2001 Clear Channel memorandum

{{media}}{{cquote|Catharsis was exactly the opposite of what corporate radio was promoting. There was no room for songs of peace or hate, loss or exorcism, anger or despair. What we got was bland and mildly upbeat, the Chevy-commercial sentiments of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" and the cliched uplift of inspirational ballads like "Wind Beneath My Wings," surely one of the most annoying genres of music ever invented.|||Steven Wishnia<ref>Steven Wishnia, [http://web.archive.org/web/20080416014917/http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/featwishnia_142.shtml Bad Transmission: Clear Channel's Hit List]. Archived from the original at lipmagazine.org, 24 October 2001.</ref>}}
On September 13, 2001, two days after the [[9/11|9/11 attacks]], the top brass at [[Right-wing media groups#iHeartMedia|Clear Channel]] sent an email to over 1,000 US [[radio]] stations "an updated and expanded list of songs with 'questionable lyrics' that they should avoid playing."<ref>[http://www.slate.com/id/1008314/ It's the End of the World as Clear Channel Knows It]. ''Slate'', 17 September 2001.</ref><ref>Thurston Hatcher, [https://www.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/20/rec.radio.playlist/ Radio stations retool playlists after attacks]. [[CNN]], 20 September 2001.</ref> Clear Channel denied the claim,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020923200949/http://content.clearchannel.com/corporate/article/NationalBannedPlaylist.pdf Clear Channel says national "banned playlist" does not exist]. Clear Channel Communications press release, archived from the original at content.clearchannel.com, 18 September 2001.</ref> but it received considerable media coverage at the time.<ref>Jeremy Dutton and William Puchert, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080620024102/http://zephyr.unr.edu/zephyr/arts/archives/art_dutpuch_musicindustry.html Music industry responds to terrorism]. Archived from the original at zephyr.unr.edu (University of Nevada, Reno), 10 October 2001.</ref> Though many reports claimed that the list was meant to prohibit radio stations from playing songs listed on it, the list was circulated as guidance. Many stations, including some in the [[New York]] area, ignored the list.<ref>David Mikkelson, [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/radio-radio/ Clear Channel Banned Songs]. [[Snopes]], 15 April 2008.</ref>

Some of the songs making this list deal with fire or planes. In a perverse attempt to sterilize media in light of the terrorist attack, the memo recommends dropping songs like {{wpl|Fire_and_Rain_(song)|Fire and Rain}} by James Taylor, {{wpl|Smokin' (song)|Smokin'}} by Boston, {{wpl|Burnin' for You|Burnin' for You}} by Blue Öyster Cult, {{wpl|Jump (Van Halen song)|Jump}} by Van Halen, and {{wpl|Bennie and the Jets}} by Elton John from rotation, in case a listener might be [[triggered]] by the mere mention of a word.

The question was not that there would be kinds of [[music]] that would be inappropriate in the aftermath of the attacks, but the specific songs Clear Channel ultimately ''chose''. It seemed more like an 1960s-style [[social conservative]] attack on popular [[rock music]] than an understandable suggestions list.

Many found the list baffling, and considered it a misguided attempt to ensure the nation's mental health. As such, it was roundly criticized as [[censorship]] and an ominous side effect of President [[George W. Bush]]'s [[War on Terror]].<ref>Neil Strauss, [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/19/arts/the-pop-life-after-the-horror-radio-stations-pull-some-songs.html The Pop Life; After the Horror, Radio Stations Pull Some Songs]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', 19 September 2001.</ref>

==The list==
{{cquote|…every single Rage Against the Machine song was notably poo-pooed by Clear Channel, as the [[Founding Fathers]] absolutely hated guitars that sound like turntables. Ditto goes for "I'm on Fire"… because nobody understands that the song was just Bruce Springsteen surreptitiously confessing that he's the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four.|||The 6 Most Hilarious Failures in Music Censorship History<ref>Mike Floorwalker. [https://www.cracked.com/article_20209_the-6-most-hilarious-failures-in-music-censorship-history.html The 6 Most Hilarious Failures in Music Censorship History]. [[Cracked]], 20 January 2013.</ref>}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Artist
! Song
! style="width: 40%;" | Notes
|-
| {{wpl|3 Doors Down}}
| Duck and Run
| 
|-
| {{wpl|311 (Band)|311}}
| Down
| 
|-
| {{wpl|AC/DC}}
| Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
| 
|-
| {{wpl|AC/DC}}
| Hells Bells
| 
|-
| {{wpl|AC/DC}}
| Highway to Hell
| 
|-
| {{wpl|AC/DC}}
| Safe in New York City
| 
|-
| {{wpl|AC/DC}}
| Shoot to Thrill
| 
|-
| {{wpl|AC/DC}}
| Shot Down in Flames
| 
|-
| {{wpl|AC/DC}}
| T.N.T.
