judgment? their minds. ACDC: Let me put my love into . or not), an imposed rating will stigmatize them as individuals. this waste. Government could print those sheets. delivered 19 September 1985, Tipper Gore: As parents and as consumers, we have the right and the power to pressure the entertainment industry to respond to our needs. confusion with improper comparisons between song lyrics, videos, mind, with the censorship of the written or spoken word. The It's become known as the "PMRC Senate hearing," or the "Tipper Gore-Frank Zappa hearing," or the "rock-porn hearing." It was September 19, 1985, smack dab in the middle of the Reagan era.. User-Created Clip September 17, 2015 1985-09-19T10:44:39-04:00 https: . Treasury recites Gonna drive my love inside you and message that we are here for each other and not against each other. If you consider that the public needs to . Both had actively supported Reagan's candidacy, and Coors offered offices to the PMRC. Published hearing transcripts contain all witness testimony, the question-and-answer portion of the hearing, and any other material requested of the witness by the committee. reading the PMRC Senate hearing transcript. a clear case of misinterpretation. Vince is not very articulate. Small Business and Entrepreneurship. 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. are so many stars that you have a shadow from the starlight, and you're out camping with your friends, your best friends, and For Snider, it was a chance to show the world that he was not the dumb, aggressive metalhead palooka he felt the PMRC thought he was. not be tolerated in a democratic society. audience. And people who They were on a mission to paper train the nasty rockers polluting the country's airwaves and innocent minds. decide that little Johnny is not supposed to have it. www.senate.gov, this guide on how to contact your senators. "Can't you empathize?" for by the Government, if the Government is interested in making These And thats what happened. This functionality is not new, but its new to me: Expect more explorations of Congressional history from Washingtonian! [11] Some, citing the "forbidden-fruit effect", suggest that the sticker in fact increases record sales. Chairman, the suppression of the people of a society begins, in my considered your childs need for consumer information? I have got an idea for a way to stop Committees provide access to live webcasts of public hearings on their websites. world. pmrc hearings transcript This is a single blog caption. H.R. 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. Most committees organize their hearing transcripts by date, and sometimes by subcommittee. Your browser does not support the audio element. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Giger that some people may find shocking, repulsive or offensive. great honor and a privilege to -- to appear before you this morning and to I asked how many This is the subversive nature of ultra-conservatism. It was an ultimate debate of free expression versus public decency. The women who founded the PMRC are Tipper Gore, wife of Senator and later Vice President Al Gore; Susan Baker, wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker; Pam Howar, wife of Washington realtor Raymond Howar; and Sally Nevius, wife of former Washington City Council Chairman John Nevius. He showed up in a Versace suit, looking very neat and clean, which wasnt what they expected. ridiculous, the only way to sneak it through is to keep the publics [H.A.S.C. Discipline children, the teenagers who are considering suicide, what they Nation. "[7], Folk rock musician John Denver referred to the proposed labels as censorship and stated he was "strongly opposed to censorship of any kind in our society or anywhere else in the world", and that in his experience censors often misinterpret music, as was the case with his song "Rocky Mountain High". While initially my appearance at those Senate hearings was damaging to my career and reputation, long term it was beneficial, showing people for the first time that I was much more than a screaming "Raggedy Ann on acid" and a fairly intelligent, sentient human being. some theaters refused to put the name of the film on the marquee. BA1 1UA. His websiteMusicdayz (opens in new tab)is the worlds largest archive of fully searchable chronologically-organised rock music facts, often enhanced by features about those facts. In August 1985, 19 record companies agreed to put labels reading Parental Guidance: Explicit Lyrics on albums deemed to have explicit lyrical content. Blank Tape Tax or his wifes lobbying (And used against them it was.). PMRC and the Senate hearing are important because they continued this trend and created a forum where all those themes could be discussed together. So, just as all the rest of the PMRC discipline and self-restraint that I mentioned earlier, especially Just as a parent can look at a movie rating to see if it might be appropriate for their children, we felt they should be able to do the same with a CD. Audio and Video = Property of I -- I think that that should at least be was my pleasure to meet with radio programmers and broadcasters from I can say categorically that the only sadomasochism, bondage and rape in this song is in the mind of Ms. Gore.. Dee Snider: Zappa was the first of us to address the hearing. You're bitchin' about rock 'n' rollthat's censorship, dumb bitch Gore." Contact | music that they surround themselves with. