Music to make war to at humanitarian.info

Music to make war to

Hey, I know that I’m always down on the “international community” and their “humanitarian assistance”, but believe me, it’s all based on bitter experience. One of the lesser-known reasons why the aid industry fails to deliver is because aid workers have terrible music taste. Seriously, check this out:

Third Eye Blind is the soundtrack of the Eastern Congo.

Really? Third Eye Blind? Somebody kill me. How about this, though:

I blasted The Who through earphones into my head. Pete Townsend’s thundering guitar story, A Quick One While He’s Away (Live at Leeds), with its crashing chords and bleeding vocals powered me through the stress of working half way around the world from my girl. Like rolling down a mountainside in a barrel I could think of nothing but rock. Then came something even louder: Mppp…mppp…I tore my headphones off and looked out the window at the oddly vacant airport road. Mppp… There it was again. The Darfur rebels had finally launched their attack.

The Who – that’s better, I guess, but the list at the end of the article gives the game away though. It’s so… rockist. So… average. Then Jon went and posted this, and now I have to stand up and be counted. As a well-known music snob, I will try and redress the balance, with a selection of tracks that have kept me going through the darker days:

Basement Jaxx – “Red Alert”. Full speed ahead for 90s Brixton madness. Also the soundtrack to Iraqi refugee camps in Iran.

Outkast – “Bombs over Baghdad”. Hey, Kosovo! As well as having the most bonkers video in hip-hop, this doubled up for duty in Iraq as well.

Holly Valance – “Kiss Kiss”. The least appropriate music video to be watching in Afghanistan. The original track by Tarkan is better, but she’s considerably more attractive.

Soulwax – “2ManyDJs”. Feeling alienated in Cyprus, waiting for the Iraq war to hurry up and finish so you can die in Baghdad? This was perfect.

Black Keys – “10AM Automatic”. Balls to the wall blues rock. Just right for getting over Indonesian tsunami trauma by going to bed at 10am in Bangkok.

Suba – “Sereia”. Balkans to Brazil, from a classic album. Incidentally, I realise that this list has got a serious western focus. Maybe I can do a follow up with more Tuvan throat singers or something.