Dire Straits Song Banned From Canadian Airwaves

lukin · January 13, 2011

With all the trash on the radio, they choose to disqualify this song.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/faggot-lyric-disqualifies-dire-straits-hit-from-canadian-radio-play/article1868052/

Michael Hardner · January 13, 2011

That's really stupid. The use of an offensive word doesn't, of itself, constitute hate speech. In the context of the song, the person using the word is a small-minded bigot.

I have defended HRCs in the past, but this is the kind of Orwellian decision that shouldn't happen ever. It's thought control of the stupidest kind, and it's things like this that really shake my confidence in them.

Oleg Bach · January 13, 2011

Some of the smoothest guitar playing is displayed on Dire Straits records...to bad someone did not notice that instead of the "faggot" bit..The term is colourful and artistic in the context of the tune...They are just portraying a stero typical gay of that era...it is an accurte representoin of some gays of that era. I remember working on the old Police Academy movies..Gerry Paris the guy who played the dentist on the old Dick Van Dyke show...He was a wonderful guy and was directing this particular movie...You would imagine that this old school Hollywood type would be super liberal and politcally correct...

When he called for an actor on set that played the little nerd guy...The director would proclaim to an assistant in a loud voice..."Bring me the little faggot"...No on was offended...the little guy that he refered to was a neither here or there sort of sexual person.. The point is - that gays really don't give a damn if an old Dire Striaght tune uses the word faggot..no more than black rappers who use and own the word nigger.. IT's the burecrats...the same vacarious idiots that forcd their will on the public that are supposedly offended...

To remove this great tune from the Canadian Airwaves is a shame..it just lessons the quality of culture...and I am sure it is not a bunch of old gay guys that protested..It was probably some bleach blonde soccer mum who is facinated by men having anal sex...more so that the sex she is having or not having.

Shwa · January 13, 2011

Did they do it to themselves(us?)

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) is an independent, non-governmental organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) to administer standards established by its members, Canada's private broadcasters.

Decision

Media Release

Any bets on how long it takes them to retract?

M.Dancer · January 13, 2011

Fagging was a traditional educational practice in British boarding private schools (nearly all "public schools" in the English sense) and also many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to some extent to act as personal servants to the most senior boys. While domestic servants were common in family households, the custom reflected household task distribution and taught pupils about service from both ends of the relationship. Under school rules, fagging might entail harsh discipline and corporal punishment when those were standard practices. The practice of personal fagging faded away during the 1970s and 1980s, but to some degree has been maintained in former colonies or has been replaced by systems which require junior boys to do tasks for the benefit of the general school community. In England, the word "fag" became slang for a wearisome chore. It was also a punishment for younger children

I wonder if the Pogues will be next?

You´re a bum you´re a punk
You´re an old slut on junk

Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed

You scumbag you maggot

You cheap lousy faggot

Happy christmas your arse I pray god it´s our last.

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pogues/#share

GostHacked · January 13, 2011

The other thing I don't quite understand is bleeping or editing out swear words on the videos. Like Enrique Iglasias with the track 'tonight I'm f*cking you' ..... the one scene there is nothing but only panty clad women on the bed behind him as they are bleeping out the one word.... anyone with a brain knows what is going on.

It's kind of like taking nigger out of Huck Fin .... if people don't understand the context in which it was used, they tend to get offended. Ignorance I guess.

But yeah read that bit today for Dire Straights .... just dumb.

WIP · January 13, 2011

In a way, I would have been happy if they had banned this song from the airwaves 25 years ago, when it was being played every 15 minutes. I got my first CD player when the album "Brothers In Arms" was released, and I would skip Money For Nothing every time it came up to play. The song was a bad fit on the rest of the album, and seemed like a cloying attempt to create a hit by a band which was critically acclaimed, but could never sell big numbers previously.

