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2001 Clear Channel memorandum

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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.
—Steven Wishnia[1]

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."[2][3] Clear Channel denied the claim,[4] but it received considerable media coverage at the time.[5] 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.[6]

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 Fire and Rain by James Taylor, Smokin' by Boston, Burnin' for You by Blue Öyster Cult, Jump by Van Halen, and Bennie and the Jets 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.[7]

The list[edit]

…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.
—The 6 Most Hilarious Failures in Music Censorship History[8]
Artist Song Notes
3 Doors Down Duck and Run
311 Down
AC/DC Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
AC/DC Hells Bells
AC/DC Highway to Hell
AC/DC Safe in New York City
AC/DC Shoot to Thrill
AC/DC Shot Down in Flames
AC/DC T.N.T.
The Ad Libs The Boy from New York City
Afro Celt Sound System When You're Falling
Alice in Chains Down in a Hole
Alice in Chains Rooster
Alice in Chains Sea of Sorrow
Alice in Chains Them Bones
Alien Ant Farm Smooth Criminal Michael Jackson's original version interestingly not on the memorandum.
The Animals We Gotta Get Out of This Place
Louis Armstrong What a Wonderful World This wonderful song's inclusion on the list exposed the callousness and hypocrisy of media executives in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
The Bangles Walk Like an Egyptian Only one of the perpetrators was Egyptian, ringleader Mohamed Atta
Barenaked Ladies Falling for the First Time
Fontella Bass Rescue Me
Beastie Boys Sabotage
Beastie Boys Sure Shot
The Beatles A Day in the Life A reflection on life, death, and war, inspired by LSD. Perhaps the reference to war, i.e., "The English Army had just won the war" triggered inclusion on the list? Who knows.
The Beatles Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Maybe they thought a mention of the sky would trigger someone?
The Beatles Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Life goes on, and Clear Channel thought it would be too much for anyone to realize this.
The Beatles Ticket to Ride
Pat Benatar Hit Me with Your Best Shot
Pat Benatar Love Is a Battlefield
Black Sabbath Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Black Sabbath War Pigs
Blood, Sweat and Tears And When I Die
Blue Öyster Cult Burnin' for You
Boston Smokin'
Los Bravos Black Is Black
Jackson Browne Doctor My Eyes
Buddy Holly and the Crickets That'll Be the Day
Bush Speed Kills
The Chi-Lites Have You Seen Her
Petula Clark A Sign of the Times
The Clash Rock the Casbah
Phil Collins In the Air Tonight
Sam Cooke Wonderful World
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown Fire
Creedence Clearwater Revival Travelin' Band
The Cult Fire Woman
Bobby Darin Mack the Knife
The Dave Clark Five Bits and Pieces
Skeeter Davis The End of the World
Neil Diamond America
Dio Holy Diver
The Doors The End
The Drifters On Broadway
Drowning Pool Bodies
Bob Dylan Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Everclear Santa Monica
Shelley Fabares Johnny Angel
Filter Hey Man, Nice Shot Maybe too close to home, as the song is about the suicide of Budd Dwyer
Foo Fighters Learn to Fly
Fuel Bad Day It's not the one Andy Bernard sang when he was firing Pete in "The Office".
The Gap Band You Dropped a Bomb on Me
Godsmack Bad Religion
Green Day Brain Stew But not "Welcome to Paradise", weirdly enough.
Norman Greenbaum Spirit in the Sky
Guns N' Roses Knockin' on Heaven's Door
The Happenings See You in September
The Jimi Hendrix Experience Hey Joe "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?"
Herman's Hermits Wonderful World
The Hollies He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
Jan and Dean Dead Man's Curve
Billy Joel Only the Good Die Young
Elton John Bennie and the Jets
Elton John Daniel "Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane…"
Elton John Rocket Man
Judas Priest Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
Kansas Dust in the Wind
Carole King I Feel the Earth Move
Korn Falling Away from Me
Lenny Kravitz Fly Away
Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven
John Lennon Imagine
Jerry Lee Lewis Great Balls of Fire
Limp Bizkit Break Stuff
Local H Bound for the Floor
Lynyrd Skynyrd Tuesday's Gone
Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge The Worst That Could Happen
Martha and the Vandellas Dancing in the Street
Martha and the Vandellas Nowhere to Run
Dave Matthews Band Crash into Me
Paul McCartney & Wings Live and Let Die
Barry McGuire Eve of Destruction
