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Conference napalm::heavy_metal

Title:HEAVY_METAL - Talent Round-Up DayDay
Notice:Rules-2.*,Directory-7.*,Roster-3.*,Garbage-99.*
Moderator:BUSY::SLABB
Created:Thu May 05 1988
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1238
Total number of notes:65616

131.0. "Reader's Digest on Rock Lyrics" by HAZEL::STARR (You ain't nothin' but fine, fine, fine!) Wed Jun 29 1988 13:43

With apologies for any typos, here goes:


(reprinted from Reader's Digest [July, 1988] without permission)


               HOW SHOCK ROCK HARMS OUR KIDS


  Recently several sixth-graders at Marion Elementary School in 
Belle Vernon, PA., asked their music teacher about the meaning of
some rock-music lyrics. One record was by the group Venom, whose
message was spelled out on the album cover: "We're possessed by 
all that's evil; the death of you God we demand. We spit at the 
virgin you worship, and sit at Lord Satan's left hand." In the 
other album, 'Hell Awaits', by the band Slayer, the lyrics 
glorified "the relentless lust of rotting flesh".

  The teacher, 23-year-old Michael Whaley, gently tried to explain
the lyrics. The next day,a host of parents phoned the principal,
incensed that a teacher was discussing Satanism and necrophelia with
their children.

  These irate parents had probably never listened to the records their
kids were buying. Like many other adults, they didn't realize that some
of today's rock music extols everything from rape, incest and homo-
sexuality to sadomasochism and bestiality - in words to graphic to 
print here. Other lyrics glamorize drug and alcohol use, and glorify
death and violent rebellion, ranging from hating of parents and 
teachers to suicide - the ultimate act of violence to oneself.

  Parents who are vaguely aware of the content of some lyrics tend to 
accept their youngster's insistence that "no one listens to the words.
We just like the beat." Or they think that only a small minority of
teen-agers buy such records. Both beliefs are untrue.

  Teen Vision, Inc., a Carnegie, PA., nonprofit group that evaluates 
music and media, found obscene materials prevelant in up to one-third
of all current rock releases surveyed. Since studies show that the 
average teen-ager listens to rock music four hours a day, we are
clearly not dealing with an inconsequential fringe element. 

  Teen Vision's founder and director, Bob DeMoss, a former disk jockey
and rock musician, has traveled through 30 states speaking to parents,
teachers, and kids. From tests he distributes to grade-school students,
he finds they not only know the words but often get the message. For
example, one question draws on the title of a popular Samantha Fox
song, "Touch Me (I Want Your ____)." Eighty percent of fourth-graders
knew the missing word was "body". They could also sing along with such
lilting refrains as George Michael's "I Want Your Sex".

  One of the aims of Teen Vision is to help children make ethical 
choices about what they will accept and reject. "This isn't easy,"
says DeMoss, "when the message is anything goes."

  Especially when such music earns huge profits. Prince's album 'Purple
Rain', which won a Grammy Award and has sold over 14 million copies,
includes "Darling Nikki", a song that describes Prince's sexual
encounter with a girl he met "in a hotel lobby, masturbating with a
magazine". Another popular Prince entry was "Sister", from the 'Dirty
Mind' album, which informs the listener that "my sister never made love
to anyone but me. Incest is everything it's said to be."

  Experts are understandably concerned about the impact such lyrics 
have on the normal sexual development of children. Dr. L.D. Tashjian,
chairman of the department of psychiatry at Mt. Sinai Hospital in
Philadelphia, has studied the effects of rock on youngsters, and he
notes: "We find seven- and eight-year-olds who listen to lyrics
extolling sexual sadism, bondage, bestiality, and at this very 
impressionable age such messages can seriously warp their sexual 
orientation.The younger child or the potentially disturbed youth is
liable to be profoundly and dangerously influenced."

  Joe Stuessy, a music-theort professor at the University of Texas at
San Antonio, adds, "There is a new element in the music, a meanness of
spirit - outright hatred - that was not present in the early days of
rock". He compares Chuck Berry's sympathetic "School Days", in which
the singer seems to have his arm around the teen-ager saying, "I know
how you feel, man", to W.A.S.P.'s "School Daze" - with its violent
message, "Burn it down!".

