Monday, June 04, 2007

Music For When Boys Cannot Play Nice

Now when the preverbial hits the wall and as the title suggests when boys cannot play nice. I do not repeat do not put on my ipod and chill out, in fact you need every single sense working 110% to state the obvious, and music whilst it sounds good in movie soundtracks has no place in a battlezone, I am yet to hear the US Army Psych op's team drive into an Iraqi Village with the ghetto blaster to end all ghetto blasters blasting out the Ride of the Valkeryie (ala Apocalyse Now)

But there are times when I do crank up to Volume 11 (as according to the gospel of Spinal tap)

I remember sitting inside a tank in Kuwait leading up to the war talking with the crew about what music they listen to and the loader pointed to a dusty portable cd and said in his southern drawl we ramp up Enimen and play it through the in board headphones as they speed accross the desert, "lose Yourself" is not a track of music for the peaceniks.

Last year in the Israel Lebanon War, I would start my morning by playing the Kid Rock Bawitada blaring and get completely pumped up for the adrenaline rush of incoming katusah rockets, it is almost like a drug the need to get ready and psyched up for mayhem. When it goes down in big way your own personal adrenaline is coursing through you and your music tastes in conflict zones reflect that.

Each War or Conflict has a piece of music attached to it for me, during Kosovo it was Fat Boy Slim Right Here Right NowFunk Soul Brother and Rockafellar Skunk. The Gaza Disengagement "The Killers - Somebody Told Me", China "Ray of Light - madonna" Iraq "ACDC Thunderstruck", Sudan "dave Matthews The Space Between", Afghanistan "The Doors Break on Thru" the list goes on.

Guns & Roses "Live and Let Die" Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell", Inxs "Devil Inside", Lenny Kravitz "Are You Going My Way", Social Distortion "Ring of Fire", Billy Idol "Rebel Yell", The Clash "London Calling", Foo Fighters "learn to Fly" TRex "Spirit in the Sky", U2 "Elevation".

A funny aside earler in the year I was driving down to Sderot to go as we say "Kassam Catching" when driving into the town Correspondent Jennifer Griffin & Producer Yonat Freling asked me were we were going, without saying a word turned the dial on the ipod and cranked out Petula Clarkes "DOWNTOWN" they just both cracked up laughing.

But in closing as Howard Jones would say "Things Can Only get Better"

Now do not think I am a music freak given any oppurtunity I will actually listen to live sport on the radio as these photos will attest to. The other week sitting on the hill overlooking Gaza and Sderot I had drawn the night shift and it happened to be the night of the European Champions Football Match so there I am with a portable radio with crackly reception trying to watch the game on a small screen with no sound, well it had sound but it was in hebrew and the radio had english


2 comments:

21stCenturyMom said...

This post leaves me thinking that a great name for a rock band would be "Surrounded by Mayhem".

Jack Steiner said...

That is a decent list of music.