Music & Small Wars (a broad theme)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...448891,00.html

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HIP-HOP and rap artists are teaching young Muslims the ideology of radical Islamism through songs about the war in Iraq, the oppression of Muslims and the creation of an Islamic state governed by Sharia, or religious law.
Intelligence agencies have identified music as a “tool for indoctrination”. The phenomenon began with an American group called Soldiers of Allah. The group has since disbanded but its music and lyrics remain popular on the internet. Other groups in Britain, France and the US have been identified as giving cause for concern. Many use the derogatory term “kufur” to describe non-Muslims.

Madeleine Gruen, an American intelligence analyst, highlighted the lyrics of a British group called Blakstone as a possible gateway to extremist politics.

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Blakstone website

http://www.blak-stone.com/

The role of music in resistance movements, insurgency and rebellion is something i've been thinking about a bit lately and noticed there doesn't seem to be much written on the topic, at least for Iraq and Afghanistan (perhaps because insurgents in those places are often hostile to music to begin with).

I grew up listening to Irish rebel music (the Wolfetones are still my favorite), so I have some understanding of music as a force for cohesion and influence in resistance movements. Even though the troubles in Northern Ireland are essentially over (for the time being at least), rebel music remains as part of Irish culture and identity.

More recently, I've been listening to some great North-African-based music which has similar roots in resistance. Tinariwen is one of the better-known groups, but there are others, many of which can be found through links to music groups on myspace. Through Tinariwen's myspace page, one can find all sorts of acts - many of which are North African "rebel music" acts. This is yet another demonstration of the power of social networking.

So a question I have, is there anything we can do with music to further our COIN strategy, or is this something we should steer away from? My experience with Irish music tells me that attempts to ban or otherwise discourage certain bands/songs/themes are most-likely counterproductive. Beyond that, it seems to me the hostility toward most music by elements in the Taliban, takfiri and other movements we are opposing presents an opportunity to attack their ideas and ideology through music. Thoughts?

There is that one instance I blogged about a while back where U.S. forces used loud rock music over the course of six days (AC/DC's "Back in Black") to drown out the sound of approaching mechanized equipment (armored vehicles).

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/02/news/afghan.php

Not what you're looking for, huh? Something a little more sophisticated?

On a more serious note (pardon the pun), given that one thing the Taliban do immediately upon entering an area to "Talibanize" it is to kill the entertainers, ban music and ban women in public, I have doubts about your plan.

Hi Entropy,

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Originally Posted by Entropy

So a question I have, is there anything we can do with music to further our COIN strategy, or is this something we should steer away from? My experience with Irish music tells me that attempts to ban or otherwise discourage certain bands/songs/themes are most-likely counterproductive. Beyond that, it seems to me the hostility toward most music by elements in the Taliban, takfiri and other movements we are opposing presents an opportunity to attack their ideas and ideology through music. Thoughts?

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A question near and dear to me heart!

Yes, it could be worked into our current COIN strategy. The trick is to act behind the scenes to support specific types of music. You might want to take a look at Heavy Metal Islam by Mark Levine for some examples...

Entropy,

You might want to take a look at Singing Songs with Radovan Karadzic over at the CT Lab.

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Karadzic the poet? The Bosnian Serb militia as purveyor and preserver of medieval cultures? Paul Pawlikowski (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0667734/)’s 1992 film on the role of gusle music, Serbian Epics, presents a very different take on the Balkan conflict, highlighting the inter-relation and mutual trajectories of culture and violence that lie so close to the heart of modern ethnic wars.

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Having spent my early political activist days as an organizer of music/protest gigs, I'm fully convinced of the ability of music to assist in protest and political mobilization. That being said, it depends a great deal on who is selling what message to whom, and very easy to do it badly. I'm doubtful, moreover, that outsiders have the "street cred" to design and market an effective message.

