Punk Rock and Tipper's Tears

[blur]

I just aquired (or rather Mrs. blur did) a great punk documentary called The Decline of Western Civilization. Its from the late 70s / early 80s and it has the Germs on it. It also has pre- Henry Rollins Black Flag, and a host of others that I cannot recall. Its interesting in an historical context, but I tend to be kinda choosey in my punk rock tastes, because alot of it is just crap. I don’t really consider most of the newer Califoria punk bands really punk. Nothing against them, but they seem more like pop- rock to me. Not that I don’t like to blast some Offspring or Green Day sometimes, but its not punk.

[Fear_Itself]

With regard to the PMRC, I think no one articulated the threat it posed better than Frank Zappa in his testimony before Congress:

**Is the PMRC attempting to save future generations from SEX ITSELF? The type, the amount, and the timing of sexual information given to a child should be determined by the parents, not by people who are involved in a tax scheme cover-up.

The PMRC has concocted a Mythical Beast, and compounds the chicanery by demanding ‘consumer guidelines’ to keep it from inviting your children inside its sugar walls. Is the next step the adoption of a “PMRC National Legal Age For Comprehension of Vaginal Arousal”. Many people in this room would gladly support such legislation, but, before they start drafting their bill, I urge them to consider these facts:

(1) There is no conclusive scientific evidence to support the claim that exposure to any form of music will cause the listener to commit a crime or damn his soul to hell.

(2) Masturbation is not illegal. If it is not illegal to do it, why should it be illegal to sing about it?

(3) No medical evidence of hairy palms, warts, or blindness has been linked to masturbation or vaginal arousal, nor has it been proven that hearing references to either topic automatically turns the listener into a social liability.

(4) Enforcement of anti-masturbatory legislation could prove costly and time consuming.

(5) There is not enough prison space to hold all the children who do it.**

[blur]

Fear Itself - Excellent post. I forgot to add my 2 cents worth on the PMRC when I replied before. Who are these people to police what I listen to? They pick and choose what is offensive. I don’t need a sticker to tell me that Slayer, NWA or anyone else might be offensive to someone. But my parents also took time to listen to what I was listening to, as well as talk to me like a mature person about it. They didn’t always agree with what I listened to, but they didn’t make me buy the “clean” versions either.