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Ad Libs}}
| The Boy from New York City
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Afro Celt Sound System}}
| When You're Falling
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Alice in Chains}}
| Down in a Hole
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Alice in Chains}}
| Rooster
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Alice in Chains}}
| Sea of Sorrow
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Alice in Chains}}
| Them Bones
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Alien Ant Farm}}
| Smooth Criminal
| {{wpl|Michael Jackson}}'s original version interestingly ''not'' on the memorandum.
|-
| {{wpl|The Animals}}
| We Gotta Get Out of This Place
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Louis Armstrong}}
| {{wpl|What a Wonderful World}}
| This wonderful song's inclusion on the list exposed the callousness and hypocrisy of media executives in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
|-
| {{wpl|The Bangles}}
| Walk Like an Egyptian
| Only one of the perpetrators was Egyptian, ringleader {{wpl|Mohamed Atta}}
|-
| {{wpl|Barenaked Ladies}}
| Falling for the First Time
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Fontella Bass}}
| Rescue Me
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Beastie Boys}}
| Sabotage
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Beastie Boys}}
| Sure Shot
| 
|-
| [[The Beatles]]
| {{wpl|A Day in the Life}}
| A reflection on life, death, and war, inspired by [[LSD]]. Perhaps the reference to [[war]], i.e., "The English Army had just won the war" triggered inclusion on the list? Who knows.
|-
| [[The Beatles]]
| {{wpl|Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds}}
| Maybe they thought a mention of the sky would trigger someone?
|-
| [[The Beatles]]
| {{wpl|Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da}}
| Life goes on, and Clear Channel thought it would be too much for anyone to realize this.
|-
| [[The Beatles]]
| {{wpl|Ticket to Ride}}
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Pat Benatar}}
| Hit Me with Your Best Shot
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Pat Benatar}}
| Love Is a Battlefield
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Black Sabbath}}
| Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Black Sabbath}}
| War Pigs
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Blood, Sweat and Tears}}
| And When I Die
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Blue Öyster Cult}}
| Burnin' for You
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Boston (band)|Boston}}
| Smokin'
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Los Bravos}}
| Black Is Black
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Jackson Browne}}
| Doctor My Eyes
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Buddy Holly and the Crickets}}
| That'll Be the Day
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Bush (band)|Bush}}
| Speed Kills
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Chi-Lites}}
| Have You Seen Her
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Petula Clark}}
| A Sign of the Times
| 
|-
| [[The Clash]]
| Rock the Casbah
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Phil Collins}}
| In the Air Tonight
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Sam Cooke}}
| Wonderful World
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Crazy World of Arthur Brown}}
| Fire
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Creedence Clearwater Revival}}
| Travelin' Band
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Cult}}
| Fire Woman
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Bobby Darin}}
| Mack the Knife
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Dave Clark Five}}
| Bits and Pieces
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Skeeter Davis}}
| The End of the World
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Neil Diamond}}
| America
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Dio (band)|Dio}}
| Holy Diver
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Doors}}
| The End
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Drifters}}
| On Broadway
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Drowning Pool}}
| Bodies
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Bob Dylan}}
| Knockin' on Heaven's Door
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Everclear (band)|Everclear}}
| Santa Monica
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Shelley Fabares}}
| Johnny Angel
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Filter (band)|Filter}}
| Hey Man, Nice Shot
| Maybe too close to home, as the song is about the suicide of {{wpl|Budd Dwyer}}
|-
| {{wpl|Foo Fighters}}
| Learn to Fly
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Fuel (band)|Fuel}}
| Bad Day
| It's not the one Andy Bernard sang when he was firing Pete in "The Office".
