…if one wants to be a real artist in the United States today and comment on our culture, one would be very far off the track if one did something delicate or sublime. This is not a noble, delicate, sublime country (Zappa 1988).
Explicit sex, violence, pain, suffering, and unusual human acts are characteristics of the human drama. Lyrical content is now censored when relating to “…explicit sex, explicit violence, or explicit substance abuse” (Baker 1989). Sexual acts, in particular, are commonly accepted in our society, but the language that denotes these acts is not. Perhaps it is the actual acts that the censors wish to curb, especially in youth, and by censoring the symbols for sex – language – they hope to censor the reality of sex. The logic is that without knowledge, there will be no corresponding action. But this logic is backwards, for it is the action that comes first, which is then symbolized through language. Regarding the censorship of the symbols, this author agrees with Goethe’s view:
It would be a bad state of affairs if reading had a more immoral effect than life itself, which daily develops scandalous scenes in abundance, if not before our eyes than before our ears. Even with children we need not by any means be too anxious about the effects of a book or a play. As I have said, daily life is more effective than the most effective book (Goethe 1832).
Sex, violence, and substance abuse are certainly real factors of society. If a musician cannot relate explicit information on these topics without being censored, then he or she may feel the need to hold something back. The next logical conclusion is that by withholding explicit information the musician would be sacrificing accuracy. An inaccurate piece of art may still have aesthetic value, but may not contain the message that the musician wanted to express and that the listener may have needed to hear. It is a popular opinion within the artistic sphere that “[Musicians] should be able to sing about drugs and the gang culture and teenage sexuality and a whole list of issues that need to be sung about (Holland 1989). How can we learn from our history if we do not know the whole story and the lessons learned from it? We need to know what issues face us now and suggestions for dealing with them. We need to foresee issues of the future that must be addressed in the present. A dialogue on our societal issues in poetic but inaccurate terms will do us no good when trying to cope in the real world. Gorky summed up the association of art and reality:
Myth is invention. To invent means to extract from the sum of a given reality its cardinal idea and embody it in imagery – that is how we got realism. But if to the idea extracted from the given reality we add – completing the idea, by the logic of hypothesis – desired, the possible, and thus supplement the image, we obtain that romanticism which is at the basis of myth and is highly beneficial in that it tends to provoke a revolutionary attitude to reality, an attitude that changes the world in a practical way (Gorky 1934).
The same reasons for censoring views on sex, violence and substance abuse are the same reasons these views should be heard: because they are controversial. John Stuart Mill asserted that the truth is most likely to emerge from a conflict of opinions. A censored opinion, whether true or false, sidesteps conflict and secures our distance in the truth. In a court case involving censorship of the band Dead Kennedys, Barry Lynn, the Legislative counsel to the national American Civil Liberties Union, revealed the symbiotic relationship of controversy and censorship:
…Dead Kennedy material and visual art in general lampoons the conformism of American society. That is preeminently political speech. We know it works because it annoyed the authorities enough to try to intimidate their critics into submission by calling them obscene (Kennedy 1990).
Importance of Lyrics as a Medium of Information
The same segment of the population that censorship usually aims to protect is the same segment controversial music is intended for: teenagers and young adults. Often these controversial issues are new to or directly affect young people. There is little recognition by parents and particularly by censors of the way music is used by young people in America. The attitudes and ideas embodied in lyrics may act as a catalyst for change from childhood to adulthood. Censors only focus on the aspects they consider to be offensive. David Riesman sees the cause of this as a lack of structure:
Such a “youth movement” differs from the youth movement of other countries in having no awareness of itself, as such, no direct political consciousness, and, on the whole, no specialized media of communication (Riesman 1950).
Youth has no universal link with itself; instead of ideas traveling from the youth to their peers, they travel from musician to youth. Youth therefore need to be educated and informed in some way, and music is a strong link to their lifestyle. Studies have shown that the average teenager listens to rock music about four hours a day (Mann 1988). Musicians can act as the youth?s journalists, reporting the events of the day in a manner that appeals to them more than conventional news. Popular music can inspire a radical mentality, it is a “major political weapon” urging youth to improve their world (Rodnitzky 1972). Henry Thoreau labeled music “the arch-reformer.” Chuck D. of the popular Rap group Public Enemy asserts, “Rap is the only way to communicate with black youth anymore. We?re the TV station, the six o?clock news. We?ve got to tell the truth” (DiLeo 1989). Rapper Ice Cube works from the assumption that “Rap music is a form of education” (Cole 1991). Often it is a moral education that lyricists offer, one that is not always taught in school. A 1972 study said, “Their songs constitute a radical influence, but, more importantly, they supply examples of conscience and principle to a society which has increasingly been unable to provide its youth with credible examples of either conscience or principle” (Rodnitzky 1972). After their original album cover was censored, the rock group Jane’s Addiction released another cover with only Article 1 of the Bill of Rights on it, and inside was a message addressed to “the Mosquitoes”:
We have more influence over your children than you do, but we love your children. Most of you love them too, very much. You want what’s best for them. Consider them when planning the future. Right? Oh, mother, father, your blindness to our most blessed gift, NATURE, leaves us with the overwhelming task of correcting your utter mess….I understand why they want to protect their children, but for their own good, let me point out that though you may have to explain subjects to your children that you perceive as wrong, it is better to have the freedom to explain it in your own words than be silenced under a government that has the power to squash anyone who opposes their views….Try to restrict our freedoms and we will fight even harder to preserve them (Farrell 1990).
