War Gigs
Not to get all Mideastern on your ass, but when it comes to Iraq you know where Stereogum stands: pro-war, anti-troops (stole that one from Jeffrey Ross). OK, seriously, no judgment calls, but I found some of the quotes in Rolling Stone's feature "Soundtrack To War" (Aguilera issue) a bit unsettling (no shit -- being at war is "unsettling.")
Do I care if soldiers rig their iPods to their helmets? No. Am I gonna criticize their taste in music? Of course not. But I wanted to share RS's quotes from Iraqi troops because I think, to a music fan, they are fascinating. The Doors brought solace to Vietnam vets; now that easily accessible digital music has replaced Armed Forces Radio, what are they listening to?
- "All this stuff was going on: Heavy artillery, tracer rounds -- it looked like Star Wars. Then you got 'Hit me, baby, one more time' -- it's hard to kill people when that's going on."
- "To get psyched up to go into battle, I listened to punk or hardcore, like Pantera or Metallica, and after every patrol, when we were going back to base and we knew we were alive, we played 'This Is Now,' by Hatebreed."
From one Sudan-born soldier who listens to Iraqi music...
- "People are like, 'Why are you listening to terrorist music?' or 'Why are you listening to the enemy's music?' I actually like it. They say I'm weird for that, so I keep it to myself."
- "You can't put a Dashboard Confessional song on and expect to go out there and kill somebody."
- "You've got to make death not a big deal. Like the Russian guy in Rocky: 'If he dies, he dies.' When you're getting ready, grabbing your gear, putting the bullets where you need to put them and getting in the mind-set, like, 'OK, we're going to war -- that's when I listen to 50 Cent."
- "Everyone was getting pumped up, [AC/DC's "Highway To Hell"] gave us a bond throughout the entire missions. The connotation was 'We're laughing at death, and it's not gonna touch us.'"
Posted at 5:21 PM
Tags: Dashboard Confessional
Stole it from Jeffrey Ross, who stole it from Bill Hicks.
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Dude...what the fuck is up with pitchfork? ever since the redesign the site crashes every day.
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"Why are you listening to the terrorist's/enemy's music?"
With attitudes like that, it's no wonder we're losing this war and the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. . .
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"You can't put a Dashboard Confessional song on and expect to go out there and kill somebody."
well, we obviously have different reactions to dashboard, then. ba-dum ching.
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Can you kill listening to Radiohead?...
maybe bends era stuff...
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Godsmack wants YOU to kill for your country. I mean, defend freedom. Hey, don't twist my words around, man.
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my little brother listens to the boy least likely to and death from above 1979. and a lot of johnny cash. not sure if it helps with the killing.
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when i want to kill someone i listen to movie soundtracks
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http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=1244 (The Godsmack interview; it's kinda funny. And sad.)
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i bet the british soliders listen to good music.
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Fuck the troops.
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I guess that's Mando's stupid attempt at humor (?), but comments like that bug me so much because it is such a small small number of people that "hate the troops", but tons of people that want to conflate opposing the war with hating the troops. So no fuel for them please.
But that "terrorist music" comment is pretty depressing.
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No, but you can listen to a Dashboard Confessional song and thing about killing YOURSELF...
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"after i jack off to some face-melting solos, i chug a few brewskis and i play some real-life halo with my M-16 and some bros of mine."
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Stereogum stands: pro-war, anti-troops (stole that one from Jeffrey Ross)
Jeff Ross stole THAT from Bill Hicks.. If you're stealing from Stereogum, you're stealing THREE times!
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Pantera and Metallica are neither punk nor hardcore. Just mainstream metal. Discuss.
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No.
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"I guess that's Mando's stupid attempt at humor (?), but comments like that bug me so much because it is such a small small number of people that "hate the troops", but tons of people that want to conflate opposing the war with hating the troops. So no fuel for them please."
No, it is my honest opinion. I do not claim to speak for the anti-war movement, only myself. Should I not say what I believe, because someone else who is anti-war is afraid of looking bad?
IMO, saying you support the troops but not the war is a huge copout. The troops are intelligent human beings acting on their own accord to carry out a fucked up agenda. Especially those that signed up for the military immediately after 9/11, mainly for "revenge".
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i say we should send the troops lightning bolt cds... or devendra banhart, depending on your stance for/against the war.
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first of all "the boy least likely to" is a poor, weak, shitty excuse for music. anyone who gives a shit about the welfare of other braindead idiots jumping around carelessly invading a weaker country in an already embarrassing war should be thrown there to die horribly as well. if your so worried about something other than the damage here then get the fuck out and get your useless brains splattered in some country where everyone hates you more than the real americans who actually understand what needs to be done unlike you pus festering shitheads. This brings me to darwin who is the biggest cum-brain here."if your panties are in such a twist about winning the hearts and minds of people in iraq, then fuckin' enlist and see how well of a response you'll get." If your ideals and beliefs are so valid then you should have nothing to prove. You wouldn't have to "win" anothers heart and mind with a gun against their heads. That just shows how shitty your beliefs are if you feel the need to do that in the first place.........you're all retarded.
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.....exept for mando.......finally someone who has a sense of self-respect and acute insight of the present world. He's right those shitbrains this country calls "our" troops are doing absolutly nothing for this country except creating a larger target directed at us for the rest of this planet to throw their hatred at. pretty soon i'm sure we'll feel it physically...or chemically....if our failure of a gov't or military(same tyrannical body now...that's why they never work out)continues this retarded crusade especially with all of you kunt holes with your thumbs up your asses complaining about things you onbviously don't comprehend and not even doing shit about it......pathetic(sad to be american now)
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