GostHacked · January 13, 2011

In a way, I would have been happy if they had banned this song from the airwaves 25 years ago, when it was being played every 15 minutes. I got my first CD player when the album "Brothers In Arms" was released, and I would skip Money For Nothing every time it came up to play. The song was a bad fit on the rest of the album, and seemed like a cloying attempt to create a hit by a band which was critically acclaimed, but could never sell big numbers previously.

Yeah I guess it is the odd song on the CD. Overall it's a fantastic CD and I still listen to it now and then.

So now that we have 'nigger' banned from Huck Fin, will it disappear from the rap music with the hippin and hoppin?

It will set a bad precedent for more restrictions in the future of what can be played on air. However, since many of us get our media through the Internet, (where most of it is uncensored), it does not make sense to continue to censor stuff.

dre · January 13, 2011

That's really stupid. The use of an offensive word doesn't, of itself, constitute hate speech. In the context of the song, the person using the word is a small-minded bigot.

I have defended HRCs in the past, but this is the kind of Orwellian decision that shouldn't happen ever. It's thought control of the stupidest kind, and it's things like this that really shake my confidence in them.

I think the problem is that while that word CAN be used in a context that is not hateful or highly offensive it can also be used in ways that are. In this case they either have to write a broadsword type of rule that bans the word completely, of they need a panel of people to review every usage and apply some sort of standard to judge each. I would rather have people reviewing the context instead of banning words, but that consume a lot more resources.

GostHacked · January 13, 2011

Fagot used to refer to a cigarette.

Let's go smoke some fags.

dre · January 13, 2011

Fagot used to refer to a cigarette.

Let's go smoke some fags.

That song clearly refers to a person though not a ciggarette.

This one should be ok though... Its a better song too!

I'll wait here,
You're crazy,

Those viscious streets are filled with strays,

You should have never gone to Hollywood.

They find you,

Two time you,

Say your the best they've ever seen,

You should have never trusted Hollywood.

I wrote you,

And told you,

You were the biggest fish out here,

You should have never gone to Hollywood.

They take you,

And make you,

They look at you in disgusting ways,

You should never trusted Hollywood.

[serj moans now]

I was standing on the wall,

Feeling ten feet tall,

All you maggots smoking fags on Santa Monica Boulevard,

This is my front page,

This is my new age,

All you bitches put your hands in the air and wave them like you just don't care.

All you maggots smoking fags out there on Sunset Boulevard.

[. From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/s/system-of-a-down-lyrics/lost-in-hollywood-lyrics.html .]

All you bitches put your hands in the air and wave them like you just don't care.

Phoney people come to pray,

Look at all of them beg to stay,

Phoney people come to pray.

[serj and Daron Harmonize]

(The lines in the letter said, "We have gone to Hackensack")

Look at all of them beg to stay

Phoney people come to pray.

All you maggots smoking fags on Santa Monica Boulevard,

All you maggots smoking fags out there on Sunset Boulevard.

All you maggots smoking fags out there on Hollywood Boulevard.

You should have never trusted Hollywood.

You should have never gone to Hollywood.

All you bitches put your hands in the air and wave them like you just don't care.

You should have never trusted Hollywood.

eyeball · January 13, 2011

Fagot used to refer to a cigarette.

Let's go smoke some fags.

Unfortunately, let's go smoke some fags, has a very sinister connotation to it in some people's minds. That said, banning Money For Nothing could piss fag-bashers off even more. They seem like the type that would be most apt to sneer at things like HRC's, not to mention human rights.

The_Squid · January 13, 2011

Someone please tell me that this is a story from The Onion..... please.....

Holy shit, what a country.

This means every gay or racial slur in every rap song must be banned as well. :rolleyes:

Shwa · January 14, 2011

Someone please tell me that this is a story from The Onion..... please.....

Holy shit, what a country.

This means every gay or racial slur in every rap song must be banned as well.

Only if someone complains about it. Anonymously.

LonJowett · January 14, 2011

I have defended HRCs in the past, but this is the kind of Orwellian decision that shouldn't happen ever. It's thought control of the stupidest kind, and it's things like this that really shake my confidence in them.

