Friday, April 03, 2020

Faggots Song by Dire Straits

12:20 am PDT - I'm sitting here listening to the Tom Petty channel on Pandora, and this song comes up by Dire Straits: Money for Nothing. Here are part of the lyrics:


Seemed so innocuous then.... Even Sting was on the song. And I've listened to this a hundred times  and never really bothered me.... Of course no one would get by with such lyrics today.... I think. This song came out in 1985. With its many "faggots," I would hope it would never be released today except by some singer who had nothing else to say.

12 comments:

William M. Connolley said...

Why wouldn't it be released today? Do you think no-one says such things? That all music should be "clean" enough for maiden aunts; that music explicitly put into the voice of a person should not reflect what that person would say?

David Appell said...

Yes, I think such language is less acceptable today. Especially in the US. I bet Dire Staits would not write the same language today.

Unknown said...

Listen to all the lyrics. I'm pretty sure Dire Straits was mocking the speaker.

Do you object to Twain's use of the word "nigger" in Tom Sawyer?

Ned said...

Yes, such language is less acceptable today, and yes, I would guess that Dire Straits would not write the same language today. Also, yes, I'm pretty sure Dire Straits was mocking the speaker, and yes, Mark Twain's work should still be read today (more than ever, in fact) and yet also its language would probably relegate it to the margins if it were written today. People do still find the Pink Panther movies hilarious and love to re-watch them, but also then cringe every time Clouseau refers to Cato Fong as "My little yellow friend" and wish that crap had been omitted.

The impact of offensive acts and language on art is a complicated subject and not really amenable to one-size-fits-all answers.

Ned said...

Off topic ... here are some current numbers for the Trump Administration's budget requests for FY 2021:

CDC ($5.5 billion, -18.6% cut from 2020)

NIH ($38.7 billion, -7% cut)

Defense center for biological threat reduction ($127.4 million, -37% cut)

Nuclear weapons ($44.5 billion, +19% increase)

David in Cal said...

Huge jump in testing -- 216,000 tests today! Presume this is a combination of actual new tests and sites that just started reporting total tests, not just positive tests. All the other figures today are grim -- more new cases and more new deaths. I'm glad to find one bright spot.

Cheers

Ned said...

Tom Nichols, conservative professor at the Naval War College just now:

"Even by the standards of this White House, that was a shitshow."

Ned said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Layzej said...

For the most part a crisis like this will bring neighbors together. But not all the time.

Layzej said...

German media reported Friday that 200,000 masks purchased from manufacturer 3M and intended for Berlin police were diverted to the U.S. as they were being transferred between planes in Thailand.

Andreas Geisel, the interior minister for Berlin state, said the diversion of the masks is "an act of modern piracy."

The world needs to agree to socialize any IP related to health and safety. Allow Chinese and international factories to sever ties with USA companies and sell directly.

Ned said...

Ironically, as late as March 17, Trump was still taxing the import of masks from China via his trade-war tariffs. Two weeks later, on April 3, he was stealing them from other countries because we can't get enough.

Also, if it makes you feel any better, Trump has also been confiscating shipments of PPE purchased by "blue" states (e.g., Massachusetts):

3 million masks ordered by Massachusetts were confiscated in Port of New York, leading to creative alternative

What’s Up with the Feds Seizing PPE Shipments to States and Hospitals?

There's a very strange dynamic going on here. Trump is blaming Democratic states for "whining" and telling them that they need to take care of themselves and not ask the federal government for help. But then he's also confiscating supplies from those states and shipping them to governors in states that support him and that are important to his re-election, especially Florida.

It's actually a frightening situation. People will literally die in Democratic states so that Republican governors can get extra masks and ventilators, and go on television to thank Trump for helping them out.

David Appell said...

Wow.

Trump is losing it. He can't handle the pressure.

I didn't watch yesterday's press conference, but it seems it was an insulting collection of grievances, insults, accusations and blaming of others.

Trump Veers Off to Attack Ukraine Whistleblower at Coronavirus Briefing, Daily Beast 4/4/20
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-rages-at-critics-at-coronavirus-press-conference

Trump simply can't handle his demons, even at his age.

I does that Trump is making decisions that decide who will and won't live. And the blue states are losing.

Unfortunately his red state supporters are too ignorant to understand this and too immoral to care.