|-
| {{wpl|The Gap Band}}
| You Dropped a Bomb on Me
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Godsmack}}
| Bad Religion
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Green Day}}
| Brain Stew
| But not "{{wpl|Welcome to Paradise}}", weirdly enough.
|-
| {{wpl|Norman Greenbaum}}
| Spirit in the Sky
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Guns N' Roses}}
| Knockin' on Heaven's Door
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Happenings}}
| See You in September
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Jimi Hendrix Experience}}
| Hey Joe
| "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?"
|-
| {{wpl|Herman's Hermits}}
| Wonderful World
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Hollies}}
| He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Jan and Dean}}
| Dead Man's Curve
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Billy Joel}}
| Only the Good Die Young
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Elton John}}
| Bennie and the Jets
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Elton John}}
| Daniel
| "Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane…"
|-
| {{wpl|Elton John}}
| Rocket Man
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Judas Priest}}
| Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Kansas (band)|Kansas}}
| Dust in the Wind
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Carole King}}
| I Feel the Earth Move
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Korn}}
| Falling Away from Me
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Lenny Kravitz}}
| Fly Away
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Led Zeppelin}}
| Stairway to Heaven
| 
|-
| [[John Lennon]]
| Imagine
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Jerry Lee Lewis}}
| Great Balls of Fire
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Limp Bizkit}}
| Break Stuff
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Local H}}
| Bound for the Floor
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Lynyrd Skynyrd}}
| Tuesday's Gone
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge}}
| The Worst That Could Happen
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Martha and the Vandellas}}
| Dancing in the Street
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Martha and the Vandellas}}
| Nowhere to Run
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Dave Matthews Band}}
| Crash into Me
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Wings (band)|Paul McCartney & Wings}}
| Live and Let Die
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Barry McGuire}}
| Eve of Destruction
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Don McLean}}
| American Pie
| Due to its references of "the day the music died", where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Vallens, and The Big Bopper died in a plane crash.
|-
| {{wpl|Megadeth}}
| Dread and the Fugitive Mind
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Megadeth}}
| Sweating Bullets
| 
|-
| {{wpl|John Mellencamp}}
| Crumblin' Down
| 
|-
| {{wpl|John Mellencamp}}
| Paper in Fire
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Metallica}}
| Enter Sandman
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Metallica}}
| Fade to Black
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Metallica}}
| Harvester of Sorrow
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Metallica}}
| Seek & Destroy
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Steve Miller Band}}
| Jet Airliner
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Alanis Morissette}}
| Ironic
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Mudvayne}}
| Death Blooms
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Ricky Nelson}}
| Travelin' Man
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Nena}}
| 99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons
| Noted peace anthem about an accidental nuclear war
|-
| {{wpl|Nine Inch Nails}}
| Head Like a Hole
| "God money's not one to choose. Head like a hole, black as your soul, I'd rather die than give you control!"
|-
| {{wpl|Oingo Boingo}}
| Dead Man's Party
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Ozzy Osbourne}}
| Suicide Solution
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Paper Lace}}
| The Night Chicago Died
| 
|-
| {{wpl|John Parr}}
| St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)
| "I can feel radio censorship burning in me"
|-
| {{wpl|Peter and Gordon}}
| I Go to Pieces
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Peter and Gordon}}
| A World Without Love
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Peter, Paul and Mary}}
| Blowin' in the Wind
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Peter, Paul and Mary}}
| Leaving on a Jet Plane
| Written by [[John Denver]] who coincidentally died in a light aircraft accident in 1997
|-
| {{wpl|Tom Petty}}
| Free Fallin'
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Pink Floyd}}
| Mother
| "Mother, do you think they'll drop the bomb?"