On a much less serious note, over the years students in my civil war simulation have written and recorded a number of songs set in our fictional simulation universe ("Brynania")—and some of them are damn good:

Kings of the Jungle (Rise up Zaharia)—a song supporting the "Popular Front for the Liberation of Zaharia"

Berri-Degoa—the singer reflects, while on a long train ride, on the righteous cause of the Zaharian separatists. One of the band also went on to a real-life career at the State Department!

Rebels Won't Succeed—a pro-government song, criticizing rebel attacks. Damn catchy too.

The Movement—a very polished French/English bilingual appeal for support for the hardline Zaharian People's Front.

Uqamistan—the anthem of revolutionary Uqamistan.

Thanks for the replies - interesting stuff.

Entropy, excellent question. In Iraq I went through quite a few Shi'a militia CDs in Iraq, and the music was actually pretty good (unfortunately the accompanying video was sometimes enough to make you want to go out and kick some butt, even they were injects from the movie Blackhawk Down). You can probably find their material on u-tube. The question was is it effective? I don't know, but the music was popular. Effective would mean it compells passive or active support.

I enjoyed the protest music in the 60s and 70s, but I wasn't compelled to passively or activity support the anti-war protestors; however, if you were so inclined I suspect the music would stiffen your spine a little. Listening to our national anthem always reinforces my spine and spirit, because I have been programed that way since being a young boy. Bands used to accompany troops into battle (obviously hard to do when troops are dispersed as they are now) to provied additional motivation. Nothing like good martial music to make you think you're 10 feet tall and untouchable. Just like playing hard rock in the gym to get through a heavy lifting session. It works.

Landsdale, an American advisor who worked with the Philippine government assisting them with their insurgency against the Huks, was famous for visiting villages with his guitar and singing folk songs to warm the people to his message.

I think if we researched it we would find a number of instances where insurgents/reistance movements effectively used money to motivate and raise money.

Great question, and it is probably an area we can exploit better.

Wanted to second Marct's recommendation. Finished it a few days ago. I would have never thought an all girl thrash metal band could/would give a command performance at the royal palace in Morocco. Worth the read and LeVine has an interesting resume. When you piggyback this with the region's youth bulge I think you get a much more effective game changer than anything the government could do. One interesting aspect of the book: People decrying the cultural imperialism....of the Saudis.

The Guess Who...Share The Land....kinda classic Marxist undertones.....they gave great great concerts anyway:)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLQJ4toj-JY

But, The Lady that really taught everybody how to do it...... Joan Baez.....from 1969 "We Want Our Freedom Now and We Shall Overcome".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6TZS...eature=related

http://www.heavymetalinbaghdad.com/

Not sure that the band had any real impact but it is interesting nonetheless.

Yo...Homegirl can sing!!! from 1971 Freda Payne' "Bring The Boys Home"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKb4e...eature=related


Here is the original version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU0qdbcHmpw

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In the midst of the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and the protests elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East, a group of Libyan exiles who run a website called Khalas noticed one surprising common thread in the voicing of discontent … rap music. Across the region rap artists were providing the soundtrack to protests in the streets. So Khalas decided to contribute by releasing a mixtape of their own. Khalas co-founder Abdulla Darrat talks about the influence of hip hop in this latest round of protests.

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http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2011/02/11/02

Transcripts will be available Monday afternoon.

Placed here, as Art usually goes hand-in-hand with the Social Sciences.

I haven't seen this addressed anywhere here, even after some reasonable googling and yet I can remember discussing the potential impact with Dave D. 15 years ago. :cool:

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The political and military chaos in Libya is about to enter its sixth month. As the rebels wage war against Muammar Gaddafi from their capital in Benghazi, and NATO air strikes continue to target his forces, subtler forms of protest that don't make headlines are sustaining the rebel cause.

Libyans are writing their own musical soundtrack to the war, expressing themselves in ways forbidden under the regime, and painting anti-Gaddafi murals and cartoons. These are important gestures of freedom in one of the Arab world's most totalitarian countries.

