11 settembre, una data carica di ricordi e significati, di eventi epocali. All’alba del nuovo millennio tutto fu stravolto e nulla fu come prima in questo giorno. L’attentato a New York, che distrusse le Torri Gemelle, e a Washington, quasi tremila le vittime, è stato lo spartiacque tra il mondo che c’era e il mondo che è stato costruito da quel giorno. Più insicuro, in guerra, insanguinato e devastato. Quell’attentato innescò la guerra globale permanente nella quale, ventidue anni dopo, siamo pienamente immersi. Afghanistan, Iraq, Siria, Libia, oggi Ucraina e Russia, l’escalation bellica in questi lustri ha distrutto Stati, ucciso milioni di persone, l’escalation terroristica di Al Qaeda prima e Isis dopo e atrocità, guerre, insicurezze, un’umanità smarrita che sempre più sta piombando nei suoi incubi peggiori, a partire dall’incubo atomico.
Tra le tante canzoni dedicate all’11 settembre 2001 e al mondo in guerra successivo ci sono “Where is the Love” dei Black Eyed Peas, “The Rising” di Bruce Springsteen, “City Of Blinding Lights” degli U2 nata durante un concerto a New York poco dopo l'attentato vedendo le lacrime sui volti dei presenti, “On That Day” di Leonard Cohen, “Freedom” di Paul McCartney, “Leaving New York” dei R.E.M., “Anniversary” di Suzanne Vega, “The Bravest” di Tom Paxton dedicata all’eroico sacrificio dei Vigili del Fuoco e “Let’s Roll” di Neil Young scritta dopo aver ascoltato il racconto della moglie di una delle vittime dei voli dirottati.
L’angoscia e il dolore di quelle settimane, subito dopo gli attacchi terroristici nel cuore degli Stati Uniti, sono testimoniati anche dalla circostanza che nelle settimane e nei mesi successivi fu imposto di non trasmettere una lunga lista di canzoni nelle radio USA. Canzoni che potevano evocare il fumo delle torri abbattute, il Medio Oriente (in realtà una canzone su una danza storica egiziana) e altro. Questo l’elenco completo:
3 Doors Down — Duck and Run
311 — Down
AC/DC — Shot Down in Flames, Shoot to Thrill, Dirty Deeds, Highway to Hell, Safe in New York City, TNT, Hell’s Bells
Ad Libs — The Boy from New York City
Alanis Morissette — Ironic
Alice in Chains — Rooster, Sea of Sorrow, Down in a Hole, Them Bones
Alien Ant Farm — Smooth Criminal
Animals — We Gotta Get Out of This Place
Arthur Brown — Fire
Bangles — Walk Like an Egyptian
Barenaked Ladies — Falling for the First Time
Barry McGuire — Eve of Destruction
Beastie Boys — Sure Shot, Sabotage
The Beatles — A Day in the Life, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Ticket To Ride, Ob La Di, Ob La Da
Billy Joel — Only the Good Die Young
Black Sabbath — War Pigs, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Blood Sweat and Tears — And When I Die
Blue Oyster Cult — Burnin’ For You
Bob Dylan/Guns N Roses — Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Bobby Darin — Mack the Knife
Boston — Smokin’
Brooklyn Bridge — Worst That Could Happen
Bruce Springsteen — I’m On Fire, Goin’ Down, War
Buddy Holly and the Crickets — That’ll Be the Day
Bush — Speed Kills
Carole King — I Feel the Earth Move
Cat Stevens — Peace Train, Morning Has Broken
Chi-Lites — Have You Seen Her
The Clash — Rock the Casbah
Creedence Clearwater Revival — Travelin’ Band
The Cult — Fire Woman
Dave Clark Five — Bits and Pieces
Dave Matthews Band — Crash Into Me
Dio — Holy Diver
