spacejunk
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- May 21, 2011
- Messages
- 19,976
It seems to me that music attracts controversy more than any other art form.
Depictions of sex, drugs and violence have been commonplace in literature and painting for centuries.
Films have featured these topics for as long as cinema has existed - but rarely, in living memory, has a book, a film, a play or a painting inspired the sort of controversy that popular music has.
For whatever reason, in modern times, music been the form of expression most associated with moral panics, fear and censorship. Accused of corrupting youth and women - of spreading immoral behaviours, encouraging drug use, inspiring radical social change, violence and all manner of threats to the status quo - it seems that music is a very poweful medium for expression and potent vehicle for changing social conventions.
This would appear to be the case if we were only to look at the reaction to popular music cultures in the last century - recordings have been regularly banned, concerts cancelled, certain types of parties deemed illegal without a permit - all the hallmarks of government oppression and fear.
Some music that has been singled out by censors seems really unlikely - such as Massive Attack being forced - during the first Gulf War - to change their name to "Massive", by the BBC, as not to create....confusion or panic in war time?
Like a lot of music that came before it, the hysteria over certain styles of 80s hypersexual hip hop has leant to it a sort of cultural immortality.
So....i don't know if anyone will have bothered to read that essay - screw it, i'll put it in spoiler tabs so people can skip over it - i planned to give a little context to this thread, but it turned into a dissertation.
If anyone has anything to add about other styles of music - especially further back in history (please!) i would love to hear it.
But getting to the point - what are some of your favourite controversial songs?
Tracks you played to freak out your parents in high school - or baudy oddities from the historical vaults.
Some songs that have been banned seem very very tame now - and others, i wonder how they got away with it.
I will start with a couple of old obscurities - but i would love to see people post some of their favourite controversial songs (and/or music videos).
This is just a smutty old blues number full of innuendo. I have no idea if it was banned in its time, but seems pretty crude for old-timey music
[video=youtube_share;Jsje14A-cds]http://youtu.be/Jsje14A-cds[/video]
And this song was banned by the BBC for the terribly racy lyric "he's got plastic lips that hide his plastic teeth and gums/And plastic plastic legs that reach up to his plastic bum" (bum being a rude word on the bbc in 1969...apparently).
[video=youtube_share;ZmsaNrf7FSU]http://youtu.be/ZmsaNrf7FSU[/video]
So what have you got guys?
Some offensive ditties - some things that got past the censors - or examples like the one above of really innocent songs being banned - please share whatever comes to mind!
Depictions of sex, drugs and violence have been commonplace in literature and painting for centuries.
Films have featured these topics for as long as cinema has existed - but rarely, in living memory, has a book, a film, a play or a painting inspired the sort of controversy that popular music has.
For whatever reason, in modern times, music been the form of expression most associated with moral panics, fear and censorship. Accused of corrupting youth and women - of spreading immoral behaviours, encouraging drug use, inspiring radical social change, violence and all manner of threats to the status quo - it seems that music is a very poweful medium for expression and potent vehicle for changing social conventions.
This would appear to be the case if we were only to look at the reaction to popular music cultures in the last century - recordings have been regularly banned, concerts cancelled, certain types of parties deemed illegal without a permit - all the hallmarks of government oppression and fear.
Some music that has been singled out by censors seems really unlikely - such as Massive Attack being forced - during the first Gulf War - to change their name to "Massive", by the BBC, as not to create....confusion or panic in war time?
The rise of jazz music into popular consciousness took place when the USA was still a segregated nation. White people had their music, and black people had their own.
As jazz (in its many forms) developed in popularity and a range of stylised cultural themes developed around it, there was fear - perpetuated by a willing media and politicians - that this music, rooted in african american culture - woud have a corrupting influence on white society.
The religious norms of the time, combined with institutionalised racism, deemed jazz culture to be 'evil'. The music itself did not comform to european musical styles of the time, encorporating rhythms and structures with origins in blues, in the musical forms passed down from the era of slavery, and of rhythmic traditions with african origins.
Much of this music - and especially the dancing that accompanied it - was thought by white society figures to be abscene - and (in the racist sentiment prevalent at the time) "primitive".
