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/

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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When Pop Music Meets the Occult: O.F. Cieri Discusses and Reads From Her Novel ‘Backmask’