In late 1989, United States military forces invaded the Central American country of Panama, in an attempt to oust former CIA asset-turned-narcodictator Manuel Noriega from power. Fearing capture, Noriega sought sanctuary in the Vatican’s apostolic nunciature, where U.S. Special Forces bombarded him with a(n admittedly pretty good!) playlist of American rock and roll standards, played at maximum volume, day and night, to flush him from his diplomatically untouchable asylum — which is what eventually happened, 10 days later.
I mention all this because up till now, that particular episode in the U.S.’s long and ignominious history of catastrophic foreign meddling has been held as the gold standard of musical torture. Well, not anymore. Not after today. Not after the aural assault that is “Sweet Florida”, a just-released ode to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. And if those words alone aren’t enough curdle your milk, well, just give it a listen:
