The Music of War in Iraq

For American soldiers in Baghdad, the music of war includes a cacophony of sound: traffic, dogs, calls to prayer, electric generators, distant gunfire and the diverse selections chosen for their iPods.

Soldiers listen to rock, rap, reggae, country, blues, and even Frank Sinatra while also attuned to the warning sounds of bullets, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, and the "improvised explosive devices" known as IEDs.

That was the conclusion of three panelists who used video and audio samples to describe "Music and War in Iraq," part of a two-day conference on "The Music of War" hosted by the Martin Institute from April 18-19.

The conference capped the Martin Institute's year-long look into the politics, history, social, and cultural effects of war.

Visiting professors discussed the complex relationship between war and music since the Civil War, while musical artists offered performances, including the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra's "Music in Time of War: From Bunker Hill to Baghdad."

The Meaning Behind Music
Jonathan Pieslak, assistant professor of music at City College CUNY, discussed how the music used in advertising by recruiters portrays military service as a "patriotic and honorable duty" and sounds similar to the theme John Williams composed for the 1978 "Superman" movie.

"Music in its own right projects meaning," Pieslak said, noting that though few words are used in the television advertisements, a message of "strength and heroism" is nevertheless conveyed by the music.

Interestingly, Pieslak said, the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni group linked to al Qaeda, uses similar sounds in the advertising it creates calling its own recruits to Jihad, or Holy War.

While music is banned by fundamentalists, the "nashid," a kind of patriotic rhythmic chant, is employed instead to create what sounds like "honorable duty music," Pieslak said. 

Lisa Gilman, an assistant professor of folklore and English at the University of Oregon, has interviewed returning American soldiers about the music they chose for their iPods and the role music played during their deployment.

Where the media depicts soldiers as "brutes listening to brute music to be even more brutish," the truth is that soldiers listen to a variety of selections, she said. Music is not just used to rally courage before battle, but also for relaxation, friendship and to demonstrate individuality, Gilman said.

Sounds of Silence
Music is so much a part of life for soldiers in Iraq that one man vividly recalled the sounds the day a comrade was killed on patrol, said Gilman. "All I remember is silence," the soldier said. "Absolute silence."
J. Martin Daughtry, assistant professor of ethnomusicology at New York University, discussed "The Costs and Benefits of Listening to the War in Iraq."

Noting that war has been "a noisy clanging business throughout history," Daughtry described the "incessant repetition of certain sounds over time" that makes up "the sonic environment in post-invasion Baghdad."

Listening Skills
 Soldiers cultivate and take pride in their listening skills, Daughtry said. After a time they are able to tune out the constant and distant sound of gunfire. They learn to differentiate the specific sounds of an AK-47, an M-16 and an M-249, and to tell how near they are.

When an IED explodes, soldiers can actually hear "the air being displaced," Daughtry said. The blast causes physical trauma in the form of hearing loss and creates an atmospheric pressure that damages the brain, resulting in flashbacks when loud sounds occur later, he said.

Still, soldiers often choose to forego their required earplugs and instead smuggle iPod earbuds under their helmets, Daughtry said. They risk hearing loss not only to be able to detect the warning sounds of approaching missiles, but also to hear their music, which they use for courage, for privacy and for reasons not easily understood, he said.

For soldiers in Iraq, sound is "a key to survival and a source of pain, a blessing and a curse, a source of information and a source of injury," Daughtry said. 

04/22/08