Principles are not only offered by “offensive” artists, Establishment organizations also try to contribute their share of wisdom. The national collegiate group Campus Crusade for Christ has sponsored a touring folk-rock group (Rodnitzky 1972), and in the 1980s Christian groups have gained popularity, among them the heavy metal group Stryper and the rapper M.C. Hammer. The rock group U2 discredits South Africa?s policy of apartheid. Sting, a popular singer/songwriter, promotes environmental awareness through his music and through his own company. The 10,000 Maniacs, a rock group, has breached the subject of domestic violence. The list goes on. Often explicit language is needed when describing valid opinions and important observations about our world through one of the few means of communication attended to by young people.
Labeling
Since 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) has been the pressuring force in music censorship. The PMRC was founded by Susan Baker, wife of Secretary of State James Baker, and Tipper Gore, wife of Tennessee senator Albert Gore. The Center is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to educate parents about media messages. Although they object to some music lyrics, they have not tried to have them removed from recordings. In order to help parents monitor the content of music their children listen to, the PMRC supports “…a voluntary, nonrestrictive consumer labeling plan for albums…” but they “…do not support censorship” (Baker 1989). After senate hearings on “porn rock” in 1985, the PMRC reached an agreement with the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) to place a sticker on certain music albums. The following is “RIAA?s policy statement of lyric content”:
To facilitate the exercise of parental discretionon behalf of younger children, participating RIAA member recording companies will identify future releases of their recordings with lyric content relating to explicit sex, explicit violence, or explicit substance abuse. Such recordings, where contractually permissible, either will be identified with a packaging inscription that will state:?Explicit Lyrics – Parental Advisory?…or such recordings will display printed lyrics (Baker 1989).
RIAA record companies include Atlantic, Arista, A&M, Chrysalis, Compleat, Crescendo, Capitol-EMI, Columbia, Mike Curb Productions, Epic, Elektra, MCA, Motown, Manhattan [now EMI], PolyGram, RCA, Solar, Scotti, Tabu, and Warner Bros. Together they account for 80% of recorded music sales worldwide (Holland 1989).
Ignoring this agreement, 22 states were still proposing legislation to label albums at the beginning of 1990. These bills were offered in spite of the RIAA?s survey that showed only 22% of parents were in favor of labeling and 24% of parents opposed labeling(Marsh 1990). F. Joseph Loeper, Pennsylvania?s senate majority leader, says his mail tallied 4-1 against his state?s labeling bill (Marsh 1991). After persistent lobbying failed to head off legislation, the RIAA agreed to adopt a standard label for use by all member companies and to apply them more consistently than in the past. This action caused 13 states to drop their proposals and quelled the PMRC, who had complained that some albums were slipping through the system. Whether it was the PMRC?s intention or not, warning labels have become a tool for censorship.
Labels Failure to Avoid Censorship – Retailers
In April of 1990 a large retail music chain, WaxWorks, announced it would no longer stock albums bearing warning stickers (Verna 1990). Other retail stores and some music distributors have adopted the same policy. WaxWorks operates approximately 110 Disc Jockey stores in 37 states and 25 Music Express departments in Montgomery Ward stores. Their action effectively limited access to materials because of the warning sticker, which was designed to resolve objections to explicit language without censorship. In the Midwest, where WaxWorks and Wal-Mart, another company with a similar policy, are the only major music retailers, access to some albums was essentially cut. Later in 1990, WaxWorks repealed its policy prohibiting stickered product with the exception of 2 Live Crew?s “As Nasty As They Wanna Be” album, which was only carried in its “clean” version – one with explicit language removed. Instead, WaxWorks has instituted a new policy of examining the content themselves and making a decision whether or not to stock an album, although warning stickers, by informing without censoring, should have made such policies unnecessary. An instance of censorship is clearly present here in light of the fact that over 1000 stores, including WaxWorks, already restrict certain albums to an “18-to-buy” section (Goldberg 1990). The refusal to stock other albums restricts access by all music buyers, regardless of age. The adults-only policy is not prompted by law but only by the retailer?s sense of morality, which the consumer is forced to adopt.