Are you opposed to them bleeping out the N-word in rap songs too? Personally I think commercial radio should bleep whatever words you don't want a five year old repeating in Kindergarten. It's not Orwellian mind control. It's basic manners and etiquette.

kimmy · January 14, 2011

I would usually mock such a decision, but since you guys already have that well in hand...

That's really stupid. The use of an offensive word doesn't, of itself, constitute hate speech. In the context of the song, the person using the word is a small-minded bigot.

I have defended HRCs in the past, but this is the kind of Orwellian decision that shouldn't happen ever. It's thought control of the stupidest kind, and it's things like this that really shake my confidence in them.

As Da Shwa points out, this decision wasn't made by a Human Rights Commission. It was made by the Broadcast Standards Council, which is operated by broadcasters themselves. Membership is apparently voluntary.

LonJowett's comment regarding children listeners is a fair one. I don't think that every station should program for the idea that children are listening, 24 hours a day. However, I think that some stations will want to program based on the idea that families will be listening at some times of the day. If I had the radio on while I was getting my kimlets ready for school, I wouldn't pick a station that's going to have off-color jokes and raunchy music. It might be nice if a parent had a way of knowing which station that might be before the off-color jokes reach the kids' ears.

...and I am sure it is not a bunch of old gay guys that protested..It was probably some bleach blonde soccer mum who is facinated by men having anal sex...more so that the sex she is having or not having.

You're completely mental, Oleg.

In a way, I would have been happy if they had banned this song from the airwaves 25 years ago, when it was being played every 15 minutes. I got my first CD player when the album "Brothers In Arms" was released, and I would skip Money For Nothing every time it came up to play. The song was a bad fit on the rest of the album, and seemed like a cloying attempt to create a hit by a band which was critically acclaimed, but could never sell big numbers previously.

"Classic rock" stations still play "Money For Nothing" at least 6 times each and every day. I wonder what they'll do with all that time?

So now that we have 'nigger' banned from Huck Fin, will it disappear from the rap music with the hippin and hoppin?

Urban themed stations would pretty much have to go "dead air" if "niggah" and "bitch" were banned, wouldn't they?

It will set a bad precedent for more restrictions in the future of what can be played on air. However, since many of us get our media through the Internet, (where most of it is uncensored), it does not make sense to continue to censor stuff.

While I agree, I'd point out that lots of artists have released "radio-friendly" edits of their material, edited for language, and for length as well. (the album version of "Money For Nothing" is over 8 minutes long. I don't think the version radio stations play is more than 5.)

I don't believe in censorship, but I do believe that broadcasters should make some effort to be conscious of their audience.

Like, I think you should be able to show people having sex on TV, but I think it should be after 10pm on Showcase, not after school on Treehouse.

That song clearly refers to a person though not a ciggarette.

This one should be ok though... Its a better song too!

I don't know if System Of A Down is a staple of too many playlists around the country.

-k

Edited January 14, 2011 by kimmy

bush_cheney2004 · January 14, 2011

I would usually mock such a decision, but since you guys already have that well in hand...

It still deserves more mocking...the music video for this recording is a classic icon from MTV (hope it doesn't get blocked in Canada):

kimmy · January 14, 2011

A music video? I think I saw one of those on MuchMusic once!

-k

Bonam · January 14, 2011

Like, I think you should be able to show people having sex on TV, but I think it should be after 10pm on Showcase, not after school on Treehouse.

The psychosis our society has in regards to sex is interesting. Violence and killing is perfectly fine on TV, even in children's programming (as long as it is not too graphic), but sex (and even completely non-graphic suggestions of it) is not. And yet, violence and killing is something that we as a society don't want most of our members doing, while sex is something that almost all healthy adults will and should partake in. The warped notions of morality that make a normal and pleasant human activity taboo while violence and killing are not taboo need to be examined.

WIP · January 14, 2011

Yeah I guess it is the odd song on the CD. Overall it's a fantastic CD and I still listen to it now and then.