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http://www.studio360.org/2011/jul/01...ck-revolution/

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Since December, musicians have been responding to — and provoking — the protests in countries like Egypt and Tunisia, and much of the music being made about these movements is hip-hop. Some of these songs have played a direct role in popular uprisings, while others have helped galvanize international support. Songs are rapped in both English and Arabic, and international collaborations have helped to spread the music over the Internet, via Facebook and YouTube.

Hear Five Of The Best

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http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2...he-arab-spring

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In 2009, in response to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s first speech to the United Nations, a group of Libyan exiles created an organization called Khalas, which means “enough,” the goal, to bring awareness of the struggles again Libya’s dictatorial regime not only to other Libyans in the western world but to the English-speaking world at large. In the wake of revolution in Tunisia and Egypt and protests elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East, the Khalas team recognized one surprising common thread in the voices of discontent, rap music. Across the region, rap artists were providing the soundtrack to protests in the street. Khalas has curated a mixtape of some of the best new protest music and is now hosting the mix on its website, Enoughgaddafi.com. Abdulla Darrat is one of the founders of Khalas.

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http://www.onthemedia.org/2011/feb/1...ic/transcript/

See also
http://rebelfrequencies.blogspot.com...t-gaddafi.html

I took an entire PhD course on Music and civil disobedience. US centric labor songs like "Joe Hill" by Robeson is a good example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Kxq9uFDes). Of course Robeson is an interesting figure. The interaction between populism and music is increasingly interesting as folk songs (contrary to commercial) have significant impact on political change.

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You say you want a revolution? You're going to need music to fuel the fervor. And that's exactly what emerged across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula this year.

On Wednesday, All Things Considered host Robert Siegel checked in with a Greek music critic about protest music there. On Thursday, Russian musician, producer and activist Vasily Shumov shared the soundtrack of dissent in Russia. Today, Hani Almadhoun, the blogger behind Hot Arabic Music, lists songs that were a huge part of the Arab Spring protests. You can listen to the conversation by clicking the audio link above, and hear the songs they discuss below.

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http://www.npr.org/2011/12/30/144477...he-arab-spring

Deleted

OK, I am trying this once again.:( For what ever reason I could not edit the original post for some reason it said I did not have the authority to edit the post! I don't know what is up with that but it would not let me do anything despite following the instructions.


So here is a link to an interesting post from Fabius Maximus on the subject of reform in America and the use music. As the first SWJ/SWC self appointed unconventional warfare music and Video Disk Jockey expert:) I was very interested in the posted experts opinion and analysis of the subject.

http://fabiusmaximus.com/2013/09/03/...a-music-54559/

Might as well drop this here -

1) Reading music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgSkpRhP5nI

2) Stuff to read

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"Kalachnikov Love," a song by Ivorian reggae star Alpha Blondy that came out in 1986. It was being played everywhere across West Africa — taxis, bars, the stands of cassette sellers. After the death of Kalashnikov was announced on Monday, one former CIA officer commented that the AK-47 was the “easiest assault rifle to fall in love with.”

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Carl Krendel is an academic who wrote a paper with the heady title “Alpha Blondy’s Musical Nullification of Race, Class and Cultural Boundaries.” Krendel wrote that “'Kalashnikov Love,' performed with the Wailers [yes, Bob Marley’s band - eds.] and to the base riff of Marley’s 'Stir It Up,' is a sarcastic criticism of violence and the commercialization of the AK-47 in Africa." (You can hear the song below).

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http://pri.org/stories/2013-12-27/mi...ak-47-take-bow

Yo. Related stuff.
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...67&postcount=3

We started a discussion on music and rebellion a few years back and unfortunately it petered out. Might be worthwhile to combine these threads?

http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ighlight=music

(Added) Done.

Jimmy Cliff helped start the Caribbean/Rasta Man/Reggie/Revolution
with both music and films.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VA9C6AsH1k

Threads merged.

One of three threads to be merged, Bill M. found the third after Selil's work.

