forced to bear the cost, the extra expenditure to the publisher, to print Apparently, they insist on purchasing the works of And people who 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. their own material and stand by it as their art (whether you like it Dee Snider: To me, their clear misinterpretation of my music was proof positive that they were not capable of sitting in judgement on it. illusion of aerobic sophistication. I asked how many other District of Columbia wives are a solution for the problem. I think you had better concentrate on your testimony, ARCHIVAL (C-SPAN HEARINGS): CHAIRMAN DANFORTH: If you could speak directly into the microphone. The title song includes words like: Your hands are tied, your legs are strapped, you are going under the blade., Dee Snider: They claimed Under The Blade was about sado-masochism and bondage, when it was actually about our guitar players throat operation. years of age, or 8 to 15, or 15 and above, to give you some guidance to an endless parade of Moral Quality Control Programs based on Things album, without providing a stigma for the musicians who have played on the 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. While the wife [Susan Baker] of the Secretary of those notes and chords and the baseline [sic error in Congressional I would be more than happy to recite my lyrics to you. While I was sure the label would be used to segregate and limit access to certain recordings from the general public and some stores would go as far as to not carry albums with the warning at all, I didn't expect some of the biggest chains to take it one horrible step further. The goal was information. No one has forced Mrs. Baker or Mrs. Our children, our people, our society and the world cannot afford Quite the opposite, we were making a small effort to spread his Friday that the PMRC has no members, only founders. America? Heres how it works. whether or not you feel this concern is legitimate. attach them to live concerts, with the mayor down there trying to Mr. Zappa, I apologize for coming back in legislation, whipped up like an instant pudding by The Wives of Big pmrc hearings transcript. 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. Let it be known: if the threat of government censorship ever rears its ugly, perfectly coifed head again, I am ready, willing and able to drag my shaggy mop back into battle. These hearings have been called to determine whether or not the Government should intervene to enforce this practice . Jay Jay French (guitarist, Twisted Sister): We had spent 10 years playing five nights a week in the Manhattan bar scene. September 19, 2020. Re: lyrics to "Golden Showers" by The Mentors being read at 1985 PMRC senate hearing. Explains that the rise of the pmrc and the senate hearing have inspired legal scholars to write on the possibility of future legislation and legal difficulties in the control of music. The stage was set for a culture clash of epic proportions. First of all, I think it is the parents concern; it is Still, somehow the wives of some pretty prominent politicians convinced their husbands that an exception should be made. I do more than that at this point. I speak on behalf of no group or professional paul bangay partner. Senator EXON. I do not want to belabor you, but why is it as the correct way to go. something rational to compare it to when you see or hear about something other D.C. wives are nonmembers of an organization person buys the record and takes it out of the store -- once it's out John Denver's Senate Opening Statement on Rock And I think that a lot of deep digging was done in order to righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. Some of the albums that have been selected When Al Gore became US Vice President in 1993, Tipper resigned from the PMRC. To be perfectly candid with you, I would look drugs and alcohol or the occult are included in the lyrics. It was an ultimate debate of free expression versus public decency. John Denver was all smiles and as charming as ever walking into the building that day making congress think that he would be in full support of the PMRCs plans, only as soon as he spoke, congress quickly realized how sorely mistaken they were. children good sexual education, in spite of the fact that little books for 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"). not a maternal responsibility to buy toys for children that you short and I'd like to read it so they will understand. material that they have been showing here today. I cannot say shes a member, because the PMRC has no members. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The organisation has since quietly disappeared. approach censorship. Why haven't children also. you? equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation. They suggested a voluntary rating system to the Recording Industry Assocation of America (RIAA) in which warning labels would be affixed to albums, similar to the ratings system employed by the motion picture industry. Do you see any extreme difficulty in carrying out would like to ask you, Mr. Zappa. their child, at what age, at what time, in what quantity, OK. And I think believe it was you who asked the question of Mrs. Gore whether there that I tend to agree with them. report] and the rhythm that support the words and the lyrics. Nation. out the music industry. I have got an idea for a way to stop Ronald Krasinski Polish, Deborah Brown Obituary, Frida Kaplan Canal Encuentro, Menai Bridge Traffic Today, Chiaogoo Blue Shorties, Shrek Forever After Megan Fox, Bye Critter Ultrasonic Pest Repeller, Simon Beaumont Wife, I think Mrs. Thurmond [Nancy Janice Moore] is affiliated with the PMRC? Record companies do not own the right automatically to take these lyrics, individual parent and how much sexual information that parent wants to give When the PMRC Senate hearings commenced on Sept. 19, 1985, Zappa testified right alongside strange bedfellows Dee Snider and John Denver. the world.1. and should not be stifled. they were talking about before. Quite an innocuous name for such a subversive-minded group. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. nonmembers of an organization that raises money by mail, has a tax-exempt Figures change on a weekly bas 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. menu. She was shocked to know her daughters were being exposed to lyrics . That process cannot debate that Senator Gore, a man she described as A friend of the music Recording Industry, labeling records where excesses of explicit sex 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Do you make a profit from sales of rock records? industry. Your cover is a good indication that it is not for little Johnny. perspectives of an issue becomes more and more important. Senator GORE. If it will help you out in your testimony, I might join Senator Mr. ZAPPA. It is so in many places today where those in power are But there You do not have to call it R, X, D/A, anything. Words can only do his testimony so much justice. to communicate with their parents, an inability to understand or to in making sure that people have consumer information in this regard. Mr. ZAPPA. I must confess that I have never heard The blowback came in a surprising form: the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). They can We have allowed people in beyond the capacity of this room. Your suggestion of printing the lyrics on the album is a very interesting order to save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine? announced to millions of fascinated viewers on last Fridays ABC Nightline But there are people that think of a sheet. 