Here's Why These 10 Songs Were Banned In The U.S.

Publish date: 2024-04-08

Censorship has at all times been a subject within the tune trade, in particular in the United States. Even now, musicians similar to Lil Nas X have reportedly discovered their songs blocked worldwide. Songs both past and provide were subjected to the dreaded and almighty ban, which can concurrently harm and lend a hand the artist's career.

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Many of these tracks were banned because of controversial track videos, while others contained politically charged lyrics that were inharmonious with the sensibilities of the generation. On occasion, a song's ban could also be noticed as fairly justifiable, however more regularly than now not its prohibition is the product of prudishness and conservatism. Here's why these 10 songs were banned in the U.S.

10 Madonna - "Justify My Love"

Legendary pop famous person Madonna is no stranger to causing controversy and continues to stir outrage to this day. Her 1990 tune "Justify My Love" used to be banned by MTV for featuring sexually provocative imagery, together with same-sex encounters, which were unfortunately no longer broadly approved at the time.

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Madonna criticized the ban for its "hypocrisy", arguing that MTV wilfully showed violence in opposition to ladies with out factor, but had qualms along with her video depicting love between consenting adults.

9 System Of A Down - "Chop Suey!"

Always a socially mindful band, System of Down is recently raising consciousness of the plight of Armenians via a number of new songs. But back in 2001, they discovered themselves in sizzling water when their hit track "Chop Suey!" just came about to be released the week before the 9/11 terror assaults. Accordingly, the tune used to be banned through Clear Channel, which is the USA's largest radio conglomerate. This is as a result of the track incorporates a reputedly prophetic lyric about "self-righteous suicide", which many wrongly related to suicide bombers.

But as guitarist Daron Malakian explained, the music is actually about the hypocrisy related to other people's causes of death: "Everyone deserves to die. Like, if I were now to die from drug abuse, they might say I deserved it because I abused dangerous drugs", he informed Kerrang! mag at the time.

8 N.W.A. - "Straight Outta Compton"

One of the maximum influential hip-hip groups of all time, there has been renewed passion in N.W.A in recent years due to the success of 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton. At the peak in their fame in the past due '80s, they confronted intense scrutiny because of their anti-police lyrics.

MTV banned their track "Straight Outta Compton" because of a backlash from the FBI and a track censorship marketing campaign spearheaded by Tipper Gore, the then spouse of Al Gore.

7 The Shirelles - "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"

It turns out extraordinary to think that a tune which references something as tame as a one night stand could be banned, however 1960 was a very other time indeed. The Shirelles were musical pioneers, changing into the first black girl staff to have a number one single in the US.

But "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" was met with controversy due to its extremely delicate sexual references. Subsequently, many radio stations in the US banned the music.

6 John Travolta - "Greased Lightning"

Grease remains one in all the most popular musicals of all time. With its vast array of bustling, ostensibly circle of relatives friendly tunes, it is tricky to fathom why any of the Grease songs can be banned. However, US radio stations banned "Greased Lightning" because of the line "it ain't no s***". The line was later edited and the song returned to airplay.

Moreover, the whole musical is now facing a doable ban because of fresh analysis of a lot of the music's problematic lyrics, but in all probability that is a tale for every other day...

5 Foo Fighters - "Low"

Having been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Foo Fighters are one of the greatest groups on the planet. But their 2003 single "Low" was banned through MTV.

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The video, which options frontman Dave Grohl and actor Jack Black getting up to ridiculous shenanigans in a seedy motel, used to be considered too debauched for MTV.

4 Billie Holiday - "Strange Fruit"

Sadly, fashionable racism in the Nineteen Thirties intended that many black artists were banned from the airwaves, specifically when they released political songs. Poet Abel Meeropol wrote "Strange Fruit" as a protest against lynchings and the iconic Billie Holiday recorded it in 1939.

With poignant lyrics similar to "Blood on the leaves and blood at the root/ Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze", the tune was once now not best banned by US radio stations, but Holiday's label, Columbia Records, refused to record it.

3 Game - "Red Nation"

One of the more moderen songs in this list, "Red Nation," by hip-hop artist Game and that includes Lil Wayne, was banned in 2011. Both MTV and BET banned the song due to its references to gang tradition.

The tune's title was once deemed a connection with Game's purported ties with LA gang the Bloods. A decade later, the tune remains banned by each networks.

2 Neil Young - "This Note's For You"

Canadian rocker Neil Young saw his 1988 hit "This Note's for You", which slams consumerism and massive firms, banned via MTV after a marketing campaign from Michael Jackson's criminal team.

They took offense to a scene in the tune video in which a Michael Jackson doppelganger's hair catches fireplace and MTV unexpectedly banned the video.

1 Nine Inch Nails - "Happiness In Slavery"

Trent Reznor is also taking part in main success now due to his soundtrack paintings on Oscar-winning films comparable to The Social Network and, extra lately, Mank, however back in 1992 he was once inflicting swathes of controversy.

Nine Inch Nail's track "Happiness in Slavery" was once universally banned because of extreme depictions of violence and torture. We're not too stunned about this one, despite the fact that many artists have since launched in a similar way violent movies without being banned.

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