banned songs

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Big Mick
Date: 07 Jan 99 - 07:18 AM

As I read over my postings, I realized that I did not say what I meant very well. Let me try it plainly. First, I do not buy into the notion that dislike of a certain style of music AND saying so should be considered as a form of censorship. Some of my PC friends seem to imply to me that my dislike of hip hop or rap and vocalizing that dislike when I subjected to it against my will is a form a censorship. I disagree, as I don't give a damn who listens to what. In fact, I recognize that this music and the anger some of it expresses against the system can almost be considered a form of "folk" music. The lyrics often deal with issues of the times, dissatisfaction with the system, and/or tells a story of the times. I have no quarrel with people who take that view. I simply dislike the music, and find it lacking in musical artistry. And I intensely dislike it intruding on my "space" at all hours, or in traffic, or some of the other circumstances described above. Art I think I am saying that I am in agreement with you. In my own beloved Irish/Celtic music, I am somewhat distressed at the pale attempts to create "celtic" music as the new agers want it to be, instead of what it is. But the form is historically fluid, and it is strong enough to stand the test of time.

And I am bored stiff with WALTZING WITH BEARSNever have cared for it, and probably never will.

Great thread, love the debate.

Mick Lane

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Jon W.
Date: 07 Jan 99 - 11:07 AM

The flip side of Give Ireland Back to the Irish was an instrumental with the same title but a different melody (the rhythm background may have been the same). I used it as background music for a short 8mm film I made in High School (don't remember what the film was about). I was surprised nobody had ever heard it before. We had the 45. Ritchie, don't worry about having never gotten a copy of it, Dr. John is right: naive and poor (typical of McCartney's work without Lennon--on the other hand, Lennon without McCartney lacked energy and ambition--they needed each other).

Speaking of naivete, is it possible to be innocent without being naive? As Jesus said, wise as serpents but harmless as doves? That's what I strive for and that's why I think it's important to know the lyrics of the songs you listen to, in order to make an intelligent choice as to what you want to allow inside your head. That's why I listen to folk and hang out at the Mudcat.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Ritchie
Date: 07 Jan 99 - 11:29 AM

We were talking about the worst 'hit' record of all time and everyone came up with a different one although occasionally someone or other would say that they quite liked that certain song/tune etc.

Self censorship is the thing...not trying to offend someone either their moral code or beliefs.

Now here's the paradox..I like swearing, strong industrial language yet I am usually offended when I hear it in a song!!

I would never swear in front of someone if I thought it would offend them and I have never blasphemed (church going grandmothers influence)

And yet..words like redundant and cancer are a lot worse to both the heart and to the ear than any swear word I can think of.

Thanks to the good Dr. you've exorcised my need to hear "Give Ireland back..." by Mr.Mac....now I'll have to look out for "Waltzing with Bears"

love and ******* happiness

Ritchie

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Jenny
Date: 08 Jan 99 - 12:43 AM

When I think of banned songs, Janis Ian's Society's Child always comes to mind. Does anyone have the lyrics? jenny

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Art Thieme
Date: 09 Jan 99 - 05:26 PM

"STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER" is definitely a band song!

Art

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: catspaw49
Date: 09 Jan 99 - 05:36 PM

Yes it is Art, but luckily, with today's sexually transmitted diseases, we haven't seen "The Rubber Banned." catspaw49

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 09 Jan 99 - 07:40 PM

Jenny,

I was surprised that "Society's Child" was not in the DT. I went to the International Lyrics Server and found the lyrics. You can CLICK HERE to find that site (an immense number of popular song lyrics) or just type in http://www.lyrics.ch/

I will post the lyrics on a thread titled "LYR ADD: Society's Child".

Enjoy the song!!!

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Allan C.
Date: 09 Jan 99 - 08:47 PM

I remember listening to a late-night radio show which played a (then) newly released Simon and Garfunkel album minus the cut titled, "Cecilia". They offered no explanation. Naturally, I purchased the album and discovered what I figured to be the reasoning behind the ban. I don't know if the song was banned by any other stations.