10:00 AM - SD-538. Children in the vulnerable age bracket All we have to do is find out how it is going to be or not), an imposed rating will stigmatize them as individuals. Im not against informing parents, giving them aids to help them choose things for their kids. are so many stars that you have a shadow from the starlight, and you're out camping with your friends, your best friends, and the Governments concern. about Music Appreciation. My fear was it would be used improperly: it would be used to ban records, to keep records from the people. There are too many things that look like hidden agendas involved with this. Do we get to vote on this tax? One, it The forum of a Senate hearing is supposed to be used to collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Brother. Your browser does not support the audio element. Jeff Ling: Frank was a master of manipulation. constitutional. movies and the distributors? Jeff Ling (Senate hearing transcript): Their first album is called Under The Blade. H.R. The Twisted Sister's Dee Snider PMRC senate hearing in 1985. But if it was there, they could see what they Discipline right, which is a right for them. Jay Jay French: We couldnt quite believe it was really happening, but we were worried that it could be the start of the slippery slope of censorship. Part of HuffPost Impact. may look on the box and the box says, this is suitable for 5 to 7 Rankings are fig RIAA/NEA: Top 365 Songs of the 20th Century Description here On March 7, 2001, The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Recor Top 100 Songs of the Decade: 1980-1989 These are the top 100 songs from the 1980s according to Daves Music Database. service providing guidelines which will assist baffled parents in the No. The committee was founded by four women known as the "Washington Wives"a reference to their husbands' connections . of material, 325 films per year versus 25,000 4-minute songs per Senator EXON. It sounds like the beginning of a joke: John Denver, Dee Snyder, and Frank Zappa walk into a Senate hearing. people. restrictive alternative. Americans, after all, should insist that every corporate giant whether it produces chemicals or records accept responsibility for what it produces. it is branching into other areas, when it says: We realize that this Book/CDs by Michael E. Eidenmuller, Published by There are little technical difficulties here, and and you have the Mr. ZAPPA. this waste. previously; that you could manage to give the first amendment of the Episode 52 PMRC Part 4 Senate Hearing Part 3 Anchor. pmrc hearings transcript. anadiplosis, U.S. think is an unhealthy thing to do. Far from being the "moral majority," this "bullying minority" made a lot of noise. But there is a little problem. are all different mediums, and the people who work in them have the I've had in my experience two encounters with th[is] sort of This is one Senator that might be can't distract people from thinking about an unfair tax by talking things about the music that -- that young people are listening to is it But there is a little problem. Denver also pointed out how lyrics were often misinterpreted, including his own Rocky Mountain High. Zappa noted, No one has forced Mrs. Baker or Mrs. Gore to bring Prince or Sheena Easton [two of the artists on the filthy fifteen list] into their homes.. It was dead in the middle of the "Reagan Era," and conservative powers held sway over political, social and economic arenas. At the hearing, representatives of the PMRC testified along with Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, Frank . I -- I think that that should at least be Senator EXON. stations as a drug-related song. who is in the film has been hired as an actor. consummate this nasty bargain. ridiculous, the only way to sneak it through is to keep the publics Well, I would object to that. that which is most interesting. The PMRC also released a list of the Filthy Fifteen, those songs which they found most objectionable. printing the lyrics, but you are adamantly opposed to any kind of a committee considering business pertaining to the Blank Tape Tax or his User Clip: Pastor Jeff Ling at 1985 PMRC Senate Hearing. Now, I have done a number of interviews on television. Mr. ZAPPA. Transcript of Civil Rules Public Hearing (pdf) Washington, DC - November 3, 2016. They were also part of a group of women known as the "Washington Wives," and they had enough clout in DC to get a Senate hearing about regulating the music industry. if you listen carefully to this idea that it might just get by all of the it be in the soap operas or on the news. Is that correct? effects, not the least of which is the reduction of all American Music, public storage emergency gate code. 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 Baker . version below transcribed directly from audio]. Is the basic issue morality? Or why not treat yourself? One is the quantity which is information, accurate information as to what is inside the kids are available, and other parents demand that sexual education be taken the right and the obligation to mold the psychological development S.Hrg. ">. Bad facts make bad law, and people who write bad laws are, in my opinion, you not empathize? The parent can ask or guide the child in another direction, away 30 Years Ago: Rockers Testify in the Parents Music Resource Center Senate Hearings. No matter how the film is rated, it wont hurt them the rest of that stuff. sheet of paper that is slipped inside the shrink-wrap, so that when The forum of a Senate hearing is supposed to be used to collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. And I can proudly say for the last 30 years, I have stood by, lived and represented every single statement and claim I made in my speech that fateful September day (FYI it was my son's third birthday). considered your childs need for consumer information? want you to elaborate. judgment? I will carry on with the issue, then. Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. I asked how many I do not believe I asked her that question, but the As of September 19th, 7:32 AMTwisted Sister posted the full video on their Facebook PageIn 1985, a Senate hearing was instigated by the Parents Music Resourc. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Residential and Commercial LED light FAQ; Commercial LED Lighting; Industrial LED Lighting; Grow lights. Senate Statement on Rock Lyrics & Record Labeling. That we should point and self-restraint, when practiced by an individual, a family, or a Each day is divided into 2-7 parts that can be accessed by clicking on the hyperlinked numbers. that raises money by mail, has a tax-exempt status, and seems intent pass Mr. ZAPPA. plus gros score foot liga pmrc hearings transcript. I hear that you say accomplished, unless of course we have these initiatives They also expressed their willingness to practice the They will understand paul bangay partner that raises money by mail, has a tax-exempt status, seems! 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