Slashdot Mirror
ClearChannel Plays It Safe
mertzman writes: "Rather than wait for the government assaults on civil liberties to reach full steam, ClearChannel, one of the nation's largest radio networks, has decided to do some censorship on their own! According to F***edCompany, ClearChannel has created a list of banned songs with "questionable content" in light of the recent tragedies. Stuff ranging from Drowning Pool's "Bodies" to Nena's anti-war hit "99 Red Balloons" have made their list." ClearChannel owns many radio stations, so this probably affects you. Update: 09/18 18:30 GMT by M : The San Francisco Chronicle has more on this - ClearChannel says it isn't an official mandate, just some sort of internal memo circulating. Update: 09/18 23:18 PM GMT by T : Fuzzy points out that "snopes.com has an explanation of the ClearChannel hoax. ClearChannel has also sent out a press release saying they have released no such list."
Kim Peterson, a talk show host here in Atlanta was making fun of the Clear Channel list yesterday. I thought at first it was a joke, but apparently its not.
I wonder when Kim Peterson will get "talked to" over it (he was playing the list as bumper music. Many may not agree with what he has to say all the time, but at least he stands up for it.
Sorry, but music doesn't make terrorist.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
During gulf war, some radio stations reffered to Massive Attack as "Massive", period.
Sofa King wee tadd deed.
I mean, they have "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangels on this list...
Is this a joke or is this just a list of songs that radio stations should 'tip-toe' around for the next week or so to keep people from getting depressed??
Banning 99 Luftballons/Red Balloons? These people are banning songs they've never even listened to. Are individual radio stations speaking out against this?
This reminds me of the episode of WKRP where they were told to stop playing, among others, John Lennon's Imagine because it referred to imagining there's no heaven or religion. You know, forget that the song is about world peace.
Bah to it all. Why can't people just realize that human adults censor what is inputed in to their brains to begin with? I mean, come on! How does censoring music that has some relation to the NYC bombing help anything at all? Those people died for certain liberties and rights sort to speak- why take away what they died for just to try to soften the impact that they died?!!
If I died in a terrorist bombing in the United States, the supposed country of freedom, I would be rather offended that this country of freedom that I died in is now restricting it.
They took away the second amendment, but I didn't complain since I had no guns.
They took away the fifth amendment, but I didn't complain since I had nothing to fear from the courts.
They took away the first amendment, and I couldn't complain.
--- Ãther SPOON!
Hey, they own those stations, so they have a right to choose what to play. If they think something is in bad taste, the won't play it. That's not censorship that's choice. The government hasn't told them not to play questionable songs, they decided it was in their best interest as a business or maybe in their interest as humans. This is not censorship this is a business esercising it's freedom to choose to do what it wants.
As x approaches total apathy I couldn't care less.
Is the posted list of banned songs complete? One of the more obvious candidates, "First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin" by Manfred Mann is missing.
//Wegge
The list to me reads like some bloody good rock music. Sabbath, Floyd, Queen etc. Dare I be so cynical as to say that this is just a lame attempt for stations to push the latest manufactured crap?
Anyone quoted by a reporter knows how little they understand
Don't believe what you read is the truth.
I notice The Cure's "Killing an arab" made it thru...
Warning: May contain nuts
Did you actually read the list? Doesn't sound like it, since you make it sound like a radio station did it, instead of a company that owns hundreds of stations. Some of the banned songs are ridiculous.
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
I listen to one of their stations here in central NY, The Nerve and they play a lot of these songs, or they used to.
The fact that they banned Don McLean's "American Pie" really outrages me. This is one of America's songs. I used to like this song when I was 6 and I still do. Sorry if it's not like "Don't Worry, Be Happy" but jeesh.
BTW, I didn't read any articles, is this ban permanent?
What is good taste for you might not be for me. If you find certain songs in 'bad taste' don't listen to the fucking radio.
If you care about music and still think that songs become popular because lots of people like them, you owe it to yourself to read some of this.
Back to the subject at hand, when a major corporate conglomerate decides that the country shouldn't be listening to "Bridge over Troubled Water" it is a sad day.
This Song is ANTI terrorism and was originally written about an act of terrorism.
I mean the lyrics go "I cant believe the news today" and continue "How long must we sing this song?"
Its the perfect song to be the Anthem of the whole anti terrorism campaign.
It appears they are just stopping playing everything that could possibly remind people of the whole event. Songs about war,terrorism,suicide and fire. Even when the majority of these songs are against these things.
Will they ban wacko and spears duet which they are recording to raise money for the relief efforts as it will remind people as well?
On the other hand, if you could add {sarcasm} any NSYNCH song to the list I'd be much abliged. Not that it has questionable lyrics, I just don't want to hear it on the radio{/sarcasm}.
As far as I'm aware, all releases of 'Unfinished Sympathy' are credited to just 'Massive'.
For bonus points you can also own 'Love So True' by Tim Simenon, rather than his usual 'Bomb The Bass' nom de plume...
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
This is disgusting. If we're going to have a war, let's have it, but for crying out loud, let's not insist on sanitizing it as well. Either we've got to turn our minds from this situation in an effort to heal (in which case the songs dealing with guns and fire can go, but the anti-war songs must stay; not only stay, but be played repeatedly) OR we've got to stay mindful of our pain and steel our resolve to fight (in which case the guns and fire songs stay and the anti-war songs go). It doesn't make sense to avoid reminding us of the tragedy while *also* calling us to battle.
Furthermore, the ENTIRE conflict is about freedom and liberty. This censorship (and yes, if the primary broadcast company has a list of songs that affiliates are not allowed to play, that *does* constitute censorship) is against everything that we stand for. If large portions of certain communities are offended by some or all of these songs, let them speak out to their local broadcasters. Don't blanket the rest of us with this silly and misguided propaganda disguised as "sensitivity".
I, for one, will be tuning into the public radio. A source of objective and high-quality news and information, and a lone voice in the wild for FREEDOM!!!
Well, I guess this old-fart of a programmer is scrathing his head saying clear who, censor what ? Desperately trying not to be a troll, I'm just wondering if this isn't more a move by some company that I've never heard of to remain profitable by makin and adjustment for the recent change in mood.
