Anyone here offended by "Money For Nothing"? Song banned in Canada after 26 years!

[soulster]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...r-Nothing.html

Money For Nothing banned from radio... 26 years after its release

By LIZ THOMAS
Last updated at 2:58 PM on 14th January 2011


Mark Knopfler's song has been blasted as 'extremely offensive' to gays and lesbians
It may be a classic rock song but 26 years after it was first released Dire Straits hit Money For Nothing has been banned from radio.
The song was ruled too offensive for the airwaves in Canada because it contains the word 'f****t' and can now no longer be played in its original form.
Any station that wants to play the song will have to edit it or disguise the word, according to a ruling by the Canadian Broadcasts Standards Council.
The decision came after a listener complained that the broadcast of unedited version of the song – which mentions the word three times – was 'extremely offensive' to gay, lesbian and bisexual people.
The songs second verse contains the offensive word three times.
It says: ‘The little 'f****t' with the earring and the makeup. Yeah, buddy, that’s his own hair'
‘That little 'f****t's' got his own jet airplane. That little 'f****t' he’s a millionaire'.
The entire verse is edited out of some versions of the song, or the word is simply replaced.
The council concluded that 'f****t'. when used to describe a homosexual man, is a word 'that, even if entirely or marginally acceptable in earlier days, is no longer so.'
'The societal values at issue a quarter century later have shifted and the broadcast of the song in 2010 must reflect those values, rather than those of 1985.'
Co-written in 1985 by Mark Knopfler and Sting, Money For Nothing is penned from the perspective of a working class man who spends his time watching music videos and comments on what he sees.
In an interview with Rolling Stone around the time the song was released Knopfler said: ‘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.
'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.’
The song was a number one hit in the US, reached number four in the UK charts and was the first music video to air on MTV Europe.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1B7xyVSqq

And, one Edmonton radio station is fighting back: K-97 Continues to Play Money For Nothing Unedited

January 13th, 2011: K-97 is well aware of the dangers of censorship and the effect it has on Canadians' Freedom of Speech. K-97 has had many censorship attempts, but through it all the microphones are turned on everyday giving the announcers the freedom to say whatever is on their mind.

Earlier this week the CBSC ruled that the song “Money For Nothing” has violated broadcasting decency standards because of the use of the word “******”. The Dire Straits song was originally released in 1985 and has since aired tens of thousands of times across Canada, has won a Grammy and has been performed by GLBT supporter Elton John. If you listen to the context of the term, you will realize it is an artistic portrayal of a bigoted person looking at the riches and excess of the music industry.

While some of K-97’s content may be controversial, we respect the right to free speech for all Canadians and songwriters. That’s why K-97 has decided to go against the grain…yet again, and hold a “MONEY FOR NOTHING HOUR”. From 8pm – 9pm on Friday, January 14th, 2011 K-97’s Todd James will be playing the Dire Straits “Money For Nothing” unedited and non stop for the entire hour to express our deep concern about this decision and the precedent it sets.

For more information contact:

James “Gruff” Gushnowski
Program Director
K-97 FM
[[W) 780-437-9293
jgushnowski@newcap.ca

Jason Almeida
Marketing & Promotions Director
K-97 FM
[[W) 780-443-7625
jalmeida@newcap.ca

Patrick Cardinal
Operations Manager
Edmonton Radio Group
Alberta Program Manager
Newcap Radio
[[W) 780-437-9297
pcardinal@newcap.ca

[gary_james]

Oh please, it must have been slow day for them. Then i guess they should also ban Fairies Wear Boots by Black Sabath, Who Said Gay Paree by Cole Porter, and I Feel Pretty from West Side Story while they're at it.

[soulster]

I think it's silly to ban something after 26 years! I understand the desire to not offend people and move beyond it, but where were the complaints from the homosexuals in 1985? I certainly didn't hear any. Perhaps people actually understood lyrics back then.

[tamla617]

all it does is highlight something that nobody had given a second thought.
people making decisions for the sake of making decisions.songs will offend someone somewhere,where will it end?
money for nothing is a swipe MTV and having a go at all those in the industry,including themselves.dire straits have moved around the music industry for over 25 years.has anyone heard any gay protests against them,a backlash from interested parties,'cos i havent.somone is trying too hard to make a name for themselves.
i've never picked those lyrics up,is it on a background vocal? and was this the version they played on mainstream radio uk and us.cant see the bbc letting it on the air with the swearing eg.little f****r.i assume it was censored anyway without the faggot bit.

