12 Songs That Would Never Get Played if Written in Cancel Culture 2021

Some people argue that "cancel culture" is a very real thing in they year 2021 and no person or thing is safe.

Every tweet, public statement, comedian's joke and newly released song is scrutinized. People who are champions of civil rights and equality are being chastised for statements or social media postings from more than a decade ago. When will it end? Things may get worse before they get better.

In the last few years, we have seen the changing of names and mascots for professional and collegiate sports teams. We have seen some television shows be removed from syndication or include the addition of a disclaimer letting viewers know how offensive these shows are/were. Has anyone seen recent reruns of 'All in the Family' lately?

There are several songs that were made, as early as last year, that have been seriously scrutinized. When Blake Shelton released his song, "Minimum Wage," several people felt it was insensitive to those who were facing financial hardship in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Many songs, if written today, would have never been played or heard on any radio or streaming platform, especially the following.

1. 'Young Girl' - Gary Puckett and The Union Gap (1968)
In this song you hear the narrator of the song trying to fight back the urge and desire he feels for a female who is underage. Some lyrics include "Young girl get out of my mind. My love for you is way out of line."

2. 'Wouldn't It Be Nice?' - The Beach Boys (1966)
While this song isn't AS bad as our #1 "cancel-worthy" song it talks about implied underage relations. The classic Beach Boys hit has the chorus that sings, "Wouldn't it be nice if were were older? Then we wouldn't have to wait so long." Again, a lot of these older songs implied inappropriateness, but it's how people interpret things that is the important thing to remember here.

3. 'Brown Sugar' - The Rolling Stones (1971)
The opening lines of this song are why it would likely never hit the airwaves in 2021. The song is essentially about slavery. The opening lyrics to the song read,

Gold coast slave ship bound for cotton fields
Sold in a market down in New Orleans
Scarred old slaver knows he's doing alright
Hear him whip the women just around midnight

That's all you have to read to know that people would have an issue with the song's contents and theme.

4. 'Into the Night' - Benny Mardones (1980)
Benny Mardones was a fan favorite in Central New York and would always sell out when he appeared in the Utica-Rome area. But, his hit song raised eyebrows with the lyrics "She's just 16 years old leave her alone, they say." Again, another song indicating a love of an underage girl. Not cool...very creepy.

5. 'China Girl' - David Bowie (1983)
While this song may have been well intended by David Bowie, in a year where Asian hate is rearing its ugly head this song may be offensive to some. The song also mentions swastikas, although it does reference the ancient agricultural meaning of the symbol.

6. 'Take a Walk on the Wild Side' - (1972)
Lou Reed wrote this song back in 1972 and the obviously offensive lyric in this song is "And the colored girls say 'Doo do doo do doo do do doo...'" Again, "colored girls" is not politically correct today. This one is a no-brainer.

7. 'Indian Outlaw' - Tim McGraw (1994)
This song by country artist Tim McGraw is a take on the Paul Revere and the Raiders song "Cherokee People." The Washington Football team does not currently have a name because for years they were called 'The Redskins.' Many people deemed this team name to be offensive to Native American people. In this song, McGraw sings about some things that may be taken as Native American stereotypes.

8. 'Red Ragtop' - Tim McGraw (2002)
Tim McGraw hits the list again with his song about two young lovers who chose to abort their child. Due to the subject manner in this song, several country stations across the country did refuse to play this song in rotation. The lyrics "We decided not to have a child" makes it pretty obvious what this song is about.

9. 'Cocaine' - Eric Clapton (1977)
This song is pretty obvious. In an era where the drug crisis is at a boiling point, some may feel this song would not be appropriate. It's a song about doing and tolerating cocaine use.

10. 'Semi-Charmed Life' - Third Eye Blind (1997)
Much like #9 on our list, this song describes an individual who is facing a serious addiction to crystal meth. Really, any song that promotes or talks about drug use or abuse may be under 2021 scrutiny by some.

11. 'Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves' - Cher (1971)
Some may take issue with the inclusion of gypsies in this song, especially associating them with tramps and thieves. Many people over the years have come to think that the term gypsie is offensive and even so far as to say the expression "getting gypped" is in reference to the gypsies and is also offensive. This may seem like a stretch, but some cancel culture victims have many scratching their heads.

12. 'Killing an Arab' - The Cure (1980)
In this song a shooting is described and the narrator talks about killing a person of arab descent. Again, this is a pretty obvious one when it comes to potentially offensive and cancel culture worthy songs.

Some people may be outraged by this list, but again, many people who have fallen victim to cancel culture have done so unjustifiably. Some victims should have been cancelled a long time ago! One thing I can say confidently is, cancel culture isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I am sure I have missed several songs, but feel free to let us know on our Facebook page.