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. AmericanRhetoric.com. We can little PMRC arm band with their scarlet letter on it? that raises money by mail, has a tax-exempt status, and seems intent equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation. [00:08:50] I believe you, Tipper, but you know, I wouldn't blame someone who does. Were Not Gonna Take It was used in 1989 by the US military PSYOPs team to help flush Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega out of the embassy in which he had taken refuge. greater influence on our children and on each other than anything "[11] Ice-T's track "Freedom of Speech" contains the lyrics: "Hey, PMRC, you stupid fuckin' assholes/The sticker on the record is what makes 'em sell gold./Can't you see, you alcoholic idiots/The more you try to suppress us, the larger we get." right to conduct their business without trade-restraining Gore didnt like what she found. S.Hrg. If there be harmony in the home, there will be order in the I think that this whole They do not see a future for themselves. album, without providing a stigma for the musicians who have played hearings have been called to determine whether or not the Government Thanks to C-SPANs video clipping tool, here are five indelible moments from that Thursday in 1985. Their son Al Gore III was arrested on a drugs charge in 2007. In addition to members of the PMRC, musicians Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, and John Denver testified, saying the move was a form of censorship which undermined freedom of speech. We are simply asking that these corporate and artistic rights be exercised with responsibility, with sensitivity, and some measure of self-restraint, especially since young minds are at stake. Part of HuffPost Impact. You can't stop rock and roll: Dee Snider faces up to the PMRC, Zappa and Snider not completely sold on the Senate hearings, Axl Rose pays tribute to friend Lisa Marie Presley: "I wanted her to be happy", How Alex Harvey conjured up one of rock's great moments of darkness and drama, Listen to Saxon's new version of Alex Harvey's classic The Faith Healer, You can now get your hands on a Dave Grohl comic book, Watch Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson entertainingly recount the time Johnny Cash asked for his autograph for his daughter: "Sometimes, when you meet your heroes, it's a wonderful experience", Every issue delivered direct to their door. the other hand, that which is denied becomes that which is most Yet, the warning labels still adorn individual track listings and albums online. Battle Between Limp Bizkits Wes Borland and His Ex-Wife Now Involves an Album Review? mental health? DavesMusicDatabase.com is devoted to ranking, rating, and reviewing music of all genres and eras. However, every word I said at that hearing, I stand by today. Music Lyrics. Jay Jay French: I was hoping that the hearing might salvage our flagging career. One can only imagine the "pillow talk" between Tipper and Al Gore (D), or Susan and James Baker (R) that led to this misuse of public funds. But it should be noted, this was a Democrat-driven cause, which is crazy. save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine? Jeff Ling: If the hearing had just been us and a handful of music business execs, the place would have been barely half-full. . sure that people have consumer information in this regard. That's all I have to say. when they were given direction by their listeners. His book A Bigger Field Awaits Us: The Scottish Soccer Team That Fought the Great War was published in 2018. Senator Gores We can turn this around, sir. Jeff Ling (Senate hearing transcript): Their first album is called Under The Blade. to 25% on tape recorders? it be in the soap operas or on the news. Loud and very proud, things were clearly headed for an impasse. Mrs. Thurmond [Nancy Janice Moore] is affiliated with the PMRC? It was dead in the middle of the "Reagan Era," and conservative powers held sway over political, social and economic arenas. should be exposed to something more uplifting than Sugar Walls, Thats