Jazz was always sexual - often played in whorehouses and prohibition era speakeasies - even its name was a slang term for sex.
Drugs were also common in jazz culture - many artists such as Cab Calloway referenced "reefer" and heroin - and some of the biggest names in jazz music such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis were heroin addicts.
A lot of drug culture, and drug slang that has become accepted and fairly mainstream, has its origins in jazz culture, particuarly that of marijuana, which was used by few white americans prior to the 1950s, but was common in jazz scenes.
The demonisation of jazz was much more of a media sensation than other styles that proceeded it - such as the blues - because jazz made far greater inroads into accepted musical culture of the early 20th century.
While blues artists frequently sang "obscene" sexual songs, had lyrics that mentioned - even celebrated criminal outlaws and takes of violence - blues had much less exposure to white middle class audiences until the 1960s, when rock'n'roll artists led a revival in interest and appreciation for blues.
Jazz, on the other hand, was the soundtrack to the "roaring twenties" - the interwar years of social liberation and rebellion in the face of alcohol prohibition.
Such were the fears of white women fraternising with black men, that church leaders led campaigns to denounce this "devil's music"
The so-called devil's music was only just heating up, however.
A combination of blues, country, traditional folk music and rhythm and blues was developing. Originally termed "race music" by a segregated recording industry, that term lost its relevance when white artists became a part of this musical wave, and the term rock'n'roll was coined.
The Sun recording artists such as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash were known to be "wild men" with a taste for liquor and amphetamine, raw music and energetic performances.
Some were even very religious, such as Jerry Lee Lewis, who was conflicted for many years about playing this diabolical music, in spite of his faith.
Rock'n'roll was synonymous with controversy from the very beginning - Elvis' hip gyrations were too sexual for 1950s television, and he was famously filmed above the waste on the Ed Sullivan show.
Shock and outrage became an almost obligatory of rock'n'roll's dynamic and appeal, as shocking parents and "the squares" became major part of rock'n'roll culture. The 60s started off seemingly quite tame - as the notorious 'payola scandal' forced many of the early rock'n'roll promoters and DJs out of the industry.
This cleared the decks - in the USA at least - of much of the "dangerous" side of rock'n'roll, and its more adventurous and shady promoters. For a few years, rock n roll became almost tame - teenaged love ballads by squeaky clean performers dominated the airwaves and charts.
But as the 60s continued, rock'n'roll's spirit evolved - sexual allusions and drug references becaume less subtle, and celebrated previously unknown lifestyles and behaviours.
Illicit drug culture culture hit the mainstream as bands like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles - who were inspired musically and culturally by the early rock'n'rollers - became household names - and their drug experimentation became common knowledge thanks to run-ins with the law - and obvious influences of various drugs in their music.
Musical sounds began to take on the influence and context of the drug use of the time.
Psychedelic rock is unmistakable in its approach to sound and sonic experimentation, just as the influence of cannabis is notable in the mid 1960s, when it became used widely by musicians and their audiences alike.
"Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to"
Radical counterculture found a home in 60s rock'n'roll with bands like the openly dissident and drugged MC5 preaching revolution through "rock'n'roll, dope and fucking in the streets".
The political tension of the 60s - civil rights and anti war protests - race riots and the later, more radical "revolutionary" that grew out of the counter culture all had a ready-made soundtrack, as well as inspiring musical expression.
Drugs like Cannabis and LSD were a core part of the new rock counterculture, and free love and communal living were championed - helping to subvert the dominant orthodoxies of 1950s conformity in ways that the original rock'n'rollers wouldn't have dreamed of.
Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll became a part of the cultural mainstream in the postwar boom years in the USA and UK. New ways of relaxing,celebrating and socialising developed; drugs previously used for utilitarian purposes (such as opiates, cocaine and amphetamine were used for 'kicks' and became known as drugs of abuse).
Drugs and rock music became socially inseperable - artists and audiences alike.
Censorious radio stations and record labels led the backlash in drug influenced music cultures - songs were banned for lyrics that hinted too blatantly about drug use (or seemed to) - LSD was banned as it became widely associated with hippie and youth subcultures.