... It's publically traded ... their ops got disrupted since they're in downtown NYC .... hmmm, Department of Justice to investigate whether Clear Channel's concert-promotion company is engaging in unfair business practices after some New Jersey constituents complained.
... and by not pissing off "The Man."
Let's go to the site and see.
Okay, there's a picture of Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, Alan Keyes
Hey guys, I think this looks like a company that's trying to keep a low profile. In other words, this may have less to do with civil liberties than it does with their bottom line. Either giving their demographics what they want (or don't want)
healyourchurchwebsite.com - WWJB?
Nine Inch Nails "Head Like a Hole"
Yeah, i get this one:
Head like a hole
Black as your soul
I'd rather die
than give you control.
Wouldn't want anyone to resist the government's control, now would we?
Other choices though, leave me kinda puzzled:
Bangles "Walk Like an Egyptian"
Louis Armstrong "What A Wonderful World"
The list goes on. I wonder what they'll be playing all day now.... Britney Spears and N'Sync? I bet they can find some 'offensive' words in there too. (Baby hit me one more time? Oops I did it again? (referring to the crash on the pentagon) and ofcourse Nsync's "bye bye bye".)
If you feel the urge to moderate this down as flamebait/troll, read the message again, think about what it says, and then decide again.
I noticed in the list: "All Rage Against The Machine songs"
you've got to be kidding me. This seems like blind censorship to me. I'm doubtful they've listened to all of Rage's songs.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." - Jack Nicholson
"Never be Rude to an Arab" By Monty Python
âoeWho knew something as harmless as willful ignorance could end up having real consequences?â
Isn't it Ironic, dont you think?
What gets me is the large amount of songs which are only teniously related to this and the general anti-war (what is it good for?) songs on the list. It's almost as if the station is asking you not to think about the solution to this problem (IMHO it isn't bombing the shit out of a country which has had 20 years of having the shit bombed out of it)
I'm all for showing a little consideration, 'Leaving on a jet plane' is certainly guaranteed to upset someone who has lost a loved one, but any RATM song? this situation kind of reminds me of their song 'Bullet in the head' -Nothing proper 'bout your propaganda...
J-aims
--
Yo, whatever happened to peas? Join T( H)GS
To those of you who can't tell the difference between censorship and taste-
Are these mutually exclusive? Is it not possible to censor based on taste?
This is censorship. It may also be taste. If so, its pretty poor taste. I don't know of many people working the WTC who would beat you up for playing Neil Diamond's "America" (well, maybe for playing Neil Diamond)...
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
Everyone call in requests for these songs, especially things like "Walk like an Egyptian" and "Obla Di, Obla Da" which are just fun, bouncy songs that have nothing sinister about them, except what's implied by their appearance on ClearChannel's list.
Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
Could you PLEASE explain to me what hurt and anguish could be caused by 99 Red Balloons?
Other than the voice of the singer, that is.
I think that'll only be the beginning of words that will be banned from use on the air by Clear Channel. Soon things will not be "amazing," but rather "double interesting," or for more emphasis, "double double interesting." News will not be "shocking," but rather "double arousing." I think you get my drift.
Do you think the terrorists had a problem with American Culture? It's nice that we're doing away with it, so we don't make anyone angry.
My Karma was at 49, then they switched to words. All that work for nothing!
Here are a few highlights from the list...
REM "It's the End of the World as We Know It" - Why does everyone always pick on this song without listening to what they are really saying. Everyopne always stops after reading the first six words of the title.
The Beatles "Obla Di, Obla Da" - The only offense I can think of for this song is that it says "Life goes on" and isn't that what everyone has been saying anyway, that we need to try and return to normal
U2 "Sunday Bloody Sunday" - This song speaks out against terroism, rather blatantly.
Jan and Dean "Dead Man's Curve" - What are we doing, banning any song that mentions death in any way?
Lenny Kravitz "Fly Away" - Or any song that mentions air travel?
I can see banning a few songs, but they have just decimated the play list, not only of Rock stations, but of oldies stations as well. I would say that about half of the list predates 1980! In my opinion they are fully within their rights to do this, but they are making an ill reasoned bussiness decision.
"You can't fight in here! This is the war room" --Dr. Stra
Hehe... they banned two of Pink Floyd's from The Wall: "Mother" because of a single "Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb?" line and "Run Like Hell" because it deals with organized brutality ala Nazism but completely missed the one from The Wall that I expected that they would target: "Goodbye Blue Sky"
Did-did-did-did you see the frightened ones?
Did-did-did-did you hear the falling bombs?
Did-did-did-did you ever wonder why we had to run to run for shelter when the promise of a Brave New World unfurled beneath the clear blue sky?
Did-did-did-did you see the frightened ones?
Did-did-did-did you hear the falling bombs?
The flames are all long gone but the pain lingers on.
Goodbye, blue sky...
Goodbye, blue sky...
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye...
(This is from memory.) Yes, I had a little listen after the events of September 11th.
-- Insert witty one-liner here. --
I find it ironic that radio stations are bastardizing songs with tacky media recorded overlays, yet they come up with a "do not play" list. How is it somehow sensitive and polite to take Enya's "Only Time" and overlay it with sounds of crashing, crying and voices of fear, yet it would be unsettling to play Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World". I'm not making this up, and I've also heard tacky heart-tugs with Bette Middler's "From a Distance" song. Sick, just plain sick.
These people have no foot to stand on to tell us about respect and decency in my opinion.
-- Solaris Central - http://w
Were dongs like "Bridge over troubled water", "Mack the knife" and "Tikka to ride" anything to do with 9/11? Is there anyone in the world that doesnt like at least one song on there? They've got everything from the 30's onwards, from heavy goth to light ballards.
OK, there are some songs on there it would have been insensitive to play on the day of the tradgedy, or shortly after, however I'd hope that radio DJ's can judge this for themselves. Fresh DJ's with only a couple of weeks under their belts at our uni radio station can.
This conglomerate is worse then the BBC in the UK. At least they dont ahve a guarenteed income and have to answer to their listeners (unlike the BBC who's anti america, anti UK, anti Europe view scares me). I hope that listeners write in and complain to TPTB. It's not the DJ's fault, they get the sack if they play them.
Still, there are other stations (I guess, I know very little about american radio)
I hope our local rock station isn't owned by clear channel...there won't be much left for them to play.
