Since I am too broke to afford satellite radio and since it is illegal to wear headphones while driving, I am often stuck with the choice between regular radio or silence on my daily commute. I have taken a liking to the song “Rock Star” by Nickelback, but whenever I hear it on our local Clear Channel or Cumulus affiliate (I can’t remember which), I am always destracted by the amount of the song that is bleeped out. Personally, I don’t think that any government group should tell a privately owned broadcase corporation what they can or cannot play, but this is beside the point. Since the local Butler Broadcasting affiliate plays the song in its entirity, I know that FCC regulations do not prohibit the broadcast of words that the mainstream stations can’t force themselves to play.
For those of you who do not know the song, here are the lyrics (courtesy of www.sing365.com):
I’m through with standing in line
to the clubs i’ll never get in
It’s like the bottom of the ninth
and I’m never gonna win
This life hasn’t turned out
quite the way I want it to be
(tell me what you want)
I want a brand new house
on an episode of Cribs
And a bathroom I can play baseball in
And a king size tub big enough
for ten plus me
(yeah,so what you need)
I’ll need a, a credit card that’s got no limit
And a big black jet with a bedroom in it
Gonna join the mile high club
At thirty-seven thousand feet
(Been there done that)
I want a new tour bus full of old guitars
And my own star on Hollywood Boulevard
Somewhere between Cher and
James Dean is fine for me
(So how ya gonna do it?)
I’m gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I’d even cut my hair and change my name
[CHORUS]
‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
with her bleach blonde hair
and well..
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassels
Hire eight body guards that love to beat up assholes
Sign a couple autographs
So I can eat my meals for free
(I have a quesadilla… on the house)
I’m gonna dress my ass
with the latest fashion
Get a front door key to the Playboy mansion
Gonna date a centerfold that loves to
blow my money for me
(So how ya gonna do it?)
I’m gonna trade this life
For fortune and fame
I’d even cut my hair
And change my name
‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
with her bleach blonde hair
And we’ll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary
in today’s who’s who
We’ll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody’s got a
drug dealer on speed dial
well..
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
I’m gonna sing those songs
that offend the censors
Gonna pop my pills
from a Pez dispenser
Get washed-up singers writing all my songs
Lip sync ‘em every night so I don’t get ‘em wrong
Well we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
with her bleach blonde hair
And we’ll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary
in today’s who’s who
We’ll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody’s got a
drug dealer on speed dial well..
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
I have always thought that the words that we ban from use in public are a good indication of our collective values. When I hear this song, it is usually missing the words “drug” and “ass.” While this would not seem out of the ordinary, I find it interesting in light of the things that are not removed from the song.
One of the major messages that I get from this selective censorship is that sex (under almost any circumstances) is okay, but drugs and the word “ass” are bad. For example, no references to Playboy bunnies are removed, and a relationship with “a centerfold who loves to blow my money for me” is a thing to be desired. While I personally am not offended by these things, the group who normally pushes for censorship, the Religious Right, would definitely be offended. They also would not appreciate the reference to the “mile high club.”
While the missing words seem to imply that drugs are bad, nothing is done to the line “pop my pills from a Pez dispenser.” Okay, so I can’t enjoy “God’s flowers,” but taking Oxycontin recreationally is okay?
While the Religious Right tends to push for the censorship of music played on the radio, the edited version of this song glorifies things that they strive against while censoring other things that are arguably less harmful. My father always told me that if I couldn’t do something right, I shouldn’t do it at all, and this explains my opinion about the mess made of an otherwise good song.
Values and Radio Censorship
Since I am too broke to afford satellite radio and since it is illegal to wear headphones while driving, I am often stuck with the choice between regular radio or silence on my daily commute. I have taken a liking to the song “Rock Star” by Nickelback, but whenever I hear it on our local Clear Channel or Cumulus affiliate (I can’t remember which), I am always destracted by the amount of the song that is bleeped out. Personally, I don’t think that any government group should tell a privately owned broadcase corporation what they can or cannot play, but this is beside the point. Since the local Butler Broadcasting affiliate plays the song in its entirity, I know that FCC regulations do not prohibit the broadcast of words that the mainstream stations can’t force themselves to play.
For those of you who do not know the song, here are the lyrics (courtesy of www.sing365.com):
I’m through with standing in line
to the clubs i’ll never get in
It’s like the bottom of the ninth
and I’m never gonna win
This life hasn’t turned out
quite the way I want it to be
(tell me what you want)
I want a brand new house
on an episode of Cribs
And a bathroom I can play baseball in
And a king size tub big enough
for ten plus me
(yeah,so what you need)
I’ll need a, a credit card that’s got no limit
And a big black jet with a bedroom in it
Gonna join the mile high club
At thirty-seven thousand feet
(Been there done that)
I want a new tour bus full of old guitars
And my own star on Hollywood Boulevard
Somewhere between Cher and
James Dean is fine for me
(So how ya gonna do it?)
I’m gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I’d even cut my hair and change my name
[CHORUS]
‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
with her bleach blonde hair
and well..
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassels
Hire eight body guards that love to beat up assholes
Sign a couple autographs
So I can eat my meals for free
(I have a quesadilla… on the house)
I’m gonna dress my ass
with the latest fashion
Get a front door key to the Playboy mansion
Gonna date a centerfold that loves to
blow my money for me
(So how ya gonna do it?)
I’m gonna trade this life
For fortune and fame
I’d even cut my hair
And change my name
‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
with her bleach blonde hair
And we’ll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary
in today’s who’s who
We’ll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody’s got a
drug dealer on speed dial
well..
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
I’m gonna sing those songs
that offend the censors
Gonna pop my pills
from a Pez dispenser
Get washed-up singers writing all my songs
Lip sync ‘em every night so I don’t get ‘em wrong
Well we all just wanna be big rockstars
Live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
with her bleach blonde hair
And we’ll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary
in today’s who’s who
We’ll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody’s got a
drug dealer on speed dial well..
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar
I have always thought that the words that we ban from use in public are a good indication of our collective values. When I hear this song, it is usually missing the words “drug” and “ass.” While this would not seem out of the ordinary, I find it interesting in light of the things that are not removed from the song.
One of the major messages that I get from this selective censorship is that sex (under almost any circumstances) is okay, but drugs and the word “ass” are bad. For example, no references to Playboy bunnies are removed, and a relationship with “a centerfold who loves to blow my money for me” is a thing to be desired. While I personally am not offended by these things, the group who normally pushes for censorship, the Religious Right, would definitely be offended. They also would not appreciate the reference to the “mile high club.”
While the missing words seem to imply that drugs are bad, nothing is done to the line “pop my pills from a Pez dispenser.” Okay, so I can’t enjoy “God’s flowers,” but taking Oxycontin recreationally is okay?
While the Religious Right tends to push for the censorship of music played on the radio, the edited version of this song glorifies things that they strive against while censoring other things that are arguably less harmful. My father always told me that if I couldn’t do something right, I shouldn’t do it at all, and this explains my opinion about the mess made of an otherwise good song.