Recommended music

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Re: Recommended music

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJr_XpMD1AM

The Essential Klaus Schwab Record Collection
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Firestarter
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Soul, funk, disco classics

Post by Firestarter »

Ray has been credited by music "experts" as the blind genius that invented soul, this was his first major pop hit, considered way too long for a single at the time.
Ray Charles - What'd I say (1959)
https://youtu.be/EPLZL4s_jtI

Barrett Strong is maybe better known as a song writer / producer for other Motown acts, this was his big hit.
Barrett Strong - Money (That's What I Want) (1959)
https://youtu.be/t5KU34DrrPI

Cooke was shot and killed at the age of 33 on 11 December 1964, by the manager of a motel in Los Angeles.
Sam Cooke - Wonderful world (1960)
https://youtu.be/R4GLAKEjU4w

Ben had sung lead for a relatively short period for the legendary doo-wop group the Drifters (that maybe can lay claim to inventing soul better than Ray Charles).
Ben E. King - Stand by me (1961)
https://youtu.be/einn_UJgGGM

Marvin was shot and killed by his father in 1984...
Marvin Gaye - I heard it through the grapevine (1967)
https://youtu.be/YUzTr2P0AJo

Recently there were stories that the LGBT-community took offence from this classic by the Queen of soul.
Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like) A natural woman (1967)
https://youtu.be/8jCFzreP1ng

His death by plane crash on 10 December 1967 preceded his biggest hit.
Otis Redding - Sitting on the dock of the bay (1968)
https://youtu.be/rTVjnBo96Ug

Notable for one of the first "poltical" Motown hits...
Edwin Starr - War (1970)
https://youtu.be/dQHUAJTZqF0

Considerably longer than the single version.
O'Jays - For the love of money (1973)
https://youtu.be/uDiTv1JgLIo

Stevie wasn't only a genius singer, but could also play several instruments. This could very well be his most funky single.
Stevie Wonder - Superstition (1972)
https://youtu.be/7_tmeHCO1IM

Bill Withers - Ain't no sunshine (1971)
https://youtu.be/YuKfiH0Scao

The Isleys were already making music in the 1950s, in the early 1970's they added several family members to become a hardcore funk ensemble.
The Isley Brothers - Work to Do (1972)
https://youtu.be/08tYrBCgXlU

Much longer than the single version...
The Temptations - Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone (1972)
https://youtu.be/71l85z2bXAs

Another family band.
Glady Knight & the Pips - Midnight train to Georgia (1973)
https://youtu.be/K-6Em9fScQA

Before Lionel Richie left, they seemed destined for to become superstars as a group.
The Commodores - Easy (1977)
https://youtu.be/saaLW0jiiUE

Earth, Wind & Fire - September (1978)
https://youtu.be/Gs069dndIYk

Notable for the first hit that featured the unknown Randy Crawford, and its long instrumental jazz sections...
Crusaders (ft. Randy Crawford) - Street life (1979)
https://youtu.be/OOHoQKg6mmg

Gloria Gaynor - I will survive (1978)
https://youtu.be/6dYWe1c3OyU

Another family group...
Sisters Sledge - He's the Greatest Dancer (1979)
https://youtu.be/U-GcL1Cd5b4

Chaka Khan also scored hit singles solo...
Rufus & Chaka Khan - Ain't nobody (1983)
https://youtu.be/p88rgHt1NZs

They had been already been making music in the 1970s, but in the mid-1980s became pop stars.
Cameo - Word Up! (1986)
https://youtu.be/MZjAantupsA

An unexpected success after her appearance on Mandela Day, this was arguably her best protest song.
Tracy Chapman - Talkin' 'bout a revolution (1988)
https://youtu.be/721JQZw6Spg
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Reggae classics

Post by Firestarter »

It is surprisingly difficult to find good information on reggae music on the internet. Even though all of these artists and/or songs are well-known, for some songs I could hardly find information, all of them are on Youtube though...
Besides some legendary producers that deserve to be mentioned (but I won't), Sly & Robbie played with many of these legendary reggae artists.