I fed the Story to WTDY, a locally owned talk station here in Madison, WI, they've been teasing the Competition all morning. Now WMAD, a Clear Channel station, is defying Corporate HQ, and playing banned songs too.
Ben Masel: 51,282 votes for US Senate in the Wisconsin Democratic Primary
This is something I've found rather interesting in the wake of the events of 9/11. There has been a big push to pull elements directed at children that spread the wrong ideals, or so it would seem. While this is an understandable reaction (one would think), this doesn't always imply pulling "violent" messages. Quite the contrary.
As mentioned in this story, they pulled the anti-war song "99 Red Balloons." As mentioned a few days ago, Cartoon Network pulled a cartoon called "Mobile Suit Gundam", which often times treats war as something that greedy leaders start and average soldiers have to fight, even though its meaningless.
To me, pulling shows like this implies that Big Media is going the patriotic route, and not the critical route if and when a war starts. They clearly don't want the young men who are going to the war to have "anti-war" sentiments, as that might discourage enlistment for our upcoming battle. This disturbs me more than the pulling of entertainment with violent messages.
As an odd side note, Cartoon Network still plays "Dragonball Z", where fighting and combat is seen as something enjoyable, fun and looked forward to. In fact, it now runs for two hours instead of one, in wake of recent events.
Someone needs to remain critical, if for nothing else, to play Devil's Advocate. I don't like when all I have is one description of how its going to be.
You do have more than one radio station, haven't you? If lots of people think Clearchannel are behaving like idiots, rest assured that they will change this decision fast.
Cheers //Johan
Installed the Bubblemon yet?
If they think they've got ALL subversive, pacifist hippie music on the list, they've got another thing coming! They OBSVIOUSLY missed "the wall" by pink floyd. Jefferson Airplane, Frank Zappa. The list goes on. Ruby Tuesday by the Stones? What about "Sympathy for the Devil"? That must be much worse for the victims.
This sounds more like a jippo than a real concern, though I resent them for banning peaceloving music. Oh. And there is almost NO teen-bop in the list. I guess that's what the classic rock stations will have to play, now that all relevant music is boycotted.
Stop the brainwash
If you're interested in a little geektavisim, you could then burn all the MP3s to CD audio and distribute them for free at all Clear Channel(TM) events with some propaganda stating how evil they are and how they've banned these (whichever 13 or so are on the CD) and other songs, include the list if you like.
John Lennon's song Imagine is on the list. Isn't that song meant to promote peace? I can see why you wouldn't want people thinking about that... It would just be wrong.
I must have missed the subliminal messages within the song that can only be heard by a Radio Executive.
I am listening to my local coperate alt rock station (WXEG Clear Channel Dayton Ohio). In the last hour I have heard:
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Head Like a Hole
Speed Kills
Here in Ohio we don't have to worry about the list.
âoeWho knew something as harmless as willful ignorance could end up having real consequences?â
"American Pie" is a song about a plane crash. I think I can go a few weeks without songs about plane crashes unless maybe someone writes or unearths a fitting one relevant to this that makes life more bearable.
Dave Matthews Band "Crash Into Me"
This just proves how ignorant radio execs are about music. This song in paticular has to do with a peeping tom, and nothing to do with a crash of any sort.
"The guide is definitive, reality is frequently inaccurate."
Goodbye Blue Sky wasn't a single.
sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
... that Alanis Morrisette made the list, but Was (Not Was)'s "I Blew Up the United States" didn't?
Dontcha think?
-- He's fantastic, made of plastic....
Is this the theme music to my favorite cancelled show, Cleopatra 2525?
In the yeaaaaaaar 2525, she has the will to surviiiive
D
The first, last, and only tech news site on the net
Hehe, I noticed that too :-)
"I Don't Wanna Get Drafted" (Frank Zappa)
"Alice's Restaurant" (Arlo Guthrie)
"Working for the Clampdown" (Clash)
"Ain't Gonna Work on Maggie's Farm No More" (Dylan)
which their DJs should play as they empty their desks.
Ben Masel: 51,282 votes for US Senate in the Wisconsin Democratic Primary
'911 is a Joke'... But it's not as if any stations ever played it anyway.
D
The first, last, and only tech news site on the net
Hey! She has a nice voice in German.
The accent's so thick in the English version, I don't think she even knew English.
At the same time, how much Death Metal got on the list? I don't recall seeing "South of Heaven" or "Blood for the Blood God" on there.
What this is REALLY about - and you'll see more and more of it, as time goes on - is hostility towards people on the fringes of society. Being "different" is to be an "enemy of the State". We've seen it before. We'll no doubt see it again.
THAT is why "extremist" music is just fine, but anti-hate music is being burned at the stake.
Sure, the radio stations have the "right" to play what they like. That's part of living in a free country. On the other hand, selective discrimination on grounds other than appropriateness for the channel and the time-slot is censorship. Self-censorship, sure, but censorship none-the-less.
What is FAR more disturbing than the censorship, though, is the subliminal message this puts across - that of "Pro-hate" and "Pro-war". If you want a sure-fire way of turning America into a hot-bed of sectarian violence, this is the perfect recipe.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
OK, well obviously ClearChannel doesn't have a monopoly, you can easily tune to a non-clearchannel station. But the point is that as more and more media get owned by fewer and fewer bigger companies, not only do everyone's choices diminish (duh) but even within those diminished choices you still have will be fundamentally _less_ open to pesky unprofitables such as journalistic or DJ ethics. These guys are in it for the bucks - not selling music to listeners, but selling listeners to the even-more-lovable music publishing industry.
The solution is therefore not to squawk at ClearChannel but to push for anti-monopoly measures such as real antitrust and community low-power radio. In other words, hee hee, ITS MICROSOFT'S FAULT.
Preferential Voting: easy as 1-2-3
How is a song about a youngster's rage against themself and their father related to recent events?
?
