Music is one of the most loved art forms by all humanity. Through it, great things have been achieved in society, from supporting good causes to saving lives. Unfortunately, for political or economic purposes the use of music has also been corrupted to inhuman levels that lead people to lose their minds. The following songs were used as instruments to obtain information during interrogation and were turned into cruel instruments of torture:
Dirrty – Christina Aguilera
Mohammed al Qahtani, the alleged culprit of the 9/11 attacks, received a musical combo specially created for him. Led by this song, the soldiers called it the bad Muslim theme. Different practices were used against al Qahtani to break his concentration during interrogations: female staff parading around topless, giving him forced dances, smearing red liquids identified as menstrual blood, and continuous exposure to Christina Aguilera‘s song.
Love You – Barney
This is known as the song most used by the CIA to torture and with good reason: if we think about its positive message added to its continuous exposure for weeks at an intolerable volume. Creator Bob Singleton was pretty incredulous just thinking how ridiculous it is that something so harmless to children could endanger the mental state of adults. I mean, we’re talking about Barney!
Saturday Night Fever – Bee Gees
Moazzam Begg was arrested by the CIA in 2002 and during his stay in an American prison based in Afghanistan, the disco band became his worst nightmare. At first he thought that listening to Saturday Night Fever all night was a joke, but as the playback became longer, he began begging for it to be taken off. In all the time he stayed there, he says he saw people who were ready to tell the Americans whatever they wanted… whether it was true or not.
Meow Mix Theme
It might seem like a joke, but it’s not. Musical torture was born from the idea of creating a method that would not seem offensive to the public, as in several examples on this list. This issue was one of the most recurrent in various prisons. The journalist behind the investigation of many of them, Justine Sharrock, said that you almost have to stop laughing at this song because you realize that it is torture. When the sudden and abrupt change in musical dynamics comes after a huge heavy metal session, this method can be quite insane.
The Beautiful People – Marilyn Manson
The same man who suffered the Bee Gees said he witnessed people who became much more upset. Especially those who came from rural parts of Afghanistan and Yemen, because they had never heard Western music. His introduction to her had Marilyn Manson as host and he says that he would sometimes stop at 3 a.m., but your sleep was already severely disturbed and you became unable to sleep routinely. ‘The Beautiful People’ also used to be played randomly in the hallways, causing the prisoners anxiety, fatigue and frustration mainly due to not knowing when they would be interrogated. By the way, we leave you a video of Rammstein and Manson playing the song in question.
Fuck Your God – Deicide
Some songs also represent torture for military personnel. Such is the case of the US army performer, Tony Lagouranis, who was on the verge of going crazy the day he interrogated a prisoner while he was receiving treatment with the death metal band. Tony says that they shouted questions in the ear of the already subdued recipient and as time went by, they became more and more threatening and aggressive.
His throat felt dry and his ears hurt, but the worst part was his anger growing more and more. On another occasion, without the background music, his anger was activated just by seeing the prisoner and he immediately thought of giving the order to cut off his fingers. His stomach turned just thinking that and of course, he didn’t hurt the man.
We Are The Champions – Queen
On one occasion, the US military attacked an Iraqi security company that one of its own veterans was investigating as an undercover informant for the FBI. He was transported to an unofficial prison and treated as a suspect, where he was tortured with this song. However, thanks to his training, he was able to endure and keep his mind in one piece by talking to himself, telling jokes, and having a rational train of thought at all times. He eventually returned home a damaged, but not broken, man.
Bodysuits – Drowning Pool
In 2017, Guantanamo Bay officials were busy looking to book entertainment to celebrate. Inside the poster was Drowning Pool, however, many officers started a conversation via email about how this would not be the best idea because one of the band’s hits was a favorite as an instrument of torture and that of In fact, it was being used right at that moment, for 10 days straight to interrogate a prisoner who was eventually released without charge. The prisoner remained there for 14 years and the emails were made public.
Eminem – Slim Shady
Binyam Mohamed was exposed to the rapper’s song for 20 days non-stop, and basically witnessed how the people around him lost their sanity. He says it was such a horrible experience that he heard others in prison screaming and banging their heads against the walls.
Metallica – Enter Sandman
One more from Guantanamo Bay, Metallica’s well-known single was called light torture by the military forces, taking as the only pretext that it is not such a heavy song that they could play it at intolerable volumes for long periods of time. Surprisingly, this did not outrage the musicians who created it, when James Hetfield was questioned about this case, he laughed and said: “We have punished our parents, wives and loved ones with this music forever, why should Iraqis be different?”
The misuse of these songs of different styles is undoubtedly proof that all excess is bad for humans, even music. It is urgent to prevent something as important as art from being used again to corrupt human rights.
This story was originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