This is one of the first reggae songs to get popular outside Jamaica.
Toots and the Maytals - 54-46 was my number (1968)
https://youtu.be/wNxNwvjzGM0


The first international reggae star...
Jimmy Cliff - Vietnam (1969)
https://youtu.be/aLeGa85hLyM


Burning Spear is a bit "strange", because sometimes his "singing" is close to screaming or crying.
Burning Spear - Slavery Days (1974/1975)
https://youtu.be/zL3rt6RTqps


Miller, who was the lead singer for Inner Circle, died in a suspicious car crash in 1980, some of their songs were released under his (solo) name...
Jacob Miller (with Inner Circle) - Tenement Yard (1975)
https://youtu.be/g5sOdcK2hp4

After years away from the music scene after the death of Jacob Miller, Inner Circle returned with a variety of singers. This became their comeback song, after it was used as the opening theme to the American TV show Cops and the theme song of the Bad Boys movie franchise. It was (re-)released as a single several times...
Inner Circle - Bad Boys” (1987)
https://youtu.be/on9TXY8kYyk


More than a decade later, this UK band scored a couple of international pop hits, but many reggae fans prefer their earlier albums with conscious lyrics...
Aswad - Concrete slaveship (1976)
https://youtu.be/rrjgN7KqfrY


I don't know if this song is anything but a joke...
Dillinger - Cokane in my brain (1976)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xVp1mauGnU


I don't really understand why, but Bob Marley is by far the most legendary reggae artist. This is one of his greatest songs, "exodus" obviously in reference to the Bible, but probably about the back to Africa "repatriation" Rasta plan.
Bob Marley and the Wailers - Exodus (1977)
https://youtu.be/QBeNlUG0Vyc


My favourite co-founder of the Wailers, who left for a solo career just before Marley became a super star.
Peter Tosh - Equal rights (1977)
https://youtu.be/bOZQZAX4deM


Apparently some Jamaicans took this song a little too seriously, leading to deserted streets on 7/7/'77.
Culture - Two sevens clash (1977)
https://youtu.be/UG6eEbNjjjU


This sounds a bit different, almost like a mixture of Latin music and reggae. A cover of a little known O'Jays song.
Third World - Now that we found love (1978)
https://youtu.be/YA8VefF00LM


UB40 has often been dismissed as pop-reggae after the massive success of their "Labour of love" cover series. But they also made serious music...
UB40 - One in ten (1980)
https://youtu.be/Ao2kRDqkNxU


Black Uhuru - Journey (1981)
https://youtu.be/4_TFhyzpgUU


Gregory Isaacs is one of the few reggae stars to stay relevant over several decades. This is probably his best known song...
Gregory Isaacs - Night nurse (1982)
https://youtu.be/ec9KwGWvSpM


This was a cover of The Mighty Diamonds' “Pass The Koutchie”, and became a surprising international hit.
Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie (1982)
https://youtu.be/EsyUa63NM1E


Fronted by Ziggy this group's line-up consisted of children of Bob and wife Rita Marley. This was a major international hit.
Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers - Tomorrow People (1988)
https://youtu.be/AM8M-HHSbp0


Barrington Levy - Under Mi Sensi (1985)
https://youtu.be/M9C6F3jdZFI


Junior Reid firts became known as the lead singee for Black Uhuru in 1985, but he soon left for a solo career.
Junior Reid - Boom-shack-a-lack (1985)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYgnE45HtVs


Another thing surprising about reggae music is that just about all of the famous artists come from Jamaica (even many of the best-known British artists have Jamaican roots). Very few reggae artists from Africa have achieved international fame. Without doubt Alpha Blondy from Cote d'Ivoire is the best-known.
Alpha Blondy - Multipartisme (médiocratie) (1992)
https://youtu.be/Gf5tI6gEw28


In the 1980s, dancehall music arrived on the scene, which completely overtook reggae in the 1990s.
I simply don't know of any "new" reggae act to emerge since the 1990s that could be called "legendary", besides the following family group (children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan).
Morgan Heritage - Tell Me How Come (2005)
https://youtu.be/cJOkYM7rN00
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Re: Reggae classics

Post by Firestarter »

Firestarter wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 7:32 amIn the 1980s, dancehall music arrived on the scene, which completely overtook reggae in the 1990s.
It's not always possible to make a clear distinction to what is regae and what dancehall music (at least not for me). Sometimes their style of rapping/singing is called "singjay". Dancehall music has often been criticised for its superficicial sexual lyrics and homophobia, and for this latter reason dancehall artists' concerts have been cancelled in western "democracies".
There haven't been many international dancehall hits. While most (if not all) of the following artists have made songs with "serious" lyrics, for some reason the sexual and ganja songs were the most popular...

