Parents Music Resource Center

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Tipper Gore, cofounder of the Parents Music Resource Center

The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) was an American committee formed in 1985 by four women: Tipper Gore, wife of Senator and later Vice President Al Gore; Susan Baker, wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker; Pam Howar, wife of Washington realtor Raymond Howar; and Sally Nevius, wife of Washington City Council Chairman John Nevius. They were known as the "Washington wives" — a reference to their husbands' connections with the federal government. The Center eventually grew to include 22 directors.

The PMRC claimed that popular music, and especially hard rock, punk rock and heavy metal music, was partially responsible for the perceived contemporary increase in violence, rape, teenage pregnancy, and teen suicide. The group's mission was "to educate and inform parents" about "the growing trend in music towards lyrics that are sexually explicit, excessively violent, or glorify the use of drugs and alcohol," and to seek the rating of music. Even though the PMRC was meant to do damage to record sales of the artist who made the songs with explicit lyrics, Bret Michaels of Poison, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe, and Frankie Banali of Quiet Riot all stated on Vh1's "Heavy: The Story of Metal" that the PMRC was one of the best things to happen to rock music since it almost guaranteed that disgruntled children would buy the record in question as a way to rebel against their strict parents.

Background and formation

In October 1984, the National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) sent a letter to 30 record labels and to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), proposing the music industry label records that contained "explicit lyrics or content", in order to "take the element of surprise out of buying an album". However, initially none of the record companies agreed to the PTA's proposal. A response letter from RIAA President Stanley Gortikov stated that: "There are wide variations, company to company, within our industry in respect to artists, contractual relationships, marketing considerations and product services."

The formation of the PMRC began in 1984 after Tipper Gore, along with her daughter Karenna, heard Prince's song "Darling Nikki." This track, which appears on the soundtrack to the film Purple Rain, contains references to sex and masturbation ("I knew a girl named Nikki/I guess you could say she was a sex fiend/I met her in a hotel lobby/Masturbating with a magazine").

Gore watched other rock music videos and concluded: "The images frightened my children, they frightened me! The graphic sex and the violence were too much for us to handle." Susan Baker became alarmed when she heard her seven-year-old daughter singing along with Madonna songs that Baker considered "suggestive." Gore and Baker, along with Howar and Nevius, formed the PMRC in May 1985.

The PMRC claimed that the change in rock music was attributable to the decay of the nuclear family in America. Gore asserted that families are "haven[s] of moral stability" which protect children from outside influence, and that without the family structure rock music was "infecting the youth of the world with messages they cannot handle."

Actions

As a method of combating this alleged problem, the PMRC suggested a voluntary move by the RIAA and the music industry to develop "guidelines and/or a rating system" similar to the MPAA film rating system. Additional suggestions from the PMRC that appeared in an article in the Washington Post included: printing warnings and lyrics on album covers, forcing record stores to put albums with explicit covers under the counters, pressuring television stations not to broadcast explicit songs or videos, "reassess[ing]" the contracts of musicians who performed violently or sexually in concert, and creating a panel to set industry standards. This article led to the removal of rock music and magazines from American stores including Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, Sears, and Fred Meyer.

The PMRC also released the "Filthy Fifteen", a list of the fifteen songs they found most objectionable:

#	Artist	Song title	Lyrical content
1	Prince	"Darling Nikki"	Sex
2	Sheena Easton	"Sugar Walls"	Sex
3	Judas Priest	"Eat Me Alive"	Sex
4	Vanity	"Strap on Robbie Baby"	Sex
5	Mötley Crüe	"Bastard"	Violence
6	AC/DC	"Let Me Put My Love into You"	Sex
7	Ozzy Osbourne	"Suicide Solution"	Alcohol and Self destruction
8	Madonna	"Dress You Up"	Sex
9	W.A.S.P.	"Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)"	Sex/Language
10	Def Leppard	"High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)"	Drug and Alcohol Use
11	Mercyful Fate	"Into the Coven"	Satanism
12	Black Sabbath	"Trashed"	Drug and Alcohol Use
13	Mary Jane Girls	"In My House"	Sex
14	Venom	"Possessed"	Satanism
15	Cyndi Lauper	"She Bop"	Sex/Masturbation

The PMRC also advocated against supposed subliminal backmasking in records, and accused bands including Styx, Rush, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, Kiss, and Queen of backmasking to promote Satanism and/or drug use.

