Monday 8 December 2008

Wikipedia censorship: allusions to 'Smell the Glove'?

Another Wikipedia controversy rages, this time over censorship. Over the past two days, the Internet Watch Foundation informed some ISPs that an article pertaining to an album by the 'classic' German heavy metal band, Scorpions, may be illegal. Leaving aside the fact that Scorpions is one of many groups to have similar imagery on their record sleeves (the eponymous 1969 debut album by Blind Faith, Eric Clapton's supergroup, being another obvious example), am I the only person to notice the similarities with fictional rockumentary, This Is Spinal Tap?

Like metal, censorship is a heavy topic; but I thought this tenuous linkage with This Is Spinal Tap might be a welcome distraction from the usual blog postings, which are necessarily academic. Those of you familiar with said film might recall the controversy surrounding the proposed (tasteless) art work for Spinal Tap's new album (Smell the Glove), which in the end gets mothballed owing to its indecent nature. Getting into trouble over sleeve art is part and parcel of being in a heavy metal band it would seem! Enjoy the winter break, people!

1 comment:

  1. The Technology pages in the Guardian report today that the Internet Watch Foundation has lifted its ban on the offending Wikipedia page. The correct decision, methinks...

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