Torture Lite: Welcome to the Disco

The Guardian - Welcome to the 'Disco'

My friend Emma sent me this. At unidentified locations (called the "disco") within detention centers both in Gitmo and near the Iraq-Syrian border, prisoners have been subjected to music torture - what the military calls "torture lite", which is such a painfully 21st century subject (apparently "Enter Sandman" by Metallica is quite popular in these circusmtances). Torture is of course one of the central issues in understanding political oppression and the enforcement of peace from a contemporary global perspective, and the 'lite' part makes it sounds like it has less calories. It's diet torture, it's good for you. It's almost like a cleanse, really. Also BTW if you have not gone on at least a ten-day cleanse by now, you are way behind the times. You probably don't know what flavor-tripping berries are either.

It's a really interesting article, naturally since it's the Guardian, and recommended reading. I excerpt only this part:

"the most overused torture song is I Love You by Barney the Purple Dinosaur. On the face of it, the lyrics may seem deeply inappropriate: "I love you, you love me - we're a happy family./With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you,/Won't you say you love me too?", but anyone whose child watches the television programme will know how grating it is. In the torture trade, this is called "futility music", designed to convince the prisoner of the futility of maintaining his position."

And add my own torture-lite playlists:

Songs That Would Cause Me to Quickly Cave

1. Tracey Chapman - Fast Car
2. Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
3. Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah
4. The Cyrkle - Red Rubber Ball
5. Unkle Kracker - Follow Me

Songs My Tormentors Would Try To Use, But Secretly I Would Like Them And Successfully Resist Interrogation

1. O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei
2. Sting - If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
3. Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies
4. Coldplay - Trouble
5. Patti Labelle - New Attitude

Songs That Could Go Either Way
1. Proclaimers - the one about walking a thousand miles
2. The Macarena