2001 Clear Channel memorandum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2001 Clear Channel memorandum is a controversial document distributed by Clear Channel Communications to the over 1,200 radio stations they owned, shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, containing a list of a large number of what the memo termed "lyrically questionable" songs.[1]
During the time immediately after the attacks, many television and radio stations altered normal programming in response to the events, and the rumor spread that Clear Channel and its subsidiaries had established a list of "songs with questionable lyrics" that stations might not want to play after the attacks. The list was made public by the independent newsletter Hits Daily Double, which is not affiliated with Clear Channel.[2] Snopes did research on the subject and concluded that the list did exist as a suggestion for radio stations but noted that it was not an outright ban on the songs in question.[3]
The list contains 166 songs, including "all songs" by Rage Against the Machine and songs recorded by multiple artists (for example "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan and the same song by Guns N' Roses). In some cases, only certain versions of songs were included on the list—for example, the cover of "Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm is on the list despite the fact that the original version, sung by Michael Jackson, is not, while J. Frank Wilson's version of "Last Kiss" is included but Pearl Jam's cover is not.[4]
Clear Channel denied the existence of such a list in a press release to a radio industry trade publication, Radio Ink, although they had already admitted to distributing it.[5]
The compiled list was the subject of much media attention around the time of its release.[3]
[edit] List of songs
-
a- The original name of this song was "Speed Kills", but following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the band renamed it "The People That We Love".
-
b - "When You're Falling" is listed as being by Peter Gabriel, but is actually by Afro Celt Sound System, with Gabriel as guest vocalist.
[edit] References
- ^ Wishnia, Steven (2001-10-24). "Bad Transmission: Clear Channel's Hit List". Reviews. LiP magazine. http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/featwishnia_142.shtml. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- ^ Dutton, Jeremy & Puchert, William. (2001-10-10). "Music industry responds to terrorism". Zephyr. http://zephyr.unr.edu/zephyr/arts/archives/art_dutpuch_musicindustry.html. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ a b "Radio, Radio". Snopes.com. 2001-09-18. http://www.snopes.com/rumors/radio.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
- ^ Truitt, Eliza (2001-09-17). "It's the End of the World as Clear Channel Knows It". Slate.com. http://www.slate.com/id/1008314/. Retrieved 2007-09-14. Slate published what it claimed was a copy of the list.
- ^ Truitt, Eliza (2001-09-18). "Profiles in Ass Covering". Slate.com. http://www.slate.com/id/1008318/. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
[edit] Further reading
- Armstrong, Mark (2001-10-18). ""Imagine" All the Inappropriate Songs". News. E! News. Archived from the original on 2001-10-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20010920145635/http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,8842,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- Bertin, Michael (2001-11-30). "Imagine: The music business in a post-911 world". The Austin Chronicle. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/print?oid=83800. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (2001-09-18). "Clear Channel Says National "Banned Playlist" Does Not Exist". Press release. http://content.clearchannel.com/corporate/article/NationalBannedPlaylist.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- Friedlander, Paul; Peter Mill (2006). Rock and Roll: A Social History. Basic Books. pp. 309–310. ISBN 0813343062.
- Klinenberg, Eric (2007). Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media. Macmillan. ISBN 0805078193.
- Kolodzy, Janet (2006). Convergence Journalism: Writing and Reporting Across the News Media. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0742538869.
- Milner, Andrew (2004). Literature, Culture And Society. Routledge. pp. 154–155. ISBN 0415307856.
- Strauss, Neil (2001-11-19). "The Pop Life; After the Horror, Radio Stations Pull Some Songs". Arts (The New York Times). http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E2D9153BF93AA2575AC0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