I am sensitive to the business of catering to the preferences of others. Where I work, I play music which can be heard by my staff as well as by my customers. More often than not it is folk; but often it is some other eclectic choice which may include new age, "Celtic", big band, oldies, or classical. I had to quickly abandon playing most of the more current rap, hip-hop, metal, and whatever because the lyrics were decidedly offensive to my customers - the ONLY complaints I have ever received from any of them (unless you want to count the one little old woman for whom anything other than classical music is "Too loud!").

So, I guess you could say that I have been guilty of censorship in this venue. It gives me a better understanding of why some radio stations acted as they did.

By the way, the overall favorite is 60's oldies. Enthusiastic comments have also been heard regarding the livelier "Celtic" music. According to my unofficial survey, third in preference is folk music.

And, Alan, I know you will be thrilled to learn that "disco" music is still alive! I find it among the popular music I sometimes listen to on the netradio station, Radio Latina which originates in TJ/SanDiego. I guess the news that disco is dead hasn't reached there yet. By the way, for those who haven't tried it, listening to foreign radio is a great way to develop your "ear" for a language.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: KickyC
Date: 09 Jan 99 - 10:21 PM

I just have one comment to make:

I LOVE 'WALTZING WITH BEARS."

There is just no accounting for taste in some people I guess.

KickyC :)

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Jenny
Date: 10 Jan 99 - 12:03 AM

Roger ... thanks for the info and taking the time ... jenny

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 10 Jan 99 - 04:41 AM

G'day Allan,
er... I'm thrilled to hear that disco is still alive. The excitement of avoiding it will add spice to my dull existance. (But don't tell Alison. Please don't tell Alison!)

Cheers,
Alan

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Ritchie
Date: 10 Jan 99 - 07:29 AM

Well that big black cloud has lifted and I leave you with..,

High,High,High...by McCartney ( and although I take your point Jon , I did like both 'Imagine' & The 'Band on the Run' LPs on their release.

'The magic roundabout' by Jasper Carrott..they actually played the 'B' side 'Funky moped' but not the 'A'side.

Judge Dread had the 'Big Six,seven and I'm sure others' all banned.

and I'm sure the Sex Pistols came under the censors 'hammer' or whatever it is that they use.

love and happiness

Ritchie

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: The Shambles
Date: 10 Jan 99 - 09:05 AM

Well twiddle my knobs!

There seems to be two strands to this thread, the issue about things being imposed upon you, such as other peoples music being played too loud and the issue of censorship.

There are laws and prohibitions to prevent the former but that doesn't appear to be effective as the enforcement of those regulations present problems. A good example of a bad law, is one that is not supported by the majority of people and therefore cannot be enforced. An example of this is in the UK when the wearing of seat belts was made compulsory, if the majority of the people had not thought it was a good idea it would not have been enforceable.

As for censorship, could anybody seriously suggest that banning has ever had anything but the opposite effect? Would we have ever heard of most of the songs mentioned, had they not been banned.

History has demonstrated repeatedly that all that censorship or prohibition has created is a (profitable) demand for whatever has been banned. One thinks of alcohol, drugs and pornography.

The area were there is a problem in not having any censorship, is when it comes to what we want our children exposed to. This creates all sorts of problems and we get in to all sorts of tangles about age limits and suchlike.

Maybe the answer is not to try and protect our children from seeing all the things that adults (and they too will) find interesting. Not to continue to pretend that the world is not what it is and as a consequence expose them to our hypocrisy, which I would suggest is even worse. By all means physically protect them from the dangers of our world but not to inform them of the real nature of those dangers is to put them more at risk. I know innocence sounds better that ignorance but it amounts to the same thing.

It's a bit like the people who would ban the Net and all it's wonders because children might find out that it used for pornography.

