2001 Clear Channel memorandum

Catharsis was exactly the opposite of what corporate radio was promoting. There was no room for songs of peace or hate, loss or exorcism, anger or despair. What we got was bland and mildly upbeat, the Chevy-commercial sentiments of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" and the cliched uplift of inspirational ballads like "Wind Beneath My Wings," surely one of the most annoying genres of music ever invented. On September 13, 2001, two days after the 9/11 attacks, the top brass at Clear Channel sent an email to over 1,000 US radio stations "an updated and expanded list of songs with 'questionable lyrics' that they should avoid playing." Clear Channel denied the claim, but it received considerable media coverage at the time. Though many reports claimed that the list was meant to prohibit radio stations from playing songs listed on it, the list was circulated as guidance. Many stations, including some in the New York area, ignored the list.

Some of the songs making this list deal with fire or planes. In a perverse attempt to sterilize media in light of the terrorist attack, the memo recommends dropping songs like by James Taylor,  by Boston,  by Blue Öyster Cult,  by Van Halen, and  by Elton John from rotation, in case a listener might be triggered by the mere mention of a word.

The question was not that there would be kinds of music that would be inappropriate in the aftermath of the attacks, but the specific songs Clear Channel ultimately chose. It seemed more like an 1960s-style social conservative attack on popular rock music than an understandable suggestions list.

Many found the list baffling, and considered it a misguided attempt to ensure the nation's mental health. As such, it was roundly criticized as censorship and an ominous side effect of President George W. Bush's War on Terror.

The list
…every single Rage Against the Machine song was notably poo-pooed by Clear Channel, as the Founding Fathers absolutely hated guitars that sound like turntables. Ditto goes for "I'm on Fire"… because nobody understands that the song was just Bruce Springsteen surreptitiously confessing that he's the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four.