This was plucked from the On This Date thread in Word games because I think it deserves more discussion..

quote:

September 18,1985
Frank Zappa delivers a brilliantly cutting monologue on censorship before the State Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, rebutting efforts by the Parents Music Resource Council (PMRC) to have warning labels placed on albums

quote:
"The PMRC proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children, and promises to keep the courts busy for years dealing with the interpretational and enforcemental problems inherent in the proposal's design. It is my understanding that, in law, First Amendment issues are decided with a preference for the least restrictive alternative. In this context, the PMRC's demands are the equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation."

"The establishment of a rating system, voluntary or otherwise, opens the door to an endless parade of moral quality control programs based on things certain Christians do not like. What if the next bunch of Washington wives demands a large yellow "J" on all material written or performed by Jews, in order to save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine?" Full transcript here

Koz replied

quote:

Thanks for that link MrsS. Speaking of the PMRC, I saw a show on VH1 last Friday called “The Story of Metal” (I think that is what it was called, not sure though) They showed Dee Snider come in and do his speech in front of the panel led by Senator Gore.

Dee comes in, makeup,(but not too much) skin tight jeans with holes, torn denim vest, hair all over the place looking wild as usual back in the day. He sits down and you can see the folks on the panel laughing and rubbing their hands together like they got an easy one. After identifying himself Dee Snider stands up pulls some papers that are heavily folded up out of his back pocket. He then proceeds to flatten them out on the table as the PMRC panned is in obvious glee.

For those that don’t know (like that panel) Dee Snider is actually a smart well spoken man. He proceeded with his written statement that was well written and well spoken and then answered questions from the panel. It was priceless watching the members of the panel sweat and squirm in their seats.

Especially enjoyable (to me anyway) was his response to a Twisted Sister song “Under The Bade”. Thanks to your link I can read the transcripts here

I agree MrsS, here is my post:


Thanks for that link MrsS. Speaking of the PMRC, I saw a show on VH1 last Friday called “The Story of Metal” (I think that is what it was called, not sure though) They showed Dee Snider come in and do his speech in front of the panel led by Senator Gore.

Dee comes in, makeup,(but not too much) skin tight jeans with holes, torn denim vest, hair all over the place looking wild as usual back in the day. He sits down and you can see the folks on the panel laughing and rubbing their hands together like they got an easy one. After identifying himself Dee Snider stands up pulls some papers that are heavily folded up out of his back pocket. He then proceeds to flatten them out on the table as the PMRC panned is in obvious glee.

For those that don’t know (like that panel) Dee Snider is actually a smart well spoken man. He proceeded with his written statement that was well written and well spoken and then answered questions from the panel. It was priceless watching the members of the panel sweat and squirm in their seats.

Especially enjoyable (to me anyway) was his response to a Twisted Sister song “Under The Bade”. Thanks to your link I can read the transcripts here .



Priceless,,

Hahaha... you posted while I was editing to insert the section I accidentally Cut instead of Pasting.

Yes, Snider is a sharp, articulate man, I was extremely impressed with his statement...
All in all, "Our Team" came off very polished and reasonable, especially in contrast to the hysterical hand wringing of the Washington Wives who wanted someone other than themselves to take an interest in and responsibility for the music to which their kids listen.

Tipper was one of my greatest reservations about Al Gore's bid for the Oval Office.

Happy Anniversary PMRC! I remember it well... of course, Dee being articulate and revealing that he didn't do drugs sort of killed his rebellious image (and Twisted Sister's career) -- and everybody was surprised that John Denver was on Dee's side at those hearings as well.

The "Parental Advisory" sticker is better than any marketing gimmick the record industry could have devised. Thanks, Tipper!

I think I'll go listen to the Filthy Fifteen in her honor now.