The fact is that if you take the forbidden element away from pornography, it is very boring and that applies to the other things too, including the songs.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From:
Date: 10 Jan 99 - 03:27 PM

No, I'm not old, Alison. But old enough to remember the old guys at the barber shop complaining about Those God Damned Yankee Draft Dodgers, and old enough to have avoided learning to dance because of disco. You couldn't escape it then -- every dance, every bar [started going when I was fifteen, not much to do down home], every radio station, every movie. Ugh. And the clothes, my Lord, the clothes, the fabrics, the colours! Oh, the humanity! The one good thing was that political correctness had not yet been invented, and you could pretty well relax and do what you pleased.

The reference above to the good aspects of disco must surely be a reference to funk, a related but different genre.

I like a lot of those old fifties songs, Alison. They have no pretence to them.

However, as I have said elsewhere disco was the height of melody and songwriting compared to techno, industrial, hip hop, rap, and other such randomized noise and angry shouts. To that I shall never be reconciled.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Hank
Date: 11 Jan 99 - 10:25 AM

Someone please tell my sister that disco is dead. While your at it, tell the rest of the girls I know who were born in the 1970's that disco is dead.
thank you

As for banning things, it isn't quite as simple as some of you make it out to be. During Prohibition in the US consumption of alachol did drop. People did drink less often. BUT, and this is a big but, because you couldn't get it legally and there wasn't popular support for a total ban (the hard liqures might have been supported, might) people who wanted to drink paid more to do so, and they had to go to the crooks to get it. Thus the crooks made it big selling and trading alachol for big money, and they were not above violance, whereas a liquer store today uses price then they used guns to get the other stores out of buiness.

The point is banning something does drop the use of the banned idea/substance. You do however have to expect that the black market will grow for everything you ban, and of course the black market isn't against violence unlike most people. It is a trade off. Personally I feel something are worth the violence, and some are not.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Kris
Date: 11 Jan 99 - 11:34 AM

Shambles - On some levels I would agree with the idea that you shouldn't hide the nature of the real world from children. However, there are some things which I prefer not to have to explain too early. In the past I have dug some enormous holes for myself when trying to provide honest and open answers. I have also regretted some conversations when I realised that they had been paraphrased and passed on to her schoolfriends whose parents are less forthcoming. It is a very difficult thing to decide what info to give at which point, and it is a very complex task to provide guidance and values. So I am afraid I do give into hypocrisy I suppose, perhaps it can be the lesser of two evils. But I do find it worrying that the prevalence of sex and violence in the general media can give children distorted and incomplete information - and some very dodgy role-models. On the other hand, the child does have to live in the real world so I s'pose you are right really. On the other hand (of which I expect there are many) the idea of censorship is perhaps an attempt to make the real world a nicer place. Which brings us back to political correctness. Eyuk. I just go round and round in circles on this one. I used to think I was mega-liberal in my attitudes but perhaps not.......

Kris

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: The Shambles
Date: 11 Jan 99 - 07:45 PM

Hank and Kris

I agree with you both, I don't think that it is simple at all, just simple in principle. When you are young though it is all very simple.

As an example we know that the passing of a law and introduction of an age limit, for all the right reasons, will not actually prevent young people from having sex when they decide they are old enough.

The same applies to the drinking of alcohol, the laws in fact, actually put pressure on them to start.

This is where the hypocrisy comes in, the implication of those laws are that we are old enough to do these things sensibly, when they can see plainly that we do not.

As we know banning and prohibition do not work, maybe we should stop doing it as the first and sometimes the only option.

Interesting comment Kris, about censorship being an attempt to make the real world a better place, I think that is exactly what we try to do.

I just think we should at least try the truth.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From:
Date: 11 Jan 99 - 10:45 PM

That's because in the States it always seems to run to extremes -- feast or famine, mink or monk. Either you can't buy liquor legally at all, or there is a liquor store on every corner. Either the bedsprings are squeaking every night, or people are making vows of chastity because of the fear of the remote chance of catching some disease. One minute they wink at ounce bags, the next they are busting kids for carrying a seed.