Rock musicians and their audiences became targets for the media, the establishment and, law enforcement in the mid to late 60s as it was alleged this music was a corrupting influence on youth.
This in turn inspired a generation of musicians that embraced and glorified ("soft") drug use.
Soon drugs became a normal and accepted form of rebellion, the hippies grew up and rock music lots much of it's danger.
This was until a new generation of rock rebels developed what came to be known as "punk rock", fuelled by a sensationalist media, music was again the source of tabloid shock stories and middle class hand-wringing. They
weren't gentle, stoned hippies - punks were rude, aggressive and played ugly music that elicited violent audiences responses - according to the press.
The tabloid press went into an old fashioned frenzy after the Sex Pistols swore on prime time television - an outrage in 1977.
Scorning "old hippies" and their stoned "complacent" culture, John Lydon ushered in the latest - and arguably final wave of truly controversial rock music. Punks were associated with violence and anti-social degeneracy - an image reinforced by a number of the performers themselves; notably for "hard drug" abuse (heroin and amphetamine - as well as glue), acts of self mutilation on-and-offstage, violent dancing, fights and a deliberately cultivated aesthetic to "shock the squares" - an attitude inherited from previous rock'n'roll traditions.
These traditions were, however, a little tired. Rather than some artistic vangard - rock n roll rebellion was just that - a tradition.
Punk bands of varying musical ability were signed to major record labels on the basis of being "punk" - an image that many played up to and aped - leading to a very contrived bastardisation of what "punk" was originally inspired by - and it has been rehashed, commercialised and co-opted repeatedly ever since.
But as the original punk rockers grew up - and are now reaching retirement age - rock music lost much of its ability to shock the mainstream. Young music fans' parents and grandparents grew up with rock n roll - so they knew what it was all about.
But pop music, youth culture and drug scenes continued to evolve.
House music, born in gay clubs in Detroit and reappropriated for British dance parties became the next music/drug/youth tabloid scare.
This music not only lacked a structure familiar to older generations - bands, instruments, lyrics, verses, choruses - even songs all became redundant, as repetitive loops, beats and samples laid the soundtrack to long dance parties, fuelled largely by MDMA and amphetamine.
"Rave culture" became a target of law makers and law enforcement in the 80s, 90s and beyond - spawning a range of restrictions on parties - which were originally run in much the same spirit of countercultural solidarity as the hippie free festivals, and much of the anarchic DIY spirit of punk.
Rave/trance/techno/electronic music events are still controversial in many places, largely due to the widespread acceptance of certain drugs in the culture, and the many establishment figures' inability to understand the music or the culture.
Hip hop has been an ever-controversial style of music in a similar time period.
With roots in all forms of urban (predominantly black) music cultures - from jazz, blues, funk and soul to punk and beat poetry - hip hop shares many traits with the media scares that surrounded jazz and blues.
Recurring themes in hip hop music - like its predecessors - are poverty, racism, crime, violence, sex and drugs.
As the hysteria over "the drug problem" in the post-60s era was reaching a peak, much american media focus fell on the poor neighbourhoods hit worst by poverty, drug abuse and social problems.
As the global economy went into recession in the mid 70s, many urban neighbourhoods were ravaged by enemploymenr and crime.
A new drug helped stoke these fears, as freebase cocaine - crack - became a cheap, fiendishly addictive drug that was in large supply in many US cities.
The media's latest horror drug was devestating to many communities, creating even more social problems, dysfunctional families, crime and violence on the streets.
Hip hop - which was a style of fairly minimalistic music, originated in big US cities and requiring little more than a turntable or two, some records a microphone and sound system - was a cultural malange of borrowed styles, found music and freeform vocal interplay, which soon developed a unique style of dance, fashion, language and culture.
Never afraid to tackle difficult lyrical subject matters, hip hop was something of a celebratory party culture, but inevitably adopted some of the darker aspects of urban black culture that predominated in the late 70s and 80s.
Besides the usual heirarchy of people producing, smuggling and wholesaling the cocaine that flowed into the USA in this period, were the people that ran the operations that converted much of that cocaine into crack and sold it on the streets.
