'Baby It's Cold Outside' banned by Cleveland radio station

[SilverBeach]

I would also ban all songs by R Kelly, child molester and serial rapist. Can't stand him and I don't care how talented he is.

[AliceInFundyland]

Good luck @samurai_sarah.I think you are on a steep climb with that #hashtag     comparison. ❤️

Out out out of this thread for me.

Big Bird

Spoiler

 

 

[Maxwell]

8 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

  9 hours ago, HarryPotterFan said:

Can we ban “Blurred Lines” instead? Because that song was never okay and is so so so awful on so many levels.

8 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

it's so bad but also so catchy. I occasionally hate myself for singing along.  

Thankfully, there's an equally catchy, extremely well done & very smart alternative!

Spoiler

 

 

[Gobsmacked]

24 minutes ago, SilverBeach said:

I think that like a lot of songs with catchy rhythms, people don't really listen to lyrics all  that closely. The first time I actually did, I was horrified. It's clearly an obsessed person not respecting someone's privacy or personal space. Ugh.

You are correct. I've only just realised what the lyrics mean. Now I'm off to google them. 

[samurai_sarah]

33 minutes ago, OGEmoji said:

There is a difference in having an actualt reason to be offended, and digging deeply to find some small shred of something that can be twisted and construed as offensive. I don't believe I said anyjing about you personally and if you have something worth speaking out about, by all means do so. 

I would think anyone with a worthwhile cause would be sick of people finding offense in trivial things, because it causes compassion fatigue diminishes the power of the voices who acutally have something to say.

 

There are a tons of songs on regular radio rotation that are outright vulgar and openly offensive, and yet they choose to go after a playful classic song and turn something fun into another thing to hate. It gets old.

 

I am also having trouble understanding how your situation relates to this topic, but I am sorry you have to deal with difficulties.

You never said anything against me. Personally.

[Maxwell]

8 hours ago, merricat said:

I'm glad that society has started to have discussions like this one. I’m glad that you can complain to a radio station about rapey song lyrics and get taken seriously. It shows a growing awareness of the importance of consent.

Does that mean we can finally get 90% of RAP music removed from the airwaves?  I will admit that's it's not my style (in general) but it seems like every time I hear a song that I *do* like I end up turning it off because the lyrics are so awful.  I don't mean "poorly written" or "really bad rhyming", many of the songs have VERY smart rhyming styles and I can appreciate a story different from my own but wow... the content... I just can't.

[VelociRapture]

I really don’t like “Baby Its Cold Outside.” It might have started as a somewhat innocent song, but I find it to be a really creepy song and I know at least one person who gets a bit triggered by it - she was raped by an (now) ex-boyfriend and the lyrics just remind her of that time in her life. 

I think the radio station went about it the right way though. Someone complained, they talked it over, and then allowed their audience to decide whether to keep playing it. I don’t think I’d agree with a mandatory nationwide ban, but I’m not going to fault radio stations who decide not to air it on an individual basis either. 

43 minutes ago, SilverBeach said:

I think that like a lot of songs with catchy rhythms, people don't really listen to lyrics all  that closely. The first time I actually did, I was horrified. It's clearly an obsessed person not respecting someone's privacy or personal space. Ugh.

Even Sting has been really taken aback by people thinking its a positive or romantic song. He’s had people tell him it was the main song at their weddings and his thought was akin to “Good luck” because the song was written to be the exact opposite of a healthy and loving relationship. 

[Alisamer]

17 minutes ago, Maxwell said:

Does that mean we can finally get 90% of RAP music removed from the airwaves?  I will admit that's it's not my style (in general) but it seems like every time I hear a song that I *do* like I end up turning it off because the lyrics are so awful.  I don't mean "poorly written" or "really bad rhyming", many of the songs have VERY smart rhyming styles and I can appreciate a story different from my own but wow... the content... I just can't.

I think there's a bit of a difference between rap music - the hardest of which mostly gets played on dedicated rap stations - and a Christmas song sandwiched between Frosty the Snowman and Sleigh Ride on a Christmas music station, and on the in-store music pretty much everywhere. 

I mean I do give the guys blasting the nastiest rap stuff out their car windows or on their phone while standing in line at the gas station the side-eye, especially when they can clearly see young kids nearby. Because kids do notice lyrics! I once had a deep discussion with an 11 year old about "life is beautiful" by Sixx A.M. Because she didn't know the band's backstory at all and wondered about why he didn't want people to cry at his funeral. 