Do they just acknowledge the loss? (" And the battle's just begun, /There's many lost, but tell me who has won? /
The trenches dug within our hearts, /
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart." )
Are they a call to Christian forgiveness and values? ( "The real battle just begun. / To claim the victory Jesus won, / On a Sunday bloody Sunday, / Sunday bloody Sunday." )
Are they a call to bomb those Islamic bastards? ( "The real battle just begun. / To claim the victory Jesus won, / On a Sunday bloody Sunday, / Sunday bloody Sunday." )
Is it a question of, "why did they die and not us? ( "And today the millions cry, / We eat and drink while tomorrow they die." )
Or is it a call to get on with our lives, and exact revenge at a later date? ( "And today the millions cry, / We eat and drink while tomorrow they die." )
Still, I agree - stupid to ban a song that advocates a thoughtful position toward violence. - or maybe it was for the Edge's amazing guitar work (which would help explain the Rage Against the Machine ban).
BTW - Clear Channel has banned your sig. - "The urge to destroy is a creative urge. - M. Bakunin "
I sent an e-mail to my local clear channel radio station after reading this and this is the response:
no. its just a list of songs that may be inappropriate (and thats left to the broadcasters discretion) when
coming out of a news report....
you know, a news story about the world trade center into "Bodies" by Drowning Pool....would not sound right.
Its just a guide...
No banning. At least not that anyone's told me..
g
I hope this shed's some light on the issue!
Linuxrunner
www.slightlycrewed.com - Because aren't we all?
look mommy its an airplane up in the sky...
Yes, that is sick, tasteless and very insensitive, and I'm ashamed of it, but I think it's the funniest thing I've heard all week.
The songs are not going to be banned for all-time they are just being put up for awhile. If will not affect anyone's lives that they can't get their fix of Megadeth or Metallica. However, I do see the rationale of postponing the playlist at this juncture. The last thing I would want is to have a member of a survivor's family turn on the radio and hear "Stairway to Heaven" and breakdown in tears because they had a family member in the WTC. I don't believe its censorship, I do believe its a conscious decision to think about possible listeners. If you like the songs then go buy/download them and play them to your heart's content. We sometimes forget that its not about just our rights but about the rights of others as well.
HT
The song starts of:
Standing at the beach with a gun in my hand
Staring at the sea, staring at the sand.
Whatever I choose it amounts to the same
Absolutely nothing
I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm a stranger
Killing an Arab
Probably just an oversight from ClearChannel.
I have a photographic memory for numbers. I know almost a hundred of them.
Did anyone else no that there was NOT A SINGLE HIP-HOP SONG! Also there were VERY FEW pop songs. Call me paranoid, but I think this a direct attack on rock and roll. Does anyone else think we're slipping into the 50's, where rock and roll is now the scapegoat for anything that goes wrong in america?
Got Freedom?
Thinking?
When I get home from work tonight, Clear Channel will be getting a very angry email from me.
In light of what happened last week, I can certainly see some aspects of the entertainment industry being affected (like that CD cover art from The Coup being pulled), but some of these knee-jerk overreactions are just going too fucking far.
As soon as I heard Microsoft was pulling the WTC out of the landscape in Flight Simulator 2002, I ordered FS 2000. I want to remember that those buildings were there. Everyone else seems to want to chuck them down some sort of memory hole.
I can't stop wondering where this insanity will end. Will TBS stop showing Trading Places all the time, because toward the end Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy are shown walking into, horror of horrors, the intact World Trade Center? Perhaps they'll just edit out the "offensive" parts, and we'll jump right from Dan & Eddie getting on a train to NYC from Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, to the scene at the very end, where they are on the beach of a tropical island-- with no explanation of how they got there.
IMHO, trying to erase the "disturbing" images of the towers as they once stood from all media is an affront to the memory of those who died there last week.
~Philly
Fuck you idiots. I don't care if he's Canadian, or if it wasn't intended to be an American song. The writers origins are irrelavent. This is a great song and should be sung even during this tragedy, maybe even more so. Singing about sadness isn't the end of the world, neither is remembering what happened just last week.
What disturbes me here is the definition of "questionable content".
I can entirely understand the removal of songs that were distastful, much in the same way games and film companies are removing references to, or images of the twin towers. That is simply a matter of taste. But banning anti-war or pro-peace songs is far more worrying. It's saying that "The US is going to war, and if you disagree then you are wrong".
The McCarthy witchhunts were ostensibly (sic) about protecting the US from the Communist Threat. The irony was that in doing so, they sacrificed the very thing they claimed to be protecting, namely freedom; to think and say what you want, and not be persecuted for it.
During the Vietnam war, people who disagreed with the policy were regarded as anti-american. The whole point of democracy is that everyones opinion, no matter how vial it may seem to others, is equally valid.
I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it.
Voltaire (1694 - 1778)
We are seeing the whole Nam/McCarthy thing happening again. With the stated aim of protecting freedom, we are having it systematically removed.
Americans are now only allowed to think what they are told to think by their government and the media (which generally goes along the same lines).
In trying to destroy this evil, you are becomming what you despise.
The terrorists have done far more damage than I think they could have hoped for, and I do not think America will realise this until it is too late.
A sympathetic, and very concerned Brit.
Paul Leader
Personally, I don't think anyone who was in the immediate area (I live in NJ) would even come close to arguing that we can take a break from the violent images in the media. We have been inundated lately -- a virtual information overload of the sights and sounds of the WTC -- and I for one look to turn the media off at the end of the day. I DON'T think it's unreasonable at all to take a break for a week or two from this stuff. We are NOT losing our civil liberties, NO ONE has proposed this as a permanent "solution". It's a matter of being respectful to those who have too much pain to deal with already.
I mean, hell, I even changed the "blood" setting in Perfect Dark to "paintball" the last few days playing it. Do I really need to see more blood?
I didn't see Lynard Skynard's Tuesdays Gone on the list.
It's on the list of banned songs, right between Edwin Starr's "War" and Lip Bizkit "Break Stuff".
Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr - looking for something to read? Check out my three free novels at MidnightRyder.org
This is not particularly suprising.
The ramifications of the tragedy -- the full implications of the impact it's had on our collective psyche -- will be impossible to gauge for months yet. But it is clear that in addition to paving the way for violations of civil liberties by the federal government, the attack has had quite an effect on corporate america, including the music industry. I refer not to its financial impact, rather the changes it is wreaking in the political climate of these large organizations. They are steering well clear of ANYthing that might be construed as controversial or sympathetic in any way to those responsible for the attack. The irony, of course, is that in excercising their typically befuddled judgement they self-censor the most pro-American, anti-terrorist, community-strengthening and potentially healing songs in their archives. This is a time when we need these songs most, but they are so afraid to misstep in this time of crisis that they do us all the worst disservice they could, giving the terrorists one more of countless small victories in their struggle to destroy our way of life.