Named after a racehorse.
Eek-a-Mouse - Wa-do-dem (1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7GjUt1LVgA

Before he became a star he was ridiculed for his albinism.
Yellowman - Mister Chin (1982)
https://youtu.be/6qO1Ai1rXQY

There haven't been many female reggae or dancehall stars, but one hit wonder Sophia George scored one of the few international dancehall hits of the 1980s.
Sophia George - Girlie, girlie (1985)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA-b7xVb9T8

It was Ranks that became the first international dancehall star, with this pop hit. It has since become normal for dancehall stars to collaborate with some of the biggest American rap stars.
Shabba Ranks - Mr. Loverman (ft. Chevelle Franklyn, 1992)
https://youtu.be/J83TLc4UrN0


Buju Banton could very well be the most legendary of all dancehall artists. In 2009, Gargamel was arrested for setting up a cocaine deal in the US and in 2011 was sentenced to 10 years and was in prison until December 2018.
Buju Banton - Murderer (1995)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcP8_E8ygcA

More like an old-fashioned reggae singer at a time that (only) dancehall was popular.
Junior Kelly - Love So Nice (1999)
https://youtu.be/p4uG-5FsSmA

This is the best reggae/dancehall act from the Netherlands, fronted by rapper the Anonymous Mis.
Postmen - Crisis (1998)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B3sCZ9hiM4

In 2002, dancehall suddenly hit the pop charts, with Sean Paul scoring multiple pop hits, both solo as featured with R&B artists.
Sean Paul - Get Busy (2002)
https://youtu.be/oPQ3o14ksaM

At a time when his popularity was at an all-time high thanks to his collaboration with No Doubt on "Hey baby", he released a double album which included this single.
Bounty Killer - Look (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob_nh1WMMzU

Beenie Man had a high-profile clash with Bounty Killer, although it isn't clear how serious this was as they also released music together.
Beenie Man - Dude ft. Ms. Thing (2003)
https://youtu.be/bdrMlX5klFk

More like a Jamaican R&B singer.
Wayne Wonder - Bounce along (2003)
https://youtu.be/nYSqLrTZqUE

With a colourful image.
Elephant Man - Pon De River Pon De Bank (2003)
https://youtu.be/THiLrCx_M2s

One of the dancehall stars with a strong rastafarai message.
Anthony B - Just Can’t Live That Way (2007)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLn3aZTYo_U
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Controversial music

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Cab Calloway first recorded this in 1931, "Minnie the Moocher" was given a Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. While the song is best known for the “Hi De Hi De Hi De Ho” phrase, it should have been controversial over its drugs references.
Minnie goes with "Smokey" who is "cokey", a cocaine user, who takes her to Chinatown where they “kick the gong around", which means smoking opium.
Cab Calloway - Minnie the Moocher (19xx?)
https://youtu.be/8suquDgg0dw


As if a wild party in the jailhouse isn’t bad enough, it’s got a not so subtle reference to a gay romance, when inmate Number 47 tells Number 3, “You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see”…
Elvis Presley – Jailhouse rock (1957)
https://youtu.be/gj0Rz-uP4Mk


"The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, dating from 1905 (or even earlier), about a whorehouse in New Orleans.
In 1941, it was recorded by folk legend Woody Guthrie. In the early 1960s it was recorded by Joan Baez and her later friend Bob Dylan. The Animals made it into a worldwide hit.
The Animals – House of the rising sun
https://youtu.be/N4bFqW_eu2I


Of all The Doors songs this is arguably the most rebellious.
Its most infamous performance was at the 1969 Miami concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium. At the end of the concert, the intoxicated Jim Morrison was arrested for "attempting to incite a riot" and later convicted for indecent exposure.
The Doors – Five to one (1968)
https://youtu.be/oOzpncIHCLs


At Woodstock Jimi Hendrix performed an instrumental version of the U.S. national anthem in protest to the Vietnam War.
Jimi Hendrix - Star spangled banner, live at Woodstock (1969)
https://youtu.be/sjzZh6-h9fM


