Rockblog

The Top Ten songs most often used to prepare prisoners for interrogation at Guantanamo Bay have been released by Stop The Music Torture, a campaign set up by human rights group Reprieve.  

There are some pretty good rock songs making the top ten. In fact, the playlist looks a hell of a lot better than any of the local radio stations I can pick up.

The Top Ten Guantanamo Interrogation Songs:

1. Enter Sandman – Metallica
2. Bodies – Drowning Pool
3. Shoot to Thrill – AC/DC
4. Hell’s Bells – AC/DC
5. I Love You, from the Barney And Friends children’s TV show
6. Born In The USA– Bruce Springsteen
7. We Are The Champions – Queen
8. Babylon – David Gray
9. White America – Eminem
10. Sesame Street – theme from the children’s TV show

With the exception of Barney, David Gray, Eminem, and Sesame Street that’s not a bad list of songs. And I’d take the Sesame Street theme over Mr Rodgers’ Neighborhood any day.

This would be like a vacation compared to the crap music I’m assaulted with when going into any of the shops in the local shopping centre. If they really want to torture these people with music, I’d suggest tuning to any of the UK analogue radio stations. They repeat the same shit songs over and over and over. It’s enough to drive you crazy.

Today marks the 17th anniversary of the death of one of rock music’s greatest frontmen - Queen’s Freddie Mercury.

Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in 1946, passed away on November 24th, 1991 (The same day that also saw the passing of KISS drummer Eric Carr).

I first remember hearing Queen when I was 7 and my older brother came home with the We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You single. The next major memory of Queen was being ten years old when “The Game” album came out and one of my best friends at the time being a huge fan.

This was also around the time when MTV first started and Queen songs like Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Another One Bites the Dust were early staples of the channel. 

Another video played heavily in MTV’s early days was the Queen and David Bowie track Under Pressure. This has always been one of my favourite songs featuring Freddie Mercury and Queen, despite Vanilla Ice’s later attempt to ruin my enjoyment of it. That in mind, I’ve chosen a live video from Wembley Stadium in 1986 to remember Freddie by. He uses that 4 octave range to do a little call and response with the crowd before playing Under Pressure.

R.I.P. Freddie Mercury (5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991)