This week we are discussing music torture. It was tempting to find the song that I thought might be most torturous, or a song comparable to the specific songs mentioned in the text. But I decided to try a different angle. To start, on page 17 of the Cusick it reads "My interlocutors often argue that it is the detainees' utter powerlessness, reinforced by the congeries of nakedness, humiliation, fatigue, and self-inflicted pain of stress positions that causes unwanted music to move from annoying to torturous." It's worth mentioning that this is not a position Cusick totally aligns with, but in this quotation we can read that there is a question of is the music itself torturous or does it become torturous based on the situation of the subject (either already under stress of interrogation or not). Obviously the songs used to torture the victims can be pleasant for us consumers in the comfort of our homes, but could a song be pleasant for a victim if it has comforting mood? Or would the severity and humiliation of being a detainee make it so any song played on end is torturous?

This song I chose by the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Ros will not answer this question conclusively but I think it is useful to consider my questions. This song is not in English so we as listeners will not gain any meaning from the lyrics just like the prisoners in the article. I personally find the song to be soothing and warm. The falsetto voice, angelic background, and swelling instrumentation bring about a feeling of peace. Of course, I have never experienced what is described in the article. The most I've listened to this song in a row is maybe four times, so its possible I could feel tortured with is on repeat for a day. But I think it is worth wondering whether music could also help people in such a stressful situation as being imprisoned and questioned to stay sane. Music that evokes peace could be even more torturous in an environment that is the opposite of peaceful,, but on the other hand peaceful music could help someone survive a violent environment.

I remember in the video we watched on Tuesday, the soldier said that for certain songs the prisoners would sing along. I imagine this would hep them to stay centered and not lose themselves in the sensory manipulation. I offer no grand answers in this blog post, but can at the least say that I think the choice of music is very important in determining the outcome of the intended torture.