"WELL I TRIED TO MAKE IT SUNDAY, BUT I GOT SO...

[MikeShannon914]

...'man' depressed," so says KEOM's new, nicely-edited, family-friendly version of America's "Sister Goldenhair"!

This could become a new gay anthem. Damn Darn those men! They depress me so!

But I'd rather hear it that way than to have it stricken from KEOM's playlist for good.

It's a hell heck of a lot better than "darn depressed," ya know.

 

[Robert Bass]

I hear it as "...so mad 'n depressed"

I'd rather spin it in original form, alas my hands are tied.

Maybe we’ll go back to the original version in the summer, and see what happens.

R

 

[grantchester]

Robert-
That's not necessary. KLUV plays the original version twice a day.
Maybe you could play some John Hartford, or some Grateful Dead, or some Fleetwood Mac w/Bob Welch....there was a lot of good music in the '70s that never made the top 40.
g

 

[Robert Bass]

Robert-
That's not necessary. KLUV plays the original version twice a day.

Grant,

I believe the real unnecessary issue here has to do with editing or striking this song from the playlist. It’s not like it contains any words from George Carlin’s “7 dirty words…” bit.

R

 

[Musicradio]

I find it quite funny to see how they re-cut the oldies....but if you listen to the current songs on Top 40, they have blanks or sfx covering all the "bad" words.

I remember when they edited "Old Hippie" by the Bellamy brothers....it's now "too frickin old" instead of "too damn old".....sounds darn silly!

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

Let's go aboard Mr. Peabody's WAAY Back Machine to 1960. A Big hit for Country Singer Jimmy Dean from Plainview,Texas was "Big John". Radio stations complained they couldn't play one version,because the ending lyric said' at the bottom of the mine lies ONE HELLUVA man',Big John. The last line was re-recorded and you and I have heard it and accepted it as unedited.The redited Line is "at the bottom of the mine lies a BIG BIG MAN, BIG JOHN' The "helluva version was released on his Lp, and single has the Big big version. So a precedent was set to eliminate those nasty though provoking words on wholesome entertainment,until Steven Bochco ruined it all when he he created "N.Y.P.D. Blue". Come Sherman its time to return.

 

[MikeShannon914]

Hope no offense was taken, Robert. I know your hands are tied, and I really do appreciate you finding a way to keep the song on the air!

Others that have slipped by on various stations over the years..."Who Are You" by The Who, for one. The "F" word seemed to sail under the radar screen for a very long time ("...Who tha f*** are you....") but I'm sure it's been picked clean on the classic rock stations nowadays. Also, the tail end of "Midnight Rendezvous" by The Babys...the fadeout says, "...Oh I really wanna f*** you..." and has made it by without fanfare in the past. And everyone's favorite, Steve Miller's "Jet Airliner." The album said, "Funky s***..." while the 45 (aka the radio version, in most cases back then) said, "Funky kicks..."

Funny to hear what various stations did in the 70s when there was a blatent, clearly-spoken, no-mistake-about-it cussword in a song...I'm talking about a #3 hit in 1975 called, "Fight the Power" by The Isley Brothers. "...With all this bull-s*** going down..." K-104 simply played an obnoxious BLEEP during the s-word. Other stations, it was just a pop, like someone bumped the needle on the record just enough to bypass it. That was a toughie for stations, as the song was too popular to avoid playing. Today, the once-in-a-blue-moon that it's EVER played, the s-word sounds like it's been isolated and run backwards.

Which brings me to Rod Stewart. Anyone remember the controversy at the end of 1977 over "Tonight's The Night," about the line, "Spread your wings and let me come inside"? Lots of stations banned the song over that. Even Melanie's "Brand New Key" was scrutinized for sexual undertones...figure that one out. Pretty tame by today's standards, especially when you factor in 90s rap like "F*** The Police," "Small D*ck Man" and "You Can't Touch My Yo-Yo" that made it into the Top 40. We just THOUGHT we were prudes in the 70s.

 

[Robert Bass]

Mike,

The only thing that offends me, is having to edit, fix, mask or strike songs we've been playing for at least 16 years (maybe more, since I don't have track sheets from the old Century 21 reels).

Oh well...

R

 

[Steve Eberhart]

I think you are all missing the point. .
Management or ownership is attempting to present a radio station that is clear of any controversial material of any kind. Not unlike KLTY.
In this case it is a school radio station. Now, would the school approve a teacher or staff member using the word "damn" in class or on campus in front of the students? Of course not! Well, they can't very well have a radio station that has language on it that might be construed by even the mildest of standards as a "dirty word".
Bottom line: It's T H E I R station to do with as they please. If you like the song so much, buy the dang thing and listen to it to your hearts content!

