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Excerpts from Frank Zappa's Z- Pack
EXCERPTS FROM THE "Z-PACK" COMPILED BY FRANK ZAPPA. THESE EXCERPTS
(I.E. THIS FILE) TYPED, EDITED AND ANNOTATED BY KRISTI WACHTER. I HAVE
DONE MY BEST TO KEEP TYPOS AT A MINIMUM; PLEASE FORGIVE MY MISTAKES. MY
OWN NOTES AND COMMENTS APPEAR IN BRACKETS [].) YOU CAN GET YOUR OWN
Z-PACK FROM INTERCONTINENTAL ABSURDITIES LTD., P O BOX 5265, NO.
HOLLYWOOD, CA 91616-5265 - INCLUDE A LARGE ENVELOPE AND $1.50. My
thanks to Gail Zappa for permission to retype and post this stuff. GET
INVOLVED!
OPENING LETTER
Dear Friend,
Here is the package we have prepared to assist you in any local effort
you care to initiate in opposition the [sic] THE WIVES OF BIG BROTHER
and their dangerous program.
Included is the typical PMRC fund-raising letter. We want you to see
for yourselves what their pitch is. If you agree with their point of
view, do what their letter tells you to do. If you don't, use the
addresses they have provided (people to complain to), and, instead of
complaining, encourage them to broadcast things t hat YOU like. If they
are not broadcasting enough of what YOU like, tell them what YOUR
ENTERTAINMENT PREFERENCES ARE, and DEMAND MORE OF IT [sic]. If you
don't make your feelings known, you are going to be stuck with watching
and listening to the stuff THEY LIKE.
Also included is a copy of my letter to the President and my CASHBOX
editorial. Feel free to quote any of this material in letters you might
write to your elected represent atives.
The PMRC has a lot of nerve to ask for money...they are alread y very
well funded, well connected, and seem to have the entire U.S. news media
in their back pocket. This mailing, all legal fees, phone bills and
travel costs connected with fighting this issue have been paid for out
of profits from Barking Pumpkin record sales, and from Barfko-Swill mail
order funds. We thank you for buying these items. Without the orders
you have already placed, a real opposing view to this issue would never
have been heard.
Okay...it's up to you now. Don't let yourselves down.. Tak e some time
and help protect YOUR Constitutional Rights. You know how to use a
phone. You know how to write letters. Make some noise about this
issue. Use YOUR imagination. DON'T BEND OVER FOR THE WIVES OF BIG
BROTHER.
Thanks,
Frank Zappa
(signed)
Frank Zappa
(written)
Call us at 818-PUMPKIN for any other
information.
P.O. Box 5265, North Hollywood, CA 91616-5265 (213)
764-0800
CASHBOX GUEST EDITORIAL (NO DATE SHOWN)
"EXTORTION, PURE AND SIMPLE..." An Open Letter To The Music Industry by
Frank Zappa
With all due respect to Stan Gortikov and the RIAA, I would like a few
moments of your time to express my personal feelings regarding the
unfortunate decision to bend over for the PMRC on the issue of album
'identification'.
First, let me say that I appreciate the difficult position the RIAA is
in, and sympathize fully with the organization struggle to move
legislation through Congress. The problem seems to be the Thurmond
Committee. This is where the industry's proposed legislation will live
or d ie. It is no secret that Mrs. Thurmond is a member of PMRC. What
is apparently happening is a case of extortion, pure and simple: THE
RIAA MUST TAP DANCE FOR THESE WASHINGTON WIVES OR THE INDUSTRY'S BILL
WILL FEEL THE WRATH OF THEIR FAMOUS HUSBANDS.
It is to the RIAA's credit that the bulk of PMRC's demands were
rejected, however capitulation on the stickering issue will cause more
problems than it will solve.
The PMRC makes no secret of its intentions to use 'special relatio
nships' to force this issue . In an interview on an Albany radio
station, Mrs. Pam Howar made reference to a Mr. Fowler at the FCC,
suggesting that some intervention by this agency might be in order,
should the PMRC's other nefarious techniques fail. Did somebody rewrite
the FCC charter while we weren't looking? What's going on here?
