tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6388160584739793679.post6783477392547907696..comments2024-03-28T22:36:56.999-07:00Comments on ReynoldsRetro: SIMON REYNOLDShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01282478701882900354noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6388160584739793679.post-52681318189494296072010-09-06T10:41:54.824-07:002010-09-06T10:41:54.824-07:00Re Qu'Ran"
that was based on Algerian Mu...Re Qu'Ran"<br /><br />that was based on Algerian Muslims chanting the Qu’Ran, or Koran<br /><br />“Very Very Hungry” irst appeared as a bonus track on the first CD version of My Life (which came out around 1990). At that point “Qu’Ran” was still on the CD. And obviously with this new deluxe expanded version "Qu'Ran" is absent. Clearly this was a case of post-Satanic Verses jitters. Indeed a record company person told me that “Qu’Ran” was removed under threat of a fatwa and due to pressure from various Muslim groups. The track was considered sacriligous because under Islamic law, the Qu’Ran must never be sung or put to music. Presumably the original chanting by the Algerian Muslims didn’t count as song? <br /><br />Here’s David Byrne talking about the issue in Pitchfork interview around the reissue of Bush of Ghosts, and why the removal of the track isn’t even mentioned in the liner notes:<br /><br />“I sort of didn't want to go into it. Partly for the reason that I didn't want to make people feel like something was being withheld, like they were missing something. It also brings up a lot of issues, and I thought, "I don't know if I can resolve all this stuff.<br /><br />“Way back when the record first came out, in 1981, it might have been '82, we [had received] a request from an Islamic organization in London, and they said, "We consider this blasphemy that you put grooves to the chanting of the Holy Book." And [doing the reissue] we thought, "Okay, in deference to somebody's religion, we'll take it off." You could probably argue for and against monkeying with something like that. But I think we were certainly feeling very cautious about this whole thing. We made a big effort to try and clear all the voices, and make sure everybody was okay with everything. Because we thought, "We're going to get accused of all kinds of things, and so we want to cover our asses as best we can." So I think in that sense we reacted maybe with more caution than we had to. But that's the way it was. “SIMON REYNOLDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01282478701882900354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6388160584739793679.post-76410636309925748142010-09-06T10:02:56.151-07:002010-09-06T10:02:56.151-07:00"It’s a pity that the immaculate construction..."It’s a pity that the immaculate construction that is Ghosts now has an extension tacked onto it..."<br /><br />Also a pity that the original running order could not be restored: Track six on the 1981 vinyl release was 'Qu'ran', not 'Very, very hungry'.<br /><br />xxx<br />BAudio-Fillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08220799970107347318noreply@blogger.com