  The leading proponents of mean-spirited rock are heavy-metal bands.
They started two decades ago on the fringe of the record market, and
are now in the mainstream. "According to our research," says DeMoss,
"about 60 percent of metal lyrics rely on destructive, depressing or
degrading themes". Adds psychiatrist Robert S. Demski, chief of staff
at Laurel Ridge Hospital in San Antonio: "Once something is learned 
at an early age, it may be difficult to unlearn. By repeated exposure
to cynicism, hatred and indiscriminate destruction, especially without
the balance of parental love and counsel, children become desensitized
to brutality and degredation."

  A theme receiving increased attention in contemporary rock is 
suicide. Some 600,000 teen suicide attempts are reported annually.
According to experts, many of the 5000 teen suicides each year are 
linked to depression fueled by rock music lyrics that glamorize 
sadistic violence and drug abuse, as well as suicide itself.

  There is, of course, no way to determine whether a suicide would have
occurred in any case, but don't tell that to the parents of 19-year-old
John McCollum form Indio, CA. When he killed himself, the coroner's
report stated, "Decedent committed suicide by shooting self in head
with .22-caliber pistol while listening to devil music." John, who was
getting an earful of of Ozzy Osbourne albums for five hours, was
wearing stereo headphones at the time of his death. He was hearing such
messages as, "Suicide is the only way out" from "Suicide Solution" and
"Can you help me? Oh, shoot out my brains, ohhh yeah...I tell you to
end your life" from "Paranoid".

  Such lyrics are not relegated to out-of-the-way record or porn shops.
They are readily available to youngsters of all ages in record stores 
throughout the nation, on radio and occasionally on rock-video
networks.

  What can be done? The first step is parental awareness. In 1985 
Susan Baker, wife of Treaury Secretary James Baker, discovered her
seven-year-old daughter's sex education "was beginning at an early 
age, via her bedside radio" - so this mother took action. Together with
Pam Howar, Sally Nevius and Tipper Gore, wife of Sen. Albert Gore, Jr.
(D., Tenn.), she started Parent's Music Resource Center (PMRC).

  The publicity generated by PMRC and the Natinal Coalition for 
Television Violence was instrumental in gettin the Senate Commerce
Committee to hold hearings on rock-music content in September 1985.
Since the hearings, violence in music videos has been reduced. But, as
Jennifer Norwood, executive director of PMRC, puts it, "As violence
goes down, explicit and pornographic sex seems to increase, and often
the violence remains."

  The Senate inquiry led to an agreement with the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA), which represents the producers of over
80 percent of recorded music. The RIAA promised that albums with
"explicit material" either would have lyrics printed on the jacket or
would carry a "parental advisory" label.

  According to a PMRC survey of recordings released from January 1986
through December 1987, however, less than half containing explicit or
violent lyrics had labels or printed lyrics on the outside of the 
jacket. Some printed warnings almost too tiny to read. Others made a 
joke of the label - "Warning: Do not play this if accompanied by an
adult."

  Most rock music is not detrimental, and benefit performances have
demonstrated that it can even be a force of social good. But we cannot
continue to ignore the obscene, pornographic and violent elements
in rock's growing undercurrent. There are steps parents can take.

  The PMRC recomends starting at home. Susan Baker notes: "Our children
are bearing the burden of adult responsibility. Start early and tune in
to your children and their world. Instead of shouting 'Cut down that
noise!' listen to the lyrics and talk about them in light of your 
family's values. As a parent, you have every right to decide what kind
of messages you want in your house."

  PMRC also suggests a media watch. Monitor your local radio and TV
broadcasts and, if offensive material is aired, write down the 
objectionable words and scenes, name and date of the program, and its
commecial sponsors. The fire off a letter of protest to the local
station manager and the program's sponsors. Send a tape to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) and a transcript to the RIAA and your
elected state and national representatives.

  There is another approach: the law. In two major decisions, the U.S.
Supreme Court has held that "obscene material is unprotected by the 
First Amendment". The federal government has strict laws aginst mailing,
interstate transporting and importing of obscene materials, and a
broadcast law prohibiting obscene and indecent programming.

  The FCC has the authority to fine or suspend licenses of broadcasters
who violate the criminal law against obscene, profane or indecent
broadcasting. But until recently, the agency has not enforced the 
statute.

  Forty-three states have laws against the sale of obscene materials,
and sellers can be arrested. If your state does not have sucha law,
ask your legislator to propose one.

  Parents in San Antonio have shown just how effective community 
pressure can be. They were horrified to find thousands of preteens
attending concerts by KISS, W.A.S.P., and other heavy-metal bands that
exalted murder, sexual sadism, bestiality and drugs. So in 1985 parents
persuaded the city council to design a first-of-its-kind ordinnce 
requring parents or legal guardians to accompany children under 14
to concerts featuring material deemed obscene to children.