La via sola al paradiso incommincia nel inferno
No. Your repeated postings seem to indicate an inability to differentiate between "censorship of the American public as a whole" (for example, the FCC declaring that you can't show bare breasts on broadcast television) and "censorship by a corporate entity of its own content" (for example, Fox Family channel voluntarily censoring the word "damn" as part of the more family friendly programming they want to produce).
Now, just because something isn't government censorship doesn't mean it's not censorship. However, just because something isn't government censorship doesn't mean it's a good thing. It also doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Each case must be examined on its own merits. Also, it being a bad thing is not synonymous with illegal. For example, if a given publisher chose to stop carrying stories on Linux, that wouldn't be illegal (as far as I know), but it would certainly be a bad thing. They would receive certainly criticism (rightfully so, IMO) for their non-illegal censorship.
Of course all that being said, things get a little more interesting. Clear Channel isn't on equal footing with other companies. Like Microsoft, they enjoy a rather large market share. Furthermore, they've been granted the right to use a limited, public resource (part of the radio spectrum) by the government. This places there actions under much greater scrutiny. Unlike, say, the widget manufacturing industry, a new-comer can't decide to pop into the radio market and start playing the songs in question. As such, their situation is closer to government censorship. However, regardless, their overall actions are still censorship and should be scrutinized by consumers.
... its more clearer that U.S. as "land of the free" is more a joke than a truth. But hey, atleast you can still have arms.
Once when i was kid, i idolized usa as really cool thing, now all i can do is to laugh. I feel sorry for you guys. Even sorries for those who sees this "list" and all such bullshit as good thing.
Voice of sanity has spoken.
yush
They forgot Front Line Assembly Mindphaser:
"The kill is swift
It makes no sound
Aggression take its toll
Rhythm of violence
Cuts through the air
There's no more control
The sky turns brighter, a evil red
Missiles fly through the air
Shattered dreams
Shattered hopes
There's bodies everywhere"
Oh wait, no radio stations play FLA anyway. Damn! I want my XM Radio!
Oh really, I always thought that it refered to an event in Northern Ireland's history in 1972 that, unlike the bombing of Libya, is still refered to as "Bloody sunday", and that it was a call to end sectarian violence. See http://larkspirit.com/bloodysunday/ for a clue. U2 are an irish band, and not everything revolves around the US.
This is just a company trying to be sensitive to people who have had their lives shattered by hate-filled people, and playing songs about plane crashes, death, strife, et. al
That does seem to be the aim - otherwise why would they ban Talking Head's dada-psychobable funk track "burning down the house" which isn't about violence, it isn't anything coherent at all. Some idiot thought the title might remind someone. Having coped with loss a while back I can tell you that this is a pointless excercise. You get reminded of the loss by the oddest stuff, and there is no way around this but through the grief.
But it's an ill-chosen, dumb, arbitrary, partisan list - that elvis track, and Loius Armstrong singing "wonderfull world" are out - WTF??
My Karma: ran over your Dogma
StrawberryFrog
One way or another, their songs aren't the best material for right now - the nation does NOT need to be kicked while it's down.
America.
The country that still hasn't figured out the "tuner knob" or the "power button".
Not like any of this is a big loss tho, Rear Channel has sucked donkey nuts for years.
C-X C-S
"What they bombed our embassies in africa?"
"I think i heard that there was a marine base somewhere that they blew up too."
"Apparently Clinton is going to... wait, no, he isn't president anymore, who's the new guy?"
I mean it's really that bad, some hosts are pretty good, but for the most part, I've been hearing some damn stupid people trying to act damn serious. They can't hack it.
Of course, that should tell you something about the quality of programming on the network...
The terrorists wanted us to all become gullible twits who believe anything we read posted semi-anonymously on the internet? They were dead set on us all turning words like "questionable content" into "banned song list"? They were hoping and praying that large corporations would now become arbitrary and dull-witted? I don't think they needed to do a damn thing to achieve that.
First of all, even if this list was circulated and is being followed as a "banned" song list (which I tend to doubt since I just heard "Stairway" a day or two ago on a Clear Channel owned classic rock station), it's not like we need these songs on the radio-- most of them have gotten way too much airplay in the last 20 years.
Second, Clear Channel playlists don't affect my daily life at all. I have an extensive library of songs that no Clear Channel affiliate has ever played on air that I plan to continue listening to. I'd say the FCC helped two or three large radio conglomerates degrade the quality of our daily lives long before Sept. 11, 2001.
I do not have a signature
Oh really? What if it's playing in a bar? In the elevator? On the phone while you are on hold? Sorry, but there are lots of circumstances where you can hear the radio but can't change the channel or turn it off.
While it is a thoughtful gesture to try and avoid upsetting people unnecessarily at a time like this, ill-conceived knee-jerk reactions seldom have the desired effect.
The only acceptable response to terrorism is to keep on living life as normal. That does not mean that we should forego justice or vengence, nor does it mean that we should not implement prudent, carefully considered security measures to prevent another similar tragedy -- indeed, failure to do these things would be unconcionable. However, if we sacrifice our freedoms to provide an illusion of security, the bastards have won. If we give in to hate, the bastards have won. If we live in fear, the bastards have won. All we can do is mourn the dead, comfort the survivors, clean up the mess, and get on with the rest of our lives.
Why is it that the proponents of "one nation under God" are so eager to get rid of "liberty and justice for all"?
One of their stations websites nerve951.com has a link to Shoot Osama right from their main page. Unfortunately, ClearChannel owns them so they'll be complying with the ban.
I'm beginning to doubt the authenticity of the list too. ClearChannel owns a country station in my are and I highly doubt that it's the only one they own... yet I don't see any country on the list (maybe I missed a few). It's mostly top-40 stuff, with some classic rock thrown in there that's still popular for stations that do a mix of things from the 70's to the current day.
If they -are- banning these songs from their stations I can only presume that they're looking to filter out stations which have the targe age range of 12 years old and up. I was listening to a ClearChannel owned country station last night which was playing songs that dealt with the bombing issues -soley- for the entire day. They were taking requests and dedications to loved ones all night long. This has to be targted just to the "teenie-bop" stations if it even exist.
