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Whether his rags can drive away opponents of vaccination?
Barry Manilow, singer of "Mandy" in the seventies
Photo: Jack Mitchell/Getty Images
When nothing else helps, only bad music helps: according to this motto, the authorities in New Zealand's capital Wellington are apparently trying to get rid of hundreds of people who are protesting against the country's corona measures in front of the parliament building.
After lawn sprinklers did not bring the desired effect, those responsible took stricter measures: Barry Manilow and James Blunt.
Loud music, apparently hoped to be so terrible that protesters covered their ears and flee in droves, blared out on a 15-minute loop.
The playlist includes Barry Manilow's "Mandy" and "Could It Be Magic" as well as the dance hit "Macarena".
In the meantime, another song has been added, "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt, but only after the cuddly singer, who has long tended to self-irony, drew the authorities' attention to the song via Twitter.
Dear New Zealand Parliamentary Administration - Tactics and song selection are undoubtedly quite impressive.
It's also interesting that Barry Manilow's version of »Mandy« was chosen.
In its version, the song became a world hit in 1974, but the original is called "Brandy" and was very successful in New Zealand two years earlier in Bunny Walters' version.
Only Manilow changed the name of the languished to Mandy to avoid confusion with another song.
In fact, the concoction only becomes so unbearably slimy with him that you want to take a shower after every listen.
In this respect: Chapeau for the bad taste in music.
Another stroke of genius on the list is of course »Macarena«.
At least in the so-called western world, perhaps no other song virus has attacked so many societies at the same time. Since its appearance in 1993, it has been returning in waves and getting stuck in the ears of those affected.
In addition to the horribly swaying refrain, there is also the trampling thrashing that the song encourages.
Indeed: it doesn't get much worse than that.
But still, New Zealand: is that all you have to offer?
When it comes to songs that hurt, there are hardly any limits to creativity.
Music touches the human soul more directly than any other art, and accordingly easily it can drive us close to madness.
Like me, for example, a gabber techno party on vacation in Croatia last summer.
This variety of electronic music from the 90s consists of clattering fairground melodies with beats from hell and led to very concrete plans for murder, which I only didn't implement in the morning because I had finally fallen into a deep sleep.
But of course the sheer infinite resources of bad pop music still give much more than a gabber techno set.
I'll make a few spontaneous suggestions:
"Cotton Eye Joe", Rednex Music
More Than Words, Extreme
"Barbie Girl", Aqua
"Tubthumping", Chumbawamba
»My Heart Will Go On«, Celine Dion
"Who Let The Dogs Out?" Baha Men
»What's Up«, 4 Non Blondes
»Here comes the mouse«, Stefan Raab
Almost all of these songs are from the nineties, which is simply because no other decade has produced such a density of unbearable catchy tunes.
But there is absolutely no claim to completeness here, you can certainly think of many other unbearable experiences from many other decades.
To get back to the corona protests: Maybe it's the case that knowing how bad songs hurt can even help us to overcome the feared division in society.
Because it draws attention to what unites us and allows what divides us to disappear in shared suffering.
At least it is not known that concerned radio listeners have ever organized evening walks to protest against the traumatizing practice of earwig loops.
The Corona opponents in Wellington reacted in their own way to the auditory attack from beyond the walls of Parliament and responded with their own songs, including "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister.
So there was almost something like communication.
And now everyone together: "Dale a tu cuerpo alegría Macarena..."
