A brief overview of CBSC music censorship.

Having yet to find a satisfactory article on the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council's role in curtailing freedom of expression, I have set out this evening to write a brief overview of their last decade of music censorship.

The CBSC is a non-governmental organization.  Its membership includes over 730 television and radio stations.  Between 2001 and 2010, the CBSC has rendered about 275 decisions, of which twelve directly involved songs.  Over the decade there has been a declining trend in the number of decisions dealing with songs -- the great majority came from the first half of the decade.  Notably, there are a significant number of decisions dealing with religious, adult, and news programming. Movies and TV series constitute a significant proportion of the remainder of the decisions.

1) In their 2001 decision 00/01-0670, Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst were considered.

"Livin' It Up" by Limp Bizkit

I'm just a crazy motherfucker
Livin' it up
Not giving a fuck
Livin' life in the fast lane

"Outside" by Aaron Lewis and Fred Durst (from a live concert)

Biloxi! This is the real motherfuckin' deal y'all!

The Panel found that the songs' broadcast "in unedited form at times of day when children could reasonably be expected to be listening constitute[d] a breach of the CAB Code of Ethics."

2) In 2001, decision 99/00-0654 was released.  This decision dealt with a Bloodhound Gang classic.

"The Bad Touch"

"Love, the kind you clean up with a mop and bucket
Like the lost catacombs of Egypt. Only God knows where we stuck it
Hieroglyphics? Let me be Pacific, I wanna be down in your South Seas
But I got this notion that the motion of your ocean means "Small Craft Advisory"
So if I capsize on your thighs high tide; B-5, you sunk my battleship
Please turn me on, I'm Mister Coffee with an automatic drip
So show me yours, I'll show you mine; "Tool Time" you'll Lovett just like Lyle
And then we'll do it [edited words] so we can both watch "X-Files"  

Interestingly, the Council held that "most questions of potentially unpalatable material, amount to questions of taste, and, in such cases, should be left to the listener's discretion to listen to or turn off." It is my opinion that the Council has not followed its own guidance with respect to this statement.

The Council also found that "'[w]hile the Council agrees that the song makes several references to sexuality, the Council is of the view that such references consist mainly of innuendo. The song playfully alludes to the sexual fantasies of the songwriter without explicitly describing them."

3) The Boyz in the Hood decision released in 2001 dealt with violent lyrics.

"Boyz in the Hood" performed by the band Dynamite Hack

Greeted with a 40 and I start drinking
And from the eight ball my breath starts stinking
Gotta get my girl to rock that body
Before I left I hit the Bacardi
Pulled to the house get her out of the pad
The bitch said something to make me mad
She said something that I couldn't believe
So I grabbed the stupid bitch by her nappy ass weave
Started talking shit wouldn't you know
I reached back like a pimp and I slapped the ho
Then her father stood up and he started to shout
So I threw a right cross and knocked his old ass out  

The Council found that the lyrics breached code provisions.  The Council noted: "Whether the intention of the song is serious or satirical, the Council finds that the lyrics, in their sanctioning, promotion or glamorizing of violence against women, constitute abusive commentary on the basis of gender and are insensitive to the dangers of stereotyping generally and to the exploitative linking of sexual and violent elements in dealing with women."

4) In decision 00/01-0832, The Tragically Hip's song Highway Girl breached the code.

"Highway Girl (Live)" by The Tragically Hip

So we opted to kill ourselves, as I said, but had one rifle and one bullet, so I told her to put her head down close to the barrel and I put the barrel sort of into her mouth and I'd be right behind it with my head right behind hers and I said her life would end instantly; mine might have a few extra minutes of agony and suffering.  

The Panel held that the broadcast was in breach, being unedited and played at a time when children could reasonably be expected to be listening.

5) In decision 01/02-0456, the Headstones' music was at issue.

"Cubically Contained" by the Headstones

Those paranoid little fuckers  

Like the Tragically Hip's song, the Headstones' song was played "when children could reasonably be expected to be listening"

6) Decision 04/05-0612 dealt with some rather strong language.

"Kill All the White Man" by NOFX 

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

Kill all the white man

The Prairie Regional Panel did not find the discriminatory aspect of the song to be problematic.  The Code of Ethics at Clause 2 [the Human Rights Clause] states that "broadcasters shall ensure that their programming contains no abusive or unduly discriminatory material or comment which is based on matters of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status or physical or mental disability."  The Panel found that there was no breach of the Human Rights clause in the words of the song. In my view, the Panel's reading of the Clause 2 was quite narrow.

However, the Panel concluded that Clause 9(a), which prevents the sanctioning of violence, had been breached.

7) Decision 94/95-0060 is worth mentioning.  Here the Council held that with respect to the film White Men Can't Jump it could not "interfere with the broadcaster's choice to air the film."  The following are four excerpts from the script:

You got shit for brains, dickhead.

Fuck you, faggot.

You don't even fall for that nigger shit.

Farrakhan disciple son of a bitch.

Notably, through this decision the Council gave assent to the use of the words 'faggot' and 'nigger'.  *I have removed come commentary here because of Mr. Muir's keen observation, with which I could not reasonably argue.*

Comments

[Marnie Tunay]

Good one, Graham. :))

[James Muir]

Reading 94/95-0060 and 09.10-0818 together, it appears, to the contrary, that in the 16 years between the decisions the appropriateness of broadcasting the word may have changed or, if you like, the awareness of the CBSC regarding the effect of the word has changed.

[GP]

Thanks. Made some changes to the article accordingly. I can't argue with your criticism.

[Gareth Morley]

I agree it is likely that the difference shows change in attitude, rather than contradiction.

But I think it's interesting that we protect groups more precisely as they become less vulnerable. 1985 was the hieght of the AIDS epidemic (in the rich world, anyway) and the idea that people should be treated equally regardless of sexual orientation was still at least slightly radical. Today no urban mayor is going to miss the Pride parade.

[Gareth Morley]

I would say the claims of "censorship" are just cover for ugly culture war politics. As George Carlin pointed out a long time ago, no one has ever been able to say whatever they want on the air -- and there is approximately zero effort out there to change this. But the National Post gets all offended when "faggot" or "nigger" is bleeped out. I call fecal material of a male bovine.

[David Cheifetz]

Still, based on what I saw on "House" last week, it's ok in Canada - since I watched it on Global - to talk about (based on the show, heterosexual) adults shtupping. OTOH, it maybe that nobody on the CBSC knows what shtupping is. Or it's just too early because nobody has complained.

I see that the CBSC has "voluntarily" agreed to review it's decision at the "request" of the CRTC.

[Gareth Morley]

Top 40 radio is essentially pornographic nowadays. The implicit message of centuries of pop songs is implicit no longer. But they still bleep out the words Carlin wasn't allowed to say.