In a last-minute decision, three tracks from Be Your Own Pets new album, Get Awkward, have been axed because their label has deemed them "too violent to be released. While the tracks "Blow Yr Mind," "Black Hole" and "Becky" are on the international version of the album (released overseas by XL), Universal Records, the parent company of the bands label Ecstatic Peace, has found them not fit for North American audiences. And just to remind you, this is the same Universal that releases G-rated releases by artists such violent artists as Eminem, 50 Cent and Marilyn Manson.
And whats so offending about these tracks? Well, here are the lyrics to the 45-second "Becky:
Doesn't matter anyway, 'cause I've got a brand new friend, OK
Me and her, we'll kick your ass
We'll wait with knives after class!
If only what you wrote in my yearbook was true
Then I wouldn't be stuck in fucking cell block 2
But I don't regret what I've done,
'Cause in the end, it was fun!
In a Washington Square News interview, Be Your Own Pets barely post-teenage vocalist Jemina Pearl Abegg had this to say about Universals decision:
"When I found out that the songs were going to get taken off, I was just like, 'Is there anybody I can talk to?' It's like, I don't even really know who these people are. There's no one you can talk to to try to argue your case. Other than that, Universal has been great. But I guess that's just what happens when you decide to have something to do with a major label. They're going to be scared of anything that's not completely cookie cutter.
"I also feel like it's a good thing to have an outlet. Like, maybe I would be a very violent person if I didn't have the chance to sing about what I want to sing about and express things I want and it's definitely helped me from being a destructive person in my life. And I think tons of people relate to that, so it's kind of frustrating that they want to censor me or whatever."
If you want to hear whats offended the suits so badly, "Black Hole is streaming Be Your Own Pets MySpace, while "Becky is available on the bands website.
And whats so offending about these tracks? Well, here are the lyrics to the 45-second "Becky:
Doesn't matter anyway, 'cause I've got a brand new friend, OK
Me and her, we'll kick your ass
We'll wait with knives after class!
If only what you wrote in my yearbook was true
Then I wouldn't be stuck in fucking cell block 2
But I don't regret what I've done,
'Cause in the end, it was fun!
In a Washington Square News interview, Be Your Own Pets barely post-teenage vocalist Jemina Pearl Abegg had this to say about Universals decision:
"When I found out that the songs were going to get taken off, I was just like, 'Is there anybody I can talk to?' It's like, I don't even really know who these people are. There's no one you can talk to to try to argue your case. Other than that, Universal has been great. But I guess that's just what happens when you decide to have something to do with a major label. They're going to be scared of anything that's not completely cookie cutter.
"I also feel like it's a good thing to have an outlet. Like, maybe I would be a very violent person if I didn't have the chance to sing about what I want to sing about and express things I want and it's definitely helped me from being a destructive person in my life. And I think tons of people relate to that, so it's kind of frustrating that they want to censor me or whatever."
If you want to hear whats offended the suits so badly, "Black Hole is streaming Be Your Own Pets MySpace, while "Becky is available on the bands website.