Try a little moderation in everything.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Banjeray
Date: 12 Jan 99 - 08:32 PM

Oh the wide range of subjects covered here in this thread!! First a comment on band music...Stars and Stripes Forever was mentioned. Has anyone listened to High School band music lately? They call themselves "marching bands" yet all they play (or try to play) are show tunes. Does this make sense. John Phillip Sousa is probably spinning in his grave!!! I have heard that the English have banned the Irish from playing many of their songs, the one that comes readily to mind is The Rising of the Moon. Is that ban still in effect, or has it been lifted? I have acquaintances that are British and it gives me GREAT pleasure to stick in a CD of Irish music, Tommy Makin and his group are among the favorite, whenever they are around. Seems to shorten the visit considerably :-)

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: CW Hose
Date: 13 Jan 99 - 12:19 AM

Responding to Steve F. I have several 45s by Nervous Norvous, including Transfusion and Ape Call. Real name is Jimmie Drake. They were popular in the Midwest back in the 50s.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: SteveF (inactive)
Date: 13 Jan 99 - 12:17 PM

Thank you, CW Hose. And we are right back where we started. Interesting journey, what?

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: gargoyle
Date: 14 Jan 99 - 11:56 PM

That great gospel hymn - "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" aka "Deutchland, Deutchland, Uberales."

Does any station dare to play "The Horst Wessel Song?" (not a bad beer drinking tune)

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 15 Jan 99 - 04:19 AM

To sing the "Horst Wessel Lied" in Germany or even only to whistle the tune is a criminal offence. I remember years ago when an Italian singer (Milva) was singing that tune in Germany with Italian lyrics. There was an uproar until it was realised she was singing the Italian translation of Bert Brecht's alternative anti-Nazi lyrics to that tune. The tune actually seems to be an old folk tune with completely innocent lyrics ( Der Abenteurer) but I wouldn't dare to sing it in Germany. I normally do not agree with banning songs, but in very extreme cases like this one I agree.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: The Shambles
Date: 15 Jan 99 - 03:03 PM

Wolfgang

Does the fact that the song is banned make it irresistible to certain groups?

What are the penalties for singing it, are they enforcable and does the ban work?

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: gargoyle
Date: 16 Jan 99 - 01:46 PM

While not specifically, banned, it is my understanding that the playing of Marching Through Georgiain the southern states of the US will raise an ire and a hostile responce.

"Sherman's March to the Sea" is still viewed by some as an atrocity.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From:
Date: 16 Jan 99 - 07:34 PM

Wolfgang, the tune to the Horst Wessel sounds like it would make an excellent tune to a hymn. I don't see any reason why the original folk sung shouldn't be sung, or the tune used for other lyrics. I believe that the war era national anthem has been kept.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: gargoyle
Date: 17 Jan 99 - 12:49 AM

The national anthem is pre-1930's....yes, it is played....a good example of its current midi use can be found as background music to an interesting page. German Travel Bureau

Unlike the Horst Wessel it does not make specific mention of Hitler or of the "SA."

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: gargoyle
Date: 17 Jan 99 - 12:51 AM

The "Link" vanished...here it is again..without quotes. German Tourist Bureau

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Kathleen Morgain
Date: 17 Jan 99 - 11:23 PM

"Transfusion". I remember hearing this on Dr. Demento (syndicated "weird tunes" show), or maybe, locally here in Seattle on "Music with Moscowitz". Not sure of the spelling on that one, on old KRAB.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Kathleen Morgain
Date: 17 Jan 99 - 11:53 PM

I fear I posted before I read

The rest of the thread

Forgive a newbie

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Big Mick
Date: 18 Jan 99 - 12:25 AM

Sorry, Kathleen, we don't forgive newbie's. We welcome them. Glad you are here.

Mick

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Ronn Gilbert
Date: 18 Jan 99 - 12:32 AM

I have been reading through a couple of days worth of messages on this thread with more than a little amusement. If there is anything to be learned, I guess it's that offence is in the ear of the beholder.