  The impact of the ordinance, says Bobbie Meuller, head of Community
Families in Action, has been significant. Attendance by preteens has
dropped substantially and performances are more restrained.

  Even the so-called '60s generation - which gave rock music its
biggest push - favors more control. According to a recent poll in 
Rolling Stone magazine, 48 percent of that age group - most of them
parents themselves - sees today's rock music as a "bad influence" on
young people. They support a rating system for records similiar to 
one for movies. "In many ways what's happening in music today is 
very corrupting", say rock superstar Bruce Springsteen. "Let's help
our children toss out the garbage."

************************************************************************

For further information, write (and enclose a self-addressed, stamped
envelope) to Parent's Music Resource Center, 1500 Arlington Blvd.,
Arlington, VA 22209 or Morality in Media, 475 Riverside Dr., New York,
N.Y. 10115. Send complaints to the Federal Communications Commission,
Mass Media Bureau, Enforcement Division, Washington, D.C. 20554.
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name		DateLines
131.1;^)MARKER::BUCKLEYits MIDI 4 meWed Jun 29 1988 13:542
    
    Sounds good....I'll take two!
131.2My opinionPLEXUS::V5REGISTRARWed Jun 29 1988 15:1129
    I have to admit, even though I am "heavy into heavy," when my kids
    are born (hopefully, I won't have kids until I'm old and gray) I
    will be concerned about what they listen to.  I don't believe in
    going so far as to tell my kids that they have to listen to Pat
    Boone, but I definitely will keep an eye on it.  Most of the bands
    we are hearing about (Crue, Ozzy, Prince, Poison, etc) I don't think
    are "dangerous," and I'd let my own kids listen to them,  but some
    of the more underground speed/thrash music is a little heavy duty
    for 11 year olds.
    
    I think it's the same principle as keeping an eye on the movies
    your 10 year olds are renting.  Friday the 13th is fine, if you
    think they can handle it, but Faces of Death is too much.  I see
    nothing wrong with kids listening to heavy metal, provided they
    are mentally equipped to draw their own conclusions from it.
    I think they average 14 year old knows where it's at as far as fantasy
    and reality, but a 9 or 10 year old might not. 
    
    I don't think banning or censoring, or even labels are the answer.
    I think it's much more individual than that.  It's up to the parents
    to keep an eye on what their kids are doing and to provide guidance
    and explanation if needed.  For a parent to forbid a certain kind
    of music or anything, for that matter, is the biggest incentive
    a kid can have to go out and do it.  I'd rather my kids did things
    out in the open, so I could keep an eye on them.
    
    Down with censorship!  It's the responsibility of the parent.
    
    Stacie
131.3PERFECT!HAZEL::STARRYou ain't nothin' but fine, fine, fine!Wed Jun 29 1988 15:286
    Stacie,
    
      That is one of the best written, most thought-out response
    I've ever seen on teh subject. You hit it right on the head!!
    
    cat
131.4A FATHER SPEAKSPAR5::C_DENOPOULOSWed Jun 29 1988 15:3119
    re: .2  I have to admit it, I think you'll make an excellent father.
    Being the father of a teenager (yes, it's true) I have to say that
    even though I LOVE HM, I don't care for a lot of the "new" stuff
    coming out.  For instance, my daughter comes home with a new poisson
    tape.  She gave it to me to listen to on the way to work.  Well,
    let me tell you, they know how to say "F***".  I'm impressed.  Wow!
    All those years I've been listening to bands that don't say "F***"
    on their records.  What have I been missing.  Is what I'm saying
    sound stupid to you?  I think the use of the F word just for the
    sake of using it is stupid.  Now I know my daughter isn't going
    to go around saying F*** all over the place (or maybe she does)
    but that's an example of the kind of stuff I'm hearing more and
    more.  
    Well, if I don't stop now I'll ramble on for ever.
    
    Chris D.
    
    p.s. Have I been singing the wrong words when I sing-a-long with
         Black Sabbath??
131.5...TIGER::SLABOUNTYNuke the whales!!Wed Jun 29 1988 15:367
    
        RE: Chris
    
            Somehow I doubt Stacie will be a good father.  8^)
    
                                                       Shawn GTI
131.6PAR5::C_DENOPOULOSWed Jun 29 1988 15:385
    Shawn,
    
    I can only go by what I read.
    
