Musicians blast using tunes to torment (artists imitate parody) .. Update: counter-protest added

Update, Oct 26, 2009: Marooned in Marin writes:

That’s right, there was no outrage from the Liberal Musicians With No Conscience when Americans and US troops were killed or assaulted by their friends, the terrorists. These people could care less about the security of the American people. They take private jets, live behind security gates, yet they’re so arrogant that they think just because you buy their music and tickets to their concerts they should preach their far-Left, anti-American views. Well, speaking as one person, no more money for “musicians” who side with our enemies! Here’s my response to three of these musicians — R.E.M., Jackson Browne, and Bonnie Raitt — via their music which I once had in my collection.

I think most will enjoy MIM’s counter-protest video as much as I did.

Original post:

Poor musicians. Apparently, some of them are upset the CIA played their music to annoy al Qaeda’s killers into providing information needed to prevent further terrorists attacks. I can sympathize; my ears are still annoyed from a 1969 concert by Black Sabbath. But I digress … the Washington Times reports:

Some of those musicians — Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the Machine — say their music has been played at ear-splitting level to torment terror suspects and coerce confessions at the detention facility. Other petitioners want to know whether their works have been used in such capacity, including R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Jackson Browne and Billy Bragg.

“The fact that music I helped create was used in crimes against humanity sickens me,” said Tom Morello, former lead guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, an industrial rock band whose song “March of the Pigs” has been linked to torture tactics at the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. “We need to end torture and close Guantanamo now,” Mr. Morello said. Based on interviews and declassified documents, a spokeswoman with the National Security Archives says acts whose music is known to have been used covers the musical gamut — from AC/DC to the Barney theme song, Marilyn Manson to Neil Diamond, Tupac Shakur to Sesame Street, Limp Bizkit to Christina Aguilera. And the Bee Gees.

But Debra Burlingame, a director with the national security policy group Keep America Safe, called the musicians’ effort “pathetic.”

“This is a preview of what the Gitmo defense attorneys are going to do with these hard-core terrorists in federal court. This torture narrative will completely eclipse justice for the 3,000 victims,” said Mrs. Burlingame, whose brother was a pilot killed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. … “It’s almost laughable to think that heavy metal bands like Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the Machine have a moral authority on national security issues,” Mrs. Burlingame said. “They’re worried about torture of hard-core terrorists? This is really something I would expect to read in the Onion.”

  1 comment for “Musicians blast using tunes to torment (artists imitate parody) .. Update: counter-protest added

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *