Infantry + iPods

The band 4th25 (pronounced "Fourth Quarter") is no ordinary hip-hop group. It is made up of American soldiers, serving in Iraq. The song “Live from Iraq” documents the real experience of being at war.

As U.S. combat forces pull out of Iraqi cities this week, we’re looking back at six long and bloody years marked by a determined insurgency and sectarian bloodshed. For U.S. troops, the war also had a soundtrack. Soldiers used music to psychologically prepare themselves for sweeps and battles, to grieve losses, and controversially, to wear down prisoners.

Jonathan Pieslak spent several years talking to soldiers about how music became a part of their lives in Iraq. He’s a composer and an associate professor at the City College of New York, and his new book is called Sound Targets.

The New York Post: Notes From the Front: Soldiers Tune In to the Iraq War

(Photo by ob1left via Flickr/Creative Commons)