It reminds me of a funny KVIL story if you'll oblidge me.
One day at a jock meeting, the late Mike Donahue began ranting over the music and the fact that certain songs came up over and over and the music was so slow most of the time, etc..etc. (complaints jocks have ALL the time)
Ron interrupted and pointed to the music director and says "have you met 'X-rey'?, he's our music director, and it's his job to control the music. Last I checked your position here was DJ and your job is to entertain between those songs he programs. Let me ask you a question. When is the last time X-rey tried to do one of your breaks?" ... point made very clearly ...

 

[EbolaMonkey]

I think you are all missing the point. .
Management or ownership is attempting to present a radio station that is clear of any controversial material of any kind.

I think that point was made within the first few posts. Then it became anecdote time.

Nice KVIL story, though.

 

[Robert Bass]

I think you are all missing the point. .

Steve,

I believe you are the one missing the point.

We have had this discussion before, and you are either forgetting or ignoring the fact that the radio airwaves BELONG TO THE PUBLIC.

In this case, the station does too.

BUT you cannot let less than a dozen people dictate the programming. So if what two people complain about “Sister Golden Hair”, it should be pulled? ABSOLUTELY NOT! That is allowing a SMALL majority program for everyone else.

This is not about whether we personally like or dislike the song; it is about the freedom of being able to PLAY it as the artist intended it to be heard.

It has also been pointed out already that the words “damn” and “hell” are repeatedly found in the Bible, therefor they are “common” words.

Censorship is such a touchy issue, and pulling a song that ONE person complained about is a very dangerous form of censorship.

R

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

I have to concur with Robert on that one. Too often owners of stations feel they own the freq, without regard tah they are only given a temporary license to air something on it. Certain songs in the past on various formats were not to be played until 8pm etc, some as late as ten pm. That principle can still be applied to KEOM, to strike a common ground with listeners.

 

[Robert Bass]

I don’t buy that logic about curse words in the classroom. Omitting songs is not the answer. My father was a teacher in the Dallas ISD for over 30 years. He can tell you stories about how kids today give you funny looks when you ask them to watch their language in the classroom.

As far as I am concerned, it is up to parents to teach their kids about these things, yet it appears many of those parents would rather leave it up to the schools.

Additionally, we’re talking about a song that is over 35 years old!

Does this mean we have to pull classic literature out of the libraries of all the schools? Has anyone bothered to even check all those books? What about the other books in the library. Have they pulled all the Harry Potter stuff? "Hey ma, we're doing a play at school called Gone With the Wind. I got the lead role of Rhett Butler. I gotta practice my lines now."

Finally, straight from the DMN website we find this quote from a Plano ISD employee:

In an interview Monday with The Dallas Morning News, Mr. Dunlap said he had been going through "holy hell" over the story. He said the Star Courier reported information that was "off the record and not to be printed."

Uh oh, a public educator just used the words holy hell. Do we ban the paper from the school campuses???

R

 

[grantchester]

Years ago, a station I worked at had a version of Harry Nillson's 'You're Breaking My Heart' that we would play. Each obscenity was replaced with a sound effect or animal noise. It was very popular.

 

[bdabagia]

Bleeping out the cusswords? Here's a good one:

Several years ago I was doing a morning show in Louisville when Adam Sandler came out with his CD. One of the cuts on it was called "At A Medium Pace," and as I recall it was sort of a slow, sappy love ballad that included some shockingly raunchy lyrics. We bleeped out the nasty stuff with various sound effects, animal noises, etc., and then (just for fun) we bleeped out some of the NOT nasty stuff, too. Very funny.

Classic rockers who've been playing Pink Floyd's "Money" for 35 years also know there was a version that said "do goody-good bull ----" NOTHING! Just a blank spot. Cheesy.

 

[Steve Eberhart]

Robert, no offense, but the whole premise of the "airwaves are owned by the public" is not a valid argument.

The AIRWAVES may belong to the public, but the RADIO STATION belongs to SOMEONE....usually a person, company or in your case, the school. If I'm not mistaken, the only pubicly owned station in this market is WRR, which is city owned. It is ENTIRELY at their discretion to operate it as they see fit.

Imagine a restaraunt that sells only hamburgers. A customer walks in and says, "but I like BBQ". The owner MAY choose to make that customer a BBQ sandwich, or may suggest they go across the street to a BBQ restaraunt of their choosing. It is up to the RESTARAUNT to decide if they'd like to service this particular customer. EXACTLY the same in radio. As the owner (who's responsibility is to make the business viable) it is ENTIRELY their discretion as to what they program, period. The smart one will surely accomodate the most possible customers (listeners and clients) to make a profit, and do what is necessary in their perception to make that an eventuality.

Yes, the AIRWAVES are public, but all radio stations are OWNED by someone. The FCC mandates that stations serve "..in the public interest..." but there is no specifics on how that must be done. Certainly there is no requirement that they program simply what any potential listener requests!