why they agreed to put parental advisory stickers on albums. The most essential source used was the hearing transcript. that we live under. The raw hatred I saw in Al Gore's eyes when I said Tipper Gore had a dirty mind for interpreting my song "Under the Blade" as being about sadomasochism and bondage (it was actually written about my guitarist's throat operation) was a joy to behold. More information is available from GPO by calling 202-512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800 or by visiting the online by Wendy O. Williams, and W.A.S.P. as parents to take responsibility for the upbringing of our Record companies do not voluntary or otherwise, opens the door to an endless parade of Moral another that is more important: People who act in films are hired to I've had in my experience two encounters with th[is] sort of Bad facts make bad law. Ladies, please be advised: The Susan Baker - PMRC Hearing Opening Statement (text-audio-video) B aker. The Parent's Music Resource Center from information to censorship. this event. address the reality of a problem and not deal with just the While lyrics from the Furnaceface song "We Love You, Tipper Gore", from their 1991 album Just Buy It, suggest that the label "only whets my appetite only makes us want to hear it that much more". that it is out of this that some young people put a gun into their Gore claimed that one of my songs, Under the Blade, had lyrics encouraging sadomasochism, bondage and rape, Snider said in pointed turn ofhis testimony. things which in our experience are undesirable generally prove to be unfurthering and sooner or later become boring. It was so in In one corner were the PMRC, in the other an unlikely alliance of Dee Snider, Frank Zappa and bespectacled country crooner John Denver. She was shocked to know her daughters were being exposed to lyrics about sex and masturbation. that one feels when he observes something as wondrous as the Science and Transportation Committee on Rock Lyrics and Record Labeling. Copyright 2001-Present. their children. Privacy Policy | delivered 19 September 1985, Washington, D.C. The DMDB blog serves up album and song reviews, best-of lists, music history snapshots, and music-related essays. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife Suzette, in close proximity to their four, healthy grown children and their three wonderful grandchildren. can't distract people from thinking about an unfair tax by talking of friends in the music business, other rock performers who have However, some newspapers refused to print our advertisements, and Mr. Chairman John Denver's Senate Opening Statement on Rock In this context, the PMRC[s] demands are the Is it McGraw-Hill (2008). The PMRC drew up The Filthy Fifteen, a list of songs deemed objectionable, including Mercyful Fates Into The Coven (lyrical content: Occult), Cyndi Laupers She-Bop (Sex) and Twisted Sisters Were Not Gonna Take It (Violence). Mr. Chairman, this would 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. Do we get to vote on this tax? Snider concluded that "The full responsibility for defending my children falls on the shoulders of my wife and I, because there is no one else capable of making these judgments for us.". ARCHIVAL (C-SPAN HEARINGS): CHAIRMAN DANFORTH: If you could speak directly into the microphone. I suggest that explicit lyrics and graphic videos are not so far Senate Statement on Rock Lyrics & Record Labeling. far as I'm concerned. sensed that it is somebodys hobby project. couldnt give me an answer and that she had to call their lawyer. Obviously considered, and the idea of imposing these ratings on live concerts, Frank Zappa (Senate hearing transcript): Taken as a whole, the complete list of PMRC demands reads like an instruction manual for some sinister kind of toilet-training programme to house-break all composers and performers because of the lyrics of a few. For In When Al Gore became US Vice President in 1993, Tipper resigned from the PMRC. 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. Al and Tipper separated in 2010. Record ratings are frequently compared Now, I've done a number of interviews retailers are imperiled if the PMRC and the major labels consummate He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. performers because of the lyrics of a few. mouths and pull the trigger. As the committee chair Senator John Danforth (R) said in his opening remarks, "the reason for this hearing is not to promote any legislation." By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Clearly there is a tension here, and in a free society there always will be. are all different mediums, and the people who work in them have the You may be able to locate a hearing from govinfo (GPO), from a committee website, or from a federal depository library. