With censorship in the news again, it’s time to look back on some crazy moments in music.
[This was my weekly column for GlobalNews.ca. – AC]
We all know that music is a powerful and empowering thing. It affects our emotions, our psyches, our very souls — and that’s exactly the kind of thing that frightens certain people about music.
They believe that music can be dangerous and needs to be carefully supervised, regulated and sometimes banned — all in the name of… well, something. Morality? Humanity? Some twisted political reason? Check, check and check.
In many cases, the morality police choose to blame the messenger — the music or the musician — instead of looking at why the song seems to resonate so strongly. But they know that societal and political change is often presaged by messages and movements in popular culture. They hope that by blocking the message and restricting the movement, they can stop or even reverse change.
The music morality police have been around for centuries. The word “censor” was used to describe the Roman official in charge of the census. Through a roundabout way, he also had the job of monitoring public morals. For example, if you were found singing an “evil” song — which could be, say, something unflattering about the emperor — the Code of Twelve Tables, a law passed in 450 BC, decreed that you were to be put to death by clubbing
The Qin dynasty, which reigned in China some 2,200 years ago, was big into restricting art and literature. The emperor declared music to be a “wasteful” pastime and ordered all musical instruments and songbooks destroyed.