Im not a huge rap fan, and prefer Missy Elliott when I do listen to it, but that's pretty easy not to listen to. It's not playing over the speakers in every store I go to like "baby it's cold outside" seems to be. 

[Mama Mia]

1 hour ago, SilverBeach said:

I think that like a lot of songs with catchy rhythms, people don't really listen to lyrics all  that closely. The first time I actually did, I was horrified. It's clearly an obsessed person not respecting someone's privacy or personal space. Ugh.

I’m the absolute worst about just gravitating to catchy lyrics without noticing content - but I always thought “ Every Breath You Take” was SUPPOSED to be creepy and stalkerish - NOT romantic. I guess I just have not ever thought of every song as having a positive intent - aren’t some of them meant to illustrate bad or scary or inappropriate behavior or situations? Music is just another way of telling a story, and not all stories are sweet. That’s just how I’ve always interpreted that song anyway. I’m surprised anyone would refer to it as romantic. 

[church_of_dog]

Speaking of Sting, "Don't Stand So Close To Me" depicts some pretty dysfunctional situations as well.  Maybe that's the point though?  To bring hidden issues out into the light?  (serious question)

I was definitely one of those who just swayed to the beat throughout all the now-classic rock of the 70s, oblivious to what the lyrics were actually saying.   I mean, what IS the "warm smell of colitas" anyway?

[OGEmoji]

2 hours ago, samurai_sarah said:

Maybe we can talk about your hashtag #offendedbyeverything that I was referring to next?

Please note that I am NOT posting as a Mod.

What would you like to discuss about it, exactly? 

[laPapessaGiovanna]

2 hours ago, SilverBeach said:

One song I do not like is that stalker's anthem, "Every Breath You Take". Horrible, horrible lyrics. I would boycott that and support it being taken off the air.

I wouldn't. That song is important. Sting has repeatedly said that it's an evil song and yet people keep completely misinterpreting it*. Why? Because it sounds so good, it has rhythm, it's fascinating, captivating, powerful, and a beautiful man sang it with a sexy voice. Similar reasons made society accept and condone evil things for the longest time, similar reasons can make women stay near the worst men.

Here we say that "il diavolo non è brutto come lo si dipinge", It literally means that the devil is not as ugly as it's painted. Evil often looks and sounds very good, or none would be fooled. That song has fooled so many people. It's so exaggerated that's like the lampooning of a stalker's thoughts, but dressed with the right rhythm, the right musical and textual stereotypes and the sexy voice, it becomes compelling instead of frightening as it should be.

If instead of Sting it were Annibal Lecter singing it, the effect would be completely different. And yet the people in our lives that harbor those thoughts are more similar to apparently innocuous Sting than to the devil. And when we finally realise how dangerous they are, we understand that we have been in danger for a long time and that the signs were all there since the beginning.

That song is a little masterpiece of art in its masked and yet utterly naked evilness. It's a song that should make us think hard, it should be e litmus test for our society. The day its creepiness will be apparent to all, it will be one good day for humanity.

*In an interview he said "I think the song is very, very sinister and ugly and people have actually misinterpreted it as being a gentle little love song, when it's quite the opposite."

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

1 hour ago, church_of_dog said:

I was definitely one of those who just swayed to the beat throughout all the now-classic rock of the 70s, oblivious to what the lyrics were actually saying.   I mean, what IS the "warm smell of colitas" anyway?

Same here, but when it comes to the lyrics of Hotel California, I'm not sure that even the 3 guys who wrote the lyrics can say exactly what they mean.  (I did find an Urban Dictionary entry that claimed that "colitas" was a reference to cannabis, but who knows?)

[laPapessaGiovanna]

1 hour ago, church_of_dog said:

I was definitely one of those who just swayed to the beat throughout all the now-classic rock of the 70s, oblivious to what the lyrics were actually saying.   I mean, what IS the "warm smell of colitas" anyway?

Apparently it refers to smoking weed 

[tabitha2]

I always thought he was saying “Warm smell of Coitus” in that song.

[church_of_dog]

7 hours ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

Same here, but when it comes to the lyrics of Hotel California, I'm not sure that even the 3 guys who wrote the lyrics can say exactly what they mean.  (I did find an Urban Dictionary entry that claimed that "colitas" was a reference to cannabis, but who knows?)

I agree on that!  (I just needed an example that most everyone would recognize).

[Mama Mia]

2 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

I always thought he was saying “Warm smell of Coitus” in that song.

