Ghost of a flea: Ways of making you talk

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October 23, 2009

Ways of making you talk

A "high-profile" ~~coalition~~ motley of music artists including members of Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and the Roots (?) protest the use of their music to torture jihadi detainees.

Would they were so considerate of the rest of us.

"I think every musician should be involved," said Rosanne Cash in a telephone interview Wednesday. "It seems so obvious. Music should never be used as torture." The singer-songwriter (and daughter of Johnny Cash) said she reacted with "absolute disgust" when she heard of the practice. "It's beyond the pale. It's hard to even think about."

Other musicians, including Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Tom Morello, formerly of the band Rage Against the Machine, also expressed outrage.

"The fact that music I helped create was used in crimes against humanity sickens me," Morello said in a statement. "We need to end torture and close Guantanamo now."

Two suggestions: Substitue R.E.M.'s music for a looped tape of Micheal Stipe talking about the environment - hell, a looped tape of Michael Stipe talking about the plight of Guantanamo detainees - and we could have a game changer for intelligence gathering. Failing that, substitute the current mix tape for a link to my Ghost of a flea MySpace music page; just doing my bit for the war effort.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at October 23, 2009 08:05 AM

Comments

This is a good thing.

We should immediately launch a human rights complaint and claim a few billion bucks back from R.E.M., Pearl Spam and so on.

Not to mention all those low-grade CanCon acts MuchMusic put on the air in heavy rotation because, well, there wasn't much else (i.e. 54-40, Alannah Myles, Barney Bentall, Bruce Cockburn, Candi and the Backbeat, Cowboy Junkies, Frozen Ghost, Gino Vanelli, Lava Hay, Luba, Nothern Pikes, Parachute Club, Paul Janz, Rankin Family, Sass Jordan, Spirit of the West, Tom Cochrane, Tragically Hip, Zappacosta).

It's amazing millions of Canadian kids did not try to break their own eardrums with Phillips screwdrivers, considering all the crap that was shovelled at us on a daily basis.

Posted by: Chris Taylor at October 24, 2009 12:52 AM

Sorry to hear that Rosanne Cash is such a humorless old cow, but the drugs took their toll on her. She still has a lovely voice, doing a great remake of 'Heartaches by the Number' with Elvis Costello on her new CD "The List"

Posted by: jdpercifield at October 25, 2009 10:00 PM