It’s literally the beneficiaries of western colonialism in Africa rubbing in how rich they got from the destruction of their continent. Chumbawumba made a great song about it
Zappa has (and continues to) enriched millions of lives with his music. What has Candy Stroud done for anybody? Zappa wrote "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" and that is worth a thousand bitter, pucker-faced prunes.
"First of all Charlie, I'd like to say Mr. Zappa is making a mockery of a very serious issue." There will always be the people who will absolutely never get it. FZ is missed dearly.
Mandatory voluntarism - brilliant, Candy. Let's put together some more completely disparate phrases. What about that dangerously bleached and starched hair!?
Never hurt anyone, but explore your life and your god given right to please and be pleased. No need to complicate things, no need to bring man or woman into it. No need to bring god or the devil into it. If the young want to explore then let them. Be Natural
One thing that I wish someone would have brought up during this is that those popular songs she keeps referencing that "advocate incest, rape, murder, and Satan worship" were pretty damn rare. She talks about it as if children in 1985 only listened to GG Allin.
Regardless of which side you fall on, this was a good discussion. Both sides didn’t talk over each other let points be made and they were well thought out. I feel like discussions like this don’t happen any more
I wish Frank had been able to make the connection in the beginning clip about the "everywoman" Tipper Gore. She is wife to Al Gore, then a Tennessee Senator, who spearheaded the PMRC. When Kandy said that a publicity stunt wouldn't warrant hearings on Capitol Hill, Frank could have drawn a straight line through Tipper and Al that would have shed a bit of doubt on the organization early enough to have made it known that it was using Congressional contacts to further its agenda...Frank was right.
My parents didn't give a shit about what I listened to, so I went out and bought whatever album had a warning label on it, because that meant it was good!
"...as an artist, he has a serious responsibility as does Prince, as has Madonna, as has Motley Crue, as has WASP, to protect the children of this country." _Kandy Stroud ('Kandie' on her website), beltway PR company owner, Hillary campaigner, CNN Chief Diplomatic Correspondent, New York Times writer, Huffington Post blogger. She goes with the flow. Like a twig on the shoulders of a mighty stream.
I love that -- musicians should all get together and write a song to protect children. However, be aware that the only thing I love about that idea is how stupid and comical that is. While there were definitely some benefits from songs like "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and "We Are The World," they were meant to raise funds to feed the hungry, which I understand worked out quite well. Unfortunately, this led to a phenomenon that I call "Anthem Rock" (not to be confused with Rock Anthems). Anthem Rock is nothing more than an attempt to ride the coattails of the aforementioned two songs. What began as a concept among artists to work together towards a common goal (again, very sucessfully) ended up inspiring a group of industry weasels to do what they do best: duplicate the crap out of the original idea, since they are incapable of having an original idea of their own. How bad did it get? I hit the roof one day when I heard an anthem defending Tonya Harding. Fortunately, you won't find that song on RU-vid. Thank them when you get a chance. But I digress. So what the hell kind of song is going to "protect children"? And how is this going to be utilized by said children? If they're feeling threatened by life itself, are they supposed to sing it? Will there be singers posted on every corner ready to break into song? There ain't much that hasn't been done already -- we've already been inundated by the whole "children are our future" bullshit. A musician who shall go nameless (which I shouldn't do since I hate that bastard's guts) gave me lyrics we wrote called "For The Children". You never heard this song since I never set it to music. You can thank me later. Well, that's how people who thought they knew all the answers used to think. It's among the top reasons why I hated the '80s. Thank God that my parents acknowledged that the music I like to listen to isn't what they enjoy. Dad used to say, "I don't see what he gets out of any of that, but he likes it." Thanks, Dad -- you rock more than you ever knew!
I was 9 years old when this show aired. There was a record store a block away from me that sold not only records but bongs and pornography. I used to cross a busy street and go in there all the time because my parents weren't over protective douchebags like every other person who creates human life and resembles Candy Stroud is these days. And guess what? I never raped anyone, and never had a drug problem. Oh boy! Looks like letting children explore reality doesn't hurt after all.
