Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" Banned from Canadian Radio

Published Jan 13, 2011

You may have heard it a million times in your parents car while you were growing up, but a recent ruling now deems Dire Straits ' 1985 hit "Money for Nothing" unacceptable for Canadian airwaves.As CBC reports, a ruling released yesterday (January 12) by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) says the song contravenes the human rights clauses of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' Code of Ethics and Equitable Portrayal Code.The CBSC came to the decision following a listener's complaint to St. John's radio station CHOZ-FM due the tune's use of the word "faggot," finding it to be discriminatory to gays. While the broadcaster argued that the song was a staple of classic rock radio, the CBSC concluded that even if the word "faggot" was once acceptable, it has evolved now to the point where it is inappropriate in most contexts.As of now, you won't be able to hear the Dire Straits hit, lest it undergo some judicious editing. We'd toss up a clip of the tune were we not terrified of the consequences. Instead, here's Weird Al's significantly less scandalous parody of the track.