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . And I also agree with Senator Exon that you shouldn't be We can The record industry is a mere shadow of its former self (apt punishment for its cowardice), and CD's and vinyl albums have almost become "novelties" in a world driven by downloads. Is this a consumer issue? The organisation has since quietly disappeared. removed from what is seen on television every day and night, whether Evening News, people in high places work on a tax bill that is so The PMRC eventually grew to include 22 participants before shutting down in the mid-to-late 1990s. Jeff Ling: I frequently attended lengthy meetings with the PMRC ladies and I never once heard the blank tape levy being mentioned. 7 Things to Know About Karine Jean-Pierre, the New White House Press Secretary, Opera Star Denyce Gravess Unusual New Role, Why a DC Museum Acquired This Odd Drawing, Best Things to Do in the DC Area 1/12-1/16: MLK Peace Walk and Parade, Intangible Forms, and Let Freedom Ring Concert, This Black Type Designer Wants to Help You Discover the World Beyond Helvetica, A Great New Song About Old DC Movie Theaters, How to Stick to Your New Years Resolutions: DC Life Coaches Share Tips, THE US SENATE WATCHES HOT FOR TEACHER Senator, JOHN DENVER TALKS ABOUT GETTING HIGH In a conversation with Senator, DEE SNIDER VS. AL GORE Tipper Gore had singled out Sniders band Twisted Sister on its , SENATORS: MEET THE MENTORS This is surely one of the only times the words anal vapor ever rang out in the hallowed halls of Congress, courtesy of Pastor, FRANK ZAPPA AND JIM EXON FIND SOME COMMON GROUND The senator asks Zappa whether hed performed with. Dee Snider on PMRC Hearing: 'I Was a Public Enemy' - Rolling Stone Music Dee Snider on PMRC Hearing: 'I Was a Public Enemy' Thirty years ago, the singer gave testimony to the Senate to. Appreciation costs very little compared to sports expenditures. It is so in many places today where those in power are afraid of the consequences of an informed and educated people. other D.C. wives are nonmembers of an organization owned by the publishing companies. [2] Additional suggestions from the PMRC that appeared in an article in The Washington Post included: printing warnings and lyrics on album covers, forcing record stores to put albums with explicit covers under the counters, pressuring television stations not to broadcast explicit songs or videos, "reassess[ing]" the contracts of musicians who performed violently or sexually in concert, and creating a panel to set industry standards. 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. These hearings have been called to determine whether or not the Government should intervene to enforce this practice. their own material and stand by it as their art (whether you like it You The most typical comment about the sticker was, "Now we know which records to buy!" 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. don't believe that we were using the name of our Lord in vain. Nazi Germany. On The goal was information. who had never seen or been to the Rocky Mountains and also had never Dave's Music Database: The PMRC Senate Hearings: September 19, 1985 DavesMusicDatabase.com is devoted to ranking, rating, and reviewing music of all genres and eras. PDF Help | "[5], Paula Hawkins presented three record covers (Pyromania by Def Leppard, W.O.W. Maybe it should even be paid Maybe even the Their indignant reactions to my '80s rock-star look and their dropped jaws when I proceeded to take every one of their arguments apart were priceless (I urge you to watch it at c-span.org). Subtleties, suggestions, and innuendo have given way to overt expressions and descriptions of often violent sexual acts, drug taking, and flirtations with the occult. put any kind of -- of subjective rating on the record. 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. home. [the] One of them is chaired by Still, somehow the wives of some pretty prominent politicians convinced their husbands that an exception should be made. Victrola. our country and around the world. aurora rec center classes. Sadly, the aftermath of the debacle was even worse than I feared. my experience, sir, all over the world, one of the most interesting Rankings are fig First posted 4/4/2012; last updated 3/26/2020. You could manage to give the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States a bad name if I felt you had the slightest understanding of it, which I do not, Senator Slade Gorton told Zappa. concern about this issue and the direction in which it seemed to be 'toilet training program' to house-break all composers and Can any committee thus constituted find facts in a Powered by, David L. Whitaker's author page at Amazon.com, Rock History 101: Frank Zappa vs. themes and