From "Alternative Newspaper" The Stranger, October 29, 2009.

Friday, October 23.

.......Musicians ranging from Trent Reznor to Bonnie Raitt banded together to express their horror at the use of music in Bush-approved "enhanced interrogation techniques" of would-be terror suspects. As the Washington Post reports, "A high-profile coalition of artists -- including the members of Pearl Jam, R.E.M., and the Roots -- demanded Thursday that the government release the names of all the songs that were blasted since 2002 at prisoners for hours, even days, on end, to try to coerce co-operation or as a method of punishment... The artists also launched a formal protest of the use of music in conjunction with torture." Regarding the use of music in conjunction with torture: "Sound at a certain level creates sensory overload and breaks down subjectivity and can [bring about] a regression to infantile behavior," said NYU professor Suzanne G. Cusick to the Post. "Its effectiveness depends on the constancy of the sound, not the qualities of the music." Played at a certain volume, she said, "it simply prevents people from thinking." Among the tracks used against detainees: Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.", Queen's "We Are the Champions," Don McLean's "American Pie," Nine Inch Nails' "March of the Pigs," the theme from Sesame Street, and the godforsaken Meow Mix jingle; one former prisoner told Human Rights Watch that he had been forced to listen to Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" for 20 days straight. While the unwitting composers and performers of "torture music" seek the release of the names of all songs used and consider their legal options, a White House spokesman confirmed that music is no longer used as an instrument of torture.

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