Canada is at it again, bans Dire Straights from radio

[pearljammer]

TruckOSaurus said:

Lostplanet22 said:

I don't see the problem , their are plenty of songs banned in the USA aswell, I saw it in a program a few weeks ago, a middle aged (I think from Virginia) complained that he could not sing a song from his ancestors with the text ' And when our niggers working on the field' while at the same time the youth is riding with their cars playing loud music with songs that  use the words 'Nigger 10-20 times'..

And if I am not mistaken Green Day's American idiot was also banned/censored because it used the word Faggot.. in the USA..

What I don't understand is why they didn't just bleep the words out like in American Idiot. I remember the song What it's Like by Everlast being so censored it was ridiculous but they still aired it.

If I were to venture a guess, I'm thinking they're perhaps trying to set a precident: that if you're to write purposeful sensitive words in a derogatory manner, you will not get airtime. That is at least somewhat (hardly) defencable. I really have no idea.

However, they haven't seemed to realize that the song isn't even written from the perspective of the songwriter:

Interviewer (Rolling Stone): The layers of irony in "Money for Nothing" have certainly confused people.

MK: I got an objection from the editor of a gay newspaper in London - he actually said it was "below the belt." Apart from the fact that there are stupid gay people as well as stupid other people, it suggests that maybe you can't let it have so many meanings - you have to be direct.

MK: In fact, I'm still in two minds as to whether it's a good idea to write songs that aren't in the first person, to take on other characters. The singer in "Money for Nothing" is a real ignoramus, hard hat mentality - somebody who sees everything in financial terms. I mean, this guy has a grudging respect for rock stars. He sees it in terms of, well, that's not working and yet the guys rich: that's a good scam. He isn't sneering.