These cultural terrorists are attempting to create a hostage situation.
It is time to bring in the Delta Force...with a friendly reminder that
extortion i s still an illegal act, that conspiracy to co mmit extortion
is an illegal act, and that this issue goes beyond First Amendment
considerations. We are witnessing a type of corrupt practice that must
end. No person married or related to a government official should be
permitted to waste the nation's time on ill-conceived housewife hobby
projects such as this.
The PMRC's case is totally without merit, based on a hodge-podge of
fundamentalist frogwash and illogical conclusions. Sh rieking in terror
at the thought of someone hearing references to mastur bation on a
Prince record, the PMRC's members put on their 'guardian of the people'
costumes and the media comes running. It is an unfortunate trend of the
'80's that the slightest murmur from a special interest group
(especially when it has friends in high places) causes a knee-jerk
reaction of appeasement from a wide range of industries that ought to
know better.
If you are an artist reading this, think for a moment...did anyone ask
you if you wanted to have the stigma of 'p otential filth' plopped onto
your next release via this 'appeasement sticker?' If you are a
songwriter, did anyone ask you if you wanted to spend the rest of your
career modifying your lyric content to suit the spiritual needs of an
imaginary eleven-year-old?
The answer is, obviously, NO. In all of this, the main concern has been
the business agenda of the major labels versus the egos and sexual
neuroses of these vigilant ladies.
A record company has the right to conduct its business and to make a
profit, but not at the expense of the people who make the product
possible...someone still has to write and perform THE MUSIC. The RIAA
has taken what I feel to be a short-sighted approach to the issue. The
'voluntary sticker' will not appease these creatures, nor will it grease
the chute through the Thurmond committee. There are no promises or
guarantees here; only threats and insinuations from PMRC.
The RIAA has shown a certain disregard for the creative people of the
industry in its eagerness to protect the revenues of the record com
panies. Ladies and gentlemen, we are all in this together...when you
watched the hostages on TV, didn't you sort of mumble to yourself,
"Let's nuke 'em...?" The PMRC deserves nothing less (and the same to
NMRC or any other censorship group with a broadcast blacklist in its
back pocket).
For the elected officials who sit idly by while their spouses run rabid
with anti-sexual pseudo-Christian legislative fervor, there lurks the
potential for the same sort of dumb emba rrassment caused by Billy
Carter's fasc inating exploits. I do not deny anyone the right to their
opinions on any matter...but when certain people's opinions have the
potential to influence my life, and the lives of my children because of
their special access to legislative machinery, I think it raises
important questions of law. Ronald Reagan came to office with the
proclaimed intention of getting the federal government off our backs.
The secret agenda seems to be not to remove it , but to force certain
people to wear it like a lampshade at a D.C. Tupperware party.
Nobody looks good wearing brown lipstick. These creatures can hurt you.
Their ignorance is like a virus. Get mad. Fight back. The Goldwater
committee is hearing this matter on September 19. Use the phone. Use
the telex. Demand that Congress deal with the substantive issue of
connubial 'insider trading' and power-brokerage. Demand censure for
those elected officials who participate. Demand fairness for the record
industry's legislation in the Thurmond Committe e. Remind them that
they have a duty to the people who elected them that takes priority over
their domestic relationships.
ARTICLE FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, OCTOBER 24, 1985 ZAPPA TAKES ON THE
U.S. SENATE IN 'PORN WARS' By Rip Rense
Guess who "sings" on Frank Zappa's soon-to-be-released "Porn Wars"
recording?
None other than SEVEN members of the U.S. Senate, including Sen. Paula
Hawkins (R-Fla.), Sen. Ernest (Fritz) Hollings (D-S.C.) and Sen. Albert
A. Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.).
