http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Nrp7cj_tM
Alright, we’re breaking form a little bit today. I caught the news about the Dire Straits tune getting censored on Canadian radio, regardless of the fact that it’s been playing without issue for some 25 years, and regardless of the fact that it uses a slur in a context that doesn’t promote hate against the group it demeans. It’s an unfortunate decision, but one that doesn’t surprise me a whole lot.
The business of being told what I can and can’t watch by a nanny-state who choose what’s in good taste and what isn’t goes against every fibre of my being. I have a higher threshold of what I actively enjoy (and by extension, what I’m able to tolerate) without being offended, but even I have my break point. Do you know what I do when I reach that point and it’s not fun anymore? I stop reading/listening/watching the thing that’s offending me. Pretty simple solution to my problem, isn’t it? Like magic, I make a choice that affects my life in a positive way without denying anyone else the right to choose for themselves. To do otherwise is arrogance dressed in concern’s clothing. It’s not noble or altruistic, it’s ham-fisted and demeaning. In so many words, it tells you that you’re not fit to decide what’s cool with you and what isn’t, so someone who knows better has taken the onus upon themselves to do it for you. I can’t think of many people offhand who would be happy going to a restaurant and being told by your waiter that you’re too heavy already so he’s replaced your cheeseburger with a garden salad. Is it really so different?
Anyway, rantmode aside, I’m putting up three videos with awful, questionable content. You’re free to watch them or not, but they’re there for you to make that choice for yourself. Have at ’em, intrepid readers.
Editor’s Note: BE WARNED! The videos under the cut are deliberately offensive! Even if you’re twisted like me and Vince Nitro, they’ll probably still make you cringe a bit. DO NOT WATCH THEM IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED! The Back Row doesn’t want to offend you. But we’ll be damned if we let someone else tell us what we can and can’t post. As Vince says – the choice to watch or not watch these videos is yours alone.
G.G. Allin brings us this cheerful tune about doing horrid things to children. I still haven’t decided if he was legitimately rebelling against everything, or whether it was just calculated histrionics taken to an extreme that most people wouldn’t have the stones to reach for.
Mindless Self Indulgence graces us here with Faggot. Topical, since it’s that particular slur that got Money For Nothing borked off the radio in the first place. Also – why the hell are all the offensive songs so catchy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5eFk5x0o44
Now, to be perfectly honest this isn’t nearly the worst tune Anal Cunt has ever put out…but this is the only one I could find that had lyrics. It’s generally pretty difficult to understand the singer’s banshee voice. Also – this kind of disproves my earlier point about the catchiness of offensive songs. Son of a bitch.
So there you have it. If you watched it, good on you. If it offended you, then you’ll heed my warning when I tell you that I’m about to link something offensive. If you wisely avoided it because you didn’t want to be offended, you win too. If you watched, decided that it sucked and opt to write us about how I should take it down / never post again / only post ‘acceptable’ things – you’re doing it wrong. Try again when you’re deciding for yourself and nobody else.