A Musical Interlude, Part 2: "Radio Radio" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

Read the YouTube notes to this pre-Internet, pre-broadband classic warning about the Powers-that-Be:

Elvis Costello's famous appearance on Saturday Night Live. He was warned not to play this song as it is a negative commentary of broadcasting. He began playing "Less Than Zero" then launched into 'Radio Radio', prompting Lorne Michaels to cut off the live television feed and banning Elvis from the show forever. This is what they cut.

NOTE -- 2055 EST 5 DEC 2009: The original video of EC's 1977 SNL appearance above was pulled from You Tube a few hours after I entered this post, thereby proving his point. The replacement is a early music video of the same tune.

More background here.

Lyrics:

I was tuning in the shine on the light night dial
Doing anything my radio advised
With every one of those late night stations
Playing songs bringing tears to my eyes
I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver
When the switch broke 'cause it's old
They're saying things that I can hardly believe
They really think we're getting out of control

(CHORUS)
Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice
'Cause they think that it's treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio

I wanna bite the hand that feeds me
I wanna bite that hand so badly
I want to make them wish they'd never seen me

Some of my friends sit around every evening
And they worry about the times ahead
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference
And the promise of an early bed
You either shut up or get cut up
They don't wanna hear about it
It's only inches on the reel-to-reel
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
Tryin' to anaesthetise the way that you feel

(REPEAT CHORUS)
Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice
'Cause they think that it's treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio

Wonderful radio
Marvelous radio
Wonderful radio
Radio, radio
(FADE)