When they own four out of the five stations you can pick up in your area, it becomes a bit harder to just turn the dial.
No one ever went broke underestimating the taste and emotional capacity of America.
Clear Channel is intimately familiar with this concept.
What we call folk wisdom is often no more than a kind of expedient stupidity.-Edward Abbey
OK, once more: RADIO stations don't generally broadcast VIDEO signals.
Got it now? 8)
I do, however, agree with your idea. It's a hoot to listen to some phone schmuck at the station trying to tell you your request isn't allowed.
Virg
Don't turn it on, then. Simple. All this bullshit makes me think of all the people who want to censor porn and pretty much everything else they want on the Internet.
Land of the free...
Please do not refer to "Rage Against the Machine" as just "Rage."
There is a real (and rather well-known in some circles) band named Rage that plays true heavy metal (not that rapcore shit). And not only is Rage a real metal band, they are also very good. Peavy Wagner has approximately one and a half billion times as much musical talent in his pickin' hand, than everyone in "Rage Against the Machine" combined. Except that Peavy can also write damned good songs, arrange the music, and sing it too.
Mixing Peavy's band's name up with RATM is just plain sick. This kind of defamation-by-name-confusion is exactly the reason that trademark law was invented.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
You can see the lyrics here.
...I've got an (I think) original-cast recording of the musical Manhattan Towers.
Not that Clear Channel would touch that kind of nostalgia programming, but if they did, it's dollars to doughnuts that MT would be on the deprecated list.
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
By blocking these songs out of stupidity, I feel insulted by them. I find this to be a slap in the face to the freedoms the U.S. once stood for. I find it to be disrespectful in the EXTREME both to those slain in the attacks, as well as to adults everywhere.
I've never liked someone who's got about a 10th of my intelligence treating me like a child for my "own good" which is actually THEIR good. Oh wait, I'm supposed to call that "censorship".
-Kasreyn
Kasreyn: Cheerfully playing the part of Devil's Advocate to hairtrigger
Now, call me an establishment stooge, but it seems to me this is because they don't want to inadvertently inflict any further suffering on people who are already undergoing bereavement, tragedy, loss, etc. by broadcasting music that might -- yes, just might -- cause offence.
Yes, it's been done kinda ineptly (sure, they should have had ready-made lists for every imaginable national tragedy). Yes, I'm sure we can all crawl over the lists and criticise inclusions and omissions, ever-so-cleverly, and even raise spooky spectres (ALL these songs will be banned FOREVER! Solemn military music on all channels!). Yes, we can hitch this to our favourite RIAA or DMCA or DECSS protests.
But, seriously, kiddies: haven't you got anything more important to be worrying about today? Can you really not see that innocent victims of these atrocities could maybe do with a little bit of sympathy and understanding right about now?
This isn't censorship -- it's a (ham-fisted, but well-meaning) attempt to do the decent thing by a lot of suffering people. Kinda like pulling "The Towering Inferno" or "Air Force One" from the TV schedules would be.
OK, mod me down. I'm through.
Two thoughts on this.
1) I am in a ClearChannel market, in fact my main radio station driving to and from work is a ClearChannel station, and I have heard a couple songs from that list withing the last 24 hours so unless it is a brand new change the list is a fake.
2) If you look at the list there are a number of songs that there is no way to justify them as having "questionable content".
So my personal take is that F***edCompany got a bad report.
Hmmm...you know...there's like no country music on that list? I know ClearChannel owns one of the local Country stations. OK, not my main point.
One of the other ClearChannel stations has the ad for their morning show right next to the WTC news:
"Here's what's happened today!" in bright cheery yellow. Smooth people.(Cities 97
Radio in the twin cities sucks. ClearChannel or Infinity, or public radio. Joy.
I'm going to go back in my box and will think within the limits of my box: MS Sucks Linux Good I read too much Slashdot.
A more appropriate response to the list is laughter, not righteous indignation at supposed suppression of your rights. If you're going to lament anything, lament the bland and safe state of mass media.
In my Massachusettes high school (late 80s), the DJ at the dances was not allowed to play "Sunday Bloody Sunday" but was allowed to play Eric Clapton's "Cocaine."
No, there's no making sense of any of it.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Interesting that this is on their list. Why? Because Rush Limbaugh uses that tune (the instrumental bits only) as his semi-official theme song. Clear Channel now owns Premiere Networks, which is the syndicator of Rush Limbaugh, and they make every effort to keep it exclusively on Clear Channel stations whenever possible. I mean, I know the lyrics (and title) are why this is on the list, but isn't it ironic (oops, another song from the list!) that Clear Channel stations everywhere are broadcasting part of one of these songs five days a week?
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
Well, as they're not on the list, I guess it's okay to request 'Speak English or Die' or 'Fuck the Middle East'. (Both of which came out during Dessert Storm)
S.O.D. just isn't getting any respect for their work. Not even managing to get on the banned list with 'Kill Yourself' (yeah, it was anti-suicide, I know), 'We all Bleed Red', or even 'Kill the Assholes'
It's just a shame that no one listens to speed metal anymore.
[For those not familiar with S.O.D, it's Scott Ian and Charlie Benante from Anthrax, with Billy Milano from Method of Destruction, and Dan Lilker from Nuclear Assault.... mostly satirical/cynical lyrics with hardcore/thrash/speed metal style music]
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
I can't believe the news today
I can't close my eyes and make it go away
This whole sensorship thing puzzles me. No songs mentioning airplanes, fire, or tickets, but some proposed Michael Jackson tribute song will be OK. No images showing the WTC still standing, but a strong desire to rebuild them. No "On broadway", but let's return Manhattan to business.
There may be lines in these songs that may strike a chord with what happened last week, but that is no reason to stop playing them outright.
JET Program: see Japan, meet intere
Oh, that song wasn't even included on the american version of their album Deaf Dumb Blind. I forget.
Check the lyrics out though (link above)
Another song of theirs is pretty relevant now, as ever, and that is Two sides (from the 1997 self-titled album). I think that's the only song where after hearing it I thought... "where do I sign?"
Belief is the currency of delusion.