One example of a censored album is “100 Miles and Runnin?” by N.W.A., a Rap group. WaxWorks has decided not to stock the album based on content. Other retailers have made this same decision because of the album?s warning sticker. Not even the three music mail order houses – Columbia, BMG, and Bose – carry N.W.A. at all. These policies are not instituted for business reasons. An album released by a major record company that sells 200,000 units is considered firmly profitable for the record company and for the distributor. Sales figures for the “100 Miles and Runnin?” album have gone over 600,000 units where it is available (Verna 1990). Richard Griffin?s album has been pulled from Record World, a chain of 80 stores. Record Bar, a chain of 170 stores, does not stock any 2 Live Crew Albums. Griffin and 2 Live Crew are even more popular than N.W.A., and these three artists are among the most popular rap groups. Censorship of a very popular artist is obviously not done for business reasons; such recordings can be quite profitable. These actions can be abridged with the term market-censorship. The dissemination of ideas of the artist is restricted in the marketplace because some persons think these ideas may be harmful. Labels have failed in their goal of educating parents without censoring.
The Tacitean Principle
The Technical Report of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography stated:
…efforts to restrict or censor have the psychological effect of increasing the desirability of the material. Increasing the difficulty of obtaining erotic materials, harassing and punishing pornographers and purveyors of pornography, setting minimum age limits for the purchase of these materials, and so on, may have the unwanted effect of increasing interest in the materials, rendering them more desirable, and producing a greater impact on the recipients, than if none of these measures were utilized (Broch 1971).
When a piece of literature or art is censored, people have a natural curiosity in the offensive material. The relationship is of direct proportions, first recorded by the historian Tacitus under the rule of Emperor Nero: the popularity of books would invariable rise whenever they were censored; they would eventually fall into into oblivion when there was no difficulty in obtaining them (Jansen 1991). With the advent of the press, books were more easily distributed, and by then the authority of the censor changed hands from the Romans to the Roman Catholic Church, which published (and still does) a list of forbidden books. This list naturally encouraged the Tacitean Principle:
…[The list] provided Protestant firms with a list of profit making titles and free advertising while alerting potential Catholic purchasers to the existence of forbidden fruit (Eisenstein 1979).
Today the censor is in the form of the PMRC and their warning stickers will obviously have the same effect. The President of Giant Records noted that one group, Too Much Joy, has given consent their album to be labeled for marketing reasons (Flanagan 1991). Although the RIAA disagrees with such usage, some artists have even used the label to their advantage. The comedian George Carlin peers over an oversized parental advisory logo on his album cover and uses the warning as a title. A rap compilation album issued by Priority Records uses a blown-up version of the label as cover art and replaces the word “lyrics” with “rap” (Rosen 1990). Representatives from the record companies readily admit the logo can be a useful marketing ploy.
Another factor of the Tacitean Principle is the publicity often associated with controversial art. Reports in the media of explicit recordings have sent buyers to independent record stores, where sales of stickered product have increased compared to sales of non-stickered product. Sales have also increased faster than at chain stores where stickered product is not available (Haring 1990).
Teenagers, who often display a tendency towards rebellion, are a perfect breading ground for the Tacitean Principle. Any substance or activity labeled as a characteristic of a cult or a subculture by disapproving parents is sure to attract attention from youth. Robert L. Gross pointed out how this phenomena relates to heavy metal:
The resistance of organized groups and parents to the cult of heavy metal actually reinforces this belief [in the power of rebellion]. The lowly ignored teenager is amazed at how quickly adults’ feathers can become ruffled…. The amount of negative attention focused on the heavy metal subculture has probably won more new converts to the cause than anything else! (Gross 1990).
Warning labels have failed to produce a singular result of educating parents. Labels have also increased interest in explicit materials in the merely curious and therefore spread the influence of these materials.
Record Companies
The companies that release this music to the public are also involved in censorship. The precedent of modern corporations appeared in the 1850s when the libretto of Giuseppe’s Verdi?s opera La Traviata was altered by each regional opera company in Italy. The line “He took the desired prize, in the arms of love” was considered too suggestive and revised, not by Verdi, but by each opera company?s director and without Verdi?s consent (Volz 1991). Today the primary producers of popular music are record companies. Frank Zappa, who has been recording Rock n? Roll for 30 years, sees the arrangement between record company and musician as a rather dismal catch-22: