[cma-l] Sexually explicit songs and others......

[Two Lochs Radio]

We have pondered similar questions with Gaelic, including the reverse of the situation Eddie describes - there are perfectly common, decent Gaelic words that sound like unnacceptable words in English and can make a Station Manager prick up his ears (oops) as they go by.

We also have the problem that a Gaelic word frequently needing to be spoken by non-Gaelic speaking presenters (reading news or what's on items) is a lewd word in Gaelic when pronounced with a slightly shorter vowel sound than it should be, but it just seems to entertain the Gaels in the audience when it happens.

We have a pretty broad-minded approach to song lyrics on our station, and our listeners, ranging from very young to very old, have always been supremely tolerant of occasional mistakes. But of course we do our utmost to avoid offending anyone with inappropriate material. We do however take a fairly relaxed attitude late in some late evening shows where listeners can expect to hear lyrics that we wouldn't put in the breakfast show, and these have never elicited any complaints. 

On the other hand, some of the most popular Highland singalong songs with our family audiences contain the words 'bugger all' and 'bloody daft', which though 'mild' by most media standards, still worry some presenters for peak time listening, but we only ever get requests for them, not complaints.

But the biggest problem is avoiding accidental use of 'non radio edits'. This has happened from time to time - eg the non-radio version of Beautiful South "Don't marry her", or James Blunt "You're beautiful", both of which sound sweetness and light until a very clearly emphasized word unwelcome in a teatime show.

There can also be problems with tracks that share the same name but very different lyrics. The only case we have had that actually provoked a listener complaint was a Gaelic-presented show in which they played a rap track with some very unfortunate sexually and racially explicit lyrics, on a Sunday morning! The two ladies presenting the show fortunately were paying attention to the English lyrics. They pulled the track off pretty smartly, and said it was not the one they were expecting - it had the same name as another perfectly okay track which they had thought they were playing. The listener who complained was a non-Gaelic speaker, and when we explained what the presenters had said as they pulled the track off the listener was satisfied that it was a simple mistake and didn't complain any further.

And of course, to many people other lyrics that are not 'rude' can be just as offensive or hurtful. For example songs referring to fat girls can be very offensive to the concerned parent of someone with an easting disorder, and there are also songs that have sectarian connotations that presenters may not be aware of.

A veritable minefield, but we are blessed with a very understanding audience who seem to realize we are doing our best with limited resources, and accept the occasional snafu (oops).

Alex
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Julian Mellor 
  To: Eddie Stuart 
  Cc: cma-l at mailman.commedia.org.uk 
  Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 2:20 PM
  Subject: Re: [cma-l] Sexually explicit songs and others......


  Very well said Eddie.


  Makes me wonder how one deals with double entendre. 
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