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Wed. Mar 12, 2003

China Tries to Tame the Stones

China Tries to Tame the Stones – China is trying to push around a group of old men, and tell them what to do. But don’t feel too sorry for the geezers, they are collectively know as the Rolling Stones. “The band, which is scheduled to perform in Shanghai April 1 and in Beijing April 4, will not be allowed to play ’Brown Sugar,’ ’Honky Tonk Women,’ ’Beast of Burden,’ or ’Let’s Spend the Night Together,’ said Chen Jixin head of Beijing Time New Century Entertainment, a concert organizer behind the two China dates.”

“The four songs, all of which include sexual references, were originally cut from the mainland release of the band’s ’40 Licks’ compilation album by China’s culture ministry, Chen said. ’Brown Sugar’ refers to an interracial coupling.”

Ooooo, that’s sure to cause the fall of Communism.

I’d suggest that if the Chinese government is concerned about the lyrics of Rolling Stones songs, they’ve missed the boat. They banned Bic butane lighters while allowing flamethrowers. The Rolling Stones are built on a foundation of the blues, and that means songs about the great temptations and failures of man. Extremes. In addition, I remember reading an interview in which Mick Jagger talked about meeting Muddy Waters back the the 60’s (the band took its name from one of his songs). Muddy advised Mick to always slur his words, drop letters, etc., and you could get away with all kinds of things (ZZ Top takes this vocal philosophy to doctoral levels). And they did.

Let’s take a lyrical look…

Here’s the songs China banned, along with the “dirtiest” portion quoted:

“Brown Sugar”:

scarred old slaver knows he’s doing alright

hear him whip the women, just around midnight

ah, brown sugar how come you taste so good?

ah, brown sugar just like a young girl should

drums beating cold english blood runs hot

lady of the house wonderin’ where it’s gonna stop

house boy knows that he’s doing alright

you should a heard him just around midnight

ah, brown sugar how come you taste so good?

ah, brown sugar just like a young girl should

“Honky Tonk Women”:

I met a gin soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis,

She tried to take me upstairs for a ride.

“Beast of Burden”:

So let’s go home and draw the curtains

Music on the radio

Come on baby make sweet love to me

“Let’s Spend The Night Together”:

Let’s spend the night together

I’ll satisfy your every need (every need)

And I now know you will satisfy me

Let’s spend the night together

Now I need you more than ever

Let’s spend the night together now

(you’d think the Chinese would at least allow the Ed Sullivan Option; when the Stones played this song on his show in the 60’s, they changed it to “Let’s Spend Some Time Together” to appease the censors)

Altogether, in Western terms, a pretty tame lot. A brief tale of inter-racial sex during the days of slavery, tamely presented, from the perpective of both genders (who says the Stones are sexist?!?). A story of two people who were probably too drunk to do anything but have bad intentions. A rather romantic request from a man to a woman. And a tale of teen lust.

I’m betting all these things occur in China. Perhaps that’s why they picked these songs out. At any rate, they missed the boat in cherry picking “evil” songs from the longest living examples of that Demon Rock and Roll.

For example, the ultimate 60’s expression of teen lust and frustration, “I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction)”, even including a reference to a woman on her period:

...and I’m tryin’ to make some girl

who tells me baby better come back later next week

’cause you see I’m on losing streak.

I can’t get no, oh no no no.

Hey hey hey, that’s what I say.

I can’t get no, I can’t get no,

I can’t get no satisfaction…

In addition to sex, they missed drugs, “Mother’s Little Helper”:

Mother needs something today to calm her down

And though she’s not really ill

There’s a little yellow pill

She goes running for the shelter of a mother’s little helper

And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day.

They also missed drugs and sex, together, in “Let It Bleed”:

She said, ”My breasts, they will always be open

Baby, you can rest your weary head right on me

And there will always be a space in my parking lot

When you need a little coke and sympathy”

Yeah, we all need someone we can dream on

And if you want it, baby, well you can dream on me

Yeah, we all need someone we can cream on

And if you want to, well you can cream on me

They missed sarcastic sacrilege, in “Girl with the Faraway Eyes”:

I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield

Listening to gospel music on the colored radio station

And the preacher said, ”You know you always have the

Lord by your side”

And I was so pleased to be informed of this that I ran

Twenty red lights in his honor

Thank you Jesus, thank you lord

Heck, they even missed the Devil himself, “Sympathy for the Devil”:

Please allow me to introduce myself,

I’m a man of wealth and taste.

I’ve been around for long, long years,

Stolen many a man’s soul and faith.

I was around when Jesus Christ had His moment of doubt and faith.

I made damn sure that Pilate washed his hands and sealed his fate.

Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name.

But what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game.

Not once, but twice! “Dancin’ with Mr. D.”:

Down in the graveyard where we have our tryst

The air smells sweet, the air smells sick

He never smiles, his mouth merely twists

The breath in my lungs feels clinging and thick

But I know his name, he’s called Mr. D.

And one of these days he’s gonna set you free

Human skulls is hangin’ right ’round his neck

The palms of my hands is clammy and wet

And finally, we have the misogamist’s anthem, “Some Girls”, a song so dirty I even have to edit it here:

White girls they’re pretty funny

Sometimes they drive me mad

Black girls just wanna get f*cked all night

I just don’t have that much jam

But on finding this lyric, I have to wonder … is Mick that smart? Could he possibly have foreseen all of this, and therefore wrote the following lyric immediately after the above?

Chinese girls are so gentle

They’re really such a tease

You never know quite what they’re cookin’

Inside those silky sleeves

The truth is that the Rolling Stones are going to China for two reasons; a seven figure concert take, and to open a new market for selling CD’s and merchandising. However, the idea that the Rolling Stones are in fact some kind of Western Trojan Horse is really quite amusing.

When Keith Richard “opens up,” what in the world is going to come out?