    Chris D.
131.7Responsible Parenting 101RAVEN1::JERRYWHITEAnthrax ROOLZ !!!Wed Jun 29 1988 15:3911
    	I too am a parent of a 12 year old, and he's into HM as much
    as I am.  Some of the lyrics do get a bit rough, but it's nothing
    you won't hear at the mall, or the grocery store, or anywhere else.
    I agree it's the parents job, and NO ONE else's to decide what their
    child listens to, it's accepting responsibility.  If the child is
    mature enough to understand that Jason isn't real then rough lyrics
    shouldn't be a problem, but only the parent really knows.  To each
    his own, I guess.
    
    
    					Papa Scary II
131.9what what what RICKS::UPHAMWed Jun 29 1988 15:486
    
      What are the real lyrics for that part they got wrong. I don't
    know.
    
    /Bill
131.11My finishing touchWILVAX::BOURQUEHave you hugged your Drums today?Wed Jun 29 1988 16:127
    RE:10
    
            end part:
    
   " And so as I say these words, Im telling you now, I want my state
                                              
    I tell you to enjoy life, I wish I could but its too late".
131.12yeah...butCAINE::MINARDIWed Jun 29 1988 16:4227
    
    	Okay, I'll admit that lusting after rotting flesh is pretty
    disgusting. Also, demanding the death of my God is also a bit
    disturbing. It's disgusting to me, and I'm not a little kid, I'm
    22 and I like heavy heavy music. I just can't enjoy that kind
    of s*it. It's ridiculous.
    
    	One thing about Ozzie, I haven't heard all of his stuff, but
    what I've heard has been pretty damn positive. I can't think of
    one song that's very objectionable, can you?
    
    	If I were a parent, I'm sure that I would be a little upset
    to see Motorbreath Jr. into a band that wrote songs about necrophilia,
    and demon/devil worship. I don't care what anyone says, but as a
    kid you ARE influenced by whatever bands you're crazy about. I was
    wild over KISS in sixth grade. I thought they were incredibly cool,
    and grew my hair very long, and had KISS patches all over all my
    clothes. I didn't feel any urges to drink "Cold Gin" or anything,
    but who can tell what a kid is gonna think is okay. 
    	I agree with Stacie also. I would think that if my kid were
    14 or something, he's going to know better, but if my kid were
    10 and listening to that music, I'd want to know, and talk about
    it. If you give a kid a hard time about doing something, you know
    he's going to want to do it even more. I remember that!
    
    /Motorbreath
131.13All this encouragement!PLEXUS::V5REGISTRARWed Jun 29 1988 16:5418
    Re: 3
    
    Why, thank you.  I try to keep an open mind about things like this.
    It's hard enough to be a kid in this world now, never mind by the
    time I have kids.  If you do a good job raising your kids for 13
    or 14 years, and you can look yourself in the eye and say you did 
    your best, then you should be able to set them free to make their
    own choices.  You have to have faith that you taught them right
    from wrong.
    
    Re: 4
    
    Shawn was just giving you a hard time.  I hope I'm not ever in the
    position to be a good father.  A good mother, maybe.  (I'm a girl.)
    
    Thank you, too.  
    
    Stacie
131.14Too much OPINION!CSC32::G_HOUSEAnthrax droolzWed Jun 29 1988 16:5528
    RE: .2 Stacie, brilliantly stated, I wholehearted agree!
    
    RE: .4 about the F word
    
    I think that needless abuse of any word (or musical expression for that
    matter) is stupid.  When people needlessly abuse profanity (or
    colloquialisms) they are usually either showing ignorance or just have
    bad habits.  Example: inserting the word 'like' at various points in a
    sentence. 

    RE: ...the lyrics
    
    While I can believe that bands like Venom & Slayer have some really
    objectionable things in their lyrics, most of the quotes I've seen for
    less obscure bands and songs have either been incorrect or out of
    context.  I can take pieces otta the Bible, out of context, and say it
    tells you to go kill yourself.  (...and Judas went out and hanged
    himself..., ...go thou and do likewise...).  That's obviously not it!
    Like, 'Suicide Solution', I always understand it (as a whole) to be
    saying exactly the opposite, that suicide is NO solution.  Same with
    that Black Sabbath quote.  Incidently, I thought it said what they said
    for a long time too, I obviously didn't kill myself... 
                                                          
    While I'm feeling so opinionated, I think that some of the most
    destructive and influential lyrics are the ones that advocate substance
    abuse. 
    
    gh
131.15Just a formality.PAR5::C_DENOPOULOSWed Jun 29 1988 17:028
    re: .13  Delete "father, add "mother".
    
