R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine and Nine Inch Nails are amongst the artists who have recently joined the National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, objecting the the use of music as a torture device.
While a spokeswoman for the Joint Task Force Guantanamo has said that the tactic to play music at deafening volumes as an interrogation tool has not been used on detainees in Guantanamo since 2003, a reference was made to the practice in a 2008 report by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
According to reports NIN's 'March of The Pigs' is one of the songs that has been used in interrogations. R.E.M made the following statement to the BBC about their stance, "We have spent the past 30 years supporting causes related to peace and justice. To now learn that some of our friends' music may have been used as part of the torture tactics without their consent or knowledge, is horrific. It's anti-American, period."
Billy Bragg, Steve Earle and Rosanne Cash have also joined the campaign, which supports Barack Obama's pledge to close down the prison in Guantanamo Bay.