In 1973, Steely Dan wrote a scathing song about LA. Then radio cut out the punchline

Steely Dan’s experience of Los Angeles inspired “Show Biz Kids”, a 1973 song that sharply criticised the city’s entertainment culture. Its satirical lyrics mocked show-business figures as selfish, and the band’s blunt language made the track unusually provocative for the time.

Radio stations cut the song from five minutes and 26 seconds to about four minutes and censored its expletive. Donald Fagen compared the edit to telling a joke without its punchline. Despite their apparent dislike of Los Angeles, the band remained there and recorded their next two albums, “Pretzel Logic” and “Katy Lied”, in the city.