They've both got some pretty good points. Zappa's a god of putting things bluntly, whereas Candy is a god of repeating lyrics and saying "THIS IS NOT OKAY". YOU BE THE JUDGE. It's really fun to watch this knowing how it's all come out in the end. :B
Rock and heavy metal artists did do their own "We Are the World" as a group called "Hear N Aid". They produced a song called "Stars." It was recorded in May of 1985, 3 months before this aired, but it wasn't released until January of 1986. That's probably why Candy didn't know about it and made the snarky remark about rock and metal artists not doing anything for charity. That, or she didn't care enough to do enough research, which seems to often be the case with PMRC spokespeople.
@hisvorpalsword This was originally an hour long program, but Nightmatch chopped it to a half hour. Lots of Frank's points were removed, including parental responsibility.
at 4:00 "children do not read pornographic books"... speaking as a former child, I take serious exception to that! I still HAVE most of them! and YES, I did READ them...
True, children can't get away from music and it affects them but hopefully in a educational way depending on who there listening too, unfortunately it's mostly not always in the hands of someone who's as intelligent as Frank Zappa
No, this kind of fear isn't. I started having sex when I was 18, and I have been responsible enough not to impregnate without ever FEARING an unwanted pregnancy. Being educated and prepared helps. Being afraid doesn't. The right age is anytime you're PHYSICALLY and MENTALLY ready. When you're body is mature enough and you feel ready. When both of these things are at hand, that is the right time. Some people are ready at 15, others at 20. It varies.
@cthulhu63 The terms "liberal," "conservative," and "(R)republican" are misused or misappropriated these days. The "Republican" party has almost no connection to republican ideals of self governance (unitary executive and the desire to increase the(ir) president's power). A Supreme court which gives more power to corporations than people is NOT liberal - it puts the individual's rights at risk. This makes the party too conservative, not too liberal. Jefferson was a liberal and a republican.
They'll hear obscenities either way, that's not an issue. But if they are educated, they won't just do what a certain song says, just because it says so in the lyrics. Just as you don't take everything in a conversation literally. People have to be able to use reason to make good decisions. And the way to achieve that is good education at home and in school, as Frank Zappa put it quite nicely.
I guess this woman never heard the album I Want You by Marvin Gaye, which has alot of sexual sounds in 1975, so this has existed loong before the mid 1980s
@TyphoidBryan I don't see that as a flaw. He may not have articulated his point as well as he would have liked, but I think what he was saying is that instead of having multiple media interests, there is essentially ONE in play, acting as a channel directly into the kid's brain. It's not balanced or filtered with other interests, and his issue is that the situation is exploited by the recording industry.
Marilyn Manson should be on this panel, lol. They had no clue what was to come. Still, we are alive and most of us turned out okay. The labeling just shot record sales through the roof. It was the best thing to happen to rock music.
If what you feel scares you then you are at war with biological reality which results in neurosis (religious or otherwise). But people without a life will always resent those who are ("perversely") alive and seek to thwart their vitality.
It's wrong to keep your kids away from these things especially at a young age, because that's when they're learning all of the basic thins about life. Yet, it's just as important that the kids know what's accepted in the general norm of society; they can't just go around in their kindergarten class shouting profanities. Either way, Frank Zappa totally destroyed these people. R.I.P. Zappa
@pcarpanini John Denver testified to Congress along with Frank Zappa and Dee Snyder, against the labeling and censorship. It was actually the best part of the testimony, in my opinion, because it was so unexpected. You don't have to like his music, but if you respect Zappa's position, you should know Denver's was the same, and cut him a little slack.
If these parents don't realize what their children are purchasing, and do not make any effort to find out (if they're that curious), then they don't deserve to have said children.
"I feel that [artists] have the responsibility to protect the children of this country" So the US doesn't have a department of defense anymore? Maybe when you put the ink to the record contract you are given the responsibility to protect the country. I thought it was to put out records on a label, but I guess I've been lied to.