Regarded by this time as a cheap, "ghetto" drug, crack was a perfect candidate for a media fear campaign.
It's use was associated with street violence, crimes of desperation and poverty.
In poor inner city areas, some of the people making the most money were young black kids slinging crack on the street.
The trade was dominated by gang operations, so turf wars and shootings became commonplace in many areas.
The culture that sprang up around these crack dealers was soon associated with hip hop.
Making money through illicit means developed a certain street cred, and some of the most respected MCs and producers got their start in life - and funded their music and record labels - from hustling on the street.
Combining this drug dealing culture - which is bold, non-apologetic, masculine and aggressive - with elements of some of the radical black activism of the 60s and 70s (such as the Black Panthers and other proud black community and activist organisations) blended, resulting in the sort of hip hop that acts like NWA gained great notoriety for.
This show of african american pride, strength and antagonism towards prejudice, discrimination and police brutality and harrassment caused more angst in white america than rock music had in decades (if ever).
Unlike many white counter cultural musical movements, hip hop has never been afraid of conspicuous displays of wealth, coming as it does from poor neighbourhoods and generations of poverty - the lives of many of the kids involved in the crack trade became part of hip hop culture - to the point that the fashions of crack dealers became the fashions of famous rappers - the european branded sportswear, large golden jewels and flashy swagger - and the tales of this street life were depicted in the lyrics of what is known as gangsta rap.
Most radical western musical cultures that have existed in the rock n roll era have avoided the trappings of wealth and fame - decadent hedonism aside - but wealth and materialism has a different currency in hip hop - owing presumably to the history of poverty that it arose from, and in spite of.
While modern rappers have continiued to push this style into mainstream pop music, its originators were speaking from lived experience.
Compared to the anaemic posturing of many of the punks that preceeded them (or were their contemporaries) many of these artists were truly dangerous - associated with gang violence, dealing and many being accused (and convicted) of involvement in murder.
This is all part of hip hop's cultural cachet - like the blues before it, it documents a tough side of humanity, with little regard for bourgeois sensitivities - hip hop's values echo the cultural experiences and perspectives of its artists and their audience, with little regard for the white establishment, besides the occasional example of politicised themes, or attempts to bait their critics.
As with the blues, violence, sex, crime and gunplay are common themes in hip hop, and far from taboo.
This is enough to raise the ire of some commentators and 'moral campaigners', especially when young white people are listening to - and influenced by - black artists.
Segregation may be officially over, but there is still fear and resentment in the racial politics of popular music - despite the successful integration of hip hop into the western musical mainstream.
Amidst all of the controversy that hit the mass media with the emergence of this very edgy rap music was the emergence of MTV and music videos as an artform and accompaniment to the recording industry.
While the violence of hip hop shocked a lot of people - especially the white conservative middle classes - bands like 2 live crew generated enormous controvery - amongst christian groups and feminists alike - with their humourous and graphically sexual music (and videos).
The sexuality of white rock stars was no longer shocking - the exploits of rock stars, groupies and rock n roll cliches about sex were an accepted deviation from cultural norms, and seen by many as entertaining curiosities; but the sexuality of african american men (and women) was still threatening to some, and offensive to others.
As jazz (in its many forms) developed in popularity and a range of stylised cultural themes developed around it, there was fear - perpetuated by a willing media and politicians - that this music, rooted in african american culture - woud have a corrupting influence on white society.
The religious norms of the time, combined with institutionalised racism, deemed jazz culture to be 'evil'. The music itself did not comform to european musical styles of the time, encorporating rhythms and structures with origins in blues, in the musical forms passed down from the era of slavery, and of rhythmic traditions with african origins.
Much of this music - and especially the dancing that accompanied it - was thought by white society figures to be abscene - and (in the racist sentiment prevalent at the time) "primitive".
Jazz was always sexual - often played in whorehouses and prohibition era speakeasies - even its name was a slang term for sex.
Drugs were also common in jazz culture - many artists such as Cab Calloway referenced "reefer" and heroin - and some of the biggest names in jazz music such as Charlie Parker and Miles Davis were heroin addicts.
