The Manipulation of Music

A couple of weeks ago, in small town Utah, 30 miles West of Salt Lake City, the Crossfield City Council organized a talent show as a community builder. Crossfield is a town known for its musicians, at least for the neighboring towns whose families travel there on the weekends to hit up the local bars and cafes. It is something straight out a movie. You can go to any hang out place and find a local band or solo musician rocking their tunes, hoping to make it big.

But Crossfield is one place you won’t find Simon Cowell looking for talent. Other than the local musicians, the most exciting part of Crossfield is an imploded mine that has become the hottest hangout for high schoolers looking to party it up, undisturbed. Driving through the center of town you would never guess the city had a thriving night life, because during the daytime it takes on the appearance of an abandoned city perfectly suited for a Stephen King novel or horror film. The streets are bare, the building have broken windows and badly weathered paint jobs, and old rusty trucks line the streets.

What set Crossfield apart from other towns was its diverse population. Each street hosts a different ethnic group, which may contribute to its popularity in music in surrounding areas. On the Western outskirts of the town Mormon and Jewish communities live harmoniously in close proximity. On the opposite side of town you can find a small community of American Baptists, as well as Russian. A bit more towards there center, a mix of Middle Eastern, European, and Amish communities make up the population. Regardless of its small size, it is composed of several ethnicities and religions.

Despite its shabby appearance, the city council announced it was planning to host a talent show. The aim was to end Crossfield’s isolation from surrounding communities, and make a name for it in the state of Utah. The thought was, if the talent show was a success then maybe the next year it would attract people from other communities, or even other states.

Well, the town council members were probably not expecting that their first attempt to gain a bit of recognition would send shockwaves throughout the whole of Utah. Only ten contestants, all residents of Crossfield, entered the contest. They were split equally between male and females, but the music genres ranged from American folk to modern Arabic music. The judging panel was composed of the five music teachers living in Crossfield. Five days of competition later, a Lebanese native emerged as the winner.

Ali Hussein, a quiet young man studying in the local high school, won by a small margin, followed closely by an older Russian woman whose genre was classic rock. The judges’ reason for giving Hussein the first place title was that he was an extraordinary singer in several different genres. One city council member, who preferred to be unnamed, said Ali was “one of the best vocal artists Crossfield has ever produced.”

The famous actress Glen Close, a former resident of a town neighboring Crossfield and well aware of the musical community, publicly endorsed Hussein as the representative of “America’s new generation of music.” All of the attention given to Hussein was certainly putting Crossfield on the map.

There was only minimal criticism from the audience toward the judges’ decisions, and any of it came from the friends of the runner-up. That is, until Hussein turned his success into an opportunity to speak out on behalf of his formerly unknown affiliation to Hizbullah.

During a televised interview with News Channel 5, which is broadcasted in over half of the greater Utah area, Hussein revealed his love for music began during his childhood in Lebanon. As part of the Hizbullah choir, an institution funded by Syria and Iran, and organized under the guidance of top Hizbullah officials.

It seems as though no Crossfield community member ever suspected the family’s ties to the group, labeled by the US and several other countries as a terrorist organization. When asked about the shocking news, a resident speaking under anonymity said, “ The family was generally a nice, quiet family that participated in all community events. Everyone liked them. They never hung flags, spoke about politics and I never even saw them step out on Sundays to go to church.”

In several follow-up interviews, Hussein revealed the inner working of the Hizbullah choir and how it helped to create the person he is today. “We are not really supposed to talk about being in the Hizbullah choir. It is a secretly run branch of the party. The boys are selected through an application process and series of auditions, and then we are placed into the level which best suits us. For the more advanced, they go on to compete internationally. But of course not under the Hizbullah banner.”

He went on to say that being a Hizbullah choir boy taught him unity with his fellow Hizbullah brothers, as well as discipline. “I wouldn’t be the great musician I am today, or even the person I am today, if it wasn’t for my mentor Nasrallah,” he said. Apparently, he was one of the few students able to intern under Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as he still holds the top honors from the choir.

Only hours after Hussein’s revelation, the Crossfield community president as well as Glenn Close both issued public apologies for endorsing Hussein. Within a few days of the event four West Coast states – including Arizona, Nevada and Idaho – introduced bills to their state legislatures allowing intensive background checks for any applicants into local or inter-state talent shows.

So what does this mean for the international music world? Are terrorist organizations now trying to infiltrate the realm of music, and then use their success for a platform on which to base the ideology? In the 21st century, music has proven that it breaches international borders very quickly. We see it as a form of freedom of speech, but could the manipulation of our beloved form of entertainment by people like Ali Hussein make it something we fear?

*This piece of literary journalism is completely fictional and for the entertainment of my blog readers. I am not trying to deface Hizbullah so much as point out the absurdity of such a report. Thank you.