Don McLean — American Pie
The Doors — The End
Drifters — On Broadway
Drowning Pool — Bodies
Edwin Starr — War
Elton John — Benny & The Jets, Daniel, Rocket Man
Elvis — (You’re the) Devil in Disguise
Everclear — Santa Monica
Filter — Hey Man, Nice Shot
Fontella Bass — Rescue Me
Foo Fighters — Learn to Fly
Jimi Hendrix — Hey Joe
Frank Sinatra — New York, New York
Fuel — Bad Day
The Gap Band — You Dropped a Bomb On Me
Godsmack — Bad Religion
Green Day — Brain Stew
Happenings — See You in September
Herman’s Hermits — Wonderful World
Hollies — He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
J. Frank Wilson — Last Kiss
Jackson Brown — Doctor My Eyes
James Taylor — Fire and Rain
Jan and Dean — Dead Man’s Curve
Jerry Lee Lewis — Great Balls of Fire
John Lennon — Imagine
John Mellencamp — Crumbling Down, I’m On Fire
Jimi Hendrix — Hey Joe
John Parr — St. Elmo’s Fire
Judas Priest — Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
Kansas — Dust in the Wind
Korn — Falling Away From Me
Led Zeppelin — Stairway to Heaven
Lenny Kravitz — Fly Away
Limp Bizkit — Break Stuff
Local H — Bound for the Floor
Los Bravos — Black is Black
Louis Armstrong — What A Wonderful World
Lynyrd Skynyrd — Tuesday’s Gone
Martha & the Vandellas — Nowhere to Run, Dancing in the Streets
Megadeth — Dread and the Fugitive, Sweating Bullets
Metallica — Seek and Destroy, Harvester of Sorrow, Enter Sandman, Fade to Black
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels — Devil with the Blue Dress
Mudvayne — Death Blooms
Neil Diamond — America
Nina — 99 Luft Balloons
Nine Inch Nails — Head Like a Hole
Norman Greenbaum — Spirit in the Sky
Oingo Boingo — Dead Man’s Party
Ozzy Osbourne — Suicide Solution
Paper Lace — The Night Chicago Died
Pat Benatar — Hit Me with Your Best Shot, Love is a Battlefield
Paul McCartney and Wings — Live and Let Die
Peter Gabriel — When You’re Falling
Peter and Gordon — I Go To Pieces, A World Without Love
Petula Clark — A Sign of the Times
Peter Paul and Mary — Blowin’ in the Wind, Leavin’ on a Jet Plane
Phil Collins — In the Air Tonight
Pink Floyd — Run Like Hell, Mother
P.O.D.- Boom
Pretenders — My City Was Gone
Queen — Another One Bites the Dust, Killer Queen
Rage Against The Machine — Tutte le canzoni
Red Hot Chili Peppers — Aeroplane, Under the Bridge
R.E.M. — It’s the End of the World as We Know It
Rickey Nelson — Travelin’ Man
Rolling Stones — Ruby Tuesday
Saliva — Click Click Boom
Sam Cooke — Wonderful World
Santana — Evil Ways
Savage Garden — Crash and Burn
Shelly Fabares — Johnny Angel
Simon And Garfunkel — Bridge Over Troubled Water
Skeeter Davis — End of the World
Slipknot — Left Behind, Wait and Bleed
Smashing Pumpkins — Bullet With Butterfly Wings
Soundgarden — Blow Up the Outside World, Fell on Black Days, Black Hole Sun
Steam — Na Na Na Na Hey Hey
Steve Miller — Jet Airliner
Stone Temple Pilots — Big Bang Baby, Dead and Bloated
Sugar Ray — Fly
Surfaris — Wipeou
System of a Down — Chop Suey!
Talking Heads — Burning Down the House
Temple of the Dog — Say Hello to Heaven
Third Eye Blind — Jumper
Three Degrees — When Will I See You Again
Tom Petty — Free Fallin’
Tool — Intolerance
Tramps — Disco Inferno
U2 — Sunday Bloody Sunday
Van Halen — Dancing In The Street, Jump
Yager and Evans — In the Year 2525
Youngbloods — Get Together
Zombies — She’s Not There