Johnny Cash did several concerts at prisons. Hearing this song at San Quentin prison was quite a thrill to its prisoners (was he trying to start a prison riot?). This is the encore, second time he does the song…
Johnny Cash – San Quentin (1969)
https://youtu.be/3paDG8ulPbY


Banned from radio in Spain, Sweden, Brazil, the UK,, Italy, and Portugal, and banned before 11 pm in France, because Birkin’s heavy breathing sounded like she was having an orgasm…
Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg - Je ‘t aime, moi non plus (1969)
https://youtu.be/GlpDf6XX_j0


The Kinks scored a worldwide hit with this tale about the transvestite Lola, with the punchline "I'm glad I'm a man and so's Lola".
Some radio stations faded the track out before Lola's biological sex was exposed. It was banned by several radio stations in Australia because of its "controversial subject matter", though some played "Lola" with only the punchline removed.
The BBC originally banned the track for a different reason, it mentioned "Coca-Cola", which was against BBC Radio's policy against product placement. After which Ray Davies quicky changed the offending word to "cherry cola" for the single release.
The Kinks – Lola (1970)
https://youtu.be/6CzrYXcXweI


As for Lou Reed’s hit single, it was about transgenders, prostitutes, gays and drug addicts, including a reference to “giving head” (suck dick). It actually refers to several of the regular "superstars" at Andy Warhol's New York studio. Bizarrely the term "colored girls" was an issue in the US.
It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson.
Lou Reed – Walk on the wild side (1972)
https://youtu.be/Qu6F-mMAQhk
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Re: Controversial music

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This record starts with "I am the God of Hellfire", and became a worldwide hit…
The crazy world of Arthur Brown - Fire (1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4SnIJJCH8w


In "School's Out", Alice Cooper not only celebrated the end of the school year for summer vacation, but that it ended forever, and had been "blown to pieces", with the lyrics, "No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks".
Alice Cooper – School’s out (1972)
https://youtu.be/Q7SECM3vYKI


Super fly was a so-called blaxploitation movie that glorified a drug dealer. It has arguably the best soul “soundtrack” album of all time…
Curtis Mayfield – Superfly (1972)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cmo6MRYf5g


About a prostitute in New Orleans, infamous for the refrain “voulez-vous couches avec moi (ces soir)”?
Labelle – Lady Marmalade (1974)
https://youtu.be/Tn0-6n_dng4


In the 1960s, Bob Dylan was widely recognised as the king of protest songs, but I’m afraid I haven’t heard much protest in them…
In 1975, however, Dylan released an actual protest song "Hurricane" about the wrongful imprisonment of professional boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. According to Dylan, the black Carter (and John Artis) was found guilty of triple murder because of racism, and he was innocent.
They got a new trial, and in 1976 Carter was (again) sentenced to life in prison. Artis was paroled 5 years later. In 1985, a Federal Judge ruled that Carter had not received a fair trial, that the prosecution had been "based on racism rather than reason and concealment rather than disclosure" and overturned the conviction, after which "Hurricane" Carter was released. In 1988, all charges against Carter and Artis were finally dropped.
Bob Dylan – Hurricane (1975)
https://youtu.be/bpZvg_FjL3Q


This song was released for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977. It was banned by the BBC, but reached nr. 2 in the pop charts anyway (reportedly rigged, and really nr. 1).
Sex Pistols – God save the queen
https://youtu.be/g-38GX2YQig

In 1990, Judas Priest were sued for responsibility for the 1985 suicide attempts of 2 young men in Reno, Nevada, US (only one of them succeeded at that time). The lawsuit centred around the following song, with some imagination I could see that the songs says that it’s better to be killed (by you) than commit suicide (by me), so that sort of would be the opposite. The lawsuit was dismissed.
Judas Priest - Better by you, better than me (1978)
https://youtu.be/I3UOkxdsh-8


In 1979, Pink Floyd released its first single of the 1970s “Another brick in the wall part 2”, a protest song against education, thought control (we don’t need…), calling to the “Teacher, leave them kids alone”.
In the US, in several states the song was removed from the play lists of radio stations. The single, and its parent album, The Wall, were banned in South Africa in 1980 after the song had been adopted as the anthem for a school boycott.
Pink Floyd – Another brick in the wall part 2 (1979)
https://youtu.be/HrxX9TBj2zY


