Entertainment

11 Songs Literally Used to Annoy Enemies

by Christine DiStasio

Singer, actress, Las Vegas show headliner, multi-platinum artist, dancer, terror of the high seas...? Britney Spears has emerged the ultimate weapon in Britain's fight against Somali pirates. According to reports, the sound of Britney's voice wafting through the salty sea air, belting out the lyrics to "Oops! I Did It Again" and "Baby One More Time" is enough to send Somali pirates along the east coast of Africa sailing to the ends of the earth.

British naval officers explained the reasoning behind their security team's choice in employing the American performer's pop hits because of their fame, "These guys can't stand western culture or music, making Britney's hits perfect. As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can."

Amazing, right? Just think, all of those times you spent jumping on your bed singing along to your Britney Spears CDs as an adolescent, you were actually saving your family's home from being pillaged by pirates!

Our favorite pop princess and former publicity nightmare isn't the first musician whose music's been tapped for military use. This isn't even the first time her songs have been borrowed. In 2008, reports came out that U.S. military interrogators were playing tracks by a multitude of artists, including Britney, at deafening volumes in prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, and that angered many of the artists unwittingly involved. The music was reportedly blasted to break down the prisoners and to continuously induce "capture-shock" and disorientation. Pleasant, huh? Wondering which songs those were? Well, here they are in a well-cultivated torture playlist from prisons around the world:

1) "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison

Used under the regime of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on political opponents in his torture houses, concentration camps, and prisons to inflict psychological suffering.

2) "Morning Has Broken" by Cat Stevens

Also played to Pinochet's prisoners.

3) "Enter Sandman" by Metallica

Played by the U.S. Military forces on Iraqi prisoners of war at "excruciating volumes" to break down prisoners.

4) "The Sesame Street Theme Song"

Al Jazeera exposed the use of the popular children's show's music in its documentary Songs of War. Allegedly, Guantanamo prisoners were strapped to chairs and forced to wear headphones that blasted the show's music for prolonged periods of time.

5) "La Vie En Rose" by Edith Piaf

Another song used by Pinochet.

6) "I Love You" from Barney and Friends

Interrogators at Guantanamo Bay used this song as "futility" music to convince prisoners of the futility of maintaining their silence.

7) "Born In The USA" by Bruce Springsteen

The popular Springsteen anthem has reportedly been played as a wake-up call for years on end at Guantanamo Bay in spite of the song's highly critical lyrics about the U.S.

8) "White America" by Eminem

Also used by interrogators at Guantanamo to break down prisoners.

9) "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC

The hard-pounding, repetitive beats of AC/DC's popular song were also used as a way to break down Iraqi prisoners. The song was also blasted, using long-range audio devices, throughout the region to "increase vulnerability of Iraqi insurgents".

10) "Bodies" by Drowning Pool

Also reportedly played to detainees in Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

11) "Dirrty" by Christina Aguilera

Mohammed al Qahtani, believed to be the "20th hijacker" on Sept. 11 attacks, claimed that an earful of "Dirrty" was one of his wake-up calls during his time at Guantanamo Bay because of it's sexualized lyrics.