911 and The War on Terror in Popular Culture
America (A Tribute To Heroes) (2001)
The music world's immediate response to the 9/11 attacks came in the form of the America (A Tribute To Heroes) benefit concert and telethon, which aired on 21 September 2011. Paul Simon, U2, Bon Jovi & Alicia Keys were among the artists who performed, while Bruce Springsteen's rendition of 'My City of Ruins' became an anthem for post-9/11 America, as did many tracks on his album 'The Rising'.
Paul McCartney's 'Freedom' (2001)
Former Beatle Paul McCartney was moved enough by the attacks to write a song about them. McCartney witnessed the fall of the Twin Towers himself while sitting on the tarmac at JFK airport, and penned the anthemic track 'Freedom' on September 12, 2001. In the song, McCartney sings about how freedom is a 'right given by God', and is worth 'fighting for', which to some seemed at odds with his former band's anti-war sentiments. McCartney stopped performing the song after the invasion of Iraq as he felt it had acquired a 'militaristic meaning'.
Songs allegedly banned after 9/11
In the aftermath of the attacks, rumours circulated that US radio giant Clear Channel had banned 160 'lyrically questionable' songs from the airwaves. The songs included AC/DC's 'Shot Down In Flames', 'Highway To Hell' and 'Safe in New York City', Phil Collins' 'In The Air Tonight', Foo Fighters' 'Learn To Fly', Jerry Lee Lewis' 'Great Balls of Fire' and the entire back catalogue of Rage Against the Machine. The company later claimed the list to be a hoax.
Black Eyed Peas' 'Where Is The Love?' (2003)
Released at the start of the invasion of Iraq, the Black Eyed Peas breakthrough hit has been interpreted as an anthem against the the War on Terror. The song explores themes of intolerence and greed, and contains the lyrics: 'Overseas we tryin' to stop terrorism/ But we still got terrorists here livin'/ In the USA, the big CIA, the Bloods and the Crips and the KKK/ But if you only have love for y
