lightly, but when she pressed too hard the girl bit her lip and went back to her original seat Next chill went to Julius's Julius's was full of stuffy queers who were equally parts pretentious and paranoid intensely clicky and unapproachable The bar wasn't very busy, but the barkeep was determined not to meet her eyes When she did finally flag him down he only filled her glass most of the way before turning back to his conversation In desperation she walked down to the river to try her luck at a third and final bar And there she ran into a group of friends celebrating the birthday of someone she barely knew The night was a success from then on They began by dancing around the jukebox like teenagers until word got around that there was a real band playing and a placed up the street All together they packed up and headed out all jumping and hollering with late night bravado The place with the band was a coffee shop in the mornings an independent theater at night The stage was barely four inches off the ground, but it had a spotlight and good enough acoustics to hear the music from down the block Unfortunately when they arrived the venue was so far past capacity that they could barely squeeze into the door The party spilled out into the street leaving them no choice but to dance among the cars to music from invisible performers The old people watched from their stoops in their windows and silent judgment of their revelry When the dancing lost its appeal they went to a beat bar where a friend was working The friend poured birthday shots for the party full of cheap sour whiskey They commissioned a table for the group and sat around it feeding nickels into the jukebox for the rest of the night When it was songs strike use possessing evil quality chill asked Different members of the group responded with equal parts amusement and scandal and in the wake of their outbursts She calmly explained hush's latest deconstruction of the pop genre This prompted a rousing conversation that has ambled enthusiastically around music The many genres within pop high and low culture black contributions to white industries the nature of evil and the nature of spectacle By four in the morning the party was losing steam They were all fatigued hungry and drunk as people split up to find food chill heard herself saying well best be going But the room was spinning too fast for her to get out of her seat It was better for her to wait to sober up and stumble home in her condition right for mugging or worse a rest At least she was alone at the bar and struggling to finish a glass of water when a man set mixer at the bar All right then chill he grunted Even unable to focus her eyes and the blurry figure in front of her the voice mannerisms and the thick white hair will all she needed to recognize mr. Hush I'm all right How are you mr. Hush you're out late You scoffed i've been out like a light since lunchtime. It's too hard on these old bones to pull an all-nighter What about you chill? What are you doing alone? You've usually got a harem by now She shook her head went too drunk to go home He answered with a hearty burst of laughter and thumped her heart on the back so much for buying you a drink then Terrible night since what is it empty at a night time like this? He turned to shout over his shoulder. We're close at a sunset and sunrise A fucking disgrace. He grumbled as the bar booed him Back in the war we'd go without sleep for a week and we'd only be sober on thursday Yeah, how long does it take for psychosis to set in? Chill asked He took a sip from his drink and smacked his lips releasing the syrupy scent of grenadine It takes about two weeks for your information Christ chill is this how you want to spend your friday night listening to old men at the pub talk about the war Chill sat up in her seat and very carefully shrugged her shoulders making sure not to sway the entire time You started this conversation mr. chill Always so recalcitrant you make it seem as if there wasn't a single thought in that manicure little head of yours He tapped her forehead. She slapped his hand away and rose shakily from her seat I'll remind you that you were invited to sit here. She said with clenched teeth She was too drunk to properly filter her words with a veneer of respectability. She used around him Sit down shell. There's no reason to cause a scene You should know by now how much I value your intelligence he answered with his usual dismissive sneer He took out his cigarette case and moved one and offered it to valerie as a peace offering I value it too much to pretend to not have seen you when I came in Surely we can agree to have some sort of familiarity with one another She took a cigarette and lit it from a pack of bar matches sharp Very good By the way, you wouldn't have happened to have your pill case on you. Would you I'm afraid I left my medication back at home Valerie fished around in her pocket until she found her pill box a tiny steel track with speed lines dragged over the finish She removed one librium and laid it on a coaster We had a new batch today 50cc stronger than before Hush popped the pill into his mouth and washed it down with another sip same price as always Sistency is key I agree. It's a good business model. Hush said counting out a few bills. Give me five for the road. Won't you? It pairs well with my other prescriptions She'll carefully counted out the last five pills in her box and laid them out on the napkin Which chill wrapped up and shoved deep into his pocket He cleared his throat and adjusted his jacket as he tucked it away Now chill while we're keeping you sober and awake we delve into the question of whether you've seen anyone my age in here tonight Scanning a little late for the old timers chill said turning to face the bar Hush made a guttural noise of disapproval I've told you once I've told you a thousand times that my generation is made of a different material They were cut short by the sight of the door to the bar standing a jar the unmistakable silhouette of a police officer standing in the moonlight as he entered another followed behind him and four more Valerie's exhaustion disappeared her eyesight sharpened the sight of that peaked cap sobered her faster than dexadrin Hush's lips pulled back in his stark grimace bearing his straight white teeth Slowly he turned back to the bar and finished his drink Fuck Our final officer this time in a white shirt shut the door behind his platoon This is a raid Everyone stay in your seats and get out your identification When the sun goes down and the moon comes up I turn into a teenage google mob Yeah, I cruise through the city and I roam the street Thanks for tuning in let listeners if you enjoyed the show Please subscribe and leave a rating and comment on good pods and apple podcast links in the show notes Wyatt the rock is lit mascot and I really appreciate your support Until next time keep rocking and reading and getting lit rock is lit [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
In this installment of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, O.F. Cieri reads an excerpt from her novel ‘Backmask’ and discusses the inspiration behind the story and the music that shaped it.
Inspired by pop music history and written in the style of ‘60s horror pulp, ‘Backmask’ is the fake history of a conspiracy theory surrounding the Satanic agenda to control children’s minds. Nicholas Hush, 1960s record producer, has a vision for the future of pop music. After a series of prophetic dreams, he wants to combine occult imagery with upcoming trends to create a new, groundbreaking look. His secretary, Valerie Chill, is tasked with finding consultants and funding while he crafts the perfect album. Quickly their project becomes entangled in other, larger machinations, and two teenage pop acts become responsible for international intrigue, brainwashing, and an occult massacre. Taking inspiration from the lives of Joe Meek, Phil Spector, and Timothy Leary, ‘Backmask’ is a speculative look at how hidden messages got into pop music.
O.F. Cieri is a self-taught writer based out of NYC. She has been published in ‘Ligeia Magazine’ and ‘Misery Tourism’. In 2013 she won first place in BMCC's Poetry Competition. In 2016 she won an Honorable Mention in LaborArts Make Work Visible Competition. Her nonfiction has been carried by ‘Hyperallergic’ and the ‘Invisible Oranges’. In February of 2023 she published her second book, ‘Lockdown Laureate’, with Castaigne Publishing. Her third book, ‘Backmask’, was published by Malarkey in June of 2023.
MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Rock is Lit theme music
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
The Moontrekkers – “Night of the Vampire”
Bauhaus – “She’s In Parties”
The Cramps “The Goo Goo Mack”
[Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”
Rock is Lit theme music
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
O.F. Cieri’s website: https://ofcieri.com/
O.F. Cieri on Facebook: @OFCieri
O.F. Cieri on Instagram: @Ossuary
O.F. Cieri on Twitter: @ossvary
Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit
Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast
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