WASHINGTON — Was the theme to Sesame Street really played to torture prisoners held at Guantanamo and other detention camps? What about Don McLean's American Pie? Or the Meow Mix jingle? Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A.?

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 cooperation or as a method of punishment.

Dozens of musicians endorsed a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the National Security Archive, a Washington-based independent research institute, seeking the declassification of all records related to the use of music in interrogation practices. The artists also launched a formal protest of the use of music in conjunction with torture.

“I think every musician should be involved,” Rosanne Cash said Wednesday. “It seems so obvious. Music should never be used as torture.” The singer-songwriter who is the daughter of Johnny Cash said she reacted with “absolute disgust” when she heard of the practice.

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.”

The musicians' announcement was coordinated with the recent call by veterans and retired Army generals to shut Guantanamo. It is part of a renewed effort to pressure President Barack Obama to keep his promise to close the prison in Cuba in his first year in office. Television and radio spots focused on the issue also launched this week by the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo.

A White House spokesman said music is no longer used as an instrument of torture.

Tactics scrutinized

The president also formed an interagency group, called High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, to examine the techniques used during questioning, but a White House spokesman said this week that the new group has yet to be fully constituted.

“The president banned the use of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques,' and issued an executive order that established that interrogations must be consistent with the techniques in the Army Field Manual and the Geneva Conventions,” a White House official said.

“Sound at a certain level creates sensory overload and breaks down subjectivity and can (bring about) a regression to infantile behavior,” said Suzanne Cusick, a music professor at New York University who has studied, lectured about and written extensively on the use of music as torture in the current wars. “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.”

Human rights activists hope that the musicians' actions will bring attention to the practice and ensure that it won't be used again.

“In light of the patterns of widespread use of music as torture over the last seven years, difficulties in accessing these current detainees and the failure of the U.S. to explicitly rule out the use of loud music, the musicians' FOIA request is crucial for learning about the United States' past, present and even future use of music as a torture technique,” said Jayne Huckerby, research director at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at the NYU School of Law.

A U.N. violation

The prolonged use of loud music to control or coerce prisoners, Huckerby points out, is a violation of the U.N. Convention Against Torture and constitutes both torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. According to Huckerby, the use of loud music was “pretty much a widespread tool of the U.S. government and a standard condition of CIA prisons.”

Cusick, the NYU music professor, has interviewed a number of former detainees about their experiences and says the music they most often described hearing was heavy metal, rap and country. Specific songs mentioned include Queen's We Are the Champions and Nine Inch Nails' March of the Pigs.

Joining in the call for the release of information were dozens of musicians, including David Byrne, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and T-Bone Burnett.

For now, the artists are trying to find out what songs were played. They say they will explore legal options once the songs are known. It is unclear what, if any, recourse they may have.

Read more:http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6682049.html

Timbaland's "Shock Value II" Will Feature Diverse Music Talents

October 23, 2009 6:01 a.m. EST

Andy Bockelman - Celebrity News Service Reporter

Santa Monica, CA (CNS) - Timbaland's latest career move should come as no shock to his fans.

The hip hop/R&B vocal artist will be releasing the follow-up to his 2007 album "Timbaland Presents Shock Value" with the similarly titled "Timbaland Presents Shock Value II." The album, produced through the artist's Blackground Records in conjunction with Interscope Records and Mosley Music Group, is set to hit stores on November 23.

Like its predecessor, "Shock Value II" will contain contributions from an abundance of other recording artists. From young pop talents like Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry to seasoned rock names such as Jet and Nickelback's Chad Kroeger, the musical collection will encompass a wide range of sounds, touching on numerous genres. Other artists featured on "Shock Value II" include Justin Timberlake, Brandy, Jay-Z, Shakira, Lil' Wayne, The Fray, T-Pain, Missy Elliott, Chris Daughtry, OneRepublic and more.

The album's single "Morning After Dark," featuring Nelly Furtado and French musical artist SoShy, premiered on "On-Air with Ryan Seacrest" on October 16 and will be available on iTunes by October 27, according to label Interscope Records.

Timbaland's production efforts have brought him influence in many facets of the musical world, with the artist's sway giving weight to recent output from Destiny's Child, Madonna and Fall Out Boy, and other musical acts. The latter also performed on the first "Shock Value."

"I'm so fortunate and blessed to be able to create a 'Shock Value II,'" Timbaland said in a press release for the album. "I'm really proud of the caliber of artists on this album and all the work they put into making it a success. I can promise that no one has ever heard Katy Perry, The Fray, or Brandy sound like this before. It's exciting because not only am I giving fans the best of me on each track, I'm giving them a glimpse of their favorite artist in a completely different light."

Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7016779053?Timbaland's%20#ixzz0UnMnkHHx