1. Yes the list is legit. It came out last Thursday. 2. They did not ban the songs. They suggested that individual program directors exercise judgement in playing these songs because of the recent terrorist bombing. 3. Originally the list was much smaller. It was added to by the program directors and others at the individual stations. 4. The list was supposed to be internal and confidential. It went out over our private WAN email system. 5. From what I can see, Clear Channel has 'stepped up to the plate' with regard to the terrorism. They're giving a lot of $$ to the Red Cross and others. They have a link on their web page. They're allowing employees to contribute via a deduction in their paychecks. For days after the hijackings they ran information and talk programming about the disaster on practically every station totally commercial free. Though I don't agree with all of CC policies (trust me on this!), I feel that criticizing them fhr the job they've done for the public the past week is ludicrous!
Now let me make clear one of those consequences. Where I live, I now have about zero chance of hearing any of these boring comercial songs that have been played millions of times before:
Elvis "(You're the) Devil in Disguise"
Zombies "She's Not There"
Elton John "Benny & The Jets"
Elton John "Daniel"
Elton John "Rocket Man"
Jerry Lee Lewis "Great Balls of Fire"
Kansas "Dust in the Wind"
Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"
The Beatles "A Day in the Life"
The Beatles "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
The Beatles "Ticket To Ride"
The Beatles "Obla Di, Obla Da"
Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky"
Brooklyn Bridge "Worst That Could Happen"
Three Degrees "When Will I See You Again"
Cat Stevens "Peace Train"
Cat Stevens "Morning Has Broken"
Don McLean "American Pie"
Nina "99 Luft Balloons/99 Red Balloons"
They were cut because their content was somehow offensive to Clear Channel's management. They censored their playlist.
Accusing ClearChannel of censorship is like accusing a colon of being full of shit.
Clever. To pharaphrase a movie that lots of people enjoyed, "Ever thought about why everything sounds like shit? How would a machine know how things are supposed to sound? So that's what they have been feeding us."
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
The song is directly, and utterly without metaphor, about the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson (the Big Bopper), and how the narrator's world hadn't been the same since, socially, politically, musically and personally.
McLean's point--and it's a pretty simple one; he isn't exactly James Joyce--is that that plane crash marked the end of the sheltered certainties of the 1950s and the start of what for him were the far more confusing and tumultuous 1960s (Dylan to cute Beatles to scary Beatles to the Summer of Love to Vietnam to Janis Joplin to more, scarier Vietnam).
"American Pie" isn't a deep song or a complex one, nor is it one open to terribly flexible interpretation. Which doesn't mean it isn't heartfelt or affecting or a good starting point for high school students to look at the 1960s from the perspective of someone whose world changed on February 3, 1959, when a plane crash killed three rock'n'roll singers. Period. It's not a "secret". It's not a "wacky interpretation". It's not a "hidden meaning". It's what the song's about. Sort of like how, say, John Lennon's "Oh, Yoko" is about Yoko and not about, say, the Iranain revolution or basketball.
Ask your parents. Or read any of the thousands of tedious interviews poor Don McLean has had to slog through in the decades since.
Well.. if stations decide not to play stuff, it's because they stand to lose marketshare if they do. It makes sound business sense.
And that's why huge corporations with huge marketshares will *always* cater to the majority of their customers. Governments are not much different.
This looks like a good idea to me for a business, to save DJs from their own bad taste. And these kind of DJs tend to have pretty horrible taste. I don't think I need to hear these guys slip in a smirkingly irreverent song on the playlist in this case. Typical that you'd have to tell people this in such specific terms, though -- "don't be a jerk" doesn't get you too far with people who are normally jerks anyway.
You know, I recently had a bad experience with a girl. Being very musically oriented, I associated quite a bit of music with this girl (even went so far as to compile two CDs worth of music that made me think about her for her birthday.)
I don't talk to her very much now, and hearing some of that same music is, to me, now unbearable. In particular, the local station here plays "Drops of Jupiter" by Train, which I associate with her, a lot. You know what I do? I don't demand that the station stop playing the song, I just turn the volume on my radio down until the song is over.
Now, I have no problem with being sensitive to the people who've been vicitmized by this tragedy, but I don't think any of them are really worrying about what's being played on the radio right now. And they surely haven't lost their ability to turn their volume down.
Also, who told these guys at ClearChannel what songs would offend the victims of 9/11/01? "Imagine"? "What A Wonderful World"? "New York, New York"? "Sunday Bloody Sunday"? "Tuesday's Gone"? Hell, I've listened to some of those songs in the past week, along with others on the list that I've failed to mention. None of them have made me overtly think about the tragedy (it's been at the back of my head the entire time.) And some of them were genuinely uplifting.
How about letting the victims decide what they want to hear, instead of telling them "No, we think this song will be bad for you, so we're not going to let you listen to it."? ClearChannel could actually be making it worse for some people who listen to music for a sort of emotional release.
Here's a url [clearchannel.com] off their website that lets you find out which stations in your area are owned by them, so you know who to complain to/not listen to.
At least mafia-owned pizzarias make excellent pizza. Compare to Bill Gates.
I e-mailed my local ClearChannel station (nerve951.com) and somebody responded with a ClearChannel.com e-mail address. They said it was a false rumor, and that list was only songs to be sensitive to and that there was no banning of the songs. Here's the exact messages:
"Scott,
the clear channel deal is a false rumor...I hear list was never a mandatory
thing...
just songs to be sensitive to last Tuesday...
people have never been told not to play these songs...
I'm sorry to other people using a sorrowful time like this to use as a basis
to a trivial radio war...We all should be united as Americans at this time..
shame on the company that is lying
From the grammar it doesn't sound as though it's an exec. I e-mailed the person back and asked what there position at ClearChannel was.
I was thinking about this the other day. The enemies we're dealing with, in theory, could be rounded up and put in handcuffs, no differently than any other criminals. The whole point of "war" is that large armies fight against other large armies - or even large armies fight against other small armies - but not that large armies fight against small groups of people scattered around the world. The fact that these particular criminals/terrorists are hard to locate and infiltrate can hardly be mitigated by throwing thousands of troops at the problem. I suppose you could argue it's a complex form of psychological warfare against groups like the Taliban. Or perhaps it's just about making "the average American" feel better.
