2011-01-13 15:49:27.899361+00 by Dan Lyke 5 comments
Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" song banned from Canadian radio (Via MeFi). As you'd expect, over the "faggot" lines. I rolled my eyes when they took "nigger" out of Huckleberry Finn, but I did not speak up because I understood that it was social commentary...
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2011-01-13 16:34:57.196828+00 by: meuon
Huh... over a bundle of wood or an english cigarette, or the stich on the clothing..
If that word is offensive in that song, you should not be listening to that radio station.
But my take is that there are a large number of faggots in Canada who found it personally offensive even though they were talking about a rich successful faggot (think Elton John as an example):
"See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup Yeah buddy that's his own hair That little faggot got his own jet airplane That little faggot he's a millionaire"
Yes, it's offensive. It's rock and roll, 80's style.
#Comment Re: made: 2011-01-13 16:37:52.568284+00 by: other_todd
Isn't it a little late to lock the barn door on that? I mean, that song's twenty-five years old, and unlike Huck Finn, doesn't get much airplay anymore.
#Comment Re: made: 2011-01-13 17:41:27.115418+00 by: topspin
Sigh. On one end I see the hue and cry about "hate speech" in politics and on the other I see folks "cleansing" books and songs.
Just to be safe, I think I'll change my name to Marcel or Harpo.
#Comment Re: made: 2011-01-13 20:24:44.313068+00 by: petronius [edit history]
What always horrified me about Huckleberry Finn wasn't that word, but other things. One of the most terrifying sequences is when Huck ends up in the midst of a 35 year long blood feud between two families. When a woman from one family elopes with a man from the other, the resulting outbreak ends up killing all the males of both sides, including a boy Huck's age. I remember being appalled at the murder of a 12 year old, which is exactly what Twain intended.
#Comment Re: made: 2011-01-13 20:50:03.955153+00 by: meuon
It's really a marketing campaign, I'll bet the royalty payments to that song just took a jump.