Zappa has woven statements made by these of ficials at the Sept. 19
Senate Commerce Committee hearing on so-called "porn rock" lyrics into a
provocative 12-minute track that will appear on his upcoming "Frank
Zappa vs. the Mothers of Prevention" album.
"You testify before one of those Senate hearings and see how arrogant
they are and what relative position they think they hold in the
universe," Zappa said in the recording studio of his Laurel Canyon home.
"They have blown themselves out of proportion to reality. There are a
couple that ar e OK...Bu t there's no way I could have just walked away
from Washington, D.C., and just laughed it off. It's too depressing."
The avant-garde "Porn Wars" is an ambitious collage that blends
electronic music and statements actually made to the committee and to
Zappa, who testified against the Parents Music Resource Center's
campaign against sex, violence and drug references in rock music.
In the record, you hear:
--Sen. Hawkins endlessly repeating the phrase, "Fire and chains and ot
her objectionable tools of grat ification in some twisted minds."
--Sen. Hollings saying, "Outrageous filth" and "maybe I could make a
good rock star, I don't know."
--Sen. Paul S. Trible Jr. (R-Va.) chanting the word, "Rape."
--The Rev. Jeff Ling, consultant to the Parents Resource group, quoting
"offensive" lyrics from an LP by the Mentors. Among the phrases: "I
will drive my love into you."
The irony of the song--which will be released Nov. 15 on Zappa's Barking
Pumpkin labe l--is that officials who oppose what they consider obsce ne
or pornographic images in rock find themselves describing many of those
very images ON a rock LP.
Poetic justice? Sweet revenge?
Neither, according to Zappa; it's just art.
"There are aspects of phase music employed (on the record)...It uses
MUSIQUE CONCRETE techniques. It's kind of like a cubistic portrait of
Congress at work...'Congress Descending a Staircase.'"
The new track, which isn't likely to get much airplay because of its use
of four-letter words, begins with preliminary co mments from sen ators
and then seems to break away dramatically into a series of voices
swirling, growling, chattering, chanting and wailing.
After a pastiche of Hollings arpeggios and Trible trills, there is an
abrupt quotation that was initially recorded for "Lumpy Gravy," Zappa's
1968 ballet: "This must be the end of the world. All the people (are)
turning into pigs and ponies. I can't let it happen to me."
In reply to a senator's question about why the hearings are being held,
Zappa's disfigured voice chants "sex. ..sex...sex," while Ling--again
reading a Mentors lyric--declares, "Listen, you little slut."
One of the hearing's most celebrated moments--an exchange between Zappa
and Hawkins over what kind of toys Zappa buys for his kids--is saluted
in the recording, as well as a compliment to the rock musician by
Democrat Gore of Tennessee, "I respect you as a true original and as a
tremendously talented musician." The latter is punctuated by
Hollings--at near-Chipmunk tone--repeating the line about his becomin g
a ro ck star.
The work concludes with Hollings' apparent aside into the open
microphone at the end of Zappa's appearance: "We haven't got 'em
whipped on this one yet. We've got a bear by the tail here..." The
remarks are followed by ominous, fading chords.
Are there any legal problems in using the voices?
Presumably not, according to Zappa. He said, smiling, "You bet I called
a lawyer on it."
The founder of the Mothers of Invention said he is also producing an
hourlong v ideo for home use covering key mom ents in the hearings.
On "Porn Wars," Zappa programmed the voices into a digital computer
system keyboard, which allowed him to "play" the voices in registers
ranging from "gorilla" to "munchkin" to "mega-chipmunk" to "mosquito."
Does he think the humorous recording unfairly satirizes the senators'
views?
"Not at all," he said, without reservation. "You could (just read their
remarks in) the Congressional Record and have gotten the same charge. I
just did a little grunt work to dig up some of the more amusing lines
and stick them in a package that will hopefully make sense to a
rock'n'roll consumer, and maybe make them concerned about what kind of
people there are in Washington."
He chuckled.
"Hmm. Maybe a better name would be 'Congress Eats the Young.'"
