Mar 05 2008
A playlist to loosen your lips.
Mother Jones has pulled together a playlist of songs used in American military prisons and bases. The use of loud rock and roll music in torture efforts has been discussed widely and often been poo-pooed by right-wing windbags as no big deal. Well, now we can get a peek at what kind of music the United States military have found to be effective in getting people to spill the beans. Here are some highlights:
- “White America” – Eminem
- Barney Theme Song
- “Enter Sandman” – Metallica
- Meow Mix Jingle
- Sesame Street Theme Song
- “Babylon” – David Gray
- “Born in the U.S.A.” – Bruce Springsteen
- “Shoot to Thrill” – AC/DC
- “Stayin’ Alive” – The Bee Gees
- “Dirrty” – Christina Aguilera
- “America” – Neil Diamond
- “Bulls on Parade” – Rage Against the Machine
- “American Pie” – Don McLean
- “Cold” – Matchbox Twenty
- “Raspberry Beret” – Prince
The list certainly does have some good comical value. Some songs have a sort of blatant patriotic bent (did any song that had “America” or “U.S.A.” in the lyrics automatically go on the torture list), while some are just weird. The Sesame Street theme? Seriously? Though I suppose the theme songs on the list are generally not only wickedly annoying, but also short. Thus, if you were attempting to drive your captive absolutely crazy, it might take less time to do so putting the Meow Mix theme on a loop than, say “American Pie.” I’m also amused by the smattering of vocally anti-war artists like Bruce Springsteen and Rage Against the Machine.I think we can all agree, if forced to listen to “Stayin’ Alive” at high decibels on a loop – we would very quickly lie to our captors about where the gold was.
Click on the above link to take a listen to this magical lip-loosening aural recipe. But make sure you’re alone, lest you divulge all your secrets.