[soulster]

tamla, it was a huge international hit in the mid-80s, and no station I knew of ever censored the song in any way. MTV even played it as is. But, in the late 80s, the record company did issue a best-of CD with the entire second verso of the song edited out. It destroyed the entire meaning of the song. After that, radio started playing the censored version.

[tamla617]

soulster
cheers for that.explains why i didnt hear any swearing.
was the offending line/lines background vocals or lead?could have got lost behind everything

[stephanie]

This is like saying Richard Pryor tapes will be banned because he says the n word!!! Its a good song..... got to install microwave ovens.....custom kitchen deliveryyyyyy.....

[jillfoster]

I never paid attention, but I figure why not leave it in? it's devil music anyhow... it's to be expected. Everyone is so damn sensitive nowadays, I wonder if TVland edits out the episode of the Jeffersons where Isabel Sanford says "Nigga, please!"

[marv2]

I've seen that story just about every night on the Canadian news stations. I think they are making a big deal out of nothing. Whether they excise the word or phrase deemed offensive or not, the song will still sound the same. I remember it from my college days. I cannot believe it is making the news in 2011!

[pshark]

Another example of political correctness rearing its ugly head

[nomis]

exactly political correctness has alot to answer for..no one was offended by the song for 20 years..Ive performed the song myself on stage and Im an openly gay performer..people with too much time on their hands trying to wrap us up in cotton wool they would be better putting their energy into the millions who play playstation games like Grand Theft Auto where your rewarded with points for killing prostitiutes and the police...the left is so lost in correctness the right is laughing its ass off at them...

[soulster]

soulster
cheers for that.explains why i didnt hear any swearing.
was the offending line/lines background vocals or lead?could have got lost behind everything

Huh? The lead singer sang it! Go listen to a copy of the song if you have it! If you weren't around in 1984/1985, that may explain why you may not be familiar with the song.

The lines in the second verse are as clear as day:

The little faggot with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy! That's his own hair!
The faggot's got his own jet airplane
The faggot is a millionaire!

[tamla617]

i was around alright!
i didnt listen to pop radio.only went to soul clubs and generally only listened to soul/funk/jazz stuff,i had enough to be getting on with.
i bit of a blinkered view i'm afraid when it comes to music,which i know isnt good, but thats me.

[soulster]

Well, it's very hard to think you never heard the song, since it was such a huge hit from a huge album, but here is a snip of the offending passage: http://db.tt/SqFJzkW

The band Dire Straits is also British.

[tamla617]

i forgot to add that the times i would have heard it was on bbc radio one,and those lyrics would have been censored out.there's no way the bbc would allow that.
pop music has tended to follow black music for years.swing,rock and roll,the mersey beat etc.i cut the middle man out and listened to the masters,the originators and not the watered down versions of it.
having said that there are plenty of musicians that are brilliant.i'm probably missing something but they dont make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck when i hear them.i cant change that.i dont knock people for liking other music they must get the same from their favourites too.
as i've got older i do listen to some other stuff,but i doesnt make me shivver!

[soulster]

i forgot to add that the times i would have heard it was on bbc radio one,and those lyrics would have been censored out.there's no way the bbc would allow that.
pop music has tended to follow black music for years.swing,rock and roll,the mersey beat etc.i cut the middle man out and listened to the masters,the originators and not the watered down versions of it.
having said that there are plenty of musicians that are brilliant.i'm probably missing something but they dont make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck when i hear them.i cant change that.i dont knock people for liking other music they must get the same from their favourites too.
as i've got older i do listen to some other stuff,but i doesnt make me shivver!

Well, actually, the BBC did allow that song to be played.

I guess it's sometimes hard to recall just how fragmented the music and listening audiences had become in the mid-80s, even after the success of artists like Prince, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Ritchie, who were all actually pop artists by then. And jazz music had long since fallen out of favor with the so-called mainstream audiences.

Now, the band who recorded "Money For Nothing"? They are good, but I don't like them much. To me, they are boring, and fall a bit too close to country for me. In the audiophile world, the album received high critical acclaim because it's such a fine digital recording. Engineers use it as a reference disc, along with Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly".