LETTER FROM FRANK ZAPPA TO PRESIDENT REAGAN
By Federal Express
29 August 1985
Ronald Reagan, President of the United States The White House 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20500
Mr. President,
Even though I disagree strongly with man y administration policies, I
have never doubted your personal views on Basic Constitutional Issues
are sincere.
I would like to know your opinion of the record censorship program
sponsored by the PMRC, an organization involving the wives of elected
governmental officials. Do you asupport [sic] this effort? If so, have
you considered the basic issue of fairness when a pet project, likely to
result in legislative action that will restrain trade and affect the
lives of millions of Americans, is promoted by the spouse of an elected
official and rushed to a Senate hearing while important national
business waits in the wings? Is it fair that people not fortunate
enough to be married to a D.C. Superstar have to keep their mouths shut
while 'THE WASHINGTON WIVES' diddle with the legislative machinery?
The PMRC is an unlicensed lobbying group, comporting itself
outrageously. While threatening an entire industry with the wrath of
their husbands' powerful c ommittees, they blithely spew frogwash and
innuendo with t he assistance of an utterly captivated media. When the
PMRC's proposal leaps to a full committee hearing September 19th, an
unfortunate precedent will be set.
If you support the PMRC (or the NMRC or any other Fundamentalist
Pressure Groups) in their efforts to perpetuate the myth that SEX EQUALS
SIN, you will help to institutionalize the neurotic misconception that
keeps pornographers in business.
By attempting to remove all references to sexuality from media consumed
by young people, the PMRC, contrary to its stated goals, will create an
atmosphere of ignorance that benefits the child molester, not the child.
In a nation where deranged pressure groups fight for the removal of
sexual education from public schools, and parents know so little about
sex that they have to call Dr. Ruth on TV for answers to rudimentary
anatomical questions, it would seem infinitely more responsible for
these esteemed wives and mothers to demand a full-scale Congressional
demys tification of the subject.
Are we headed toward a time when descriptions of sexual behavior in
entertainment media can be obtained only by employing a lawyer to
petition under the Freedom Of Information Act? Must all sexual
practices in the United States be tested and approved by The Moral
Majority? When they test them, do we get to watch?
Assuming, for argument's sake, that the basic premise of the PMRC's
effort is to shield people in a certain age bracket from exposure to
various f orms of UNDESIRABLE INFORMATION, the proposition is grossly
inequitable since it singles out Rock Music as the villain.
Country Music contains references to sex, violence, alcohol and the
devil, yet the PMRC is not requesting a warning label on THESE records.
Could it be that a certain Senatorial husband and wife team from
Tennessee has concocted this issue as an affirmative action program to
benefit the suffering multitudes in Nashville? Surely there are other
ways to protect this vital source of Tennessee state revenue.
Is there anyone in the PMRC who can differentiate i nfallibly between
rock and country music? Artists in both fields have crossed stylistic
lines, even within an individual album. If an album is part rock, part
country, what sort of label does it get? Is this determination to be
made according to the state in which the material was recorded?
The PMRC wants ratings to start as of the date of their enactment. What
will be the status of those recordings remaining from the Golden Era
prior to censorship? Do they become collector's items...or will the
gover nment order them burned in a public ceremony, somewhere in
Virginia?
If, as they suggest, hearing a certain type of music can cause UNWANTED
BEHAVIOR, then anyone who has heard a Beatles or a Beachboys record is
in danger. Those were Charles Manson's favorite groups.
Wagner's influence on Hitler is well documented. Shouldn't the PMRC
consider a big red "M" for those classical works favored by
Megalomaniacs? What if statistics become available showing a marked
preference for Wayne Newton and Barry Manil ow among convicted
white-collar felons?