In the early ’90s, as the British army entered the First Gulf War, the BBC suddenly banned 67 dangerous songs, including “Imagine”, “Give Peace a Chance”, “Boom-Bang-a-Bang”, “Bang Bang”, “I Shot the Sheriff”, “Killing Me Softly with His Song”, “Gimme Hope Jo’Anna”, “When The Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going”, and “I’m on Fire”: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/songs-bbc- ... -gulf-war/

This was one of those 67 songs, arguable Motown’s first “political” hit, protesting against the Vietnam war…
Edwin Starr – War (1970)
https://youtu.be/YLH2oToJScs

Another of those 67 unpatriotic songs, for using the word ‘atomic’…
Blondie - Atomic (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_WLw_0DFQQ
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Re: Controversial music

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"Maybellene" is one of the most legendary rock & roll songs of all time, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1988.
It describes Chuck complaining and chasing his unfaithful girlfriend in her Cadillac Coupe DeVille. It was banned by the BBC for describing infidelity…
Chuck Berry – Maybellene (1955)
https://youtu.be/75RiHJGfyUE

"Maybellene" was one of the songs in the 1950s payola scandal, in which record companies gave writing credits to popular disc jockeys to promote a record, in return for royalties (DJ Alan Freed was credited as a co-writer of "Maybellene").
To make an “end” to payola, station program directors would now decide on what songs to be played. This really made payola much simpler: instead of reaching numerous DJs, record labels only had to bribe the station's program director (sometimes paying through third parties). This also made it easier to rig the charts, and has continued to this very day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payola


I don’t know what their most controversial song was, but this was their catchy debut single that never became a hit, exposing the “woke” mindset more than 40 years ago, where you “always wear the happy face”. From 2011 to 2019, Jerry Brown returned as governor of California…
The Dead Kennedys were ultimately destroyed through trials over their “obscene” artwork, with lawsuits between members over royalties finishing off the band.
Dead Kennedys – California über alles (1979)
https://youtu.be/QVcNfiRWS6U


In what looks like a publicity stunt to me, on 11 January 1984 Radio 1 disc jockey Mike Read stopped “Relax” in the middle of playing the song, suddenly (?) finding out that the record had a suggestive gay sleeve, and that the song was promoting gay sex. The BBC had already decided to ban the song (which he really didn’t know?)! This catapulted the song to nr. 1 on the pop chart, and made it one of the best-selling UK singles of all time.
“Relax” won both the 1985 Brit Award for Best British Single and for Best British Newcomer, and the band also got nominated for a Grammy as Best New Artist.
As for the meaning of the repeated "Relax, don't do it / When you want to sock it to it / Relax, don't do it / When you want to come"?!? Postponing an ejaculation!
The first video for "Relax" was in an S&M themed gay club.
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Relax (1983)
https://youtu.be/Yem_iEHiyJ0


The Golden Earring is the only Dutch band that can truly be called “legendary”. The following song became controversial not so much over its lyrics, but over its video in which Golden Earring singer Barry Hay goes “wild” and attempts to rape 2 women (including a nun). He gets “cured” by a lobotomy. The video was banned by MTV.
After the outrage that Hillary Clinton used the song during her 2008 presidential campaign, it was pulled from her campaign. Bill Clinton used the band's 1973 hit "Radar Love" in his 1992 presidential campaign.
Golden Earring – When the lady smiles (1984)
https://youtu.be/E9-2sBo1T5s


Austrian singer Falco scored a pop hit all over Europe, with this song about a psychopath that rapes and murders a teenage girl, with lyrics in both German and English. It is one of the few hit singles I find disturbing (mainly the German words).
In communist East Germany, it was prohibited to broadcast the song or play it in clubs. In West Germany, “Jeanny” wasn’t technically prohibited but was banned by some TV and radio stations "for ethical reasons".
Falco – Jeanny (1985)
https://youtu.be/gbhpKjaZ_ws


