DIRE STRAITS classic censored in Canada

13 January 2011
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One complaint: that’s all it takes to get a song censored on Canada’s broadcast airwaves.

Dire Straits' 'Money For Nothing' will be getting the censor’s treatment from now on, or not played at all, after a decision by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.

The QMI Agency reports that, after a complaint from a listener to OZ-FM in Newfoundland who heard the song at 9:15 at night, the CBSC ruled that 'Money for Nothing', a radio staple since 1985, violates the code of ethics on several fronts due to the use of the word "faggot."

The songs second verse contains the offensive word three times.

"The little faggot with the earring and the makeup"
"Yeah, buddy, that's his own hair"
"That little faggot's got his own jet airplane"
"That little faggot, he's a millionaire"

The CBSC, which has essentially banned the full-length version of 'Money for Nothing' is a self-governing regulatory body for Canada's private broadcasters. Decisions on content by the council are binding on members.

'Money for Nothing' is not the first song the CBSC has censored. The decision on the Dire Straits tune references an earlier decision on the song “Boyz in the Hood” by Dynamite Hack, which was deemed to have lyrics which were too violent towards women.

The decisionВ in Canada comes as Americans are embroiled in a debate over censoring the literary classic Huckleberry Finn.

The book by Mark Twain was a scathing examination of racism when it appeared in 1885 and makes frequent use of then common words such as "n-----" and "Injun" to refer to a Native American character. A publisher has proposed releasing a new version of the work replacing the words with "slave" and "Indian."

Source: hennemusic.com