Looks like it is back to the bad old days in Iran—the years of revolutionary fervor in the early '80s when music was banned from the public airwaves. Writes one of our readers: "Too bad the neo-cons are too stupid/sectarian/scared to realize you can't stop the rock. Give us 20 years and Metallica would take care of the Mullahs." From the BBC, Dec. 19:

Iran president bans Western music
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has banned Western and "indecent" music from state-run TV and radio stations.

The ban follows a ruling in October by the Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council, which he heads, to ban Western songs from the airwaves.

"Blocking indecent and Western music from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is required," a statement from the council said.

Songs by artists such as Eric Clapton and George Michael will be affected.

Apparently those artists are singled out because some of their songs are used as theme music on popular Iranian TV shows. But what about Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, the Dead Kennedys, the Sex Pistols, the Clash (their first album), the Damned, the Ramones, the MC5, the Stooges, the New York Dolls, Captain Beefheart, Velvet Underground, Mott the Hoople, the Legendary Stardust Cowboy! Them mullahs ain't heard nothing yet!

See our last post on Iran.