As strange as it may seem, there are people around the world who think that The Rolling Stones are offensive – and not just because one of the band is a wrinkly old man in a skin-tight T-shirt, either.
The Chinese government is banning The Rolling Stones from playing some of their songs when the band hits Shanghai in April, according to reports. Governmental censorship has stopped the Stones from playing some of their rudest songs, including Brown Sugar, Beast Of Burden and a planned cover of Keep Your Shit The Hardest by DMX.
It’s hard to imagine that The Rolling Stones (CDs) are still capable of
shocking the world. For one, they’re now an institution – and that’s
like being shocked by The Queen. And secondly, they’re a bit older now,
and less capable of being menacing. Now, when Mick Jagger sings a rude
word, he’s less like the out-of-control youth who wanted to steal your
daughter and more like the mad old homeless man who stands outside
Dixons all day yelping and playing with himself.
But that didn’t stop The Rolling Stones from being censored during
their Super Bowl halftime concert a few weeks ago, when organisers cut
out the band’s microphones during Start Me Up. And now The Rolling
Stones are being censored again, this time in China.
Now that The Rolling Stones have been confirmed to play a date in
Shanghai next month, thought has turned to the filthy nature of their
lyrics. According to The Guardian, promoters must submit lyrics and
performance videos to the government of China for assessment before
they are given the go-ahead to play dates in their country. And the government
has said that The Rolling Stones are allowed to play in Shanghai, just
so long as they don’t play Honky Tonk Woman, Brown Sugar, Beast Of
Burden and Let’s Spend The Night Together.
The Chinese Government have also previously put a stop to Britney
Spears wearing some of her more risque stage outfits – it’s a shame
they couldn’t do that with The Rolling Stones, too. We swear we saw
Jagger wearing sequins not so long ago. And that’s too much.
Read more:
Stones forced to axe sexually explicit songs for China concert – Guardian
[story by Stuart Heritage]
pamylla says
Well, is this AGE discrimination, or WHAT?!??
To comment on the explicit lyrics is one thing, to be RUDE because Mick Jagger wears sequins is quite another!!
I think this writer needs to reexamine the meaning of the word “RUDE.”
Pamylla Mar
California, U.S.