The words “I’ll take you there” could refer to something sexual, but this is not what made this song so controversial. It is the video in which a statue of a black saint comes to live and then kisses Madonna.
The Vatican condemned the video, followed by protests by religious groups. After they boycotted Pepsi, it cancelled their sponsorship contract with Madonna, but she could keep the $5 million fee. All of the publicity boosted sales…
Madonna – Like a prayer (1989)
https://youtu.be/79fzeNUqQbQ


This became a hit despite (or because) it was banned by the BBC, with the moaning and groaning sounding like she was having an orgasm.
Lil Louis - French Kiss (1989)
https://youtu.be/QEx1S_OglSU


This song was called "Ebeneezer Goode", so it could be shortened to "'Eezer Goode”, which sounds like "Es are good", with 'E' the slang term for the drug ecstasy, they were calling XTC good(e)! They also shortened “he” to a sung “E”, like "E's sublime, E makes you feel fine".
So it was banned by the BBC. It became one of the most controversial UK number-one hits of the 1990s.
The Shamen - Ebeneezer Goode (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFJdUJg4wOk
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Re: Controversial music

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I always thought that this song was in general about us “zombies”, brainwashed by school, TV, and of course … music “in [y]our head”. Maybe the video points to something specific, but I never figured out what this was.
The Cranberries has boasted about this song that made them into popstars. Their singer, the late Dolores O’Riordan, claims that it was written in response to the death of 2 young boys from IRA bombs in the Warrington bombings. The Cranberries also claimed that they had to sort of “fight” with their record company, Island Records, to record and release the song as a single because it was so terribly "politically urgent" (I don’t hear it…).
The video for "Zombie" was banned by the BBC and the Irish the RTÉ because of its "violent images", with scenes of children holding guns. In March 2003, shortly before the war against Iraq, the British Government temporarily banned songs and videos with "sensitive material", including "Zombie".
The Cranberries – Zombie (1994)
https://youtu.be/6Ejga4kJUts


The song that made the late backup dancer Keith Flint almost famous. The “terrifying” video was “frightening for young children”, while the fire brigade called it an incitement to arson. Questions in the House of Commons and a record number of complaints to “Top of the Pops” for the video (that looks like a joke to me…).
The Prodigy - Firestarter (1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmin5WkOuPw

More than a year later, the Prodigy intentionally released a single (and video) to get publicity over it getting banned, "Smack My Bitch Up" was banned by the BBC but a lyric-free version was played on BBC Radio.
Its video showed drug use, violence, sexual assault and nudity. MTV initially played the video in late-night rotation, but after complaints from feminist groups removed the video from rotation entirely. Bizarrely at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, it won Best Dance Video and Breakthrough Video (weren’t they out of space since the early 1990s?), it has a surprising ending...
The Prodigy – Smack my bitch up (1997)
https://videos.sapo.pt/nnPHu132NPco0TYNC3Vb


Eminem scored a worldwide hit with a tale of an obsessed fan that gets so angry about not getting the attention he needs from Slim Shady that he murders his pregnant girlfriend and himself. In the MTV "clean" version, significant portions from the song and video were removed (also of Stan drinking vodka while driving).
Stan in the video is NOT played by Eminem, but his pregnant girlfriend IS played by Dido (sister of Faithless’ Rollo Armstrong).
Eminem ft. Dido – Stan (2000)
https://youtu.be/aqUpe6QeBTk


This track was banned on multiple radio stations for the lyrics "Why did Bush knock down the towers?" that was blanked out from the “clean” version of the video.
Jadakiss ft Anthony Hamilton - Why (2004)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-cpL--0AQA

.
Firestarter wrote: Sun Jul 30, 2023 8:57 pmIn the early ’90s, as the British army entered the First Gulf War, the BBC suddenly banned 67 dangerous songs, including “Imagine”, “Give Peace a Chance”, “Boom-Bang-a-Bang”, “Bang Bang”, “I Shot the Sheriff”, “Killing Me Softly with His Song”, “Gimme Hope Jo’Anna”, “When The Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going”, and “I’m on Fire”: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/songs-bbc- ... -gulf-war/
I’ve previously posted about the songs banned by the BBC in the early 1990s. After 9/11 a similar ridiculous 163 songs were banned in the US, in addition to ALL Rage against the Machine songs (the machine boys must have been cheering over this credibility boost!): https://www.kerrang.com/here-are-the-16 ... after-9-11

