Questionable context, appalling videos and propaganda are only few of the reasons these songs are to date gawked upon!
Ever since, Tipper Gore and her aliases founded theย Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) in 1985, music censorship and taboo have found their way into mainstream music.ย This list is for all of those songs that brought society to a stand still either with the obscenity of their lyrics or the context it was based upon. Brownie points for guessing the No.1 on the list!
10. Chuck Berry – My Ding A Ling
To have released this song, in the post WWII environment, when everything was extremely conservative and there was so much taboo going around, one can only imagine how Chuck Berry might have fared with this song! Marked as one of the most controversial songs till date, you must check it out if you haven’t already!
9. N.W.A – Fuk Da Police
Needless to say, the popular hip-hop track sparked off quite the controversy when it was released. The song was featured in the movie, “Straight Outta Compton”ย and sold 750,000 copies even before the group began touring!
8. Madonna – Papa Don’t Preach
Heavily scrutinised for the lyrics of the song, “Papa Don’t Preach”ย just seems like Madonna telling teen girls that it was okay to make their own choices and get pregnant maybe? Madonna refused to comment on the context of the song.
7. Michael Jackson – They Don’t Care About Us
If you were around and aware of the music scene in the year 1996, then you would definitely have heard of the controversy surrounding Michael Jackson’s, “They Don’t Care About Us”. The video itself had to beย re-shot thriceย and the song later received flak from US stating that it was antisemitic.
6. Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines
Models in the nude, steamy lyrics on an endless loop, crooning out “I know you want it!” – ย this track was straight up banned majorly across most UK universities!
5. Ozzy Osbourne – Suicide Solution
Suicide Solution was under a scrutinising radar ever since Ozzy Osbourne released a track self-proclaiming itself to be a solution to suicide. Six years down the line, Osbourne gets sued by the parents of a teen who killed himself. The parents filed a lawsuit against the singer blaming his song for their son’s death. However, the lawsuit did not stick.
4. Eminem – Stan
While the track was lauded for its musical goodness, Eminem’s music video for “Stan” shocked viewers when they saw a woman gagged in the backseat of the car that gets driven off a cliff by Eminem’s obsessed fan. Some referred to the visuals as too disturbing and said itย glorifiedย anger and violence.
3. Blink 182 – Adam’s Song
The song was meant to be an anti-suicide message, the song was in the limelight for all the wrong reasons when a Colombian teen chose this song to play on repeat while ending his life in his parent’s garage.ย
2. Nirvana – Rape Me
Contrary to what most people believe while initially hearing the song, Kurt Cobain‘s verses in the song weren’t about glorifying rape or encouraging the act. In fact, he released the track as an anti-rape message. Kurt explains, “Itโs like sheโs saying, โRape me, go ahead, rape me, beat me. Youโll never kill me. Iโll survive this and Iโm gonna f**king rape you one of these days and you wonโt even know it.”
1. Prince – Darling Nikki
Perhaps, the most controversial song in terms of lyrics has to be Prince‘s “Darling Nikki”! The lyrics talks about a sex friend that Prince comes across in a hotel lobby who’s masturbating to a magazine. The song goes on to vividly describe sex acts and if we had to put a label to this we’d say it is definitely NSFA (Not Safe For Anywhere)!ย It was in response to this track that, Tipper Gore founded theย Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC).
Do you agree with this list? Let us know if there are other songs that were equally or more controversial.