|-
| {{wpl|Pink Floyd}}
| Run Like Hell
| 
|-
| {{wpl|P.O.D.}}
| Boom
| 
|-
| [[Elvis Presley]]
| (You're the) Devil in Disguise
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Pretenders}}
| My City Was Gone
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Queen (band)|Queen}}
| Another One Bites the Dust
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Queen (band)|Queen}}
| Killer Queen
| 
|-
| [[Rage Against the Machine]]
| All songs
| "Lights out, Guerrilla Radio! Turn that sh*t off!"
|-
| {{wpl|Red Hot Chili Peppers}}
| Aeroplane
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Red Hot Chili Peppers}}
| Under the Bridge
| 
|-
| {{wpl|R.E.M.}}
| It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Rolling Stones}}
| Ruby Tuesday
| "Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday"
|-
| {{wpl|Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels}}
| Devil with a Blue Dress On
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Saliva (band)|Saliva}}
| Click Click Boom
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Santana}}
| Evil Ways
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Savage Garden}}
| Crash and Burn
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Simon & Garfunkel}}
| Bridge over Troubled Water
| An odd choice: traditionally considered a very fitting song for sad times, and a perennial at funerals<ref>[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/another-one-bites-the-dust/ Songs Played at Funerals], Snopes, 15 May 2006</ref>
|-
| {{wpl|Frank Sinatra}}
| New York, New York
| aka "Theme from ''New York, New York''"; widely seen as a celebration of the city, and Liza Minnelli actually performed it at the first pro sports game in the New York metro after 9/11<ref>{{wpa|Theme from New York, New York}}</ref>
|-
| {{wpl|Slipknot (band)|Slipknot}}
| Left Behind
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Slipknot (band)|Slipknot}}
| Wait and Bleed
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Smashing Pumpkins}}
| Bullet with Butterfly Wings
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Soundgarden}}
| Black Hole Sun
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Soundgarden}}
| Blow Up the Outside World
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Soundgarden}}
| Fell on Black Days
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Bruce Springsteen}}
| I'm Goin' Down
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Bruce Springsteen}}
| I'm on Fire
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Bruce Springsteen}}
| War
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Edwin Starr}}
| War
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Steam (band)|Steam}}
| Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Cat Stevens}}
| Morning Has Broken
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Cat Stevens}}
| Peace Train
| It's unclear why 2 Stevens songs were on the list, aside from the fact that he's a [[Muslim]] and Clear Channel didn't want them on radio
|-
| {{wpl|Stone Temple Pilots}}
| Big Bang Baby
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Stone Temple Pilots}}
| Dead and Bloated
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Sugar Ray}}
| Fly
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Surfaris}}
| Wipe Out
| 
|-
| {{wpl|System of a Down}}
| Chop Suey!
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Talking Heads}}
| Burning Down the House
| 
|-
| {{wpl|James Taylor}}
| {{wpl|Fire and Rain (song)|Fire and Rain}}
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Temple of the Dog}}
| Say Hello 2 Heaven
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Third Eye Blind}}
| Jumper
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Three Degrees}}
| When Will I See You Again
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Tool (band)|Tool}}
| Intolerance
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Trammps}}
| Disco Inferno
| 
|-
| {{wpl|U2}}
| Sunday Bloody Sunday
| The attack was on a Tuesday, although the song is peripherally about terrorism and primarily about the killing of innocent civilians by the British army<ref>{{wpa|Sunday Bloody Sunday}}</ref>
|-
| {{wpl|Van Halen}}
| Jump
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Van Halen}}
| Dancing in the Street
| 
|-
| {{wpl|J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers}}
| Last Kiss
| 
|-
| {{wpl|The Youngbloods}}
| Get Together
| 
|-
| {{wpl|Zager and Evans}}
| {{wpl|In the Year 2525}}
| "In the year 2525, if man is still alive"
|-
| {{wpl|The Zombies}}
| She's Not There
| Lyrically about an untrustworthy woman, not obviously connected with 9/11<ref>{{wpa|She's Not There}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Censorship]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Moral panics]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Radio]]

Categories: Censorship, Media, Moral panics, Music, Radio