AND WHILE WE’RE ON THAT SUBJECT: No...

AND WHILE WE’RE ON THAT SUBJECT: No one minds a little eccentricity, so it’s hard to criticize Michael Jackson for running around town wearing disguises and gauze masks, or even napping in an oxygen tank. But has the Gloved One become a self-styled censor, too? That’s the charge leveled by Def-Jam Records’ Rick Rubin, who seems to be in hot water with everyone these days. Rubin says that Jackson, owner of the Beatles song catalogue, has refused to give Def-Jam artists the Beastie Boys the right to record a new version of the Beatles’ “I’m Down.”

According to Rubin, the rap group had completed a rendition of the song, with new raucous, rap-style lyrics, that was due to appear on the band’s upcoming album, “License to Ill.” However, Jackson’s publishing firm, ATV Music, refused to allow the song’s release (When a group changes or includes additional lyrics, the owner of the song’s copyright must grant permission).

“I was told by the publishing people that they played it for Michael and he didn’t like it, that he thought it made a mockery of the Beatles,” Rubin said. “Now that’s ridiculous. The Beastie Boys make fun of everything! Who does Michael think he is, to go around protecting people from a pop song? It’s very disturbing and not cool at all. He’s acting like a censor.”

Rubin said the new lyrics were not obscene or derogatory to the Beatles. “They’re funny and stupid,” he said. “But it’s nothing different than you’d hear on dozens of other rap songs. There aren’t any curse words or anything--you could play every bit of the song on the radio.”

Jackson and his attorney, John Branca, refused to comment. However, Victoria Clare, creative director of ATV Music, said the move was a “business decision,” not an act of censorship. “As a publisher, you don’t want to do anything that would hurt the value of the copyright,” she said. “We listened to the song and we felt the lyrics would do harm to the song’s value.”

What bothered the publishers so much? Clare would not discuss any specifics, other than to say, “It was ATV’s decision, not Michael’s.”