Radio Censorship Part 2: Its Inconsistency

As mentioned in my previous post, my complaint with radio censorship is not about whether radio should be censored, but rather that radio censorship is not consistent and uniform. When in the privacy of your own home or your own area, I believe you should be able to listen to anything you want, whether it is or isn't censored for its content. I actually prefer unedited songs to edited songs when I'm listening to music.

Radio, however, is a public entity that can be accessed by people of all ages. Inappropriate content, whether it is song lyrics or comments from the DJs, is always readily available. From what I have observed, it seems much easier for DJs and radio personalities to censor themselves, so only occasionally is it a huge problem. With music, though, it's another story.

Radio stations are given certain versions of songs to play, so of course that's what they use. A good percentage of the songs played on the radio today (especially on hip hop and R&B stations) have edited versions due to explicit, obscene, and inappropriate language. It's great that radio stations play the edited versions of these songs, but these versions are never the same across the board.

Honestly, I don't think I should have to hear 5 different versions of the same song on 5 different radio stations. When I'm listening to the radio, I switch stations quite often. There have been times when I listened to a song on one station and then as soon as it ended, I listened to the same song again on another station. Of course, each edited version of that song was different on each of the two stations.

A few examples:

Lyric--"I just wanna f*** every girl in the world/Every model, every singer, every actress, every diva." (Every Girl, by Young Money)
Station A: censors the word sloppily--you can tell what is said
Station B/C: censors the word completely

Lyric--"I've got every reason to feel like I'm that b****." (Ego, by Beyonce)
Station A: states the word
Station B: censors the word sloppily--you can tell what is said
Station C: censors the word completely

Younger radio audiences do not need to be exposed to this language. As long as there are similar radio stations with a shared audience, listeners will continually switch back and forth as I do. And if one radio station plays the version of the song that is edited well and another station plays another version of the same song that is not edited well, younger audiences will still be exposed to inappropriate language. Unless all radio stations can play the same versions of these songs--versions that are actually appropriate for all ages--I think radio censorship of music is becoming useless.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.

A Brief Update

Last week, I made a goal to write in this blog consistently. I also made a goal to use this blog for more serious topics, instead of for my normal, every-day thoughts. After reading the blogs I follow that are written by women (you can find them on the side-bar under "i.love.these.blogs") though, I realized that I miss using my blog for shorter, less serious updates. I miss using my blog to post about my personal thoughts and more feminine topics. Photos-of-the-day, quotes-of-the-day, favorite things (music, books, fashion, etc.), currently reading...and you might be saying, "Can't you do that here?"

No, not really. Why? Because it would just be a completely different style for the posts, and they cater to 2 separate audiences.

Because I don't want to mix the 2 different kinds of posts (personal topics and more formal topics), I created a separate blog called Sincerely, Desiree'. Let's just say that it will be very..."girly."

So visit me there, follow the blog, or just...pop in every once in awhile. I love to see your comments.

By the way, I'm still posting Part 2 of my Radio Censorship post today, so come back for that!

Radio Censorship Part 1: A History

Anything about censorship in the media, whether it's television, movies, radio, music, or newspaper has been controversial. Radio censorship, however, has not been placed on the table for debate nearly as much as censorship for television and movies.

I've chosen a couple of excerpts from this article to briefly expand on the history of radio censorship: Censorship, Matthew Murray

This has been the general government standpoint on radio censorship since 1927:

Nothing in this act shall be understood or construed to give the Commission the power of censorship over the radio communications or signals transmitted by any radio station, and no regulation or condition shall be promulgated or fixed by the Commission which shall interfere with the right of free speech by means of radio communication.

So, historically there is no set standard for radio censorship. However, the emergence of self-censorship by the radio stations appeared after an outbreak of “radio vandalism,” in 1914 when "the Department of Commerce stipulated that amateur licensees must refrain from profane or obscene words:"

The one exception to the no-censorship clause of the Radio Act and the Communications Act is the following addendum: "No person within the jurisdiction of the United States shall utter any obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication." In other words, this was the one legislated area in which prior restraint was permissible: broadcasters airing obscene, indecent, or profane material could expect license revocation or nonrenewal. During its tenure, the Federal Radio Commission interpreted this clause broadly, arguing that because radio entered the home and was accessible by children, indiscretions in this area were unacceptable.