Fundamentalist Christianity is not a State Religion. The PMRC's request
for labels regarding sexually explicit lyrics, violence, drugs, alcohol,
and occult content reads like a catalog of phenomena abhorrent to
practitioners of that faith. Is the PMRC aware of the Muslim
affiliations of some black performers? If they should suddenly decide
to record lyrics advocating the violent overthrow of America in the name
of Allah, will the PMRC's labels deter a nation of se mi-literates from
learning an exciting new dance called 'The Funky Jihad'? Will the PMRC
wish they had used the big red "M" to warn of Muslim Content?
The establishment of a rating system, voluntary or otherwise, sets the
stage for an endless series of 'control programs' based on 'Things
Certain Christians Don't 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 Zio
nist d octrine'? How long will it take till somebody else's wife
demands that composers and performers wear a Special Arm Band at all
times in public, reflecting the stigma of their category rating?
The PMRC has demanded that the record companies 'reassess' the contracts
of those groups who do things on stage that they don't approve of.
GROUPS are comprised of INDIVIDUALS. If one guy wiggles too much, does
the whole band get an "X"? If the group gets dropped from the label
because of the "X", do the other guy s in the group who weren't wiggling
get to sue the guy who wiggled because he ruined their careers?
Should the individual musicians be rated? If so, who is qualified to
determine if the BASS PLAYER behaves like an "O", the GUITAR PLAYER
behaves like an "X", the VOCALIST behaves like a "D/A", or the DRUMMER
behaves like a "V"? Will unscrupulous performers voluntarily rate
themselves "B/A" (Born Again), in order to protect their careers and
differentiate themselve s from the rest of the Stigmatized Scum whe n
they shoot the next "Let's Go Pretend To Feed Somebody" video?
It was a sad day for composers, performers and record retailers when the
major labels agreed to the first of PMRC's absurd demands.
Why did they agree? The record industry bills (H.R. 3163 and H.R. 2911)
regarding tape royalties and piracy must pass through Senator Thurmond's
Committee. With Mrs. Thurmond a member of PMRC, the industry was hardly
in a position to express their true feelings on the matter. After broad
hints of 'legislative strangulation', the major labels attempted a
comprise. "Not GOOD enough!" said the Washington Wives, pressing for
legislation to control "satanistic or occult content".
A composer or performer stigmatized by the "O" rating winds up on the
Ultimate Blacklist. All it might take is a song with a reference to
someone's astrological sign. What legal hazards lurk then for the
unfortunate retailer who sells "O" rated records? If he sells one to
somebody he's not supposed to, does he get the red-hot tweezers or what?
The PMRC's program protects country musicians, not children. It is
mechanically unworkable from a listening/rating standpoint, considering
the quantity of recorded material released each year. If enacted,
American Musical Culture will become a hostage in the Beige Zone,
somewhere between the Salem Witchcraft Trials and The McCarthy Era.
facts make bad law, and people who write bad laws are, in my opinion,
more dangerous than songwr iters who celebrate sexuality. The facts
simply do not support the PMRC's outlandish claims. This is more than a
First Amendment Issue. Freedom of religious thought (if this matter
produces legislation determining what is 'occult'), the right to
assemble (if these idiotic ratings extend to live concerts), and the
right to due process for composers, performers and retailers (if the
major labels proceed with 'album identification', in violation of
existing contracts) are all jeopardized by PMRC's demands.
I submit that elected officials hav e a spiritual and fiduciary duty to
their constituents that takes precedent over the whims of their spouses.
How many other costly and ill-conceived governmental programs have been
generated in this manner and dumped onto the shoulders of American
Business?
Those involved in this sort of 'connubial insider trading', if not
subject to prosecution under existing law, ought to be disciplined by
their peers...or perhaps they should take their own medicine and
VOLUNTARILY RATE THEMSE LVES. It shouldn't be too hard to determine who
deserv es the Congressional "X", the Congressional ?D/A", or the
Congressional "V". It's hard to imagine a Congressional "O", but there
must be a few on somebody's committee.
The PMRC loudly decries the label of censorship when it is applied to
their plan. Jesse Jackson reminded Jerry Falwell in a recent CNN debate
that "You do not judge a tree by the bark it wears, but by the fruit it
bears..."