Mark Knopfler likes to throw different styles of music together on the same album, but I was sick of Money For Nothing after the 2nd or 3rd play.

So now that we have 'nigger' banned from Huck Fin, will it disappear from the rap music with the hippin and hoppin?
It will set a bad precedent for more restrictions in the future of what can be played on air. However, since many of us get our media through the Internet, (where most of it is uncensored), it does not make sense to continue to censor stuff.

The problem with banning it from historical fiction like The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, is that it raises the question of whether the book itself has enough merit to be used to teach children today. In its time, the book could be considered as a condemnation of racism; but it is patronizing in its portrayal of Jim, who is portrayed as a gullible simpleton. So, why make the issue about excising words from the book?

As for what words are, or are not offensive -- I'll leave that for others to argue about. I'm not going to bother using words that are offensive, but if there is a real constituency offended by certain words like "faggot" in this case, there should be more signs of opposition than one phone call complaining about it. This could just be a crank who's got nothing better to do with his time.

wyly · January 14, 2011

Did they do it to themselves(us?)

Any bets on how long it takes them to retract?

I think it will be retracted as well...within the context of the song it's not offensive it mocks the user of the word...I don't think the person who made this decision is all that bright if this song gets banned then every book or movie that has an offensive word used will need to be banned as well...

Shwa · January 14, 2011

The Sun editorial makes some good points.

Censorship’s dire state

Surely in the year 2011 we’ve come far enough to take such serious decisions as the repression of art with a dose more inspection and investigation?
The song Money for Nothing is about intolerance. Written 27 years ago by Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler, it describes an actual conversation he heard between two deliverymen, in which one belittled all pop stars as getting “money for nothing and their chicks for free.”

Knopfler includes the word “faggot” three times in the deliveryman’s deprecating description. “That little faggot has his own jet airplane, that little faggot is a millionaire,” the deliveryman says.

Knopfler wrote it to highlight the ignorant attitudes people hold toward art and commerce, and their willingness to judge things they can’t do or don’t understand.

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is also about intolerance, which is why the decision by a U.S. school district to censor out the word “nigger” is also blazingly ignorant: It attempts to rewrite reality, not merely art. If we remove the ‘n’ word from every piece of history, eventually, the reasons it is so offensive are also forgotten.

GostHacked · January 14, 2011

Are you opposed to them bleeping out the N-word in rap songs too? Personally I think commercial radio should bleep whatever words you don't want a five year old repeating in Kindergarten. It's not Orwellian mind control. It's basic manners and etiquette.

None of that is effective anymore. With the Internet, you can get it all uncensored, and without worrying about CRTC rules. This is where kids are getting their information, and their entertainment now. Ever listen to a pack of kids at the mall or whatever? I mean listen to them and what they say and how they say it. I was a potty mouthed kid during the 80s. The main influence of why I was a potty mouth ..... my dad was a potty mouth. TV and radio got nothing on my dad (back then anyways, both him and I are not the potty mouths we once were) ..

wyly · January 14, 2011

The Sun editorial makes some good points.

Censorship’s dire state

exactly my point, a bizarre ruling i can't see how it can stand...

Oleg Bach · January 14, 2011

Fagot used to refer to a cigarette.

Let's go smoke some fags.

The term was also to designate a bundle of sticks - fire wood...when a witch was burned they would toss on these bundles of wood to ensure the flames were hot...when the wood got scarce they would toss on a few blump femine males...who would continue to fuel the fire with their fat...hence the term fag...or faggot of wood...facists also had the fag of wood...bundled up on their harolds...the Facist Italians were partial to fags on the flag.

What I heard on the radio this morning was the lyric in the tune was about a few politically incorrect hicks watching a glam rock band...an early David Bowie concert and they said of the rich performer..."The little faggots got it make" .... big frinking deal.....Bowie who was experimenting with kinky sex and homo-errotica at the did DID have it made monetarily and as far as fame.

The creeps that banned this tune should be firmly buggered at some British boarding school - maybe they were and now they are striking back because the got de-manned?