Guantanamo Music
British news source The Independent is reporting that Canadian band Skinny Puppy has sent the U.S. government an invoice for use of their music at Guantanamo Bay prisons. Past reports have also indicated that U.S. band Metallica asked the U.S. government to stop using their music for similar purposes. Interestingly, a report from a little over five years ago demonstrates a wide range of choices that have been used, ranging from Metallica and Rage Against the Machine to Britney Spears and the theme song to Sesame Street.
The choices here are interesting because, putting aside for the moment important questions about the ethics of torture, these musical choices convey something about what music within U.S. culture resonates with the concept of torture. Use of some songs from the list, such as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.” and Don McLean (which I assume likely means “American Pie”), would suggest that some song choices are meant to provide torture by proclaiming sentiments of American identity and pride. (Though, it should be noted that, despite popular uses of the song, “Born in the U.S.A.” is more a critique of U. S. policies than a celebration of them.) Meanwhile, the use of AC/DC, Metallica, and the like would seem to suggest the idea that loud and/or aggressive hard rock/metal music will torture people. Finally, use of the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and the theme songs from Sesame Street and Barney & Friends might suggest the idea that overly bright, bubbly, and/or “pop” music would get annoying enough to constitute torture.
When bands such as Metallica and Skinny Puppy react to use of their songs, their responses also reflect their views of torture as well as how they perceive the connection between music and politics, as is reflected in comments by Metallica band members in various interviews. Of perhaps particular note is the response of U.S. band Demon Hunter, whose apparent support for (or at least indifference to) the use of their music in this kind of context raises questions about the compatibility of such a stance with their identification with Christianity, while it also lends legitimacy to concerns that the U.S. “War on Terror” has been a vehicle for advancing Christian religious domination over Islam, akin to the Crusades.