I remember a lot of advance commotion about Pete Seeger's appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. I also remember hearing "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" in its entirety, which apparently was not done in all areas. This was in Rochester NY which was also one of the few cities where RAINBOW QUEST (please see that thread)was seen. This was a point in time where quite a few people who had been blacklisted in the 50's were finally starting to emerge from under pseudonyms (Dalton Trumbo, Zero Mostel, and others).

I also remember quite a few songs in the 60's that I was told were immoral(Younger Girl), anti-American (Subterranean Homesick Blues), obscene (anything by Frank Zappa), glorifying drugs (White Rabbit), and so on. Naturally, it only fueled our desire for these songs. They are all heard on oldies stations today (except maybe Zappa), and the Republic still stands.

I, like many others during the disco scare of the 70's, discovered that I couldnt dance worth crap. So in order to avoid having to dance, I became a musician. The best defence is a good offence.

I have never been a fan of rap or hip-hop, and never will be. But the drummer I work with gets a lot of notice for having a lot of his drum tracks from the 60's being sampled, and when he works, I work. I have found a lot of it is more fun to play than to listen to, and I can still come home an put on Pete Seeger, Billie Holiday, BB King, or Delbert McClinton.

I try to think of the periodic revivals of things like Disco and social conservatism the same way I think of herpes. With the proper care, outbreaks can be brief and managable. And like Lee Hays once said, "I've been around long enough to know: Be of good cheer, this too shall pass!"

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: robd
Date: 19 Jan 99 - 07:09 PM

Pete Seeger did an entire album of songs that were banned somewhere, sometime, entitled, if I remember correctly

Dangerous Songs?

One of the dangerous songs, which was brought painfully home to me only yesterday when my three-year-old pushed a small piece of foam rubber waaaaay up his nose and necessitated a quick trip to the doctor, was, "Bean In My Ears". Which was apparently banned in schools for fear that it would cause children to put beans in their ears. Believe me -- they don't need a song ;^)

robd

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: robd
Date: 20 Jan 99 - 10:57 AM

Pete Seeger did an entire album of songs that were banned somewhere, sometime, entitled, if I remember correctly

Dangerous Songs?

One of the dangerous songs, which was brought painfully home to me only yesterday when my three-year-old pushed a small piece of foam rubber waaaaay up his nose and necessitated a quick trip to the doctor, was, "Bean In My Ears". Which was apparently banned in schools for fear that it would cause children to put beans in their ears. Believe me -- they don't need a song ;^)

robd

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 20 Jan 99 - 11:10 AM

The Shambles,

Definitely yes to your first questionb.

I do not know what the penalty is, but I know it is enforced and the ban works (I have never heard it in Public, except in historical context, in which it is allowed to be played, like in a movie playing in that time)

Tim,

I am very curious what would happen if somebody sang that old (folk)song in public. My guess is (s)he would be sentenced, but I'm not sure.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Dr John
Date: 20 Jan 99 - 03:34 PM

Jon W. perhaps innocence and naivity mean the same but the one is applied positively and the other negatively or one to those you like and the other to those you don't. Or perhaps "innocence" refers to those who don't know through lack of experience, which can be an endearing thing ,and "naivity" to those who should know better but don't, perhaps because of stupidity.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From:
Date: 22 Jan 99 - 03:01 PM

I just could not let this thread die without making a few comments of my own.

It suprises me that there could be as much discussion as I have seen in the last few weeks on this subject without anyone bringing up songs like Panama Red and Acapulco Gold. These songs were banned because of their "drug message". Acapulco Gold was played for several days before program directors realized it was about "evil weed" and jerked it from the air. In this case, as in most, the decision was made by radio station program directors around the country who feared for their jobs and safety if they allowed the song to be aired on their station.

There are other cases where "big brother" took direct action to affect the airplay of a song. A good example was the government generated rumor that Puff The Magic Dragon was in fact a song about drug use. This was done specifically to cause Americans to boycott Peter, Paul, & Mary. There was also a later disproved rumor about Paul Stookey being a convicted child molester which was apparently started by the same government organization. Our fine government employed these tactics because PP&M were popular artists who were performing anti-war/pacifist (rhymes with pinko/commie/fag) songs which were "corrupting the minds of our youth".

