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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Should some songs never be sung again?

363 replies

Atethehalloweenchocs · 31/01/2023 21:57

I was at a social event where there was various songs which we were singing along to. One of which was Delilah. Obviously the content is abhorrent, but its a banger of a tune, and something that loads of people know. The day after, found an old playlist with a bunch of Michael Jackson stuff on. AIBU to think it is ok to sing along to a song with a good tune even if the content or artist is problematic?

OP posts:

WendyAndCIyde · 01/02/2023 08:23

1ittlegreen · 01/02/2023 06:38

I've had a hard time breaking away from Morissey/The Smiths because he's a racist piece of shit but still love the music.

Why is he a racist piece of shit?

midgetastic · 01/02/2023 08:24

I don't believe that censorship is ever a good thing - just like free speech in general

Unless something is actually promoting / encouraging others to harm and violence

Sometimes lyrics are horrific because that was normal in the past , sometimes they are horrific exploring a sensitive topic - I recall one about domestic violence and a women that still loved him and blamed herself which was great to talk to my teenage daughter about

Bubbylana · 01/02/2023 08:27

The song is called Open up the dog house by Dean and Nat.

BeyondMyWits · 01/02/2023 08:28

When Michael Fassbender, Hugh Jackman, and James McAvoy came on to the Graham Norton show doing a dance to Blurred Lines, they went down in my estimation, because that song was already being talked about.

Elderflower14 · 01/02/2023 08:37

Oliver's Army... Uses the n....r word!

stripedsox · 01/02/2023 08:40

Everyone should have the right to choose what they want to listen to. It is up to the individual if they don't want to listen or to avoid somethingwhere practical/possible.
I certainly am not going to be told what I can and can't listen to or read by anyone. We live in a country where we can do this and thankfully not state vetted and controlled.

Howaboutthisonehenry · 01/02/2023 08:42

Anyotherdude · 31/01/2023 22:23

I think that songs only shouldn’t be sung if the content was inappropriate - think “Young girl, get out of my mind” - not because of the fact that the original singer has since been found out to have been reprehensible. That’s because there are normally other people on the recording who might not have realised that the “Star/bandmate” was reprehensible, so you would be depriving them of their royalties. By all means deprive the offender from theirs, though!

‘young girl, get out of my mind’ was the one I was thinking about!

Think awful lyrics don’t deserve to be listened to, but kind of pointless banning these- they’ll die off with the 69’s generation.

I love ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Thriller’ so as much as I detest Michael Jackson and his actions, I won’t drop from my playlist!!

Because where do you draw the line? So many artists/ composers had dodgy views and behaviours that weren’t right even in their day, but a good tune is a good tune!

Howaboutthisonehenry · 01/02/2023 08:43

*60’s generation- not 69’s!! ( though what a generation to be part of! 😂)

Goingforasong · 01/02/2023 08:44

@Cuppasoupmonster You could say the same about the 1960s and 1970s though. Very different times but I'm not sure that makes it acceptable.

LindorDoubleChoc · 01/02/2023 08:51

Yeah, I'm very whenever I hear Michael Jackson on the radio. I believe the young men who said he sexually abused them.

Clawdy · 01/02/2023 08:51

On a lighter note, a Bacharach song by Jack Jones, big hit in the sixties, "Wives And Lovers" :
"Hey, little girl, comb your hair, fix your makeup
Soon he will open the door
Don't think because there's a ring on your finger
You needn't try any more
For wives should always be lovers too
Run to his arms the moment he comes home to you
Dim all the lights, pour the wine, start the music
Time to get ready for love."

NooNakedJacuzziness · 01/02/2023 08:53

Someone mentioned Coward of the County upthread - what's wrong with that? We can't ban every song that's not "sunshine lollipops and rainbows". And Rock and Roll part 2 is (unfortunately) an absolute bloody banger of a song, just a shame it wasn't by another singer.

PortiasBiscuit · 01/02/2023 08:55

Still prefer Rolf Harris’s “Stairway to Heaven” to the original.

FOTTFSOFTFOASM · 01/02/2023 08:57

Last Christmas.

PortiasBiscuit · 01/02/2023 08:57

There are some dodgy sexual politics in “The Barber of Seville”
How far back are we going?

FOTTFSOFTFOASM · 01/02/2023 08:58

Has anyone mentioned Jake the Peg (with an extra leg, digga-digga-digga-do)?

MyOldCaravan · 01/02/2023 08:59

For information, Rolf Harris didn't write Two Little Boys.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 01/02/2023 08:59

GeorgiaGirl52 · 31/01/2023 23:46

Baby it's Cold Outside - but I love the Ryan Kelly version
Scarlet Fever by Kenny Rogers
Coward of the County by Kenny Rogers

Why Coward of the County? Doesn't Tommy beat the shit out of the Gatlin Boys after they raped Becky?

PortiasBiscuit · 01/02/2023 09:00

And Ed Sheeran whizzing down his country roads half-cut? Tut tut!

Nocaloriesinchocolate · 01/02/2023 09:00

I love Wagner and am perfectly comfortable separating the music (which is imo sublime) from the man and his most evil follower. Music transcends behaviour. I suppose I might think twice if the composer/performer were still alive and would benefit financially from my eg buying the music, but not in Wagner’s case.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 01/02/2023 09:00

Maybe Bing Crosby's "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" could do with a bit of a review.
🤔

CrazyCatLadyCat · 01/02/2023 09:01

People can sing what they want really! I am always singing along to Michael Jackson’s songs. He was very talented.