“What do you get when you play a new age song backwards?”

New age music is incomprehensible to many people, hence the joke:
 
Q: What do you get when you play a new age song backwards?
A: You get a different new age song.
 
The new age music joke has been cited in print since at least 1994. “What do you get when you play a country song backwards?” is a similar joke.
       
 
Google Groups: rec.music.classical
Musician jokes v2.0
boB
9/1/94
(...)
Q: What does New Age Music sound like when played backwards?  A: New Age Music.
 
Google Books
The Musician’s Joke Book:
Knowing the Score
By Nancy Groce
New York, NY: Schirmer Books
1996
Pg. ?:
Then what do you get when you play New Age music backwards? New Age music.
 
Google Groups: alt.tasteless.jokes
New Age Music
Cerberus
1/1/00
Q. What do you get when you play New Age music backwards?
A. New Age music.
 
Google Groups: rec.music.artists.kings-x
trivia question
Phil Jones
4/2/02
Q. What do you get when you play a new age song backwards?
A. You get a different new age song.
 
Google News Archive
1 April 2003, Lodi (CA) News-Sentinel, “Guitar class: It’s a fret-ful situation” by Ben van der Meer, pg. 4, col. 3:
He told us that playing a new age album backwards is the best way to get another new age album.
     
80’s Metal Mania—Music Jokes
vampgirl68 - April 13, 2007 01:38 PM (GMT)
Q: What do you get when you play a new age song backwards?
A: A new age song.
 
Q: What happens if you sing country music backwards?
A: You get your job and your wife back.
 
Klosi Jokes
Category: Music jokes
Date Added: 11/10/2007
Joke: Q: What do you get when you play a new age song backwards?A: A new age song.
 
Facebook
Jokes for Intelligent People
March 1, 2013 ·
Q: What do you get when you play a new age song backwards?
A: A new age song.
 
Q: What happens if you sing country music backwards?
A: You get your job and your wife back.
 
Google Books
A Prairie Home Companion
Pretty Good Joke Book, 6th Edition
By Garrison Keillor
Prince Frederick, MD: HighBridge
2015
Pg. ?:
What do you get when you play New Age music backwards?
New Age music.
 
Twitter
PeterAdams
‏@AdamsPeterm
Q: What do you get when you play a new age song backwards? A: A new age song.
4:11 AM - 18 Sep 2015