dsi@unccvax.UUCP (Dataspan Inc) (09/26/85)
Here are some excerpts from this week's Broadcasting (23
September 1985) concerning the Gore hearings in Congress this
week. . .
Zappa, on the PMRC:
"The PMRC proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense
which fails to deliver any real benefits to children,
infringies on the civil liberties of those who are
not children, and promises to keep the courts busy
for years...
"The PMRC demands are the equivalent of treating dandruff
by decapitation. No one has forced Ms. Baker or Ms. Gore
to bring Prince or Sheena Easton into their homes.
"The complete list of PMRC demands reads like an ins-
truction manual for some sinister kind of toilet
training programme to housebreak all all composers
and performers because of the lyrics of a few. Ladies,
how dare you!!!
[ He also charged the PMRC with confusing the issue by
lump summing song lyrics, videos, broadcasting, packaging,
and live performances. ]
"These are all different mediums, and the people who
work in them have the right to conduct their business
without trade-restraining legislation, whipped up
like an instand pudding by the wives of Big Brother.
According to Broadcasting, Zappa made a remark which prompted
Senator Slade Gorton (R-Washington) to say "I have found your
statements to be boorish, insensitive, and insulting. You have
destroyed any credibility with this body."
Jeff Ling, of the PMRC, presented several more examples of
"obscene lyrics." He said something about "Jungle Love" (The Time?)
whose album also contains a song "If The Kid Can't Make You Come,
Nobody Can." Also, Prince served dartboard service once again,
with these lyrics being entered into the official record:
"I was only 16/but that's no excuse/my sister was 32,
lovely and loose. My sister never made love to anyone
but me/Incest is everything it's said to be..
{Editor's Note here - My local bullshit detector feels -
without hearing the song - that this is probably taken
out of context. Having not seen the whole lyrics, I'm
not sure, but it is possible ... }
Twisted Sister got some heat for "Under the Blade", which
Tipper Gore stated was about sadomasochism. Dee Snider
charged the PMRC with "character assasination" and "propagating
misinformation." Snider had a peppered exchange with Ms. Gore
about this song, in which she was informed that the song was
in "point of fact, about surgery..." He also was called to the
carpet for "We're Not Going to Take It", which the PMRC feels
is "violent." Snider noted that this song is currently part of
an United Way commercial in a segment on the changing American
family.
Albert Gore (D-Tenn) and Snider also got into a very heated
exchange about the Twisted Sister fan club name, SMFFTS. Snider
simply told him the truth about what it stood for: "Sick mother
fucking fans of Twisted Sister." Snider's Christianity was called
into question on this and other points several times in the
hearing.
{ Camera pans over to Sen and Ms. Gore, looking into
each other's eyes as they gleefully take turns
at Dee Snider. Kinda reminds me of Frank Burns
and Hot Lips scenes in M*A*S*H right before they
are about to court-martial Capt. Pierce!!! }
Can you believe that John Denver's song, "Rocky Mountain High"
(a mainstay of Evergreen / light A/C formats these days) was once
banned by several radio stations because it was viewed as being
about drug abuse? Denver is against censorship of any kind,
and it is certainly weird to see Snider, Zappa, and Denver all
on the same page of a trade magazine!
RIAA President Stanley Gortikov (whose orginisation has proposed
a single "Explicit Lyrics" sticker, rather than the four that the
PMRC seek) tried to take Congress to task over the issue of just
criticizing rock music. (Evidently, songs about extramarital affairs,
excessive drinking, and "having been in jail and proud of it" didn't
warrant consideration by the PMRC).
In terms of actual legislation, I don't think anyone really
cares. Both houses of Congress are busy with other stuff, and
even things which are reporting out of committee right now
favourably are having trouble getting on the docket. James Exon
(D-Neb) also questioned having these media events in the first place.
In the Charlotte Obscurer, I read an article about the PMRC
wanting FOUR stickers : "explicit sexuality" "profanity",
" " (can't remember) and "occult." Does anyone have any
financial information on the machine-insertable sticker business?
The sticker business is going to mushroom if every record which
could be miscontrued as "occult" is going to get a sticker !