A lot of drug culture, and drug slang that has become accepted and fairly mainstream, has its origins in jazz culture, particuarly that of marijuana, which was used by few white americans prior to the 1950s, but was common in jazz scenes.
The demonisation of jazz was much more of a media sensation than other styles that proceeded it - such as the blues - because jazz made far greater inroads into accepted musical culture of the early 20th century.
While blues artists frequently sang "obscene" sexual songs, had lyrics that mentioned - even celebrated criminal outlaws and takes of violence - blues had much less exposure to white middle class audiences until the 1960s, when rock'n'roll artists led a revival in interest and appreciation for blues.
Jazz, on the other hand, was the soundtrack to the "roaring twenties" - the interwar years of social liberation and rebellion in the face of alcohol prohibition.
Such were the fears of white women fraternising with black men, that church leaders led campaigns to denounce this "devil's music"
The so-called devil's music was only just heating up, however.
A combination of blues, country, traditional folk music and rhythm and blues was developing. Originally termed "race music" by a segregated recording industry, that term lost its relevance when white artists became a part of this musical wave, and the term rock'n'roll was coined.
The Sun recording artists such as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash were known to be "wild men" with a taste for liquor and amphetamine, raw music and energetic performances.
Some were even very religious, such as Jerry Lee Lewis, who was conflicted for many years about playing this diabolical music, in spite of his faith.
Rock'n'roll was synonymous with controversy from the very beginning - Elvis' hip gyrations were too sexual for 1950s television, and he was famously filmed above the waste on the Ed Sullivan show.
Shock and outrage became an almost obligatory of rock'n'roll's dynamic and appeal, as shocking parents and "the squares" became major part of rock'n'roll culture. The 60s started off seemingly quite tame - as the notorious 'payola scandal' forced many of the early rock'n'roll promoters and DJs out of the industry.
This cleared the decks - in the USA at least - of much of the "dangerous" side of rock'n'roll, and its more adventurous and shady promoters. For a few years, rock n roll became almost tame - teenaged love ballads by squeaky clean performers dominated the airwaves and charts.
But as the 60s continued, rock'n'roll's spirit evolved - sexual allusions and drug references becaume less subtle, and celebrated previously unknown lifestyles and behaviours.
Illicit drug culture culture hit the mainstream as bands like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles - who were inspired musically and culturally by the early rock'n'rollers - became household names - and their drug experimentation became common knowledge thanks to run-ins with the law - and obvious influences of various drugs in their music.
Musical sounds began to take on the influence and context of the drug use of the time.
Psychedelic rock is unmistakable in its approach to sound and sonic experimentation, just as the influence of cannabis is notable in the mid 1960s, when it became used widely by musicians and their audiences alike.
"Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to"
Radical counterculture found a home in 60s rock'n'roll with bands like the openly dissident and drugged MC5 preaching revolution through "rock'n'roll, dope and fucking in the streets".
The political tension of the 60s - civil rights and anti war protests - race riots and the later, more radical "revolutionary" that grew out of the counter culture all had a ready-made soundtrack, as well as inspiring musical expression.
Drugs like Cannabis and LSD were a core part of the new rock counterculture, and free love and communal living were championed - helping to subvert the dominant orthodoxies of 1950s conformity in ways that the original rock'n'rollers wouldn't have dreamed of.
Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll became a part of the cultural mainstream in the postwar boom years in the USA and UK. New ways of relaxing,celebrating and socialising developed; drugs previously used for utilitarian purposes (such as opiates, cocaine and amphetamine were used for 'kicks' and became known as drugs of abuse).
Drugs and rock music became socially inseperable - artists and audiences alike.
Censorious radio stations and record labels led the backlash in drug influenced music cultures - songs were banned for lyrics that hinted too blatantly about drug use (or seemed to) - LSD was banned as it became widely associated with hippie and youth subcultures.
Rock musicians and their audiences became targets for the media, the establishment and, law enforcement in the mid to late 60s as it was alleged this music was a corrupting influence on youth.
This in turn inspired a generation of musicians that embraced and glorified ("soft") drug use.
Soon drugs became a normal and accepted form of rebellion, the hippies grew up and rock music lots much of it's danger.