Mr. President, if you are not serious about getting government off our
backs, could you at leas t do something about getting it out of our
nostrils? There seems to be a lethal cloud of brimstone and mildewed
bunting rising form the Senate floor.
I do not expect a reply to this letter, however, any public statement
from you on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Frank Zappa (signed)
FZ/ws
IT'S NOT OVER YET, FOLKS by Frank Zappa
Okay...the 'hearing' is over...you think it's all going to fade into the
sunset now, right? Not quite. The GOOD NEWS is the PMRC has given up o
n all demands EXCEPT that SOM E KIND OF SYMBOL APPEARS ON THE FRONT OF
AN ALBUM WITH 'UNDESIRABLE CONTENT'. That's right. Just a 'tiny little
symbol' on the front. Is this too much to ask? YOU BET IT IS!
That 'tiny little symbol' still requires somebody else to decide what
those lyrics mean, and whether or not they are 'filthy'. This
determination is the responsibility of individual parents making
decisions based on standards in their community, not those of a record
executi ve in New York or Hollywood.
Most of you did not see or hear what really happened during the
'hearing'. There was quite a bit of 'news management' taking place,
especially regarding my testimony. CNN viewers saw only the
semi-apoplectic Senator Gorton denouncing me for my 'Constitutional
ignorance'.
Under the 'hearing' rules, I was not allowed to say anything in
response, however, I would like to take this opportunity to remind him
that although I flunked just about everything else in high school, I did
get an "A" in Civics, and secondly, if he wan ted to tell me I was just
an ignorant musician, why didn't he use the Koppel method and say, "Now,
Mr. Zappa, you're an intelligent man..." Anybody who gets that
recitation from Ted twice in one episode of Nightline has surely been
told how stupid he is.
Since the media coverage was enormous, including foreign press, I began
my testimony with a 'reference reading' of The First Amendment so that
people outside the U.S. might understand what we were discussing, and to
remind vermin like Senator Gorton that, in spite o f their bizarre
interpretation, this 'historical document' was still in existence. The
'hearing' lasted about 5 hours. The 'denouncement' was the only thing
offered by Gorton during the whole event. No questions. No debate.
Just a photo opportunity for another Congressional bozo.
Since my written speech would have lasted longer than the 10 minutes I
was allotted, I read a short version. The full version prepared
testimony. After reading it, I propos ed a solution to the whole matter,
based on a sugge stion from my attorney, Larry Stein. Senator Hollings
(the one who said "IF I COULD DO AWAY WITH ALL OF THIS MUSIC
CONSTITUTIONALLY, I WOULD ...") said, in the hearing, on the record,
that he preferred my proposal to the PMRC rating idea. You never heard
about it, did you?
This revolutionary proposal is very simple. No rating. No sticker. No
committee decisions. Let the parent decide after reading the lyrics.
The lyrics would be printed on a sheet of white paper (preferably with a
First Amendm ent Re minder at the top of the page), under the
shrink-wrap on the back of the album. For cassettes, an accordion-fold.
Since they asked for it, we'll let the PMRC figure out how to PAY for
it. The royalties to writers and publishers must be paid at the
statutory rate. The cost of printing must be paid. Once the album
leaves the store with this information on it, you can't bring it back.
Any kind of warning system is going to cost money. This one puts the
responsibili ty for the decision of what is clean or dirty where it
belongs: in the hands of the parents. IF MILLIONS OF PARENTS REALLY
WANT THIS, THEN FUNDING IT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM. If not: most
record stores still have a CHILDREN'S SECTION. You can always shop
there. ARTICLE FROM BILLBOARD DATED FEB. 15, 1986
MARYLAND ASSEMBLY MULLS BILL ON RECORD OBSCENITY
by Bill Holland
ANNAPOLIS, Md. The Maryland State Assembly is considering a bill that
would make it a crime - punishable by fine or jail term - for a retailer
to sell an audio recording co ntaining obscene lyrics to a minor.