I'll close with one of the "banned" songs, which is probably pretty appropriate - Pink Floyd's "Mother", from The Wall (interesting to note that the song "Another Brick in the Wall" was banned by the apartheid government of South Africa during rioting there in the '70s - great how America models itself after these shining role models):
Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb
Mother do you think they'll like this song
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls
Oooh, Mother should I build a wall
Mother should I run for president
Mother should I trust the government
Mother will they put me in the firing line
Oooh, Is it just a waste of time
Hush now baby, baby don't you cry
Mama's gonna make all of your nightmares come true
Mama's gonna put all of her fears into you
Mama's gonna keep you right here under her wing
She won't let you fly but she might let you sing
Mama will keep baby cozy and warm
Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe
Of course mam'll help build the wall
Mother do you think she's good enough
For me
Mother do you think she's dangerous
To me
Mother will she tear your little boy apart
Oooh, Mother will she break my heart
Hush now baby, baby don't you cry
Mama's gonna check out all your girlfriends for you
Mama won't let anyone dirty get through
Mama's gonna wait up till you come in
Mama will always find out where you've been
Mama's gonna keep baby healthy and clean
Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe
You'll always be a baby to me
Mother, did it need to be so high.
It's ironic that you say that. I'm all for punishment of those who were behind this atrocity, but I can't help watching the media with a critical eye. Last night I was watching a propaganda piece about muslims, listing their, in our culture "evil ways", basically pointing at them and saying look what they do they're DIFFERENT. All I could thing of was "five minute hate".
I'm the big fish in the big pond bitch.
Apparently, the German original has even better imagery as well as better scansion. This is one time I really miss being a polyglot.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
Mind you, I'm surprised that Airhead survived this long without being beaten to death by outraged wimmin.
``My friends all think; she's a dumb blonde; but they don't know she dyes her hair...''
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
Jojo Fitzblack brings down the flying doctor with his first successful throw, but I don't see that one on the list. Yet.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
Yeah, right. And a city of - how many? - million people is just going to hide for a while until everyone's happy again... y'know perhaps it would help after all, if the news services stopped replaying the damned thing day and night in case anyone's been living in a cave for the past week and nobody taped it for them.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
Just follow this link.
/. filters wouldn't allow it.
I tried posting the mailto: here, but
Please let these people know that if they are this willing to ccensor our music, they are not worthy of the stewardship of such a large percentage of American radio outlets.
Yet more evidence that censorship always backfires...
One can easily understand the rationalle behind banning such musical abortions as "Obladi-Oblada" and "What a Wonderful World" for being morally offensive in this time of crisis for our nation, but banning "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey" by Steam is a travesty.
Tasteless as it may be, I think it's funny they banned "Disco Inferno," "Crash Into Me," "Ticket to Ride," "Burning Down the House," and "Walk Like an Egyptian." On the plus side, they've also banned popular songs by Alanis Morissette and Korn, so I guess some good came out of this after all.
"Cut word lines. Cut music lines. Smash the control images. Smash the control machine." - William S. Burroughs
Are they distributing this list in .pls format?...
This was not an act of censorship, it was an act of sensitivity toward the victims of this tragedy. Grow up, guys...not everything is a conspiracy to strip you of your freedoms. You can still buy all these songs in stores or download them online.
Hmmm....
The Beatles "Obla Di, Obla Da"..."life goes on..." Yeah, we would want to think of life getting back to normal in any way.
Youngbloods "Get Together"
"Come on people now,
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together,
Try to love one another right now."
At a time when the government is pumping up the rhetoric to whip up people's shock and anger into support for what they admit will be a long and drawn out war, such peaceful urgings may seem treasonous.
Likewise with "Blowin' in the Wind" Those kind of anti-war folk songs caused enough trouble in the sixties, we wouldn't want them to provoke the population at a time of crises like this.
Louis Armstrong "What A Wonderful World" Oh, come on! At times like this we need something to remind us about the good things in life.
On a slightly different muscical note, on the weekend one of the Canadian TV networks showed a montage of the events and aftermath of last Tuesday. The song (by Don Henley?) they used as background was chillingly true:
"In a New York minute,
Everything can change
In a New York minute
Everything is strange..."
Trickster Coyote
Reality is as reality does."
Ideology is for ideots.
Right on brother. I mean, who would have thought that the networks' 24/7/365 coverage of every single eye-witness testimony, worthless pundit opinion, and Duh-bya's every single move would have reminded me that three planes destroyed three major U.S. landmarks a week ago? It's a good thing they banned those songs b/c we all know that the best way to deal with grief is to never acknowledge it.
We want some answers and all that we get
Some kind of shit about a terrorist threat
- Ministry
I don't know what's wrong or right
I'm just a regular guy with bottled up insides
I ain't never been to church or believed in Jesus Christ
But I'm praying that God's with you when you die
This is your captain calling - with an urgent warning
We're above the Gulf of Arabia - altitude is falling
And I can't hold her up - there's no time for thinking
All hands on deck - this bird is sinking
I seem to remember hearing that this song, and The Cure's "Killing an Arab", were banned from play by U.S. forces in the Gulf at one time or another.
"Cue the music, fade to black; no such thing as no payback - take this line, know where it ends - no return, no make amends - is this the future of is this how it will end?" - PWEI, "Everyting's Cool"
One of the ClearChannel stations in my area announced on Tuesday an uninterrupted hour of music that would "give a voice to the things we are all feeling" or some such crap. Immediately after making this announcement, they played "Dem Bones" by Alice In Chains and "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd, back to back.
I'm not kidding.
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
On Friday I heard a remix of New York Minute, interspersed with some of the more shudder-worthy clips from the news reports, etc. It was God-awful.
~Philly
Show me the country where the bombs had to fall
Show me the ruins of the buildings once so tall
And I'll show you a young land with so many reasons why
There but for fortune go you or I.
Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
You think that is unrelated to the terrorist attacks? Try "Surfaris - Wipeout". :)
:)
The song has no lyrics AT ALL except for the word "wipeout", like twice in the song. It's an instrumental surf song. NO LYRICS.
Banning that song is just idiotic. I'll give you that, it's one of my favorites. But it isn't really censorship. I still hold that they are trying to be polite. You might not want to tell a whole bunch of very sad people that the world is great, it could piss them off. However, that song just makes me happy.