This was until a new generation of rock rebels developed what came to be known as "punk rock", fuelled by a sensationalist media, music was again the source of tabloid shock stories and middle class hand-wringing. They
weren't gentle, stoned hippies - punks were rude, aggressive and played ugly music that elicited violent audiences responses - according to the press.
The tabloid press went into an old fashioned frenzy after the Sex Pistols swore on prime time television - an outrage in 1977.
Scorning "old hippies" and their stoned "complacent" culture, John Lydon ushered in the latest - and arguably final wave of truly controversial rock music. Punks were associated with violence and anti-social degeneracy - an image reinforced by a number of the performers themselves; notably for "hard drug" abuse (heroin and amphetamine - as well as glue), acts of self mutilation on-and-offstage, violent dancing, fights and a deliberately cultivated aesthetic to "shock the squares" - an attitude inherited from previous rock'n'roll traditions.
These traditions were, however, a little tired. Rather than some artistic vangard - rock n roll rebellion was just that - a tradition.
Punk bands of varying musical ability were signed to major record labels on the basis of being "punk" - an image that many played up to and aped - leading to a very contrived bastardisation of what "punk" was originally inspired by - and it has been rehashed, commercialised and co-opted repeatedly ever since.
But as the original punk rockers grew up - and are now reaching retirement age - rock music lost much of its ability to shock the mainstream. Young music fans' parents and grandparents grew up with rock n roll - so they knew what it was all about.
But pop music, youth culture and drug scenes continued to evolve.
House music, born in gay clubs in Detroit and reappropriated for British dance parties became the next music/drug/youth tabloid scare.
This music not only lacked a structure familiar to older generations - bands, instruments, lyrics, verses, choruses - even songs all became redundant, as repetitive loops, beats and samples laid the soundtrack to long dance parties, fuelled largely by MDMA and amphetamine.
"Rave culture" became a target of law makers and law enforcement in the 80s, 90s and beyond - spawning a range of restrictions on parties - which were originally run in much the same spirit of countercultural solidarity as the hippie free festivals, and much of the anarchic DIY spirit of punk.
Rave/trance/techno/electronic music events are still controversial in many places, largely due to the widespread acceptance of certain drugs in the culture, and the many establishment figures' inability to understand the music or the culture.
Hip hop has been an ever-controversial style of music in a similar time period.
With roots in all forms of urban (predominantly black) music cultures - from jazz, blues, funk and soul to punk and beat poetry - hip hop shares many traits with the media scares that surrounded jazz and blues.
Recurring themes in hip hop music - like its predecessors - are poverty, racism, crime, violence, sex and drugs.
As the hysteria over "the drug problem" in the post-60s era was reaching a peak, much american media focus fell on the poor neighbourhoods hit worst by poverty, drug abuse and social problems.
As the global economy went into recession in the mid 70s, many urban neighbourhoods were ravaged by enemploymenr and crime.
A new drug helped stoke these fears, as freebase cocaine - crack - became a cheap, fiendishly addictive drug that was in large supply in many US cities.
The media's latest horror drug was devestating to many communities, creating even more social problems, dysfunctional families, crime and violence on the streets.
Hip hop - which was a style of fairly minimalistic music, originated in big US cities and requiring little more than a turntable or two, some records a microphone and sound system - was a cultural malange of borrowed styles, found music and freeform vocal interplay, which soon developed a unique style of dance, fashion, language and culture.
Never afraid to tackle difficult lyrical subject matters, hip hop was something of a celebratory party culture, but inevitably adopted some of the darker aspects of urban black culture that predominated in the late 70s and 80s.
Besides the usual heirarchy of people producing, smuggling and wholesaling the cocaine that flowed into the USA in this period, were the people that ran the operations that converted much of that cocaine into crack and sold it on the streets.
Regarded by this time as a cheap, "ghetto" drug, crack was a perfect candidate for a media fear campaign.
It's use was associated with street violence, crimes of desperation and poverty.
In poor inner city areas, some of the people making the most money were young black kids slinging crack on the street.
The trade was dominated by gang operations, so turf wars and shootings became commonplace in many areas.