    I would say that by the responces so far that there are a bunch
    of level-headed people in this conference (did I say that?).
    
    Chris D.
    
    p.s. I do have a 10 year old and I do worry about that one.
131.16Teach your ChildrenFSLENG::CAMUSOEvent HorizonThu Jun 30 1988 11:1812
    
    RE .2   Absolutely!
    
    Don't forget to show your kids how to accept the absurd and resurd
    with tongue in cheek.  It's good for them to learn that dimension
    of wryness they'll need to deal with heavy-duty sensory input. 
    Makes them better prepared to confront everything from necrophilia
    to used car salemen and politicians.  Please insert the "F" verb
    in its gerund form before the word "politicians."
    
    	- Tony -
131.17what a minute!!CVETTE::GONZALESand then there was HEAVY METAL!Thu Jun 30 1988 11:3912
    
    
    RE:  131.4
    
    I also have the new Poison tape and I must come to their defense.
    They never once say the word f*** in their lyrics!  I don't know
    if you are reading into the words but using synonyms for the word
    f*** is totally different than coming right out and saying it.
    
    Tracy
131.18yeaaaahKETZEL::MINARDIThu Jun 30 1988 12:255
    
    
    ...That's funny Tracy, I was thinking the same thing.
    
    /Motorbreath...hey I can write notes again!
131.19"I'll Take Her & Make Her"PLEXUS::V5REGISTRARThu Jun 30 1988 15:0713
    Re. The "Poison issue"
    
    I know you guys are talking about the guy who said he hears the
    F-word in the Poison tape, but the PMRC doesn't like them because
    of the song "I Want Action" off of the ...Cat... album.
    There's a line in it about "taking her and making her" that they
    have latched onto.
    So, I guess the song is about rape, so the band members must be
    rapists.  Doesn't that make sense?
    
    Talk about twisting things around!!
    
    Stacie
131.20My opinion on this subject ... phooey: but seriously ...TIGER::SLABOUNTYNuke the whales!!Thu Jun 30 1988 20:01159
    
        Alan, thanks for typing this in.  I'd like to add some
        commentary. 
    
    >"We're possessed by
>all that's evil; the death of you God we demand. We spit at the 
>virgin you worship, and sit at Lord Satan's left hand."

    This is unnecessary for ANY album, but only weak-minded people
    will take it as 'the way to go'.  I could do without it, but
    since it's there I'm not gonna try to fight it.

>  The teacher, 23-year-old Michael Whaley, gently tried to explain
>the lyrics. The next day,a host of parents phoned the principal,
>incensed that a teacher was discussing Satanism and necrophelia with
>their children.

    Why can't parents accept the fact that they don't have the ability
    to be with their kids every minute of the day, and that maybe some-
    one besides them has the ability to teach/inform them?  The prob-
    lem here is the age of the audience ... they can't really explain
    what the teacher told them (at least not enough for the parents to
    realize that the teacher's intentions were good).

>Studies show that the 
>average teen-ager listens to rock music four hours a day, we are
>clearly not dealing with an inconsequential fringe element. 

    Only 4 hours?  They didn't survey THIS conference!! 8^)

>For example, one question draws on the title of a popular Samantha Fox
>song, "Touch Me (I Want Your ____)." Eighty percent of fourth-graders
>knew the missing word was "body". They could also sing along with such
>lilting refrains as George Michael's "I Want Your Sex".
>Prince's album 'Purple Rain', which won a Grammy Award and has sold
>over 14 million copies, includes "Darling Nikki", a song that describes 
>Prince's sexual encounter with a girl he met "in a hotel lobby, mastur-
>bating with a magazine". Another popular Prince entry was "Sister",
>from the 'Dirty Mind' album, which informs the listener that "my sister
>never made love to anyone but me. Incest is everything it's said to be."

    No Heavy_Metal references here ... I say we ban pop music.
    "George Michael was arrested yesterday on charges of 'offensive
    and suggestive lyrics'.  He will be formally charged tomorrow,
    with Tipper Gore prosecuting."

>"Can you help me? Oh, shoot out my brains, ohhh yeah...I tell you to
>end your life" from "Paranoid".

    Close - "Oh, shoot out my brains" is actually "Thought you were my
    friend".

>  Such lyrics are not relegated to out-of-the-way record or porn shops.
>They are readily available to youngsters of all ages in record stores 
>throughout the nation, on radio and occasionally on rock-video
>networks.

