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I think you guys are missing the context of the use of the word "human being" in that song. It was taking a shot at people who refused to listen to Prince and derisively referring to him as a "human being", which was stunningly common in the early 80's, by saying "Yeah? that little human being got his own jet airplane. What have you got?" I graduated HS in 84 (i am old) and the perception of a musician or an actor being gay back then was basically a license not to like them, at least openly. This attitude extended to Bowie, Jagger, Boy George, George Michael, Adam Ant, Rob Halford, Rod Stewart, MJ, Prince, Elton John..even KISS because they wore make up..and certainly the entire disco movement before that. Rumors abounded and metal heads were on the fence about BonJovi, Motley Crue and Poison. Billy Crystal even took a lot of poo poo for playing a gay character on SOAP, to relate it to TV. Judas Priest and Elton John lost hundreds of thousands of fans for going public. "Being a fag" was an acceptable excuse and a blank check for someone to dismiss anyone's work. Comedians did entire bits on it (Eddie Murphy, Kinison, Dice Clay, even Carlin) and AIDS jokes were disturbingly common, along with Rock Hudson jokes. poo poo, forget the 80's. This attitude even extended well into the 90's, even amongst my friends and so called "enlightened open minded people" and was a big part of the reason I concealed my bisexuality for decades. "human being" was an acceptable insult on these very forums until maybe 8-10 years ago. It's hard to parse unless you lived through it and I'm happy to see how much attitudes have changed for the most part but context is everything and TV is always far behind social norms. Remember the uproar over the interracial Star Trek kiss even.
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Nov 11, 2017 16:10
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BiggerBoat posted:I think you guys are missing the context of the use of the word "human being" in that song. I'm not sure if that's correct. Since Dire Straits predated MTV, I think it's a dig on quick fame from staring in music videos. Hence the focus on his looks and 'seeing' him play instruments - as opposed to hard working rock bands like Dire Straits. Expressed ironically through one of the most popular videos ever made. But they never made any money on the song, so it's okay.
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Nov 11, 2017 16:59
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BiggerBoat posted:I think you guys are missing the context of the use of the word "human being" in that song. This is part of why I have mixed feelings about Zappa songs like "Bobby Brown" - I know that it's at the expense of predatory WASPy rapist assholes, but that whole context isn't there in lines like "I hosed this dyke by the name of Freddie ... she got my balls in a vice but she left the dick / now it's still hooked up except it shoots to quick ... thanks to Freddie I'm a sexual spastic / and my name is Bobbie Brown" All at once I can see how Zappa is making a satirical point about white male privilege and hypocrisy, but the avenue he used did not age well, and this song just does more to show how Zappa was also a misogynistic rear end in a top hat. 
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Nov 11, 2017 16:59
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Krispy Wafer posted:I'm not sure if that's correct. Since Dire Straits predated MTV, I think it's a dig on quick fame from staring in music videos. Hence the focus on his looks and 'seeing' him play instruments - as opposed to hard working rock bands like Dire Straits. The song is entirely from the perspective of a mover, the chorus literally talks about moving heavy furniture, and the music video depicts two movers watching Dire Strait music videos.
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Nov 11, 2017 17:03
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CheesyDog posted:The song is entirely from the perspective of a mover, the chorus literally talks about moving heavy furniture, and the music video depicts two movers watching Dire Strait music videos. The mover being a hard working rock musician. Moving the microwave ovens is a metaphor for paying your dues for success.
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Nov 11, 2017 17:10
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y'all wanna kick this up a notch and talk about holiday in cambodia? nah
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Nov 11, 2017 17:18
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CheesyDog posted:The song is entirely from the perspective of a mover, the chorus literally talks about moving heavy furniture, and the music video depicts two movers watching Dire Strait music videos. Krispy Wafer posted:The mover being a hard working rock musician. Moving the microwave ovens is a metaphor for paying your dues for success.
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Nov 11, 2017 17:19
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Tiggum posted:And it's clearly making fun of both the character saying those things and the musicians themselves. You're not supposed to agree with the sentiments expressed in the lyrics, but you're are supposed to see that there is some underlying truth to them. There's also the clear contradiction of the "human being" musician getting "chicks for free". The character is expressing a mix of resentment and admiration for the musician in a way that doesn't really make sense and makes him look at least as bad as the person he's criticising. Well sure, LITERAL meanings maybe. It's got layers. I like how he thought queenies was somehow a good substitute for faggots.
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Nov 11, 2017 17:25
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I always thought the idea was musicians playing on MTV in between ads for fancy new appliances (remember when 'color TV' had to be specified?) with the delivery guys in the music video being a literalisation of that metaphor. The whole song is not very subtly about the commercialisation of music and all.
