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Dire Straits hit Money For Nothing banned from radio...


Mike

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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.

© 2011 Associated Newspapers Ltd

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A radio station has already set the stage for a challenge...

K-97 is well aware of the dangers of censorship and the effect it has on Canadian’s 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 “Faggotâ€. 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 HOURâ€. 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.

http://www.k97.fm/index.asp?mn=5&cc=2&id=474

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If people quit listening to terrestrial radio and let it die the death it deserves, stuff like this wouldn't happen.

That has nothing to do with it.

What difference does it make if its satellite or terrestrial?

It was the ruling of the Canadian Broadcasts Standards Council for all radio.

It's more like, if people would quit listening to the people who are trying to make the whole damn world politically correct, things like this wouldn't happen.

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I'm not saying this was smart, I'm saying I don't know why people are so up in arms over it. So you can't hear Money For Nothing on the radio in Canada. It's called the internet. Or go buy Brothers In Arms and listen to it on the album. Songs get censored for language all the time -- if you don't want to hear the censored version, go listen to the original. I think it's lame that you can't hear Money or Jet Airliner without the word "sh!t" being edited out, but it hardly pisses me off. If I want to hear those songs the way the artist wrote them, I'll put the song on.

Yeah, this was stupid and whoever complained has too much time on their hands, and should take up pottery or stamp-collecting or something that isn't going to waste a court's time.

And I'll tell you the difference between satellite and terrestrial radio -- one, satellite radio doesn't fall under the banner of the FCC, so you can hear any song you want with all the foul language it originally came with, and you can also listen to Howard Stern, complete with all HIS foul language. Two, satellite radio is more specialized, where if you only want to listen to alt.country, there's a station for that. You only want to listen to jazz fusion polka? There's probably a station for that too. It puts the listener in charge of what they hear, not corporate drones.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Canadian radio listeners may hear Dire Straits' controversial "Money For Nothing" blasting across the airways once again if the nation's broadcast regulator overturns the recent decision to ban the English rockers' classic hit.

According to the CRTC, they have received more than 250 letters since the ban was announced on January 12, and today, in a letter sent to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council today, urged the CBCS to reconsider blacklisting the 1985 Grammy-winning track.

"Given the exceptional nature of this situation, the Commission has asked the CBSC to appoint a panel with a national composition to review the complaints," wrote CRTC Secretary General Robert Morin, who asked that the age and origin of "Money For Nothing," as well as its intended message, be considered in the evaluation.

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