Listen "The PMRC"
Episode Synopsis
Warning, Parental Advisory, Slackers!Back in 1985, a group of politically connected women banded together to create the “Parent’s Music Resource Center”. Led by Tipper Gore, wife of future Vice President Al Gore, and Susan Baker, wife of then Treasury Secretary James Baker, the group sought to clamp down on what it perceived to be an increase of disturbing lyrical content in popular music. The main focus was on lyrics containing references to sex, drugs, violence, and the occult. To drive home their point, the PMRC created a list dubbed “The Filthy 15” - an eclectic list of recording artists spanning multiple genres. Somehow, artists like Prince, Cyndi Lauper, & Madonna, were grouped with bands like Mercyful Fate, Venom, and Judas Priest.The opposition to PMRC came in the form of some strange bedfellow - three very different musicians in their own right - who believed strongly in freedom of artistic expression. In what has become a legendary Senate hearing, Dee Snider from Twisted Sister, Frank Zappa, and John Denver, all hailing from vastly different backgrounds, made their case against the PMRC. We also take a look at how some of the musicians on The Filthy 15 feel decades later - has age (and parenthood), moderated their views on censorship or do they still hold to the same ideals of their younger, wilder selves?
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