Canada bans ‘Money For Nothing’

Music is not only amongst the premier forces in 21st century entertainment but also a fascinating document on society. Looking back over the history of rock and pop, we can see a window into a world that no longer exists, both for good and bad. A fact that Dire Straits have just been made patently aware of.

Despite not having made a studio album in over 20 years, Mark Knopfler's iconic ‘80s act have been dragged into a censorship row surrounding their most famous song, ‘Money For Nothing'. A watchdog in Canada has banned the track from being broadcast on their airwaves, after deeming it too offensive.

The ruling centres on lyrics in the track and the word "f****t", which features three times in the second verse. It reads: "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".

Officials at the Canadian Broadcasts Standards Council are understood to have received an official complaint when an unedited version of the song, which won a Grammy for the Best Rock Performance and featured a landmark video, was aired in their country, where it topped the charts in 1986.

The panel were warned that ‘Money For Nothing' was "extremely offensive" to gay, lesbian and bisexual people and have now reached a similar conclusion. They decided 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," ruled the council. This means any station that wishes to play the track must edit it or disguise the offending word.

Originally written by Knopfler and Police frontman Sting, the roots of ‘Money For Nothing' are well documented. The Dire Straits leader apparently encountered the protagonist in a New York appliance store, observing him and making notes as he went about his job as an employee in the hardware department.

"I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real," he said. But this is not the first time the rocker has encountered controversy because of the lyrics, which describe a man he remembers as "a real ignoramus."

Speaking to Rolling Stone in 1985, he accepted that people could take offence and suggested an adverse reaction had prompted him to reconsider his approach to songwriting. "I got an objection from the editor of a gay newspaper in London - he actually said it was below the belt," said Knopfler.

"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," he commented.

http://new.uk.music.yahoo.com/blogs/behind_the_music/46562/canada-bans-money-for-nothing/

Dumb.

At the same time, rap "artists" use the N word repeatedly in their crap. I wonder if the Canadian authorities deem that offensive. Surely, they get air play up there.

Popular British food to be banned next?

The_Amber_Spyglass wrote:Popular British food to be banned next?

The_Amber_Spyglass wrote:Popular British food to be banned next?

Isn't fag a slang word for a cigarette over there? Seems to me I remember hearing that once years ago.

Yes it is.

"Fag" also has a traditional, non-sexual meaning too. Usually in public schools (that is exclusive schools because government funded schools are state schools) the Head Boy or Prefect gets to choose a new boy to be his "Fag". What that means is that the boy will do errands, clean the shoes of the Head Boy, get him drinks, do part of his homework etc in exchange for special priveleges during that year and perhaps even in later life. I don't know whether it still goes on though.

Okay... somebody's gotta ask here. What the hell is that food product called a "faggot" Matt???

A large meatball in gravy, usually made from the offal of pork.

Not exactly haute cuisine

Thanks... offal of pork... mmmmm....

The packaging was a big tip off that we weren't talking about haute cuisine...

Why are they called faggots?

I've no idea. Aren't balls of moss and twig used for kindling called "faggots"? Perhaps because they look similar?

The_Amber_Spyglass wrote:I've no idea. Aren't balls of moss and twig used for kindling called "faggots"? Perhaps because they look similar?

Yes, derived from the Latin fascis (a bundle of wooden sticks that symbolized power to the Romans), which is also the origin of the word "fascism."

The food faggot is a kind of meatball, i.e. a bundle of meat. So maybe that's the etymology behind that one.