Of course, radio censorship is not equal with each individual radio station; different words and content are censored from some stations while they aren't censored from others. My complaint is not about whether radio should be censored, but rather that radio censorship is not consistent and uniform.

Check back for the next post, when I explain why I feel this way. Feel free to comment!

R&B/Pop: The Artists of Today

A couple of days ago, I heard Jay-Z's new song "Run This Town" (feat. Rihanna and Kanye West.) Listen to it here. As soon as it started, I picked out Rihanna's voice. It's unmistakable and unique.

What I really mean is that her voice unmistakably nasal and uniquely horrible.

The point of this entry is not to bash Rihanna, if that's what you Rihanna fans are thinking right now. Rihanna's has had a great amount of success with her music. It's upbeat, different, catchy, and perfect for the radio. It's marketable. But can she really sing? If you were to go to one of her live concerts, how would her voice sound? Would it sound like the recorded single?

I don't think so.

Modern technology has allowed many individuals to become extremely successful in the music industry. I understand that this technology makes the construction of songs easier, as well as more interesting if special effects or sounds are added. In my opinion, using technology for that reason is fine. The problem starts when this technology is used to fix a voice.

Let's say that a music artist didn't have an outstanding voice. It wasn't strong, and most importantly...it was "pitchy." The notes were off; the pitch was never right on. What could they do about that? A private voice coach might do the trick, but until their voice improved all that would be needed is a flip of a switch - certain technology and tools would easily perfect their voice digitally. That's what many R&B/pop artists are doing today. The worst part? Their music really sells.

To get a break from all of this, I'll tune into the adult R&B stations to listen to a mix of "old school and new school." It's like a breath of fresh air for me. These stations play songs from artists that have true talent. Artists that have true voices. Artists that sound the same live as they do on their recorded single.

Really, it's almost as if you don't need to have any real talent anymore to make it big in the music industry. Everything just revolves around selling the album and making money, regardless if the musician has true talent or not. This really does frustrate me, but it doesn't seem as though it will change anytime soon.

Until it does (if it ever will), you'll find me tuning into those adult R&B stations for a taste of true talent, good music, and unmistakable, unique voices.

To clarify, what I mean is unmistakably authentic and uniquely incredible.

Let me know what you think. Feel free to leave those comments!

Take the Time to Smell the Flowers

To put it in a nutshell, Americans are always busy. When I googled "busy americans," these were the first three results:


My favorite is the third result, from a handbook to help international students at the University of Pennsylvania become accustomed to the American lifestyle. The full quote from the search results is as follows, "Americans also tend to believe they should be doing something most of the time. You will often hear Americans talk about how busy they are, which often is true, but also is simply expected. To not be busy, since everyone is busy, may be considered rather strange. This results on a positive active range of campus activities and organizations."

It's funny to read aloud, but it's the truth. We Americans do tend to believe they should be busy for most of the time. We do talk about being busy all the time. It's built into our lifestyles; we're taught to be busy and not to waste time from day one.


Being this busy most often leads to stress--believe me, I'd know! When I start to feel the stress creep up on me, I try to remember that I really do need to take the time out to relax. Today, I'll be doing 7 of these things...hopefully I'll relieve myself of some stress, right? Here are 10 ways you can fight stress (in no particular order):

1. Listen to your favorite music
2. Turn on your favorite movie
3. Work out
4. Laugh
5. Call up a friend you haven't talked to in awhile
6. Go to bed early
7. Get creative: write, draw, compose, paint, etc.
8. Read
9. Spend time with your significant other
10...

I think number 10 deserves a whole paragraph. It comes from the title of this entry.

Take the time to smell the flowers! Take the time to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings. Go for a leisurely walk, go for an easy bike ride, or even go for a brisk run--just be sure to look around you. Look at the vibrant colors of the sky and the grass. Watch and listen to the birds as they chase after each other. See the wildflowers blow in the wind. Find a perfect spot to watch the sunset. Listen to the soothing sounds of a river, lake, or ocean. My favorite part: capture it. Bring your camera along.

Because who wants to miss out on this?

...take the time to smell the flowers...

What do you do to fight the stress? Feel free to comment.