I wish it were as simple as what you say. The truth is we are commanded to go out and preach to people, it's not a choice. So nothing you say can stop me from doing that. Of course, If you tell me you personally have heard enough, I respect that. But you will never convince a real believer to just be quiet in general. Because for the many that reject it, every once in awhile someone accepts it and is spared eternity in hell. That's what it's all about. I don't badger those who don't want it.
If someone wants to be Christian by choice, let them CHOOSE to be a Christian. But forcing it through FEAR is WRONG. People have a right to their beliefs, but not to impose them upon others. People can choose which god to believe in if in any. You shouldn't force one on them. Even if you're really concerned they might "burn in hell".
You ´re right, those people wanted to censore albums because they don´t want to take the time to explain their kids whats right and what´s wrong. Yeah, please eliminate all the bad things so i dont have to boder an talk to my son about it! Please!!! if you deliver the information your kids need, there will be no need for you to censore. Educate don´t censore!!!!!
Soo, Greed has nothing to do with "where we are today".. Can u blame rock and hip hop fpr that? Can u blame rock and hip hop for what George W and his admin, has done? Can u blame terrorism on music? Ignorance is to be blamed.. People who believe what´s in the bible have done far more damage to the world and mankind than rockers or hip hop fans have.. My first languade is not english, so please don´t comment my spelling or punctuation
yep, it should be the parents that keep the children from reaching this stuff. the artist isnt liable for where their music goes, their business as far as records are concerned is to sell.
The children are going to find out about perverted acts and violence anyway, whether you like it or not. The only reasonable thing you can do is help them think for themselves. If they learn that, I'm sure most people can agree that these children will be able to see for themselves what's right and what's wrong, instead of just mindlessly accepting any message as a preaching, without analysing it.
Frank didn't talk enough in this interview about the role of parents. He should have pounded her feeble arguments in the ground with his intellect. It doesn't seem like he was prepared.
...don't know if I would call it pornographic by description! Freud would call it devoid of reality, "sanitized" and "repressed" which can be just as bad, resulting in paranoid behavior and worse. I can think of nothing that Disney produced that would be porno. There were some pornos with a chick named Bambi in the 70s, though!
You BELIEVE that is the truth. I don't. I'm not telling you it's not the truth. I just don't believe it is. Frankly I am not pro-god, nor am I anti-god. I just don't care if there is or isn't a god. I don't believe there is, but even if there is, I don't think it (since god shouldn't have a gender) has any effect on our mere human lives. Don't try to convert me, you'll waste your time. I just steer clear of religion as a whole, and that's it. It's my choice.
You know what I saw in a pornographic movie? I saw a woman get dp'd. I saw much more than that when I was a kid and I never went out and did it. I read books and listened to all kinds of music including FZ. I was smart enough not to take the fucking lyricsseriously. I'm an adult and the only thing that has thoroughly affected me was a tragic death in my family.
I am in control of myself. I appreciate the concern, but please don't push your beliefs on me. I don't desire to avoid masturbation or sex, because they are safe and they are my way of releasing tension. Sex and music, and art in general are the things that soothe my soul. You can disagree with me if you want, but you can't force me to believe what you believe.
I stand behind the content of everything I said but agreed, I could have presented it nicer. Correct, I cannot prove there is a hell but it does make sense that there is a place for those who want seperation from God. Fear of hell is good. If that alone saves someone[as opposed to a love of God] it's better than the alternative. I still don't see this "forcing" you talk about though. Take it or leave it.
Zappa's flaw here is that he says that ONE reason why this type of music is detrimental to children is that America's teenagers are marginally illiterate and do not get a thrill out of reading. This suggests, by his argument, that what is read is not negatively influential in the same way as music is. This is completely false as music lyrics are but a fraction of what content a book can have. Magazines, books, certain novels are far, FAR more lewd than music has been yet he doesn't admit that.
@cherryorchards He was liberal socially and with censor issues such as this and drugs but conservative in government things such as taxes and the inner workings
