Clear Channel memorandum
Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), the largest owner of radio stations in the United States, circulated an internal memorandum containing a list of songs[1] that program directors felt were "lyrically questionable" to play in the aftermath of the attacks.[2]
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 lyrics Clear Channel deemed "questionable."[3] The list was not an explicit demand not to play the songs listed, but rather a suggestion that they "might not want to play these songs."[citation needed] The list was made public by the independent radio industry newsletter Hits Daily Double, which was not affiliated with iHeartMedia.[4] Snopes.com 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.[5] The compiled list was the subject of media attention around the time of its release.[5]
The list names 162 songs as well as "All Rage Against The Machine songs".[6][5] Rage Against the Machine is the only instance on the list of an artist's entire catalog being recommended against. A few of the songs name multiple bands' versions (such as Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and the cover by Guns N' Roses).[6] In some cases, only certain covers were included on the list: for example, the cover of "Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm is on the list while the original Michael Jackson recording is not; conversely, Martha and the Vandellas' original version of "Dancing in the Street" and Van Halen's cover are included, but David Bowie and Mick Jagger's cover is not.
Reasons for inclusions
[edit]The Clear Channel memorandum contains songs that, in their titles or lyrics, address topics that relate to the September 11 attacks, such as airplanes, collisions, death, violence, explosions, the month of September, Tuesday (the day of the week the attacks occurred) and New York City, as well as general concepts that could be connected to aspects of the attacks, such as conflict, the Middle East, the sky falling, and weapons. Also included under the ban were several happy and celebratory songs (including Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World"), as Clear Channel believed playing joyful music in the aftermath of the attacks was inappropriate.
WASH, a Clear Channel-owned station in Washington, D.C., reportedly played Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" while the memorandum was being circulated, "which brought a polite if reproachful call from one listener, who was assured by the station the song's broadcast was a mistake."[5]
List of songs
[edit]- ↑ "When You're Falling" is listed as being by Peter Gabriel, but is actually by Afro Celt Sound System, with Gabriel as guest vocalist.
- ↑ The lead 9/11 hijacker, Mohamed Atta, was Egyptian.
- ↑ The original name of the song was "Speed Kills", but following the attacks on September 11, 2001, Bush renamed the song "The People That We Love".
- ↑ "Suicide Solution" is listed as being by Black Sabbath, but is actually by Ozzy Osbourne, a lead singer of Black Sabbath.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "The fallout over Clear Channel's (possibly apocryphal) do-not-play list lasted well past 9/11". Washington Post. October 8, 2021. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ↑ Wishnia, Steven (October 24, 2001). "Bad Transmission: Clear Channel's Hit List". Reviews. LiP magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Kaufman, Gil (September 9, 2021). "Filter's Richard Patrick, Don McLean, Drowning Pool, Saliva & More Talk Post-9/11 Clear Channel Radio Scrub". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ↑ Dutton, Jeremy; Puchert, William (October 10, 2001). "Music industry responds to terrorism". Zephyr. Archived from the original on June 20, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 "Radio, Radio". Snopes.com. September 18, 2001. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2008.
- 1 2 Truitt, Eliza (September 17, 2001). "It's the End of the World as Clear Channel Knows It". Slate.com. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) Slate published what it claimed was a copy of the list. - ↑ Hatcher, Thurston (September 20, 2001). "Radio stations retool playlists after attacks". CNN. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
Further reading
[edit]- Bertin, Michael (November 30, 2001). "Imagine: The music business in a post-911 world". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- "Clear Channel Says National "Banned Playlist" Does Not Exist" (PDF) (Press release). Clear Channel Communications, Inc. September 18, 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2002. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
- Friedlander, Paul; Mill, Peter (2006). Rock and Roll: A Social History. Basic Books. pp. 309–310. ISBN 0-8133-4306-2.
- Klinenberg, Eric (2007). Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-8050-7819-0.
- Kolodzy, Janet (2006). Convergence Journalism: Writing and Reporting Across the News Media. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-3886-9.
- Milner, Andrew (2004). Literature, Culture And Society. Routledge. pp. 154–155. ISBN 0-415-30785-6.
- Strauss, Neil (November 19, 2001). "The Pop Life; After the Horror, Radio Stations Pull Some Songs". Arts. The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
External links
[edit]- Clear Channel memorandum playlist on YouTube (up to 202 videos available)