Senate hearing

• Transcript

In August 1985, 19 record companies agreed to put "Parental Guidance: Explicit Lyrics" labels on albums to warn of explicit lyrical content. However, before the labels could be put into place, the Senate agreed to hold a hearing on so-called "porn rock". This began on 19 September 1985, when representatives from the PMRC, three musicians, and Senators Paula Hawkins and Al Gore testified before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on "the subject of the content of certain sound recordings and suggestions that recording packages be labeled to provide a warning to prospective purchasers of sexually explicit or other potentially offensive content."

Supporting witnesses

Paula Hawkins presented three record covers (Pyromania by Def Leppard, W.O.W. by Wendy O. Williams and Animal (Fuck Like a Beast) by W.A.S.P.) and the music videos for "Hot for Teacher", by Van Halen, and "We're Not Gonna Take It", by Twisted Sister, commenting: "Much has changed since Elvis' seemingly innocent times. Subtleties, suggestions, and innuendo have given way to overt expressions and descriptions of often violent sexual acts, drug taking, and flirtations with the occult. The record album covers to me are self-explanatory."

Susan Baker testified that "There certainly are many causes for these ills in our society, but it is our contention that the pervasive messages aimed at children which promote and glorify suicide, rape, sadomasochism, and so on, have to be numbered among the contributing factors." Tipper Gore asked record companies to voluntarily "plac[e] a warning label on music products inappropriate for younger children due to explicit sexual or violent lyrics."

National PTA Vice President for Legislative Activity Millie Waterman related the PTA's role in the debate, and proposed printing the symbol "R" on the cover of recordings containing "explicit sexual language, violence, profanity, the occult and glorification of drugs and alcohol," and providing lyrics for "R"-labeled albums.

In addition, Dr. Joe Stuessy, a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, spoke regarding the power of music to influence behavior. He argued that heavy metal was different from earlier forms of music such as jazz and rock and roll because it was "mean-spirited" and "had as one of its central elements the element of hatred." Dr. Paul King, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, testified on the deification of heavy metal musicians, and to the presentation of heavy metal as a religion. He also stated that many adolescents read deeply into song lyrics.

Opposing witnesses

During his statement, musician and producer Frank Zappa asserted that "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." He went on to state his suspicion that the hearings were a front for H.R. 2911, a proposed blank tape tax: "The major record labels need to have H.R. 2911 whiz through a few committees before anybody smells a rat. One of them is chaired by Senator Thurmond. Is it a coincidence that Mrs. Thurmond is affiliated with the PMRC?" Zappa had earlier stated about the Senate's agreement to hold a hearing on the matter that "A couple of blowjobs here and there and Bingo! — you get a hearing."

Folk rock musician John Denver stated he was "strongly opposed to censorship of any kind in our society or anywhere else in the world", and that in his experience censors often misinterpret music, as was the case with his song "Rocky Mountain High". In addition, Denver expressed his belief that censorship is counterproductive: "That which is denied becomes that which is most desired, and that which is hidden becomes that which is most interesting. Consequently, a great deal of time and energy is spent trying to get at what is being kept from you." Incidentally, when John came up to give his speech, many on the PMRC board expected him to side with them, thinking he would be offended by the lyrics as well.

Dee Snider, frontman and lead singer of hair metal band Twisted Sister, testified that he "[did] not support [...] Mr. Gortikov's unnecessary and unfortunate decision to agree to a so-called generic label on some selected records". Like John Denver, Snider felt that his music had been misinterpreted. He defended the Twisted Sister songs "Under the Blade", which had been interpreted as referring to sadomasochism, bondage, and rape, and "We're Not Gonna Take It", which had been accused of promoting violence. Snider said about "Under the Blade", a song Snider claimed was written about an impending surgery, that "the only sadomasochism, bondage, and rape in this song is in the mind of Ms. Gore." He stated, "Ms. Gore was looking for sadomasochism and bondage, and she found it. Someone looking for surgical references would have found it as well." Snider concluded that "The full responsibility for defending children falls on the shoulders of my wife and I, because there is no one else capable of making these judgments for us."

Notable snippets of audio from the hearing found their way into Zappa's audiocollage "Porn Wars", released on the Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention album. Senators Gore, Hollings, Gorton, Hawkins, and others appeared. The album cover featured a parody of the RIAA warning label. The LP included a note to listeners to send to Zappa's Barking Pumpkin Records for a free "Z-PAC", a printed information package that included transcripts of the committee hearing, and a letter from Zappa encouraging young people to register to vote.

The Tipper Sticker

Main article: Parental Advisory

On November 1, 1985, before the hearing ended, the RIAA agreed to put "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" labels on selected releases at their own discretion. The labels were generic, unlike the original idea of a descriptive label categorizing the explicit lyrics.

