It’s Only Rock and Roll… And They Don’t Like It.

It’s a dark day for music lovers in Canada.  This week the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council announced that a hit from the mid 1980’s has been deemed unfit for broadcast on Canadian radio stations.

Money For Nothing

The classic rock song in question is Money For Nothing, by British rockers Dire Straits.   The ruling states that due to a complaint from a listener of CHOZ-FM in St. Johns, Newfoundland an investigation was launched based on his outrage of hearing the word faggot three times in the twenty-five year old song.

The word faggot has apparently become a lightning rod as the council states in the official ruling that even if the word was at one time acceptable it has evolved and become unacceptable in most circumstances in today’s society.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…Finale

Looking at the playbill after Jeff Beck had left the stage I noticed that we only had two more headliners to go,  Metallica and U2.

With appropriate heavy metal bluster Metallica took the stage with ear-splitting prowess.  Originally the organizers of the event wanted Led Zeppelin to carry the hard rock part of the show and were pretty much turned down flat by the remaining members of the group.  Thus it came to be that metal’s chosen heirs came to New York representing  every thing that embodies teenage angst and rebellion.

Opening with For Whom the Bell Tolls, the heavy drumbeat thumping into my chest with some force. Then into One and Turn the Page, before bringing out New York Native Lou Reed.

By their own admission Metallica does not play well with others, and did not automatically grasp the “Jam” concept for the show.  However when they learned whom they were to be teamed up with it all made sense, claimed lead singer Lars Ulrich.  It was their job to become the backing band for their Rock and Roll Elders.

Lou Reed emerged onto the stage in a Deja Vu invoking cheer of “LOOOOO”, thinking back to the “BOOOO’s” that greeted Bruce Springsteen the night before.  He appeared totally at ease with Metallica and the crowd as he lead  off with Sweet Jane.  White Heat/White Light followed in a similar rocked up fashion.

Lou Reed leads Metallica