    Big deal ... Playboy and Playgirl are sold over the counter in alot
    of stores, and are clearly visible in a good number of them.  Why
    aren't the sales of such limited to mail-order, to limit the chance
    of a little kid seeing them?

>Susan Baker, wife of Treaury Secretary James Baker, discovered her
>seven-year-old daughter's sex education "was beginning at an early 
>age, via her bedside radio" - so this mother took action. Together with
>Pam Howar, Sally Nevius and Tipper Gore, wife of Sen. Albert Gore, Jr.
>(D., Tenn.), she started Parent's Music Resource Center (PMRC).

    I know how we all feel about THESE people ... and due to rules I
    help set up for the conference I will refrain from expressing 
    these feelings. 8^)

>But, as
>Jennifer Norwood, executive director of PMRC, puts it, "As violence
>goes down, explicit and pornographic sex seems to increase, and often
>the violence remains."

    I've noticed that ... ever stay home during the week and watch the
    afternoon soaps?

>  PMRC also suggests a media watch. Monitor your local radio and TV
>broadcasts and, if offensive material is aired, write down the 
>objectionable words and scenes, name and date of the program, and its
>commecial sponsors. The fire off a letter of protest to the local
>station manager and the program's sponsors. Send a tape to the Federal
>Communications Commission (FCC) and a transcript to the RIAA and your
>elected state and national representatives.

    I don't believe this ... what kind of garbage is this?  There is
    a good chance that you can guess what kind of material is gonna
    appear in a show by the title/description.  A show like 'Teenage
    Nude Beach Blanket Bingo' will probably contain some objectionable
    material, even if edited for TV.

>The federal government has strict laws aginst mailing,
>interstate transporting and importing of obscene materials, and a
>broadcast law prohibiting obscene and indecent programming.

    Hmmm ... then how do some people get Playboy and other sex-mags
    through the mail?  Are they smuggled in crates marked 'Bozo the
    Clown Coloring Books'?

>If your state does not have sucha law, ask your legislator to propose one.

    Hello, Mr. Legislator?  Please ban the sale of all obscene public-
    ations and rock music albums in Massachusetts ... they're affect-
    ing my weak mind and therefore qualify as too much of a temptat-
    ion for me.  Thank you.

>So in 1985 parents
>persuaded the city council to design a first-of-its-kind ordinnce 
>requring parents or legal guardians to accompany children under 14
>to concerts featuring material deemed obscene to children.

    Now this is a joke ... either the kids won't be able to go because
    the parents refuse to sit/stand through 2 hours of Metal, or the
    parents are so upset about the material/noise level that they won't
    ever bring them again.
    There are ways around it ... an understanding parent can tow along
    15 kids or so, whether they're his/hers or not.

>  The impact of the ordinance, says Bobbie Meuller, head of Community
>Families in Action, has been significant. Attendance by preteens has
>dropped substantially and performances are more restrained.

    When was the last time you went to a concert where security had to
    break up a rumble caused by 10-year olds?  The big problem is the
    teens (15-19 or so) who go to concerts stoned/drunk/etc.  They get
    into fights about the bands or their girls, and that's what starts
    the trouble.

>  Even the so-called '60s generation - which gave rock music its
>biggest push - favors more control. According to a recent poll in 
>Rolling Stone magazine, 48 percent of that age group - most of them
>parents themselves - sees today's rock music as a "bad influence" on
>young people. They support a rating system for records similiar to 
>one for movies. "In many ways what's happening in music today is 
>very corrupting", say rock superstar Bruce Springsteen. "Let's help
>our children toss out the garbage."

    And you know why the parents see it as a bad influence?  Because
    they listened to it as kids, and tripped on acid while Iron But-
    terfly cranked on the turntable.  They're afraid that the same
    thing will happen to their kids (love-ins, etc.).

    And Bruce speaks out ... what does he know about rock music, or
    even music for that matter?

    To sum all this up, I think that parents and other 'concerned
    citizens' should keep their noses out of the young peoples'
    lives.  We/they can make our own decisions about what we wanna
    listen to.  We also (should) have the sense to realize what's
    reality and fiction, meaning not listening to lyrics like they
    were The Constitution.

    Rock music is meant to be enjoyable, not 'word'.

