Thursday, January 27, 2011

Censorship on the radio

The blushing bride she looks divine
The bridegroom he is doing fine
I'd rather have his job than mine
When I'm cleaning windows


These are the lyrics from George Formby's "When I'm cleaning Windows." This song was banned in 1940 from BBC radio for these "smutty" lyrics as they were called. If "When I'm cleaning Windows" was on XL93 today, well it would be hilarious, but there is no way It would be seen as vulgar if anything it would be incredibly tame compared to what is on the radio now. Radio stations today still censor songs, they mute curse words and have radio friendly versions (see Cee Lo's recent hit "Forget You," the non-radio version has some different lyrics). Today's standards in what makes the radio has changed a lot from George Formby's day, and song's still get edited, and beeped, and banned, but the standard has changed. We still get to hear Lil Jon say "skeet skeet" and Britney Spears asking us "If U seek Amy" and pretty much every song by Eminem. What I am wondering is it even necessary anymore. Do the radio stations need to censor the music we hear? I understand that you should be able to turn on the radio and not have to worry about your young ones hearing curse words or adult themes in their music. But that same kid can find and download that song unedited in a matter of seconds. If anything listening to a song on the radio that has a bunch of lyrics muted would make me want to hear the original version. Is there going to come a point when we are so neutralized to what would be called "vulgar" music that it just won't matter anymore? Will the bar ever get low enough that anything will fly on the radio? I don't even think I would notice if they stopped censoring music on radio stations, and after a while I really don't think many other people would either.


 (Cause I know you were curious here is George Formby's "When I'm cleaning windows")

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Parents Just Don't Understand

In 1985 a committee was formed to increase parental control over what music was available to children. The Committee was formed by Tipper Gore, Al Gore’s wife, Susan Baker, wife of then Treasury Secretary James Baker, Pam Howar and Sally Nevius, wives of a Washington realtor and a Washington City Councilman respectively. This group was known as the Washington Wives, the committee was called the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC).

The artist to blame for the creation of this group is none other than Minneapolis’ own Prince. Tipper bought the album Purple Rain, great album by the way, for her daughter. When she heard the song “Darling Nikki” about a girl who liked herself a little too much, she was outraged. She started watching more videos and listening to more music and then set the group into action.  

 The PMRC wanted to create a rating system and offered various other alternatives including;  that song lyrics be printed on the album covers, records with obscene covers be placed under the counters of record stores, record companies should reconsider their contracts with performers who displayed sex or violence during shows or on records, radio stations be furnished with lyric sheets, backward masking be banned from all songs, and music videos be rated according to both lyrics and performances.

The Recording Industry refused to give in to the PMRC and refused to be censored a letter was sent stating: "Explicit is explicit... There are just no ‘right/wrong’ characterizations, and the music industry refuses to take the first step toward a censorship mode to create a master bank of ‘good/bad’ words or phrases or thoughts or concepts" (U.S. Senate 1985:103; cf. Kaufman 1986:230). This eventually led to a Senate Hearing on September 19, 1985.

Tipper Gore took the stand and said that the PMRC wanted record companies to voluntarily label their products stating that voluntary labeling is not censorship. The PMRC attempted to point out all the negative influences explicit music had on children.

The musicians were represented by an odd trio, Frank Zappa, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, and John Denver. I would write out all of their arguments against censorship but I think the videos do a better job.

The PMRC came out with a victory as after the hearing the record Industry agreed on a voluntary labeling system, but I have always thought of this as a great representation of artists fighting back against censorship. Frank Zappa's reads the 1st Amendment in his testimony, and anything that can bring Zappa, Dee Snider and John Denver together on the same stage bench can't be right.