The Great White North — where irony goes to die. Read:
Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” can no longer be played in Canada in its original form since the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has deemed the song offensive.
The decision stems from a listener’s complaint last year calling the lyrics — which contain the word “f—-t” — extremely offensive to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
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If you don’t remember, the song is sung in the voice of a appliance installation technician — or “handyman,” as we used to call them in 1986 — envying those rich guys on MTV. He lugs big screen TVs around, while they get their money for doing nothing. Here’s the offending lyric:
Now look at them yo-yo’s that’s the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumbWe gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these color TV’s(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)Gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
Gotta move these color TV’s
It’s pretty obvious that the person being made fun of here is the semi-literate handyman, not the MTV pop star. Apparently, however, it isn’t obvious to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, where a motion to adjourn should always be in order.
I remember a Village Voice review of the song/video. In it the reviewer was claiming it was anti-gay because of the dubbing of “don’t stand so close to me” in it. I thought the reviewer must have had some really good (or bad) marijuana.
“Apparently, however, it isn’t obvious to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, where a motion to adjure should always be in order.”
OUCH! Your own Cornel West moment arrived today, Jan. 13, 2011.
Ha! I’ve committed some entertaining typos before, but that one was a classic.
I got into an argument with a huge Dire Straits fan when this song came out. A couple of the radio stations initially played the entire song, but pretty quickly an edited version hit the airways, with those lyrics cut out. He was absolutely insistent that this wasn’t happening. One day the song came on the radio and we listened through. The verse was gone. He was pissed.
So, I’m not surprised that this has occurred. Just that it took so long.
Happened with a Tom Petty song too, where the lyric was changed for some stations from “let’s roll another joint” to “let’s roll on down the road”
And for years Pink Floyd’s Money was played with “all that do goody-good bullshit” Yet now it’s edited out.
Oh, there were plenty of stations that bleeped or silenced the “bullshit” in “Money,” even during the 80s and 90s. And the censorship (self or otherwise) really got bad during the moralistic Bush years. Morning show raunch is a staple on most FM rock or alternative stations. The 90s saw a huge pushing-of-the-envelope (thank you Howard Stern!) in that area. When the oughts came around, though, with a “new and improved” FCC keeping a puritanical eye on everything, the whole schtick really got toned down.
I think the penny dropped for most station managers after Nipplegate, and the stink the FCC raised over that whole tempest-in-a-teapot. I’m willing to bet that there were many impromptu meetings between management and DJs in the weeks that followed, when they realized that they were treading on extremely thin ice with their shows.
But now we have the PC police in charge, so there shouldn’t be any attempts at censorship whatsoever, right?
Right?
Hello? Is this mic on?
Ah, I guess NY had looser standards.
“Happened with a Tom Petty song too, where the lyric was changed for some stations from ‘let’s roll another joint’ to ‘let’s roll on down the road.’
As I recall from watching the video on MTV*, they simply redubbed the word “joint” backwards, so that it sounded something like, “Let’s roll another Norge.” Maybe it’s a marching order for Dire Straits’ appliance hauler!
*Yes kids, back when Music Television actually showed music videos occasionally.
*snicker*
Man, you’re a dinosaur!
*ducks*
*holds his back after throwing it out*
Canadians go out thier way not to offend anybody and as a result are constantly offended.
Another ironic thing about that is that if you watch the video, at that point you see Dire Straits on TV… with ear-rings and big hair and makeup. It is pretty clear they are mocking everyone.
Story I heard when the song came out was that the lyrics were built around an actual rant that Mark Knopfler heard while in a bar that had MTV on the tube. I don’t think it’s making fun of the handyman (who in this telling is an actual person), I’ve always thought of it as making fun of the glam rock star culture promoted by MTV, of which, as you point out, Dire Straits was a part.
That’s pretty weak that Canada banned it for the f word (and equally weak that Stephen felt the need to censure it in this post). That’s roughly the equivalent of schools banning Huckleberry Finn for the n word. “We don’t just want to kill Spartacus, we want to kill the memory of Spartacus.”
Tim, I published the lyrics as written. The “f—-t” is a quote from Fox News, as they published the story.
Oops, sorry to sell you short, Stephen. You didn’t censure it, you quoted someone else who did.
That second layer of parody theory works for me. “Little faggot” is nothing compared to how music industry employees talk about the talent.
And yet we routinely get the “Who the fuck are you?”s in The Who’s “Who Are You?” played uncensored on radio up here. Go figure.
There were two releases of this song (really one was just an edit of the other)
The original was released with “Brother’s in Arms”, the second was released in the ‘greatest hits’ album “Money For Nothing”. The second released lacked the offending verse, and this was the one I most often heard on US Airwaves in my coming of age appreciation of Dire Straits.
As a Canadian, I hang my head in shame. During Mark Steyn’s tribulations with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, we were reminded that free speech is a curious American obsession and not one of “de Canadian Values” that former Prime Minister Jean Chretien was so proud of. Here’s the letter I sent to the CBSC this morning.
To Whom****ingever
What the f___k can I say about this f***in’ idiotic and dastardly decision? Are you little f____ts f***ing kidding me? Hey morons, I’m going to go put the f’n CD on and play it really loud right now. Will that constitute an f’n broadcast?
Wait a frickin’ minute! BROADcast? Isn’t that a slur against women? A$$holes! Money for nothing might describe your jobs. None of you little f—–ts could carry one of Mark Knopfler’s picks to the stage.
That felt good.
Sincerley
Thomas F***in’ L……
Thunder Bay Ontario
F*cking Awesome!
First they came for the Punk Rockers, and I said nothing because I don’t spike my hair.
Then they came for the Metal heads and I said nothing because I don’t listen to distorted guitar.
Then they came for the Gangster Rappers and I said nothing because I don’t wear my pants around my thighs.
Then they came for the Classic Rockers and there was no one left to say anything for me!
I imagine Elvis Costello’s Oliver’s Army it not much longer for the airwaves in Canada.
Interestingly the most viewed version of the song on youtube with over 7 million hit is a bowdlerized by the group itself at a live concert in Knebworth, Hertfordshire, UK Saturday, June 30th, 1990. Smoking hot chicks in audience.
The older rockers change the word faggot to “queenie” in one line, “momma” in another and “trucker” in another.
see it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlPjxz4LGak
soon Canadian queens, mommas and truckers will be lining up at the “I am offended” office
the younger rockers can be seen here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACGUasFWVsI
singing the unexpurgated version
When I saw the original article at Foxnews
snip————
The decision stems from a listener’s complaint last year calling the lyrics — which contain the word “f—-t” — extremely offensive to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
snip———-
the typeface on my screen was so small that the dashes merged and I thought the offending word was “fat” as I had forgotten the original lyrics…..it was a few years ago and I might have been smoking something.
My first thought was, “those Canadians have got to lighten up, I know there are a lot of fat gay people but aren’t there a few heterosexual ones too?”
by 1985 you can clearly see that the lips match the changed lyrics here as they they are changed to “Queenie” three times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjfYA68GfCg
Doesn’t anyone watch South Park?
faggot =/= homosexual.
I doubt the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council watches South Park. Parker and Stone haves this tendency to blame Canada for everything.
I am surprised it took them this long!