Thursday 13 November 2008

Shut yer fucking mouth!

Returning (somewhat topically) to one of my favourite bugbears, which is censorship. I read today that there is further 'fury' over the recommended songs on the GCSE AQA list. This follows the earlier 'outrage' sparked by the inclusion of The Leader of The Gang by Gary Glitter, which has now been removed from the list. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an apologist for paedophilia, though I don't subscribe to the pitchfork wielding paediatrician lynching mentality that the boys in Fleet Street seem to so enjoy encouraging among the great unwashed. I've got to say though, that banning one of Glitter's songs because he is a convicted paedo doesn't really make any kind of sense to me. Would we ban Johnny Cash songs because the guy was a pill head jailbird or Jimi Hendrix music because he choked on his own vomit (allegedly)? What about the Rolling Stones (who are featured on the list - see below) given some of the band's proclivities for young girls, or for that matter Jerry Lee Lewis because he married his 13 year old cousin?

So this, to my mind, is bad enough. That the likes of the Sun and the Daily Mail can spew venom about political correctness gone mad when it suits them, whilst at the same time dictating to us on these matters of taste in the name of protecting the innocents makes me want to go out and do physical violence with wild abandon. The fact that Leader of the Gang was (I think) the first single I ever bought may also play a part in my feelings on the matter.

The current proposed ban is, however, far more egregious because it is against the mighty Kanye, whose song Gold Digger has come in for opprobrium from the pinched lip brigade due to the fact that it contains multiple uses of the 'n-word' and that this, along with the references to, er, gold digging (WTF?) will corrupt the little kiddies as they flick through their playlists. What's most annoying about this is the po-faced refusal of the mouth frothers to understand that the word 'nigger' (or is it 'nigga'?) is in the process of expropriation by the target group of the oppressed, though this won't work until Tarantino stops using it for fun. And no, having Samuel L Jackson in your movies does NOT excuse you, Quentin.

Below is the recommended (somewhat lame, I thought) list of songs, each with a suggested reason for non-inclusion on the grounds of outraging moral decency, in the Popular Music of the 20th and 21st Century section of the GCSE AQA paper:

Come On In My Kitchen, by Robert Johnson. Johnson sold his soul to the devil, FFS!

You Upset Me Baby, by BB King. This ain't easy. Err, he's a vegetarian. Does that count?

Sunshine of Your Love, by Cream. There are drug references in there kids. Tut tut!

She Loves You, by the Beatles. Well, as we're on the subject of drugs...

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, by The Rolling Stones. Mandy. Smith. Say no more. The song also contains references to sexual intercourse.

Stairway To Heaven, by Led Zeppelin. Apart from the references to Celtic magic in the song, there's also the small matter of the outrageously promiscuous behaviour of the band during their heyday.

Gold Digger, by Kanye West. Nothing wrong with that. No sir!

Take A Bow, by Rihanna (scrummy!) Well, all I can really say about this is that she also did Umbrella, which is surely reason enough to remove anyone from any list? Isn't it?

Anyhoo, I say it again. Get your filthy hands off the music (and everything else) and leave us alone to make up our own minds.

2 comments:

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