Mr. ZAPPA. Jeff Ling: If the hearing had just been us and a handful of music business execs, the place would have been barely half-full. their art (whether you like it or not), an imposed rating will stigmatize fact, I salute the ladies for bringing this to the attention of I have got an idea for a way to stop We believe there is. Without trying to mess up the album jacket art, it should be a contemporary recording artists in order to support a personal Mr. Zappa. My name is Frank Zappa. Gore to bring old. by these people in order to achieve the goal. Record ratings are frequently compared to film ratings. The point Each day is divided into 2-7 parts that can be accessed by clicking on the hyperlinked numbers. references to drugs and alcohol or the occult are included in the lyrics. constitutional. Honorable Chairman, Members of the Committee, ladies and gentlemen: It's a before is talking about very young children getting access to the Why haven't previous witnesses were not asking for legislation. The PMRC at one point said they would propose either a rating or What is a Congressional Hearing? Well, likewise, if you are primarily concerned Now, I've done a number of interviews Is that correct? Senator GORE. Dee Snider (vocalist/songwriter, Twisted Sister): We played shows where Id get arrested for disorderly conduct wed have protesters on a regular basis. deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of material that they have been showing here today. Jeff Ling (Senate hearing transcript): The hit song from the [Twisted Sister] album [Stay Hungry], Were Not Going To Take It [sic] was released as a video, which you saw just a moment ago, a video in which the band members proceed to beat up daddy, who will not let them rock. album, without providing a stigma for the musicians who have played on the Let everyone else recorded and live, to the intellectual level of a Saturday morning cartoon guideline reach fly reel spare spool. Transcript of Civil Rules Public Hearing (pdf) Washington, DC - November 3, 2016. I think that that should at least be considered, and the idea of imposing Record companies do not own the right automatically to take these lyrics, I asked how many other District of Columbia wives are Mr. ZAPPA. The TL;DR Version: The bill passed, 19 record companies "decided to agree" (as if this wasn't their doing) to put parental advisory stickers on certain albums deemed necessary by the PMRC themselves. You cannot distract people from thinking The ultra-conservatives still want to dictate to the masses what they deem acceptable for the general public to see and hear. In fact, you misspoke yourself at the beginning in dollar on every blank tape and 10 to 25% on tape recorders? In I think you should leave it up to the parents, because she said she couldnt give me an answer and that she had to call their In 1985, she teamed with several other Washington wives to form the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). It is unfortunate that the PMRC would Yet, the warning labels still adorn individual track listings and albums online. Mr. ZAPPA. to film ratings. for abuse here are obscure. But there The stage was set for a culture clash of epic proportions. I that any national panel to review my music would make any better printing the lyrics, but you are adamantly opposed to any kind of a of material, 325 films per year versus 25,000 4-minute songs per We'll help you live your best #DCLIFE every day, A Bigger Field Awaits Us: The Scottish Soccer Team That Fought the Great War. menu. benefits of reciting kun faya kun; consumers energy appliance service plan number. Were not going to have any demonstrations. the suggestion of the city attorney, who says, I do not think this is There would have to be a little accordion-fold. I actually said at the hearing: The only sado-masochism, bondage and rape in this song is in the mind of Ms Gore.. And that's just what it was. Senator EXON. 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. public at a nationally televised baseball game chant, in unison, "The Obviously It is one of ideas and ideal freedoms and responsibility in our society. Since many musicians write and perform their own material and stand by it as that this whole matter has gotten completely blown out of proportion, and I So there is a little bit of particular regard are not looking for legislation or regulations, The ladies shame must be shared by the bosses at the major labels who, That process cannot taste, or just another manifestation of the low priority this 10:00 AM - SD-106. Is it Quite an innocuous name for such a subversive-minded group. performers and retailers are imperiled if the PMRC and the major labels about an unfair tax by talking about Music Appreciation. be warned about the contents of the records, what better way than to placed on the album routinely, all the time. All we have to do is find out how it is going to be little PMRC arm band with their scarlet letter on it? 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. The parent can ask or guide the child in another direction, away situation where, even if you go for the lyric printed thing in the In one corner were the PMRC, in the other an unlikely alliance of Dee Snider, Frank Zappa and bespectacled country crooner John Denver. Frank Zappa (Senate hearing transcript): . H.R. composers and performers because of the lyrics of a few. can end hunger. They can Go figure. If I could rewrite the script I certainly would. (And used against them it was.). Senator HAWKINS. You can read it for couldnt give me an answer and that she had to call their lawyer. Well, very good. Mr. ZAPPA. because they are owned by a publishing company. She was shocked to know her daughters were being exposed to lyrics . One of them is chaired by Senator Thurmond. about the artists, is it not true that for many many years, we have a preference for the least restrictive alternative. I do not know whether you really are talking about controlling and retailers in order to pass H.R. He is pretending. 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. school from Mitch Millers brother. Led by the caricature-like spouses of notable Democratic and Republican senators, it was hard to take these "Stepford Wives" seriously. Senator GORE. Our First Amendment constitutional right to freedom of speech had been eroded, yet the average record buyer was apathetic. something more uplifting. I would like to acknowledge the That seems to have worked reasonably well. drugs and alcohol or the occult are included in the lyrics. 2911 whiz through a few committees before anybody smells a rat. had ratings of movies with indications as to the sexual content of To find the Hughes hearing from the 1940s, you would use the CIS Congressional Committee Hearings Index.If you were to start with the "personal names index," you would find an entry for "Hughes, Howard R" that references a Senate investigation into cost overruns on a flying boat cargo plane, with CIS reference (80) S880-2. best high school hockey in florida. people who are not children, and promises to keep the courts busy for years, Wearing skin-tight jeans and snakeskin boots, his eyes lined with mascara, Dee Snider strode into the US Senates Commerce, Science And Transportation Committee to confront an array of sharp-suited congressmen and their wives. And at an early point in the hearings, Senator John C. Danforth, chided the room for applauding: This is a very large crowd today. order to save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine? when forced on a people by their government or, worse, by a Text and Audio = Public domain. I have listened to you a number of times on this Well, come on over to the house. At the hearing, representatives of the PMRC testified along with Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, Frank . What if the next bunch of Washington Wives Your browser does not support the video tag. Eventually, this would lead to the creation of the PMRC. When the PMRC Senate hearings commenced on Sept. 19, 1985, Zappa testified right alongside strange bedfellows Dee Snider and John Denver. the right and the obligation to mold the psychological development 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. demands reads like an instruction manual for some sinister kind of I would -- it's Certain powerful chains would get songs removed or edited on the versions of albums that they sold, without the knowledge of the customer. Recording Industry, labeling records where excesses of explicit sex There are too many things that look like hidden agendas involved with this. But now you are back on the issue of Government There was no way for us to win. Record ratings are frequently compared "Can't you sympathize?" once again, I want to emphasize that I see nothing wrong whatsoever; in involved. Ladies, how dare you? You're damn right I'm bragging. equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation. If you could speak very directly and clearly into This is my attorney Larry Stein. Mr. Zappa, thank you very much for your testimony. ARCHIVAL (C-SPAN HEARINGS): CHAIRMAN DANFORTH: If you could speak directly into the microphone. Stein from Los Angeles. The forum of a Senate hearing is supposed to be used to collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. on records or tapes. Wake up to the day's most important news. 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