While the definition of torture and a debate over whether nearly drowning someone is torture rages on, I feel the need to investigate a loathsome form of torture that uses music, the repetition of music, and perhaps sheer volume. (The military euphemism for nearly drowning someone is called waterboarding, which sounds like something you can do at the beach for fun) Another favorite torture technique of the United States Psychological Operations Company (or Psy Ops) is to use music on uncooperative prisoners. Like many things military, the euphemism they use to describe musical torture is “acoustic bombardment”.
A BBC article from 2003 reports that Metallica and music from Sesame Street was used to torture Iraqi POWs. (Amnesty International thinks this is cruel and unusual punishment, though I think Tiny Tim or the Beastie Boys would have worked equally well.)
When America invaded Panama in 1989, Manuel Noriega holed up in an embassy and sought refuge. The United States immediately surrounded the embassy and blasted hard rock and The Howard Stern show for several days until Noriega (apparently fed up) gave himself up.
In Guantanamo Bay, the US military has used music to torture prisoners. That playlist includes many pro-American songs such as Neil Diamond’s song, America. Damn that is mean. Also included in this patriotic list are Bruce Springsteen’s, Born in the USA and Eminem’s White America.
I wondered what the bands whose music was being used for torture might think of this practice. Well according to an interview on National Public Radio with David Peisner who wrote a study of music as torture, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine has contacted the United States State Department and Armed Forces to request that they not use his music for torture. No surprise to hear that no one has called back.
While I personally don’t condone the use of an art form to torture, I’m sure that sound has always been a part of torture. What I really think is that we should oppose all torture, not just certain kinds. The Society for Ethnomusicology concurs.
