George Michael on dangerous ground with new song 'shoot the dog'

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Saw the video last night -- appropriately enough, right after getting home from a US embassy/military 4th of July celebration. I don't think a video has ever made me laugh out loud before. It's great! And it appears to be in heavy rotation on both MTV-Europe and VH-1. I can't believe the gutless weasel's won't show it in the US -- oh, wait a minute, of course I can believe that.

Question for UK posters, though: is he stealing the Blair-as-lapdog thing directly from Steve Bell's political cartoons in the Guardian, or is that just a common way to think of Tony these days?

[Fidel]

no, it usually goes like this

[Fidel]

sorry wrong jpg, this was the proper one

[Yoda II]

I thick George Micheal smells

[MikeH]

There is a widespread perception in the UK that Tony Blair is spreading his buttocks for Bush.

[Bereta_Eder]

Is this videoclip banned in the US?

Why?!?

[Fidel]

because it supports the axis of evil by mocking the democratically elect president

no it is not banned. it's called auto-censorship

[MikeH]

It's not banned, the record company decided not to realease it because it criticizes (amongst other things) the American operation in Afghanistan and the record company thought the US public would react badly to that.

[Bereta_Eder]

My God, it is really the new kind of nazism

or at least sometimes it looks like it

[MikeH]

Well not really 'cause it's only the record company not releasing it not a governmental intervention. The record company thinks it'll lose more money in lost revenue if they piss people off by releasing it than they'd make from the song so they aren't releasing it there.

[Bereta_Eder]

still the result is the same, isn't it?

and it makes americans look pretty petty.

i mean if anyone should have a problem it "should" be the brits but apprently you're cool with it

[MikeH]

Which is why I'm clarifying, it shouldn't make the Americans look petty because it wasn't the American public or governments decision.

Brits are used to criticising our government. We moan about them a lot more than anyone else could. George is just telling it like a lot of people here think.

[Bereta_Eder]

indirectly it is the american public's decision though.

[MikeH]

Nah, some record company exec shat his pants and pulled the single. He was wrong to, normally that kind of controversy just boosts sales. Look at cop killer or something.

[Bereta_Eder]

it'd be funny if they took this decision without a market survey though