Should the measure become law - and sources say it has a good chance -
it would become the first obscenity law in the country to prohibit the
sale of state-defined X-rated records and audio tapes to minors.
The measure, an amendment to a long-standing Maryland law forbidding the
sale of obscene books, magazines and, more recently, videocassettes to
persons under 18, was introduced last month by Democratic Delegate
Judith Toth. Toth represents both rural an d affluent su burban
constituents in upper Montgomery County.
The bill has already gone through a Jan. 14 hearing. No one spoke in
opposition, and area dealers say they did not learn about the hearing
until afterwards.
"Dealers have called me and said, 'Hey, what's going on here, I could go
to jail'," says Toth. "I tell them, 'That's right, you could go to
jail'."
A spokesman for the National Assn. of Recording Merchandisers (NARM)
says that the hearing also caught them by surp rise, although the group
has since sent out both a mailgram and a letter explaining the content
of the bill to area members.
Toth is not sympathetic to dealer alarm. "There's no excuse for their
lobbyists not picking this up," she says. "They're paid very well to
monitor these things. We notified the press several times about the
hearing."
Asked if she made any direct contact with Maryland dealers and
distributors to invite them to the hearing, she answered, "We're not
under a ny obligation to let our opponents know."
The measure, H.B. 111, is "high on the voting list" in the House
Judiciary Committee, and committee vote is expected on the measure by
the middle of this week. If it passes, it will go to the floor of the
House, and then to the Senate side for a hearing in March. Because of
the 90-day Maryland session schedule, the bill will have to be voted on
by April 7.
While some industry sources say that chance of passage is not at all
assured, others point to Toth's success in getting a similar amendment
passed in the 1984 session which imposes a maximum first-time fine of
$1,000 and jail term of one year to any dealer who rents or sells an
X-rated video to a minor.
Toth says she received a packet of material, including offensive song
lyrics, from the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), the
headline-making mothers' group that negotiated a compromise agreement on
the issue of controversial lyrics with Recording Industry Assn. of
America (RIAA) member companies last fall (Billboard, Nov. 9). She then
too k the package around to other mem bers. "I didn't even Xerox that
stuff," she says.
She and her staff have also visited several area record stores. "They
told us, 'Hey, we don't carry that kind of stuff,' but we went down the
line with them and there they were," she says. She mentions albums by
Twisted Sister, Marvin Gaye, W.A.S.P. and the Tubes as examples.
Toth says the purpose of the measure is not to go after dealers. "We're
not going to waste our time going after some little dealer; we'd go
after the manufacturer to keep up their agreement [with the PMRC] and to
make sure that such material is clearly labeled."
She says that "Maryland has a fairly liberal court system, and something
would have to be grossly objectionable - a clear-cut case - for the
state's attorney to step in."
Local dealer reaction was angry. "It's ludicrous," says Howard
Applebaum, owner of the Kemp Mill Records chain, which has 15 stores in
Maryland. "Obscenity by whose standards? I'm not prepared to be the
arbiter of what's obscene or not." Appl ebaum say s he is going to call
Toth's office and talk over the content of the bill, and will call other
local chain owners.
David Blaine, general manager of Waxie Maxie's, with 13 Maryland
outlets, says the bill misses the mark: "Retailers are not the arbiters
of public taste."
Senior NARM officials were attending a seminar in Los Angeles and could
not be reached for comment.
The bill would amend Article 27, Section 419 of the Maryland State Code
to make it illegal to rent , sell or otherwise disseminate obscene
material relating to phonograph recordings, magnetic tape, CDs and laser
disks to anyone under the age of 18.
Penalties for first-time offenders could be as high as $1,000 or one
year in jail; repeat offenders could face a $5,000 fine or three years
in jail.
Executives of several smaller chains say they didn't even know about the
existence of the proposal. "This is the first I've heard of it," says
Page Wiencek, owner of Penguin Feather, a Virgin ia- and
Washington-based outfit with three Maryland stores.
