How do you feel about Country and Western radio stations pulling the song "Girl Crush" [Links] because of listener complaints?

Laughs, ignorant crackers will be ignorant crackers. Listen to the lyrics.

If the song is from the perspective of one woman who is envious of another’s boyfriend, then it isn’t about her being a lesbian. It may be about having a ‘girl crush’, but the reasons are wrong. That’s jealousy and borderline creepy. Plain and simple.

If the listeners are accusing the song of being about a woman who is a lesbian, then they need to listen to the lyrics again. As for radio stations pulling the song from their playlist, there is a history of that. They are in the business of making money based upon the number of listeners.

Radio stations are commercial enterprises, and the listeners are its customers. So as nice it would be for the station to stand up to the ignorance some of its listeners are displaying, I’m not really surprised that someone decided to pull the song. There’s no excuse for the stupidity of those who complained, though.

Well….

‘When “TexMex” attempted to explain the song’s meaning to his irate listeners, “every one of them responded with basically the same thing’

Sounds like some conservative web site or AM station is whipping up resentment among impressionable dullards. It just takes a few loudmouths to give the appearance of widespread disapproval.

Honestly, I figured it would
happen sooner. I personally love the song, but this is country music we’re talking about. It’s a hugely conservative audience, and we all know conservative people have permanent sticks up their asses.

The radio station can so whatever it wants. If it doesn’t want to play the song it can choose not to.

The song seems to be saying she wants to be the girl so her ex will want her, but not exactly. Girl crush implies she wants to be with her, not be her. The song also in some lines implies she wants to be him to experience her.

It would be really nice if it didn’t matter at all whether it was a song about being a lesbian. For me, I’m just getting tired of sexual stuff in music. This song isn’t too full of explicit lyrics and isn’t denigrating like some others, but still, I’m not digging that song and my finger would be on the scan button for the next radio station.

Why do people blame everything on conservatives?

I think it shows the level of intelligence the complainers have.

@cheebdragon You don’t think it’s conservatives complaining about that song being a lesbian song?

We could just say religious right instead. That might be more accurate. How many of the people complaining it’s a lesbian song do you think are secular liberals?

I’m a liberal on social issues, and I said above I’m tired of sex in songs, but it has nothing to do with sexual orientation for me. I used to use to say I am conservative when it comes to children, but the right and the media hijacked the meaning of the word conservative, so I can’t really use it anymore.

I listened to a few seconds of it and was reminded why I don’t listen to Country/Western stations; I listen to music instead.

Seriously though, this is from a place where people still haven’t entirely realized that they lost that little fight for independence back in 1865. They complain about Satanic brake lights on school buses. We are not talking about rational people here!

But at the end of the day, @SavoirFaire is correct; radio stations are businesses, and the more listeners they anger, the more people will switch stations, which in turn leads to a loss of advertising revenue.

@JLeslie ”...the right and the media hijacked the meaning of the word conservative, so I can’t really use it anymore.” – Too true!

To me this is a case of ultra-conservatism^2 economic principles being applied to the station’s estimated listener demographic: Country/Western stations x Texas= large concentration of bigots in the audience.

I think the homophobic listeners are primarily at fault for imposing their willful ignorance on the radio stations.

Perhaps the stations are reacting mostly out of concern for their economic well-being, and not because they see a “homasexual agenda” hiding in the lyrics of a song about a woman wondering what her ex-boyfriend’s new lover has, that she doesn’t.

However, if one or only a few of the stations (perhaps one or two in Austin) keep it high in their rotation, it might gain the more rational listeners that the other stations might lose.

It’s a hoot. Hilarious.

People have been trying to censor songs for 70 years – go back to early Beatles, but any number of artists and songs since. So this is another reactionary censorship attempt by the thought police. There’s really nothing new here except the ‘gay agenda’ meme.

How is this censorship effort different from Russia censoring Pussy Riot and throwing that group in jail a couple of years ago?

Same principle. The crazies don’t want anyone else to be heard.

I wonder how the so-called ‘angry listeners’ like being compared to the Russian government.

Explains why there is so much controversy over Hozier~
Oh wait…

Haha…well, ya know, it’‘s okay in country lyrics to always be down and out, drinking, drunk, thinking about drinking/getting drunk, moaning on and on about cheatin’ hearts and lyin’ eyes and shootin’ up things but…gawd forbid you sing about Brokeback mountain. lol
Just stick to “Tequila makes her clothes fall off” and “Pretty good at drinkin’ beer.”
Short of old Hank Williams, Marty Robbins and vintage Johnny Cash I can’t stand country music.

@Coloma “Short of old Hank Williams, Marty Robbins and vintage Johnny Cash I can’t stand country music.”

Pfft.  These days people think any asshole with cowboots and an affected twang is making country music.  I’ve barely ever heard real country on the radio in my lifetime, and it’s never been on the country stations.

Real country music is a beautiful and vicious thing to behold.

Real scotmans my ass.  I know country.  Accept no substitutes.

@elbanditoroso Well, in the Pussy Riot case, it was a government not a radio station, and they imprisoned the band, potentially indefinitely / fatally. I don’t think any complaining listeners were involved. So I’d say it’s rather different.

For some reason I just don’t remember america being this weird.

Personally, I heard the song at least a dozen times before I realized that it wasn’t about a lesbian, and I was fine with it either way.

Radio stations don’t play every song people call in and request, I don’t think they should pull a song because of a few complaints.

I agree with @jaytkay:
“Sounds like some conservative web site or AM station is whipping up resentment among impressionable dullards. It just takes a few loudmouths to give the appearance of widespread disapproval.”
Just turn the damned station if you don’t like the song…I do it all the time.
Puts me to mind of the big stink over “Toes in the water, ass in the sand.” lol

@fundevogel Dig that tune! Thanks….I’ll have to look up more.

@Coloma Glad you like it. 16 Horsepower was one of the pillars of The Denver Sound. If you enjoy that sort of thing there is much to be found in that incestuous bed of American roots music. I suspect the likes of The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons owe them a debt as well.

Speaking of country music

@ragingloli I think I’m missing out not understanding German.

@fundevogel
He is singing a song about how people who like country music are dumb drunkards with small dicks.
In front of a crowd of country music lovers.

It’s ridiculous to censor anything on the radio when (if you don’t like it), you can just turn the channel or turn it off. There! Done! FIXED IT!