Don McLean American Pie Due to its references of "the day the music died", where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Vallens, and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash.
Megadeth Dread and the Fugitive Mind
Megadeth Sweating Bullets
John Mellencamp Crumblin' Down
John Mellencamp Paper in Fire
Metallica Enter Sandman
Metallica Fade to Black
Metallica Harvester of Sorrow
Metallica Seek & Destroy
Steve Miller Band Jet Airliner
Alanis Morissette Ironic
Mudvayne Death Blooms
Ricky Nelson Travelin' Man
Nena 99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons Noted peace anthem about an accidental nuclear war
Nine Inch Nails Head Like a Hole "God money's not one to choose. Head like a hole, black as your soul, I'd rather die than give you control!"
Oingo Boingo Dead Man's Party
Ozzy Osbourne Suicide Solution
Paper Lace The Night Chicago Died
John Parr St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) "I can feel radio censorship burning in me"
Peter and Gordon I Go to Pieces
Peter and Gordon A World Without Love
Peter, Paul and Mary Blowin' in the Wind
Peter, Paul and Mary Leaving on a Jet Plane Written by John Denver who coincidentally died in a light aircraft accident in 1997
Tom Petty Free Fallin'
Pink Floyd Mother "Mother, do you think they'll drop the bomb?"
Pink Floyd Run Like Hell
P.O.D. Boom
Elvis Presley (You're the) Devil in Disguise
The Pretenders My City Was Gone
Queen Another One Bites the Dust
Queen Killer Queen
Rage Against the Machine All songs "Lights out, Guerrilla Radio! Turn that sh*t off!"
Red Hot Chili Peppers Aeroplane
Red Hot Chili Peppers Under the Bridge
R.E.M. It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
The Rolling Stones Ruby Tuesday "Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday"
Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels Devil with a Blue Dress On
Saliva Click Click Boom
Santana Evil Ways
Savage Garden Crash and Burn
Simon & Garfunkel Bridge over Troubled Water An odd choice: traditionally considered a very fitting song for sad times, and a perennial at funerals[9]
Frank Sinatra New York, New York aka "Theme from New York, New York"; widely seen as a celebration of the city, and Liza Minnelli actually performed it at the first pro sports game in the New York metro after 9/11[10]
Slipknot Left Behind
Slipknot Wait and Bleed
The Smashing Pumpkins Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Soundgarden Black Hole Sun
Soundgarden Blow Up the Outside World
Soundgarden Fell on Black Days
Bruce Springsteen I'm Goin' Down
Bruce Springsteen I'm on Fire
Bruce Springsteen War
Edwin Starr War
Steam Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
Cat Stevens Morning Has Broken
Cat Stevens Peace Train It's unclear why 2 Stevens songs were on the list, aside from the fact that he's a Muslim and Clear Channel didn't want them on radio
Stone Temple Pilots Big Bang Baby
Stone Temple Pilots Dead and Bloated
Sugar Ray Fly
The Surfaris Wipe Out
System of a Down Chop Suey!
Talking Heads Burning Down the House
James Taylor Fire and Rain
Temple of the Dog Say Hello 2 Heaven
Third Eye Blind Jumper
The Three Degrees When Will I See You Again
Tool Intolerance
The Trammps Disco Inferno
U2 Sunday Bloody Sunday The attack was on a Tuesday, although the song is peripherally about terrorism and primarily about the killing of innocent civilians by the British army[11]
Van Halen Jump
Van Halen Dancing in the Street
J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers Last Kiss
The Youngbloods Get Together
Zager and Evans In the Year 2525 "In the year 2525, if man is still alive"
The Zombies She's Not There Lyrically about an untrustworthy woman, not obviously connected with 9/11[12]

References[edit]

  1. Steven Wishnia, Bad Transmission: Clear Channel's Hit List. Archived from the original at lipmagazine.org, 24 October 2001.
  2. It's the End of the World as Clear Channel Knows It. Slate, 17 September 2001.
  3. Thurston Hatcher, Radio stations retool playlists after attacks. CNN, 20 September 2001.
  4. Clear Channel says national "banned playlist" does not exist. Clear Channel Communications press release, archived from the original at content.clearchannel.com, 18 September 2001.
  5. Jeremy Dutton and William Puchert, Music industry responds to terrorism. Archived from the original at zephyr.unr.edu (University of Nevada, Reno), 10 October 2001.
  6. David Mikkelson, Clear Channel Banned Songs. Snopes, 15 April 2008.
  7. Neil Strauss, The Pop Life; After the Horror, Radio Stations Pull Some Songs. The New York Times, 19 September 2001.
  8. Mike Floorwalker. The 6 Most Hilarious Failures in Music Censorship History. Cracked, 20 January 2013.
  9. Songs Played at Funerals, Snopes, 15 May 2006
  10. See the Wikipedia article on Theme from New York, New York.
  11. See the Wikipedia article on Sunday Bloody Sunday.
  12. See the Wikipedia article on She's Not There.