[tamla617]

in 1985 there is no way the bbc allowed the full cut of money for nothing.this is the station that banned relax by frankie goes to hollywood.the whole of it.
i was fragmented in 1972!i was off micheal jackson by 85,was off lionel ritchie since he left the commodores and was never,ever into prince,afkap etc.the advent of smooooth jazz ,less said.more pandering to audiences rather than leading.
i remember well when dire straits hit it.1979 "sultans of swing" one of the blokes i was sharring a house with kept playing it 'till the stylus milled the grooves.the audiophiles lapped it up,like you said.they were the next new thing.i went to a club once and "investigations" was being played,it was only about 9pm i walked out and went somewhere else.dont even get me started when elvis died and just about every disco was playing elvis hours.it went on the whole summer.thank god for car wash!

[roger]

Hello all ..

Well, I've heard the song hundreds of times but have never previously bothered to work out what the lyrics were, so whether any particular UK Radio station was playing the full version in '85 I simply wouldn't know. But I would imagine that Radio One etc. must have played it in its entirity, otherwise there would have been a lot of publicity about "censorship" and I don't recall that at all.

And .. the BBC never has qualms about playing "Olivers Army" by ELVIS COSTELLO which contains that 6 letter word that starts with "N" and rhymes with "bigger", so I don't see why they would change the rules for this DIRE STRAITS tune.

Anyway, this thread actually got me to look up the lyrics of "Money For Nothing" and their history .. seems it was written after MARK KNOPFLER of DIRE STRAITS had visited a New York electrical store and had heard one of the workmen there having a good old rant about the people who were appearing on MTV which was being screened on the T.Vs in the store .. the words and phrases used in the song were uttered by this man.

Personally I think that this Canadian ruling is just another example of the thought police in action .. all very Orwellian indeed .. surely people could something better to do with their lives than object to the presence of certain particular words in songs like this.

Roger

[tamla617]

roger
i've never bothered to find out the lyrics either 'till now!
i thought the f word was in there not faggot.thats why i thought the bbc must have banned it,and for no other reason.so i'll take back the bbc banning bit,i was wrong. that aint right [[pun intended)

[soulster]

I posted a link to the offending verse in one of my posts above, and you don't even need to see the lyrics. You can hear it as clear as day.

No one complained about the word in 1985. No one!

[roger]

Actually Soulster ..

Until I started reading this thread I hadn't heard the use of the "offensive" word, simply as I'd never bothered trying to decipher the lyrics of "Money For Nothing". The "hooks" I knew .. "money for nothing and your kicks for free" and stuff about "moving microwave ovens" and "refrigerators" .. but to me it was just another vaguely disinteresting song.

And .. when I read your initial post I thought the "offensive" lyric was due to use of "the F word", as you put f****t which I interpreted as fu*k it, rather than faggot. It was only further down your post I realised what the word in issue actually was.

Seems tamla617 had a similar experience.

Basically this is to do with the way I listen to music. Initially I will listen to the general rhythm and musical arrangement,and the "sound" of the vocalists, and if there is a chorus then I will notice that .. then way down the line, if I like those, I may start to work out what the lyric is. Believe me, I have hundreds of "favourite" records where I would be pushed to recognise the verses if someone wrote them down for me to identify.

With a tune like "Money For Nothing", which doesn't particularly interest me musically, its very unlikely I would be interested in learning the lyrics. Generally I have little interest in the lyrical content of these Pop/Rock tunes and I've often found that if I do actually get to see them I still don't understand what they are supposed to be about .. give me a "Tracks of My Tears" or "Tired of Being Alone" anyday!!

As you implied .. if no one objected 26 years ago, why should they now? I certainly wouldn't .. within the context of what the song is about .. a send-up of someone having a rant about the stuff appearing on MTV .. it seems quite appropriate.

AND .. I don't know how offensive "faggot" is as a word in Canada, BUT .. where I live [[in the eastern suburbs of London in merry old England ) a "faggot" is either a bundle of firewood or a variety of meatball. It isn't used as a term of abuse for Gay and/or Effeminate men, and as far as I'm aware never has been .. although I would imagine everyone knows of this usage from watching American films and T.V. shows.

Roger

[theboyfromxtown]

Would a complainant have been heard in 1985? I remember that in the 70's, it was really hard to get people to listen to what you had to say.

