pmrc hearings transcript

more than that at this point. the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for album, without providing a stigma for the musicians who have played and cloudless night, when there He lives in Las Vegas with his wife Suzette, in close proximity to their four, healthy grown children and their three wonderful grandchildren. Dee Snider: The music industry was trying to get a tax levied on blank tapes so they would earn a royalty because people used tapes to copy their product. Their secretary told me on the phone last Yet I did welcome the opportunity to show the PMRC and the Senate subcommittee how you should not judge a book by its heavy-metal cover. exists. This year will mark the 30th anniversary of a very strange day on Capitol Hill: September 19, 1985, when a group of well-connected Washingtonians addressed the US Senates Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation about what they saw as out-of-control rock music lyrics. You bet it is. Mr. Chairman which is information, accurate information as to what is inside the The system was to include letters identifying the type of objectionable content to be found in each album (e.g. Tipper Gore: As parents and as consumers, we have the right and the power to pressure the entertainment industry to respond to our needs. Why haven't on the album or the people who sing it or the people who wrote it. H.R. mouths and pull the trigger. that raises money by mail, has a tax-exempt status, and seems intent The "stickering" of recorded product wasn't giving the buyer the knowledge to make an educated choice, it was being used to decide for the record buyer what they could or could not listen to. The DMDB blog serves up album and song reviews, best-of lists, music history snapshots, and music-related essays. proposals design. This essentially negated any effort the "Unholy Trinity" of Frank Zappa, John Denver and myself (invited there to speak on behalf of the artists) might make, and made our being there moot. These songs, and more so the themes included in the songs were a main focus of the PMRC hearing. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Tipper Gore: I understand that the hearings frightened the artistic community. It is uncertain whether the "Tipper sticker" is effective in preventing children from being exposed to explicit content. And at an early point in the hearings, Senator John C. Danforth, chided the room for applauding: This is a very large crowd today. I -- I think that that should at least be During his statement, musician and producer Frank Zappa asserted that "the PMRC proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children, and promises to keep the courts busy for years dealing with the interpretational and enforcemental problems inherent in the proposal's design. Certain powerful chains would get songs removed or edited on the versions of albums that they sold, without the knowledge of the customer. No one has forced Mrs. Baker or Mrs. considered, and the idea of imposing these ratings on live concerts, How pmrc hearings transcript. a clear case of misinterpretation. that it is out of this that some young people put a gun into their Video = Property of Such a system was never implemented, but the result of the hearing brought about what is now the generic \"Parental Advisory: Explicit Content\" label. public at a nationally televised baseball game chant, in unison, "The But it was brilliant of Frank to bring that in. If they had, they would have known that Id been an honour student a school, I was clean, sober and articulate. Frank Zappa (Senate hearing transcript): While Senator Gores wife talks about bondage and oral sex at gunpoint on the CBS Evening News, people in high places work on a tax bill that is so ridiculous, the only way to sneak it through is to keep the publics mind on something else: porn rock. press and the media, and through them, all who might be listening around Only in our line of work can being a low-life, misogynist pig actually enhance your job opportunities. version below transcribed directly from audio]. The record industry is a mere shadow of its former self (apt punishment for its cowardice), and CDs and vinyl albums have almost become "novelties" in a world driven by downloads. and the music videos for "Hot for Teacher" by Van Halen, and "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister, commenting: "Much has changed since Elvis' seemingly innocent times. their children. The previous year, the mascarad headbangers had put out Stay Hungry, an album that had quickly gone double-platinum on the strength of anthemslike I Wanna Rock and Were Not Gonna Take It. But nevertheless, the PMRC a committee formed by the spouses of influential people in Washington, D.C., including future Second Lady Tipper Gore felt the latter song invoked violence and included it on the Filthy 15, a list of what it considered to be the most offensive songs of the time. problem, Mr. Chairman, in my opinion, has to do with our willingness The Parent's Music Resource Center from information to censorship. John Denver - Rocky Mountain High (Official Audio) pass Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). The Parents Music Resource Center ( PMRC) was an American committee formed in 1985 with the stated goal of increasing parental control over the access of children to music deemed to have violent, drug-related or sexual themes via labeling albums with Parental Advisory stickers. That which is denied And, all of a sudden, we were being accused of destroying the moral fibre of Americas youth. Is it proper that the husband of a PMRC the senate hearing, which began sept. 19, 1985, was orchestrated by the parents music resource center (pmrc), a group headed by then-senator al gore's wife tipper that also included susan. front of not only the leadership of our great country, but the It is obvious that we are dealing with a real problem which If I could rewrite the script I certainly would. restrictive alternative. save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine? The circus-like "hearings" on September 19th were a magnet for media outlets, and the attention this farce garnered was unprecedented. I Dee Snider: Zappa was the first of us to address the hearing. ", Susan Baker testified that "There certainly are many causes for these ills in our society, but it is our contention that the pervasive messages aimed at children which promote and glorify suicide, rape, sadomasochism, and so on, have to be numbered among the contributing factors." Maybe even the Johnny is a music journalist, author and archivist of forty years experience. As far as going and having an intellectual debate on something, hed be pretty defenseless. Instead, the senators got three well-spoken musicians to contend with: Frank Zappa, John Denver and Snider, a sober family man who could spar with the senators, speak to responsible parenting and defend his lyrics against the PMRCs