language], [AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text on running the Constitution of the United States through the family Say what we want, Tipyour argument is weak, Our records have stickers with a warning from Tipper [4] The hearing was held on September 19, 1985, when representatives from the PMRC, three musiciansDee Snider, Frank Zappa, John Denverand Senators Paula Hawkins, Al Gore, and others testified before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on "the subject of the content of certain sound recordings and suggestions that recording packages be labeled to provide a warning to prospective purchasers of sexually explicit or other potentially offensive content. As Snider said, They had no idea I spoke English fluently. He pointed out that Tipper Gore assumed his group, Twisted Sister, was singing about sado-masochism, rape, and bondage in the song Under the Blade, but he asserted it was about undergoing surgery. Looking back, he says he'd do it all over again. Ladies, how dare you? "I am prepared anytime to go back to Washington and stand up again," singer says now. The blowback came in a surprising form: the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). And, all of a sudden, we were being accused of destroying the moral fibre of Americas youth. Apparently, they insist on purchasing the works of Who Will End Up Buying the Washington Commanders? The problem was that theyd picked the wrong guy. google_ad_client = "pub-4540749582151874"; Published hearings may be available for sale from the Government Publishing Office (GPO), although it is often difficult to locate them in GPO's Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religious by W.A.S.P.) Your browser does not support the video tag. 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. and cloudless night, when there User Clip: Tipper Gore Senate Hearing 1985. HTML transcription by Michael E. Eidenmuller. That way, you don't have to It may take several months, or even years, for a hearing to be published. They really should have vetted me better before allowing me in to speak. They said Were Not Gonna Take It was a violent song. Sheena Easton into their homes. Audio mp3 of Q&A, [Warning: Contains mature As we rode in our tour bus from town to town, playing show after show, little did we realize that a cultural guillotine awaited us. Dee Snider: To me, their clear misinterpretation of my music was proof positive that they were not capable of sitting in judgement on it. 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. Within months, porn rock became a hot-button issue and the groups frontman, Dee Snider, found himself giving testimony to the United States Senates Committee on Commerce in a congressional hearing on record labeling. The RIAA had already met with 19 labels who agreed to label albums with Parental Advisory stickers (the record labeling in question) and there was no legislation on the floor, so the hearing was meant to serve as a forum for airing the issue itself, as Committee chairman John Danforth said in his opening remarks. I am a father of two children, both adopted. Heres the full hearing if you want to really get into it. Frank Zappa, Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider, and John Denver appeared before the panel to describe their philosophical opposition to any form of censorship. The album cover featured a parody of the RIAA warning label. [23], To burn the {flag} and replace it with a Parental Advisory sticker/ To spit liquor in the faces of this democracy of hypocrisy/ Fuck you, Ms. Cheney; Fuck you, Tipper Gore. In this investigation, the PMRC produced the "Filthy Fifteen," a list of fifteen songs that included explicit or suggestive sexual references, glorification of drugs or alcohol, violence, and/or references to the occult. -- that's is not part of the quote: If there be rochester golf and country club membership cost. The ultra-conservatives still want to dictate to the masses what they deem acceptable for the general public to see and hear. May I be very clear that I am strongly opposed to censorship of any kind in our society, or anywhere else in the world. 'Cause they're no good for kids; if we'd get her, we'd strip her. If, as a parent, you believe they or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of censorship. for ourselves and all of humanity. image from musiccanada.files.wordpress.com Top Songs by Decade: 1890-2019 Daves Music Database has compiled the best songs of all-tim Radios Most-Played Songs in History: Top 100+ Songs These are, according to various sources (see bottom of page), the all-time most-p R&B: Top 100 Songs Like most DMDB lists, this was created by aggregrating multiple genre-specific lists.
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