I am not even sure the Brits looked on that word as being offensive, I know I didn't..maybe I would have felt different if I had been called it. But nevertheless, name calling is not always about what was said but the way it was said.

[soulster]

Hey, Roger,

I have always listened to and liked all kinds of music, and I don't really like the band Dire Straits, but the song is very catchy, and I like it. Sting famously guest stars on the song, and it prominently mentions MTV, as it was the hottest thing in music during most of the 80s.

I'm with you in the way I generally listen to music: I listen for the overall instrumentation/sound/feel, and the vocal is more or less just another instrument to me. It's only after I decide I like the song, and have lived with it for a while that I bother with the lyrics. But, in this song's case, the lyrics are central to the purpose, and are, therefore, unavoidable. As a result, I really hate it when the vocal is prominent in a mix and overrides all else. It's a trend that started in the 90s and I hate it. I'm glad it's starting to go away. I love 70s music because the vocals aren't out front and center.

But, you've given me a good idea for a thread topic...

[jobeterob]

Dire Straits has got some extra sales out of this little affair; they'll be happy.

I don't know who complained that caused the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council to bother with this but they obviously haven't much of a life or much to do ~ but there are people like that everywhere.

That being said.....................there are a lot of words that were acceptable in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's that aren't anymore. It also was acceptable to strap children in school and at home and it isn't anymore.

Faggot is one of those words and it isn't acceptable now.

[splanky]

I think the whole banning thing with this song is just plain silly. There have always been a whole lot of things I've loved to
come out of Canada and many things I've felt they do better than us Americans but this is not what I'd call a shining moment. It's just as stupid as the current attempts to remove Mark Twain's Huck Finn from public schools here over it's
use of the word n****r. Yes, some words have become un-acceptable as far as public speech is concern but art and
literature are better viewed and/or heard in context. Besides I know a lot of people who refer to themselves and their friends
as N****rs, women who call themselves B*****s and even in New York there are successful professional homosexual men
who call themselves F****ts, like Michael Musto of the Village Voice...

[tamla617]

this is what a faggot is/was in the uk,before american terms invaded via the tv,music and film.although it isnt/wasnt a common word used.
its a meatball.made from offal and "things".they taste offal aswell!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faggot_[[food)

[nomis]

being a teenager in the Uk at the time this song came out and being Gay I was subjected to every homsexual slur under the sun..but faggot wasnt one of them so the word had little meaning in the UK or I would have surely been called it..

[gary_james]

Well, i know a lot of kids in school who were Meatballs!

[tamla617]

gary......lol!

[gary_james]

listen to Dom Deluise closely:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMK6lzmSk2o

[adrian]

they taste offal aswell!

You've obviously not been using your Brains old chap!
Can't Beat Mr Brains' Faggots!

Faggots are sometimes called Savoury Ducks this is a generic term used by butchers over past years. This term causes trading standards the same problem as Fairy Cakes, in other words there is as much duck in faggots as there are fairies in the average fairy cake!

[tamla617]

i only ever had 'em once,one bite that did it for me

and what about wagon wheels?

[theboyfromxtown]

You've obviously not been using your Brains old chap!
Can't Beat Mr Brains' Faggots!

Faggots are sometimes called Savoury Ducks this is a generic term used by butchers over past years. This term causes trading standards the same problem as Fairy Cakes, in other words there is as much duck in faggots as there are fairies in the average fairy cake!

Adrian - They were probably relying on the ones eating the cakes to make them fairy cakes. LOL

But I ought to be serious here, please excuse me this time

Simon - same for me too. I didn't know what it really meant and why it was considered so negative.

[soulster]

I don't know who complained that caused the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council to bother with this but they obviously haven't much of a life or much to do ~ but there are people like that everywhere.

Apparently, a lesbian affiliated with GLAF [[or whatever the correct acronym is...Gay and Lesbian something...) organization heard it and complained. That's how it got started. Probably some young person who never heard the song until recently and wasn't even around in the mid 80s.

[soulster]

This came up in another thread, and it sounded like a good idea for a discussion.

