Eagleionline

A 2006 Spin Magazine story about music purportedly used for torture has recently been updated, while many musicians back the release of related government documents.  The National Security Archive, a research institute not affiliated with the government, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request, citing 35 “bands or songs” that have been used in the course of interrogation at Guantanamo Bay.

The songs include the theme songs of “Barney” and “Sesame Street,” and yes, the song from the well-loved and often-remembered Meow Mix commercials.  Detainees have reportedly been subjected to music at “ear-splitting” levels.

Several recording artists have publicly denounced the use of (their) music as an interrogation tool, including Pearl Jam, Rage against the Machine, R.E.M., Steve Earle, and Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails).  Other artists, complete with some statements are available here.

From the 2006 Spin Magazine story:

Rasul immediately recognized the sound coming from the speakers: It was Eminem’s “Kim.” “It was weird because I’d heard it before,” he says. “I’ve probably got the album at home somewhere. [They] just put Eminem on and left, and I thought, ‘What the hell is going on here?’”

Rasul sat in the room with “Kim” on repeat. He wasn’t particularly bothered (“It was just like playing music at home, but chained to the floor”), and after a few hours MPs returned him to his cell.

It wasn’t long before he was back in the booth. This time, the room was pitch black except for the irregular flashes of a strobe light. Eminem had been replaced by loud, menacing heavy metal. The air-conditioning had been cranked way up, and Rasul was short-shackled — his wrists fastened to his ankles, then shackled to the ring in the floor in what is known as a “stress position.” He was left there for hours.