Five of the most controversial rock songs ever made
By Lee Vowell
Stone Temple Pilots - "Sex Type Thing"
The first song on the tracklist to the band's first album on the surface appears to be one that is shedding light on a sexual predator. No one would write a song so aggressive and mean the words, right? (OK, sure, that does happen, but that was not Scott Weiland and Stone Temple Pilots' intent with this track.)
The issue is that Weiland sings the lyrics with such brutal truth that some might see him as coming across as trying to seem that predatory behavior is fine. He is also, to anyone who might understand what sarcasm is, attempting to get people to understand that assaults are not good in any way.
The music mirrors the words perfectly and might add to someone's interpretation that Weiland is pro-sexual violence as the rhythm drives forward unstoppably. This was also meant to augment the theme of the song. The shame is that some cannot see beyond that.
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Guns N' Roses - "One in a Million"
If you were on the fence about becoming a GNR fan then this song will likely make the decision for you. If you hate the band, you will dislike this song even more strongly. If you like the group, you will probably pretend this song did not exist. The lyrics are extremely racist and homophobic and the song's existence takes away from the quality of the band.
We won't print the lyrics here. They are easily found by doing a Google search. Just don't do that when family is around or they might think less of you if they do not know the context. When the song was made part of the group's 1988 record, Lies, Axl Rose thought he could do anything (which, of course, was seemingly the case) but he went too far on this track.
Fans were divided about the words and so was the band. Guitarist Slash is half-African American and he was not a fan of the song, for sure. When GNR released a reissue of the group's seminal album, Appetite For Destruction, which also included songs from Lies, "One in a Million" was not included, and rightfully so.
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