                                                         Shawn GTI
131.21Maybe some were wrong, but...CSC32::G_HOUSEGreg House - CSC/CSThu Jun 30 1988 22:128
    Incidently, while some of the other quotes in the article were wrong,
    the one from Venom was correct.  I saw the album in a record store last
    night.  That particular excerpt was printed on the back cover. The
    front cover was black with a huge pentagram complete with the symbols
    in each quadrant and the writing.  Everything about this record looked
    evil.  Gave me the creeps. 
    
    gh
131.22Wasn't the newest tape.PAR5::C_DENOPOULOSFri Jul 01 1988 10:595
    re .17  I know it's not the newest tape.  I'll have to listen to
    it again and find out what song it is.  My daughter just bought
    the newest tape.  I haven't listened to it yet.
    
    Chris D.
131.23Off our backs!!FSLENG::CAMUSOEvent HorizonFri Jul 01 1988 11:2716
    
    RE .20
    
    Right!  When are we gonna get these goody-two-shoes creeps off our
    backs??!!  Their never-ending, busy-body hypocrisy is a public
    nuisance.  We're all big boys and girls now, responsible for all
    our own actions and reactions.  
   
    As for our young, we're responsible for developing in them a sense
    of humor and discretion, so, when they're all grown-up, they too
    can be responsible for their own actions and reactions.  Porn-baiters
    and rock-haters can just watch or listen to something else.  That's
    their choice.  Leave us ours.  
    
    	- Tony -
131.24A young one speaksREPAIR::EDWARDSWARNING-lawnmower on the looseTue Jul 12 1988 11:3120
    
    
    	I'd like to confess that I listen to a lot of bands that use
    obsenities, references to the devil, and the like.  While the music
    in the main is very good, the lyrical content does sometimes get
    a bit sick.  I play the music real loud, but when my parents are
    home the offending albums go straight back in their sleeves.  My
    parents don't particularily like me listening to this sort of lyric
    and I'm glad that they could talk to me about it and asked me not
    to play it when they're around.
    	From listening to these type of album I can safely say that
    the Heavier the music gets, the worse the lyrics get.  It's a bit
    like the macho feeling you get from firing a gun, once you've fired
    you want to fire again, you feel powerful.  The heavier the music,
    the greater the aggression.
    
    	Down with the devil, but let the music live,
    
    	MoshDuck.
131.25Words of wisdom from "Papa Scary"RAVEN1::JERRYWHITERebel without a pause ...Tue Jul 12 1988 11:4918
    RE: .24
    
    I with ya MoshDuck !!  My son, who's 12 is just now really getting
    into metal and it does concern me what the lyrics have to say. 
    So far he's into AC/DC, Anthrax, and Metallica, and that's OK to
    me but certain albums shouldn't be played along with certain moods.
    Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche played over the headphones with
    candles burning and me in a bad mood already makes Scary wanna run
    a bus full of handicapped kids off the road (in the rain).  I worry
    about that kind of thing because who knows what will trigger these
    *strange* feelings.  Jethro Tull has the same effect, I guess it's
    the intensity more than the lyrics but they play their part too.
    
    	Parents ... teach your children well !!!
    
    
    
    				Mr Scary II
131.26pop doesn't like MetallicaOTIS::MINARDITue Jul 12 1988 12:1412
    
    
    >Down with the devil, but let the music live
    
    
    Amen MoshDuck.
    
    I cut the music when Mom and Dad come around also, because the music
    to them sounds like chainsaws and jackhammers.
    
    /Motorbreath...I bet Mr. Scary Jr. doesn't mess with dad when he's
    in "that" mood.
131.27I remember when I was your age(child falls asleep)RAVEN1::JERRYWHITERebel without a pause ...Tue Jul 12 1988 12:2510
    I made up my mind a LONG time ago that my kid wouldn't have to go
    through the same ^%$# I did about my music.  Then it was Sabbath,
    Deep Purple, Kiss, and Nugent.  Times are tougher for kids now with
    AIDS, gangs, and Debbie Gibson, and the music is a reflection of
    the times.  Parents just have to be more in tune with their kids,
    which takes time.  And that's the thing most of us have the least
    of.
    
    
    					Mr Scary II
131.28Iron Maiden, Jesus Saves !SAMURI::COOPERBag it, Mr. Boo-Boo!Tue Jul 12 1988 13:386
    Gangs in Greenville ?!?!?!?!?!?!
    