Many record stores refused to sell albums containing the label (most notably Wal-Mart), and others limited sales of those albums to minors. The label became known as the "Tipper sticker". Some politicians attempted to criminalize the sale of explicit records to minors, while others attempted to completely ban such records.

Many musicians have criticized or parodied the PMRC and Tipper Gore:

• The song 'Rock You To Hell' from the album of the same name by HM band GRIM REAPER is a protest song against the PMRC's attempts to censor music.
• As an early parody of the PMRC "explicit lyrics" warning labels, many prints of Metallica's 1986 release of their album Master Of Puppets sported a sticker on the front in the shape of a stop-sign saying:

"THE ONLY TRACK YOU PROBABLY WON'T WANT TO PLAY IS "DAMAGE, INC." DUE TO THE MULTIPLE USE OF THE INFAMOUS "F" WORD. OTHERWISE, THERE AREN'T ANY "SHITS," "FUCKS," "PISSES," "CUNTS," "MOTHERFUCKERS," OR "COCKSUCKERS" ANYWHERE ON THIS RECORD"

• In 1987, NOFX released an EP entitled The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This! When originally released, the album had a black and white photo of Tammy Faye Bakker having anal sex with then-husband (and televangelist) Jim Bakker.
• Alice Donut's song "Tipper Gore", from 1988's Donut Comes Alive, uses a sexual metaphor to parody Gore's actions.
• The Megadeth song "Hook In Mouth" from their 1988 album So Far, So Good... So What! is "aimed at the P.M.R.C." It compares the PMRC to the Orwellian state in Nineteen Eighty-Four. The lyrics state that freedom "means nothing to me, as long as there's a PMRC". In addition, in the music video for the song "In My Darkest Hour", from the same album, as well as the Megadeth portion of the 1988 rockumentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, bassist David Ellefson can be seen with a sticker on his bass that says "Fuck The P.M.R.C".
• Ice-T's 1989 album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say contains many criticisms of the PMRC. One song in particular, "Freedom of Speech", is an extended attack on Tipper Gore:

Yo Tip, what's the matter? You ain't gettin' no dick?
You're bitchin' about rock'n'roll, that's censorship, dumb bitch
The Constitution says we all got a right to speak
Say what we want Tip, your argument is weak

In his book The Ice Opinion, Ice-T wrote, "Tipper Gore is the only woman I ever directly called a bitch on any of my records, and I meant that in the most negative sense of the word". On "You Shoulda Killed Me Last Year", his spoken-word outro to his album O.G. Original Gangster , he curses the CIA, the LAPD, FBI, George Bush Sr. and Tipper Gore.

• The liner notes of Sonic Youth's 1990 album Goo include a cartoon with the caption "SMASH THE PMRC".
• The song Shelter Me, from glam metal group Cinderella's 1990 album Heartbreak Station, contained a lyric which mockingly noted that "Tipper led the war against the record industry/She said she saw the devil on her MTV."
• In 1990, thrash/hardcore group Suicidal Tendencies released a song called "Lovely" on their Lights...Camera...Revolution! album, which has a mockingly clean/positive atmosphere to it and even addresses Tipper Gore by name.
• A minute-long track tagged onto the end of Warrant's 1990 Cherry Pie was titled "Ode to Tipper Gore" and featured nothing but various swear words recorded in rapid-fire order from past concerts.
• US Thrash Metal band Flotsam and Jetsam (band) recorded the song "Hard On You" on their 1988 album No Place For Disgrace which deals openly with the topic and accuses the PMRC of limiting their artistic right without mentioning the PMRC or Tipper Gore directly. Lines like "One that's young sees the circled "R", does he buy it?" and "If your committee is so damn right, why did we write this song?" leave no room for misinterpretation though.

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Tool's first music video "Hush" (1992) features prominent appearances by the band members, wearing parental advisory stickers covering their genitalia.

• In 1992, The first music video released by Tool, "Hush", promoted their dissenting views about the then-prominent Parents Music Resource Center and its advocacy of the censorship of music. The video featured the band members naked with their genitalia covered by parental advisory stickers and their mouths covered by duct tape.
• The Ramones' 1992 album Mondo Bizarro contained the song "Censorshit", which proposes that the sticker is "just a smoke screen for the real problems. S&L deficit, the homeless, the environment."
• Anthrax's "Startin' Up a Posse", from their 1991 release Attack of the Killer B's, states that "These seven words you're trying to take / Shit, fuck, satan, death, sex, drugs, rape / Right or wrong it's our choice to make". The song also mention about stopping the P.M.R.C. while the band throws insults.

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Rage Against the Machine protesting the PMRC at Lollapalooza.