I generally listen to music: I listen for the overall instrumentation/sound/feel, and the vocal is more or less just another instrument to me. It's only after I decide I like the song, and have lived with it for a while that I bother with the lyrics. But, in this song's case, the lyrics are central to the purpose, and are, therefore, unavoidable. As a result, I really hate it when the vocal is prominent in a mix and overrides all else. It's a trend that started in the 90s and I hate it. I'm glad it's starting to go away. I love 70s music because the vocals aren't out front and center.

How about you?

[tamla617]

soulster
i dont listen to music in parts or break it down like you,unless i am subconciously.i've never thought about how i listen either untill now.i take the whole thing in,vocals,instruments everything.if i do lean towards "hearing" anything 1st i'd have to say vocals,which as i said before somewhere on sdf,the reason i got into soul to start with,soulful voices.dennis edwards and paul williams are just 2 that spring to mind. i can think of times when something in particular caught my attention.mister magic by grover washington jr when he used the washington go-go beat.it was so good,so different, everything else fell away until i'd played it a few times.

btw.today on bbc tv breakfast show they were discussing how people listen to albums.play the album track 1 to end,like the artist intended or shuffle,pick out 1 or 2 tracks etc.my kids generation for example are just about all "pickers"i tend to play the whole album especially the vinyl.
a twentysomething listened to an album beggining to end. the 1st time she'd ever played an album as intended.she said it bought tears to her eyes,not sure why that would happen.
so on that subject do you pick or play "front to back as it were"?

[soulster]

soulster
i dont listen to music in parts or break it down like you,

I didn't say that. I said the opposite. Read my post again.

[tamla617]

i read that as i listen to the lyrics later which means [[to me) that you've listened in stages instrumentation/sound/feel 1st and later having lived with it bother with the lyrics.except not in the case of "money for nothing".it doesnt read the opposite
it wasnt meant to be critical [[i didnt think it was)of how you do it,thats probably your sound engineer side coming out.
because of your background/interest you will listen a different way to me.which is just aswell,cos i'd never get anything mixed right!

[soulster]

i read that as i listen to the lyrics later which means [[to me) that you've listened in stages instrumentation/sound/feel 1st and later having lived with it bother with the lyrics.except not in the case of "money for nothing".it doesnt read the opposite
it wasnt meant to be critical [[i didnt think it was)of how you do it,thats probably your sound engineer side coming out.
because of your background/interest you will listen a different way to me.which is just aswell,cos i'd never get anything mixed right!

I listen to a song as a whole. If I pick it apart later, it is the sonic elements that I pick out, like frequency balance, edits, compression, echo, ect. I listen to how they all blend together to create the full experience. That is indeed the engineer and audiophile in me. Other than that, as a drummer, I always notice that too.

[144man]

I think the ban will be counter-productive. It will upset a lot of people, and if anything will incline them to blame gays for it and make them look on them more unkindly.

[splanky]

...Hmm...Al Green, The Dramatics, The Barkays, The Temptations, P-Funk, The Ohio Players, The Honey Cone, New Birth,
The Dells, Ann Peebles, Phyllis Hyman... dang, I listened to a lot of music in the 70's and I can't remember much where the
vocals were not out front, soulster...I don't know, maybe it's just me....

[jobeterob]

**The first incarnation of this post spelled Dire Straits "Dire Straights." I ALWAYS do that. Seriously. Thanks for the heads up, those of you that pointed it out. I'll prpbably do it again next time.

Bwahahahaha! Of course this happened. As my friend Paul Wells said on his Twitter, "Dire Straits should be sending the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council a thank-you bouquet soon."

Alan Cross reports on ExploreMusic.com that "what with all the hoopla of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruling on the unworthiness of Dire Straits Money for Nothing, digital downloads of that track went from 167 last week to about 2,700 this week. That number represents a full 10% of all downloads of that song since tracking began in February 2005. Meanwhile, Brothers in Arms, the album from whence the song came, saw its digital sales spike 406%. It’s now the fifth-best selling catalogue album in the nation."

Awesome.

It's not the first time Dire Straits has been banned. In this clip Mark Knopfler talks about getting banned in South Africa back in 1979.

[soulster]

...Hmm...Al Green, The Dramatics, The Barkays, The Temptations, P-Funk, The Ohio Players, The Honey Cone, New Birth,
The Dells, Ann Peebles, Phyllis Hyman... dang, I listened to a lot of music in the 70's and I can't remember much where the
vocals were not out front, soulster...I don't know, maybe it's just me....

Could be your playback system?