    Whoa...  I bet Iron Maiden would go over real good at that Jesus
    Saves Revival on Heywood Rd., eh Jerry ?
    
    jc
131.29Can I have an AMEN ???RAVEN1::JERRYWHITERebel without a pause ...Tue Jul 12 1988 14:236
    Hey, they got the PA for it .... probably 24 ch/stereo tri-amped.
    "Ahh say brother mixer, could I have a bit more delay ?  I say
    BROTHERS, Put your hands in the back of these amps and FEEL the power!"
    
    
    			Mr Scary II
131.30Some people never learnRICKS::UPHAMThu Jul 21 1988 12:229
    
     On CNN last night they said the California State court of Appeals
    has upheld the decision that Ozzy Osbourne did NOT have anything
    to do with the boys suicide who was listening to Suicide Solution.
    It is now on its way to the California Supreme Court. When will
    these people get a clue and stop wasting time and money.    
    
    /Bill
131.31Dave Barry on rock lyrics [thanks to Alan/Tigga]BUSY::SLABOUNTYHereComesTrouble&ItLooksLikeFunMon Apr 27 1992 21:419
April 27th
----------
One thing you have probably wondered about for many years is why musicians
who sing rock'n'roll tend to be extremely thin, if not actually dead, whereas
those who sing, say, opera, tend to be humongous wads of cellulite. The 
reason for this phenomenon, scientists now believe, is that fat cells are
actually destroyed by stupid lyrics.
131.32METALX::SWANSONTheyAreAllMissingOnWhatLifesAboutTue Apr 28 1992 13:262
    But that doesn't explain why guitarists are usually thin too...  8*)
131.33?WMOIS::MAZURKASon of the DawnTue Apr 28 1992 13:354
    I suppose havin long_hair causes brain_cells to be yanked out of
    yer head because of the weight of the hair pullin on them.
    
                                   Crazy_Dr._Al
131.34CAVLRY::BUCKAunty Emme ... It's a TWISTER!Tue Apr 28 1992 13:3611
>One thing you have probably wondered about for many years is why musicians
>who sing rock'n'roll tend to be extremely thin, if not actually dead, whereas
>those who sing, say, opera, tend to be humongous wads of cellulite. The 
>reason for this phenomenon, scientists now believe, is that fat cells are
>actually destroyed by stupid lyrics.
    
    Hmmmm ... wonder what genre that would put me in comfortably?!
    8^)
    
    
    Buck, who has been 6'2", 190# since the 8th grade!
131.35:^)ARRODS::OHAGANBCheap essential dialogueTue Apr 28 1992 13:449
    >is that fat cells are actually destroyed by stupid lyrics.
    
    Luther Vandross is living evidence to the contrary.........
    ......if we can expand the theory to R&B that is.
    
    barry.
131.37I agree!COMET::FRISBYAI'll be in your hearts forevermoreTue Apr 28 1992 17:067
    Hmmm......That's why I'm so skinny! 8)
    
             I write whatever is in my head and sometimes it's the damn
    stupidest thing I've ever heard the next day!
    
        Frizkid
131.38GOES11::G_HOUSEThe rack is a torture device, right?Tue Apr 28 1992 17:163
    ...and sometimes it's the stupidest thing you've heard *that* day!
    
    Yaha!
131.39I hate dry spells!COMET::FRISBYAI'll be in your hearts forevermoreTue Apr 28 1992 17:564
    That too! The life of a lyric writer is somewhat tedious.
    
             Frizkid
131.40But what does it have to do with lyrics?GOES11::G_HOUSEThe rack is a torture device, right?Tue Apr 28 1992 19:125
>   -< I hate dry spells! >-
    
    Me too!  Use KY...
    
    gh
131.41It you want wet...Do it the old fashion way. Earn it!COMET::FRISBYAI'll be in your hearts forevermoreTue Apr 28 1992 19:204
    Greg: You're slaying me today! 
    
     Frizkid
131.42and Ice Cream ?NEWOA::DALLISONKiss my axeThu Apr 30 1992 09:201
    Agagagaga!!
131.43Beat the dead horse!COMET::FRISBYAI'll be in your hearts forevermoreThu Apr 30 1992 13:235
    Hey...How about B.T.O.?   Their lryics were rather stupid and they're 
    still fat?
    
     Frizkid
131.44CADSYS::SIMSNS::FENNELLHard to bargle nawdle zouss??Thu Apr 30 1992 13:483
Bachman Turner Overweight?

Tim
131.45It was a sight to see.COMET::FRISBYAI'll be in your hearts forevermoreThu Apr 30 1992 13:595
    Yea...That's the group! I saw them with Van Halen back a few years.
     totally hilarious. Leslie West even joined them.
    
         Frizkid