The banned songs also include. They really banned 3 “wonderful world” songs?!?
Sam Cooke - Wonderful world (1960)
https://youtu.be/aYQFTbLKNcg


Louis Armstrong – What a wonderful world (1967)
https://youtu.be/rBrd_3VMC3c


At least this song is about controversial topics like drugs, and feeling alone.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under the bridge (1991)
https://youtu.be/GLvohMXgcBo
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Re: Controversial music

Post by Firestarter »

According to John Fogerty on the song’s meaning, "It's the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them" (at the height of the Vietnam war)…
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son (1969)
https://youtu.be/ZWijx_AgPiA


This is how this song begins:
Gold coast slave ship bound for cotton fields
Sold in the market down in New Orleans
Scarred old slaver knows he's doing alright
Hear him whip the women just around midnight.
The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar (1971)
https://youtu.be/Bar7SzNLnY0


Not so much a controversial as a completely misunderstood song that has been played as a flag-waving paean to America at right-wing political rallies for decades. In reality it is a lament on American working-class soldiers that were sent to Vietnam to “kill the yellow man”. See the following “patriotic” lyrics:
Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA (1984)
https://youtu.be/EPhWR4d3FJQ


This is about a “young teacher” having an affair with a “girl … half his age”. I would expect that this “young teacher” would be in his early 30s or younger. It is sung by Sting, who was a schoolteacher himself before he became a popstar.
The Police - Don't Stand So Close to Me (1980)
https://youtu.be/KNIZofPB8ZM


After it was announced Monday a week ago (!) that he would miss several shows because of his health, Dire Straits guitar player Jack Sonni has died (aged 68).
"Money for Nothing" contains an interpolation of “Don't Stand So Close to Me”. The Dire Straits pop stars (with “hip head bands) scored their biggest pop hit by complaining about (or promoting) … other pop millionaires and MTV. The uncensored version was banned by the CSBC in Canada for its homophobic lyrics. Knopfler replaces “faggot” in the lyrics with “queenie” when played live.
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
Dire Straits (ft. Sting) - Money for Nothing (1985)
https://youtu.be/wTP2RUD_cL0


When his popularity was at an all-time low, Paul Simon decided to record his new album Graceland in apartheid state South Africa. This was heavily criticised for “breaking” the cultural boycott. This was its “funny” lead-off single.
Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al (1986)
https://youtu.be/uq-gYOrU8bA


I thought that the “beds are burning” is a metaphor for the destruction of the environment. But in reality the song is about the lands stolen from the Aboriginals that “belongs to them" so “let’s give it back”…
Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning (1987)
https://youtu.be/ejorQVy3m8E


Green Day has been ridiculed as pop-punk by punk purists. But in 2004, they suddenly become political, with “American idiot” reportedly a reference to George Bush Jr. A decade later they used the song to ridicule president Trump and his supporters.
It includes the homophobic “faggot” (sung by the bisexual frontman Billie Joe), but “redneck” is obviously OK…
Green Day - American idiot (2004)
https://youtu.be/Ee_uujKuJMI
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Best of the 1970s

Post by Firestarter »

His first hit single.
Elton John – Your song (1970)
https://youtu.be/zl8Tastm5CI


Deep Purple was one of the first hard rock bands. This is their best-known song, about recording the Machine Head album in Switzerland.
Deep Purple - Smoke on the water (1972)
https://youtu.be/zUwEIt9ez7M


Outrageously dressed glam rock was huge in the 1970s…
David Bowie – Starman (1972 )
https://youtu.be/rpO1U-nEgRU

Slade - Cum On Feel the Noize (1973)
https://youtu.be/78ezU7x3jfE


Marvin Gaye – Let's Get It On (1973)
https://youtu.be/x6QZn9xiuOE


His breakthrough single.
Billy Joel – Piano man (1973)
https://youtu.be/gxEPV4kolz0


With references to earlier Steve Miller songs…
Steve Miller Band - The Joker (1973)
https://youtu.be/dV3AziKTBUo


Golden Earring is the only Dutch band that deserves the label “legendary”, this was an international pop hit.
Golden Earring – Radar love (1973)
https://youtu.be/aRlSHG5hRY4


Their first international hit.
Queen – Killer Queen (1974)
https://youtu.be/2ZBtPf7FOoM
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