Dan was notorious for that: "Elton John and "Someone Shaved My Wife Tonight..."
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How was We Built This City considered "bad?"
- Thread starter tall_guy1
- Start date
Dan was notorious for that: "Elton John and "Someone Shaved My Wife Tonight..."
Tons.
The Communications Act of 1934 | Bureau of Justice Assistance
BackgroundThe Communications Act of 1934 combined and organized federal regulation of telephone, telegraph, and radio communications. The Act created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to oversee and regulate these industries. The Act is updated periodically to add provisions governing...
bja.ojp.gov
No, but there was a license revocation hearing. Entercom voluntarily surrendered the license as part of its acquisition of the CBS stations, which concluded the matter.
Entercom was found guilty in a civil court and paid $16.5 million to the contestant's family.
What I mean is what they enforce...content wise (not top of the hour stuff, emergency stuff, ect.)Tons.
The Communications Act of 1934 | Bureau of Justice Assistance
BackgroundThe Communications Act of 1934 combined and organized federal regulation of telephone, telegraph, and radio communications. The Act created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to oversee and regulate these industries. The Act is updated periodically to add provisions governing...
Right. Which is why a lot of AOR stations played those tracks. They figured their audience was unlikely to complain.
Also, I'm not sure it's really seven words anymore. And there's clarification that the words have to be used in a sexual or excretory context. So the "S" word, as long as it's figurative and not literal ("what a bunch of" as opposed to "I'm gonna take a") probably doesn't get you fined, though most radio stations won't risk it.
Ditto the "P" word. If you're angry, it's actually pretty common. If you're taking one, far less so.
And the "T" word---well, I've heard it on the air. As early as 1974. But "boobs" won't raise an eyebrow, so why risk it?
The other four...("F" word, "C" word, "CS" and "MF")...I don't know any station whose lawyers wouldn't demand a talent be fired (though a surprising number of jocks get away with "mofo."
So, something talent related? Rare, but it can happen. Again, it would be related to things in the Communications Act. Top of mind, the KROQ hoax 35 years ago would be an example:
Deejays to pay investigative costs of hoax - UPI Archives
Three radio station disc jockeys who concocted and broadcast a phony murder confession will have to personally pay the cost of the legal investigation set...
www.upi.com
Hmmm....no I more mean lyrics of songs or DJ talk of a sexual or indecent nature.So, something talent related? Rare, but it can happen. Again, it would be related to things in the Communications Act. Top of mind, the KROQ hoax 35 years ago would be an example:
Deejays to pay investigative costs of hoax - UPI Archives
Three radio station disc jockeys who concocted and broadcast a phony murder confession will have to personally pay the cost of the legal investigation set...
Too bad George Carlin isn't around to explain it all...
Okay, so this:
Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts
Federal law prohibits obscene, indecent and profane content from being broadcast on the radio or TV.
As tbolt909 notes, the FCC only takes action if it gets a complaint. Different stations managers and programmers have different tolerances for what might be too much---which is usually reflective of the owner, the lawyers and the tolerance for risk.
Thirty years ago, when having Howard Stern in the morning could take you from worst to first in the market and get you millions in profits, a fine might not be that big a deal. Those stakes don't exist now, and stations are much more careful.
Most of that is a loose adaptation of his routine. As he put it "t*ts doesn't even belong on the list."
The full-service AC that I worked for in the 1980s played the Doors’ “Riders on the Storm” one weekday afternoon, prompting one of my reporters to declare after hearing it on the air monitor, “It should be illegal to play that song on AM radio”. (Especially after what our Optimod-AM did to it.)
That’s generous. I would have guessed Grand Junction myself. Possibly the jock was under constraints to keep his presence minimal. That was the age of laconic presentation at some stations. Still, when he whiffed Dionne Warwick’s name, he dwelled on it just a little too much.
"Riders on the Storm" actually made #11 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart, and there's an aircheck that's a great example of early-ish AM Adult Contemporary---Clark Anthony on KFMB, San Diego, in April of 1973, where he plays it.
The whole aircheck is worth a listen for those who don't remember AC before the "Continuous Soft Hits" phase. "Riders" plays at 16:47 in.
A lot of CHRs who play the song Need to Know by Doja Cat per instance edit out the line "Slap me, choke me, bite me" in a sexual context. I wonder if something like that is necessary in today's age, or I'd that would bring on any FCC fines in the daytime?Okay, so this:
Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts
Federal law prohibits obscene, indecent and profane content from being broadcast on the radio or TV.www.fcc.gov
As tbolt909 notes, the FCC only takes action if it gets a complaint. Different stations managers and programmers have different tolerances for what might be too much---which is usually reflective of the owner, the lawyers and the tolerance for risk.
Thirty years ago, when having Howard Stern in the morning could take you from worst to first in the market and get you millions in profits, a fine might not be that big a deal. Those stakes don't exist now, and stations are much more careful.
There's one other consideration beyond FCC fines---offending a significant portion of your audience. Lower ratings=lower revenue. Some stations believe their listeners will be more offended by unecessary censorship. Others (especially CHRs that have enough adult appeal that both moms and daughters might be listening) will be more cautious about content.
Did he ever use "Don't Let Your Son Go Down on Me"? I remember one of the student jocks at carrier-current WJPZ Syracuse tossing off that parody title off-air but I'm pretty sure he never used it on-air. (I used to hang around the station occasionally despite being a print major, as a couple of the guys who had air shifts there lived on my dorm floor.)
Of course, that kind of thing would never fly today, for obvious reasons, but remember, this was the mid-'70s, when songs like "My Girl Bill" and "CB Savage" were hits.
How about "Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza"?
Likely not. That’s a fairly graphic reference for Dan and the times. The first time I heard anything like that was a parody of the same song on Rush Limbaugh’s show. It was called “I Let An Intern Go Down On Me.”
I think I’ve probably caused Lance enough heartburn this week, so I won’t post it here. But it’s on YouTube.
I don’t have the original close at hand at the moment but I’m pretty sure the opening of “Riders on the Storm” on the KFMB air check was shortened. Our jock just played the whole thing including the very quiet open. The air check also gives a good flavor of the effects of aggressive AM processing: Jim Morrison sounds like he’s giving a speech in a canyon. The tune is essentially remixed. It kind of destroys the tune. (Then there’s the segue to “Telstar” … bizarre to my ears.)
The reference earlier in the air check to Brenda Lee and Pinky Lee tells me that KFMB was going for an older audience.
Also notable is the stilted way the newscasters speak. That became passé not too long after 1973, though ABC radio still could sound like that in the 1980s and Fox News still kind of sounds like that.
The air check also reminds me of why I became primarily an FM listener about a year after my family moved to the St. Louis area in 1973 - the AMs were blabby and made music sound weird; once I realized there were alternate choices on FM, that’s where I went.
Philips also had a slightly different design to the CD's (no 'flange' surrounding the hole. They always said "PDO" on them as the manufacturer, and earlier on, most of them were indeed manufactured in Germany.