Music doesn't kill people
posted August 25, 2010, 1:01 am | Log In To Post Comments | 
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Tags: 50 cent, Eminem, NWA, Rap Music, Parental Advisory, Parental Advisory, Freedom of speech.
Unless you're at a funeral and someone's playing a song to pay tribute, music should not be associated with death in any other way. The best thing we have is the ability to be free about what our youth are listening to. I know this is an old topic, but it keeps resurfacing. In the 80's it was Judas Priest and Ozzy who was on trial. In the 90's it was Marilyn Manson. It's irritating as hell.
If you're under 18, you're entitled to creatively get the hands on the music you want. I'm all for warning labels and parents not buying them albums if they feel that they are too gnarly for them to listen to. There are some messages out there, espeicially in RAP that justify the use of violence as a survival and to those that live those lives most likely have seen it, and that's unfortunate. But what's irritating is parents suing musicians because their child listened to their album and it glorified everything. The media doesn't help.
Is this a violation of the rights to place a parental advisory sticker on an album, absolutely not. Many percieve that as censorship, when in reality it's the greed that drives producers and white collar who fear the album will not sell as well. Placing a sticker on an album isn't any different than mandating that a person stop at a red light and go at a green light. There's a time an a place for everything. A five year old singing "with a bottle of scotch and rocks lots of crotch" is inappropriate for that age.
I may come under fire because freedom of speech is our 1st ammendment, but nobody seems to mind when the local radio station cuts out "fuck you I won't do what you tell me". Those wanting the album will get it, just like underage kids wind up getting alcohol and cigarettes. The first ammendment was not designed to corrupt the minds of those who don't entirely understand what a fully automatic weapon can do to someone (columbine). I think it should be up to the parent to decide when their kid can understand what actions will come of listening to this album.
Rap music seems to be the genre that needs it the most. It glorifies violence, sexual assault, theft, and causing physical harm to others. It is also disrespectful to women. It seems more prevalent today, and the words can be lethal if put in the wrong hands. But isn't the parents ultimate responsibility to explain to their child that in the real world there are people who do the right thing, but don't live in the right neighborhood. In that respect their 1st ammendment rights allow them to express themselves and how real it is to them. But parents today are lazy, and therefore musicians are going to continue to get sued because their kid took what someone said the wrong way. You can't get rich selling dope, you can't get rich shooting people, but you can get rich telling your story. I just don't understand the big deal about a Parental Advisory sticker. Movies have ratings and Television shows have ratings for parents to determine if the content is appropriate.
Comments:
Gutter's on a roll! Yeah I still remember the day I would gaze curiously behind the counter at "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" by 2 Live Crew...Ah the good ole days. We definitely park our cars in the same garage here, mainstream rap gets away with a lot of crap cause theyre not officially "cursing", but their abuse of common courtesies over the years have become disgustingly accepted. I try to listen to rap with a knowledge shared.
posted on August 25, 2010, 9:57 pm
