Not Suitable for the Easily Offended

Please note that due to the language and subject matter, this is not suitable for younger readers or the easily offended. 

Money for Nothing - Dire Straits

Commercialism and Consumerism - loaded topics. 

First a word from our sponsor...Did you know that in 1984, the year that the British band Dire Straits released this song, it immediately faced controversy. Lyrics such as "Look at that mama, she got it stickin' in the camera, Man we could have some fun", "Get your money for nothin' get your chicks for free" and of course "See the little faggot with the earring and the make-up" had the morality police screaming racism, sexism and homophobia among other things. But in the end it was "faggot" that got the most attention, in order to get airplay, Dire Straits replaced the word with "mother". A tongue-in-cheek slap in the face, since they viewed it as a shortened version of mother-fucker. Whatever lyrics you heard the song in, the video and the song went on to win many awards and topping many charts. 

But the real surprise comes from the fact that more than a quarter of a century later the Canadian government in the form of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has ruled that the song is too offensive to play on Canadian airwaves. Oh how will I repair the damage done to my fragile emotional being for the past 27 years of being subjected to such demeaning lyrics. There is one listener with an overly sensitive psyche is from St. John's Newfoundland who decided that the thrice reference to faggot is anti-gay. How has this listener coped with the song playing all these years? There are songs that I am not particularly fond of, even an entire artists portfolio - do I strike out to have them banned from the ears of every other person in the country? No! I change the station! Duh! 

Isn't the whole point of a democracy is for us to all have the right to our own opinions and viewpoints without being overly-dictated by our elected officials.  If you want to ban this song in its entirety from the Christian radio station or the Gay and Lesbian broadcasts, go right ahead. But the only thing I find offensive is that you are infringing on my rights to listen to music. For 27 years I have been exposed to this song, and I never paid much attention to the faggot reference, the free chicks or the mother not taking pictures with the camera. It's not a new song...or did it just reach the signal waves in St. John's. Seriously, why now? 

Why faggots? Why not Nigger? Why not the song glorifying the abuse of women? Why not the songs encouraging rape? I doubt that there is a "group" out there that can't find a song with negative references. And that includes nationalities, religious affiliations and sexual preferences. Even someone as historically controversial as Marilyn Manson receives airplay on the airwaves somewhere. I've never heard any of his offerings, but Charles Manson has a discography you can research. And yet the Canadian government and one lone citizen in Newfoundland have chosen to spend my tax dollars to ban a 27 year old song with the word "faggot" in the lyrics. Argh!

Still thinking that this all a little much and overblown? Let's play a game: Who immortalized these words in song?

"I'd rather see you dead little girl, than to be with another man"

Incidentally, Sting (from the group the Police) has co-writing credits for the song "Money for Nothing" as well as a cameo appearance as the falsetto lead intro for the song.