The culture that sprang up around these crack dealers was soon associated with hip hop.
Making money through illicit means developed a certain street cred, and some of the most respected MCs and producers got their start in life - and funded their music and record labels - from hustling on the street.
Combining this drug dealing culture - which is bold, non-apologetic, masculine and aggressive - with elements of some of the radical black activism of the 60s and 70s (such as the Black Panthers and other proud black community and activist organisations) blended, resulting in the sort of hip hop that acts like NWA gained great notoriety for.
This show of african american pride, strength and antagonism towards prejudice, discrimination and police brutality and harrassment caused more angst in white america than rock music had in decades (if ever).
Unlike many white counter cultural musical movements, hip hop has never been afraid of conspicuous displays of wealth, coming as it does from poor neighbourhoods and generations of poverty - the lives of many of the kids involved in the crack trade became part of hip hop culture - to the point that the fashions of crack dealers became the fashions of famous rappers - the european branded sportswear, large golden jewels and flashy swagger - and the tales of this street life were depicted in the lyrics of what is known as gangsta rap.
Most radical western musical cultures that have existed in the rock n roll era have avoided the trappings of wealth and fame - decadent hedonism aside - but wealth and materialism has a different currency in hip hop - owing presumably to the history of poverty that it arose from, and in spite of.
While modern rappers have continiued to push this style into mainstream pop music, its originators were speaking from lived experience.
Compared to the anaemic posturing of many of the punks that preceeded them (or were their contemporaries) many of these artists were truly dangerous - associated with gang violence, dealing and many being accused (and convicted) of involvement in murder.
This is all part of hip hop's cultural cachet - like the blues before it, it documents a tough side of humanity, with little regard for bourgeois sensitivities - hip hop's values echo the cultural experiences and perspectives of its artists and their audience, with little regard for the white establishment, besides the occasional example of politicised themes, or attempts to bait their critics.
As with the blues, violence, sex, crime and gunplay are common themes in hip hop, and far from taboo.
This is enough to raise the ire of some commentators and 'moral campaigners', especially when young white people are listening to - and influenced by - black artists.
Segregation may be officially over, but there is still fear and resentment in the racial politics of popular music - despite the successful integration of hip hop into the western musical mainstream.
Amidst all of the controversy that hit the mass media with the emergence of this very edgy rap music was the emergence of MTV and music videos as an artform and accompaniment to the recording industry.
While the violence of hip hop shocked a lot of people - especially the white conservative middle classes - bands like 2 live crew generated enormous controvery - amongst christian groups and feminists alike - with their humourous and graphically sexual music (and videos).
The sexuality of white rock stars was no longer shocking - the exploits of rock stars, groupies and rock n roll cliches about sex were an accepted deviation from cultural norms, and seen by many as entertaining curiosities; but the sexuality of african american men (and women) was still threatening to some, and offensive to others.
So....i don't know if anyone will have bothered to read that essay - screw it, i'll put it in spoiler tabs so people can skip over it - i planned to give a little context to this thread, but it turned into a dissertation.
If anyone has anything to add about other styles of music - especially further back in history (please!) i would love to hear it.
But getting to the point - what are some of your favourite controversial songs?
Tracks you played to freak out your parents in high school - or baudy oddities from the historical vaults.
Some songs that have been banned seem very very tame now - and others, i wonder how they got away with it.
I will start with a couple of old obscurities - but i would love to see people post some of their favourite controversial songs (and/or music videos).
This is just a smutty old blues number full of innuendo. I have no idea if it was banned in its time, but seems pretty crude for old-timey music
[video=youtube_share;Jsje14A-cds]http://youtu.be/Jsje14A-cds[/video]
And this song was banned by the BBC for the terribly racy lyric "he's got plastic lips that hide his plastic teeth and gums/And plastic plastic legs that reach up to his plastic bum" (bum being a rude word on the bbc in 1969...apparently).
[video=youtube_share;ZmsaNrf7FSU]http://youtu.be/ZmsaNrf7FSU[/video]
So what have you got guys?
Some offensive ditties - some things that got past the censors - or examples like the one above of really innocent songs being banned - please share whatever comes to mind!
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