▲

Did you know that a catchy pop hit or rocking head-banger could actually shatter someone’s sanity? When we think about the diverse uses of music, most people have no clue that some of their favorite songs and artists have been used as psychological warfare.

Shaun Pinner, one of the British prisoners captured while fighting in Ukraine, revealed that he was forced by the Russians to listen to the soundtrack of 'Mamma Mia!' 24 hours a day, in addition to being stabbed, subject to electrocutions, and given only stale bread and dirty water to consume. After he was sentenced to death, he was moved to new accommodation where the music torture continued. “The conditions were better but they still played music—and this time it was Believe by Cher,” he told The Sun. Fortunately he was freed after Saudi Arabia brokered a secretive deal between Russia and Ukraine to release 10 foreign detainees, but he said, "The past six months have been the worst days of my life. I never want to listen to an ABBA song again or see a loaf of bread. I just am so lucky to be home.”

Music as torture began in part as a more “palatable” form of torture. But after hearing about the experiences of those who've been subjected to these songs, it’s clear that there’s little worse than having a beloved song break you.

The CIA reportedly commonly used music torture as part of its "enhanced interrogation program" in the early 2000s. The idea was to disorient prisoners, deprive them of sleep, slow and mute their own thoughts, and ultimately break their will so that they would offer information more easily. The method was often combined with stressful physical conditions, cold temperatures, manipulations of light, and prolonged amounts of time.

While many countries have now banned the use of music as torture, and artists have petitioned to remove their songs from playlists of pain, check out this gallery based on a list from Mic to see which tracks have been used as attacks.

▲In 2013, The Guardian reported that the British navy played the Princess of Pop's music to scare off Somali pirates.

▲The intimidating sounds were reportedly chosen because the pirates can't stand western culture or music, making Spears' hits perfect.

▲The US apparently used this incessantly catchy tune as a way to get to its enemies between 2001 and 2004, by blasting it at Guantanamo Bay detainees.

▲

The US army was running out of options when Panamanian dictator General Manuel Noriega took refuge in the Vatican's embassy in Panama City. He faced a US indictment for drug-trafficking…

▲So the troops decided on psychological warfare. Using loudspeakers and the US military radio in Central America, they blasted a wall of non-stop sound outside, featuring a lot of heavy metal, including The Clash.

▲Many songs were chosen for their ironic value, while this one is a little on the nose.

▲They had a strange sense of humor.

▲

The general, said to be an opera lover, surrendered soon after.

▲The United Nations and the European Court of Human Rights have reportedly banned the use of loud music as torture.

▲A man named Binyam Mohamed heard this song nonstop for 20 days, he told Reprieve, a UK-based organization against the use of music torture. He said he watched people lose their minds and bang their heads against the wall.

▲This children’s show song is reportedly one of the most “overused” torture songs in the CIA’s playlist. The song’s creator, Bob Singleton, “just laughed” when he heard of its use, but he had never heard it blasted for weeks at a time.

▲Mohammed al Qahtani, the alleged 20th hijacker of the 9/11 attacks, was reportedly forced to listen to this sexually charged anthem as part of what soldiers dubbed the "bad Muslim" theme, which included other practices meant to make it impossible for him to be an observant Muslim man.

▲This soft rock ballad was apparently used for its biblical connotations, and when German musicologist Christian Gruny was interviewing former prisoners, one ex-inmate burst into uncontrollable sobs.

▲UK citizen Moazzam Begg was arrested by the CIA in Pakistan, and subsequently wrote a memoir about torture in the US military prison system, adding that he suffered the Bee Gees. "You can't see or do anything, nothing to see, nobody to talk to, nothing to do but bang the walls ... I met several people who'd been in there ... [who were] ready to tell the Americans anything they wanted, whether it was true or not."

▲While it seems ridiculous to use a cat food jingle, investigative reporter Justine Sharrock made an astute comment: "You almost have to stop yourself from laughing because you realize this is actually torture."

▲A US Navy veteran was an FBI informant undercover in Iraq when he was captured by the US army. Fortunately, his training enabled him to withstand this song, which was reportedly chosen for its lyrics taunting those held without charges: "I've done my sentence, but committed no crime."

▲Imagine this track, or really any others, blasted at ear-splitting volumes at random times, not letting you sleep, making you tired, agitated, upset… and then add to that the physical and mental stress of being a prisoner.

▲Christopher Cerf, who wrote the music for ‘Sesame Street,’ told the Associated Press he was horrified to learn how the children’s show had been weaponized. "I wouldn't want my music to be a party to that."

▲Apart from foreign targets, the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms also used music torture in 1993 to get David Koresh and his Branch Davidians out of a Texas compound after the ATF tried to raid their ranch. It was a 51-day standoff.

▲The US military knew that many non-Western audiences were unfamiliar with heavy metal, and purposely played loud, harsh, and aggressive songs like 'Bodies' at Guantanamo Bay.

▲This song is actually a condemnation of the country, but that was lost on the employees of Guantanamo, where the song was reportedly used as a wake-up call every day and often blasted during traditional prayer times.

▲A British resident recounted his experience of being held by the CIA in Morocco, Kabul, and Guantanamo Bay before being released without charges in 2009, saying that he had headphones that he couldn’t remove, and he was forced to listen to 'All Eyez On Me' for days.

▲In Australia, shop owner and city council member Gary Green was trying to find a way to keep teenage hoodlums from a seaside promenade in Sydney. He decided on pink lights (“makes the skin look blotchy and shows up spots) and repeated Barry Manilow, and the hoodlums stayed away.

▲A former member of the Psychological Operations Unit in Iraq told Spin that they used this song for over a year, sometimes blasting it for 24 hours straight, because, after that, “nine times out of 10 you’ll just answer a question without thinking.

▲This song, a terrifying song to hear for any prisoner, was reportedly played to detainees by US military interrogators in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

▲After hearing about this song’s use in torture, the band’s guitarist Tom Morello said "the fact that music I helped create was used in crimes against humanity sickens me,” and helped organize other musicians to put it to an end.

▲

The CIA reportedly also used this upbeat band’s songs on loop to torture prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.