Alex Jones and the power of the megaphone

Conspiracy theorist, broadcaster and film-maker Alex Jones is probably as famous for using a megaphone to make his public speeches aimed at the evil members of the Illuminati and the powers-that-be as he is for his hard-hitting shows in which he exposes the workings of the secret societies like the Bilderberg group and does what he can to oppose the New World Order.

It's an interesting phenomenon that people will pay more attention to a speaker with a megaphone, even when it can be more difficult to understand their words although they are louder. Perhaps the distortion catches the listener's curiosity and the visual image of a loud hailer says "look at me" as well as listen to what I have to say.

Whatever its appeal is, it certainly works. And the megaphone also has an association with rebelliousness and protest.

In the UK, Jones appears to have inspired another conspiracy theorist and film-maker by name of Darren Pollard of We Are Change Brum, but Darren, wishing to make a point about freedom of speech, found that he was not allowed to and actually got arrested for using a megaphone in a public place without the permission of the authorities.

This was captured on video and Darren, who knows his rights even though the police did not want to listen to him, was eventually released. Darren has become the "most talked about man in Birmingham" because of this incident.

Singer-songwriter and legendary rock star Neil Young has Sun Green, the heroine of his album Greendale, using a megaphone to speak out in protest. In solo concert to duplicate her voice on the song Be The Rain, Young had a megaphone set up and a second vocal microphone so he can change from normal singing to voicing the lyrics through a loud hailer.

For some reason people will often pay more attention to someone who is using a megaphone. Various rock and pop bands have used the megaphone as agimmick and an instrument. Cardiff band Sicknote's singer Doghouse has become a recent example of an artist who does this, and it certainly catches the ear with the distorted speech, whilst providing a visual image too.

Just as Darrren Pollard has become a man who has generated a lot of discussion and thought, Sicknote have become one of the most talked about and popular new acts from South Wales. The power of the megaphone gets results.