Sounds like danger

What makes a song dangerous? You could nitpick over semantics, but here, no single rule-set applies. Perhaps the song broke a taboo. Or maybe it landed someone in court. Maybe its meaning is fiercely battled, or its enjoyment fraught because of the actions, deemed heinous, of its creator…

Many sticky situations come to mind.

There are also songs which have rent irrevocable trauma — bodily or psychological — to either the listener, or to the individual through which the song emerged. Certain songs can provoke murders and suicides; incite criminality and parody; inspire movements and mischief. They are free expression made multi-noted, rhythmic and glorious (unless you’re that driver caterwauling along to the car radio with the windows down. Do shut up).

The meaning and politics of music — hymns, poppy hits, anthems, lullabies and folk songs — is never a settled matter. Knitted in the fabric of each melody and verse is a potent, fluid and untameable element, contested by human actors and groups, all seeking to weld it to their personal agendas, ideologies and emotions.

So, really, any song can be dangerous, depending on who controls its meaning and affect. Even “I Love You” by Barney the Dinosaur — one of the songs featured in the FODI 2018 playlist. Below, we share abridged stories behind three playlist tunes. Listen to the full tracklist here.

“Jack U Off” by Prince

In 1981, the artist Prince walked on stage for a Rolling Stones opening act. He wore the typical get-up of his sublime purple royalty: a trench coat, thigh-high boots, black bikini briefs.

In less than a year, the success of Controversy would rocket him to unprecedented fame. But the testosterone-driven, surlily straight-shooting audience was having none of it. Taking his cool androgyny as an affront to their manhood, they hurled homophobic slurs, racist insults and trash at the band. New bassist Brown Mark recalled getting “hit in the shoulder with a bag of fried chicken then my guitar got knocked out of tune by a large grapefruit that hit the tuning keys”.

When the promoter interrupted “Jack U Off” to pacify the crowd, their fury boiled over. The band was ultimately booed off. Bruised in more ways than one, Prince came close to cancelling the second show, scheduled a few days later. After much convincing, he didn’t. The show was almost as bad as the first. But he finished the set — ending with “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?”.

“Rolling in the Deep” by Adele

“I don’t even know how to start this,” began Adele in a letter to fans in 2016. The night before, she had told a Wembley crowd “It feels like I got a dead rat in my throat”. Near the end of a gruelling 123-date tour, the 29-year-old had received a devastating diagnosis: her vocal cords were damaged. Again. A few years back, they had haemorrhaged. A polyp had been discovered and dislodged. Perhaps this time, some feared, the harm would be irreparable. Shows were cancelled; fans were left fretting.

According to a growing number of experts, such damage isn’t just the price of gruelling tour regimes demanded of today’s popstars. The tragedy begins during training — where singers are taught that bigger is better. Putting their vocal cords under incredible strain, they are made to aspire towards the belted melody, the explosive aria and the stadium-raising ballad as the means to career lift-off and audience adoration.

Despite the setback, Adele did and will sing again. Her diva status is maintained. Her career is not over. (In fact, she has a new album coming out next year.) Julie Andrews — who suffered like her, but who was victim to a surgical catastrophe — was not so lucky.

“I Love You” by Barney the Dinosaur

“I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family!”

A purple chubby dinosaur bounces about on a TV screen, spreading joy and giggles in tiny watchers. For most, this is the scene that Barney the Dinosaur’s main theme song conjures.

The US military hijacked it for a very different purpose. As revealed not too long ago, one of the more ‘creative’ enhanced interrogation tactics used against prisoners during the War on Terror was music torture. Unable to remove the earphones jammed into their heads, chained and isolated in tiny cells, prisoners were blasted with tracks on repeat. Some of the songs of the so-called ‘torture playlist’ mocked their religion (Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty”). Some were maddening (the Bee Gees “Saturday Night Fever”). Imagine listening to Purina’s Meow Meow Mix jingle for hours on end.

The most ‘overused’ track was allegedly “I Love You”. In the torture trade, it falls under the ‘futility music’ category. Professor Suzanne Cusick, who wrote a paper on music torture, described futility music that which aims “to persuade a detainee that resistance to interrogation is futile”.

Cassie Longstaff contributed to the writing of this article.

Want to challenge our curation? Suggest your own dangerous tracks by emailing subscriptions@festivalofdangerousideas.com. Who knows — you could hear one playing on the island in November.