These "bans" were subtle in that there was no official proclaimation that the songs could not be played. There was just a release of "disinformation" which led program directors to take actions which resulted in the public from being allowed to enjoy the music they liked.

Other historical bans have been much more official. In Australia there was popular support for a highwayman named Jack Donohough which prompted the authorities to ban songs about him by law. In response, a number of songs issued forth about many other individuals who had the same initials, J.D., which were not banned, but the common people knew they were in fact about the original Jack D.

Ireland has a similar history in it's music. Songs about certain people and events were forbidden by law so people use initials to reference their heroes to get around the ban. They also used the tune of a nationalistic (Irish) song with the original words replaced by harmless words to inspire people by reminding them of the real song.

To anyone who disbelieves this, you should also know that the British government also passed laws forbidding Irish nationals from owning a horse with a value greater than 10 pounds and the real cause of the great potato famine was the exportation of the greater part of the Irish potato crop to feed England. The ability of the Irish to maintain a rich musical/lyrical culture in the face of such adversity is remarkable. In fact, it could probably be said that the musical/lyrical heritage, and the people's ability to maintain it in the face of such adversity, may be a major reason the Irish people were able to resists English occupation for centuries.

We should study the examples of the Irish and Australians and learn what the real price of censorship is; the loss of all manner of personal freedom. Each time the government, or a program director, dictates what we can listen to, we are robbed of another piece of our freedom of choice.

While some might say that a record not being played on the airwaves does not prevent us from going out and buying the record, the amount of airplay does directly impact the availability of the record in the marketplace, thereby impacting our ability to even buy the record for our own enjoyment.

Blues, jazz, "black music", civil rights songs, anti-war songs, songs about drugs, songs about sex, and songs about violence have all been targeted at one time or another in the last 50 years yet when the subject of "banned songs" is raised, the conversation seems to turn to obnoxious songs that probably got pulled from the air as the result of angry phone calls from hundreds of parents who were tired of hearing them on their children's radios.

I would like to see people take action directed at reducing the interference of government and special interest groups which impacts what information we are allowed to access. It is fine to be able to recall those unusual songs that tickled our funny bones and may have had a short history on the radio due to public outcry, but we must never forget that one of the casualties of the war between the government and the people in the 60's and 70's was volumes of heartful lyrics and excellent music which the people were robbed of by overzealous censors.

Sorry to ramble on at such length but this topic hit a nerve. Thanks for letting me vent.

Tom (no fancy handle)

Subject: RE: banned songs
From:
Date: 23 Jan 99 - 05:26 PM

Wolfgang, I meant the folk song, not the Horst Wessel version. Surely no one could get in trouble for singing that? If so, I would surely sing it.:)

Subject: RE: banned songs
From:
Date: 24 Jan 99 - 08:21 PM

Innovate,

I think it a myth to think that the Irish found it a land of milk and honey when they came to America. Just before the Civil War the Know-Nothings and the Native Americans (the latter were a group opposed to immigrants, not Indians) caused them all kind of grief. In St. Louis in the 1850's there was a running battle over a few days between the Irish on the one hand and the anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant Know Nothings and Native Americans, which only ended when the mayor enlisted 700 armed citizens to put it down. (The German population stayed out of it, apparently because they didn't like either side.) In Massachusetts, at one point, there was a meddlesome inspection held of Catholic schools and institutions due to some foul book then current about alleged abuses in Montreal nunneries.

As to the Australians, if they are as republican as they claim to be why do they still have the Union Jack on their flag, nearly thirty-five years after even we snoozy Canadians got rid of it?:)

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Benjamin Bodhránaí
Date: 24 Jan 99 - 09:11 PM

Hi all!