David Anthony
CDE
DataSpan, Inc.ned@scirtp.UUCP (Ned Robie) (09/28/85)
This hearing was televised on CSPAN. Some corrections... > > Here are some excerpts from this week's Broadcasting (23 > September 1985) concerning the Gore hearings in Congress this > week. . . > > According to Broadcasting, Zappa made a remark which prompted During Zappa's opening statement he managed to get in some digs about problems facing congress (e.g. tax plan, deficit) and how they are using issues like this to divert attention from these "real" problems. It was my impression that this is what insulted Gorton. > Senator Slade Gorton (R-Washington) to say "I have found your > statements to be boorish, insensitive, and insulting. You have > destroyed any credibility with this body." ^^^^ senator > "I was only 16/but that's no excuse/my sister was 32, > lovely and loose. My sister never made love to anyone > but me/Incest is everything it's said to be.. > > {Editor's Note here - My local bullshit detector feels - > without hearing the song - that this is probably taken > out of context. Having not seen the whole lyrics, I'm > not sure, but it is possible ... } These lyrics are from the song "Sister" on the album "Dirty Mind" (in my opinion Prince's best album thus far). They were not taken out of context. In the Musician Magazine interview Prince discusses the family problems he had during his youth and remarks specifically about his incestuous relationship with his sister. > Albert Gore (D-Tenn) and Snider also got into a very heated It wasn't really heated. > exchange about the Twisted Sister fan club name, SMFFTS. Snider > simply told him the truth about what it stood for: "Sick mother > fucking fans of Twisted Sister." Snider's Christianity was called > into question on this and other points several times in the > hearing. Snider's Christianity was never called into question. Snider's the one who brought up the fact that he's a Christian and that he didn't think his music was sacrilegious. > In terms of actual legislation, I don't think anyone really > cares. Both houses of Congress are busy with other stuff, and > even things which are reporting out of committee right now > favourably are having trouble getting on the docket. James Exon > (D-Neb) also questioned having these media events in the first place. Not true. While it is true that Exon questioned the hearing, he also said that if the record business doesn't do something about the problem that legislation would do it for them. Other senators agreed. This was the scariest thing to come out of this hearing by far! > > In the Charlotte Obscurer, I read an article about the PMRC > wanting FOUR stickers : "explicit sexuality" "profanity", > " " (can't remember) and "occult." Does anyone have any > financial information on the machine-insertable sticker business? > The sticker business is going to mushroom if every record which > could be miscontrued as "occult" is going to get a sticker ! > The PMRC CLAIMS that they are after labeling OR printing lyrics so customers know what they are buying. They said over and over that they do not want legislation. Zappa said he is in favor of printing lyrics but cautioned that it would make records more expensive (!) because record companies would have to buy publishing rights to the lyrics. Zappa is against labeling because: 1) the artist would be labeled, not the product 2) too many records are produced to be fairly labeled 3) since the label would apply to an entire album, songs that are not explicit on an "x" rated album could suffer in the market. > David Anthony > CDE > DataSpan, Inc. If you are interested in this issue, I would recommend that you watch the hearing on CSPAN. It's informative and unusually entertaining (for CSPAN, anyway). -- Ned Robie
hedger@ada-uts.UUCP (10/02/85)
Well ladies and gentlemen, here we are again....as usual, we have another group of people who, instead of taking responsibility for themselves and their children, want to draft some ridiculous piece of legislation, and let 'big brother' step in and do the job for them (ha ha). I find 'artists' like Prince as questionable as the next person (unfortunately the 'next person' seems to be pretty scarce these days), but the problem doesn't lie with Prince per se, but with all of the people out there who allow themselves to have his trash shoved down their throat....and I'm not just picking on Prince, there are plenty of other artists whose output I find questionable, but that's only my opinion and I don't have to be exposed to this type of music unless I choose to. I think that Tripper and the 'other one' ought to spend more time taking responsiblity for their children and themselves and stop expecting the government to do it. I know I'll get flamed for my biased comments, but I only expressed them so strongly so that I could make my point. keith hedger ihnp4!inmet!ada-uts!hedger