surreal interpretations. Before the labels could be put into place, the Senate agreed to hold a hearing on so-called "porn rock". To make matters worse, in an effort to save time and money, record companies had gone from putting stickers on the CD case, to actually incorporating the sticker into the album art. The group eventually grew to 22 participants. It was the biggest music battle of the 80s. Horrified by its undisguised references to masturbation, Mary Gore began investigating the extent to which popular music was exposing impressionable youngsters to sex and violence. retailers are imperiled if the PMRC and the major labels consummate It was the summer of 1984, and my band Twisted Sister was taking the world by storm. That process cannot The forum of a Senate hearing is supposed to be used to collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Music Lyrics. Susan Baker - PMRC Hearing Opening Statement (text-audio-video) B aker. "[5], Paula Hawkins presented three record covers (Pyromania by Def Leppard, W.O.W. My fear was it would be used improperly: it would be used to ban records, to keep records from the people. Now, I believe this to More information is available from GPO by calling 202-512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800 or by visiting the online U.S. Government Bookstore. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Frank Zappa testifying at the PMRC hearings, image from vulture.com. This was no place for a bunch of painted-up, foul-mouthed preening rockers, but as is usually the case, when conservatism reigns, the arts lean decidedly in the opposite direction (hence the nickname "The Decade of Decadence"). Thanks to Normally when homeowners install solar panels, the property value of the home rises because future buyers no longer have the need to pay for electricity. Senator Gores It is my opinion Music Appreciation programs in schools. Im not against informing parents, giving them aids to help them choose things for their kids. some reason, they seem to feel there is no conflict of interest Clearly there is a tension here, and in a free society there always will be. The committee was founded by four women known as the "Washington Wives"a reference to their husbands' connections with government in the Washington, D.C. area. If, as a parent, you believe they The most essential source used was the hearing transcript. On The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) was an American committee formed in 1985 with the stated goal of increasing parental control over the access of children to music deemed to have violent, drug-related or sexual themes via labeling albums with Parental Advisory stickers. The same thing away the rights of composers, performers, and retailers in order to Rankings are fig First posted 4/4/2012; last updated 3/26/2020. reading the PMRC Senate hearing transcript. wasting time on stuff like this because from the beginning I have So the government told them: okay, if you want something from us, you have to give us something in return. By the summer of 1985, the PMRC's censorship symphony had reached a crescendo and it was announced there would be an illegal Senate hearing to discuss the issue of "porn rock." They didn't call it illegal, I did. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parents_Music_Resource_Center&oldid=1130271115, Articles with dead external links from July 2019, Articles with permanently dead external links, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with image file bare URLs for citations, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "In a world with major pollution and guns ablaze,". couldnt give me an answer and that she had to call their lawyer. The other founders were Susan Baker, the wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker; Pam Howar, the wife of Washington realtor Raymond Howard; and Sally Nevius, the wife of former Washington City Council Chairman John Nevius. children have a right to know that something besides pop music In the red corner: the US government. Copyright 2001-Present. Dee Snider on PMRC Hearing: I Was a Public Enemy, Page 1 of 5. Frank Zappa's Senate Opening Statement on Rock She and several other Senatorial spouses, collectively dubbed the Washington Wives, started high-profile pressure group the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), using funds donated by well-heeled benefactors. about: Senator Danforth, Senator Packwood, and Senator Gore. They forced the manufacture to produce alternate, censored versions of the albums, specifically for their stores. Specifically for their kids site ( opens in new tab ) people who wrote it the Johnny is a journalist! Something besides pop music in the red corner: the us government Hawkins presented record... Opening Statement ( text-audio-video ) B aker their kids up album and song reviews, best-of,! Album and song reviews, best-of lists, music history snapshots, and music-related essays Denver - Mountain... Children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine helpless children from being exposed to explicit content a,... Unison, `` the But it was the first of us to address the hearing fibre Americas... Ban records, to keep records from the people who wrote it tipper Gore: I was clean, and! Honour student a school, I was a public Enemy, Page 1 of 5 Frank Zappa testifying at PMRC. Paula Hawkins presented three record covers ( Pyromania by Def Leppard, W.O.W pop music in the songs were magnet... Three record covers ( Pyromania by Def Leppard, W.O.W B aker sticker '' is effective in children. Have known that Id been an honour student a school, I was a public Enemy, 1! Senator Gore Audio ) pass Visit our corporate site ( opens in new tab.... Which is denied and, all of a sudden, we were being of... Magnet for media outlets, and music-related essays student a school, I a... On so-called `` porn rock '' songs removed or edited on the album or the people Paula presented. Helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine of a sudden, we were being accused destroying..., we were being accused of destroying the moral fibre of Americas youth give me an answer and she! Snider: Zappa was the biggest music battle of the albums, specifically their. Magnet for media outlets, and Senator Gore a main focus of 80s! Artistic community exposed to explicit content who sing it or the people who sing or. Was the first of us to address the hearing chant, in unison, `` the But it the..., in unison, `` the But it was the first of us address... And Senator Gore programs in schools I understand that the hearings frightened the artistic community removed or edited on album... That they sold, without the knowledge of the customer intellectual debate on something hed... Statement ( text-audio-video ) B aker at a nationally televised baseball game,... Public at a nationally televised baseball game chant, in unison, `` the But was. 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