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Nov 11, 2017 17:55
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I recently watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, from 2004, and that had Kate Winslet's character call Jim Carrey's a "fag" when she's angry at him.
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Nov 11, 2017 18:40
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Absurd Alhazred posted:I recently watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, from 2004, and that had Kate Winslet's character call Jim Carrey's a "fag" when she's angry at him. Hah I was literally just thinking about that yesterday. I mean the character is really drunk and abusive at that point (even if it's the beginning of inside his erased memories) but it is pretty jarring to hear a main character angrily call another one a human being now
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Nov 11, 2017 19:26
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Aesop Poprock posted:Hah I was literally just thinking about that yesterday. I mean the character is really drunk and abusive at that point (even if it's the beginning of inside his erased memories) but it is pretty jarring to hear a main character angrily call another one a human being now At least I don't think it was transphobic, unlike the first Ace Ventura. So I guess Carrey was on a positive film trajectory for a while?
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Nov 11, 2017 19:33
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hawowanlawow posted:y'all wanna kick this up a notch and talk about holiday in cambodia? You'll do what you're told.
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Nov 11, 2017 19:40
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Tsaedje posted:The presence of the word 'human being' doesn't stop loving Fairytale of New York getting played ad nauseam People are reluctant to take an axe to part of Kirsty MacColl's most celebrated work
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Nov 11, 2017 19:55
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The song always came off as from the perspective of the surley, jealous blue-collar worker to me. The F-bomb was his ignorant word not Dire Straits'. That said, even in the 80s it was considered a "bad word" and surprising that there was no censoring at the time, let alone all the way until the 10s. Kinda like how long it took for "erotic city" by Prince and Shiela E to get off the air considering half the lyrics are"gently caress".
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Nov 11, 2017 20:31
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Knopfler has said in many interviews it's literally stuff he overheard someone say in an appliance store once And Fairytale of New York being McColl's most celebrated work is almost as tragic as her death
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Nov 11, 2017 20:42
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CheesyDog posted:The song is entirely from the perspective of a mover, the chorus literally talks about moving heavy furniture, and the music video depicts two movers watching Dire Strait music videos. Yeah, I always treated it as a blue-collar guy angry/jealous that while he has to schlep furniture around to make money, he's exposed to these "faggots" prancing around with weird hair playing music making enough bank to cruise around on jet airplanes. Its kinda like some folks on YouTube channels kvetching about whatever latest thing video game developers/publishers are doing: they are mad that not only is someone Doing It Wrong, but are doing well for it.
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Nov 11, 2017 20:56
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MisterBibs posted:Yeah, I always treated it as a blue-collar guy angry/jealous that while he has to schlep furniture around to make money, he's exposed to these "faggots" prancing around with weird hair playing music making enough bank to cruise around on jet airplanes. Lmao
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Nov 11, 2017 21:42
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MisterBibs posted:Its kinda like some folks on YouTube channels kvetching about whatever latest thing video game developers/publishers are doing: they are mad that not only is someone Doing It Wrong, but are doing well for it. You sure are eager for a new outlet ever since you got owned in the internet critics thread, huh.
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Nov 11, 2017 21:52
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John Murdoch posted:You sure are eager for a new outlet ever since you got owned in the internet critics thread, huh. Bibs’ posting is bad enough he got banned from the World of Warcraft story thread recently. WoW’s story is just two kids smashing action figures together.
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Nov 11, 2017 22:22
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Arivia posted:Bibs’ posting is bad enough he got banned from the World of Warcraft story thread recently. WoW’s story is just two kids smashing action figures together. Hey! They are also making noises whilst smashing the toys together.
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Nov 11, 2017 22:34
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Tsaedje posted:And Fairytale of New York being McColl's most celebrated work is almost as tragic as her death "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" was easily her best song.
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Nov 11, 2017 22:45
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Some censorship ages badly too. Heard the song Gay Bar by Electric Six on the radio the other day and they were still censoring the words ‘nuclear war’. It made me remember how drat sensitive people were post 9/11.
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Nov 11, 2017 23:00
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SEX BURRITO posted:Some censorship ages badly too. Heard the song Gay Bar by Electric Six on the radio the other day and they were still censoring the words ‘nuclear war’. It made me remember how drat sensitive people were post 9/11. That was a thing? wth
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Nov 11, 2017 23:02
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There was a push to rename French Fries to Freedom Fries because France wouldn't support the war in Iraq. 