So did I! But I guess that would make more sense if they were AT the Hotel, not driving to it.....So weed it is lol

[tabitha2]

Well that’s one candle Yankee will never make... Enjoy the smell of warm sex and weed! Now at your local Walmart! 

[ViolaSebastian]

I also have a personal vendetta against Feliz Navidad. One Christmas, my niece was given a karaoke box. There was some sort of issue with downloading songs onto it, however, it came with two pre-loaded songs, one of which was Feliz Navidad. Eager to play with her new toy, my niece then spent the next 8 hours singing Feliz Navidad--but only the "Feliz Navidad" part, which was the only bit she knew. I shudder even remembering it. 

[tabitha2]

My favorites:

Christmas Day-Dido

Hard Candy Christmas-Dolly Parton

Soul Cake-Various But the Sting version is very nice. Even though the whole thing about Soul Cakes is an All Souls’ Day  tradition

Old Toy Trains-Roger Miller

Holly and Ivey-Various

Snoopy and the Red Baron always make me happy  

[Lisafer]

20 hours ago, SilverBeach said:

My favorite Christmas music is the N'Sync Christmas CD from 20 years ago. Yes, I am 63. It's DD's favorite too.

One song I do not like is that stalker's anthem, "Every Breath You Take". Horrible, horrible lyrics. I would boycott that and support it being taken off the air.

For some reason, when I hear "Every Breath You Take," I think of Twilight...it's very Edward Cullen, isn't it? 

[SilverBeach]

20 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

I really don’t like “Baby Its Cold Outside.” It might have started as a somewhat innocent song, but I find it to be a really creepy song and I know at least one person who gets a bit triggered by it - she was raped by an (now) ex-boyfriend and the lyrics just remind her of that time in her life. 

I think the radio station went about it the right way though. Someone complained, they talked it over, and then allowed their audience to decide whether to keep playing it. I don’t think I’d agree with a mandatory nationwide ban, but I’m not going to fault radio stations who decide not to air it on an individual basis either. 

Thankfully for those bothered by Baby Its Cold Outside, it has limited airtime during the Christmas season and will soon be shelved. There are so many other troublesome songs (including the one I mentioned-yuck) that are played all year long. It's unfortunate when elements of popular culture are triggering in some way, like me and confederate flags. In the case of music and books, I think it may be safer to turn off a song that upsets you, or elect not to read it. Censorship can be problematic even if seemingly based on majority rule.

[Lisafer]

20 hours ago, Maxwell said:

Does that mean we can finally get 90% of RAP music removed from the airwaves?  I will admit that's it's not my style (in general) but it seems like every time I hear a song that I *do* like I end up turning it off because the lyrics are so awful.  I don't mean "poorly written" or "really bad rhyming", many of the songs have VERY smart rhyming styles and I can appreciate a story different from my own but wow... the content... I just can't.

Oh, and stuff like this makes me really uncomfortable. Rap music is a genre created by black people to communicate their own experience. It can be violent and harsh, and I find it hard to relate to, but remove it from the airwaves? Hell no. That would, in my opinion, be an act of oppression directed at POC. 

(I'm white, btw, so if I'm saying something clueless here, perhaps some FJers can jump in and correct me). 

I'm in favor of everyone being able to express themselves. I don't support banning any song, book, painting, sculpture, movie...you get the idea. Barring criminal activity, of course. (And yes, I understand that the song in question wasn't actually banned, just removed from the radio lineup. That happens with songs that don't play well to the audience. I've only heard "Pumped-Up Kicks" on the airwaves once in my life, for understandable reasons). 

Aaaaand I'll get off my soapbox now, before tomatoes start flying...

[Maggie Mae]

20 hours ago, Maxwell said:

Does that mean we can finally get 90% of RAP music removed from the airwaves?  I will admit that's it's not my style (in general) but it seems like every time I hear a song that I *do* like I end up turning it off because the lyrics are so awful.  I don't mean "poorly written" or "really bad rhyming", many of the songs have VERY smart rhyming styles and I can appreciate a story different from my own but wow... the content... I just can't.

I feel that way about country, only I don't like it at all, nothing about it. Not the music, not the rhythm, not a single thing. I'm sure some people feel that way about rock, and plenty of people feel personally offended by the simplicity of modern pop. 

 Let's just let people have all the stations, OK? 

[tabitha2]

I can’t stand bro country sung by wanna be country singers from New Jersey . I don’t care that tequila makes her clothes fall off or her body is like a back road or he got a brand new hotter woman cause the other interrupted his fishin’  I can listen to Johnny and Willie all day because they lived the songs and sing about real problems.