The oldest thread was called 'Rebellion, insurgency, music and COIN', it joined on on hip-hop music and MENA (I think that was the title) and one of Slap's threads on music (he is our resident YouTube conductor). Title now is simply 'Music & Small Wars (a broad theme)'.

First off, thanks to David and Sam for merging these threads, and now some additional material you may find of interest. Having spent some time in W. Africa, many parts of it are a musical culture, much like the cultures of many island nations (Slapout gave an example for Jamaica), and at least parts of SE Asia like the Philippines and the hill tribes in Indochina. This first link points to the relevance of that for SWJ practitioners. It is a pleasant change of venue from most of the websites that only discuss how music is used (largely ineffectively) to support interrogations.

http://thinkafricapress.com/mali/mus...li-andy-morgan

Review – Music, Culture & Conflict in Mali

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Music is the glue that holds Mali together, the bridge that connects its past with its present, the ink with which its history is written. Without it, Mali as we know it would not exist.

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Today, Mali has one of the world’s richest and most vivid music scenes, and it is not surprising that there was an outpouring of outrage and despair last year when the Islamist militants, who swept across the north of the country, banned music in the territories they held. The rebel groups have since been driven off by French forces and kept away by UN peacekeepers, but it was the Islamists’ campaign against music that forms the backdrop to Andy Morgan’s impressive new book Music, Culture & Conflict in Mali.

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They kindly provided a link to the e-version of the book. If the Army is serious about exploring the human domain and how to influence it, this appears to be one dimension of it that should be studied.

http://freemuse.org/graphics/Publica...flict_MALI.pdf

This German University has an ongoing study project regarding music and its relationship to conflict that some may want to pursue.

https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/84354.html

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The Free Floater junior research group “Music, Conflict and the State” promotes and conducts research into the role(s) of music in promoting, facilitating and perpetuating violent responses to conflicts between social groups and communities, including inter- and intrastate wars.

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Current focuses of our work include:

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##The use of music to advocate or incite hatred and violence

##The use of children as musicians in military and paramilitary organisations, and the role of music in the life of child soldiers

##Music and missionary work in the context of colonialism and colonial wars

##The use of music in connection with torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment.

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Some effects of technology on music and protest

Abstract

This paper discusses the issues of technology, music, and the intersection with social movements such as protest. Relying heavily on discussion of the guitar and music hall as examples where technology has created radical change the discussion centers on the elements that allow for the musician to interact with larger and larger audiences. With political tension and economic incentives in competition the artist and recording label economic models are examined as barriers to larger audience acquisition. The digital music movement has provided methods to remove the recording label and decrease costs to distribution. With the increased freedom from the normal hierarchies new artists are enabled to further their own agendas through music.

CLICK HERE

Selil, good discussion in that paper. I've been thinking about the obverse effects, myself, namely how recording technology is making music less accessible to people, at least in certain genres (Baroque & Classical) by creating unrealistic expectations of performance quality.

Bill, thanks for the links. Just downloaded the Morgan paper for reading....

Cheers,

Marc

in this post, where graphics and lyrics are used to present the creator's own mythology, version of history and particular viewpoint.

Regards

Mike

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Originally Posted by davidbfpo

One of three threads to be merged, Bill M. found the third after Selil's work.

The oldest thread was called 'Rebellion, insurgency, music and COIN', it joined on on hip-hop music and MENA (I think that was the title) and one of Slap's threads on music (he is our resident YouTube conductor). Title now is simply 'Music & Small Wars (a broad theme)'.

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When you did that, what did you do with the first two posts of North Africa's Hip Hop Protest Music?

Adam G,

They should be there, I did merge that hip hop thread too.

Ok, it's post 13 this thread.

If you're still pushing your janitor's broom around then this ought to be reeled in as well -

http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=1464

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Originally Posted by AdamG

Ok, it's post 13 this thread.

If you're still pushing your janitor's broom around then this ought to be reeled in as well -

http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=1464

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Done.