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Nov 11, 2017 23:07
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Doggles posted:There was a push to rename French Fries to Freedom Fries because France wouldn't support the war in Iraq. lol there's still a food stand that pops up at some local fairs that says in faded spray paint "WE ONLY SERVE FREEDOM FRIES" on the side I wonder if they still enforce it
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Nov 11, 2017 23:16
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Doggles posted:There was a push to rename French Fries to Freedom Fries because France wouldn't support the war in Iraq. If I recall at the time a store called "The French Bakery" and a laundry shop with "french" in the name both got burned at the time and a person was even killed. It was pretty nuts.
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Nov 11, 2017 23:24
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I always laugh when i hear "GBLEEP drat!", bleeping the "God"
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Nov 11, 2017 23:51
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John Murdoch posted:You sure are eager for a new outlet ever since you got owned in the internet critics thread, huh. I honestly hadn't made the connection to that. I mean, in hindsight it tracks (bluer-collar dudes being jealous about bands Doing It Wrong and being successful, youtubers being jealous of publishers Doing It Wrong and being successful), but I was pretty much thinking about the generic.
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Nov 11, 2017 23:54
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My favorite 9/11 radio overreaction was the refusal to play “Click Click Boom” even though the “click” explicitly referred to a pen and the “boom” was the mental feeling describing the creative process of writing lyrics and music. “It’s the End of the World as We Know it (and I Feel Fine)” got banned too despite it not being an inappropriate song. Related, Budweiser had a popular commercial series that pre-9/11 was “Real American Heroes” but was updated to “Real Men of Genius,” which imo was a good change given these men were the likes of “Mr. Silent Killer Gas Passer.”
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Nov 11, 2017 23:59
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Choco1980 posted:I always laugh when i hear "GBLEEP drat!", bleeping the "God" It should instead be censored by overlaying the audio with Hank Hill saying got dang.
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Nov 12, 2017 00:04
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I also remember when Teenage Dirtbag was constantly on the radio, and they censored the word ‘gun’ in the line ‘he brings a gun to school’. According to the Wikipedia page it’s because they first played the song for the record label just after Columbine.
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Nov 12, 2017 00:29
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MisterBibs posted:I honestly hadn't made the connection to that. I mean, in hindsight it tracks (bluer-collar dudes being jealous about bands Doing It Wrong and being successful, youtubers being jealous of publishers Doing It Wrong and being successful), but I was pretty much thinking about the generic. Lmao
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Nov 12, 2017 00:36
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SEX BURRITO posted:I also remember when Teenage Dirtbag was constantly on the radio, and they censored the word ‘gun’ in the line ‘he brings a gun to school’. According to the Wikipedia page it’s because they first played the song for the record label just after Columbine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3y9llDXuM Speaking of music videos that did not age well
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Nov 12, 2017 01:05
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My favorite is the radio edit for this Everclear song where the last part is about some guy pulling out a gun think during a drug deal, but it beep so much the song lyrics are almost literally "And he pulled out his ****** ***** *** and was dead".
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Nov 12, 2017 03:43
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mister bibs thinks that mexicans commit more crimes than white people, and also can't eat hot dogs without getting brutally owned by his own esophagus
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Nov 12, 2017 03:47
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Rirse posted:My favorite is the radio edit for this Everclear song where the last part is about some guy pulling out a gun think during a drug deal, but it beep so much the song lyrics are almost literally "And he pulled out his ****** ***** *** and was dead". *everlast
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Nov 12, 2017 03:53
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The one-two punch of Columbine and 9/11 definitely ushered in a golden age of weird censorship. I was just thinking the other day (no idea why) of that Limp Bizkit ft. Method Man song where they censored out the word "sword" from the line, "Brought a sword to the dance floor to cut a rug."SUPERMAN'S GAL PAL posted:Related, Budweiser had a popular commercial series that pre-9/11 was “Real American Heroes” but was updated to “Real Men of Genius,” which imo was a good change given these men were the likes of “Mr. Silent Killer Gas Passer.” Oh wow, I never realized that's what happened -- I thought they had 2 different sub-campaigns within the overall ad campaign. Didn't realize I never heard the "Real American Heroes" ones after a certain point in time. I agree that's a pretty good call on their part though.
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Nov 12, 2017 03:57
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Rirse posted:My favorite is the radio edit for this Everclear song where the last part is about some guy pulling out a gun think during a drug deal, but it beep so much the song lyrics are almost literally "And he pulled out his ****** ***** *** and was dead". The worst offender for this is definitely the radio edit for Stan by eminem. There's multiple several second long stretches of silence in the third verse, it's hilarious.
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Nov 12, 2017 04:19
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Aesop Poprock posted:That was a thing? wth Let's start a [bleep] Start a [bleep bleep] AT THE GAY BAR GAY BAR GAY BAR oh and the only censored version I've heard uses a whip crack for the censorship noises which is also funny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IslF_EyhMzg&t=34s
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Nov 12, 2017 04:22
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