We discuss censorship in alternative and electronic music across the globe. Featuring the music and stories of Sama Abdulhadi, The Cranberries, Kraftwerk, and Oingo Boingo.

SOURCES

Bain, Katie. (2021 May 2). Months After Her Arrest Made Global Headlines, Sama Abdulhadi Is Still Pushing Palestinian Techno Katie Bain. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/sama-abdulhadi-palestinian-dj-arrest-interview-9565884/ 

Boiler Room. (2018 September 29). “Sama' Abdulhadi | Boiler Room Palestine”. [Video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9VYKrtziSg

FRANCE 24. (2017 July 17). Music: Meet Sama Abdulhadi, the pioneering Palestinian DJ! [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL-QDvepXhU 

Kaiman, Jonathan. (2018, February 22). Kraftwerk denied China visa over 1999 Free Tibet concert. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/mar/29/kraftwerk-denied-china-visa-tibet

Keith, Casey. (2025, July 29). Clear Channel Memorandum: A misguided ban on American songs. US History, SEO, AI, and More. https://caseykeith.substack.com/p/clear-channel-memorandum-a-misguided

Oingo Boingo Last.FM. https://www.last.fm/music/Oingo+Boingo

Kraftwerk Last.FM. https://www.last.fm/music/Kraftwerk 

Music Censorship. (2025 July 8). Wikipedia. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_censorship 

Sama Abdulhadi Resident Advisor https://ra.co/dj/samaabdulhadi 

Stewart, A. (2021, October 8). The fallout over Clear Channel’s do-not-play list lasted well past 9/11. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/clear-channel-911-list/2021/10/07/2dd3dee2-17d8-11ec-b976-f4a43b740aeb_story.html 

Stoic Rockstar. (2025 March 18). The Cranberries on Writing Zombie. [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SnYqrxGzIno

Zombie (The Cranberries song). (2025 July 12). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_(The_Cranberries_song)