• On 1993-07-18, Rage Against the Machine protested against the PMRC at Lollapalooza III by standing naked onstage with duct tape covering their mouths and the letters PMRC on their chests. The band used up their 14-minute performance time without playing any songs. The only sound emitted was audio feedback from Tom Morello and Tim Commerford's guitars. The band later played a free show for disappointed fans.
• Pistol Grip's 2001 album The Shots From The Kalico Rose includes a song called "Fuck The P.M.R.C".
• The punk band Leftover Crack refer to the PMRC in their song "Stop The Insanity", from 2001's Mediocre Generica, with the lyrics:

let's kill the cops, the C.I.A
the F.B.I, the P.T.A
the N.F.L, the P.M.R.C
let's kill you and let's kill me

• In the cover of Anarchy in the U.K. by Mötley Crüe, the lyrics near the end are as follows:

Is this the PMRC
Or is this the DEA
Or is this the CIA
I thought it was the USA

• On Twisted Sister's 1985 album Come Out and Play featured a mark on the album cover that resembled a parental advisory sticker, however it said "H for humor"

• On the 2001 Dead Kennedys live album Mutiny on the Bay, during their song "M.T.V. - Get off the Air", lead singer Jello Biafra tells the audience to "buy a homemade [record] instead, before the PMRC closes the stores down that sell 'em". Biafra had earlier been brought to trial on charges of "distributing harmful matter to minors" in an incident involving the 1986 Dead Kennedys album Frankenchrist, which featured an insert of H R Giger's Penis Landscape and a parody sticker on the front cover reading:

"WARNING: The inside fold out to this record cover is a work of art by H.R. Giger that some people may find shocking, repulsive or offensive. Life can sometimes be that way."

• On the song "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!" released on the 2004 album of the same name by Harry and the Potters contains the lyrics "And we won't let the Dark Lord ruin our party/ Just like Tipper Gore tried with the PMRC."

• Other groups that have mentioned the PMRC or Tipper Gore include Aerosmith ("F.I.N.E."), Body Count ("KKK bitch" and "Cop Killer"), Cinderella ("Shelter Me"), The Dead Milkmen ("Do the Brown Nose"), Eminem ("White America"), The Fad ("P.M.R.C."), Frank Zappa ("Porn Wars"), Fishbone ("Pray to the Junkiemaker"), Harry and the Potters ("Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!"), KMFDM ("Sucks"), Manic Street Preachers ("IFWHITEAMERICATOLDTHETRUTHFORONEDAYIT'SWORLDWOULDFALLAPART"), Ministry ("Stigmata (live)"), Mojo Nixon ("Burn Down the Malls"), Pinkard & Bowden ("Censor Us"), the Ramones ("Censorshit"), Suicidal Tendencies ("Lovely" and "You Can't Bring Me Down"), Todd Rundgren ("Jesse"), Warrant ("Ode to Tipper Gore"), W.A.S.P ("Harder Faster") and The Bouncing Souls ("PMRC"). German Metal band Running Wild, on their live album 'Ready for Boarding', dedicated the song 'Purgatory' to the PMRC.

The power of the PMRC has greatly declined in recent years, especially with the growing popularity of rap and heavy metal (popular targets of the PMRC). Releases by independent, non-RIAA labels do not carry the sticker (often proudly). Still, the RIAA encourages the labeling of any album containing explicit lyrics.

It is uncertain whether the Tipper sticker is effective in preventing children from being exposed to explicit content. Some suggest that the sticker actually increases record sales. Philip Bailey stated that "For the most part [the sticker] might even sell more records in some areas - all you've got to do is tell somebody this is a no-no and then that's what they want to go see." Ice-T's "Freedom of Speech" states that "Hey PMRC, you stupid fuckin' assholes/The sticker on the record is what makes 'em sell gold./Can't you see, you alcoholic idiots/The more you try to suppress us, the larger we get." And the Furnaceface song "We Love You, Tipper Gore", from 1991's album Just Buy It, suggests that the label "only whets my appetite ... only makes us want to hear it that much more".

See also

• Warning: Parental Advisory
• Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal (ISBN 0380811278), by Ian Christe, specifically Chapter 7: "The PMRC's Antimetal Panic" (summary)

References and external articles

General information

• History of the PMRC by Claude Chastagner
• Short history of the PMRC by Censor This
• Timeline of music censorship
• Tipper Gore on Porn Rock
• FTC Report: "An Overview of the Entertainment Media Industries and the Development of Their Rating and Labeling Systems"

Websites

• Zappa’s original PMRC Letters - includes letters sent out by the PMRC
• A Frank Zappa appearance on "Crossfire" during the PMRC ruckus