10 Songs That Got Banned for Being Too Disturbing

10 Songs That Were Banned for Being Too Disturbing

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were looking at some of the most talked-about songs of all time that became famous for the wrong reasons. Owing to their explicit and upsetting content, these releases were heavily censored, if not banned entirely.

Pumped Up Kicks (2010)

Foster the People

It is common to misunderstand this upbeat song at first. Pumped Up Kicks is obviously not about shoes. It addresses mental health struggles among young people through a character named Robert, who imagines threatening his peers. An interpretation that the song might be romanticizing such a crime led to it being denounced. Parts of the lyrics were also censored. However, the bands former bass player, Cubbie Finks connection to the Columbine High School incident, of which his cousin was a survivor, proved that the track had a personal dimension. Foster himself had been taunted at school and hoped to bring attention to the cause of youth violence. However, following the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School attack, a few radio stations understandably banned the song.

Dear God (1986)

XTC

An atheists take on God ruffled more than a few feathers. In the lyrics of Dear God, XTC frontman Andy Partridge, the atheist in question, explored concepts like suffering, questioning why such a painful thing should exist if the Almighty is truly omnibenevolent. It drew the ire of religious fanatics, who resorted to extreme measures like sending harmful messages to Partridge and threatening to destroy a radio station airing the song. At the same time, the record also inspired a student to hold a staff member hostage at his school, forcing the institution to play it on the speaker system. The song was eventually taken off the air and widely banned, both in the U.S. and the U.K.

Killing in the Name (1992)

Rage Against the Machine

Rather than being particularly alarming in terms of content, this song had listeners clutching their pearls due to its profanity. Killing in the Name has curse words scattered throughout the lyrics. These serve to amplify the songs firm stand against mindless violence by law enforcement officials. Such unchecked aggression against an African-American individual named Rodney King sparked the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Rage used their platform to express their disappointment in the police, but their explicit language led to censorship. Even the music video was banned by MTV in the U.S. Across the pond, BBC Radio 1 accidentally played the explicit version to countless listeners and was hit with much backlash. Even so, the track certainly succeeded in getting its message across.

Die MF Die (2001)

Dope

Subtlety isnt exactly a defining characteristic of industrial metal music. If its not already evident from the title of the song, Die MF Die is an unapologetically contentious record. The anti-authoritarianism ringing clear at its core is almost eclipsed by the raging chorus. Its not exactly the type of tune youd want to listen to on your way to work. Instead, it apparently found unexpected popularity in the military. According to the bands lead singer, Edsel Dope, Die MF Die boosted soldiers morale. Its not surprising that such a song had limited promotion aimed at the general public via broadcast.

Smack My Bitch Up (1997)

The Prodigy

One of the strangest things in music history is the unironic success of this song. It was banned by the BBC and censored or completely removed from airplay by most radio stations for promoting misogyny. Its music video, which doubled down on the mistreatment of women portrayed in the lyrics, earned heavy criticism. Still, it won several awards, performed decently on charts, and is even celebrated for being scandalous. Although the band claimed they never meant to encourage gender-based violence through the song, critics were far from convinced. After all, with a title like that, its hard to see any other intention.

Cop Killer (1992)

Body Count

Written by Ice-T as a protest record against police brutality, this song had a massive impact on pop culture in the nineties. The lyrics, which blatantly depict the narrator on a deadly revenge hunt against cops, did not sit well with the U.S. government at the time, let alone broadcasters. It was condemned by the then-president George H. W. Bush and angered the police, who in turn pressured Warner Bros. to withdraw the song entirely. However, the mark it left on the hip-hop landscape remains indelible to this day.

Kim (2000)

Eminem

The King of Rap has a reputation for going hard. So, when he came out with a diss track about his ex-wife, Kim, not many were shocked that it was brimming with hatred. The lyrics, in which he spits brutal bars about taking Kims life, were vehemently criticized. Whats even more baffling is that he even played the song for her, passing it off as proof that he cares. While some music experts lauded the artistry of the song, others saw little more than a cruel fantasy painted by a scorned husband. As its popularity was undeniable, a clean version was adopted for radio, but airing the original was out of the question. A station even faced a penalty for doing so.

Jeremy (1992)

Pearl Jam

This song was based on the story of troubled teen Jeremy Wade Delle, who took his own life in front of his classmates. Another tragedy that informed it involved a boy named Brian, who allegedly opened fire at a San Diego school attended by Pearl Jams Eddie Vedder. The track was a mega-hit, but the graphic music video, which recreates Jeremy harming himself, crossed the line. It had to be edited according to the rules of censorship at the time, but even then, it was rarely broadcast since what happened at Columbine High School. The video also reportedly influenced the perpetrator of a similar crime at a Washington academy. Contrary to Vedders hopes of curbing gun violence, the song seemingly had an adverse effect.

**** Me (1993)

Nirvana

If you look beyond the shocking song title, this record has much substance. This isnt unexpected, though, given that it is Nirvana were talking about. Kurt Cobains lyrics may appear disturbing, but they are meant to slam sexual offenders without softening the blow. It is also a commentary on the invasive nature of fame and how it affected Cobains own life, especially his relationship with Courtney Love. However, MTV had no plans of examining the deeper meaning of the track, not with the name it had. Nirvana was promptly banned from playing it live at the 1992 VMAs. However, the band managed to sneak in a bit of the track into their performance of Lithium that night anyway.

Angel of Death (1986)

Slayer

We just know fans had a hard time defending this one. Angel of Death, from Slayers seminal album Reign in Blood, was inspired by the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. During the Holocaust, he earned the nickname Angel of Death for his cruel human experiments. Thus, the song was deemed too repulsive by Columbia Records, which barred the release of the album. It eventually came out, thanks to Geffen Records, but without much fanfare. Soon after, Slayer had been labeled as Nazi sympathizers for being insensitive to Holocaust survivors. Although guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who wrote the song, denied that he glorified Mengele, he wasnt able to get rid of suspicions suggesting otherwise. Naturally, with all this controversy, radio stations werent keen on playing it either.

Do you think these songs would be received better if they were released now? Tell us your thoughts in the comments down below!