It does not matter what I, you, or anyone else ultimately thinks about any one particular song and any verbiage it contains. If the person in charge is interested in programming a certain thing one way or another, it is their discretion to do so. We can argue whether it is the right thing or smart thing to do, but there is NO requirement that any station do much of anything as far as programming goes, short of technical issues and requirements.

I've seen DJ's get into this argument a hundred times over. It would be rare to find two individuals who agree completely on music on a radio station. Each person has their own imaginary line in the sand...should be play this, or this...should we allow this and not that...the argument never ends. I've seen jocks who get incensed about it and actually quit over things as trivial as this.

Bottom line is, either you are the decision maker over this particular thing or you are not. If not (as crude as it may sound), shut up and play the hits!

 

[EbolaMonkey]

Yes, the AIRWAVES are public, but all radio stations are OWNED by someone. The FCC mandates that stations serve "..in the public interest..." but there is no specifics on how that must be done. Certainly there is no requirement that they program simply what any potential listener requests!

You're frothing yourself up over nothing, Steve. Robert has maintained that he does NOT advocate letting a handful of listeners dictate a station's programming.

The main topic of the thread was profanity--or mild profanity--in lyrics. Everyone seems to agree that you program to your target audience. If they are easily offended, then you better be conservative. If not, then don't worry about it.

I've been around quite a few public radio people and quite a few commercial radio people. You both are right. It's your sensitivities that differ. Robert's view is typical of people who are devoted to public radio. His attitude serves public radio well. You are a commercial guy. And I would say your view serves commercial radio well, except that relaxed ownership limits don't allow for a healthy free market.

As you pointed out, we can argue over what is right or smart; but I'd say that, with so few station owners, there aren't many consequences for being dumb and wrong.

 

[Robert Bass]

The AIRWAVES may belong to the public, but the RADIO STATION belongs to SOMEONE....usually a person, company or in your case, the school. If I'm not mistaken, the only pubicly owned station in this market is WRR, which is city owned. It is ENTIRELY at their discretion to operate it as they see fit.

It is owned by a public school district, not an individual school. Since taxpayers fund public educationn, do they not to some degree own it?

R

 

[KPLEXCOMPLEX]

Robert's last line was correct and it goes back to who owns the airwaves. The Restaurant analogy was weak in comparison. That is a private business not under a mandate to serve the public as radio is required to do. Robert also makes a valid point about certain books could be considered to be banned. Grapevine-Colleyville ISD came very close to banning the following books a few years ago' The Diary of Anne Frank',"Huckleberry Finn and the "Adventures of Tom Sawyer""Catcher in the Rye", to name a few. What stopped them was the outcry of the public against a FEW close minded "holier than thou " indviduals who placed themselves as the pillar of the community that many should follow. In the short run those folks lost their seats on the school board. The "holier than thou" can be applied to the owners of stations today"; "We know what is best for the community" without listening to the community. "Hell, 'Damn"are used so common today,they have, whether you agree or disagree, become part of our everyday language. As Robert pointed out,these words are spoken a lot in the "Good Book". SO is it okay to speak the words and have them heard for all ages in a church,but not okay to have them on the airwaves in a song? Hypocrisy?
It appears that way.

 

[VERITAS DE VOCE]

OK KIDS... to your separate corners. Leading off, let me just say, it is intelligent conversation like this about true issues in our market, and the entirety of the biz, that keeps me as a routine guest on this fare haven. Kudos, boys.

About the cussing, a couple of salient points that I haven't seen issued:

1. I don't think the argument should be about actual ownership but the precipitating principle. The community used to have a voice when it came to the radio station and what was played on it. Nowadays, who cares? In case you haven't been properly introduced, you are here to play commercials, with stop sets of boring, repetitive music in-between. Anyone who tells you different is selling you something (yes, pun intended ;D)
2. Let's break this down -- John Q. owns the AIR, FCC owns the frequency, UBER-corp owns the station and John Q. owns the commercials... see that? It's the circle of life. You hear Elton John singing?
3. Come on with using the Bible as your excuse to shine on an expletive or two! "Hell" is used in the context of a place, not because you got cut off in traffic. "Damn" is used in the context of banishment, not because your PD/GM gave you the crappy promotion job of some gas station. As for the others... or even George Carlin's masterful collection... get a life. In times like this, I quote (without tongue firmly planted in cheek, because I am guilty of it) Malcolm X, "A man curses because he has not the intelligence to say what is on his mind." No judging or indictment, fellas, but if you want to curse, don't blame the Bible.
4. Censorship in music did NOTHING but INCREASE SALES of songs that chose to use profanity. That dreaded sticker, designated to shut the 2 Live Crew out of business, only created AWARENESS about their "popping" and "me so horny" and in effect lampooned the FCC because their record sales AND airplays went through the roof. Now when you hear that mess on the radio, most kids rush to Sam Goody because they want to hear the song without the bleeps. (NOTE TO SELF: Censorship may be good... in a weird, capitalistic sort of way)

But then again, I'm not a CONsultant... so what do I know. ???