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CMU Playlists
Playlist: PRS For Music’s Most Controversial Songs
By CMU Editorial | Published on Saturday 27 November 2010
As Kate Thornton probably once said on Channel 4’s ‘104 Tedious Celebrities State The Obvious About Pop Music’: “Like, wow, you know, and I remember, because, like, wow, it gets to the end, and like it’s been all, you know, like wow, and then, well, you see, I remember it, it gets to the end and you’re like, wow, you know, wow because, well, it gets to the end and like, the camera points to a mirror…” Vernon Kaye would then pop up and say “and it’s only a bloomin chick! Fantastic”.
Just as predictable, probably, is that The Prodigy’s ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ would top a poll of the most controversial songs of all time. Well, it was a definite contender anyway. The guys at collecting society PRS For Music this week published a list of the ten most controversial pop tracks, them having surveyed Kate Thornton, Vernon Kaye and that guy off T4. Or possibly some other people. Alas Mike Read didn’t answer his phone when they called him for his vote, which is why ‘Relax’ ended up at number three.
On releasing the survey, the generally uncontroversial boss man of PRS, Ellis Rich, told reporters: “This poll demonstrates the link between music and society. Many of these songs have achieved iconic status because of the controversy or simply because the record was banned”.
We here at CMU are never ones to shy away from controversy so, to mark the PRS’s impromptu celebration of music that offends, we’ve bunged all these songs into a Powers Of Ten playlist for your amusement/disgust.
MOST CONTROVERSIAL TEN
Click here to listen to the most controversial playlist in Spotify, and then read on to find out more about the tracks included.
01 The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up
So, officially the most controversial song of all time, which is pretty good going for a track that only contains two lines sampled from ‘Give The Drummer Some’ by Ultramagnetic MCs, performed by rapper Kool Keith. When the single went top ten, Radio 1 refused to mention it by name on its chart show.
02 The Sex Pistols – God Save The Queen
Released to coincide with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, this song ensured The Sex Pistols’ place as the most hated band in Britain. That didn’t stop it from rocketing up the singles chart though, getting to number one or number two depending on who you speak to. Though in some cases publications left a blank space in the chart where the song should be.
03 Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax
Although it had already reached number six in the chart, controversy struck when Radio 1 DJ Mike Read announced that he didn’t like the single’s lyrics and suggestive cover artwork. The BBC banned it, it went to number one for five weeks and the rest is history.
04 Eminem – Kim
In the process of putting this together, we’ve discovered that there’s a radio edit of this track. Surely the most pointless edit ever. Removing all instances of the word ‘fuck’ doesn’t make this song any less controversial. It’s fairly amazing that it’s only at number four, considering that, unlike ‘Smack My Bitch Up’, it goes into some detail about the smacking up of the female lead – in this case Eminem’s real life ex-wife.
05 Rage Against The Machine – Killing In The Name
But how can a Christmas song be controversial? Well, most concentrate on the sweary “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” crescendo and ignore the accusations of police corruption and Ku Klux Klan membership. For a brilliant and hugely detailed look at the lyrics of ‘Killing In The Name’, read this.
06 The Shamen – Ebeneezer Goode
The BBC banned ‘Ebeneezer Goode’ due to claims that the song promoted the use of ecstasy. The Shamen denied this for years, saying it was just about a naughty character they’d invented. They fooled no one.
07 Ozzy Osbourne – Suicide Solution
Ozzy Osbourne was sued by the parents of a teenager who shot himself while listening to ‘Suicide Solution’, claiming subliminal messages hidden in the song had driven him to take his own life. Ozzy denied there were any such messages and said that the lyrics of the song were actually about alcohol abuse.
08 Marilyn Manson – Get Your Gunn
It wouldn’t be a list of controversial songs if Marilyn Manson wasn’t in there somewhere. The Gunn referred to in the title is Dr David Gunn, who is thought to be the first abortionist in the US to be assassinated by ‘pro-life’ campaigners in 1993.
09 Slayer – Angel Of Death
With lyrics recounting the actions of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, who conducted experiments on prisoners held in Auschwitz during World War II, its release brought with it claims that the band were Nazi sympathisers. They denied this, arguing that the song is simply a recounting of history.
10 XTC – Dear God
It seems almost quaint that ‘Dear God’ should make it onto this list. At a time when Richard Dawkins writes bestsellers and has his own documentaries on mainstream TV, that a song about atheism should be considered one of the most controversial ever written is a bit odd. It’s nice to hear it again, though.