ARTICLE FROM DAILY VARIETY DATED WED., FEB. 12, 1986
PMRC TAKES 'PORN ROCK' SLIDE SHOW ON THE ROAD
by Henry Schipper
The Parents Music Resource Center, which last year wrested a "porn rock"
record labeling agreement from the major diskeries, is still intact and
active. Indeed, instead of resting on its laurels and closing shop, the
group has quietly set about pursuing a grass-roots campaign to alert
localities nation-wide of the allegedly pornographic dangers of rock.
In place of a h igh-profile media -intensive effort, which climaxed last
September in Congressional hearings on the subject, the PMRC has been
sending speakers, armed with an up-to-date "porn rock" slide show, to
parents groups around the country.
Thus far, the PMRC has been receiving approximately 20-25 requests a
week for its speaker/show, but those requests - and the PMRC's overall
campaign - could intensify greatly as the group tries to work its way
into the 24,000 branch network of t he Parents Teachers Association.
The PTA, main ally of the PMRC in last year's labeling fight, has agreed
to cooperate with the latter group in its "educational" drive. PTA
president Ann Kahn recently met with PMRC leaders and subsequently sent
a letter to the 50 PTA state chapters asking them to tell all local PTAs
that the PMRC slide show is "available without cost . . . to any PTA
council which requests (it)."
A second letter, this one sent to the PTA's vast network of local
branches, will inform them directly of the PMRC's "continuous awaren ess
progra m," a PTA spokesperson said. Second mailing is set for March.
"We're working in conjunction with the PTA, trying to get a system where
the slide show will be available all over the country," Susan Baker,
founding member of the PMRC and wife of treasury secretary James Baker,
told DAILY VARIETY.
"That's how we hope to get the slide show around. The PTA has 5,600,000
members, and there's a real interest and commitment on their part that
parents be aware."
Only hitch i n the widescale PTA-PMRC program is f unding, with money
for reproduction of the slide show and traveling expenses as yet
uncertain, Baker said.
According to Baker, PMRC's ongoing efforts are aimed at educating
parents about the "violent and explicit lyrics in rock music," and
building a ground-up movement to pressure record companies, radio
stations, artists and corporate sponsors to create, sell and support
inoffensive product.
"We're trying to activate 'em (the parents). We're te lling them to
listen to rock stations in cars when they driv e and if they hear
something offensive, to call the stations. This needs to be done on a
grassroots level," Baker said.
One apparently direct result of the PMRC's ongoing efforts is the recent
introduction in the Maryland Senate of a bill that would make it a crime
to sell state-defined X-rated records to a minor (DAILY VARIETY, Feb.
11). Bill was introduced last month by Democratic Delegate Judith Toth
after she received a packet of material, including allegedly porn
lyrics, from the PMRC .
Latest updat e of the PMRC slide show includes recent releases by death
metal group Exodus and WASP, latter of which, Baker noted, recently
landed a lucrative pact with Capitol Records, and an LP by the
California-based punkish Dead Kennedys. LP contains a poster,
graphically depicting the sexual act, that Baker described as "shocking"
and "obscene."
ARTICLE FROM BAM, DATED FEB. 28, 1986
FROM THE LETTERS COLUMN
WHO'S SAVING WHOM?
I realize that you are probably tired of receiv ing letters about the
P.M.R.C.. Howev er, as the mother of two teenagers, I would like to
express an opinion. A year ago, parents such as myself were concerned
that their children were listening to Prince and Madonna. However,
since the P.M.R.C. suggested that albums be labeled, record companies
have taken full advantage of the situation. Last week, I found an album
called SATAN'S REVENGE under my 14-year-old's bed. It was enough bait
to arouse the interest of any rebellious teenager.
Since the P.M.R.C. got involved in the music industry, nothing has
changed except that it is easier for people to spot albums with
objectionable contents. This may explain why my teenage boys have
switched from listening to Madonna and Prince to Slayer and Executioner.
Mrs. Robert L. Hutchins North Hollywood
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