Music Torture

Torture has been in the headlines in the past week. Should Obama have released the torture memos? Should we prosecute those who approved torture?

The topic was covered in a typically thorough and insightful manner by my favorite podcast, NPR's "On the Media" in its April 24th program in a section titled "The Sound of Pain." In that segment, Brooke Shields interviewed writer David Peisner about how U.S. interrogators used music, in addition to waterboarding and sleep deprivation, as a torture technique.

Here's part of the transcript:

BROOKE GLADSTONE: I wonder whether you could find any rhyme or reason to the kind of music that you know has been chosen in Guantanamo and in Iraq.

DAVID PEISNER: One thing that is fairly certain is the music that was picked was picked partially because it was aggressive and loud, and it was also meant to be insulting to a Muslim. A lot of very devout Muslims don't believe they, you know, are allowed to listen to music at all, let alone sort of Western music.

And there are a huge number of cases of pro-American songs. Neil Diamond's song America.

Not as bad as waterboarding, but listening to blaring Neil Diamond singing day and night is close. And music torture also has the advantage of not being as strenuous as waterboarding for the interrogators -- all they have to do is plug up their ears and turn up the volume.

I could get my wife, Julia, to admit to anything by playing any Andrew Lloyd Weber musical soundtrack. She could retaliate effectively and get me to admit to eating raspberry tarts behind her back by playing any John Tesh or Barry Manilow album. Here are my top five Instruments of torture:

1. John Tesh
2. Barry Manilow
3. Any opera
4. Any Mahler symphony
5. Metallica or KISS (tie)

What music would it take to make you confess? What music do you consider torture? Please post your list... and then maybe you will have some sympathy for those who were victims of this inhumanly cruel method of "extreme interrogation."

Comments

[spiderbucket]

ALL American Idol.

[RoloTomassi]

1. Anything by Guns-n-Roses

2. Anything by Jane's Addiction

3. Anything by Bush

4. The majority of songs by STP [not all, but most]

5. Every piece of music [regardless of composer] ever subjected to conversion to "elevator" music

And this for all of the metal/Metallica haters out there:

I and a friend [and co-worker] once subjected another co-worker to an entire day of the Metallica song "One" played continuously throughout the workday...­and yes, he broke under pressure ;-)

Love it, ignore it or hate it, Metal has been a far more lasting influence on popular music than any of the critics could ever have imagined.

[sammcity]

Backstreet Boys, Miley Cirus, someone singing "I'm Henry the 8th I am", and Christian songs, Like "Jesus loves me".. I'd run screaming. Or give up the National Secrets.. who needs water boarding???

[grailknight]

In no particular order: Elton John, The Carpenters, ABBA, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Donna Summer, Kiss, Boston, Chicago, Michael Bolton, just to name a few. And those are just performers. A list of individual songs from a wide spectrum of performers would simply not have enough space in this post!

[watchTVgetSTUPID]

What stopped the Vietnam war? Public pressure. And the anti war songs played constantly on the radio helped foment resistance even when virtually all the media outlets were pro war.

Two of the best anti war songs that are seldom mentioned

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE by Bob Seger "2+2=?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=487t88pz-2Y

The Doors "Unknown Soldier"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUQEqvxdBnk

[RobinLandseadel]

Hey ! ! !

I'm not about to put down the eminently hummable composer of Bohor & Hibiki-Han­a-Ma---I'm just saying that he'd probably succeed in inducing a state of madness among unwilling participants in his musical realms. After all---that was his artistic intent.

As for the state of RCA's vinyl during the years of oil shortages, facts is facts. Face reality: you're probably better off with the 8-track version of MMM. If it worked for Lester Bangs, we can make it work for you.

[beyondliberal]

Wow--- a long list:
Any rap/hip hop--- the beat literally makes me physically ill.
Led Zeppelin. If I hear "Stairway to Heaven" just one more time, suicide is the only answer (or at least a scream like Celine Dion's).
The Doobie Brothers (but I'll take the doobie as long as the brothers don't show up).
Heavy metal--- any of it.
God help me if Barry Manilow is on a loop.
Celine Dion
J Lo
Lawrence Welk.
Don Ho
Country, with the exception of Johnny Cash.
I guess it would be pretty easy to break me and make me confess-- there's a lot to go on with this list!

[garlicpowder]

Even China Grove?

[greyhound2]

Adding to the torture could be continuous video replays of "It's a Wonderful Life".

[GoodwithWood]

"Aggressive and loud." They’re likely playing DeathMetal which I could handle but play anything from the top 40 Country charts and I’ll tell you anything you want to hear.

[RobinLandseadel]

Nothing that is called music could work on me, you folks have barely scratched the surface of potentially irritating music. Take a stab at the collected works of Iannis Xenakis, a historical overview of musique concrete, samples of vocal music from the Third Viennese School , the Gwar catalogue, or L.A. punk from the early eighties played back @ 120 db or greater. If you really want to drive somebody nuts, make sure it's all converted into heavily compressed MP3 files.

John Tesh can be tuned out, Barry Manilow is so easily ignored he made a career out of doing jingles---do you deserve a break today?---Die Zauberflote & the Resurrection Symphony are my two tickets to paradise & while I'm no fan of Kiss' authentic trashiness & Metallica's bogus authenticity both bands have enormous fan bases so there's plenty of folks that will rock out to their noises.

If you feel the need to succeed at torture without really trying, try Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music." Reed's incompetent mid 70's attempt at musique concrete consisting of 90 minutes of screeching feedback is spread over four sides of RCA's sub-par vinyl. The final groove is "locked", like the British Parlophone issue of Sergeant Pepper so you don't even have to change the record once you get to side four.

[garlicpowder]

First you put down Xenakis, then you accuse Metal Machine Music of being released on "sub-par vinyl"
How will you hurt me next?

[truthartbeauty]

any rap or 'hip hop' would drive me to insanity. of course it is not really music but it is obnoxous beyond reason.

[Steamboater]

Someone I forgot. Rod Stewart singing pop standards. Yikes!

[Steamboater]

If I had to listen to Jamie Foxx do that number he did on Idol the other night I'd spill the beans. The singers, the real singer, was the back-up guy. Foxx just ranted when he felt like it and glad-handed everyone.

I like Mahler though. Hmmm...any­thing by Liza Minnelli at this stage in the game would send me turning in my Gay card and start cruising women, and that's impossible! Frankly, I've never been that crazy about Bob Dylan either, His lyrics are brilliant but that voice! Listening to him time and again with that nail-screech on a blackboard vocal, I'd tell them anything they wanted.

And Don't forget Paris Hilton!

[drewziGNY]

1. Anything by Air Supply
2. Anything by Tiffany
3. "Key Largo" by Bertie Higgins
4. "I've Never Been To Me" by Charlene
5. Anything by Michael Bolton
6. Anything on "Barney and Friends"
7. "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
8. Anything by Vanilla Ice
9. "Playground In My Mind" by Clint Holmes
and 10. Anything by Richard Marx

[Veronica]

Creed! *Shudder*