We have a government youth station here in Oz that delights in being anti-establishment, TripleJ-FM. Anyway, one of it's programs, The J-Files, delves into a different theme each week, whether genre, artist, time period, or whatever. Last year they had one on banned songs, and manageed to fill a three hour show with songs and info, albeit the songs weren't folk, rather post 1960 stuff, pop and rock etc. But Richard Kingsmill the presenter said he really wanted to do so he could play "I bet you they won't play this song on the Radio" by the Monty Python team as the theme.

JJJ also had a court injunction taken out against it for playing a satirical piece referring to a rightwing political party leader here. The piece was called "I'm a backdoor Man" by Pauline Pantsdown, in satire of Pauline Hanson leader of OneNation. Quitesurrising as JJJ will usually play anything, but will also obey the law I 'spose.

Back to "Transfusion" I heard this on a public access radio here in South Oz, 3D radio on a program called "Yodel Action"

BB

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Wolfgang
Date: 27 Jan 99 - 02:38 PM

Tim,
I meant the old folksong, not the Horst Wessel version in my response. You would get sentenced for sure for the Horst Wessel version, you would get sentenced too for just whistling the tune, so (just my guess) you might get sentenced for singing the old folksong. I'd love to know..

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: rick fielding
Date: 28 Jan 99 - 12:20 PM

I've not only enjoyed the responses to this thread but have learned a hell of a lot as well. Last Monday I had another insight on how a song might get "banned".

After having played "The Soldier", by Harvey Andrews, a few weeks ago on my show, I thought I'd play his song "England", which is a SATIRE!. Yup, got two outraged calls, with both listeners telling me not to play such "chauvinistic crap".(they phrased it more graphically) Both missed the song's point completely. Watch it songwriters, there are Philistines everywhere.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: catspaw49
Date: 07 Oct 00 - 10:02 PM

refresh to answer new thread

Spaw

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: GUEST,tarra
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 12:38 PM

Hi
thanks for all the info! I am in Spain doing a piece on banned songs you all have helped and not only information but refreshing to hear people care about life outside the box!

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 04:34 PM

Not quite 'banned' but Jasper Carrott's "Magic Roundabout" wasn't played by the BBC.
Their DJs could not understand why a song "Funky Moped" was doing so well in the pop charts. Of course it was selling for the other side which was a hilarious take on "The Magic Roundabout"

Also banned by the BBC "Deep in the Heart of Texas" from afternoon programming during the war as the banging and clapping was distracting workers in the munitions factories (true/uban myth?)

Nigel

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: TheBigPinkLad
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 05:01 PM

My Dad banned all Pink Floyd from our house.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Com Seangan
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 05:08 PM

Mind you BigPinkLad - I could kinda empathise with your Dad banning all Pink Floyd! Only joking !!!During the troubles in the North, THE MEN BEHIND THE WIRE was banned. But not only that but Gerry Adams was banned from reading his short stories on Radio and that was at this side of the Border.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: Amergin
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 05:36 PM

Christy Moore's song The Never Came Home was banned by the courts...on St. Valentine's Day many years ago...there was a fire at the Stardust in Dublin...48 people were killed most of them teenagers or in their young 20's...the owners had all the emergency exits shained shut...so people could not escape...Christy Moore was the only one to go to court over it when the owners dragged him in to get an injunction against his song...the families of the victims NEVER were compensated.

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: michaelr
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 06:50 PM

Clear Channel banned the Dixie Chicks last year after their singer announced from the stage that she was embarrassed to be from the same state as Resident Bush. Don't know if that ban is still in effect.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: banned songs
From: chordstrangler
Date: 24 Feb 04 - 08:44 PM

I have had the distinction of having two songs banned from the playlists of both RTE (Irish National Radio) and BBC Northern Ireland. The first song was "Only Our Rivers Run Free" and the second one was called "The Famous Five".
In relation to "The Famous Five" I got a letter from the BBC saying that it could cause offence to the British Army, gays, animal lovers, reformed criminals, persons of diminished intellectual capacity, South Africans, persons with addictions and those involved in the anti-apartheid movement.
Could this be a record?