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In 1985 a memo was
issued to Soviet radio stations detailing bands whose records shouldn't be played on
the
air along with a reason for each. The folks at Boing Boing posted an image with an English translation of the memo and we're
surprised by some of the bands listed and especially with the reasons given.
Sure, we understand that there's "eroticism" in Donna Summer's songs, but we're a little
confused about the "neofascism" found in Julio Iglesais' tunes. Closer to our wheelhouse,
Talking Heads' music was banned from Soviet radio due to "myth of Soviet military danger,"
while the reasoning behind Pink Floyd making the list is "interfering the foreign policy
of
USSR (Afghanistan)." Pink Floyd's "Get Your Hands Off My Desert" off 1983's The Final
Cut does include the line "Brezhnev took Afghanistan." AC/DC is also accused of
"neofascism" as well as "violence."
Regardless, the memo is an interesting document from the Cold War era and while Russians
still aren't exactly free to express themselves (see Pussy Riot), we're glad there's been
at
least a little relaxation of the rules from the days where the country's citizens had to
purchase rock music through the black market.
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[Published on: 6/4/14]
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