John Oliver explains the spirit behind his 9/11 composition Give Us Peace.

After reading this Nation of Change article, I felt a need to explain the reasoning behind my own 9/11 musical composition.

I just want to clarify, for those who may not know, that the CBC commissioned a piece from me to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It is called "Give Us Peace." It is a work composed entirely of sampled and prerecorded sounds (an electroacoustic work). I created the work to memorialize those who lost their lives on that day. But I believed that these attacks were a criminal act and should be investigated. I never believed that these events could justify the declaration by the United States of war against any country. As I began to read about the science behind what happened at the World Trade Center, I became suspicious of the entire event. Nothing to date has convinced me that the World Trade Center buildings fell because they were hit by aircraft. Building 7 was not hit by any aircraft at all, but it fell to the ground in a controlled demolition on that day. So for those who disapprove of any work of art that considers anything to do with 9/11 and are suspicious of the motivation of the creators of such work, I simply want to clarify that my creation of the musical composition "Give Us Peace" was a genuine attempt to comfort those who feel injured in body or spirit by the events of that day.

You can listen to an excerpt from the piece here. Some may find the opening of the piece disturbing. (An association with Edvard Munch's panting The Scream is appropriate.) I certainly found the events themselves disturbing, as I did most of the ideas and actions that emerged in United States foreign policy during the year after the events.